The Finishing Phase
Before the attacker gets into shooting range, his main job is to hang onto the ball. As long as he has possession of the ball, the other team cannot score, so it is to his benefit to do what needs to be done to keep possession of the ball- but only until he gets into scoring distance of the opposing goal. Once in a good shooting position, there is little risk in taking a shot - and a lot of potential benefit to be gained.
While this is obvious to adults, it is not always obvious to children. Many children are very literal-minded. If the coach tells them to make sure to always try to hold onto possession by passing the ball around to open teammates, it is not uncommon to see them pass the ball around in front of the goal - and never attempt to put it in the net. Furthermore, if the coach spends lots of time on drills which have them carefully placing their balls on the ground, then backing up to take a net-breaking shot on goal, they will often pass up open chances to simply roll the ball into the goal in favor of trying to score "the way that coach taught us". As a result, it is very important to explain to young players when it is okay to take risks, and when it is better to play safe. It is also important to give them permission to score (which also means giving permission to miss, because the easiest way for a new player to avoid getting yelled at if he misses is to never take a shot).
The first thing to teach the attackers is that very little actual space is needed to get the ball around a defender or goalkeeper so that it can roll into the net. The ball just needs to clear the legs of the defender by an inch or less on either side. It is important to illustrate this idea to young players, so that they understand that it is possible to score goals in very tight quarters - and that they should try to do this.
The second thing to teach young players is that, to score goals, the best place to send the ball is to the place where it will be hardest for the defenders to get to it. Usually, this means that the safest place to send the ball is to the corners of the goal. However, if the middle of the goal is wide open, it is fine to send the ball there.
The third thing to teach young players is that you want them to score a lot of goals - and the very best way to do this is to pass the ball into the net as soon as they see an opening to do this, because passes are more accurate than shots and are easier to get off quickly. As a result, players should be encouraged to score goals using simple passes with the inside or outside to put a MOVING ball into the net. The coach should strive to create game-like situations in practice. As a practical matter, no defender or goalkeeper is going to allow your attackers to put a ball down in front of the goal, back up, and then run at it to blast it into the net. Scoring drills which involve long lines and stationary balls do a poor job of duplicating game conditions, and do not tend to create players who are comfortable in scoring goals with a moving ball by putting it around the feet of vigilant defenders.
The fourth thing to teach young players is when and where to take a shot. In other words, to introduce them to the concept of when they have entered "scoring range" - and should start to think about taking a shot.
