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...]
#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...]
#113 Early Season Training Sessions
After two weeks of training my teams are getting ready for their first games. I'm starting to get an idea of how the teams fit together. The formations I use for small-sided soccer keep it pretty simple. I always use a 2-3-1 for teams playing 7 v 7 and 4-3-1 for playing 9 v 9 games. I've found that these formations are effective, easy to teach and create a great pathway to the 11-a-side game. They allow me to teach the principles that the players will use … [Read more...]
#109 Four Favorite Possession Games
I continuing to enjoy my summer break from the field. The summer doesn't start for me until the team meetings are completed and that happened last weekend. I'm using the extra free time to work on the Fall Technical Training Curriculum for our U8 through U12 teams. Talked about that back in episode 18 Creating a Technical Training Plan. If you want to know why we do this and how it's put together you can listen to that episode. I’ve been interested in … [Read more...]
#103 Why Your Players are Bored
Coaching my games this weekend and covering for a couple of other coaches the "kickball" being played by some of the teams we played against was killing me. It was hard to play against because anytime we build the play up if the opponent won the ball they just kicked it as far up the field as they could. Don't get me wrong, I don't think that my way of coaching the game is the only way. We've had coaches on this podcast that have a wide variety of methods … [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...]
#090 VERY Small Training Sessions
I really enjoyed the conversation with George about the coach / player relationships last week. It made me much more aware of all the interactions I have with my players. I'm paying more attention to what I say and how I say it. For example, after one of my teams gave up a goal last weekend I decided not to focus on the mistake but instead I told the player who made the mistake not to worry about it and move on to the next thing. There are times when we … [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...]
#075 When It’s Just Not Working
Thanks to the coaches that took the time to give the podcast a ranking and review on iTunes. I really appreciate your support of the show! One stood out because the coach commented that they would like the show to be longer because I sometimes gloss over important points. This got my attention because if there's something you want to know more about then I want to bring it to you. Please let me know if there's ever something on that show that you'd like … [Read more...]