What is a Scrimmage in Soccer?
Are you struggling to master the art of scrimmage in soccer? Avoid injuries and fouls with our expert tips and techniques to take your defensive game to the next level.
To be efficient at soccer, you must practice many things. From dribbling to ball control and many other things evolve you as a better player.
However, you cannot go for structured practice all the time because sometimes you need to get recreational for team building, learning the spirit, and polishing the skills that you already own.
A scrimmage in soccer is an amazing way to do all of these. Here you will learn what it is, how it is effective, some benefits, and pro tips to help you through your soccer career.
What is a Scrimmage in Soccer?
A scrimmage in soccer means practice, but it usually replicates the real-game situation on a soccer field.
So, instead of focusing only on specific skills, it gives players real-game experiences where they must deal with certain situations according to their chosen position.
It is a practice session where the coach can make different teams and set players in different positions on the field to polish different skills in specific players.
Scrimmage is beneficial in several ways, and it can teach players about a new formation the coach is planning to use without trying it in a real game where the final score may matter for future games.
As there is no special pressure to win the game, players can focus more on learning different skills through different aspects of the game.
Why is it important
Scrimmage is important because players don’t usually get the firsthand experience of a game without feeling the pressure.
Through scrimmage sessions, every player can learn how a soccer game works, and if a player has not been a part of many soccer games before, these practice sessions will teach them a lot.
Additionally, scrimmage lets players learn about the rules and the field positions different from their real-game positions.
Importance for coaches
For a coach, it prepares players to substitute for positions different from their position when there is no substitute player available for a position.
As a coach, scrimmage also allows for trying and testing players under different situations, which helps them understand players well individually.
On top of everything, coaches can take insights about the performance of different players to teach them about their strengths and weaknesses so that they can evolve as better versions of themselves.
How long does a soccer scrimmage last?
There are no specific standards about the time frame for a scrimmage because there are different soccer scrimmage drills.
So, depending on which drill you are following, you will be mimicking the game situations, and the maximum time for such a session would last 90 minutes.
With this long exposure to real-game situations, players will learn about several skills and become physically fit for the coming games.
Soccer scrimmage drills
Soccer scrimmage drills can be a post-training ritual. However, the coach decides how to work with a scrimmage. The primary goal is to get the best out of their players, and there are different scrimmage drill types.
Here are the details about the top 3 drills.
7×7
This drill focuses on smaller field sizes, usually 60×40 yards, with 2 goals on each side. While there are 7 players on each side, the goals can be of full size or be turned smaller for the goalkeeper’s ease.
This scrimmage drill allows more players to participate simultaneously, and the coach can introduce some restrictions to make these sessions fun and effective.
Full game
The full-game scrimmages use the full pitch and real-game conditions. There will be 2 full teams in this drill, and this scrimmage lasts 90 minutes.
Although the coach can shorten the play time, staying at max limit helps test players for stamina and endurance. With no chances in goal size or game rules, these can make the players learn the most.
Small sided
These are also known as tournament scrimmages, where the squad is broken down into smaller teams. These teams play a round-robin-based elimination round, and the final round decides the winning team.
These are good because of the pressure of winning, which makes players perform better. Players focus more, resulting in better reaction time and more competitive matches.
Pro tips to make soccer scrimmage sessions more efficient
Here are some pro tips that will make your soccer scrimmage sessions even more efficient:
- Scrimmages must adapt to the team’s capabilities and not be tested above their capabilities. For example. Full-pitch scrimmage may not be the best for a U7 team.
- Formations and positions must be kept switching during scrimmage sessions so that it does not become a regular soccer practice.
- Instead of specific regular players, scrimmages must focus on selecting random players to maintain a team balance.
What are the benefits of a soccer scrimmage?
It is not all about learning, but for the most part, scrimmage helps players implement what they have learned and tests them for their future games. It also helps coaches test their players well for specific skills.
Observe players for progress
As players work on different skills and drills, they can be observed for their progress, and through this progression, their mistakes can be identified, which will help them improve.
Improved communication and confidence
Through scrimmage, players can learn to communicate well during real-game circumstances. These sessions also help them improve their confidence levels across the field.
Better bonding with the coach
Coaches are usually providing technical input during games and practice sessions. However, things are different when it comes to the scrimmage sessions.
Here coaches focus on keen observations instead of technical input; coaches can focus on constructive advice. It also enhances communication and bonding between coaches and players.
Conclusion
Always going for structured soccer training sessions may make you resentful, and unstructured training, like a scrimmage in soccer, can take over this problem.
Whether it is about practicing some skills, you are working on or learning about maintaining ball possession during real-game situations, a scrimmage is a great way to polish these skills. Selecting the right type of scrimmage session can also help by working on agility, endurance, and other soft skills.
