Coach's Library · Set Pieces

The Long Throw: An Undervalued Weapon, If You Have the Thrower

The Athletic makes the case for launching throw-ins into the box.

Cam Jolley

Co-Founder & Academy Coach, Coach Central

The long throw into the box gets treated as unfashionable, but the numbers say it's an underused threat — and if you happen to have a player who can hurl it into the six-yard box, refusing to use it for style reasons is just leaving goals on the table.

The case

A long throw is basically a free corner from the sideline, and it can be delivered without an offside line to worry about. The Athletic's piece argues it's undervalued — teams abandon it because it looks primitive, not because it stopped working. Delivered into the right zone with bodies attacking it, it's a real chance-creation tool; go read their breakdown of why the data backs it.

My honest, un-precious take

There's no single right way to play, and part of good coaching is being ruthless about your team's actual advantages rather than chasing what looks sophisticated. If I've got a kid with a genuine long throw, that's a qualitative advantage, and I'd be silly not to build a routine around it. I'd never make it our identity, but I'll absolutely use it in the right game to win points. Winning and development are not enemies — the players learn plenty from executing a real weapon, and they enjoy it.

How I'd use it this week

Find out if anyone in your group has a real long throw. If they do, build one simple box-delivery routine around it and try it in a game — free chances you're currently ignoring.

Takeaways

A long throw is effectively a free corner with no offside — undervalued, not obsolete.
If you have a genuine long thrower, that's a real advantage worth building a routine around.
Use your team's actual strengths ruthlessly; don't skip a weapon because it looks unsophisticated.

Read the original

The Athletic — Why Long Throw-Ins Into the Box Are Undervalued. The data case for the long throw as chance creation (subscription). theathletic.com/4297050/2023/03/11/get-it-launched-explaining-why-long-throw-ins-into-the-box-are-undervalued/

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