1WEB SPECIAL

WEB SPECIAL

PhilosophyA transparent and shared philosophy is essential for anysuccessful youth development programme and at MK Dons, MikeDove (Academy Manager), myself and the coaching staff, share acommon aim - To produce players for the first team, if not at MKDons, then at other clubs. We look ‘Holistically’ at Youthdevelopment and need players to be resilient, resourceful andreflective individuals who are willing and able to take control oftheir development rather than rely on others.

Consequently, we run a coaching programme that reflects theseaims. Also, we try to follow the changing ‘trends’ in the game. We‘evolve’ as the game itself ‘evolves’. 2009 football ischaracterised by Shorter, quicker Passing, Fast and cleverCombinations and Counter Attacking - these are ‘core’ to ourpractices.

MK Dons FC was foundedin 2002 as a response toWimbledon FC movingaway from south London. It is an‘infant’ in relation to more esta-blished Professional clubs in Eng-land but very ambitious and

growing at a rapid rate, which reflects the town itself. Theclub has a brand new 20,000 all seated stadium, and at thetime of writing are 2nd in League One. Former Italian interna-tional, Roberto Di Matteo, is the manager. In 2004, the Aca-demy section opened. Capital resources are scarce inrelation to other clubs but its key resource of young hungrylocal talent is enviable and much sought after.

“Too often coaches give players

answers to remember rather than

problems to solve”

Dan Micciche,MK Dons Assistant Academy Manager (U8 – 12’s):

"Training with

MK Dons U12/13’s"

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Since it is likely that the mechanics (‘howto’) are in place by age of 12 we put greatemphasis on the value of opposedpractice. Consequently, and from Under 9s,we prefer to use unopposed practices verysparingly and strategically. We ‘get into’opposed practices as quickly as possible,and from U12s we start sessions with atleast some opposition. Too often coachesgive players answers to remember ratherthan problems to solve. Our sessions aretherefore characterised by randomness,variety, challenge, decisions, choices andproblem solving. This is appropriate andrelevant for all our age groups in varyingdegrees.

Does this mean players don’t need topractice isolated skills anymore? –certainly not. We set homework as anAction Plan (e.g. Ball Striking / Juggling,ball and the wall etc) and then regularly seehow they are ‘getting on’. Those that arestruggling with their essential techniquesget advice, those that are striving aheadget advice too !!!

Significantly, players at MK Dons devote 4½ hours plus the game on Sundays topractice at the club. The ‘competition’ andchallenge they can get ‘matched up’against players of similar ability during thattime is therefore more vital for theirtechnical / tactical, physical and mentaldevelopment than isolating anytechniques. We must take advantage ofthis precious time and that is why we try tointroduce opposition as soon as possible.

The sessionsRather than ‘tread the traditional path’where a single focus runs through the entiresession, such as Dribbling or passing,

practices tend to enable players to movefrom one focus to another. ‘Practicing thegame’, if you like, every time.

I strongly believe players are capable ofjumping from practice to practice without aproblem. One of the traits for example oftalented children is being able to jumpstages in learning. They don’t necessarilyneed those staging posts you may givesomeone of lesser ability and experience.This gives us flexibility and enables us (andthem) to be creative. Children also tend toprefer variety and this helps with theirmotivation.

We see ability as diverse and recognisethat some players are better at some skillsthan others. We celebrate thesedifferences rather than try to make playersall look the same. Our ‘game like’ practicesenable players to express their strengths.We also work on the basis that players‘can do’ rather than they ‘can’t ‘do’.Making the practice or tasks easier for

those that need it, instead of holding backthose that are striving ahead.

Another reason for working in this way isthat we have an obligation to give theplayers key ‘memories’ from their footballexperience (see below).1.Muscle Memory – Muscles and joints

remembering what to do and how to do itefficiently time after time.

2.Football Specific Memory – how theskills fit with the game - developing amemory so they can recall situationsthat have happened before in the game.

3.Game specific Memory – common traitsof the invasion games (hockey, basketballetc) e.g. recognising & using space.

Sound ‘memories’ such as these enableplayers to ‘fit their skills’ into the game.Too often players have decent technicalskills but cannot use them tactically and asa result are largely ineffective in games.This is because they have not been able to‘transfer’ their skills to the game efficiently.

‘Players need to be able to recall‘situations’ and scenarios’ they haveexperienced before and build a library ofimages of how their skills fit in with thegame. Only then can they start to beeffective decision makers. Key, Assessingand adapting skills, essential for problemsolving in the game, need to be developed.Drills don’t really do this. Game relatedpractices tend to expose the players tothese repeatedly.’ Paul Holder (National development Coach FA)

Below are some of the things we may focus on:

U9 - U11sBeating a player, e.g. with a touch (s) orwithoutReceiving skills, e.g. number & quality oftouchesBall Manipulation skills, e.g. playing out oftight situationsMovement off the ball, e.g. to Receive,Defend, get in PositionCombination Play, e.g. Wall Passing,Takeovers, Round the Corner passes

U12 - U13sChanging Direction to ‘find the gaps’When to play quicklyWhen to pass Through / Over / Rounddefenders Possession to progress, e.g. playingforwardWhen to ‘pressurise’ & When to ‘drop off’

The ‘Tools’ we use include:

- Arrival activities (pre – warm up game) - Warm up (Introductory game) - Repetition circuits - Small group games - Zonal Games- Attack V Defence

“Since it’s likely the mechanics are in place by 12 we put

great emphasis on opposed practice”.

“One of the traits

of talented children is

being able to jump stages

in learning”

“We work on the basis

that players ‘can’ do rather

than ‘can’t’ do”

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An Example Session - MK Dons U12 & 13’sIntroductory Game - Possession Game

Focus: - Good passing & 1st touch- Movement off the ball

How to play:- 4 V 4 + 4

Whites versus Reds:- Blue supports (play for either team)- White use the blues to keep ball possession. 5 passes

and attack the opposite goal (only whites can score)• When reds win it back, they do the same

1 Zonal Game 1

Focus: - Playing through midfield

Reds:- Working from end – to – end- Pass through the middle to the other side = goal (3 v 4)

Yellows:- Win it – break to any goal

Progression:- Change the overload- 6 + seconds to score (counter attack)- Develop into a 2 way game

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Small group Game 1 – Tight area work

- Good for developing instincts and improving dynamicbalance

- Teams might be overloaded or under loaded and havedifferent things to focus on or the players could beworking on the same thing.

Focus: - Combination Play

How to play:- 5 v 5 + 2 Neutral players (blues)- Use the neutral players to keep ball possession- 1 touch into neutral player = goal (round the corner)- 1 touch into neutral player and get it back = double

(round the corner and wall pass)

Progression:1.Boxes empty – score 1 touch into neutral player or into

box (one of your own players)

2 Repetition Circuit

- This practice enables players to ‘repeat’ certainproblems they face in a game

- Naturally overloads will change and players will findthemselves attacking or defending with more, less orthe same players as the opposition. Build in counterattacking where possible

Focus: - Defending outnumbered or attacking options

Attackers (Blue):- Attack in groups of 4- If go with 3 Attackers and score = double score

Counter Attackers (Red):- Stuck in their zone until they win it - Score 3 = become attackers

Development:- Play with offside- Play with a ‘resident blue’ forward in the final third

(playing for all attackers)

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Games programmeThe success of our programme cannot really be measured in theshort term. Another 5 years may give us a clearer picture but theearly indications are encouraging (see below).- Improved perceptions outside the club – quality of work and

players. - Evidence of Rapid progress of individuals, teams, coaching and

recruitment. - Improvement of performances (Yardstick that the gap is closing

– results in games).

The ‘match’ remains a key ‘event’ for the players and we recogniseand understand this. It isn’t just an extension of training for theplayers, although as coaches, we want to see as much transferfrom training to game as possible. Accepting this, we still try togive the players variety in the match and added problems to solve,and this supports and underpins the aims of their trainingprogramme.

Some examples of this can be seen below:- Playing in different formations and in different positions.- Dealing with different size pitches.- Playing with less players than the opposition.- Dealing with different playing formats.- Playing against older players.

SummaryAt the time of writing, four Academy graduates had already madeappearances for the 1st team this season, reflecting thecontinuous progress being made at the club. Mike Dove, AcademyManager, says:

‘We are very proud of our achievements so far but realise that inorder to continue to rise to the challenges we face its importantthat our coaches are forward thinking and embrace our ethos ofcreating a stimulating and enjoyable environment that allows ouryoung elite players to thrive in.’

We believe if we can continue to evolve and progress using ourcurrent method we will produce players that can even play at thehighest level.

Small group game 2

Principle- The consequence of overloading (Counter Attacks)

Blues (Overloaders)- 10 attacks (or balls)- If they overload the Reds (e.g. 4 v 3) they are on 2 touch- If they don’t overload they are free (no touch restriction)- Counts double if they score 4 v 3

Reds (Counter Attackers)- Win it and the coach blows a whistle means counter

attack - Once they have won possession the Blues can get their

numbers back

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Attack versus Defence

Focus:- Defending in and around the penalty area

Yellows- Attack the goal- Use the Blue (Neutral player) as a bouncer- Re-starts from the Blue

Reds- Win the ball back and play forward into the Blue who

passes straight back into the Yellows- Score every-time they catch the Yellows offside

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