It's great to get back outside for the start of the spring league season. My first game of the spring wasn't even with my own team. I covered for another coach who had a conflict. It's always difficult to step in as the coach of a team you haven't worked with before. They don't know me and I don't know them. But sometimes coaches with multiple teams have conflicts and we try to help each other out as best we can. The team didn't really play well during the … [Read more...]
#267 Two Training Sessions to Prepare for the First Game
#262 Recognizing and Executing 2 v 1 Situations
It was an easy weekend of Futsal for me last week. I only had seven games (seems like more when I say it like that). Three on Saturday and four on Sunday. At this point in the season my players have hit their stride with Futsal; they all understand what we're trying to do and are working their hardest make it happen on the field. This is the time where I start changing things up a bit to challenge them in a different way. We change back and forth between a … [Read more...]
#258 Effective Futsal Defending
After a very hectic fall season it was great to have break over the Thanksgiving week. As with everything in 2020, the holiday week was very different from the way it usually is. My extended family usually spends a lot of time together over this period but that wasn't possible this year so I had a lot of time to work on a number of projects. High on the list of 'Things to Do" was completing player evaluations for three of my teams. I do individual meetings … [Read more...]
#257 Activities in Small Spaces
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...]
#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...]
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