One of the benefits of coaching as many teams as I do is that I see just about every situation you can imagine. Last weekend I had eight games from Friday through Sunday. Two games Friday, two Saturday and 4 on Sunday. Today I thought I'd pull out one takeaway that I had from each day. On Friday one of my teams had an opponent that relied almost exclusively on aggression and physicality to play the game. Their goal was to simply to force us into mistakes … [Read more...]
CSW Extra 6 – CogiTraining
This week I've been in Florida observing a camp being put on by Michel Bruyninckx, the developer of CogiTraining. The CogiTraining Method is based on research regarding cognitive neurology, neuropsychology, neurobiology, kinesiology, posturology, neuro pedagogics and didactics. The main goal is to understand how the brain is organized and to find out how human performance can be improved. The method includes that use of the SenseBall to improve the player's … [Read more...]
#065 Only Train Dribbling and Finishing
The last few weeks have been great! We've launched our new Membership Program for WORLD CLASS COACHING. We've also updated our web sites and Coach's Training Center making it much easier to search for and find exactly what you need for your next training session. There are also a number of new features. I’m going to dedicate a whole episode next week to all of the aspects that will help make your life as a soccer coach so much easier. The down time has also … [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...]
#046 Encouraging Creativity and Developing Confidence
I want to share a training session that is intended to build confidence and encourage creativity. I've always spent a lot of time training 1 v 1 skills with young team so this is not a new concept for me but I was surprised at the impact this session had on my players. This training session works on the tool necessary to be creative and skillful but more than that it develops the mentality of the players to go for it and be confident when facing these … [Read more...]
#045 30 Scoring Methods for Small-Sided Games
In response to feedback we received from our recent survey to our members we've started to add more content to our YouTube channel. Each week Mike Saif or I will add an animated drills video that focuses on one of our favorite games or exercises. You can find our YouTube channel by clicking here. This week I talk about how using different scoring methods can change how your players approach small-sided games. I talk about more than 30 different methods … [Read more...]
CSW Extra 3 – All In One Exercise
I won't have a full podcast for this week because of the Thanksgiving Holiday here in the US. I planned to share one of my favorite exercises but I forgot that I included it in the Fourth of July episode earlier this year. If you missed that, here it is again. I like this exercise because it incorporates passing, receiving, change of direction moves, 1 v 1 moves and shooting in a competitive environment that the players really enjoy. The first player … [Read more...]
#035 11 Different Diamond Drill Variations
At the end of each season the coaches in our club complete evaluations on the players in their team. The evaluations focus on the four key areas of player development: technical, tactical, physical and psychological. We make comments in each area about the strengths and weaknesses of the player and give them feedback on their progress. We use a website called ZoomReports.com to complete evaluations for more than 60 teams in our club. The online format allows … [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...]
CSW Extra 2 – Explosive 1 v 1 Exercise
I won't have a full podcast for this week because I'm spending some down time with my family during the July 4th holiday weekend. I don't want to go a week without putting anything out there so here is a 1 v 1 exercise that we use toward the end of our 12-week Technical Training curriculum. I like this exercise because it incorporates passing, receiving, change of direction moves, 1 v 1 moves and shooting in a competitive environment that the players really … [Read more...]