Teaching the GameOntario Soccer Association

Annual Coaches Conference 2013

Sam Snow – Technical DirectorUS Youth Soccer

Teaching the GameCoaching is just teaching in shorts.

A 20 year game plan.

Why coach (teach) instead of just manage.

What to coach.

How to coach.

Teaching the Game

CanadaMost of the challenges to growing the game are the same for both nations – not the number 1 sport, immense geography, underfunded infrastructure, etc. These reasons as well as our cultural mindsets means we must TEACH the game.

U.S.A.

TEACHING THE GAME

A 20 Year Game Plana.k.a – Long-Term Player Development

Teaching the Game

The goals of youth soccer should be to promote

physical activity, fun, life skills (such as self-

reliance, conflict management, purposeful

interaction with others), fair play and good health.

Many soccer programs start out like this, but change over time because adults and children misunderstand the difference between competition and cooperation.

Teaching the Game

Adulthood

Adolescence

Pubescence

Childhood

A Lifetime of Participation

Biological stages of growth which correlate to the 7 stages of LTPD.

Stages 1, 2 & 3

Stages 3 & 4

Stages 4, 5 & 6

Stages 6 & 7

L T P D

Teaching the Game

Zone 3U18+

Zone 2U13 to U17

Zone 1U6 to U12

U.S. Soccer Player Development Pyramid

• You are among the most

important coaches in youth

soccer!

• Everything that happens in

older age groups and higher

levels of play rests upon the

foundations you lay.

• Your words and deeds

impact the children as

players and as people.

Teaching the Game

Least Experience in the Game – Volunteer – Typically no formal coaching education

Some Licensure – Moderate Experience

Highest

Licensed – Most Experienc

ed Coaches

Zone 3U18+

Zone 2U13-U17

Zone 1U6-U12

Zone 1U6-U12

Zone 2U13-U17

Zone 3U18+

Teaching the Game

CompeteU19Technical/Tactical

FunctionalU16

Applied SkillsGeneral Tactics

U14

Ball Skills – Fair PlayU10 & U12

Passion – Fun – PlayU6 & U8

These stages compliment Long Term Player Development

All team sports are long-term development experiences.

TEACHING THE GAMEWhy coach (teach) instead of just manage.

Teaching the Game• Too many youth coaches follow the Power and

Performance model exclusively.– Exclusion of long-term development players

• Ex. – recruits heavily, micromanages players/staff– Will not share power– Relies heavily on athleticism and direct play

• The talented coach balances both player-centered and coach-centered needs.– Inclusion of both short-term and long-term players– Questions and listens, as well as commands– Sets challenges that put players in the “Flow”

Teaching the GameThe overly managed team plays with trepidation.

Confident teams play with verve.

"Easier to say no than go - harder to teach go than no.” – Logan Fleck

Teaching the Game

Can you spot the best player in the world?

What are the expectations…Of the average Youth Coach when a player of this size shows up at a tryout?

Teaching the Game

A physical Specimen

My guess is your eye goes directly to this youngster:

Teaching the Game“I do everything through instinct, Iplay like a child ... I think aboutmyself on a small field, or in thestreet, I see myself with the ball inthe same way as I am now. I havenot changed at all. You mustremember soccer is a game to havefun and you play for that. I don'tplan or anticipate my play.“

Lionel “the Flea” Messi

Would they expect this?

Teaching the GameIn youth soccer parents are part of the team. When coaches properly engaged with the parents they can become your biggest allies.

TEACHING THE GAMEWhat to Coach

Teaching the Game

• Have a Curriculum as the overarching plan

– Wellness to World Cup

– Curriculum and rubric for Physical Literacy stages,

U6-U12

– Canada Soccer Association LTPD  Volume 2,

Technical Matrix

Teaching the Game- cont.

• A Curriculum is the overarching plan

– US Youth Soccer Player Development Model

– U.S. Soccer Curriculum

– The Future Game

• Accentuate the Curriculum with match analysis

Teaching the Game

GAME = performance

ANALYSIS = evaluation

TRAINING = education

GAME = performance

The Match is the Indicator

CYCLE = Game – Training – Game

Teaching the Game

Soccer has traditionally been taught using

the skill and drill or progressive part

method (part-part-whole). The game was

broken down into its components and

these are then taught. This technical

approach, developed after World War II,

taught the skills isolated from the game

and then the skills and the game are put

back together.

Teaching the Game

Rote (static) repetition (muscle memory) was the main methodology, but without the requisite decision making that soccer demands of the players.

Inefficient use of training time.Infrequent turns.Over-coaching that leads to frustration and failure.

Excessive turn taking leads to boredom and inattention, leading to misbehavior – all because the coach was a killjoy.

Teaching the Game

Random (dynamic) repetition combines technique training along with tactical awareness and emotional engagement. To the untrained eye it looks messy, but the learning experience is richer. Organized chaos with the right guidance, teaches!

Teaching the Game

Technique

Tactics

Fitness

Psychology

The Gam

e

Fitness

Psychology

Tactics

Technique

Teaching the Game

TEACHING THE GAMEHow to Coach

Failing to Plan is Planning to FailPlan Practice – In Writing!

Teaching the GameCoaching Styles & Methods

STYLE – a distinctive manner … a characteristic mode of presentation …external fashion

METHOD – a way by which we proceed to the attainment of some aim …logical or scientific arrangement or mode of acting

The New Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language

Teaching the GameCoaching Methods

Command

Task

Guided Discovery (exploration – trial & error)

Problem Solving (cognitive dissonance)

Interactive (free exploration)

Active Learning (directed discovery)

Peer Teaching

Modeling

Teaching the Game

The traditional way sports have been taught is with

the coach at the center of attention. The coach told

the players what to do (command style) and

expected them to produce. With the command style,

the coach explains a skill, demonstrates the skill and

allows the players to practice the skill.

Teaching the Game

• A player-centered training and match

environment must become our soccer culture!

• The proper mix of coaching methods will allow

us to develop world class players as well as the

full scale of life-long players.

“Coaches – adapt our die.” – Andy Roxburgh

Teaching the Game• In contrast to "reproduction"

of knowledge in the coach-

centered approach, the

guided discovery approach

emphasizes the "production"

of new talents. The approach

invites the player to think!

Teaching the Game

It is often argued that effective coaching is as

much an art as it is a science. Guided discovery

in coaching soccer is a balance of the two. In a

broad sense our coaching style of the North

American soccer player must move away from

the “sage on the stage” to the “guide on the

side.”

Teaching the Game

COACHING ACTIVITIES CHECKLIST

Are the activities fun?

Are the activities organized?

Are the players involved in the activities?

Is creativity and decision making being

used?

Are the spaces used appropriate?

Is the coach’s feedback appropriate?

Are there implications for the game?

Teaching the GameFree Play

Part of good coaching is knowing when to step back and let the players

sort it out themselves. We must allow and encourage more pick-up

games in youth soccer.

Most aspects of the game are eternal.

How has it come to pass that kids can't throw down something to mark goals, pick teams and play?

Teaching the Game

Street Soccer

The importance of giving the game back to the

players cannot be overemphasized. Whether you

call it street soccer, a sandlot game, a kick-about

or a pickup game -- this is the way that millions

upon millions over many decades have learned to

play soccer.

Teaching the Game

Free Play must be a core value in the player

development curriculum!

The kids are free to learn how to organize

themselves, solve disputes, become leaders, rule

their own game, experiment with new skills, make

new friends and play without the burden of

results.

Teaching the GameTeaching Games for Understanding

Game Sense Approach

Well-Selected Games

Games-Based Learning

Game-Like Activities

Teaching the Game