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...]
#048 Do Your Players Lose the Ball Under Pressure?
I received an email from US Soccer Referees Department this week that included a link to US Soccer's Concussion Initiative. That link with allow you to download a PDF of the document. The US Youth National Teams and Development Academies will be implementing these new initiatives but it appears that each State Association and League will be able to make its own decisions about how to use this information. It covers new education guidelines for referees, … [Read more...]
#030 More than 20 Adjustments to Small-Sided Games
This week I discovered that the training session I did on give-and-goes helped my young players better understand how to stay onside. The coaching point for the wall passer is to stay on the shoulder of the defender. This creates an angle to receive and pass around the defender. When one of my players was offside a couple of times during the game I told him to, 'Stay on the shoulder of the defender until the ball is played just like in the give-and-go.' You … [Read more...]
#025 Systems of Play for U11 and U12
Last weekend was our first tournament weekend. There is always a lot of discussion about whether playing multiple games over a weekend is good for players. I think it depends on the age and level of the players. For high school age and above I think more harm than good comes from playing more than a game a day and no more than three days in a row. These are players that are playing close to if not full 90 minute games and often with limited … [Read more...]
#012 Training Possession Play with Increasing Pressure
Thanks! We continue to receive a lot of positive feedback on the podcast. A ‘Five Star’ review on iTunes from ‘Flying Dave’ says, "I'm thoroughly enjoying this podcast. I find it hard to talk soccer coaching with other coaches. My wife is tired of me bouncing ideas off of her. I'm super pleased to hear about coaching from other coaches. thanks!" Thanks for the review and rating Dave! Another ‘Five Star’ review is from Arima 19 says, "Have … [Read more...]