Darrell has said on 00:45:38 Thursday 24 June 2004:
John, first of all watch the best in the world such as Sol Campbell. They have very high vertical jumps so they can head the ball which can be improved by doing plyometric exercises (search them up on this site). Secondly, they all have very good lateral acceleration and movement. When you defend you are supposed to take a sideways approach so the attacker cannot put the ball between your legs. The best exercises for developing your lateral movement is the following:
Place three cones five yards apart in the shape of a triangle. Start at cone A. Sprint to cone B, turn and sprint to cone C, sprint back to cone B, then backpedal to cone C.
This drill is also designed to improve your ability to change direction without losing speed.
This was a great tip by Darrel although I would also suggest checking out some of the previous questions like What makes a good defender, What do topnotch defenders practice and How to defend against bigger opponents. by Expert 19:15:51 Thursday 1 July 2004 |
