How to Practice Crossing Alone in Football

Money is really tight just now, why should a Manager spend £millions on a 15-goal/season striker, and then lie awake every night hoping the star man performs and remains injury free. The squad may already have good, decent midfielders and full-backs? If each of them raised their assist-rate there’s no need to spend millions. Then you would have your 15 goals and an increased squad value. Some years ago, a well-known Coach proved the value of assist skills to a group of professionals, during an FA Coaching seminar. They were simply asked to dribble a few yards and cross at knee to chest height into an empty penalty box. Nobody could do it. Were they poor players? No, they were senior pros. Some were internationals with league, FA cup, and European honours. It was simply because crossing was a skill they seldom used. What about your full-backs and midfielders, how much do they work on their crossing technique? Not crossing drills or routines, but pure, 100% crossing technique. To consistently deliver good crosses a player needs some technique training. Conventional crossing training uses too much time, it needs other players. Keeper, defenders, and attackers. Not anymore. There’s a new training aid. An Aerial Passing Frame that enables a player to train alone in crossing. The shape of the frame recreates the difficulty of beating the 1st Man with a pace and trajectory that reaches the attacking space. The “sweet-spot”. Open-play or static crossing can be trained and several players can use this simultaneously without any Coach set-up time. Taking just two or three minutes, no more than 5 high-quality training crosses each day will simulate the brief and transient matchday crossing opportunity. This frame doubles as a corner training aid, your corner set-plays can be pre-practiced a few times before the squad assembles for a corner routine. Written By: Bill Elleray