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It was a great time for a break! I really enjoyed the time away from the field and the chance to spend time with family and friends. It was also a productive time as I was able to complete my spring league and tournament plan as well as the Technical Training curriculum for next season.

As much as I’ve enjoyed the time off, I’m looking forward to getting back to working with my teams in training and games.

This week’s question comes from Chris (a different Chris from the last episode). He gives me some back story on his team and then Chris asks,

“Last week, we decided to work on those basic moves: inside of the foot chop, outside of the foot cut, and the drag back. As expected, the stronger players got the idea of these moves, and the less skilled/experienced players struggled.

We only train once a week with our next session coming up, so how much time should we spend working on this one particular set of skills before we just have to move on to other things?

I want to give the weaker players the best chance I can to learn, but there’s also just so much more to cover, and I also don’t want to alienate them with week after week after week of dribbling and 1v1s.

I’m planning on spending 3 weeks on 1v1s, to also cover shielding and basic take-on moves, before moving on to passing and receiving. ”

Thanks for your question Chris!

I think a three-week microcycle for a give set of skills is a good way to go. I would also suggest that you find a way to work some of those skills into other activities as you progress. That will allow the players to keep working on them while also working on new skills. As you go on you should be able to add more and more layers to the activities you use.

Homework is the best way for less experienced players that are struggling with a certain skill.

In This Episode

I’ve never been a big fan of ‘New Year’s Resolutions’. They have a negative connotation because they are too easily made and too easily broken.

Today I talk about my approach to the new year and I how I look back to help determine how I should move forward.

Remember!

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Future Episodes

Next week I’ll take a look at US Soccer’s new Grassroots Pathway Initiative. I’ll discuss the different options that coaches have and how they can decide which courses will best help them and their players.