SoccerCoachWeeklyIssue 297 Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Pass and move

1SoccerCoachWeekly Essential tools for your team

Here’s one of my favourite drills, that’s always great to bring out in New Year. It will blow away the cobwebs of the festive period plus help players shake off any Christmas excess, as well as providing a great passing and movement platform for the year ahead.

How to play it• Set up as shown in the diagram.

Racing pairs• The first drill is performed without a ball – a player from either team sprints from A to B. Each player touches the cone at B and sprints diagonally to either cone C or D, touches that, then races back to the start.• As soon as the first working player touches cone B, the next man in line starts.• Play for five minutes.

Solo pass and receive• Now we add a ball, while servers are placed two yards either side of cone B.• This time each player goes alone, from cone A passing to either of the servers, before sprinting to B where he receives a return pass back.• He then sprints to C or D before dribbling back to the start.• Rotate players every three minutes.

Link and follow• This time, we place a player each on A and B, and two men on C and D.• The player at A passes to B, follows his pass and stops at the cone. The player at B turns to his right with the ball, dribbles for a short distance then passes to the player at C.• This man receives the pass, dribbles to cone A, and begins the move again.• The player at B this time alternates the turn and heads for D.

Technique and tactics• Passing and receiving well is essential, but this drill teaches players that their role doesn’t end there. They must then link, support and anticipate, as the move continues to build, utilising frequent short sprints.

In Link and follow, players always pass then progress forward to the next cone

In Racing pairs, players go head-to-head to see who can make it back to the start quickest

In Solo pass and receive, the player must link with a wide man and dribble at pace

TOOLS, TIPS AND TECHNIQUES

David Clarke Head Coach, Soccer Coach Weekly

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player movement ball movementrun with ball turn with ball

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SoccerCoachWeekly WARM UPWednesday, January 2, 2013

Follow my leader

SoccerCoachWeekly Essential tools for your team

Soccer Coach Weekly is published by Green Star Media Ltd, Meadow View, Tannery Lane, Bramley, Guildford, GU5 0AB, UK. Email: david.clarke@coach-soccer.com Tel: +44 (0)1483 892894 Head Coach: David Clarke Editor: James Evans Publisher: Kevin Barrow Managing Director: Andrew Griffiths

Customer Service: Duncan Heard Designer: Steve Southern Contributors: Michael Beale, Tyler Buck, Matt Devlin, David Lewis, Steve Watson. © Green Star Media Ltd. All rights reserved.

How to play it• Set up as shown in the diagram.• Both teams must get the ball across the area, but each has a different role.• A red player can dribble across the area, but each white must get the ball across by touching it only twice – once to get it out of his feet and the second to make the pass to a team mate.• Players must avoid each other by looking up and seeing an opportunity to get across the area successfully.• Once they get across, the player at the front of the cone comes back the other way.• On your whistle, the groups switch roles.

Technique and tactics• Look for smart dribbling and passing with players being aware of what’s around them at all times.• A useful way of progressing this is to increase the intensity. To do that, simply make the area and distances smaller.

Reds dribble across the area but whites must get the ball from one side to the other using only two touches

When the ball makes it to the other side, the team mate comes back in the other direction

Upon your instruction, teams must swap conditions

IDEAL FOR

BRUSHING UP

ON TOUCH TECHNIQUE

Michael Beale Premier League Academy soccer coach

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ball movementrun with ball

Switch!

1 touch

2 touch

1 touch

Switch!

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SoccerCoachWeekly FOOTY4KIDS

Hospital tagCan players utilise their pace and

direction to good effect in a tight area?

How to play it• This game is great for improving agility, dribbling skills and decision making, and is perfect for players between the ages of six and 10.• It involves the whole squad in a 20x15-yard playing area, with a 4x4-yard ‘hospital’ marked with flat cones.Divide your players into two teams, plus a neutral ‘doctor’ who waits in the hospital. • One team (reds) chase the other team (whites) who must try to escape them.• Any player who is tagged holds his hands over his head so the doctor knows he needs help! • The doctor then runs out of the hospital (with siren going!) and tags the stricken player who can then start running again. • Switch teams and choose a new doctor every three minutes.

Techniques and tactics• You can advance this game by giving a ball to each red player. These players must now dribble while they are chasing. They can only tag a white player while they are in reasonable close control of the ball.• Alternatively, all the players (except the doctor) dribble a ball. If a white loses control and allows his ball to go out of play, he becomes ‘sick’ and needs the doctor!

Advancing the game• Players on both teams must stay aware of the threats and opportunities around them. • This is a game of movement and vision, and will be played at high intensity.• When a ball is introduced, players must combine vision and movement with the need to stay in close control of the ball, and their decision-making should now reflect this.

As players move around the area, a red tagging player manages to catch an opponent

The doctor moves into the area to free him

SoccerCoachWeekly Essential tools for your team

Now with balls introduced, reds can only tag players when in possession of the ball

Steve Watson Editor, Footy4kids.co.uk

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

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SoccerCoachWeekly TOUCHLINE TALES

SoccerCoachWeekly Essential tools for your team

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Six steps to effective demonstrations

Demonstrations are a very powerful way of getting information over to young players. Here are the six steps to ensure they have the effect you want.

Step 1: Set the sceneEstablish exactly what you want to

achieve from the demonstration. Tell your players what you are showing them and what they should be looking at. Outline the criteria for success.

Step 2: Get the level rightIf it’s a new technique or skill you will

need to go right back to basics. If it’s a skill you have been working on for a while you can focus on the more advanced aspects. Always highlight the basics though even if your players are good at them, and never overload them with information.

Step 3: Know your stuffYou should be clear on what you are

about to demonstrate. Make a note of the key factors you want to get across to your players so you don’t forget any of them.

Practise the demonstration beforehand so you are confident in your own ability and can talk through each part of it.

Step 4: Check for understandingAsk your players questions to check that

they have understood what they have been watching. You can even ask a couple of players to come out and demonstrate after you. Allow your players time to ask any questions regarding the demonstration.

Step 5: Hands onAfter your demonstration make

sure your players get an immediate opportunity to try out the skill. Keep reinforcing the key factors and correcting any faults you see.

Step 6: Assess the results

At the end of your session gather your players in and check that they have

remembered the key factors you were trying to get across. Answer any questions they have regarding the session and tell them what the next steps will be in terms of developing the new skill.

Steve Watson Editor, Footy4kids.co.uk

Turn kids into leadersEvery so often at training I like to give

my players the reins of the session and see how they create a game.

I know my players love to play games, and I love the fun they get out of it. Not only that but they learn much faster and retain more of what they learn from being actively and closely involved in the session.

So I involve my players in setting and changing the rules for the session. The more involved they feel, the more they’ll invest, and undoubtedly, the more they will enjoy it.

So maybe try something new out at your next training session. For instance, before your players arrive, mark out a pitch and place a ball in the middle. Make sure there are no other balls available.

As your players arrive, stay away from the playing area and tell them to go out and get started on their own.

When there are enough players they will probably organise themselves into teams and will begin a game. Let them play for five minutes and then stop them. Find out what rules they were playing and why.

Then set them a couple of challenges that they have to incorporate into the game, such as asking them to win the ball back within 20 seconds of losing it. Only give them a brief outline of the challenge and see how they work it into the game.

Getting them to think about what they can do to make the game more fun

makes them feel part of a unit; it offers them a voice. It’s a great bonding element that goes a long way towards developing a team.

If it doesn’t happen the first time you try it don’t give up. Say to a couple of players as they head outside “Why don’t you get a game started?” You’ll probably notice the younger ones organising full-scale games, while the older kids may be perfecting the finer elements.

Let them play the session for a good 20 or 30 minutes, stopping every five minutes for a quick chat about the rules, seeing if your players want to change anything to make the game more fun.

I’d be willing to bet they don’t want the game to stop because they will see it as their own. And I’m sure that empowerment will mean they go home from training with smiles on their faces.

David Clarke Head Coach, Soccer Coach Weekly

“I involve my players in setting and changing the rules for the

session. The more involved they feel, the more they’ll

invest, and undoubtedly, the more they will enjoy it.”

Asking players to demonstrate what they have

learned can embed the technique

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SoccerCoachWeekly SMALL-SIDED GAME

4v3 (+1) gameA no-nonsense team game that

encourages players to learn as they go

How to play it• Set up a 30x20-yard playing area, with two full-sized goals at one side and four evenly spaced cones at the other.• There are two teams of four players - the defending team need to number themselves 1 to 4.• One defender rests on each attack.• The four attackers position themselves next to their cones.• The coach passes to the attacking team. Players attempt to build up and score in one of the goals.• After a goal is scored or the ball leaves play, the attacking team immediately reacts and receives a new ball from the coach.• After eight balls have been played, the two teams reverse roles.• Which team can score most goals?

Technique and tactics• This game requires stamina and good decision-making, with players frequently resetting and replaying attacks.• It also teaches players how to learn from their mistakes – will attackers pursue different attacking angles when blocked by a prolific defender on one side? Alternatively, can defenders learn to work as a unit if their defence is breached once or twice in a certain way. The game is all about perfecting team roles.

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The game starts as a 4v3 with two goals to attack and defend

Can the attacking team exploit their numerical advantage?

SoccerCoachWeekly Essential tools for your team

When the attack is over, players race back to their starting positions and go again, keeping the intensity high

Michael Beale Premier League Academy soccer coach

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

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SoccerCoachWeekly YOUR SAY

SoccerCoachWeekly Essential tools for your team

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

This week Steve WatsonSoccer Coach Weekly

Q Despite me offering lots of vocal encouragement from

the touchline, my players just don’t concentrate during matches and it’s costing us goals and points. What can I do to get them more focused?Fred Wilson, Southampton

A I wonder if your team’s lack of concentration could be linked

to your ‘passion’ on the touchline? You don’t say how old your players are but young kids often switch off (or simply get totally distracted) if there’s a lot of noise coming from their coach or parents.

That could be misinterpreted as a lack of concentration, leading to more shouting, which makes more players lose interest. It’s a vicious circle!

Why not try a new method? I know it’s not easy keeping control of your emotions during matches. I sometimes find myself getting a bit hot under the collar, especially if I see players not working hard or ducking out of tackles.

But shouting at players is always counter-productive and I’m sure the players being shouted at don’t like it. May I suggest you only try offering a few quiet words of encouragement and praise at your next match? See if your players’ concentration levels improve.

TACKLED: Results

Here’s the result of the poll we ran in Soccer Coach Weekly 295. We asked if you felt it appropriate to recommend to an overweight or unfit player that he should lose some weight.

SCW Surgery TACKLED: A mutual goal?

PUT IT TO THE VOTE: Which of our guest coaches do you agree with? Visit our Facebook page or email your thoughts to David Clarke at david.clarke@coach-soccer.com

You’re lucky enough to have two keepers at your club, both of very similar ability, and both intensely keen to play the full duration of a match rather than have to switch at half-time, as has been the

case. They’ve come up with the idea of playing a penalty competition before each game, whereby the keeper who saves most shots gets to play the full match. Should you go with the idea?

YESNO

17%

83%

Tyler BuckSaintsfield Under-12s, Ohio

This is a novel and original way of solving a common problem and it’s probably only right that we give it due consideration. Lots of teams have more than one keeper and no matter how much you try to incentivise keepers to play outfield, in my experience the answer is usually as impassioned as when asking an outfield player to go in goal... simply, they don’t want to do it!

Allowing this method of selection might actually help solve the problem by itself. Think about it - if the keepers find themselves playing one in every two matches they might between them agree that they’d rather be playing half of each match – at least that way they’re active each week. It wouldn’t surprise to me if they came to you after a few weeks and asked to scrap the shoot-out method.

Alternatively, if the problem of having two keepers is a real one then this method may convince one of the two to find a different club. That might sound like a harsh reality, but it’s such an exclusive position that you really want to give players the chance to involve themselves in it fully, and that could be with another team. After all, neither keeper is actually going to be happy with the prospect of not playing at all, just like neither keeper is going to be happy with playing 50% of a game.

Although youth soccer shies away from the competitiveness angle, putting two players up for the same position will certainly ensure 100% commitment from those involved. You might find that such a challenge really enthuses those players. Maybe there is a similar format that could be used for other positions?

Matt DevlinNorthfields Juniors

This is a recipe for disaster and it’s exactly against the idea and spirit of equal playing time. The sum total may be the same – a full match with someone protecting the goal, but to offer that to only one keeper while the other sits on the sidelines and twiddles his thumbs is the very epitome of what EPT tries to prevent. Anything that brings about the possibility of one player doing nothing is simply pointless. And that will be the reality if you let this idea go through.

I can guess what will happen to the keeper who loses the shoot-out competition – he’ll stay for the first 10 minutes of the match then wander off home. What possible incentive is there for him to hang about? And over time, I’m sure the shoot-out will be done at the end of training rather than before a game, so that keepers will know they don’t even have to arrive at the game if they know they’re not going to play.

And what sort of method is a shoot-out in deciding who the better keeper is? It’s a pretty random selection process if you ask me!

You may also create some kind of conspiracy theory rifts between players – say if a striker takes a poor penalty that is easily saved. The other keeper will claim the taker was making the save easy. These rifts won’t go away either – kids have long memories at times!

If your keepers insist on challenging each other in this way for the number one spot, then there is a way that doesn’t exclude the loser – namely that this player will operate as an outfield player instead. How about that as a solution?

YES NO

“You might find that such a challenge really enthuses those players. Maybe there is a similar format that could be

used for other positions?”

“What sort of method is a shoot-out in deciding who the better keeper is? It’s a pretty random selection process if you

ask me!”