We had our first outdoor tournament last weekend. I like this tournament because it gives my teams three or four quick games before the season starts. The weather was really cold the week before so we weren't able to train much. Two of my teams didn’t practice at all. I had all four of my teams in the tournament. Three made the final. That meant that I had 16 games over three days. I’m just now recovering from the long weekend. All talk more about how the … [Read more...]
#139 The Transition to the Spring Outdoor Season
#138 Reviewing My Season Long Plan
Last weekend was US Youth Futsal Nationals. I know that talking about ‘National’ tournaments for youth players can sound a little over the top. There weren't teams from all over the country but there were some great teams from the midwest and east coast. Talking about it as a National tournament is really more of a way to describe the progressive nature of the competition. Team qualify through a Regional tournament and then progress to a National … [Read more...]
#137 Attack vs Defense Game to Train Decision Making
This weekend is the US Youth Futsal National that are held here in the KC area. I have one team in the tournament and I’m looking forward to seeing how they do against some very good opposition. It’s great to finish up the season with an event like this. It lets me see how far we’ve come and gives me ideas on how to improve in the future. Last year we were down a goal and the other team packed it into a tight diamond. We couldn’t break them down. This year … [Read more...]
#136 The Responsibilities of an Effective Coach
For three weeks I've focused on fast footwork and lateral movement with my players. It’s been great to see their increased on comfort and confidence on the ball. Each practice I’ve given them ‘homework’ to do that related to the movements we did during training. Hopefully they’ll continue to do these exercises at home so that their development in this area will not stop with this MicroCycle. In the last two weeks of the season we’ll be focusing on playing a … [Read more...]
#135 Training Players to Move Individually and as a Team
We're starting to wrap up our Futsal season. I'm continuing to work on technical skills that will help the players in Futsal but I'm starting to plan for the transition back to outdoor. I'll talk about that more in the coming weeks. We wrapped up a three week MicroCycle where we did a progression of fast footwork and change of direction moves. This last week we did mostly 1 v 1 between two dots. The dribbler tries to fake the defender and get to one of … [Read more...]
#134 The Choice between Rec and Premier
Now that my teams have been playing Futsal for a few months we've gone over and over the basic Futsal tactics that have helped my teams to understand the shape and structure needed to play Futsal effectively. That's not to say that they can always execute effectively. We could keep working on our shape and movement but I think if we do we will reach a point of dimension return. The tactical sessions, even though they include a lot of technical components, … [Read more...]
#133 How to Improve Technically and Tactically at Home
The Central Regional Championships for the US Youth Futsal Nationals was in Kansas City last weekend. I had one team win and qualify for Nationals while the other had a tough weekend. They played some very good teams but didn't play as well has they have recently. I've said before that the only thing consistent about young teams is there inconsistency. I can point to the long holiday break and missing players for other sports commitments as reasons but these … [Read more...]
#132 New Grassroots Coaching Pathway
Last weekend I had my first games back with my teams after the long holiday break. Because of the way the schedule worked out we didn't have a practice before our games. I knew we wouldn't be really sharp but I was surprised by just how rusty the players really were. You could tell that the players knew it and were frustrated by how they were playing. I tried to high my frustration because it wasn't that they weren't trying, they were just out of … [Read more...]
#131 A Coach’s New Years Resolution
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 … [Read more...]
#130 Movement to Create Options
I had a ton of Futsal games last week. As I've mentioned before, I've divided my teams up for the Futsal season to make sure they all get plenty of playing time. This is great for the players but it doubles the number of games I have on any given weekend. I love working with my players but 14 games on the weekend will really take a toll on you. This is the last week of training before the club takes a two-week holiday break. This allows the families and … [Read more...]
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