The boys divisions of the final tournament of the fall were held last weekend so I didn't have any games on my calendar. For me the weekend was packed with home projects that have been neglected during the busy fall season. The one soccer activity I did have was the process of putting together my teams for the futsal season. Each of my four teams has entered two teams into the Futsal league. The rosters of each team range from 11 to 17. For each game I plan … [Read more...]
#257 Activities in Small Spaces
#252 Training the #6
Two weeks ago three of my teams participated in a tournament. That meant that I had 10 games from Friday to Sunday. It's not a huge physical challenge to coach 10 games in a weekend. But it is a mental challenge because you're focused and intense for each of those games. It can be an emotional challenge to if you get too carried away. Last weekend one of my teams traveled to Omaha for NPL (National Premier League) games. They only play one game a day so I … [Read more...]
#250 Training Players to Recognize and Create 2 v 1 Situations
What is it about round numbers that make them more meaningful to us? Getting to 200 episodes was huge and now 250 seems like another milestone. I suppose it is but I'm looking at it as being halfway to 500. That's my goal at the moment. I had two teams in a tournament over the weekend. Both teams are playing 11 v 11 so I didn't have any small-sided games over the weekend. My 2005 group when 4-0 winning their games 1-0, 1-0, 1-0 and 1-0. They scored late … [Read more...]
#249 Training Team Concepts with Young Players
My teams were back to a full schedule of games last weekend. On Friday evening my U12 goalkeeper broke her hip taking a goal kick. It was the strangest injury I've ever seen. I watched the replay on the Veo recording and it look like it happened when she landed on her right foot after striking the ball. She can be seen collapsing after landing. She's going to be out six to eight weeks which pretty much ends the outdoor season for her. I go through a … [Read more...]
#238 Social Distance Training Session
Well my voice is coming back slowly but it wasn't helped by having Pre-Tryout Camp this week. It's a four day camp that helps prepare new players to our club for tryouts and gives current players a chance to get together after not playing for a while. Our tryouts are tomorrow. None of our current players are attending because we've already offered them places on teams for next year. Having only new players will allow us to focus on them but it will be … [Read more...]
#216-Everything that Goes into My Winter Futsal Season
Last weekend was set to be a normal winter Futsal weekend. I had seven games on Saturday and I was all set for another five on Sunday. Overnight a storm came in and by 9 am it was obvious that it wouldn't be a good idea for anyone to be traveling if they didn't have to be. The league made the decision to cancel all games for the day. So what does a soccer coach do when all of his games are canceled? Write player evaluations! I have four teams this year with … [Read more...]
#188 Why Your Session Isn’t Working
Each of my teams only had one game last weekend. They all played really well despite only one of them winning their game. One of the hardest things for me to get some parents to understand is that we can play really well and still lose the game. We had worked hard on playing our way out of pressure in tight spaces during the week and did this very well in the games. That was the objective for the week and we accomplished it regardless of the score of the … [Read more...]
#184 Three Ways to Structure Your Training Session
I finally had a normal week of training and games! A few more like this we'll be able get into the flow of the season. Two of my three teams are playing up an age group this season. The speed and physicality of the opponents is something that is going to take time to get used to. My goal is for us to be able to play our game against the increased pressure which should help us take a big step forward in our development this spring. There were two games for … [Read more...]
#174 Coming Back to Training After a Break
It was great to get back to training this week. The break was fun but I've missed my teams and working with the kids. There was an interesting comment on last week's podcast. John said, "The US has not and will never produce a world class talent because of lack of culture, the fear of over training (even though the kids are having fun and doing what they love), the need to dabble in other sports Because “it benefits athletic development” , and the coddling … [Read more...]
#172 Functional Shooting Activities
Last weekend I had just one game with each of my teams. Really not much to tell. The kids played well and are continuing to make steady progress in the areas we've focused on. Looking through my session plans I realized that I haven't done a shooting session in a while. Striking a Futsal ball is very unforgiving. If your technique is flawed in any way it's hard to generate any power. I decided this week was a good time to do a session that revolved around ball … [Read more...]
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