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SoccerCoachWeeklyIssue 262 Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Attacking intent

1SoccerCoachWeekly Essential tools for your team

A session that focuses on quick attacksI recently watched a session given by Tessa Payne, FA

Regional Coach Development Manager for the south-east of England.

The challenge of the session is for players to receive the ball in a position where they can move it forward whenever they want or need to. In youth teams, playing forwards is often the key to successful team link-up and combination work.

Quick forward movement puts pressure on the opposition and can be really effective against teams that press high up the pitch. That’s because while playing against a pressing team makes it much harder to keep possession, fast forward movement can quickly catch opponents out of position.

How to play it• Set up as shown in the diagram on a 40x30-yard area.

• I have used two teams of eight, but you can split any number of players into equal teams. My set-up is balanced, but you might choose to have a 2v1 in midfield instead. Similarly, if you have a limited numbers of players, you might want to use small goals without keepers.

• The session involves two balls at once – each keeper plays out to a full-back, who feeds it down the right-hand side of the middle area.

• In a 2v2 in this area, midfielders must make space to receive the pass, either holding onto possession or playing forward into the final area.

• In that final area, the attacker is 1v1 with a defender. When he receives the ball he must negotiate a shot on goal.

• However, if the defending team wins the ball they can counter-attack. This means that keepers could face shots in quick succession – once from a standard attack, and once from a counter-attack begun by a turnover of possession.

• If the ball goes out of play, return to the nearest keeper. Play for 15 minutes.

• To progress, allow players to move freely between the zones but emphasise the need to retain structure and shape.

Technique and tactics• This is a great practice that gets players to support and position themselves correctly in playing forward as quickly as possible. You must ensure they’re looking for cues, triggers and at body shape in order to be able to read where their team mates require support.

• Look too to highlight what prevents (as well as what enables) players from playing forwards early.

The set-up has two balls going in opposite directions with the midfield area split in two

In this instance, each team works the ball through for a shot on goal

Here, grey players in the lower box turn over possession, meaning white defenders must face two attacks at once

TOOLS, TIPS AND TECHNIQUES

David Clarke Head Coach, Soccer Coach Weekly

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SoccerCoachWeekly WARM UPWednesday, May 2, 2012

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: [email protected] 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, Chris Galea, Dennis Hillyard, Carl Tester, Simon Verbeeten, Steve Watson © Green Star Media Ltd. All rights reserved.

Lucky linesHow to play it• Set up as shown in the diagram - working players line up in two rows, with no more than three players per row. There are also two rows of cones (or poles), with two yards between each. • Player 1 starts with a ball, and passes to player 4 facing him. As soon as he’s made that pass, he runs through the cones on his right and joins the back of the opposite line.• Player 4 controls and returns the ball to the new player at the head of the opposite line (player 2). He then makes a similar run around the cones on his line, and the drill continues.• Perform the drill so that each player makes three trips around the cones.

Technique and tactics• Players must pass quickly and accurately to ensure the drill retains its momentum and fluid motion.• We can progress the warm-up as players become more comfortable with the principles. At first, vary the number of touches the players are allowed before passing it back – can they do it one-touch, for instance? Then experiment with increasing the distance between passers, or position the cones further away so players have further to run after making a pass.

Player 1 returns player 4’s pass first time and prepares to move off

Having performed the touch, players sprint around the cones on the right and join the back of the opposite line

Let the game flow! The vast majority of youth soccer coaches

will have spent decades watching top-level action; many of us would have played the game religiously, and when we’re not watching or playing, we’re reading about the sport!

But when it comes to coaching young children, it’s important to apply a whole new set of rules. We’re not dealing with Wayne Rooneys and Landon Donovans here, merely a bunch of kids who love a good kickabout.

At the heart of this, it’s important to let the game flow. Try keeping your whistle in your pocket for longer than normal, don’t obsess over your stopwatch, and hold back on giving instructions. Good coaches let players discover the game for themselves, and good players love the freedom!


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Stop, wait there!

Don’t let orders or instructions stifle the progress of kids who, after all, just want to play the game!

Chris Galea Community soccer leader, Yorkshire

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SoccerCoachWeekly FOOTY4KIDSWednesday, May 2, 2012

Shoot, save! Shoot, save!How to play it• The objective of this game is to improve fitness, shooting and goalkeeping skills.• It involves the whole squad – you’ll also need five or six balls, a target goal (or cones/poles as goalposts) and some flat cones.• Set up as shown in the first diagram - use the penalty area of a full-size pitch, or mark out a 20x20-yard playing area.• On the edge of the penalty area is a ‘turning cone’.• Divide your players into two teams. • On your signal, the first player in team 1 runs to the turning cone and back into the area in front of the goal. At the same time, the first player on team 2 runs behind the goal, around the left post and enters the goal area to become the keeper. • As the player from team 1 rounds the cone and starts towards goal, the coach plays a ball in front of him. The player controls the ball with his first touch and shoots with his second. • As soon as the shot is taken the next player on each team starts his run - the team 1 player around the turning cone, the team 2 player around and into the goal - so we end up with a new keeper and a new shooter.• Whether the shooter misses or scores, he must run and retrieve his shot and return the ball to the coach.• If the keeper saves the shot, he kicks it upfield for the shooter to retrieve. • Change the teams around after a set time.

Technique and tactics• While this sounds like a line drill, it isn’t. Very soon all the players in the shooting team are moving, chasing down balls and returning them, and getting back into line before their next turn. Ensure the game remains at high tempo.• You can progress this by instructing players to only shoot with their first touch or to shoot with their ‘wrong’ foot.

As the first blue player races around the goal, the red takes a route around the cone at the foot of the area

As red approaches goal you lay a ball into his path, with blue taking the role of keeper. The next player in each line begins his move


The attacker retrieves the ball and passes it to the coach, with both working players returning to the back of their respective lines

Steve Watson Editor, Footy4kids.co.uk

GREAT FOR GETTING

EVERY PLAYER

INVOLVED!

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Left to their own devices, your players will grab a ball as soon they arrive at a coaching session and will try to bang it into the back of the net as hard as possible. There will be goals flying in from all directions!

You’ll probably have to order them to stop scoring so you can get on with something more constructive... like shooting practice!

But when match day comes around, young players often seem to lose their desire to score goals. They’ll freeze in front of goal, fail to take their chances or watch, transfixed, as the ball rolls across the opposition box with no-one there to fire home.

That’s because goal scoring in competitive matches requires something that most coaches don’t teach – how to score goals!

Position politicsIf you look at who scores the goals for

the best professional teams, you’ll see that midfielders feature prominently and defenders get quite a few as well. So you should do what the professional coaches

do: encourage ALL your players to score goals, not just your attackers.

Power-packedMost coaching manuals tell you that

accuracy is more important than power when it comes to shooting, but in youth soccer – and especially at the younger age groups - teach your players that power is more important than accuracy. There are two reasons for this apparent heresy – firstly, most young goalkeepers parry powerful shots. They often drop the ball at their feet and a player who follows up can be rewarded with a simple tap-in.

Secondly, if you tell young players they need to pick their spot carefully, they’ll take so long over their shot that they’ll be dispossessed.

Possession isn’t everythingAnd while there is nothing intrinsically

wrong with possession games, if they are overused, they can make your players so concerned with not giving the ball away they become afraid to shoot in case they miss. So use them sparingly and award points for taking a shot after a certain

number of passes, not just keeping the ball.

FearAnd of

course, your players should never be criticised for trying something that is perhaps a little beyond them – if your players never take a chance, they will never find out what they can do. This is never truer than with shooting.

Your team will score more goals if you can create a calm and supportive environment for them to work in.

All this means they will score more goals and your team will win more games.

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SoccerCoachWeekly TOUCHLINE TALESWednesday, May 2, 2012

Getting the most out of training sessions


Coaching isn’t just a matter of turning up and running a session – anyone can do that. You need to think about how you are going to deliver the session so the learning experience is heightened for your players.

These three tick boxes will help you decide how you coach your sessions:

Know your players – which ones need what, and when do they need your help?

Talk to/listen to your players – are they enjoying the sessions? Do they understand what they are doing?

Ask yourself... did my intervention have a positive impact on their learning?

Here are my seven tips on how to get the most out of coaching your sessions:1. What is the problem?

Picture in your mind what it is that your team is doing wrong. Think about the type of session you need to help the team. 2. What is available to me?

What resources do you have that relate to the problem? Soccer Coach Weekly issues are a great place to start. 3. Have I used a session in the past to cover the topic?

Think about what you have done before when you have come across this problem. Did you solve it? Can you use it again?

4. How will individuals react to the session?

Some of your players will respond negatively to certain sessions you run. If you know your players well you should be able to spot problems before they arise.

5. Is it simple or complex?How much guidance do you need to

give your players? Sometimes simple is best. If it is complex make sure you explain it carefully before the players have to go and do it.6. Are you reviewing work already covered?

If you are revisiting work, you need to quickly get the session going and work your players at the level you worked at when you last ran the session – they know the topic so the understanding should already be there.7. During the session does it feel right?

Your gut feeling is often a good indicator as to whether or not the session is working. If it is, great, make a note of what went right. If not, don’t despair. Write down what went wrong and change it next time.

How to score goals!


Steve Watson Editor, Footy4kids.co.uk

Scoring goals is a win/win/win situation!

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SoccerCoachWeekly SMALL-SIDED GAMEWednesday, May 2, 2012

Front, right, back, leftHow to play it• The game lasts for four balls and includes a 2v2 attack facing the goal, facing away from the goal and crosses from both the left and right wings. Unlike most phase-based games like this, defenders will know where the attacks will come from, so that puts added pressure on them being able to repel the threat.• Set up as shown in the first diagram, using a 50x30-yard area.• The goalkeeper throws the ball out to the two central attackers. The defenders must run and defend 2v2.• In the next phase, a ball is laid down the right for the right midfielder to cross into the box. The defenders must adjust their positions to defend the cross.• Next, the coach passes a ball from the back of the pitch for a 2v2 with the attackers facing away from the goal.• Finally, a move comes down the left with defenders again needing to adjust their positions in order to protect the goal.• Now swap defenders and run the four attacks again.• At the end of the next series of attacks, swap sides. Which team can score most times from their combined total of eight attacks?

Technique and tactics• Players must react to each ball, staying alert at all times.• You must look for defenders to remain on their feet and to delay play whenever possible.• Defenders must also force play wide, whilst tracking runners and crosses.• Attackers must be quick, positive and creative, given that defenders know from which area the next attack will develop.

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The first of four attacks comes head-on

Attacks two (and four) come from the flanks


The third attack comes from a ball passed into the attackers, who have their backs to goal

Michael Beale Premier League Academy soccer coach

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SoccerCoachWeekly YOUR SAYWednesday, May 2, 2012

TACKLED: Time to cut out the shoot-out?


Dennis HillyardUS youth soccer coach

The one thing I would totally eliminate from youth soccer is penalty shoot-outs for children aged 12 and younger.

There is enormous and unnecessary pressure being placed on young children. People seem okay with this, but it’s the possible long-term damage that needs to be closely examined.

What happens at the end of a cup final can break kids. Think, for example, where two teams have run their hearts out to reach the final of a tournament, then continued this effort throughout extra-time. The scores still remain level. At that point, can anyone see the point of placing tremendous pressure on these kids simply to determine an outright winner?

Sure, the kid who scores the winning penalty, or the young goalkeeper who saves a crucial kick, are instant heroes, but have you ever stopped to spare a thought for little Johnny who misses the decider, or the young stopper who lets the ball slip through his hands for the winner?

There is a better way. Back in the 1990s I was coach to an Under-10s team in Japan who were playing in an international tournament. Exactly as above, we reached the final where the scores were level at the end of extra-time. I assumed that we would go to the dreaded penalties. Instead, both teams were called to the podium where they were announced as joint winners! Each would retain the trophy for six months. This is a nation who can hardly be called a major force in world soccer, but what a tremendous example that every nation should copy.

Resistance to this idea often doesn’t come from the kids, but from parents and coaches - those who only measure success in victories, no matter what the cost to the losers.

Should we discourage penalty shoot-outs for young players?

“There is enormous and unnecessary pressure being placed on young children,

and possible long-term damage that needs to be closely examined.”

Simon VerbeetenAbbey Wood Under-11s

The penalty kick is as much a part of the game as anything else. It’s important we include it.

Penalty shoot-outs are, for many players, the most thrilling part of the game. Kids love drama and tension – why deny them that?

The shoot-out offers a great rehearsal of skills in a tense situation – it’s a great chance to enhance players’ temperaments for other challenges they’ll come up against.

What do teams really gain from sharing trophies? If a team makes its way through a long tournament, do they really want to be left with the feeling that, whilst remaining unbeaten, they still couldn’t be classed as the winning team?

In the same way that it’s parents and coaches who crave competitiveness, it’s specifically those same parents and coaches who linger and mull over defeats and performances. Kids soon forget disappointments – normally the second they walk off the pitch!

Losing a penalty shoot-out, just like losing a normal game, is an experience that should help build and reinforce the battling qualities of our young players. We shouldn’t be wrapping kids in cotton wool. It’s unrealistic and doesn’t fit with other aspects of life in which disappointment is an everyday reality – in school, on computer consoles and elsewhere!

For rehearsing pure technique, is there anything better than a penalty kick? Our team always practise them in training as a method of ensuring players hit the ball properly and know the benefits of following through. Why go to such lengths in advertising the benefits of kicking a stationary ball, then deny them the opportunity to do it in a match situation?

“We shouldn’t be wrapping kids in cotton wool. It’s unrealistic and doesn’t

fit with other aspects of life in which disappointment is an everyday reality.”

YES NO

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 [email protected]

This week Carl TesterYouth soccer coach, Winchester

Q I seem to have a squad of strikers. How can I convince

them to take up other positions? Andy Swift, Mangotsfield

A You state that you have a squad of strikers, but is that what they’re

telling you or what you’ve seen for yourself? The reason I ask is because there’s a big difference!

Naturally, kids will always want to be like their goalscoring heroes on television. And sure enough, it’s the strikers who get most of the praise and, arguably, the best job, in putting the ball in the back of the net.

But most kids are only ‘strikers’ because they’ve not given other positions a chance.

If I were you, I’d do a strict rotation of positions for a couple of training sessions and, if you’re brave enough, matches as well. Players will quickly realise there are great qualities, specialisms and techniques involved in some of the other positions on the pitch. They’ll find that ‘running’ the midfield, or making a last-ditch defensive clearance can actually be more rewarding than finding the net. But you must praise them consistently for their passing, tackling and heading, in the same way that you would congratulate a goalscorer.

Ultimately, it’s for you to decide which players would be better off in other positions. If you sell those positions to them properly, as well as giving them occasional freedom to roam forward, the chances are they’ll buy into what you’re telling them.

TACKLED: Results

Here’s the result of the poll we ran in Soccer Coach Weekly 259 (April 11)asking if you think we are being overprotective when turning away certain sponsors from our youth teams.

SCW Surgery

YES

NO

WE SHOULD BE MORE SELECTIVE71%

8%

21%

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Soccer-Coach-Weekly/111136435679022

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