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...]
#165 Week 2 of Playing the 5 v 2 Game to Score
One of my teams had two interesting and very different challenges this week. During their first game of the weekend they played a team that they were clearly better than but were just coasting their way through the game. There was on urgency or intensity in their play. They knew they could get by on 50% effort so that's how they played. In the beginning I let them play and watched to see if they would pick it up. When they didn't I started to encourage them … [Read more...]
#117 From Technical to Functional
Last weekend I had two teams in a tournament in Omaha. We travel with our teams that are U10 and above at least once a season. It's a great way to see some new competition, in a new environment. The fields were grass as opposed to the turf fields that we normally play on. They were good fields but provided their own challenges. In addition to the different on the field challenges, traveling also provides an opportunity for the players and their families to … [Read more...]
#100 Double Box Training Environment
100 Episodes! When I started this podcast more than two years ago the idea of getting to 100 episodes seemed so far off. Just producing the first three was a huge challenge. Now thousands of coaches listening to each episode. There have been more than 690,000 downloads of the show since I started. I owe all of you, the listeners, a huge THANK YOU! I appreciate you listening each week and sharing your comments and suggestions online and directly to me … [Read more...]
#096 Play Quicker!
Last week I talked about what you should and sometimes shouldn't say during your team talks. Planning that episode made me realize that most of my effective pregame, halftime and postgame team talks followed a similar pattern. If you didn't have a chance to listen to the show last week I'd suggest that you go back and listen if you can. This week’s question is from Tony Tony says: “One aspect with my team I've been having trouble finding consistency … [Read more...]
#079 Training Players to Communicate on the Field
The end of the fall outdoor season is a great time to evaluate the progress of your team. I had one of my teams finish the season 8-0. That might sound great but I think it also begs the question: Where they in the right division to maximize their development? There are many factors that go into the proper placement of a team in a league or tournament. If you put a team in a division below their ability they won't be challenged so they won't grow. If you … [Read more...]
#051 How to Function Within the Formation
I’ve had some interest from a couple of coaches that are willing to be part of a coach’s roundtable discussion on the upcoming rule changes. I’d like to have four or five coaches involved to get a wider range of opinions. It won’t be difficult or complicated to be involved. You just need a free account on Skype and 30 to 45 minutes to talk. Email me at tommura@worldclasscoaching.com if you’d like to join the discussion We had our first weekend of the new … [Read more...]
#038 Indoor Attacking Training Session
In the last week our State Association has announced that the changes to age groups and small-sided game formats will be implemented at the beginning of the 2016/2017 soccer year. This was not a surprise to most coaches and administrators but it this announcement makes the decision official. As part of the announcement US Youth Soccer provided a number of documents to help player, parents, coaches and administrators understand the reasons for these … [Read more...]
#036 Training Session – Decision Making on the Ball
I've been looking into new educational opportunities lately and although I've already earned my USSF 'B' License I decided to take the new 'F' license course that is offered online by the US Soccer Federation. The course is a two-hour online course designed to share fun, activity-centered and age-appropriate exercises and training sessions for five to eight year olds. Coaching players of this age is very different than working with any other age group. The … [Read more...]
#034 Getting More Out of Your Finishing Exercises
I like to end every training session with a shooting exercise of some kind. Sometimes it's related to the topic of the session and sometimes it's not. The important factors for me is that it's realistic and competitive. Early in the season the exercises tend to be more on isolated shooting technique. As the season progresses and the players demonstrate an understanding of the key principles of shooting then I start to make the exercises more … [Read more...]