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The Theory behind.

Many Football / Soccer Associations have mandated that leagues implement small-sided-games for the younger ages.

e.g. U8 play 4 v 4 , U12 7 v 7 etc.

Which is a start.

However, most coaches still use drills to “develop” their players.

The famous in and out cones, the pass and shoot on net etc.

None of these drills develop players’ creativity, game awareness, etc.

The Xcel Coaching® Model – Introduction.

 XCEL Coaching is the world’s most comprehensive youth coaching philosophy. XCEL Coaching  has been developed and researched by Master Youth Coach Vasco Nunes.

The YDSA head coach has studied the game of soccer, researched and implemented and tested various world coaching models.

XCEL Coaching  has incorporated ideas from other sports, like gymnastics, basketball, Futsal and rugby.

XCEL Coaching includes educational tested coaching philosophies like Dr. Lynn Kidman's Athlete Centered Coaching, Developing Decision Makers and Teaching Games for Understanding.

Xcel coaching has been in the process of development over 25 years , the first ever, age/physically-appropriate, program for coaching soccer players. The model continues to be refined, expanded and updated to include the most valuable current trends in coaching.

The XC – model has taken the best of other sports, and soccer models and have been implemented.

This presentation will cover the basic and theory of the model.

Any feedback is welcome – xcel-coaching@bell.net

The Xcel Coaching® Model – Introduction.

Young players need to make decisions, exert themselves physically, perform technical skills and, most importantly, have fun.

·Are the activities challenging?

· Are they enjoyable to perform and will it keep their interest?

·Are they games instead of static drills.

·Are the activities organized?

·Are the objectives clear?

The Xcel Coaching® Model

·It doesn’t need to be highly structured or without any rules, but the purpose and guidelines of the activity need to be understood.

·Are the players involved in the activities?

·Is the coach’s feedback appropriate? For younger players, feedback should be positive and frequent.

·What are the implications for the game? Are the objectives of the activity related to the demands they will face in a game?

The Xcel Coaching® Model

·Is creativity and decision making being used?

·Are their decisions to move or employ a particular skill ever changing,

or are they just repeating the same movement without thinking?

·Is the space appropriate for the age group and number of players? Is the space allowing for the objectives of the activity to be realized?

The Xcel Coaching® Model

All XCEL Coaching sessions are age appropriate, including duration of the session, coaches involved and equipment used. XCEL Coaching’s  main objective is to develop creative, intelligent, skillful and decisive soccer players that have great game awareness.

The XCEL Coaching  program uses the "Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU)" coaching philosophy.

TGfU is an approach to learning and athlete-centered coaching, where the player comes first and each game has a learning component, the young players' will learn with little coaches’ interference.

(The TGFU approach was proposed as a way of putting the WHY of a game before the HOW. Bunker & Thorpe, )

The XCEL coaching games are use for:

· Technique building;· Decision making;· Creative and skill building;· Soccer intelligence;· Developing game vision and perception;

No more drills, laps and lectures. All aspects of the game: technical, physical, tactical and game intelligence are developed in an integrated manner for greater transfer and effect; 

The Xcel Coaching® Model

The Xcel Coaching® Model

Soccer is founded on two basic concepts: scoring goals and preventing the opposing team from scoring.

The best way to achieve these objectives is to use game formats adapted to and applied to different exercises.

The smallest game format is one against nobody.Followed by the 1 v 1, 2 v 1, etc.

The Xcel Coaching® Model

Players should learn how use position themselves correctly in order to effectively perform the 2 v 1 situation.

The situation changes when another player joins the game The two players on the same side now have the option of passing the ball or keeping it and must decide for themselves which option to take.

Soccer is a team sport that presents a dynamic and unpredictable environment.  

To isolate specific techniques is unwise since technique is useless without the dynamics of time, space, decision making, and teammate/opponent movements.

The model works on the premise that nothing happens in isolation.

It teaches that technique cannot be learned without incorporating decision making, without considering the emotional and motivational state, and without creating an environment that mirrors the physical demands of the game.

The Xcel Coaching® Model

If learning a skill is not enjoyable and if it does not feature lots of movement, the players will stop participating before they get to the game.

If learning occurred in a static environment, do the players possess the understanding to make game decisions? That would be unlikely.

The XCEL approach is a dynamic instructional method that allows the participant to fully experience the sport. It is NOT the “just let them play,” approach. As players need to improve using corrective exercise in order to improve technical execution.

The Xcel Coaching® Model

The Xcel Coaching® ComponentsAthlete (player) Centred Coaching

A player-centered, active-learning, coaching style (versus a coach- centered one) “Dr. Lynn Kidman” The coach will need to become more of a guide, creating a more open environment where the players have more say, feel valued and actively participate in their own learning. The old style of “yell and tell” instructions has been proven to be very ineffective and is not motivating to young players.  

The Xcel Coaching® ComponentsAthlete (player) Centred Coaching

 Active learning results in much greater long-term memory retention for players, up to 70% compared to 10-15% for passive learning. (John Whitmore) The atmosphere created by the coach is critical.The coach can offer a safe, comfortable, fun environment by being approachable, inclusive and non- judgmental. He / She should encourage players to take risks and try new things for themselves, knowing that mistakes are not going to be punished. 

The Xcel Coaching® Components

On top of that, he / she provides the optimal number of repetitions to allow the young player to recognize and apply the solutions. Effective questioning (rather than instruction only) Coaching is an interaction between the coach and the players. The teaching and learning process, therefore, is a dialogue rather than a monologue.

To enhance performance, develop this dialogue to recognize, value and use the attributes and experience of the players.

The Xcel Coaching® Components

Questioning demands a commitment from the coach to experiment – because most people have a natural inclination to simply tell! While most young players live in an environment dominated by telling, the coach helps them much more by trying to involve them in the decision-making process. 

Effective questioning or “guided discovery” simply means that the coach uses a more indirect route to new information.

He raises awareness through open and closed questions and provides options or choices for the players, arousing their curiosity and guiding them to answer the questions for themselves. 

Teaching Games for Understating 

Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) is a games based pedagogical model aimed at generating greater understanding of all aspects of games, while increasing physical activity levels, engagement, motivation and enjoyment in physical education lessons. ( Forrest, Webb, and Pearson, 2006).

TGfU places an emphasis on the play, where tactical and strategic problems, ultimately drawing upon the soccer players to make decisions.

The TGfU places the focus of a on the player in a game ssituation where cognitive skills such as “tactics, decision– making and problem solving are critical. 

Teaching Games for Understating 

By  concentrating  on game based activities,  children are  able  to: develop kills  within  a  realistic  and  enjoyable  context,  rather than  practising them in  isolation  and  from a  technical  perspective.  Become maximally engaged in dynamic game based activities that use  fun approach to developing a range of motor skills .

 

Small Sided Games

The on-going debate on how to develop skill and technique for young soccer players is as old as the game itself.

Any many countries around the world, Street-Soccer has been replaced by structured competitive leagues with vocal coaches continually giving instructions.

Every week fields are occupied with teams spending most of their time taking corners, free-kicks and practicing using drills to “develop” skills.

 

Small Sided Games

The most famous drill is the 1 meter spaced cones in a straight line two groups of players lined up next to each other waiting their turn to run up and down , whilst trying to pass the ball to their team mate and making sure the ball goes through the cones.

Bruce Lee (the famous martial artist, actor and philosopher) was asked why doesn't he break bricks to prove his strength. His reply was “Because bricks don’t hit back”.

 

Small Sided Games

The same with drills—have you ever seen six defenders lined up behind each other waiting to be beaten?  Therefore, Xcel Coaching uses small-sided-games to develop and improve skill, technique, game awareness, intelligence, multilateral vision and decision making.

Xcel Coaching Small-sided games use the TGfU principals in every game, that is, every game is “real game related” , has an objective, competitive, has a teaching and understanding component. Examples of games : 1 v 1 , 3 v 3, 5 v 3 etc. 

Difference between a drill and SSG

Characteristics of Drills

 

Characteristics of Game/Activities 

Static 

Dynamic 

Military 

Organized but unstructured 

Lines 

Free Movement 

Boring 

Challenging 

No Thought 

Decision Making 

Age Inappropriate 

Age Appropriate 

Waiting around 

No excessive coaching pressure

The benefits of Xcel Coaching SSGs are:·They are games;·Players understand when and how to apply what they have learned in the real game;

·Competitive;

·Stimulate creativity;

·Develop game awareness;

·Develop perception, interpretation and decision-making skills;

·And most important—challenging

Steps to plan andstructure your owntraining game

Where is the XCEL being used?Xcel Coaching®—has been implemented at various clubs around the World: Youth Development Soccer Academy—Canada—Youth Soccer Academy Youth Development Soccer Academy—South Africa -Youth Soccer Academy Hellenic FC—South Africa— Semi-Professional Club Santos FC—Cape Town—South Africa– Professional Soccer Club Neuchatel Xamax - Switzerland—Professional Club FC Colombier—Switzerland—Semi Professional Club Stouffville Soccer Club—Canada—Youth Amateur Soccer Club Acton Soccer Club—Canada- Youth Amateur Soccer Club St. Thomas Soccer Club—Canada Youth Amateur Soccer Club Tay Township Soccer Club—Canada—Youth Amateur Soccer Club

And GROWING!!! 

XCEL coaching—Circuit TrainingXcel Coaching believes in using the circuit training model.The following are the steps for a successful training session for a team of 12 players.

Set up your circuit: A warm up grid, 1 v1 grid, 2 v 1 grid, agility/speed grid and various scrimmage grids end of training.

Warm up as a group. (Depending on the age and player level warm ups can vary in duration and intensity)

For players of ages 12+ use dynamic stretching during your warm up.Split the team into groups of 5 and have each group move to a grid. Each grid is managed by a coach or an assistant coach.

Each Grid exercise should last around max of 12 minutes at which point a water 1 minute water break is called and the groups move to the next grid.End your training session with a small sided game of your choice and rules. 

XCEL coaching—Circuit Training

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