 So center four striker is usually someone who plays on their own these days Hey, some people may play two strikers, which I think is great. I'd love to see more attackers involved Obviously if you have the defensive presence to get away with it Okay, but a lot of times you're probably playing by yourself as a center four striker So I'm gonna talk mainly about that in this video So a bunch of things to talk about then the first thing I want to talk about Is what have I written on my list here? So let's first talk about just showing for the ball Okay, because as the center forward your job is to hold up the plate Okay, so a lot of times the ball might get played out of the back You need to be able to bring that ball down Keep it glued to your body and have the strength to hold off defenders And then the ability to play a pass to someone joining in on the attack or playing the ball L Y okay, but if every time the ball comes to you and You have someone on your back and you panic and you take a bad touch Or you just have a bad touch and you lose control Okay, what happens is everyone's trying to advance up the field and you lose the ball Okay, and they're going the other way everyone's coming this way their team starts going that way boom counter attack We're gonna get hurt. Okay, so It's very important that you have the ability and confidence to bring down every pass that's whipped into you Okay shield that ball use your body use your strength get your button from use your big legs to shield the player off Have the quality of touch to keep it glued to your body Take that touch away from the defender shield it with your arms with your body like I said and then you need to play That ball into someone joining. Okay, so what we call that is hold up play When that ball gets played into you from a defender from a center midfielder Okay, you have to have the ability To hold that ball off. Okay, cuz a lot of times you get that ball and this defender is gonna be right here Okay, you need to be strong enough So get lower to the ground use your body have a good touch out of your feet and then play the ball into space And then spin get joined in the attack Okay, but that point there is your hold up play If you are getting pushed off the ball or you're getting beat to the ball Okay, these are big problems or you're having a bad touch. These are big problems as a center forward So you need to work on that you need to work on your strength You need to work on knowing where the defender is so looking over your shoulder and then protecting that ball I want you to watch real strikers real center forwards when they play Okay, when that ball is played into them, how do they shield it? How do they protect that ball because a lot of times glue to their foot and they may not be the biggest player But they make sure that this guy doesn't get the ball unless he fouls them. Okay, so you got to work on those things now Next thing before I move on is playing the way you face. Okay, so there will be times When the ball gets played into you here and you may know that he's coming in hard So the best thing to do is to roll him is to spin him and turn. Okay, you're gonna have to find out when But a lot of times the best thing to do is play the way you face So if that ball is played into me here, okay It's trouble to turn like this the best thing for you to do might be to play the way you face So I'm facing my own goal. So I'm just gonna play a pass Hopefully someone's making a run play into here and then turn so if I receive the ball here, and I'm facing the goal Play the way you face then. Yes, it's totally fine for me to go and attack and actually you must if you don't then There's something wrong with you as a striker anytime you get a chance to go a goal and get a shot as a striker I want you to take it. I want you to want To take it don't be afraid to take it. Okay, but playing the way you face think about that So if I receive the ball and I know guys are on me Just make it simple and a lot of times a simple pass is the best pass Okay, and then you spin and then he's gonna get close you might play this ball back to you or play that ball out there into space Okay, but play the way you face simplify it now saying that I still want you to have the ability and sometimes turning is The best thing it will make life so easy for you if you know He's coming in really hard and you know their space behind then yes You want to try to turn the defender and make him dive in and then you get a great opportunity to score Okay, but if you know that there's trouble this way a lot of strikers they get the ball and they're always trying to turn They're always trying to turn into trouble and that's a big problem So have your head over your shoulder realize where their space is if there's no space You're getting closed down that I'm just gonna simplify. I'm just gonna play the way I face. Okay played I'm facing backwards. I'm just gonna play it backwards Or I'm just gonna play it to someone moving into space, but I'm gonna play the way I face. Okay, think about that So we talked about spinning and combining Okay, so when you play that way you face is very important You don't stay here because everyone's gonna come and close down. Okay, and if you stay there You're making it harder for your teammate. So as you play that pass both got played into you You're playing the way that you face. Okay now you have to move off the ball movement So either tuck spin out here to get it to feet or even better. You're gonna spin Sorry, so ball gets played into here defender tries to win it. You're just gonna play here spin into space He might clip one over the top or play a through ball into space here for you to run onto Okay, but after you play that pass move spin find new space try to make a forward run be unpredictable always on the move So let's talk about off the ball movement a bit because it's very important as a striker You want to think about channel runs So you have to work hard as a striker to provide options for your teammates If you're the type of striker who always stays right here and just wants to defeat you're very predictable and a lot of Times a center defense midfielder just has to come here and screen and you're basically out of the game So if you want to get more involved in the game as a striker your off the ball movement is crucial Okay, can you make runs into channels like this? Can you make runs into channels like this? Okay, and I would prefer if you can make your run so you're still receiving the ball in the center third The center third. Yeah of the field. Okay, because the goal is here You shouldn't be leaving this space for the wingers Okay, you don't always want to receive the ball into this space heading to the corner flag with someone on your back If you do just turn play into space like this Okay, but you want to try to make your run so you're still in the center third of the field So if you do receive the ball here You're still in the center third. Okay, but what I'm getting at here is your off the ball movement Like I said, if you're always staying still you're easy to predict So let's say someone has the ball here. Okay, where's your run? He has boys getting closed down. Can you make a run into here? Okay, or can you peel off into here still opening your body to the goal? So you get a chance to score. Okay, but making runs is a crucial scale of any striker Don't stand still always think about what run can I make? How can I get into space? How can I receive the ball on the run because it's much easier for you to score if you're receiving the ball on the run? Then as if you're receiving the ball with someone on your back Okay, how can where can I make the best run to receive the ball and when you do try to make eye contact with the Playmaker try to scream for the ball call for the ball point where you want it to get that ball So you're running into space and get a chance on goal. Okay, so think about that You want to be more involved make more off the ball runs So let's talk a little bit about before we get into the goal scoring Let's talk about Defending as a forward as a striker. Okay, I want you to be more of a pest on Defense I say this all the time and what I mean by pest is you never give the defender time to rest you'll see a lot of times that Strikers or forwards will just lay off and they let these guys pass the ball around the back And they don't really pressure them I guarantee you especially at an amateur or youth level if you start pressing These defenders because think about defenders aren't usually the most skilled players They're not necessarily the most composed players either. So if you just start running at them pressuring them, they're gonna panic They're gonna kick the ball up the field and we're gonna win possession or they're gonna have a bad touch And you're gonna win possession in a dangerous area. The same thing goes for pressuring Goalkeepers goalkeepers have even worse touch and even worse composure So if you start pressuring the goalkeeper right away, okay He's again gonna kick the ball up and you may think you didn't do anything But because you forced him to make a quick decision and kick the ball up We got possession of the ball even if we get possession way back here That's huge having possession of the ball is probably the most important thing that your team can do at any time Okay, the other team can't score if you have possession So think about pressuring defenders giving them a hard time now It's very hard for you to have any effect if you're the only one pressuring if you're the only one pressuring and everyone else is staying back Okay, then you're just gonna burn yourself out and they're just gonna move the ball around you So it's important that your wingers and your midfielder's are coming up to close the gaps So closing off the second passes. Okay, so if you're on a team that doesn't press your coach Just wants you to sit back behind the halfway line then that's a little different But even still when they get into these areas you need to be pressing you need to be doing your job Try to win the ball back. Okay, if you want to be more involved as a striker work more on your pressing Press the defenders full backs press the goalkeeper especially and you'll be surprised how many times they give up the ball But also how many chances you get because of your pressing? Okay, so let's talk about goal scoring And again, I talked about this in the other videos scoring goals isn't so much about skill and technique It's about getting in the right spot So number one if you want to score more goals make sure you're always in the box And as a center forward you should usually be the highest player on the pitch So you need to be in the box. That should be self-explanatory What I want to talk about first is your composure in front of goal. You may have experienced this yourself I know a lot of players do especially players who aren't don't spend that much time in front of net But you get in this area and you kind of get it like a red haze You don't really think about what you're doing You just think about blasting that ball as hard as you can on net what I challenge you to do is be more composed In front of net, okay? It's easy to panic when you have a goal scoring opportunity. It's easy to rush yourself Can you remind yourself especially when you're starting off in your practices in your games? Can you remind yourself to stay calm because a lot of times if you can just stay calm get your head up See where the space is pass it in the corner It's so much easier than trying to shoot the ball as hard as you can and putting over the net or putting it wide Or just putting it right at the keeper. Okay, just simplify it be more composed take a deep breath realize Okay, yes, I have a bit of space, but I need to be composed. Where is where should I? How can I make this the easiest way to score possible and a lot of times? It's just getting your head up looking at that corner and passing in the corner Okay, so I challenge you to realize to notice when you're panicking in front of goal and to ask yourself Could I be more composed? Could I just take a deep breath? Could I get my head up? Could I just pass it into the corner? Okay adding to that. I want you to be greedy in front of goal. So as a striker There will be times when you have a chance to shoot and there's other players in the box who want that ball Probably want that ball, but I challenge you to be greedy. Okay, don't worry about what these other players say As a striker you have to be wanting to take your shot every time you get the shot Even if sometimes it's not always the best option Okay, because a lot of times you're gonna score that goal and no one's gonna say anything to you if you score that goal Okay, but saying that you need to know Okay, I had three guys on me and I decided to take that shot this guy wide open Okay, you have to realize that this is the right time to pass the ball to an open teammate Okay, but when it's there's a half chance or is a chance between maybe you could have passed it But if it's a 50-50, I want you to take that shot. So what I'm saying is be greedy Don't be afraid or worried about other people yelling at you or being upset with you Okay, you have to be greedy as a striker You have to want to take your shots because that's your job That's your duty is to score goals for your team if you don't score goals as your team Then I'm sorry. You're not a good striker. You need to work on that and following this information Always working on your shooting every day always wanting to get down the box working on your finishing You're gonna become a better goal scorer, but start by being greedy wanting to take those shots. Okay, so I'm just going to Actually, I just wanted to say one more thing So let's say this is the center forward and there's a cross coming in okay Don't just jog into this area and like say okay. I'm here. I expect to get a chance. Okay Have purpose to your runs Okay, so don't just jog in I need purpose I'm either gonna sprint to that front post or I'm gonna sprint to that back post and get in front of someone So have purpose. Okay, give him something to aim at if you're just in here between the defenders He can whip it in ways. You're not really giving him a target. You want him you want him to see the purpose of your run Okay, he's sprinting to that front post I'm just gonna whip it front post is gonna get a flick or he's really sprinting to that back post Okay, I'm gonna clip it up to that back post and let him head it Okay, but what I'm getting out here is having purpose of your runs Don't just jog into the box and expect to get the ball because you're in a good area sprint have purpose Sprint to that front post sprint to that back post or sprint So these guys go and then step back for a cutback. Okay a lot of ideas to think about remember if you're a goal scorer You got to want those goals. You got to be greedy. You got to have to take your shots Have no regrets when it comes to shooting take your shots when you get them get in that box as much as possible Change your runs up. Okay, try to make runs into the channels into space Don't always just stay in the middle trying to hold the ball up when you do have the ball play the way you face Unless you know you looked over your shoulder and there's space. I'm gonna try to turn this guy with my first touch Okay, keep it simple when there are other players around you hold that ball up Use your body use your strength play that ball into space and then spin to get the ball back