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John Fisher Social media

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Intro

Welcome back to coaching soccer weekly presented by World Class coaching. I’m really excited for this episode today, I got to share part two of the interview from last week. And if you haven’t listened to that, I really encourage you to go back and listen to it. JOHN has a lot of experience with top European clubs. And he shares part of that in our first episode, part one, Episode 273. And in this episode, he’ll talk about some more experiences that he has. So it’s gonna be a really, really good and entertaining episode

Last weekend

we’re in lockdown, I’m not in coach mode as much. I’m more in player mode. Because if you’ve seen my YouTube videos, you’d know that I do the workout with the players. So I’m working out four times a week with the players for an hour long session. And I haven’t been doing that type of training for many years. So my body is really starting to feel it. It’s been, it’s been an interesting journey. But I can tell you, I’m starting to get in shape And while I’m in pain a lot, it’s also brought out a part of me which is getting the recovery part more into my sessions. And after the session is doing yoga and things like that using what I use, which is just peloton and they have some great content on there. And because I’m doing more yoga and stretching away from the session, it’s actually made the stretching part of the session a lot more effective for the players and more informative. I know what I’m working on with the players and how to stretch that. And how to make the session just more effective from a holistic approach, not just a soccer approach, which I think has been really great.

Hot Topic

Today’s hot topic is something that happened in 2018. And for us in North America, we had no idea about it, it wasn’t something that was advertised really well in North America or anything like that. It’s called NIKE STRIKE NIGHT

Podcast

I loved my conversation with him. It’s always so great to speak to coaches who have had these amazing experiences in parts of the world where personally I would love to go and his experiences with these academies like Manchester United, and what he has seen something that I think we can all take something away from. So enjoy part two of my conversation with John Fisher.

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INTRO 

Entertaining educational and inspiring content to help make you a more effective player, coach, or soccer parent.
Hello, and welcome back to coaching soccer weekly presented by World Class coaching. I hope you liked the new intro song, it took me a while to find it. And I settled on this as the intro. So this is going to be our intro moving forward, and I’m super excited about it.

Well, things aren’t getting much better in Ontario, we are in our third lockdown, and it’s not looking like we’re going to be back on the field anytime soon. Unfortunately, as you heard in last week’s podcast, we are all online and we do our workouts and our ball mastery sessions all online. What I’ve added recently was a watch party session. And in Ontario, and in Canada, really the only way we can consume English Premier League content is through a streaming service called the zone. So what I like to do is, when there is a game on that I think would be interesting for players and a team that has similar playing style as us, I’ll be able to stream that through zoom. And what’s really great is I like to stop the game at certain points. And I can edit what I see for the players with the drawing tool on zoom. So we can pause the game, all circle, either a player with the ball or without the ball. And then I’ll make three arrows, two arrows, whatever that is, and then I’ll have the players take a poll on what they think that player should do. And then the players will be able to defend kind of their position on which one of the situations they think is the right one.

Hot Topics 
I think it’s been really great for the players. And most importantly, the players actually really enjoy it. They enjoy putting themselves in the shoes of a professional player. And it’s been a lot of fun.
I’m really excited to create a new segment here on coaching soccer weekly, and I’m going to call it hot topics. Now hot topics is going to be a short segment at the beginning of the show, usually after me kind of reviewing what went on last weekend. And what it is, it’s going to be a quick way for me to get across some information that’s going on in the Soccer World. Now, that could be something that’s happening in the professional game, that could be new coaching methodologies, or trends, or even a new technology, just something that I think you’ll find value in. And today, what I want to talk about from my hot topic is the Champions League. The start and fall of the European Super League isn’t really worth mentioning. So I’m not going to talk about that. But what I will talk about is that through that whole situation, we found out that there is going to be a New Champions League format. So here are four quick points of things that you need to know about the New Champions League format. The first point is that the New Champions League format is only going to come into effect in the year 2024. So right now we’re in 2021. So if you are listening in 2025, then these changes have already started.
The second point is that the 32 teams, which is what we currently have, are going to extend to 36 teams. And there’s also with that point to important points about how that’s going to work in that 36 team expansion. So the first part of that is that the group stages are going to be replaced by a league, but you only play 10 of the teams once. So you’re only playing 10 teams, and you’re just playing them once. Now, two teams who didn’t qualify through their domestic league. So for example, let’s talk about the English Premier League and have the highest UEFA coefficient, which is essentially UEFA is ranking system, they’ll qualify and back to the English Premier League that would have been Arsenal and spurs. So to be honest, I’m not sure how the youwave coefficient works, but the two highest ranked will be moving into the Champions League as well. The next important point is that the top eight teams qualify for the last 16 and teams who finished ninth to 24th will play a two legged playoff tie to progress and the last point is that from the last 16 to the final, everything is going to be the same. So it’s what we’re used to seeing right now in the Champions League. So hopefully you like that hot topics segment. It’s just another way that I can get you information about what’s going on in the Soccer World. And I really think you’ll enjoy it moving forward.

How to Master your session 

Today, I want to talk about something that has really had a big impact on me as a coach. And it’s the way that I learn how to master my session. And the way I’m going to do this is I’m going to talk about an example that I had with one of my favorite games that I learned here on the podcast, and it’s called stuck in the mud. I’m going to use this example, and talk you through my journey with the game that I thought just started out as something fun that my players would love. and ended up being something that I can run with top Academy players, top professional players, and get a lot more out of this session than I thought was originally possible. The game stuck in the mud for me, I’ve been using for about five years. One of my favorite times to use this is when I go to schools, and I want to assess the players that are on our after school program or on the school team. It’s a great way for me to not have to worry about the rules not have to worry about anything, because I’ve run the session so many times. And we’re going to go through exactly my process from the first day that I learned this game to where it is now, which is about, I would say I’ve run this session about at times. And with my younger kids from the ages of six to eight, they know that when we go into a session, we are going to play some form of stuck in the mud.
The first time I ran stuck in the mud.
I started by telling the players to grab a ball and get into a 20 by 20 square that I had made. And that was that. Once that happened, I asked one of the players to come off with the ball and told that player that he was going to be the mud monster. And that mud monster, when I said go would have to go tag a player, that player would then be stuck in the mud. And in order for that player to come back into the game and other player would have to put the ball through their legs. And that was pretty much it for my first explanation.
How, as soon as that happened, I could already tell the players didn’t understand what I was saying. And it was mainly because the way I explained it was just not great. So I stopped it reset. I took the player out and I said okay, Johnny, can you go tag, Eric?
Then Eric, got tagged. And I said, Eric, now that you have been tagged by the mod monster, you are now stuck in the mud. And the way we know that you’re stuck in the wild is because you pick up the ball, you put it on your head. And now Sophie Can you go and put the ball through Eric’s legs. Once that happens, Eric is back in.
Then I took the mud monster told him to come off. And I said 321 Let’s start game started. Great, everything’s working. And then what happened? Well, another player kicked the ball out of balance. So then, after that stoppage, I had to stop and I would say, Okay, now that you’ve kicked the ball out of bounds, you are stuck in the mud as well. So we took me about two tries two sessions, right, or stopping in the middle of the session to get the rules, right. And then it took me two to three more times of running the session with players to get my explanation of the game right, to the point where the players understood it right away. And that was really important. So I’m three sessions in
and now everything is flowing doesn’t really matter to me what the age group is, I can explain the game decent decently well.
And then I started to think about well, now I have players of different speeds are some some players are faster than others. How can I slow some players down? And I remembered Tom talking about being able to go on one foot and hopping on one foot as a way to slow down the defenders. So I tried that. And I also added a crab walk. And both of those worked really well. And I started saying okay, when you hear the whistle once, you can hop on one foot, and then when you hear me blow the whistle Then you can go back to sprinting. And that really allowed me to have the players work on coordination. And on top of that slows certain players down for a longer period of time. So now it’s been seven, eight sessions. Things are going great. I love the game. But my team is really struggling on defense. So I wanted to add, one of the ways that we could work on defense. And I basically started by saying, from now on, instead of just tagging the players, you can now kick their ball. So we started on working on defense there. And that took again, three, four sessions to really make sure the players understood, okay, oh, just kicking that ball away. That’s fine, perfect, fantastic. What happens when they kick the ball away? If the ball gets kicked out of bounds, and they’re stuck in the mud, if it’s not kicked out of bounds, then they’re still in the game? Right? And then, after those three sessions, then we really started to work on the approach of the player. So can we slow down? Can we get on our surfboard, can we get our arm out to protect ourselves, and also to gain balance. And then three, four sessions later, once we had that perfectly down, I started to notice that because the defenders were getting better and better, the attackers were now finding ways to shield the ball really well, without me even saying anything.
And again, that was because I was able to just watch it, and not focus on the rules and focus on the players and what they were doing. So then we talked about, okay, what should we do when we’re shielding the ball? Well, we got to get low, we got to get really low, we got to have our arm out to protect ourselves. And then that took about three, four sessions, until we mastered that. And then I thought to myself, Okay, fantastic. one v one battles, we got great defenders coming in. We’ve got attackers on the ball, who know how to keep and hold on to the ball, very important. But now I want to work on making it a little bit tougher for the attacker as well. The way to make it tougher for the attackers is to add another defender. So we added now two monsters in total. And I would tell the monsters I would say, Okay, can we focus on one ball at a time? Can we make sure we worry about one player with the ball and then worry about the next player? So then we were able to talk about, can we force the attacker to go towards the teammate? So because we have two monsters? Can we try and funnel that player to our other monster, so that we can use both monsters to attack. And it was at that moment, that things really started to click for the defenders. Okay, on to v1, we really have to work together, which was great. But now, I wanted to get back to the offense because we worked on defense defense, fantastic to be one. Well, how can I get two attackers? How can I get three attackers? How can I really give the advantage back to the attacking team. And the way to do that was to have the defenders kick the ball out. But that ball stay out of bounds. So if Johnny’s ball got kicked out of bounds, his ball would be gone. And Johnny would have to help
the player who was getting attacked. So now we’re able to really work on movement off the ball getting away from defenders were able to work on shape, creating triangles, diamonds, were able to talk about support, we were able to talk about communication. And it was at that moment, for me, after I’ve gone through a game that started out as just a fun game for players, to now a game that I could work on balance. I could work on coordination, I could work on defending, I could work on shielding, I could work on two v1 opportunities, I could work on shape, movement off the ball communication, everything really started to sink in that going from session to session. It was really important for me to master what I was running for my players.What I used to do when I first started out coaching was I would find a session maybe on YouTube or a session I would listen to on one of the podcasts, I would run that then I’d find a different one run that find a different one run that. And one It took up a lot of time explaining to the players to I would be focused on the rules way too much. And that always took away from what the players got out of the session.

OUTRO 

Mastering our session is so important to the development of our players. Imagine if a teacher ran one multiplication class and expected their students to fully understand multiplication after that. It just doesn’t make sense. But I want to know your thoughts. How important do you think mastering each session should be and should more coaches make it a priority. You can share your thoughts in the comments section in Episode 272 coaching soccer weekly.com or share them with me through my Instagram which will be listed below in the show notes. And also you can check out my content on YouTube to see what I’m doing with my teams at Gladiator Soccer Academy, and that’ll be in the show notes as well. Thanks again for listening and I hope to see you next week.

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► Email: Segev.rabinoviz@gmail.com 

INTRO
Coaching soccer weekly Episode 271 entertaining educational and inspiring content to help make you a more effective coach. Hello and welcome back to coaching soccer weekly presented by World Class coaching. My name is Segev Rabinoviz. And this is the podcast devoted to bringing you cutting edge methods, techniques and tactics for coaching soccer. It doesn’t matter if you’re an experienced coach who has been training teams for many years, or if you’re a new coach and working with a team for the very first time, there’s something we can all do to take our coaching to the next level. About five years ago, I was doing my see license. And at the end of the course, the instructor told us how important it was for us to look for other ways to improve our coaching education. So what he did was he turned around on the board and wrote three podcasts. And one of those podcasts was coaching soccer weekly. And for five years on Friday, on the way to training every single week, I would be excited to listen to Tom. Just talk soccer, just talk about his teams. And all that really resonated with me, as I’m sure it did with all of you. When I came on the show for Episode 232. I told Tom how interesting it was because I felt like I knew I knew who he was because I’ve listened to him every week for five years. And the weird thing was, he didn’t know who I was. And I know that all of us appreciate all the hard work. And all the lessons that we’ve taken from these past six years that he’s done the podcasts. And what’s interesting is that because I’ve listened to him every week, for five years, my coaching style, the words that I use the phrases, my style of play, was really influenced by Tom. So moving forward, every week, when you listen to me, there’s always going to be a little bit of Tom, in my sessions, in my phrases, and hopefully, in this intro, coaching soccer weekly Episode 272 entertaining educational and inspiring content to help make you more effective.

Hello, and welcome back to coaching soccer weekly, presented by world class. My name is Simon Rabinovich. And this is the podcast devoted to cutting edge methods, techniques and tactics for coaching soccer. It doesn’t matter if you’re an experienced coach who’s been training teams for many years. Or if you’re new to coaching and working with the team for the very first time, there’s something we can all do to make our coaching to the next level. It’s been a pretty challenging year for my Academy. And for our players. here in Toronto, we are still in lockdown. And we’ve been going in and out of lockdown for the whole year, really. So it’s been hard to find consistency, we’ve been able to go back to training. And just when you see improvement as a coach, there’s the unfortunate situation where everything is locked down. And we’re back to zoom training. What’s been really interesting is that we’ve been able to create a pretty good structure for players in our zoom sessions. We start out with a five to six minute warm up. And through that warm up, we really try to focus on coordination because we work with a lot of youth players, young players, ranging from the age of six to 12 years old. And after that five to six minutes. We start with six to nine minutes, usually nine minutes of ball mastery. And the way it works is this and I didn’t make this up. I got this from the workouts that I do with peloton if you’re a peloton fan. So for the first three minutes, we ask our players to learn the moves. It’s three moves each for a minute, three times. The second time we go through it is our practice. So first, we learned it for three minutes. Now we’re practicing it so we’re improving it getting a little bit faster. And then that third minute is our mastery. And that mastery is when we look for speed.

And if you watch our videos, you’ll hear my phrases which are always it’s okay to mess up. I’m looking for speed. Don’t worry if you mess up. Just keep going. Push yourselves And what I’m looking for at the end of those nine minutes, is I want the players to be super tired, I want them to not be able to go for another round. So those three minutes are where I push the players to go as fast as possible, because we’re looking for cardio in those last three minutes. And the reason we can do that is because for the next six minutes, we’re working on strength. So while our body is working, we are really recovering our endurance during those next six minutes. And we continue to alternate between ball mastery to strength. And I think that depending on the week, depending on the players, you can change things within that ball mastering strength component to better age your players. And we continue to alternate that until there’s about 10 minutes left. And for the last 10 minutes, what I’ve been doing is yoga. And when you think about the best teams in the world, the best players in the world, they really talk a lot about recovery, and what they do on their off days. Now I understand that we’re working with youth players. But what’s interesting is that if we can teach good habits at the young ages, then as they get older, they’re not going to have as many knee problems, as many muscle problems muscle issues like I do. And if we can teach them the right way to recover at a young age, and make that a priority form, then it’ll really really improve their life moving forward. If you want to see more of how we do our zoom sessions, you can go to our YouTube page Gladiator Soccer Academy in there, I have all of our zoom sessions that we do, I usually record one or two every week. And you can also see some of my past sessions that I do with our players throughout the year back when we were training. About three years ago, I had a young girl that was six at the time, come and try out at our academy. And what was interesting was that she had never played soccer before. And by the end of the session, she was one of our better players. And I went to her mom and I asked a little bit about the girl and what other activities and sports she did. And the mom said that her daughter did rock climbing, gymnastics, basketball, hockey and tennis. And at that moment, it dawned on me how important coordination was, and how it was my job as the coach as a teacher to implement that into our academy. So that our players can become more athletic, more coordinated. But more importantly, it was going to create a foundation for them that in the later years when they get older, they would be able to be active. Today I’m going to talk about why coordination is so important, especially now with what’s going on in the world. I’m also going to talk about how it will improve your teams, and why you should invest in it. And lastly, I’ll talk about some tips and tricks that I use that you can incorporate coordination into your training sessions. When I was growing up, I was lucky enough to have friends that lived on my street. What was great was every day after school, we would go home we would put our rollerblades on. We would go outside play some roller hockey. After roller hockey, we would go play basketball. After basketball, I would run out through my backyard, jump our fence, jump to my neighbor’s fence and go in their swimming pool. So for about four or five years, the coordination that I was getting was that of so many different sports every single day, and it helped me become more athletic

and enjoy sports all around. And I think today because we have cell phones, the kids have tablets, TVs, and social media. Our kids don’t go out as much and For me, my first cell phone was in eighth grade. So growing up, my only option was to go outside. And with this reduction of kids going out, we’re starting to see a very different type of player pool that’s coming into the Academy. And I’m sure that you’re seeing in your clubs. On this podcast, we’ve heard Tom talk a lot about chronological age and biological age, chronological age is the number of years you’ve been alive and your biological age is how old your body seems. And I’m going to add our soccer age. In over this past year, our chronological age has gone up. But our players biological age has not, especially here in Toronto, because of this lockdown. So when I’m getting players that are seven, eight years old, their biological age is actually a year younger. And now when we add that soccer age of no soccer experience, in combination with that younger biological age, it’s providing a real issue, because players coming in are less coordinated than they were 567 and 10 years ago. So when we go back into training, the players who have been out for a year, they’re going to be struggling, because they’ve been at home most of the time, here in Toronto, our schools are now actually closed as well, it probably been on their computer or watching TV. So the lack of exercise is going to have a big impact on their biological age. And it’s going to be the coach that takes initiative, and does these coordination exercises. That is going to give their players and advantage. Forget soccer. But moving forward in life. If you think about a second grader, going back to school, and trying out for their basketball team, hockey team, soccer team, whatever that is, if you as the coach can build a foundation of excellence in their coordination, then they’re going to love school athletics, and going to gym class. And at the end of the day, when they participate. we all win. Because we get healthier, more energetic. And kids were just excited to be a practice. About three years ago, I was coaching a youth 12 girls team at a private girls school. And these girls were some of the best girls I’ve ever seen. Their tactical technical awareness was just out of this world. And there was one week where we went to play a game against a school that the girls were just so much bigger and stronger than our girls. And normally, I would say, let’s play the ball quick. You know, let’s keep the ball away from them as fast as possible because they were just, they were just so much stronger and taller than us. But the problem was, it was raining that day and the field was muddy, so we couldn’t move the ball quick. And one of my wingers was a young 12 year old girl who was short for her age, and she was able to play against the biggest girl on the other team and win every single tackle, shield the ball and keep control against girls who were twice her size. And what I found out later was that she played competitive hockey.

And it just goes to show the importance of coordination in the game of soccer, that even if someone is stronger than you bigger than you, if you can be more coordinated in certain parts of the game like shielding, which hockey shielding, hitting, keeping the puck in an intense environment with balance while you’re on skates is so tough. Just taught this young Girl, how to keep the ball in any scenario, and she was tough as nails. And we see players like this all around, you know, we talk about Messi who is shorter, but somehow is able to keep the ball. And that’s why coordination is so important to teach our players at the young age. Because if we can build that foundation, then as they get older, their focus can go towards other things, because they are so confident with their balance, their strength, all these aspects of coordination that we sometimes take for granted as coaches. I want to talk about now some tricks and tips that I can give you that I use in my sessions to incorporate coordination. And the way that I’m going to do this is I’m going to break it up into parts. Because all over the world, we are all in different situations. Some of us are full training with no restrictions, some of us are in social distancing situations, and some of us, like me, are now in our zoom sessions. So let’s talk about those of us who are outside with no restrictions. One of the best ways to incorporate coordination into your training session is when you first introduce an activity. And what you’re looking for when you first introduced the activity is that the players understand it. And one of the best ways to do that is to slow it down. In my favorite way to incorporate coordination is to have the defending team. Whether I’m doing a Rondo, or a bigger rando with more attackers than defenders or a tag game like stuck in the mud, I will have that defender either starting to crab walk, or hop on one leg. And it’s as simple as that whatever activity you’re starting out with, I challenge you for that first minute for that first minute and a half, to have the defending team hop on one leg. Another great way is during your scrimmage to give a superpower to the teams. And this goes back to the game approach that I spoke about on episode 232. Which is what you can do is you can have each team have a two minute superpower, and they can use that superpower at any point during the game. And that superpower will allow them to have the other team hop like a bunny, or hop like a flamingo with one foot or two feet or crab walk whatever you think is best for your age group. And what you’re doing there is so much better because the players who now have this struggling component to the game are going to be so motivated to get that ball because it’s a game that they’re going to work so much harder at their coordination without even understanding it. Next, I want to talk about those of us who are social distancing right now. And the best way to do that getting coordination involved into your training sessions is races and putting obstacles in your races. And I’ll give you an example of this that we use in our training session all the time. And this is one of the older Colver sessions that we’ve incorporated. So to set this up, we’ll create a box and the box the length, the width

doesn’t really matter. It depends on the age of your players how long you want them to sprint for if you want to short sprint, a longer sprint, but I’m going to be using north east, south and west. On the east and west side, you’ll have two players lining up on the south and north side, you’ll have two gates. So on the east and west, the players will come into the middle and again, there’ll be six feet apart by the time they get to that middle. So you can put a barrier there. And you can ask them to start with quick feet. And on the north and south side, there are going to be two gates one could be made of blue cones. The one on the other side would be made of red cones, for example. And as the coach, you’re going to call out a color and it’s going to be a sprint to the end. So that’s kind of the basic structure of the session. And then what’s great about this session is that you can start to incorporate other ideas and get the players into a much tougher situation. To form a core from a coordination point of view. What’s great about this session, and this game is that there are three points where you can manipulate them to work on coordination. So the first point is when the players go to the middle. The second point is when the players are in the middle. And the third point that you can manipulate is when the players sprint. So for that first part, when the players are going to the middle, you can have them going through ladders, if you have ladders, you can have them going through cones, you can do one foot hopping through the cones, zigzag through the cones, whatever you’d like really through the cones. The second part, when they’re in the middle, you can have the players go with quick feet, you can have what we like to do, which is every couple of seconds, I will say turn, and the players will have to turn to face their respect respected side, so east or west. And then I’ll say turn again, they’ll face me turn, they’ll turn out. And then the last part, which you can manipulate is the running. So at first, we can start by running through the cones, then we can say you have to run through the cones and run back. And then what you can do is you can add a ball to it. So in those three different sections of the activity, and you can spread them out, you can progress the players based on what you think they need. So for example, in one session, I could just have them do the same thing in that first part, where they go through the ladders. And in that second time, that second part of it, where they’re in the middle, I can always have them just turn and turn and turn. And then on the last part, I can say that, first I want them to run, then I’ll ask them to do it with a ball to dribble with the ball, then I’ll work on different turns on that third part of it. So it’s really up to you. And as long as you understand that there’s a first, second and third part to the session, you can progress each part to benefit your players in the way that you see fit. The last thing that I want to talk about is those of us who are on our zoom sessions. And this is the toughest part for everyone, I think because it’s hard to get the players to get involved in the session. And what’s been working for me is having music in the background, I have a YouTube playlist, and that has all the music, it’s a it’s just a long our playlist of songs that will get the kids moving. And that’s been working really well. Because the players love it. When we do our strength component, they’ll usually do a certain amount of moves within a minute, and then they’ll get to rest for the rest of that minute. If they’re done early. And I’ll dance you know, I’ll make a fool out of myself, whatever it takes to get these kids to move, and to have fun. And they love it. They love it. We have dance parties, you know, whatever it takes at that point for me to keep the players engaged, and having fun while working as hard as they can. Now when we talk about specific moves to help coordination, in my warm up,

I’ll start without the ball, I’ll have the players hopping on one leg. And I’ll do this for 15 to 30 seconds max, simply because if you do it longer, their their feet are just going to be absolutely tired the rest of the session. So I’ll do it for 15 seconds here and there. And I’ll do that about twice. And then what I’ve started to do was incorporate that one foot hopping into my ball mastery, which is the next part of the session. And I broke that down into two parts. I broke that down into the first part, which is dragging with one foot back and forth while the other foot is hopping. So if you can think about that, in my left foot would be hopping, my right foot will be dragging the ball back and forth. And I’ll do that again for 30 seconds this time, and then I’ll alternate to the next one. And that has now advanced to being able to roll the ball forward, side and back while hopping on one foot. So think about it this way. I will have I’ll be hopping on my left foot. My right foot will have the ball. I’ll take a roll forward, stop the ball. I’ll roll back into the middle, and then I’ll roll back. So it’s a much bigger move and takes a lot more coordination. And then the biggest part, which I think is helping the players with coordination is strength and I gotta be honest For so long, I avoided it, I avoided strength, simply because I didn’t understand the benefits that it would have on our players. And when we’re talking about strength, we’re not talking about weights, we’re not adding weight to the players, all we’re talking about is bodyweight. So our players should be able to carry their body weight, they should, they should be able to do push ups, they should be able to squat, they should be able to do lunges, they should be able to work with their body, and continue to develop as people. That’s what we want for our players. And I’ll break down right now, all of our strength that we use with our players. So we’ll always start out with our core exercises. And you can look up these moves if you haven’t heard of them. And the first one for our core is we work on kick throughs, which is really when you kind of go in a in like a dog position, you’ll lift your knees, and then you’ll kick one out to the side. So we’ll do that for the first one, then we’ll do kick outs. With the ball on, we’re holding the ball tight like a teddy bear, I always say, and then you got to get your knees into the ball to hit the ball and then kick them out. And then we’ll do twist where we twist the ball from side to side. So we’ll work on those. And what’s great is that we have different levels. So the first level will be for kick outs, for example, you can do with your feet down first, then you can do with your feet up, right and you can kick your feet down to the ground or kick your feet up to the ground. With our twist, you can have your feet down, you can have your feet up six inches or up higher. So there’s lots of different ways that you can work on that strength part with your players. The second strength component that we always go through is upper body. And with our upper body, we start with push ups and our push ups are 10 to 15, usually, and we have our players either go on their knees or off their knees. And then we’ll talk about where the hand placement is in the hand placement should be right where your chest is. And we talked about the three different positions that our elbows should be pointing. So the first one is our elbows should be glued to our body. The second one is that our elbows should be pointed halfway. And then our third is that our elbows should be pointed out. So those are the three different ones. And I like to use the chicken which can’t fly so their elbows are in. The second one would be that the bird is going to be mid flight. So their elbows are halfway, which is 45 degrees. And then lastly, that the bird is flying, so our arms are 90 degrees. And all those three types of pushups have different parts of the body, that upper body that we’re working on. So I’ll usually pick one of those. For that first minute. The second minute, we’ll do plank marches. And you can look that up. And there are obviously different ways that we can manipulate that. And lastly, we’ll do our shoulder taps, which is another great move for upper body.

Now if we do have time, we’ll do legs. But because we’ve done so much hopping, both in the warm up and in the ball mastery, I don’t always do it. But when I do, I’ll do squats. And when we do all of this, and we introduce it to our players, we really want to do it in a safe way. So for me when I do squats, what I like to do is I like to tell our players that I want you to find a couch behind you. And all we’re going to do is we’re going to sit down on the couch and come right back up. And that’s a really great safe way to teach players how to do squats. We’ll also do swings and swings we’ll do with the soccer ball. So again, we’re not using any weights or anything like that. So a super safe strength workout for players but we’re getting them in all these different positions that are going to increase their mobility and the way that they move on the field. And with our swings, what I like to do is I like to pretend we’re playing football, American football, and I’ll tell them that they’re going to go down, then they’re going to hike the ball but they’re going to hold on to it and then they’re going to come back up and fake like they’re going to throw it in the air. So we do those as our swings.

Conclusion 

Thanks for joining me for another episode of coaching soccer weekly. Over the past five years. I’ve learned so much from Tom and I’m excited to share with you my coaching experience And everything that I’ll be going through for the foreseeable future. Moving forward, I’d love to hear from you, the coaching soccer weekly community. I want to hear about some unforgettable coaching moments that you have. Feel free to write in with an unforgettable story, something that has really resonated with you a fantastic memory that you have with your players with your son or daughter, or just a great soccer memory that you’d love me to share on the podcast. How much do you prioritize coordination in your training? Do you have any coordination tips or tricks that you use with your plays? You can share your thoughts in the comment section for Episode 271 at coaching soccer comm or you can email them directly to me at Sega dot Robin is@gmail.com which will be in the show notes below. Thanks again for listening. And I’m excited to see you all next week. On coaching soccer weekly.

It was a good week of training for all of my teams. I share one particular session that I did with my U12 girls in this episode. Be sure to listen to catch all of the details.

In this Episode

Today I talk with fellow coach Tom Lelyo about his experiences and challenges teaching his players how to build up from the back and play a possession style of play.

Thank You

This is the 270^th episode of the Coaching Soccer Weekly podcast and it’s also the last one for me. It’s truly been an honor for me to create this show every week over the last six years but I’m going to be taking on another role within my club and as I add that to the teams I already coach, the age groups I direct, the rec program that I oversee and the time I spend as a US Soccer Grassroots Instructor there just isn’t any time left for me to continue putting the podcast together each week.

This is something that has been coming for a while now and I put it off just as long as I could. There’s no question that I’m going to miss sharing my week with you every Friday but I knew I couldn’t do the show forever and now seems like the right time to step away.

The president of World Class Coaching, Mike Saif, would be interested in having someone take over for me if they were interested and I would love to see someone come in and give it their own spin. If you have any interest in doing that please email Mike at mikesaif@worldclasscoaching.com

We had the only in person meeting for the D License course last weekend. It was great to see everyone in real life and not on zoom for once. There are a lot of benefits to doing the course meetings on line but nothing can replace being on the field with kids and coaches. One of the coaches mentioned that she got more out of our one in person meeting than all of the zoom meetings combined. I’d like to do another in the future but would like it to be in person next time. It would be a completely different experience and a much better one for us all I think.

This weekend I have a tournament for my three teams. The older girls have started their high school season so I’m not working with them this spring. A tournament is a great opportunity to knock the rust off quickly after a couple weeks off. We’ll see what that first game looks like but we should be playing well by the end of the weekend. This time last year we were quarantined and only seeing each other over Zoom so I’m just grateful to be on the field with my teams and hopefully, on our way back to normal again.

In this Episode

Tola, the host of the Athlete Maestro podcast reached out to me a couple of months ago about being on his show. I always enjoy talking about soccer and coaching so I was eager to take him up on it. Tola agreed to allow me to share that interview with you on this podcast so I hope you enjoy it and find our discussion interesting.

www.athletemaestro.com

Future Episodes

I’m in the process of setting up some more interviews and hope to bring you one of those next week. If you’re a coach interested in coming on the show to discuss a topic that you’re passionate about please let me know. I’d love to have you on the show to share your perspective and experience.

I’m back using my Veo soccer camera again to record my games. I didn’t use it at all indoor. I’m not sure why. It was just too much of a hassle taking it from facility to facility in the winter. I’ll have some videos to breakdown and share with Patreon members in the coming weeks. This weekend I’m going to review on of my U12 11v11 games and post that to the site. It includes one of the nasties challenges I’ve seen in a while. Fortunately, my player is ok but I’m not sure how the player escaped without at least a yellow.

As the D License course I’m working on wraps up I lead my last virtual meeting last Friday. It was focused on 11v11 stages of development. All we have left now are the field evaluations and the Personal Development Plan presentations. It’s been a great experience but I’m looking forward to the extra time I’ll have once it’s over.

In this Episode

When I look back on all of my memories of coaching one day, the ones I’ll cherish the most are the years I spent coaching my own daughter. Today my daughter, Alex, and I answer your questions about the often difficult but rewarding balancing act you go through when parents coach their own children.

Future Episodes

I’m going to be taking next week off from the podcast for spring break. That will give me some time to catch up on things around the house as well as posting training session notes and videos to the Patreon site.

The 2009’s had a great weekend in Dallas. We play four games while we were there and had the opportunity to play on some of the nicest grass fields I’ve seen for youth soccer. I give you the whole rundown of the weekend on the podcast if you’d like to hear all about it.

This week’s question comes from a coach that will remain anonymous because of the nature of his question. He’s asking about dealing with the parents of a star player.

The Coach says,

“One topic I haven’t heard and would like some feedback on is, How to deal with the parents of the “star player”.

I coach a top 2010 team in my area that has basically been together since 4v4 recreational, and I have a lot of great players.

We have had a lot of success and had a new star player join us for our first season of 9v9 from a different state.

This player is a very good player, an Instagram star, and the parents wanted to make our team all about their Daughter, and not the team.  After every win it was because of their Daughter, and every loss (2 out of 9 games) it was everyone else’s fault.

They would contact me after wins and losses bashing other players, questioning my tactical approach, questioning why their daughter played this position, why she didn’t take the PK, and so on.  It was exhausting and in the end, I suggested we move the player to one of our 2009 teams just so I didn’t have to deal with the parents any longer.   They felt like the team wasn’t pushing her and didn’t develop, when the truth is the league and players caught up to her talent.

They took the hint and left the club after a ½ season because I wouldn’t give into their demands.

Needless to say it was a stressful year managing a parent like this.

Have you discussed this before, if not, maybe fit it into a podcast down the line.”

Thanks for your question Coach!

I’ve dealt with this situation a number of times over the years. As a young coach I catered to these parents because I didn’t want to lose the player. I have much less patience for this. I would rather have a less successful team than deal with these people.

I generally have an ‘open door’ policy with parents; they’re welcome to call, text or email me anytime. I’ll set up an in-person meeting to discuss any concerns that they have. The only thing that I ask is that they wait 24 hours before contacting me after a game. The intent is to limit the amount of emotion that is involved in the conversation.

There have been parents that have abused these privileges to the point that I’ve blocked their phone number and limited their contact with me to only email. This has only happened twice in my 30+ years of coaching. This sounds like the situation you were in with the parents you described. I’m glad to hear that you were able to move the girl onto a different team.

We’re in a competitive sports environment so we’re always going to have to deal with these types of parents. All we can do is set boundaries and expectations early on and then deal with the extreme situations when they occur.

It sounds like you did the best you could under the circumstances and were fortunate to have somewhere to move the player. It’s no surprise that the parents moved on to another club. I’m sure that the new club will have to deal with the same issues.

In this Episode

The formation you choose for your team not only structures the way that your team plays on the weekend but it impacts the long term development of your players. When you think about it like that, the formation that you choose is one of the most important decisions you make as a coach.

Future Episodes

I haven’t settled on a topic for next week so if you have something on your mind or an issue you’ve been dealing with now would be a great time to send me a question. It may end up being the focus of the next episode.

It was a four team group and two of the team were clearly better than the others. We were very competitive with the third team in the group but lost 2-1 after being up 1-0 at halftime. It was one of the windiest games I’ve every been involved in. The ball wouldn’t sit still for a free kick on any part of the field. We ended up have a player hold it with her foot until a teammate could strike it.

This team is really caught in the middle; they probably would have reached the final of Presidents Cup pretty comfortably but the top two teams in State Cup were too strong for them. So as a coach, what do you do? Play down or play up?

I’ve talked to some of the girls and they agree that playing up makes more sense. Why play teams we know we can beat. It’s better to challenge ourselves and play teams that will push us to improve and show us what we can do better.

This is an interesting question coming from a coach who asked to remain anonymous.

The Coach says,

“I’ve never coached a girls team. I’m kind of hoping in a couple of years when life gets to a place that I can commit a little more time to coaching I can coach a JV girls team. I think I’d enjoy it.

I’ve heard that girls really benefit from having a coach that has a relational approach-someone who builds and maintains relationships with his players well. Being a male, I’m always hyper aware of boundaries. These days, it’s not enough to just be appropriate, you really have to go above and beyond anything that would draw attention or make someone feel uncomfortable. As an example, coaching boys, if I’m correcting a striking technique, I wouldn’t think twice about putting a hand on a hip or a leg to show proper movement, of course this only be in a group context and nothing would be Inappropriate. But I’d never dream of doing that with a girl, especially once they’re over a certain age.

There’s an unlimited number of examples I could bring up.

Do you have any rules of thumb for coaching girls, specifically regarding keeping appropriate boundaries?”

Thanks for your question Coach!

I only coach girls now so I know what you’re talking about. The best part about coaching girls is that you do develop relationships that are much different than with boys. I’m still in touch with many of the girls that I’ve coached over the years but almost none of the boys. Years after I stop coaching a girl she’ll go out of her way to say hi when she sees me at the fields.

I’m also sensitive about boundaries and how they’ve changed over the years. I never thought twice about a player giving me a hug 10 years ago but I only do side hugs and high fives now. Now you add Covid concerns on top of that and I’m just cutting out all physical contact with players regardless of gender.

You also need to be careful about communication with players. I used to have them text me if they weren’t going to be at a practice or a game. Sometimes they would text me about something that happened with their high school team. I’ve stopped having any one to one contact with players. I do everything through GroupMe so that everyone on the team is in on every conversation. That protects me as much as it does the players.

These things all seemed over the top and unnecessary to me a few years ago but in today’s climate you have to be more careful than ever.

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In this Episode

A soccer match is a competition between two teams. Each one is trying to impose their will and way of playing the game on the other team. We play to our strengths and they play to theirs. This week I’ll share how I evaluate an opponent and what goes into my decisions about what to change, if anything, about the way we approach the game.

Future Episodes

This winter I wasn’t able to reserve our usual gym because they aren’t renting to outside groups. So we’ve ended up using a very small elementary school gym. It’s not ideal, especially for U16 girls. Next week I’ll share some of the activities that I’m using to maximize the space we have and still run effective sessions.

This weekend is State Cup for my 2005’s. This is the one tournament all year that I focus on winning. If we’re successful we have the opportunity to go to regionals and that will put the team in front of college coaches. All of that makes it important for the team to do as well as possible.

The substitution rules for older teams in State Cup prevents players from reentering the game once they’ve been subbed in that half. This is a huge change from the way I usually rotate my players. They’re used to coming off every eight to 15 minutes and then going back in again.

I spoke to the team about this before our last game. It was important for them to know that this was coming and that some of them were going to get more playing time in State Cup than others. We talked about last weekends game being a chance for them to show how effective they were on the field and make their case for more playing time. This definitely raised the level of effort and focus in the team and the result showed that.  I’ll let you know how State Cup goes next week.

I’ve addressed today’s question before but it’s been a while and I’ve received it a few times lately so I thought I should talk about it again. The question comes from Matt. He’s asking how to know when it’s time to hand a team off to another coach.

Matt says,

“When do you think it’s time to hand a team over from a coaching perspective?  I am keen to stick around for another year however part of me is thinking the girls eventually would benefit from another voice…..another teacher.  I mean this happens in school right?  You don’t stay with the same teacher from Grade 1 to 6?  I kind of think the same could be said for coaching as well.  At the same time it’s such a rewarding experience seeing the kids develop and grow as players and it’s been a privilege to be a part of it, part of me thinks, “Just one more year.”

Thanks for your question Matt!

When to pass a team on to another coach is a tough question. That’s especially true when it’s a team your daughter is on. Generally, I think that a coach should pass a team on after three or four years at the most. As you said, it’s good for them to hear another voice and perspective. But it’s different when your daughter is one of your players.

I coached my daughter (now 24) from the time she was 4 through 18 except for two years (13 and 14). I wanted her to have a different coach before she went to high school so that she’d be used to the idea before that important period in her life.

Every year I asked her at the end of the season if she wanted to keep playing and if she wanted me to keep coaching the team. She could say no at any time. She knew that because at 6 she said she didn’t want to play anymore. I said fine, but I’m the coach so I still need to go. It took her about six weeks to decide that she wanted to play again. After that she always told me that she wanted to play and she wanted me to coach. Those years are packed with great memories. I’m glad it worked out the way it did for us.

Everyone’s situation is different; what worked for us may not be best for you.  You’ll have to talk with her and do what you think is right.

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After each session, speed up recovery with tips designed by top Premier League coaches. Plus review heat map and trend data to see progression across the core metrics.

If you’re a player, coach, or parent looking for a tool to help take your soccer to the next level, then PLAYR by Catapult is for you.

Head to catapultsports.com/csw to learn more. One more time that’s catapultsports.com/csw.

In this Episode

Today I want to talk about one of the most important things I do as a coach – Player Evaluations. Giving each parent feedback on the progress of their child is vital for a number of reasons. I’ll share why I feel evaluations are so important as well as what should be included in every player evaluation.

Future Episodes

Next week I’m going to share how I analyze an opponent and how that information influences what I do with my team. This was a topic suggested by one of our Patreon Coaching Staff Members Thanks Tim!

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 that they would try to take advantage of. When they did get possession the ball was kicked forward and chased down. If we won it then they hoped to pressure us into coughing it up on our half so they could shot.

I know that I am a ‘coaching snob’; I think that kids should be taught to play the game positively with creativity and flair. I accept that not everyone feels that way. At the highest level you need to play games to get results at times but NOT AT U11! It drives me crazy to play against teams like these. Beat my teams with good soccer and I’ll tell you, ‘Good Game!’ and try to learn from the experience but play for a result at U11 and you will not have my respect. I’m sure the coach didn’t care if he had my respect or not. I can only hope that the parents (at least some of them) on the other team recognized the difference in approach and get their daughter in a program that focuses on player development and not game results.

Tune into this episode to hear my takeaways from Saturday and Sunday.

Today’s question comes from Rick. He’s asking about how I choose which player will take a PK

Rick says,

“My questions is around the selection of who takes a PK. My approach to PK’s is that this is a set piece situation, and I like to address all duties, roles, and responsibilities ahead of our games so that players can take this into account in their pre game preparation.

I usually say that whoever is in the striker position at the time that the PK is awarded is to take the kick, although I’m thinking of rotating this duty.

I recently had a parent (who is also an assistant coach), suggest that the player to take it should be the player that drew the foul as a reward for their hard work.  The top clubs never do this but maybe this is a better approach for this age group? I’d appreciate your thoughts?”

Thanks for your question Rick!

That’s a great question. So many coaches do it differently. I’ll often have the player who was fouled take it. This is especially true if they had a clear chance to score and that was taken away. An exception to that would be if the player was hurt or at all shaken up by the foul. I don’t want someone that is overly emotional not feeling 100% taking on that pressure. If a player is fouled I may ask them if they want it. Sometimes they do and other times they hand it off to a teammate.

As the teams get older or the situation is more critical (tournament final) I’ll pick the player that I feel has the best chance to score. We do penalty kick games in practice but I also take into account the mentality of the player.

Sometimes I’ll just tell the players on the field to decide. Depending on the age and maturity level of the team this can work well. The more decisions we let the players make the better.

I’ve never rotated the responsibility around an entire team but I can see how that would be a good idea at the younger ages. It would give all of the players a chance to have that experience.

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In this Episode

As coaches I’m sure that we all spend a great deal of time planning how we will address technical and tactical aspects of the game but how much time do we spend thinking how we are encouraging our players to be confident and creative? This week I’ll share how you can use four concepts to have an instant positive impact on the mentality of your players.

Future Episodes

I’m working on a few ideas for next week’s podcast. I’m not sure which one I’m going to finish up for next week so you’ll have to tune in to find out.

I think I’ve been every bit as busy as I would be if we were training. All the extra work to put things together for the club, the age groups I direct and my own teams has been a real challenge.

The recreational league was due to start on the 21st as well. There have been lots of questions that start with, “What if…”. Those are questions we just don’t have the answer to right now. We should still be able to get it all in as long as we can get started by May 1st. If we can’t start May 1 then that’ll be another problem that there’s no use in worrying about until it happens. Who knows what’ll happen in the coming weeks but for now we can only plan to be ready. The same goes for the competitive teams. We just need to prepare and hope for the best.

Today’s question comes from Greg. His question is about continuing coaching education.

Greg says,

”My question to you is what can coaches do with this break in the season? You mentioned things players can do but I was wondering what coaches can do?

I’m going to hopefully use this time to look into some online training resources. Do you know of a coaches network or online community? What are other countries.“

Thanks for your question Greg!

That’s a good point, we can be doing things to improve as coaches while we have this extra time. I’m catching up on reading that I want to do on different subjects surrounding coaching and child development. I’d suggestion taking the US Soccer Grassroots Online course if you haven’t already. No need to take them all (4v4, 7v7, 9v9 and 11v11) just take the 11v11 since you’re working with older players. There’s some good info there that I think coaches will find useful.

I’ve been looking into the WOLI coaching methodology and working that into my plans when we return to the field. I’ll have more about that in a future episode.

I watched Soccer in the City the other night on Amazon Prime. It’s an interesting look at how some organizations are helping to bring soccer experiences to kids in the inner city. I interviewed the director last night and I think everyone will find it interesting.

This week’s episode is brought to you by Veo soccer cameras.

Veo is a portable and affordable soccer camera that helps soccer teams record and analyze games and training sessions without the need of a cameraman.

All you have to do is set up the camera, press record on your smartphone, and start recording. After the final whistle, your game gets uploaded to the cloud where Veo’s AI software automatically creates a fully viewable recording of your game with highlights.

Use it to analyze your matches or share your best moments with friends and family. Cool features include AI detected goals, player tagging and draw-on-screen. 

In this Episode

We’re obviously in a very difficult time for players, coaches, teams and clubs. We are all trying to find ways to keep our players moving forward despite the fact that we can’t coach them in person.

Over the next three weeks I’m going to bring you interviews with people who have developed tools that you can use to help your players continue to train at home and improve tactically, technically and physically.

You might wonder how you can learn to make tactical decisions at home. This week’s interview will give you one way to do just that.

Future Episodes

Next week I’ll be talking to Yael Averbuch of Techne Futbol about ways that your players can keep improving technically not just now but all year round.

Just as we were about to get back into a great rhythm of training and playing this spring we run into spring break and the COVID-19 outbreak. With the major sports leagues all postponing their season it was only a matter of time before it impacted youth sports. As I finished training tonight I heard that our league has canceled all games for the next two weeks. Shortly after that our club made the decision to completely shutdown for the next two weeks as well.

My teams weren’t playing much over the next two weeks anyway with many of the families being away for spring break so we’re not going to miss as much as some teams.

I just hope that taking these steps will help stabilize the situation and get us back to normal more sooner than later.

Today’s question comes from Rick. He’s asking how to find a mentor?

Rick says,

”I’ve been coaching youth players for a couple years. I’ve done all the grassroots courses and few other courses such as performance analysis through United Soccer. I’m a teacher and would love to coach at the high school level.

My question is, what’s the best way to secure a mentor coach? Preferably, someone who is a more skilled coach than me. Someone I can meet with to pick their brain and help guide me as I try to move into the high school coaching ranks. Any advice you could provide would be great. “

Thanks for your question Rick!

I suggest that you find a coach that’s doing what you want to do and coaches in a way that you would like to emulate. Make sure that you respect them as a person as well as a coach. Then observe them and talk with them as much as possible. Ask them if you can pick their brain on coaching in general or something specific you’re curious about.

If they’re willing to help you then you’ve found your mentor. If they aren’t then they’re probably not someone you’d want to emulate anyway and look for someone else that is more willing to give back.

This week’s episode is brought to you by Veo soccer cameras.

Veo is a portable and affordable soccer camera that helps soccer teams record and analyze games and training sessions without the need of a cameraman.

All you have to do is set up the camera, press record on your smartphone, and start recording. After the final whistle, your game gets uploaded to the cloud where Veo’s AI software automatically creates a fully viewable recording of your game with highlights.

Use it to analyze your matches or share your best moments with friends and family. Cool features include AI detected goals, player tagging and draw-on-screen. 

In this Episode

Today I want to share with you the key concepts behind using guided questions. I talk about what guided questions are and why they are so powerful. I’ll also discuss what guided questions AREN’T as well as how to construct effective guided question that truly help the players to form a deeper understanding of the WHY of what we do.

Future Episodes

Now that I don’t have any training for the next two weeks I’m going to put a lot of time into recording interviews and coming up with show topics. I don’t have one finalized for next week feel free to shoot me an email if there’s something you’d like to hear more about.

During the session I wondered if I might be spending too much time on defending. Would that time be better spent on improving the player’s attacking understanding and abilities? Then I realized that even though I hadn’t been coaching the attacking side of the ball the attackers were having to be more creative and thoughtful because they were facing better defending. The defending session was also an attacking session for the players half of the time. The difference was that now the defenders were better understanding their objectives and options.

Today’s question comes from Rick. He’s asking about tracking line-ups and taking notes.

Rick  says,

”In listening to episode #163 you mention that you use a journal to track line-ups, etc. This is a great way to track data and I want to start to incorporate this. Do you use any specific type of journal for this? If so, which is your favorite? “

Thanks for your question Rick!

I just use a 8.5 x 5 notebook that I’ve been given a the recent courses I’ve attended. I also have some from adidas that we were given as coach’s gifts at tournaments. They’re nothing special. Any notebook will do. I know they make soccer-specific notebooks but I’m sticking with plain jane for now.

In this Episode

This week I recorded another coaching conversation. The coach brings an international perspective that I thought would be interesting.

Here’s the link to the Australian GiG Model that I mentioned in this interview.

Future Episodes

Next week I’ll have a recap of the Futsal Nationals and a look back over the winter season as we prepare to go back outside for the spring.

All of my assignments are turned in so now I’m just waiting to see those green lights that indicate that the assignment was ‘satisfactory’. Then I can start to learn even more by present the In-Person Courses as well as the D License.

Fortunately, the course wrapped up on Saturday so I was able to watch the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl. It’s been a great thing for the city and we’ve enjoyed the national attention for the city.

Today’s question comes from Sean. He’s asking about using Play Practice Play with his U8 teams.

Sean says,

”I’ve recently gone through the in-person USSF Grassroots courses. Like many coaches, it’s taken me some time to warm up to this format but with help from your podcast and some excellent instructors at the courses, I’ve really come around to it and plan to implement it with my U10 and U12 teams this spring. I have some doubts remaining for U8 and younger kids, though.

My club plays 4v4 with no GKs at U6-U8, and teams are commonly only 5-6 players deep. Our coaches are volunteers who usually have little or no experience and it’s extremely common to have only 3 players show up to practices. Numbers can quickly challenge our ability to run a practice of any kind.

I’m developing a program to have our U6-U8 teams practice together as a solution to these (and other) challenges, but have concerns over the logistics and general mission to make it fun while the kids are learning the game.

On one hand, I know that playing the game is fun and play-practice-play probably offers the most bang for our buck with kids who only practice once a week. On the other hand, I feel like we’re building from zero and may need to mix it up to keep kids engaged.

Play-practice-play just feels very narrow for that age group and I worry about smaller/slower kids becoming discouraged with too much contested work. I want to include 1v1s, 2v1s, and the like but want to include other activities that are less game-like.

For example, the ‘Clean Your Room’ game you shared in episode 178 seems like a great fit.
Am I just clinging to the old way of doing things? I really like your ‘What to Work on With U8s’ episode. Would you change anything about that now?“

Thanks for your question Sean!

It’s definitely a challenge to change old methods even in the face of evidence that there are better ways to achieve our goals. I get it. I’ve gone through the same process but the more I learn the more I’m convinced that we need to train our players with game-like activities in entertaining environments that support individual growth.

I don’t think you’ll have any problem with engagement if you use PPP sessions with your younger teams. The challenge is how to create those sessions in a way that engages them.

I suggest that you look at the Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association website. They have Training Session Plans for every age group. I think you’ll be surprised by the variety of activities presented in those sessions. It may also inspire you to create your own.

Yes, I would definitely change many of my methods for training young players (and older ones too) if I knew then what I know now but that’s why it’s important for coaches to continue their development and seek out new experiences that will challenge us. In the end it’s about becoming a better coach in order to develop better players.

In this Episode

This week I recorded another coaching conversation. The coach brings an international perspective that I thought would be interesting.

Here’s a list of the episodes that relate to each of US Soccer’s 6 Tasks of the Coach:

• Coaching Games
  • 163 Game Day
  • 181 US Youth Soccer Rule Changes – Three Years Later
  • 192 Soccer Rule Changes for 2019-20
  • 207 What’s in your Coaching Tool Kit
• Coaching Training Sessions
  • 184 Three Ways to Structure Your Training Sessions
  • 178 What to Work on with U8
  • 179 What to Work on with U10
  • 180 What to Work on with U12
  • 198 Should we be Doing Isolated Technical Training
  • 206 Choosing the Best Size Field for Your Small-Sided Games
  • 210 Using the Play-Practice-Play Method in Practice
• Leading the Player
  • 168 The Importance of Player Evaluations
  • 173 The Benefits of Breaks
  • 190 Owing Your Own Development
  • 197 Are Youth Soccer Championships a Good Thing
  • 208 Ways to Encourage Your Players to Compete
  • 215 Increasing Injury Rates Among High School Athletes
• Leading the Team
  • 186 How to Avoid Becoming a Frustrated Coach
  • 195 Impacting Your Team’s Performance
  • 209 Experiencing Different Soccer Cultures
• Managing the Performance Environment
  • 177 The Coach Parent Relationship
  • 183 The Role of the Age Group Director
  • 193 Roles and Responsibilities of a Director of Coaching
  • 200 Too Many Coaches
  • 211 Should Coaches Train their Own Children
• Leadership
  • 162 It’s Not About You
  • 167 Fall Season Recap
  • 194 Post Season and Pre Season Preparation
  • 212 Attending Coaching Courses
  • 217 Looking Back Looking Forward – The Power of Reflection
  • 219 Developing as a Coach

Future Episodes

We’re coming up on the 5^th anniversary of the podcast. Most of you haven’t heard all of the episodes so I thought this would be a good time to highlight the most popular Interview, Training Sessions and Commentaries so that you can go back and listen to any that you may have missed.

I think that playing up in Futsal is even more difficult that playing up outdoor. This is due, in part, to the fact that the referees don’t call the game as tightly as Futsal should be called (IMHO). That makes it very difficult for them to play their usual game. They get drawn into a more physical game and that’s always going to be difficult when you’re playing bigger, stronger, faster players. Having said all of that, it was better for them to play up and see a real challenge because they needed that before Nationals. The teams we see in the Nationals will be more technical but they’ll also be very athletic.

What are your players doing outside of team sessions to improve their game? Every player could benefit from more time with the ball!

Techne Futbol helps establish a culture of self-training by acknowledging players who are putting in extra training time on their own.

With guidance and curriculum from Yael Averbuch, former US National Team and professional soccer player, players have access to all-new drills every week along with time trials, shooting sessions, goalkeeping sessions, and group-specific leaderboards where they can compete with their peers.

In the Manager Portal, coaches and managers can track player progress.

Ready to get your players access to the app? As soon as you start your subscription players can start getting those reps in! Head over to the Managers Page and follow the instructions to sign up. We’ll see you’ve signed up and reach out. We provide plenty of hands-on support in getting going so that you can have a successful launch! www.technefutbol.com/managers

Want to find out how we’ve helped hundreds of soccer organizations make self-training an important part of their culture? Curious how we can help your group? Send us a note at info@technefutbol.com. Be sure to mention the Coaching Soccer Weekly podcast!

Today’s question comes from Tim. He’s asking about preparing for ‘Big Games’.

Tim says,

” After the regular season we played in local rec tournament. This was a wonderful experience where we won 2 games and finished in second place. I was thrilled that the girls got a Medal. In the final the girls played a strong team very well and we lost 1-0. Looking back on my performance, I think that I did a good job on getting there girls loose and ready to play. We talked about how this was all for fun and that we already had a medal in our back pocket. Tactically though, I think maybe I got out coached.

My question is do you have any suggestions on how to approach a “big” game like a tournament final? I know that you have talked about tournaments before, but I felt like I was unsure of what to do in such a stressful spot. How do you handle coaching in a “big” game? Any suggestions?“

Thanks for your question Tim!

I don’t think there’s one way to approach, “The Big Game”. There have been times when I focused the team on it being, “Just another game.” Other times I’ve tried to get them really motivated and pumped up for it. So much depends on the team you have and the team you’re playing. Is it a team you play often or an opponent that you’re unfamiliar with?

It sounds like your approach was perfect for your team. You took the pressure off and just focused on enjoying the fact that they reached the final. The success or failure of your approach is not measured by the result but by the reaction of your players. If you felt that they played to the best of their abilities, then you were successful. If they felt good about their effort, then you likely got the most out of them.

In this Episode

This week I recorded another coaching conversation. The coach brings an international perspective that I thought would be interesting.

Future Episodes

Next week I’m finishing up the Grassroots Instructors License at the National Development Center here in Kansas so I won’t have a podcast episode coming out on Friday but I’ll be back the following week with a report on how the course finished up.

My teams were supposed to play their first games after the winter break last week. The goal of those game was to prepare for the US Youth Futsal Regional tournament this weekend. Unfortunately, all but one of my games were canceled because of a winter storm that moved in on Saturday morning. So we’ll play our first games since the winter break in a tournament this weekend. It’ll be interesting to see how the teams perform.

What are your players doing outside of team sessions to improve their game? Every player could benefit from more time with the ball!

Techne Futbol helps establish a culture of self-training by acknowledging players who are putting in extra training time on their own.

With guidance and curriculum from Yael Averbuch, former US National Team and professional soccer player, players have access to all-new drills every week along with time trials, shooting sessions, goalkeeping sessions, and group-specific leaderboards where they can compete with their peers.

In the Manager Portal, coaches and managers can track player progress.

Ready to get your players access to the app? As soon as you start your subscription players can start getting those reps in! Head over to the Managers Page and follow the instructions to sign up. We’ll see you’ve signed up and reach out. We provide plenty of hands-on support in getting going so that you can have a successful launch! www.technefutbol.com/managers

Want to find out how we’ve helped hundreds of soccer organizations make self-training an important part of their culture? Curious how we can help your group? Send us a note at info@technefutbol.com. Be sure to mention the Coaching Soccer Weekly podcast!

Today’s question comes from Jose. He’s asking about ball striking.

Jose says,

” I coach at a local club in MD predominantly in the U9-12 age bands. Our club emphasizes technique more than anything else from 8 to 12, but I’ve noticed a huge issue with all of our kids: Ball striking. It’s atrocious and it seems to be getting worse on a year to year basis. We don’t have very good facilities (fields and goals ), but that can’t be the only reason for such poor ball striking.

Our opponents are almost always better ball strikers in terms of power and accuracy, and every team has a couple of excellent ball strikers. I just watched some of the better teams in Region I play in a tournament, and all the kids on those teams were good ball strikers.

Although I’m a student of the game, I have not found a “holy grail” for teaching these groups ball striking. We currently have about 40 kids in the U10 age band and we train together as one big group. This is the worst group of ball strikers I’ve seen in 10 years.

Hope you or your listeners have some ideas I could use to help our kids! “

Thanks for your question Jose!

I was just speaking to our DA Director about this the other day. He also feels that ball striking is a major issue in our club. The issue, in my opinion, is getting players to train on their own. If they’re not training on their own then they’re really not interested in getting better and nothing we do in two practices per week is going to change that.

That’s sounds pretty doom-and-gloom doesn’t it?

Once the players understand the basic principles involved in striking a ball the rest is repetition. I use the session I described in episode #23 A Progressive Shooting Session to teach the basic principles. The players that get the most out of that are the ones that take that information and use it in their practice at home.

The goal for me is to find a way to nurture a culture of individual practice. That’s the solution in my opinion. The question then becomes – How? Unfortunately, I’m not at all close to a solution there. The plan is to research the topic and see how we can do it. I’ll be happy to share it when we do but there’s no telling how long that will be.

In this Episode

Last week I described why I think reflection is so powerful. This week my focus is how to take that information and use it to create a personal development plan.

Future Episodes

I’m working on setting up a coaching conversation for next week that I think will be very interesting. He brings a perspective that I think we could all benefit from hearing.

The teams are all progressing nicely. I have a slightly different focus with each team. With the younger teams we’re talking a lot about using the skills that are more common in Futsal. That means a lot of work with the sole of the foot. The older teams are doing the same skills but we’re spending more of our time focused on passing and moving to create openings and passing options.

They’ve gotten up to speed quickly and I’m very happy with the quality of their play at this point in the season.

What are your players doing outside of team sessions to improve their game? Every player could benefit from more time with the ball!

Techne Futbol helps establish a culture of self-training by acknowledging players who are putting in extra training time on their own.

With guidance and curriculum from Yael Averbuch, former US National Team and professional soccer player, players have access to all-new drills every week along with time trials, shooting sessions, goalkeeping sessions, and group-specific leaderboards where they can compete with their peers.

In the Manager Portal, coaches and managers can track player progress.

Ready to get your players access to the app? As soon as you start your subscription players can start getting those reps in! Head over to the Managers Page and follow the instructions to sign up. We’ll see you’ve signed up and reach out. We provide plenty of hands-on support in getting going so that you can have a successful launch! www.technefutbol.com/managers

Want to find out how we’ve helped hundreds of soccer organizations make self-training an important part of their culture? Curious how we can help your group? Send us a note at info@technefutbol.com. Be sure to mention the Coaching Soccer Weekly podcast!

Today’s question comes from Dimi. He’s asking about how to motivate a team during challenging games

Dimi says,

”I coach a u12 girls team. It’s early in the season, but it looks like it’s going to be a long one. We’ve been on the receiving end of some heavy defeats and might go the entire season without a point. I praise the players throughout the game and try to point out positives even in bad situations, but the players still look deflated.

When we concede, the only thing I can think to say is “Come on *insert team name* let’s keep at it/keep going/straight back on it” etc, but a lot of their heads go down as they lose confidence. Have you any suggestions on what else to say in this moment? When we’re conceding a lot I don’t want to sound like a broken record.

After our games, the players are extremely disappointed. I keep praising their effort but it has no affect on their mood. Despite me being positive, they’ll know that we aren’t able to compete which must be disheartening. Have you any advice on how to pick them back up after regular set backs?“

Thanks for your question Dimi!

That is a tough situation and I’ve been there. I would suggest setting up some process related goals that are object like: tackles won, passes completed, most passes in a row, shots, etc to move the focus of of the result of the game.

Sometimes I say nothing after we concede a goal. We take the kickoff and I just go back to coaching as I had before. Other times I’ll give suggestions for what to do next time. You have to be careful with that one because you don’t need to call out a player that already realizes that they made a mistake.

It sounds like you’re staying positive and doing the right things.

In this Episode

This week I’m talking to a health care professional about injuries, specifically orthopedic injuries, and how they can be prevented. His hospital has developed a protocol that has shown remarkable effectiveness in reducing the incident of one of the most common soccer injuries.

Here’s a link to the Hospital for Special Surgeries courses – sports-safety.hss.edu

To inquire about a workshop for your coaching staff or team please send a message to sportssafety@hss.edu

Future Episodes

It’s been a while since I talked about the training I’m doing with my teams so next week I’ll go over everything to do with Futsal training: practices, the way I divide my teams, what game days look like and how I structure player positions and rotations. If there’s something else specific you’d like to know about my approach to Futsal just shoot me an email and I’ll add it to my list.

For the first two weeks of indoor practice we focused on finding the openings or creating the openings when attacking. This week we switched and worked on defending so it was all about closing the openings and being compact when we don’t have the ball.

This weekend I have seven futsal games on Saturday and five on Sunday! Back to reality for a coach of multiple teams during the indoor season. It’ll be fun to see how much the last three weeks of practice has prepared the girls for these first games.

Today’s question comes from Bo. He’s asking about the increase focus on ‘Fun’ in soccer training

Bo  says,

”I am new to coaching soccer, I didn’t play it in school and I didn’t know much more than the basics until my son started playing a couple years ago. I really got into it and began absorbing anything I could about the sport and particularly coaching.

One thing I found in many of the sources I came across, when it came to training the key point everyone says is to make it “fun”. I played several different sports in school and rarely were our practices “fun”. Even now, I often I catch parts of other sports training sessions and they don’t look “fun” and I dare say they are fairly intense.

I understand at U10 and younger the idea may be to keep practices fun to keep the kids enjoying the game and less likely to quit as they get older, but do you feel at the older age groups coaches should still focus on “fun” practice drills?“

Thanks for your question Bo!

I had the same experience growing up. I wouldn’t have called any of my practices ‘Fun’. There has been a shift in emphasis as more and more kids are giving up on sports as they get close to high school. I recently read that 80% of kids playing soccer will quit by the time they’re 13. That’s not only an issue with soccer but sports in general.

The decline in sports participation along with research into improving performance have been the drivers of the ‘Fun’ revolution. Not only will kids play sports longer if they’re enjoyable; they’ll also get closer to developing to their full potential if the environment is enjoyable. That doesn’t mean that it’s not challenging or difficult. The need for a fun environment is not limited to young players. Even professional players need to have a fun environment in order to play at their best.

In my opinion, any sporting or educational environment needs to be fun no matter the age of the participants.

I’d encourage you to look at videos or articles from Amanda Visek on the work she’s done on Fun Maps. Her studies were done around youth soccer so it’s very relevant.

In this Episode

This week I’m talking with Tom Lelyo, a fellow youth soccer coach. We discuss the different ways that he uses technology in every area of the work he does with his teams. We talk about tools to use for practices, games, player evaluations, parent engagement and and more.

Future Episodes

I won’t have a podcast next week because I’ll be off for the Thanksgiving holiday.

LinkedIn

If you’d like to connect with me on LinkedIn just Click Here.

We had our first two weeks of futsal training sessions in the last two weeks. Moving indoors changes our focus a bit because we don’t have the space to run the Play – Practice – Play sessions that we’ve been doing all fall. There are also different skills involved in the game that I need to get the players up to speed on so we’ve been combining a couple of different activities together so that we can get off to a good start to the futsal season.

One of my teams is also training outdoors each week whenever the weather is warm enough. Listen to the episode to hear what those sessions look like.

Today’s question comes from Greg. He’s asking about preparing for the transition to 11v11.
Greg says,

”I’m currently helping out with my daughters 08’ U12 travel team. I come from a hockey coaching background so I’m still learning the soccer culture etc..

A big topic of discussion these days is how to prepare for the transition to 11v11 during the Spring season. My coaching instincts say to focus on 9v9 Spring and prepare for the transition after the season. Specifically, are there benefits to playing in 11 v 11 tournaments or begin using size 5 ball during the Spring?

I’ve heard many different ideas from many different coaches so I was interested to hear what you had to say.
Thank you appreciate any time you have on this.“

Thanks for your question Greg!

This is always an interesting topic. I think we are usually in too much of a hurry to move on to the next step rather than focusing on where we are. That goes for me too!

I moved my 2008’s up to play U13 this fall for several different reasons. We’re going to play U13 again next spring but we’ll play 9v9 tournaments because our Jr. State Cup is played as a 9v9 event.

I’ve talked about this topic on the podcast in the past (#99 Playing Up). There are so many factors involved in deciding if it’s the right thing for your team. Have a listen to that episode and let me know if you have any questions after that.

In this Episode

Attending coaching courses is the best way to stay up to date with the current trends and best practices for coaching youth soccer. Today I’ll share my coaching education journey, what you can expect if you attend a course and tell you why I think now may be the best time ever to start attending courses if you haven’t done so in the past.

Future Episodes

I’ve got an interview lined up with a coach for next week to talk about how he uses technology to compliment his coaching. This is a topic I’ve wanted to cover for a while so I’m looking forward to bringing that conversation to you next week.

My game on Sunday was at 8 am but first I decided to get up early and watch the Rugby World Cup Semi-Final between Wales and South Africa. That started at 4 am my time. I love watching the knockout rounds of just about any sport. The intensity and drama are something that you don’t get anywhere else in life. South Africa came out on top (a pity for my Welsh friends) and then it was time to get ready for my last league game.

It was a really cold morning so the focus was on getting the players warmed up and ready from the start. The girls played great and finished off the season on a very good note.

With the rest of the day in front of me settled in to watch the Liverpool – Tottenham game. As  Tottenham fan I didn’t have high expectations for the game. An very early goal (45 seconds!) made the game more interesting but you could see the momentum shifting going into halftime.

I got a text from my sister that her twin boys were playing in a tournament final at 1 pm so I decided to go to the game since I don’t often get to sit on the parent’s side for a game. Once the game started I remembered why I don’t sit on the parent’s side. I describe the whole experience on the podcast so you’ll have to listen for the details.

The State Cup Finals for high school age girls was on Monday. I decided to go to watch two of our teams that were in the final at the same time. The interesting details are in this episode.

Today’s question comes from Lisa. She’s asking about parents coaching from the sidelines.

Lisa says,

”My 2008 girls team has been playing together for a year now and they are really starting to come together. I want to brag a bit on them and their hard work. The team spent the Spring season winning only one game. They had a great late Spring tournament in regards to playing but still lost. This Fall they have come out playing so much better mentally, technically and tactically.

This past weekend they competed in a tournament that we did last year in which we lost every games by a goal difference of 4 or more goals. This year were they won every game and competed in the Championship game losing 2-1 in the last 30 seconds of the game.

Even though the girls are doing better, the parents….not so much. I received complaints of parents coaching from the sidelines and the girls are asking to not be on the parent side of the field. I had complaints of parents making derogatory comments about other players. I recently had a parent coaching their daughter from the sidelines as an attacker was coming down the field which made my player pay attention to the parent vs the game which allowed the attacker to score. I really need to have a conversation with them but not sure how strong to come across. Another coach recommend that I give the parents a list of things they can’t say (shoot, pass, move, kick it), and make all parents sit together on the sideline to monitor each other. I want to make the point that this behavior is not acceptable or helpful but I don’t want to come across as my way or the highway as other coaches suggested. How would you handle the situation, how forceful would you address it? “

Thanks for your question Lisa!

You should be very proud of the progress the team has made.

How you respond depends somewhat on the expectations you set for the parents before the season. Addressing this issue in the preseason meeting is your first chance to set the tone. If you had that conversation you can address the issue in an email and then call a parent’s only meeting if nothing changes. If you didn’t set the table for this before the season then I would suggest a meeting where you can talk about your expectations going forward.

The guidelines you set are up to you but I suggest that you ask that they support the team by cheering for the players but not trying to direct them. The should praise things that already happened and not tell them what they should do next.

Let them know that when they coach from the sideline it has a negative impact on the players individually and the team as a whole. Going forward you’re going to hold them accountable for staying in their role as a parent and allow you to be the coach.

You may have to have individual conversations as things happen but hopefully the team meeting will get you off to the right start.

THE PARTNER THAT MAKES YOU A BETTER COACH

SenseBall is the training soccer ball developed by CogiTraining, the revolutionary soccer training method implemented in soccer clubs and Federations around the world.

SenseBall is specifically aimed at young players between 6 and 20 years of age. Practiced individually or in groups, SenseBall improves a players touch and feel for the ball while helping them to become two-footed.

As a coach, encouraging your players to practice with the SenseBall in training or at home will bring them many benefits.

• TRAIN LIKE A PRO. SenseBall is used by the youth teams of AC Milan, Sporting Kansas City, RSC Anderlecht, KRC Genk, FC Nantes, the Belgian Football Federation and many others.
• ACQUIRE THE ESSENTIAL SKILLS OF MODERN SOCCER. Learn to control, guide and kick the ball perfectly thanks to repetition.
• BECOME A TWO-FOOTED PLAYER. SenseBall is designed on the principle of bilateral activity. Thanks to the practice of SenseBall, they make an average of 500,000 touches of the ball in one season and use their left foot as many times as their right foot.
• AVOID INJURIES. Improve their concentration, perception, coordination and synchronization.

There are special discounted prices for orders of 10 or more! Shipping is FREE.

Get SenseBall now by going to senseball.com and become a better soccer coach!

In this Episode

Not so long ago just about every coach was a mom or a dad of a player on the team. Now, most coaches of competitive teams are paid, professional coaches. That shift has happened to a far greater degree in soccer than in any other sport I’m familiar with.

Today I want to talk about the positives and negatives of coaching your own kids and how you can decide if it’s the best thing for you, your child and the team.

Future Episodes

I won’t have a podcast next week because I’m starting the US Soccer Grassroots Instructor Course on Thursday. I’ll be back the following week with a report on how it went along with details on the start of the indoor season here in the Midwest.

This weekend I just have one game. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with myself although I’m sure my ‘Honey, do….’ list will fill my extra time.

The following weekend I have two teams playing their last tournament of the fall. That will be fun because one team is playing up that doesn’t usually and the other team usually plays up but isn’t for this tournament.

That will wrap up my fall schedule and then it’s time for FUTSAL!

Today’s question comes from Mike. He’s asking about teams building out of the back.
Mike says,

”My question for you deals with your experience in seeing other teams in your area build out of the back. I know this is something you try to do with your teams, but do you see many other teams in your area doing the same?
I recently moved to a major metropolitan area known for its soccer and have been shocked at how little I see building out of the back at the youth level (my experience here has mostly been with competitive U12-15 teams on the girls side). Game after game, team after team, most keepers simply punt the ball as far as they can whenever they get their hands on it.

So, is my experience here unique, or are you seeing this in your area as well? I was really hoping that most youth teams in the U.S. had evolved past this detrimental practice.

Thanks for sharing your perspective on this.“

Thanks for your question Mike!

I’m glad you enjoy the podcast and find it interesting.

Some teams do build from the back while others continue to just punt it up the field. There are a lot more teams trying to build that there were a couple of years ago so I consider that a good sign. I also see more young teams trying to keep the ball. As those players will have grown playing possession from the back my hope is that it will become the norm.

The older the team, the more likely they are to simply punt it up the field (in general).

In this Episode

Back in episode #144 I discussed starting practice with a small-sided game. At the time, this was my understanding of Play – Practice – Play. Since then I’ve learned much more about it having taken several of the online Grassroots courses. I’ve also been using the methodology with my own teams. Today I’ll review how my understanding of PPP has evolved as well as the strengths and limitations of the method.

Future Episodes

I don’t have a plan for next week. I have a couple of ideas. Let me know if somethings on your mind and I’ll add it to my list.

I don’t usually use guest players for my teams unless we’re very short on players. This weekend one of my teams really need a couple of guests because of illnesses but none were available to we had to play a little shorthanded. I talk about this issue in the episode.

I’ve been thinking about the benefits of losing in the last couple of weeks. My teams have taken some difficult losses and I actually see them as long term positive experiences. I share more in the episode.

Today’s question comes from Ivan. He’s asking about the role of the warm-up in Play Practice Play.

Ivan says,

”I’ve recently implemented the Play-Practice-Play model in my training session, but I have a question. I usually do a two phase warm up and then enter the play-practice-play segment, but many of the resources I found online, including US Soccer, state that you should literally start training with small sided games as they players arrive at practice.

So if only four players are there, play 2v2 while the others arrive. My question is, where do we fit in the warm up and how do you have players start playing a game without a warm up without risking injury. Where does the warm up reside in this model?

It’s hard to find any information online, so if you can please shed some light on what you do, that would be greatly appreciated.“

Thanks for your question Ivan!

The focus of the PPP model is on young players. The thought is that the best way for them to warm-up is to move and play. They don’t need a specific warm-up phase to prepare to play or for injury prevention.

The Warm-up, Orientation, Learning, Implementation model or WOLI is geared toward older players. There is a dedicated warm-up phase in that methodology. I haven’t used that method so I wouldn’t have much to offer beyond that.

If you feel that it’s important to add a warm-up then I suggest that you add it once all of your players have arrived. So they would start to play when they arrive and then warm-up when everyone gets there before moving into the rest of the session.

In this Episode

This week I’m talking with Gareth Hughes of Challenge Sports about overseas tours.

Future Episodes

Next week I’ll have an update on my experience with Play-Practice-Play this fall; what’s going well, what needs improvement and what I’ve learned.

There’s a Grassroots Instructors Course that’s being conducted and I just found out that I’ve been given a spot. The pre-course webinar was today and I’ve had a look at the curriculum, assignments and course material. It’s going to be a challenging course but I’m convinced that it’ll be a great learning opportunity that will allow me to introduce the US Soccer Grassroots In-Person courses to the coaches in our club and around the area. You’re sure to hear about the course and my experience a lot in the coming months.

Today’s question comes from Matt. He’s asking about the attention and focus of his team.

Matt says,

”My team has difficulty paying attention. I think this is for many reasons: 1) them as kids 2) me asking them over the years for input so they believe they can add in questions/comments at any time, 3) me and my scattered feedback (though I think the activities are really organized) and 4) the play practice play approach. I think 4 and maybe even 1 are copouts and I am doing something else wrong.

I specifically struggle with drills/games/activities that are complex. We are a rec team and despite being together for years they have a lot of other priorities in life and soccer is only one of them. In fact, I have gotten the feedback, “we don’t like to think. I just want to play.” Any advice for a team that may not be the team you optimally talk about? “

Thanks for your question Matt!

If it makes you feel better, my teams have difficulty paying attention at times. If not the whole team, at least certain players. They’re not always the same players.

You didn’t mention the age of the team but you did say that you’ve been coaching them for a number of years. The amount and quality of their attention will be a function of their age and level of play. A recreational team is not going to be (in general) as attentive as a competitive team. Their motivations are different so their level of attention will be different

How do you think the Play Practice Play (PPP) methodology is impacting their ability to pay attention? Do you use PPP at every session?

After your next session reflect on what went well, what could have gone better (specifically, the times that the players were not paying attention) and whether or not you were able to achieve your objectives for the session. You might consider having another coach watch your session and give you feedback on what they see.

It sounds like you’re doing the right things. If you’ve been coaching the girls since U8 or U9 it may be time for them to have another coach. I think a coach can be most effective with a group for two or three years. It’s the same as trying to teach the same group of kids from kindergarten through 3rd or 4th grade. You’d never want a teacher to do that and I think it’s the same for coaching.

THE PARTNER THAT MAKES YOU A BETTER COACH

SenseBall is the training soccer ball developed by CogiTraining, the revolutionary soccer training method implemented in soccer clubs and Federations around the world.

SenseBall is specifically aimed at young players between 6 and 20 years of age. Practiced individually or in groups, SenseBall improves a players touch and feel for the ball while helping them to become two-footed.

As a coach, encouraging your players to practice with the SenseBall in training or at home will bring them many benefits.

• TRAIN LIKE A PRO. SenseBall is used by the youth teams of AC Milan, Sporting Kansas City, RSC Anderlecht, KRC Genk, FC Nantes, the Belgian Football Federation and many others.
• ACQUIRE THE ESSENTIAL SKILLS OF MODERN SOCCER. Learn to control, guide and kick the ball perfectly thanks to repetition.
• BECOME A TWO-FOOTED PLAYER. SenseBall is designed on the principle of bilateral activity. Thanks to the practice of SenseBall, they make an average of 500,000 touches of the ball in one season and use their left foot as many times as their right foot.
• AVOID INJURIES. Improve their concentration, perception, coordination and synchronization.

There are special discounted prices for orders of 10 or more! Shipping is FREE.

Get SenseBall now by going to senseball.com and become a better soccer coach!

In this Episode

A common question I hear from both coaches and parents is, “How do I get my daughter or my team to be more aggressive?” Nobody wants their kids out there punching the opponent or dragging them to the ground. What they’re really asking is, “How can I get my players or team to compete?”

Today I’ll discuss the strategies I’ve used the light a competitive fire under my players in order to help them find success in the game and develop to the maximum of their potential.

Future Episodes

I’ve got a couple of things that I’m working on for next week. One is an interview with a soccer tour operator and the other is an update on my experience with Play-Practice-Play this fall. I’ll have to see which one I finish first and that’s what I’ll share with you next week.

I’m continuing to experiment with not coaching during running play. I think it’s having a very positive impact on most of my teams. However, one of the teams hasn’t reacted as well to it as the others. I talk about the details more in this episode.

Today’s question comes from Jacob. He’s asking about improving player’s decision making ability.

Jacob says,

”Something I have been thinking about a lot recently with my team is how to develop them into good decision makers and teach them to process the game and make good decisions quickly.

I read somewhere (I can’t seem to find it now) that one of the biggest differences between professional players, say playing in the championship and the premier league, is not necessarily their level of skill but it is how quickly they are able to process the game and make the right decision.

A few ways I have been trying to get my team to work on this is through a game called ‘Dutch’. I’m sure you’ve heard of it but it’s played with 3 teams. Two teams keep the ball away from the other team. Each time the defenders win it the team that lost it is then defending. Aside from getting it started I pretty much let them figure it out from there. This requires them to be constantly scanning and communicating to keep up with what is going on.

Also in any scrimmage or small sided game we do I make them decide what formation they should be in and from there ask guided questions about their formation to force them to think about why they are doing it.

Is this something you try to work on with your teams? If so do you do it with specific drills?“

Thanks for your question Jacob!

I agree that decision making is a huge difference-maker. I try to incorporate some kind of decision into every activity. That’s why the Play – Practice – Play method is so powerful; everything is game related so there’s always a long of choices to be made. I’ve also used that three team possession game with my teams.

You’re doing many of the same things that I am do to encourage the players to think about WHY they’re doing what they’re doing. There’s not one activity that I do focused on decision making. I just try to weave it into everything in training. When you’re looking at any activity you’re doing just be sure that there’s an element of decision making built in.

In this Episode

I’m never quite sure if the dimensions I’ve chosen for an activity are best for the player. I’m often just guessing. Today I’ll look at a method for determining the size of the areas you use for all of your training activities and how to decide when to adjust them.

Future Episodes

Next week I’m going to take an in depth look at the US Soccer ‘Coaching Tool’ kit and how you can use it to improve the development environment for your players.

The team that was playing up had an up and down weekend. At times we played great, at other times we got sucked into the other teams game and lost our personality as a team. When you’re playing up it’s hard to stick to the way want to play and not fall into an attitude of just trying to compete.

It’s an early season tournament so I’m going to use this to focus the team on who we are and how we want to play.

Today’s question comes from Arni again. He sent me a bunch of good ones so I thought I’d share another. His question is about building out of the back.

Arni says,

”Obviously we all aspire to play beautiful skilful ball up the whole field and I know the path there is often times painful… but man, it’s been rough. In previous seasons we focused a lot on individual ball skills with activities involving 1 ball per player, Sharks and Minnows, Monsters and Aliens, Gladiators, etc. As a result I think our team has progressed well as far as ball skills go but tactically we are really lagging.

So, last season I changed it up a bit and put more of a focus on tactical work early. I guess the end results weren’t amazing and we probably didn’t progress as much on skill as we might have otherwise. We still struggled with advancing the ball against heavy pressure and honestly, maybe the smarter tactical play would be to kick it long sometimes. But, since we didn’t work on kicking it long (other than an occasional game of Clean the Yard) it’s not really a skillset we possess. Even if we did it’s really hard to get 8 and 9 year olds to evaluate when to kick it long and when to solve pressure with short passes.

I worry that if I introduce the long ball that will become a crutch. I’m thinking about working long passes into our training plan…

Would you consider that? How would you work on that? Or how would you approach this generally for a U10 team?“

Thanks for your question Arni!

I hear this type of question a lot, especially from younger teams. I say that you should stick to it and keep training the kids to keep the ball. There’s nothing wrong with finding a longer pass to an open team mate. I just don’t want them kicking it forward just to kick it forward. The long term benefit far outweighs the short term challenge.

Today’s question comes from Arni. He actually sent me a bunch of great questions but I picked one out to share today. He’s asking about what to prioritize with his team. They’re playing 7v7 so I’ll assume they are U10’s.

Arni says,

”In our league we can have one 1.5 hour practice or two 1 hour practices per week. I’ve opted for the two practices figuring that two hours is better than one and a half but a lot of my players miss at least one practice per week and it makes it hard to plan sessions and keep everybody progressing. This season I’m switching to the single 1.5 hour session. I would rather have the whole team and have time to progress through an activity a bit.

Kind of like the Australian “GIG” model. Another format I have experimented with is that since have 12 players on the team, I would split them into teams of 4, and have my co-coach run competitive team activities with 2 teams while I focus on skill work with the remaining team, then rotating every 10-15 minutes. Initially the boys were very motivated by the competitiveness of the practice but it fizzled out because we couldn’t maintain it when we were missing more than 3-4 boys. We have so many things to work on but the season is so short, only 8 games and only 1-2 weeks of practice before the games start. How would you manage this? What would you prioritize? “

Thanks for your question Arni!

I would suggest using the Play – Practice – Play or GiG practice format and alternate between attacking and defending topics so that the players are learning the key player actions on both sides of the ball. This is also an enjoyable way for them to learn. In a short season with only one training session per week I wouldn’t focus on any isolate technical exercises I would go all in on PPP.

In this Episode

The ban on heading for younger players has been in place for a few years now. Some people think that we’ve taken a key element out of the game while others think that the game is better without heading. Today I want to look back over that time and discuss where we go from here.

Here’s a list of articles that I looked at this week while preparing for the show.

Heading Ban in youth Soccer – Too Far or Not Far Enough

UEFA Research

UEFA Could Ban Heading in Youth Games

No Hands and No Heads – An argument to end heading in soccer at all levels

Soccer heading — not collisions — cognitively impairs players

Future Episodes

I won’t have a podcast for next week as I travel with one of my teams to Omaha, NE for a Labor Day weekend tournament. I’ll be back in two weeks with more interview, training sessions and commentary on the latest developments in youth soccer.

They’ve really made the move to 11 v 11 must smoother than I thought they would. It’s helped that half of our games have been against other U12 teams playing up so I’m sure it will get more challenging but it’s been a good start.

Today’s question comes from Arni. He actually sent me a bunch of great questions but I picked one out to share today. He’s asking about what to prioritize with his team. They’re playing 7v7 so I’ll assume they are U10’s.

Arni says,

”In our league we can have one 1.5 hour practice or two 1 hour practices per week. I’ve opted for the two practices figuring that two hours is better than one and a half but a lot of my players miss at least one practice per week and it makes it hard to plan sessions and keep everybody progressing. This season I’m switching to the single 1.5 hour session. I would rather have the whole team and have time to progress through an activity a bit.

Kind of like the Australian “GIG” model. Another format I have experimented with is that since have 12 players on the team, I would split them into teams of 4, and have my co-coach run competitive team activities with 2 teams while I focus on skill work with the remaining team, then rotating every 10-15 minutes. Initially the boys were very motivated by the competitiveness of the practice but it fizzled out because we couldn’t maintain it when we were missing more than 3-4 boys. We have so many things to work on but the season is so short, only 8 games and only 1-2 weeks of practice before the games start. How would you manage this? What would you prioritize? “

Thanks for your question Arni!

I would suggest using the Play – Practice – Play or GiG practice format and alternate between attacking and defending topics so that the players are learning the key player actions on both sides of the ball. This is also an enjoyable way for them to learn. In a short season with only one training session per week I wouldn’t focus on any isolate technical exercises I would go all in on PPP.

In this Episode

With my U12 team moving to 11 v 11 this year I’ve thought a lot about which formations would be best for helping them to learn the game. Today I’ll share the six formations that I think make the most sense for young teams making the transition from small-sided to full-sided games.

Here’s the link to the Play – Practice – Play Training Sessions I talked about in this episode.

Future Episodes

I’m just getting out of the crazy period for the recreational program so I’ll be able to start planning the next episodes but for this week it’s still going to be a game time decision. Tune in next week to hear what I decided.

In my opinion a good grass field is better than a turf field but it has to be a good grass field. The fields we played on this weekend were good in the past but aren’t what they used to be.

We’re just not used to playing on grass anymore. It slows everything down so much that it’s hard for the players to get their rhythm and time.

It’s good for them to play in new environments and different conditions but in the long term I feel that training and playing on turf is more beneficial to the player’s development.

Today’s question comes from Kevin. He’s asking about the timing of tryouts.

Kevin says,

“In this past week’s episode you were discussing tryouts coming up soon and it really struck a nerve with me because of what’s going on in my home state. Here in NJ there is no control over when clubs have their tryouts and each year it has gotten earlier and earlier. This year we held our first set of tryouts in the first week of APRIL!!

My U12 hadn’t yet played a game in the spring and my U15 team had played just 5 games together because they didn’t play in the fall due to high school soccer. I feel that it’s getting to the point where it’s negatively affecting youth soccer in general and the kids specifically.

We have tryouts in early April, make cuts/selections and then we have to navigate the entire spring season; 10 league games, 2 tournaments, state cup and regional cup events etc. with players on your roster that are either leaving your team for another (and are mentally checked out), or cut and are just not engaged at the level that they should be.

I am very fair and will not treat a player differently regardless of the decision they have made because I moved around once or twice in my youth career and I understand that it’s a reality. But the unfortunate thing that I am dealing with is how to motivate these players leaving to still care, and more importantly how to keep the rest of the group engaged along the way.

I have dealt with both aspects of this from cutting 6 players from my U14 team last year, to losing 3 talented ones from my U12 group this year so I, unfortunately, have had the pleasure of dealing with this far too often lately.

What I want to know from you is, does KC mandate when your tryout periods are to be or are you just more intelligent out there and conduct things the way they should be done? “

Thanks for the question as always Kevin!

That sounds like a very difficult situation. I can’t imagine cutting a kid and then having them on the team for the next two or three month. I don’t think that’s helpful to anyone.

The Kansas Youth Soccer Association doesn’t allow teams to have tryouts before the Saturday after State Cup has concluded. That means that we have tryouts before teams have had a chance to go to Regionals or Nationals but it’s a far better system that what you described in NJ IMHO.

In this Episode

This week I’ll share the second half of my conversation with Yael Averbuch. We talk about the motivation behind her development of the Techne Futbol skill development app and how players can use it to take charge of their development.

Future Episodes

There are a lot of changes to the Laws of the Game that take effect June 1. Next week I’ll look at each of those changes and how they will impact the game in general but specifically young players.

I’m always surprised at how fast the spring season goes. It’s no shorter than the fall but it just seems to move so quickly. It may be because we’re in the process of planning the tryouts and looking toward next fall already.

During this time of year I do a lot of multi-themed sessions and the Play – Practice – Play model. We’re not really looking to develop new skills and abilities. I want to pull everything that we’ve done during the year into the preparation for these last tournaments.

In a couple of weeks we’ll be right back into tryouts!

Today’s question comes from Sammy. He’s asking what players in his area do when a player gets injured during a game.

Sammy says,

“I live in Mobile, Alabama and this is a “thing” in the South. When a player is injured, the players usually will kneel in respect for the player that is hurt. Does that happen all over the country? Or is it just in the American South?

I get the sentiment, I just personally don’t like it. Mainly because if I’m a 13 year old boy, I’m probably embarrassed about the fact that I’m hurt and I want to imagine that no one is looking at me, even though I know everyone is looking at me, I certainly don’t want my team mates to punctuate my embarrassment by taking up an unusual posture as a result. Also, I worry about cramping when the players get up.

Heres the problem: as a coach, I look like a jerk if I tell my players not to kneel, when in fact it’s the respect for the players injury that makes me to give him any privacy we can provide.

I’d prefer to just have both teams trot to the sideline and get a sip of water and turn their backs to the situation and give the professionals their moment to intervene.

What are your thoughts? “

Thanks for the question as always Sammy!

I’ve always disliked it when players kneel when someone is injured. It seems to happen less here as the level of play increases. I’ve called my players over at times to, as you say, let the coach or trainer deal with the situation. I always do that if the injury is serious.

Reacting to this can be tricky. I know I’m not trying to be dismissive or disrespectful. I can’t control how someone reacts so I don’t worry too much about it.

The real problem comes in when everyone else is doing it and you are breaking the social norm to do something else.

In this Episode

Last week I had a great conversation with Yael Averbuch. We covered so much ground that I decided to divide our talk into two episodes. This week we talk about the story of her development into collegiate National Champion, Professional Player and frequent National Team Player. We also discuss high school vs DA Soccer, girls playing with boys and a number of other interesting topics.

Future Episodes

Next week I’ll bring you the second half my conversation with Yael where we talk about the resource that she’s created to give players of all ages the opportunity to control the one thing they can in the game – their ability with the ball.

We had worked hard on playing our way out of pressure in tight spaces during the week and did this very well in the games. That was the objective for the week and we accomplished it regardless of the score of the game.

The extra time gave me a chance to referee for the first time this spring. We have a real shortage of referees in our area (like every other area that I’m familiar with) so I try to pick up some games a few times during the season.

I’d like to see more coaches refereeing. If we all took a few games every other weekend or so I don’t think we’d have the issue we do now. Parents should should also consider becoming certified if they’d like to have a positive impact on their local leagues.

There are other things we could do to help relieve the pressure on our referee pool. I’d like to see only one referee on 7 v 7 games. Having said that, those games provide a chance to train young referees under relatively less pressure so that’s not really the answer either.

It’s a tough problem that we need to address if we’re going to continue to grow the game in this country.

Today’s question comes from Ryan. He’s asking about ways to incorporate shooting more into his sessions.
Ryan says,

“Our team had a match this weekend, and despite dominating possession and creating tons of chances…..our team lost 2-1 with the other team maximizing their 2 shots on goal.

I felt great about how the team played and am not worried about the result, but I realize that finishing is something we don’t spend nearly as much time on as possession activities.

They get shooting practice in the run of play scrimmage, but we probably could stand to use more focus there.

How do you incorporate finishing in your practices specifically – is it more through small sided games with goals and short fields, or more shooting specific activities?“

Thanks for the question Ryan!

Each week I run a session that is focused on technical training and one that focused on team training. The technical training session always includes finishing of some kind. Most of the time finishing is incorporated into an activity with other technical actions like a passing pattern that goes to goal. Other times it’s specifically focused on the technical aspects of ball striking like the progressive shooting session that I shared on the podcast.

I also try to include finishing into the team training so that whatever we’re working on finishes on goal.

Dominating a game and losing is a part of the game at every level. I’m glad that you were happy with performance. That will pay off in the long term.

In this Episode

I had planned to talk with Yael Averbuch this week but I ran into some technical issues and had to postpone. Yael is getting married this weekend so our interview will have to wait until after the first of May.

Last week’s listener question from Matt asked about how to identify issues with a training session. I pointed him back to episode #75 for ideas of what the problem might be. That made me realize how long it’s been since I discussed this very important topic. So today I’m going to share the main portion of that episode in hopes that it will help other coaches understand why their session just isn’t working.

Future Episodes

On Tuesday I was able to attend First Team Training for SPORTING KC during our Academy Affiliate Observation Day. They asked us to wait until after this week’s game to discuss any specifics about the session so next week I’ll talk about that experience and why you should look for an opportunity like this with your local club.

Our first game was on Friday night. This team practices on Thursdays so we had a great preparation and came out flying. The team played great and won comfortably.

We played two games on Saturday. The first one didn’t start well but improved as the game went along. In the second game we played a team that was very athletic and put us under all sorts of pressure that we found it difficult to solve. They knew we wanted to possess the ball and they made that very difficult.

The final game on Sunday was another comfortable win. Since there were five teams in the tournament we came second on points. More importantly, we had our ‘Achilles Heel’ exposed. We need to be better at playing out of tight spaces under pressure. We’ll work to improve in that area over the coming weeks.

Today’s question comes from Matt. He’s asking about what to do when a session isn’t working.

Matt says,

“I really have been looking for ways for them to keep their shape and move without the ball and stumbled upon your old podcast, episode 14. The first session went great with the foundation and the progressions with the defenders. My assistant coach and I were really pleased.

In our second session we reviewed and focused on breaking the lines and the small sided activities. It was a train wreck. I am not totally sure what I was doing wrong. I know they are not going to get it after two sessions but I thought it would be better. They were still standing and not really getting the r/l/split to be honest.

We do have one former club player so she is often my barometer. If she does not get it, I know I am in trouble. Any suggestions? Are my expectations two high for the second training session? Any help would be much appreciated.“

Thanks for the question Matt!

I’ve run into the same issue with the 2 v 2 to Targets game. I would suggest that you go back to the ‘Moving in Combination’ activity and add a defender in the middle who is only allowed to challenge for the ball inside the square. That will give the players a chance to work out the combinations with the pressure of a single defender first. Then try to go to the 2 v 2 to targets game.

If they still have trouble playing 2 v 2 then you could add a neutral player in the middle to create a 2 v 2 +3. That should create enough options to allow the players to have success.

When something isn’t working it’s usually because the players can’t see the pattern necessary to be successful, the space is not the right size (too small or too large) or they need have an extra player to create enough solutions to the pressure they’re facing.

Getting players to understand and use movement off of the ball is one of the more challenging topics to coach. Stay at it and you’ll see progress over time.

I talked about solving these issues in episode #75 When It’s Just Not Working.

In this Episode

When coaches talk about, “playing the right way”, they’re often referring whether a team is keeping possession or kicking it long. Today I’ll go through the different options a team has when coming out of the back and give my opinion if one option is better than another.

Future Episodes

Next week I’ll be talking to Yael Averbuch about her journey from a family with no soccer background to playing at UNC, with the Women’s National Team and a having successful professional soccer career. We’ll also discuss her passion for helping soccer players of all ages improve their technical ability.

Coming back to league games after a mostly successful tournament weekend can be unpredictable. Sometimes a team can just pick up where they left off in the tournament. Other times there is a bit of a let down. My three teams had three different reactions.

The youngest team played great and basically played as they had done in the tournament. The middle team had a flat start but improved in the second half. The oldest team never really got started and continued to play pretty uninspired until about the last five minutes.

The oldest group has another tournament this weekend so I’m hoping that playing four games this weekend will get them back on track.

Today’s question comes from Chad. He’s asking about training midfielders.
Chad says,

“Do you have any insight for teaching players the midfield position?

I’m coaching a U12 Girls team and during games I often hear my players tell me, “I don’t know how to play midfield.” I don’t run a complex formation. Usually a 3-2-3 or 3-3-2. I don’t assign attacking or defensive roles to midfielders.

As a former soccer player and avid soccer fan, I feel like midfield is fairly instinctive but I tell my players to maintain the space between the defense and the forwards. However – some players tend to play too defensive while others play more as a forward and don’t get back.

I wonder if I should just do a team scrimmage and focus solely on teaching the midfield or are there some drills that can explain the roles of the position better. “

Thanks for the question Chad!

The center midfield role comes naturally to some players and to others they feel like they’re swimming in an ocean and don’t know which way to go.

It would help if in the beginning if you did assign attacking and defending roles to limit the scope of the position.

I would suggest that you play rondo games with a central support player. 5 v 2 works great for this. Four players on the outside and one in the middle.

Then I would play attack vs defense and focus on the positioning and movement of the midfielders.

Hopefully this experience will give your players an understanding of what you’re looking for from the midfield.

In this Episode

Today I want to talk about the quickest way to take all of the fun out of the sport of soccer for your players and yourself. It’s a trap that I think we all fall into from time to time, I know I do. If you recognize the signs early you can stop the negative spiral and restore the enjoyment before it’s too late.

Future Episodes

I received more good show ideas this week. One of them will be next week’s topic: the benefits of training your team to play out from the back. Thanks Ryan!

This week we start our Technical Training Curriculum. I’ve talked about this in previous episodes so you can look back if you’d like to hear more about it.

Hopefully we’ll be able to have a regular schedule of practices and games between now and the end of the spring. The weather can be unpredictable here in the spring so we’ll just keep our fingers crossed.

Today’s question comes from Sammy a long time listener and contributor. He’s asking about post workout nutrition.
Sammy says,

“I know you’re a runner. I’m a novice at best, but I’m trying to begin to take my personal fitness a little more seriously.

I’ve been listening to a lot of running podcasts. I heard recently that the best recovery nutrition needs to start within 30 minutes of the activity and should be close to a 4 part carb/ 1 part protein ratio and that chocolate milk is that exact ratio, making it the perfect recovery drink after a run.

I know a coach locally that always urges players to drink chocolate milk after a game, especially in tournaments when they’ve played one game and there is another one in an hour or so.

So I’m asking the same question to Tom the runner and Tom the soccer coach, have you ever used chocolate milk as recovery drink for you or your players? What other wisdom do you have for post soccer/ running nutrition? “

Thanks for the question Sammy!

That is a really interesting topic to me. I could go on about this one for hours but I’ll give you the short version.

The timing of nutrition after exercise matters more if you’re going to be exercising again within 12 hours. So it would be important in a tournament environment. For a daily run/workout getting food onboard an hour or two post-exercise isn’t going to make a difference one way or the other.

it’s true that chocolate milk has the optimal balance of carbs and protein but so does a turkey sandwich and the sandwich is better for you.

The milk marketing machine is very good at making milk seem like the perfect food but what other animal drinks milk after infancy? More than that, which animal drinks the milk of another animal? The human body doesn’t process dairy well. If you don’t think milk affects you negatively, remove it from you diet for a month and then have a glass of milk or bowl of ice cream and see how you feel.

In this Episode

I talk about my role as a coach a lot on this podcast. I’ve also shared some of my experiences as a director of a recreational league. Today I want to discuss my other role in our club, that of an Age Group Director. I’ll talk about why I think the role is important and what goes into a year as an Age Group Director.

In Future Episodes

Next week I’ll let you know how the first full week of training for the spring season went.

That means that I didn’t get to share my thoughts on the US Youth Futsal Youth National Finals that I had two teams in. You can listen to the episode to hear what I had to say about that.

The weather continues to be THE story in our area. We were supposed to play an outdoor tournament last weekend but there was still snow and ice on the fields. This week was to be the start of the league season but that’s been canceled because of the cold.

It has to get warmer sometime but with snow in the forecast for this weekend there’s no telling when that will happen.

Today’s question comes from Ryan. He’s asking about creating a practice plan.

Ryan says,

“ I currently struggle with practice planning, in that I am an activity “collector” as you say and have a bible of activities that is huge and I generally never get to.

I always plan out practices prior, but I generally don’t have a specific cycle or collection of practices that build together over the course of several weeks.

As a team we focus on ball skills and possession, and generally start with ball warmups/foot skills and move to small sided games (variations) that encourage possession and off the ball movement ending with full scrimmage.

Our team has really responded and we generally out possess and out pass all our opponents, but lack a bit of directness and finishing.

I feel from a developmental perspective we are doing the right thing and building technical players with a possession game, however I also take from your podcasts that I should have a more organized micro-cycle or partnered session plan long term.

Do you have examples of what a micro cycle might look like that still values possession but also helps to push a level of directness and effectiveness in the final third?

My biggest struggle is finding the time to put together lesson plans from scratch, and my joy comes from executing on the field with a set plan I can follow where I can focus on coaching in the moment and not “what comes next”.

Thanks for the question Ryan!

I get this question quite a bit. I don’t have anything specific that I can share because my club asks me to keep those kinds of documents private.

My suggestion is for you to think about what you want to accomplish (ball skills, possession, finishing) and then put the those into a month long plan.

Presuming that you train twice a week I would suggest doing ball skills at the beginning of every session. During the first practice of the week focus on possession from the back and through the midfield and use the second practice to focus on finishing in the final third.

Take a certain activity for each of these topics and work on it over a two to three week period. Start with the basics and add more complexity as the players improve. Then change the activity to a more challenging one and progress it for three weeks.

It doesn’t take a lot of time to put a plan like this together. You know where your team is starting and where you want them to go. Take the activities that work well for you and plan out a progression from one week to the next. If you’re able to pick out the right moments to coach during these sessions you’ll be amazed at the improvement that you see.

In this Episode

This is the third of the three part series on coaching teams in Zone 1 – U8 through U12. If you haven’t listened to the first two episodes I’d encourage you to go back and listen because what I’ll talk about today builds on those concepts

This week I’ll look at the final phase of Zone 1.

Next Episode

I don’t have a certain topic picked out for next week. At this rate it may be “How to prepare for a season without actually practicing”.

Two of my teams will play in the US Youth Futsal Nationals this weekend. There’s more winter weather in store so I’m glad we’re still inside.

We’re supposed to play an early season outdoor tournament next weekend. If we get the storm their predicting and the cold weather that’s supposed to follow, we may not get that in but we’ll just have to wait and see.

Today’s question comes from Kevin. He’s asking about building confidence in young players.
Kevin says,

“I am coaching a second grade co-ed team futsal team. 5 boys and 1 girl.

A little background on the teams it is a first year school sport program that has a lot of hiccups.

To begin with, the persons running it was not able to get us indoor space, and we didn’t hold practice until after the holiday break. I was not able to practice with the team at all before the season. Come game day it was a mess.

As weeks pass by we are holding regular practice at a outside basketball court. In our 3rd game we were just not in it.

Starting with the warm up all I heard was “we are going to lose”. I tried as best I could to pump them up but as soon as the other team scored it was over, most of the team gave up and just wanted the game to be over.

Any recommendations or advice on how to get the team to be in a better mind set.“

Thanks for the question Kevin!

That’s a very difficult situation. It’s hard to gain any confidence when you have not been able to practice very often and the games haven’t gone well.

My suggestion is to focus on one or two things from practice. It can be one attacking idea or technique and one defending concept. If the players can start to have some success in a couple of areas that will help them gain confidence and enjoy the games more.

In this Episode

This is the second of a three part series on coaching teams in Zone 1 – U8 through U12. If you haven’t listened to last week’s episode I’d encourage you to go back and listen because many of the concepts for U10’s build directly off of the work we with the players at U8.

This week I’ll look at the middle phase of Zone 1.

Next Episode

I won’t have a podcast on the 23rd. I’ll be back a week later and I’ll complete the three-part series focused on Zone 1 by looking at the needs of U12 players. This is a crucial phase of development that I think is too often rushed through in order to get to the ‘real game’. I’ll share the things that I think are important for this age group to prepare them to move to 11 v 11 at U13.

There are 160 teams entered in the tournament and only 20 of them are from the KC area according to the organizers. It’s always a great event and I’m really looking forward to it this year.

We had a loopside game this weekend that allowed me to work on playing with a “Fly Keeper”. It’s basically a fifth attacker. It was interesting trying to do it in a game for the first time but the girls started to catch on after a short period of time.

We worked on it in training this week and I the have a much better understanding now. Hopefully we’ll get another chance to try it this weekend. Ideally, we’d be down a goal and have a chance to try to get the goal back.

I’m going to do an Animated Drill for the Fly Keeper on our YouTube channel if you’d like to see everything that’s involved in using this tactic.

Today’s question comes from Trevor. He’s asking about which format to play with his U7’s this spring
Trevor says,

“I have a decision I’ve been mulling for some time, and would like your opinion. I believe I’ve made my mind up, but I’m still waffling a bit and I’m solicited input from some coaches whom I trust and respect.

The context:

– I have a group of relatively talented 2012 kids (including my son), for whom the fall will be their first full ‘club’ season (u8) in our area.

– This past Fall, because we had no choice with our rec setup, we already played 7v7 (on a very small field). I hated that and wanted to play 4v4 but lost that battle.

– This coming Spring, I’m going to pull together a team (or 2-3) of kids to play up in the local ‘travel’ league. The kids have outgrown the rec setup which is very small fields playing 7v7, too crowded.

– My decision now comes down to: do we play 7v7 or 4v4 in the local travel league.

– There are some other minor variables at play (finding right competition, having the right numbers, etc), but, all things being equal, what would you think you’d do?

For me, it was almost a slam-dunk to go 4v4…way more playing time (I’d be splitting them into teams of 6 and enter 2-3 teams), way more touches and decisions and involvement in the play, and of course, more goals scored by each kid. The thing that’s got me waffling really is just the lack of goalkeeper. I’m okay with losing a season of learning the 7v7 format and teaching offside, etc. But I don’t love the idea of going against no GK and not having to learn how to truly finish.”

If you had any thoughts on this, I’d really appreciate it.

Thanks for the question Trevor!

I would go 4v4 if it were me. The kids need to dribble, pass and shoot. IMHO any time spent as a goalkeeper at this age is wasted time.

I understand your desire to have it be more of a challenge for the shooter but that wouldn’t concern me as much now as the time they waste in goal.

I’d also be VERY grateful if you could rate, review, and subscribe to Coaching Soccer Weekly on iTunes, Google Play Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

Future Episodes

Next week I’m going to look at the U10 age group. As the middle group in Zone 1 it’s interesting because while the players are developing more of an understanding of what’s involved in the game. They still need to be focused on fun and learning rather than competing.

As I suspected my youngest team were pretty rusty. They looked like they hadn’t played a game in six, which they hadn’t. They had forgotten some of the basic of Futsal. Fortunately, it only took them about a half and we started to look like ourselves again.

My oldest team had back to back games against the same opponent. Roughly half of my team played in each game. We won the first game comfortably and played very well. The second game didn’t go as smoothly. It was interesting to see the differences between the two games and proved how important it is for the players to move to create space and options.

We’re now less than a month away from the return to outdoor training. As always, I’m looking forward to the change and eager to see how the players take what they’ve learned from Futsal and apply it to the outdoor game.

Today’s question comes from Ben. He sent me a bunch of questions and suggestions for topic but I want to focus on one he asked about regarding heading.

Ben says,

“My first question is how are coaches dealing with the new youth rules of no heading as we see players (and parents of players) coming into the older age groups with this fear and lack of experience around heading?

I had a experience today where a parent of an 8th grade girl asked me about my policy around heading at the high school. They have had a lot of negative experiences with concussions in their family, including their oldest son whose life was significantly impacted by a football concussion.

The girl’s club team has a policy of allowing the girls to choose whether they head the ball or not.

My policy has been, you must practice it when we work on it in practice and you are highly encouraged to head in a game when appropriate especially at the varsity level.

The parents and daughter are struggling as the daughter is VERY reluctant around headers because of past concussions (at least 3 and she is only an 8th grader!) and are even thinking of looking into another high school where currently they are given the choice to head the ball or not.

I have a feeling that more and more players and parents are going to approach heading the soccer ball in this way as a byproduct of the new rules and information around concussions and heading. What are your thoughts and experiences around this topic?”

Thanks for the question Ben!

I think we’re just starting to see the negative impacts of this change. Young players aren’t learning how to head the ball properly from an early age and they aren’t allowed to do it in a game. Kids are getting into the habit of ducking away from the ball when it’s crossed and we expect them to just turn, “Turn on” their ability to head the ball when they reach U12.

As Ben says, I also think we’re going to see players, ‘Opting out’ of heading the ball. I don’t see how clubs or coaches can ‘require’ their players to head the ball. I can see that putting organizations at real risk if one of their players is hurt and the parents blame the club or coach.

There is no study that I’ve seen that connects heading to concussions. If you know of one I would love to see it. The concern with heading is that player’s heads will clash while heading the ball. There are certainly times when this will happen but it will happen a lot more with players that have no experience with heading and haven’t learned the technique.

With our current approach I could see head clashes increase as inexperienced players start to head the ball for the first time.

I’d like to see the coaches of our U12 to U14 teams spend a lot of time on heading early in the season to properly train the players before we put them in a position where they’re heading the ball under game conditions.

I’d also like to see the approved use of lighter weight balls with younger players to train them how to head the ball from a younger age.

Those are my thoughts. I’d love to hear yours in our comments section.

The Coach – Parent Relationship

If a bunch coaches are sitting around talking the discussion will eventually turn to parents. We all have stories of conflicts we’ve had as well as examples of the perfect parents that understood their role, stayed in their lane, and were a positive and supportive influence on their children and the team in general.

I’ve been thinking about this topic a lot this week and I thought I’d do an episode about it. Then I realized that I already had! It’s been two years so I’m sure many of you haven’t heard it. Even if you have, I think it has some helpful insights and suggestions for best practices that are worth repeating.

Here’s a link to the blog post I mentioned in this episode on the six reasons parents should not watch practice.

I’d also be VERY grateful if you could rate, review, and subscribe to Coaching Soccer Weekly on iTunes, Google Play Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

Future Episodes

I’ve continued to receive some great feedback about the show along with helpful suggestions that I’ve added to my list for the future. Please leave a comment or drop me an email if you have a question on your mind or a topic you’d like to hear discussed.

We had another major winter storm here earlier this week. My teams train on Tuesdays indoor and my oldest team trains outdoor on Wednesday but we lost all of our training sessions this week.

I thought our winter break was great but now a couple of my teams haven’t played a match in nearly six weeks. That’s a bit longer break than I’d hoped for.

It’ll be interesting to see how they do as we return to league play this weekend. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Today’s question comes from Chris. He’s asking about uniform and presentation issues.

Chris says,

“I have been reading a book called “Winning Every Day” by Lou Holtz. One of the things that he brought up, was how he liked his players to dress sharply and behave with class, especially when travelling. He also stated that frequently if people look good, then they feel good and are more confident. As a result they play better and execute cleaner. This makes sense to me in many ways. I prefer my players to be neatly dressed for games.

Some things I have seen other teams do that I don’t care for include taping together cleats that were falling apart, because they thought they looked cool, some of the varsity girls rolling their shorts down several times so that the result is the shorts were obviously too short and too tight. Perhaps the thing that bothered me the most was when I saw high school girls change their jerseys on the sideline in front of everyone while wearing just their sports bra. Oddly enough, the younger girls teams (5th – 8th grade) would never do that, but the older varsity players seemed to think that it was cool or made them look tough. Incidentally, there were restrooms within walking distance where they could have gone to change. When our middle school team needed to switch jerseys, our girls found a restroom to change in.

I believe how one presents oneself on the field, and in public, gives an indication of one’s self esteem and confidence. I firmly believe that a team should look sharp, clean and ready to play. Doing otherwise, conveys the message that the team is undisciplined and uncommitted, and will play that way. Neat uniforms don’t win games, players do, but how they dress does affect their self-confidence, their performance and the overall image they present. I know that much of this is subjective and as a father of two girls, I also know that “dress codes” and “modesty” can be real sensitive, hot-button issues so I don’t want to open a can of worms. I don’t want to seem like I’m stuck in the 1800’s and I certainly don’t think they should dress like nuns, but I also believe that some common standards of dress and conduct are applicable to any soccer team, regardless of age, gender or affiliation.

Have you seen a relationship between presentation and performance? Have you had to address similar dress code and conduct issues? What worked for you and what didn’t?”

Thanks for the question Chris!

It’s a club rule that our players are not allowed to roll their shorts or sleeves up. They’re also not allowed to pull their socks up over their knees. The uniform is to be worn in a ‘uniform’ manor so that all of the teams in the club look the same. It’s also an issue of discipline and team unity.

My U17 girls change their jerseys right on the sideline if they have to switch to the alternates. I always walk away and find someone to talk to or something to do while that’s happening. I’ve found the line to be about U13/U14. Younger than that and they find a bathroom or put one shirt over the other and then take off the one below. Older than that and they don’t mind just wearing a sports bra. They tell me that sports bras are less revealing than their swimming suit. Of course, I say, ‘Yeah, but you’re not at the pool!’.

I just leave it up to whatever the players are comfortable with.

I’ve always told my players to tuck their shirts in because that’s what my coaches told me. I couldn’t play with my shirt out. It just didn’t feel right. I’ve relaxed on that over the years.

So I guess we have some things that we don’t compromise on and others that we do.

I agree that we need to have some standards but I also believe in picking your battles.

In this Episode

Today I review the tournament weekend for my teams that played in the US Youth Futsal Regionals as well as discuss tournaments in general.

There are great aspect to these events that I think really benefit player development, some challenging aspects that I don’t think are helpful and some experiences I’ve had that just leave me shaking my head.

Future Episodes

I received some great show topic ideas this week that I’ve added to my list for the future but I’d love to hear even more. Please leave a comment or drop me an email if you have a question on your mind or a topic you’d like to hear discussed.

Unfortunately, we’re going right into the US Youth Futsal Regionals this weekend. With no game time in the last month it made this week’s training session especially important.

Listen to the episode for my description of our training session this week.

Today’s question comes from Nick.

Nick says,

“I coach a group of U13 girls in Northern Ireland. My question is do you have any advice, tips or suggestions to build confidence.

My major concern is when we arrive for a game and the girls see the “size” of the other team, the name of the other team being one that wins leagues consistently or see that we are playing a team who have previously beat us. The girls almost have a feeling of defeat before we even kick a ball.

I get them built up enough to start the game but if we concede a goal their heads drop immediately and it’s tough to get them to perform to the best of their ability. It seems they are all too afraid to make mistakes and cost us the game.”

Thanks for the question Nick!

I believe that the key to dealing with confidence in these situations is to focus the girls on the process and not the outcome. I’m sure that they have good moments or even large portions of the game but their so caught up in the result that one error leading to a goal becomes more important than all of the good things they did before that.

Pick out two or three things that you if they can do well with impact the game. Then only worry about there performance and more importantly, their effort, in these areas.

It won’t solve the issue in one game but over time they should see that they’re improving and gain confidence from those successes.

In this Episode

In a month we’ll be starting our outdoor training sessions for the spring season. That means it’s time to start planning. This seems like the perfect time to re-air an interview I did with the author of ‘A Coach’s Guide to Tactical Periodization’.

This is a book that will help you plan the development of your team through the entire season. You should never start the season without a plan any more than you should leave the house without knowing where you’re going and how you’re going to get there. The method of planning we discuss will get you started in the right direction but still give you the ability to adjust course along the way.

Here’s a link to Dan Minutillo’s book, A Coach’s Guide to Tactical Periodization.

Future Episodes

I’m going to continue to focus on the topics that I’m dealing with each week with my teams. If there’s a certain topic you’d like me to focus on please let me know. You can leave a message in the comments section for this episode or send me an email.

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday season. I just returned from a great family ski trip. We’ve been going to the same little ski resort in Colorado since I was 16. It’s not crowded and very family friendly.

My kids learned to ski and snowboard there and now my young nieces and nephews are going as well.

I love want I do and where I do it but I’m definitely on the lookout for ski town where I can coach during the spring and fall and then ski all winter. Let me know if you know a place like that.

Today’s question is one that I’ve had a number of times from different coaches. It takes a couple of different forms:

When is it time to stop coaching my own kid?

When should I move my child to a different club that will be a better fit for her?

Should I move my son to a different team even though I’ve been coaching his current team for years?

These are difficult questions for moms and dads that coach their own children.

I coached my daughter from 4 to 18 except for two years before high school because I wanted her to have a new club coach before high school so it wouldn’t be as much of a shock. Every year I asked her what she wanted to do. Did she still enjoy her team? Did she want me to coach? I had a responsibility to the team and the club but my daughter’s needs and wants came first.

She may want to continue having you as the coach because she enjoys spending that time with you.
He may have a group of friends that he doesn’t want to leave.

You may see that they need a greater challenge to continue to grow.
You may be ready to get back to being dad and not have to worry about the needs of everyone on the team, just your own child.

My advice is to ask your daughter what she wants and balance that with what you think she needs.

In This Episode

Balancing training with physical and metal recovery leads to the most development. Training too often or at too high of an intensity will give you exactly the opposite of what you’re looking for: lowered performance, the risk of injury and ultimately, burnout. Today I’ll talk about the benefits of breaks and how to build them into your schedule on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis.

Future Episodes

I’ll be back next week and through the rest of the winter season with more training sessions and ideas about how to get more out of your practices and games.

I always put this tournament on my schedule but it’s hard to know what to expect from the weather. We were really lucky last weekend as it was mostly dry and not as cold as it’s been some years.

Having a tournament at the end of the season is a great way to finish it off. It gives me a chance to see how far we’ve come and what we need to continue to improve on during the winter and spring. But the potential for some really nasty weather is always there in the late fall.

This weekend we’re looking at lows in the single digits on Saturday for the boys tournament. Luckily, I have all girls teams this year

Today’s question comes from long time listener and contributor Sammy. His question is about defending.

Sammy says, “When defending, what are your thoughts on pressuring players to the sideline vs pressuring players to the middle where help is?

I used to always coach players to pressure attackers into the sideline and use the sideline as an additional defender. The problem I found is that when my team wins the ball, we now have the same problem that we created for our opposition. The sideline is there acting as a defender and our counter attack are severely limited.”

Thanks for the question Sammy!

I prefer that defenders take the line away and force attackers to the inside for a number of reasons. First, that usually puts the attacker on their weaker foot. Second, there is so much more cover for the defender on the inside of the field. If a player is beaten down the line they can take a lot of space before facing pressure again. Lastly, as you said, when we win the ball we are in a position to move it into space and away from pressure very quickly.
The only area on the field that I want defenders to show the player toward the line is near the edge of the penalty area. Then it’s more important to keep the ball out of the danger area.

There’s no one right answer to this one, forcing wide attackers back inside it just my preference.

In This Episode

As our club wraps up the outdoor season we take the time to complete evaluations for each of our players. Today I’ll describe why we feel this is important, how our evaluations are structured and the tools we use to make these evaluations useful to the players their parents and their future coaches.

Future Episodes

Next week I’m going to describe a change I’ve made to the movement pattern I use for all of my technical training activities. It may not seem like a huge difference but it’s always been a sore point for me and this simple solution just didn’t occur to me until recently.

A few years ago US Youth Soccer created the Presidents Cup. The tournament gives teams that are not quite competitive enough for State Cup a chance to compete in a state tournament with a chance to move on to a regional and national tournament during the summer.

Spoiler Alert: I’m free this summer. I tell you all about it in this episode.

Today’s question comes from Stephen. His question is about strength training.

Stephen says, “My question is about strength work. I have coached this team of boys for 4 years. Starting when they were U10s. This year, at U13 there has been a major uptick in injuries. We have players with pain resulting from physical growth. We have players picking up injuries in games, practices, at school or from goofing around with friends. Many of the players on my team are playing a lot of additional sports including soccer for other teams.

While I have been disciplined with including warm ups (like you describe on your podcast) and a few minutes of stretching as we debrief at the end of the session, the injuries are definitely more common.

I have noticed, that during the regular season, the training sessions are always based in technique, mental and tactical aspects. And for some players, that means almost every day. In a typical week, for example, a player will:

– practice at school Monday afternoons, then with at the Club in the evening.
– Tuesdays will be travel team practice.
– Wednesday’s may be a school game (or practice) and then an evening session at the Club.
– Thursday school practice and then an evening Club Academy session.
– Friday a school game, and then a travel practice or a Club practice.
– On Saturdays a travel game.
– On Sundays a Club game.

All the practices are play based, on the field and involve ball work, almost exclusively.

How important is it to include strength work (and rest) into a player’s routine? How do you see differences play out across age groups? And what approaches have you seen work well, when younger, growing players have such crammed schedules across different teams and with different coaches?”

Thanks for the question Stephen!

You’ve described a schedule that has the kids training or playing everyday and sometimes twice a day. They’re not getting injured because they aren’t strong enough. They’re getting injured because they’re overtraining.

Professional adult player for whom soccer is a job don’t train and play as much as you describe. Our Development Academy teams only train four times a week and they don’t play every weekend.

They should have at least one full day off per week and they should never train twice in a day. I think you’re going to continue to see injuries as long as the players are training and playing the way you’ve described.

The players in our club do not play for any other teams. Our club and high school seasons are separate. They are never playing both at the same time.

No, I don’t think two training sessions in a day make sense for youth players at any age. All training has to be balanced with recovery. When training and recovery is out of balance then you get decreased performance and injuries.

I encourage my players to participate in the SoccerFIT program that I’ve spoken about on the podcast in the past. Look for the episodes with Scott Moody for more about their programs. The ‘FIT’ stands for, “Functionally Integrated Training”. They use some weights with older more advanced players (U15 and above). Most of the exercises are done with body weight only.

I’m not a strength and conditioning specialist so I send the players to SoccerFIT because that’s their focus.

In This Episode

Two of my teams are finished for the fall season. The other two play in a tournament this weekend that will be their last outdoor games of the fall. Today I’ll look back at my season and talk about what went well, what I learned and what I’ll change going forward.

Future Episodes

I encourage you to provide your players with evaluations at the end of each season. I’ll talk about why I think these are important and the tools I use to provide feedback to my players next week.

Having only one team allowed me to spend more time with the kids and parents than I’m usually able to so that also made it a fun weekend.

When I travel out of town with my teams we always travel on the Friday before games start so that the kids can get a good night’s sleep before playing the next day. We have a team meeting (parents and kids) on Friday night to go over our schedule for the weekend, my expectations for the team (on and off of the field) and any reminders I want to go over with the players before sending them to bed.

Today’s question comes from John. His question is about commitment.

John says, “I coach a U16 Girls Club team, and this year I am having a hard time getting all the girls to make practice a priority for them. I have 19 girls on the team and have on average 6-7 girls out each practice, last night I was missing 10! The reasons range from sick, to swim meets, to no rides etc. All which seem like normal issues, but its all the time.

How have you dealt with players that want to play but really don’t really commit to practices, where we can get better together? I suppose I could punish them, but that just hurts the team.. Advice?”

Thanks for the question John!

I’m dealing with this issue right now with my U17 girls. They are involved in so many different activities that soccer isn’t usually the priority. The players are supposed to let me know if they aren’t going to attend a training session or game so that I can plan accordingly.

The group I have is the fourth team in our club so they are playing mostly for fun and to prepare for their high school season. They aren’t motivated by playing at the next level or long term development.

I just sent out a message to the team through our group message asking them to make attendance at training a priority for the next two weeks because we have a tournament coming up.

I’m afraid I don’t have any great advice that will get your players to prioritize soccer practice over other activities. I just try to manage it and work with the players that are there.

In This Episode

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be successful, with wanting your team to be successful. Whether this desire is healthy and helpful or destructive and dangerous depends on WHY you want to be successful, WHAT defines success and HOW you go about it.

Here’s a link to the article by Dave Wright that inspired the topic for this episode:

Get Over Yourself – Dave Wright – Player Development Project.com

Future Episodes

I appreciate everyone who has been sending me suggestions for topics. I’m adding them to my list and I look forward to covering them in the coming weeks.

The two teams I took to the tournament played very well on Saturday. Unfortunately, it started raining on Saturday evening and didn’t stop all night. The fields (natural grass) were too wet to play on Sunday so they were forced to cancel the rest of the games.

It was a disappointment since we’d traveled three hours to play but I was happy with the way we played in the first two games and it gave us a lot to build on for the rest of the season.

Today’s question comes from Mike. His question is about the three center mids in a 3-5-2.

Mike says, “ I coach a boys HS team and we play a 3-5-2. We have a young team and they enjoy the formation because we have numbers around the ball. However, I’m having a hard time keeping all my 3 c/m in the middle at the same time.

My attacking mid stays up too long and doesn’t get back at the right time, my defensive mid retreats to help the 3 backs, and my roaming mid is out of position a lot. I’ve been speaking to them but they’re still not able to maintain their shape in the flow of the game . Any help you can share will be GREATLY appreciated. ”

Thanks for the question Mike!

It’s often difficult for young players to read game well enough to judge when to drop and when push up. My suggestion is to play attack vs defense games where you have 11 attackers and eight or nine defenders (including a goalkeeper). This will allow you to focus on the movements and transitional moments of the midfield.

You might also consider playing with two holding midfielders and one attacking midfielder. This would simplify the roles for the players and give you more defensive cover in the middle.

In This Episode

Last week’s listener question was about what I focus on with my teams at various set pieces. Today I’ll talk about how we approach everything from kick-offs to PK’s and every other restart we encounter in the game.

Free eBook

We blew past the 200 mark for rankings and reviews on iTunes.  I included a link to the free eBook here for two weeks but it’s no longer available.

I can’t say how much I appreciate everyone who has contributed to the show by sending me an email or leaving a ranking and review on iTunes. THANK YOU!

If you haven’t had a chance to leave a ranking or review it would still be a huge help if you’d take a minute to help the show.

Future Episodes

I have a number of different things that I’m working on for next week but I haven’t settled on one yet so you’ll have to tune in to see what I decided on.

The recreational league games started last week as well so with that, the amount of time and energy I have to devote to that area of my job will become less and less just as my coaching and Age Group Director responsibilities increase.

It’s been a lot of work to get the fall season up and running but seeing the players in our in-house league, some as young as four, get their first taste of soccer in a safe and fun environment gives me a great deal of satisfaction.

Today’s question comes from Greg. He’s asking about set pieces.

Greg  says, “I’ve read that 43% of the goals scored in the World Cup were from set pieces. How much time do you spend with your teams going over set pieces (offensively and defensively)? To me it seems like the only thing you can partially control in the game.”

Thanks for the question Greg!

This question got me thinking about what my teams do on all of our restarts so I’m going to do a whole episode on that topic for next week.

To answer the question, “Not a lot.”

There are so many technical and tactical components of the game to work on that I feel that spending any time actually focusing on free kick or corner kick routines is a waste of time for most youth teams.

Now, if you’re coaching a U14 team that is highly competitive and accomplished and training three or four times a week then you could afford to spend a session or two on set pieces. But even then I would focus more on the broad concepts involved in being effective in attacking and defending situations rather than choreographing intricate set plays.

I know there are other coaches that feel differently about this subject and you can tell that their teams have rehearsed these situations but it’s about economy of training for me. I can get more bang for my buck out of technical or small-sided game work at the youth level. I’ll leave the rest for the coaches they have later on.

In This Episode

As I said, we’ve been training for a few weeks but from the emails and comments I’ve received many teams don’t start until early September. So today I’m going to go back to some of my first training sessions of the year and discuss the importance of training individual and team possession.

Many of the activities I describe in this episode can be found on our YouTube Channel as Animated Drills. I would suggest checking the channel out if you haven’t already because there’s a lot of very useful information there.

Future Episodes

Next week I’ll go over what my teams do for every restart of the game from kickoff to free kicks, goal kicks, corner kick and even throw ins. Hopefully it will give you some ideas of how you can approach these situations with your own teams.

With all of that taken care of now I’m confident that I’ll be able to get a new episode out to you each week from here on out.

Thanks for your understanding and sticking with the show as I get through the busiest time of year.

This week’s question comes from Frank. He’s asking about defending at corner kicks.

Frank says, “I am a girls varsity high school coach. I am planning for our upcoming Fall season and am reworking our set piece attacking and defending principles.

I noticed throughout much of the World Cup that most teams were not having players on the posts while defending corners. Is it my imagination or is this a trend in professional soccer? What is your opinion on the value of players covering both posts? I would also appreciate any pointers to resources or advice as I work on my set piece plans.”

Thanks for your question Frank!

At the youth level, and at times at the highest level, corner kicks can be a great counter attacking situation. I leave two or three players forward on corners until the other team proves that they can attack us successfully from a corner. If we’re leaving players forward it means that we may only have one extra player in the box. I want that player to hunt the ball. That’s the reason that I don’t usually have my players covering the posts on corners.

If a team is very good from corners I may change this tactic and bring more players back. Then I’ll look to put a player on the far post first and then on the near post if we have a spare player.

In This Episode

Today I want to talk about the first games of the season with a team. I share my experiences from this season and some do’s and don’ts that I’ve learned over the years.

Please Help Spread the Word

I really appreciate the coaches that left reviews recently to try and get us over the 200 mark. We’re still short of that but just a few more people leave rankings or reviews this week we can get there and I’ll have that free eBook I promised. So if you haven’t left us a ranking or review on iTunes in the past, it would be a great time to take a minute and leave one now.

Future Episodes

I did a couple of sessions this week that focused on individual and team possession that I’ll share with you next week. I also have a couple of interviews that are on the back burner. Now that the things are getting into a bit of a rhythm I shouldn’t have to miss another week for some time to come.

I discovered the Rugby World Cup Sevens last weekend. I would describe it as all of the best parts of the game compressed into a format that’s great for those of us who are not normally rugby fans.

My favorite aspect of rugby is the fact that NO dissent toward an official is tolerated. Any amount of arguing with the referee resulted in a yellow card and two minutes in the sin-bin. In a game with only seven minute halves having to play shorthanded for two minutes is big disadvantage.

Can you imagine what would happen to our game if FIFA implemented the same zero tolerance attitude toward dissent and punished the team by having to play short for five or 10 minutes? I’d love to see this but it’s the kind of sweeping change that we’re not likely to see unfortunately.

Instead of a question this week I shared some information that was shared with me about the US Soccer Roadmaps. I can’t share any documents here but I talk about some of the key principle in the episode.

In This Episode

My friends descriptions of the US Soccer Roadmap reminded me of episode #85 Developing Your Style of play. With 155 episodes out there I realize the many people may not have heard some of the older ones. This one is timely as we get ready to start a new season I share it again today.

If you haven’t heard this episode I think it’s worth listening to. If you’ve heard it before then now is a great time for a reminder.

Future Episodes

I don’t have a specific plan for next week’s show at the moment. We’re starting our fall training sessions next week so I’ll see what inspires me.

That’s really what it’s all about those. No college coach will ever ask any of these players how they did in State Cup or any other tournament when they were 11, 13 or 15.

It’s now the season of team parties, camps and tryouts. As the director of our club’s recreational program it’s also time to organize more than 200 teams and over 3,000 players in preparation for the fall season.

Tryouts for next year are Saturday and that’s the main topic of this episode.

This week’s question comes from Tim. His question also inspired today’s topic.

Tim says,

“As we get closer to tryout season, I wanted to ask your advice on evaluating tryouts. I attend all of our club’s tryout nights as an administrator/evaluator as well as my own team’s night.

Do you have a certain strategy when you are evaluating? I often find myself missing players or watching the same player for too long. Do you watch an individual player at a time, watch the game as a whole to see who stands out, or somewhere in between?

Also, does your evaluation change when it is your own team versus another team you are not coaching?”

Thanks for the question Tim!

Here’s the written answer I gave Tim:

Tonight I had my last practice of the year with the team I have playing Jr. State Cup this weekend. We had two training sessions this week. Yesterday we focused on shooting and finishing. Today we worked on building possession with a purpose and finishing on goal.

This was one of my favorite training sessions of the year because it combined so much of what we’ve been working on all year. I’ll talk about this in detail in the next few weeks.

This week’s question comes from Bobby. He describes a situation where a certain player keeps making the same mistake

Bobby says,

“I coach 04 and 05 girls on the academy side. On my 05s I have a 4/5 who loves to take a touch no matter the amount of pressure she is under, she also tends to receive in the back and dribble inside the box towards the 2/3 and then waits as long as possible before trying to play a safety ball out by just sending it for a speculative pass.
We talked at length about this and I have seen an effort to connect the first pass after winning the ball but no success so far. I remind her of all the hard work they do to win the ball, only to play a 50/50 ball back into pressure which often leads to putting us under pressure again. I am encouraging her and helping her find that first pass but it’s a struggle. Any suggestions on that?

Also, with both teams when trying to play a thru ball or a ball over the top, we have a tendency to want to hit it as hard as we can which typically ends up in the hands of the keeper. We like to try and keep possession and build as this is part of our philosophy but we want them to be free to pick the best option, if playing long it is, I want to help them develop that killer ball instinct. Any thoughts here as well?”

Thanks for the questions!

One of my favorite axioms in education is that, “Telling is not Teaching” or “Telling’s not Selling” in sales. My suggestion would be to set up your defensive and midfield lines and then play a ball into your 4/5 and have four players press them and see if your defensive group and build out of the back to dribble across the half line. As they get better at this then add more pressuring players.

This is an opportunity to work on your team shape and decision making while coming out of the back with the ball. The goal is to have the players learn how to beat the pressure in practice so that when they see the same situation in the game they know how to deal with it.

For teaching players how to find the correct weight of their pass I like to have three players make quick passes from the half line toward the goal. I have three defensive players simply stand in a line spread across the top of the field like a back three. The final pass should be a diagonal through ball that splits two defenders and is played into the path of an attacker to then finish on goal or cross for another player to finish. The standing defenders return to the half line while the players that were attackers become the standing defenders for a new group of three attackers. You can script the passes you want the players to make or you can allow them to pass freely.

These two solutions are related because they involve putting the players into positions like they find themselves in the game so that they can EXPERIENCE the solution not just talking about it.

In This Episode

Today I want to talk about my tournament experience this last weekend and my general suggestions for planning out of town tournaments with your teams.

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Next Week

I’m in the process of setting up an interview with the designer of a new soccer conditioning app, putting together my thoughts for an episode on how I go about identifying players during tryouts and I’m planning to talk about the session I did tonight on building possession with a purpose. I’m not sure which one will come out first but I’ll have those three topics coming out in the next three weeks.

This was the last tournament for one of my teams while the other still have one or two events to play. For those teams that are still playing, this tournament was a preparation for bigger events to come.

This year my teams have had trouble with Friday night games. I think it’s a combination a long week of school coupled with an unusual night game that always seems to find us having a slow start. We talked about it going into this tournament. We discussed what the issue could be and decided on ways that we could better prepare. It worked well because our performances were far better than they have been in the past.

This week’s question comes from Nancy. She’s asking about grouping players to play together.

Nancy says,

“My daughter plays on a u10 “A” team with around 14 kids on the roster for 7v7. The coach and program preach development over winning at this age which I agree with. However, he currently has 2 lines. The first line is comprised of the top players on the team and they start every game. He then makes wholesale line changes throughout the game. Playing time is even no issues there. However the 2 lines never commingle even in blowouts. Wouldn’t it benefit the players in line 2 to play with the top line every once in a while? When asked about this the response was the 2nd line can’t do things as quickly as the first line and the top kids would get frustrated. To me that sounds like winning over development rather then vice versa and that he doesn’t want to taint the first line with girls who aren’t as strong currently.”

Thanks for the question Nancy!

To me, this approach is about winning and showing that his top line is good so if the team loses it’s the fault of the 2nd line.

Two balanced lines (rotating who starts and which positions they play) would show more of a focus on development.

In This Episode

Today I talk about how we can provide USEFUL feedback to our players that will highlight what they’re doing well, give suggestions for WHAT and HOW they can improve as well as give them an idea of what may happen during the upcoming tryouts.

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Be sure to subscribe to the podcast through Apple Podcasts, the Google Play Store or wherever you’re listening now. That’s the best way to make sure that you receive each new episode just as soon as it’s released.

Next Week

I won’t have a new podcast to release next week because I’m traveling with three of my teams to a tournament in Chicago. I’ve been taking teams to that area over Memorial Day weekend for a number of years but this is the first time attending this specific tournament. I’ll let you know what it when in a couple of weeks.

This is also the time of year I set aside time to complete player evaluations for all of my teams. If you’ve listen to the podcast over the last three years you know that our club uses ZoomReports.com to communicate and save the evaluations for our teams. It’s a great system and if you’re still doing you evals with pen and paper I’d suggest you get a trial version and give it a try.

I have a new approach to some aspects of player evaluations. Listen to this episode to find out the details.

This week’s question comes from Ken.

This was a comment/question posted to the Comments section on Episode 140 Dealing with a Poor performance.

Ken is referring to the question in that episode about whether or not to change your formation to fit your team or make your team fit the formation

Ken says,

“I agree with your comments on putting players in a system where they can succeed rather than vice versa. Why then is the “official” statement from us soccer that all teams in a team should play the same system?

I have bee coaching rec, traveling, and hs since 1974 and have real problems accepting a club wide mandate. I believe in teaching the principle and the system will take care of itself (a little exaggerated but you get the idea).”

Thanks for the question Ken!

I think that having all teams play the same system is an old way of approaching formations. Teams at the top level, professional and national teams, change their system based on the players they have, why shouldn’t clubs and teams within clubs.

Having teams play by similar principles makes sense to me (i.e. building out of the back and playing a possession style) but there has to be room for the individual differences of each team.

In This Episode

Today I talk to John Adair who is a Regional Director for Coerver Coaching. Our conversation focuses on how to use Game-Based Training rather than more traditional Cone Based Training. We discuss why this method can be so useful in teaching tactical concepts, reinforcing technical skills and creating a fun an engaging environment for your players.

If you’d like to ask John any questions you can use these links to contact him:

Email: jadair@coerverunited.com
Instagram and Twitter: @coachjohnadair
Website: www.coerver.com

Please Share on Social Media

At this moment I have no idea what next week’s podcast will focus on. I’ve used some variations on old activities recently that I might share or something else my inspire me this weekend. Tune in next week to find out.

Future Episodes

I have a couple of interviews and show topics that I’m still working but I’m not sure which project is going to be finished first so listen in next week to find out which one I finished.

I helped referee some tournament games on Saturday night. The snow was blowing in sideways! The goalkeeper couldn’t take a goal kick because the ball wouldn’t sit still long enough to play it out. They had to have a defender come into the box and hold it in one place with their foot while the keeper approached it.

It was pretty obvious that the players were miserable and couldn’t wait for the game to be over.

This week’s question comes from Dan. He’s asking about the Play-Practice-Play training model.

Dan says,

“I have a U16 Girls team and I would like to implement more of the play-practice-play model with them. Are there any sample training plans available or ways to reuse existing small sided games and drills to fit this model?”

Thanks for the question Dan!

I’m not aware of any books that provide training sessions that use the play-practice-play model.

I use the same small-sided games that I always have and then do through drills that I’ve used with progressive training sessions before returning to another small-sided game. My suggestion is to do this with the activities you already use with progressive training sessions. You’re basically just mixing up the order in which you do them.

In This Episode

I was introduced to a new term this last week: Bio-Banding. I may be behind the curve but I hadn’t heard of it before I read the release by US Soccer about its new initiative. Today I’ll talk about what Bio-Banding is, how it’s used, what the purpose of it is and whether or not it’s something you should look at using with your club.

This is a link to the blog post that describes US Soccer’s Bio Banding Initiative

Here’s a video explaining the Bio Banding method and reasons for it.

Click here if you’d like to download a Bio Banding Calculator
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Future Episodes

I have a couple of different topics I’m working on at the moment. You’ll  just have to check back next week to see which one got more of my attention

The three entities all have their separate areas build to suit their specific needs but they also share areas of the facility that they all benefit from.

I give you an overview of the tour on the podcast but I’d highly recommend that you see if for yourself if you’re ever in Kansas City.

This week’s question comes from Chris. He’s asking about rotating positions.

Chris says,

“An issue that plagues me is positions. I go to a lot of trouble to be sure everyone gets equal opportunity at each position, and to this point, those opportunities have come within the context of each game. For example, the players coming on the field play in the back and the one(s) up front come off, while everyone staying on moves “up a line”, for lack of a better way to put it.
What bothers me about that is I feel the players’ roles/responsibility can be confusing when it changes every 5 minutes, especially given the experience level of the kids. I don’t think they get enough time to really get into the role and experience it.
I’ve considered keeping them at a position for a half, possibly a game, but that’s probably overboard.
I’ve heard the podcast where you addressed another coach’s question regarding how you handle subs, but do you have any specific advice on positions?”

Thanks for the question Chris!

I rotate my players the way you do. I think it’s the best way to give the players the experience of each position. I’ve kept the players in positions for a whole game in the past but that’s just too long for young players at the level you’re working with.

You can also look at having the players switch positions at halftime if you feel that they need some more time to settle in and get used to where they’re playing before moving to a different position.

Maybe after a few games of splitting halves you could try rotating them through the lines again and see how it goes.

In This Episode

This week I want to revisit something I talked about back in episode 139 The Transition to the Spring Outdoor Season. I discussed my plan to use the Whole-Part-Whole (or Play-Practice-Play) training model with some of my teams rather than the traditional progressive training session. Today I’ll review the differences in the two methods, how I’ve been using them with my teams and what’s been working well along with what hasn’t.

Remember!

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Future Episodes

Next week I’m going to take a closer look at the new Bio Banding Initiative from US Soccer. I’ll discuss what it is, where it came from and the positives and negatives of using it within you organization.

It’s been a great way to expose some weaknesses that we need to work on but it’s also been a real challenge to continue to play our way against players that are bigger, faster, stronger AND good soccer players.

On the podcast I talk about the difficult balance of trying to find the competition that will help us develop without overwhelming the players to the point that they can’t play the kind of soccer I know they can.

This week’s question comes from Ryan

He’s asking about rotating goalkeepers.

Ryan says,

“I am running into a situation where goalie rotations are becoming pretty cumbersome and we really don’t spend enough time on goalkeeping as a team to give us a chance in games.

Our team is developing well, but we try and play everyone in goal equally and that is usually letting us down in tight games. It seems that some teams in the area have set goalies, and some have a few girls that rotate. At U10 do you still suggest having everyone play, or what is the model you use? We have only a couple that like to play, most that don’t and some that are an absolute liability in goal.

Would you suggest keeping the all team rotation, selecting a rotation of 4 better players who are ok with it, or trying to identify some goalie specific players to utilize more frequently?

Being a smaller community club our depth is what makes it hard to compete against the Premier teams.

Development is our focus hence the rotations in positions and time, however the rotation in goal is causing some frustration for the girls and definitely not helping us to put away games we should.”

Thanks for the question Ryan!

I rotate all of the players through goalkeeper with my U9 and U10 teams. I try to do it intelligently and have my better keepers play against the stronger opponents but I have the same situation you describe where I’d be better off with a three foot wooden post driven into the ground than I am with some players in goal. We just do our best in those situations and I remind the players that the ball had to get past six other people before it reached the goalie.

Now, if I had four boys that all loved to play in goal and the parents were on board with rotating them, I might go that route. I just think it’s too early to designate one or two players to be goalkeepers.

Keep development as your focus and rotate those goalkeepers.

In This Episode

This question and a of couple others I’ve received recently made me realize that I haven’t talked about how I go about developing goalkeepers at different ages. Today I’ll discuss the progression that I suggest that will help you introduce the position to young players, develop the skills necessary to for them to be able to play keeper and how to identify and cultivate the players with the potential and desire to become good goalkeepers.

Remember!

Make sure you subscribe to Coaching Soccer Weekly through iTunes, or your podcast provider of choice, to be sure you never miss an episode.

We would appreciate it if you would leave us a 5 star rating and/or a written review on iTunes to help spread the word about the show and ensure that we can continue to bring you top notch guests in the future.

Future Episodes

Next week I’m going to give you an update on how my use of the Play – Practice – Play training method is working for me this spring. I’ll talk about how I’ve used it along with what has worked well and what hasn’t.

I also did presented a session to the coaches to give them some ideas that they could use in training. The session was on training players to change direction with the ball. I used one of my teams to demonstrate the activities so that the coaches could see what it looked like with players going through the practice.

It was a lot of fun and hopefully it gave the coaches some ideas that they can use with their own teams.

This week’s question comes from Mike

He’s asking about transfer of training

Mike says,

“How do I get the small grid games and practices to translate to the game better? How do I get the passing patterns we do in groups of 4 to 6 to start to develop on the field during the game?
We have great passes, give and goes, check in and outs in small groups when I have that set as the practice, but when we play small-sided games I don’t see the patterns that we built up to.

I definitely don’t see those patterns when they play the game. In the game, we are very direct and run away from the ball more than check to it or create space for each other to fill like we have in our passing patterns at practice.”

Thanks for the question Mike!

This is a very important question. If they can’t translate concept we’re teaching them to game situations what good is it to teach them in the first place?

My suggestion is slowly add the pressure of defenders to the patterns that you’re working on. This will move what you’re doing from the practice environment to the game environment in the players minds.

My favorite way to do this is described in this video I did on playing out of the back: https://youtu.be/eh6FoXehtXg

Something else I should have mentioned but didn’t is the importance of performing technical exercises at game speed. If they’re not doing it fast in practice they won’t be able to do it under pressure in games.

Making technical activities competitive is a great way to challenge the players to go as fast as they would in a game. They’ll make mistakes but then they’ll adapt and be able to handle game pressure and still perform.

In This Episode

Today I want to talk about one of the biggest challenges we have as coaches. It seems to come up almost every time I talk to a coach about how their team is doing and what they’re working on at the moment. How do you strike a balance between teaching the skills important to the game while also training players to understand the game?

Remember!

Make sure you subscribe to Coaching Soccer Weekly through iTunes, or your podcast provider of choice, to be sure you never miss an episode.

We would appreciate it if you would leave us a 5 star rating and/or a written review on iTunes to help spread the word about the show and ensure that we can continue to bring you top notch guests in the future.

Future Episodes

I’m not sure what the topic for next week’s podcast will be. Let me know if there’s something you’d like me to share my perspective on.

As a coach I’ve enjoyed watching how players respond to this opportunity. All of the players that guest played with my teams did great and showed their ability to rise to the occasion.

Small numbers in training has meant that coaches are combining their groups to have enough players to run a training session. Often times we use this time to create a street soccer environment with a number of small-sided games.

When we combine players of different levels we mix the teams so that they are as balanced as possible. This gives all of the players an opportunity. The better players have to lead and the less experienced players learn from what they see the strong players trying to do.

While it’s not a training environment that I’d want to have for a whole season; it’s a nice change of place and chance to see how the players adapt.

This week’s question comes from Blake. He’s asking about breaking into the coaching community in a new area.

I’ve received many emails with some variation of this question so I decided to make it the topic of this week’s episode.

Blake says,

“I’ve been listening to the podcast for a few months now, as I am interested in coaching a youth soccer team for the first time. I have recently moved to a new town, and I am unfamiliar with their facilities, rec program, etc.

What tips do you have for a first-time coach, who is looking to integrate into the soccer program in a new town?”

Thanks for the question Blake!

Blake gave some specific about himself but my answer really applies to anyone looking to coach for the first time or to become more involved in coaching.

In This Episode

Today I answer Blakes question and talk about my own experiences as I started coaching.

Thanks!

I’ve had tons of great emails this week. People must be gearing up for the spring season because I don’t remember receiving this many email in one week before. I also had some good conversations with coaches through the comments section of CoachingSoccerWeekly.com on a couple of different subjects.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to email or leave a comment this week. Keep’em coming!

Future Episodes

I’m going to take next week as my own personal spring break but I’ll be back with a new podcast the following week.

This week’s question comes from Evan. He’s asking about formations.

Evan says,

“This high school girls soccer season has just begun where I live, and I coach a local JV team. As the JV coach, I view my job as one with two parts, soccer development and confidence building.
Normally, I have the girls play a 4-1-2-1-2, partly because it’s a simple enough formation for inexperienced players to understand (we are a no cut program), and also because the tactical knowledge translates well to the varsity system, so it feels helpful for swing players and girls who will play there next season.

This year, however, I have been blessed with a large group of freshmen who are technically and tactically superior to groups I’ve coached in the past. The problem is, they all think they play outside back or up front (there are some egos involved). And, after watching a few scrimmages and trying different setups, I think that they will have the most success in their natural positions.

So, my question is, should I change my system to say, a 4-1-2-3, to get all the players in what seem to be their natural positions, or should I stick to my old system and have the players learn something totally new?

If this were a U12 group, I wouldn’t have this issue, as I am a massive proponent of having players experience the game from different positions. It just feels like at this level, there might be value in adjusting my system to the players’ strengths. My first soccer objective, nonetheless, is to have the girls develop as soccer players, not just as goal scorers.”

Thanks for the question Evan!

Great question!

I would change the formation to fit the players but I would look for games during the season that give you the opportunity to introduce your usual system since it’s one that they’ll see when the move to varsity. If you try to fit round pegs into square holes you risk losing the player’s enthusiasm and confidence.

When you have a game that you have control of at halftime I would consider changing the formation. I would be sure that it’s a no-risk situation where you can teach the concepts of your usual system without the players worrying about the result. After doing this a couple of times you’ll have the option of using one or the other depending on the situation and the players will be prepared to make the transition to the varsity system.

In This Episode

Today I want to talk about dealing with poor play and lack of effort. I’ve had this issue come up twice already this season so I’ve thought a lot about it. Today I’ll share how I decided to deal with it and whether it worked or not.

Remember

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While you’re there, please take a moment to give the show a ranking and review. It helps keep the show at the top of the listings for Soccer and Soccer Coaching podcasts so that it’s easy for coaches to find and I’d really appreciate it.

Future Episodes

I’m kind of taking my podcast topics as they come right now so I’m not sure what next week will bring. Tune in to find out.

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, won’t help us improve that much more. So I’ve transitioned to working on the technical abilities that the players need to keep possession individually so that they have the time and space they need to create the movement and options within our system.

Some might say that I’ve done this backwards but I explain why I approached the season this way in the podcast.

This week’s question comes from Ryan (a different one from last week). He’s a 21 year old coach looking for advice on how to make coaching his vocation.

Ryan says,

“I just got my USSF E License done last summer, and now am looking to do my D next summer as well as the United Soccer Coaches National Diploma soon. 

I currently coach a great group of U12 Girls in a major metro area, which is a great hub for the game of soccer. I have quickly discovered that coaching and player development is something I am very passionate about and would like to devote my efforts to making a career out of it.

Aside from obtaining my licenses and continuing to coach every season, just being so young, I am not really sure what the path is to work towards my goal of the sport of soccer being my main vocation.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!”

Have as many experiences as possible: Rec, Premier, Clinics, Camps, Club, High School, College, Pro, ALL AGE GROUPS. Find what you’re passionate about and what you’re good at.  Make contacts and take every opportunity you can. It’s a difficult thing to pursue directly. Have a lot of experiences and see where they take you.

In This Episode

I recently took over the administration and coaching education for the recreational program in our club. I haven’t had much experience with the Rec side of soccer before so I’m learning a lot about how it works

Today I want to talk about the similarities, differences and when you should choose one over the other.

Please Share!

A couple of listeners posted links to previous episodes on Twitter and in discussion groups last week and I really appreciate that. Please help us spread the word about the podcast by following us @WClassCoaching and retweet our podcast information and announcements.

Future Episodes

Next week I’m going to revisit a previous topic and talk what I’ve discovered about it and how this has changed my approach to coaching it.

All of our training sessions from now on will be focused on the techniques and tactics of Futsal. It’s almost like starting over with my teams since the skills of Futsal are so very different from many of the skills the players use outdoor. Some see this as a negative but I think they’re complimentary and will have my players better prepared when we go back outside in the spring.

This week’s question comes from Tim. He asks about the use of negative reinforcement. He shared some background information and then asks:

“Is negative reinforcement during training the prevalent model and if I move my sons to another club they will only deal with the same?”

Thanks for your question Tim!

It’s dangerous to generalize but I think that more and more coaches are taking an educational approach to training their teams and moving away from ‘old school’ techniques. You’ll still find plenty of coaches using negative reinforcement in an attempt to be successful but hopefully we’ll see fewer and fewer of them over time.

I would suggest that you look for coaches that will be the best for your kids rather than clubs. As you’ve found, there’s a range of different styles even within the same club.

If enough parents start gravitating toward growth oriented coaches, regardless of their statistical success, I think we’ll see more of a shift to that style.

In This Episode

Today I talk to a very well qualified and respected coach about his approach to technical training. We discuss the components of effective training environments. The importance of having the players experience success. As well as the methods you can use to progress your activities to ensure the greatest development and transfer of training.

The folks at Supercoach have generously offered to give Coaching Soccer Weekly listeners a free 3 month trial of the premium membership to the Supercoach app. All you have to do is download the app through iTunes or Google Play and then send an email to hello@supercoachapp.com from email associated with your account and they will take care of you.

Future Episodes

I’m taking next week off from the podcast for the Thanksgiving holiday here in the U.S. I’ll be back December 1st with a new episode.

I enjoy the change of pace and the focus on different skills and tactics. Some coaches focus on training Futsal in isolation but I look at how the game as an opportunity to better prepare my teams and players for a return to the outdoor game in the spring.

This winter I’m focusing on a couple of key areas that I think will really benefit my players in the future as well as help them understand the unique elements of Futsal.

This week’s question comes from Luis. He asks about lack of focus during training

Luis says,

“I had a question. I coach a Girls 2005 team so all the players are 12 or turning 12 soon. Seven of the girls played with me last year and most if not all have played with one another at some point or another over the last four-plus years, so everyone is familiar with one another. This is good as the team has bonded well together, but the problem is that it has bonded too well.

The girls often talk and giggle and mess around and lose focus. I try to combat this by keeping my practices fast paced with things they like to do, but that doesn’t seem to be working. Any break in our sessions, no matter how small, and they lose focus. This is a problem with about 9-10 of our 14 players.”

Luis’ question was actually about how to handle this with the players but I think there’s something else involved here that I’d like to focus on. How long should someone coach one team?

There are a lot of different opinions and circumstances to consider. I outline my perspective in the episode.

In This Episode

What’s one of the things that non-soccer fans always point to as the reason they don’t like soccer – Diving. What’s one of the things that non-soccer fans always point to as the reason they don’t like soccer – Diving. What causes more unfair results than anything else in our game – Diving.

Today I focus on what we CAN and SHOULD do to remove diving from our game.

Here’s an opinion video from WORLD CLASS COACHING President, Mike Saif, about:

How to Stop Diving and Cheating in Soccer INSTANTLY.

Ranking and Reviews

I’d like to ask you a favor, we have 96 rankings and reviews on our Apple Podcast profile. I’d love to get that above 100 this week. If you’ve ever found any of the information I’ve shared over the last, nearly three years, helpful or interesting please take two minutes and give us a quick ranking and review through your iTunes account. It will help push us over 100 and keep us near the top of the rankings for soccer podcast.

Future Episodes

Next week I’m going to speak with Ola Larsson about his SuperCoach app and unique ideas for constructing technical exercises.

This is a youth soccer podcast so I usually don’t focus on national team or professional results and news but this is something that will deeply affect youth soccer in this country, OR AT LEAST IT SHOULD!

I’d already planned to discuss another topic this week so I decided to go ahead with that so that I could have some time to completely absorb the whole qualification nightmare and describe my feelings and where I think we go from here. So I’ll discuss that on next week’s podcast.

This week’s question comes from Nick

He asks about playing up

Nick says,

“This group played up last season at u10 while they were u9. They essentially dominated every tournament and their local league play. The parents and league wanted them to play up to u11 this season instead of on age. I was very hesitant about this based on the field size change, player amounts, and general increased physicality they would encounter. I was overruled and we did encounter my anticipated struggles through our first tournament and couple of league games.
This past weekend we had a complete meltdown in our first game of a tournament and I was convinced that we were done with this experiment and needed to play on age. However, the 2nd and 3rd games saw much improved team play and attempted incorporation of our team philosophy’s. I was very pleased with this obviously.

My first instinct is to continue at u11 (the middle divisions) and try and build on these last 2 games in preparation for true U11 competition next year. Some parents are for that and others want to play on age. My guess is their reasoning for that is so we win and score lots of goals.

Can you please give me your thoughts on playing up as a team in preparation for the following year?”

Thanks for the question Nick!

I talked about playing up on one of the previous episodes. It’s a tough choice especially at U10 since you have to go from 7v7 to 9v9. I have a very good boys team that’s in the same boat. I’ve decided to keep them at U10 because I don’t want to make the jump to 9v9. I feel like they have more to learn and understand about 7v7 that they may miss if we change over too soon.

There seems to be a rush for teams to get to the next step rather than really focus on what can be learned from the current format.

In This Episode

I’ve been thinking a lot about this week’s topic since I decided to discuss it. It even affected the way I coached my teams the following weekend. It’s the whole idea of, ‘Silent Saturdays’. If you haven’t heard about this idea before in this episode I’ll tell you how it started, what the goal is and how I think it’s really missing the point.

Future Episodes

Next week I’ll discuss my perspective on the US Men’s National team’s elimination from qualifying, how it impacts youth soccer and where we go from here.

This is something I’ve done in the past but not with this team so it seemed like a great time to try it right after a long weekend tournament. If you haven’t tried this with your own team then I would highly recommend it. You will learn more about your players and they’ll feel more empowered to take control of the game.

This week’s question comes from Kevin. He asks a question about teaching positioning.

Kevin described his team and then says,

“One thing that I have focused on, along with our DOC, is to let the girls be “free to play” rather than tie them and restrict them to specific part of the field. What we often see, especially in our rec league, is players in a Right Back position basically never leaving a 10 x 10 area. I have seen Backs playing 25 yards from any other player, just to stay in that area. I’m just curious what you think about this issue.

Admittedly, my girls get WAY out of position at times due to the freedom that I give them, but I’d rather them be in the play than way out of the play.”

Thanks for the question Kevin!

I think there’s a middle ground between strict positioning on the field and a total free-for-all. It takes time but you can teach the players at this age about how positions relate to each other and how they can create open space on the field.

In This Episode

There’s a tug of war currently underway in the US. It’s between the US Development Academy and High School sports. We place a lot of importance on high school sports in the US. Many other countries do not. With year round club soccer becoming more wide spread, players at the top end have to choose between playing at the highest club level or playing for their high school team.

Today I look at why this is happening and how players can navigate this dilemma to choose what’s best for them.

Future Episodes

Next week I’ll discuss the idea of ‘Silent Saturdays’ that has been used in many areas in an attempt to give the game back to the players.

These are the only two out of town trips I’ll do with my teams this fall. We have so many good teams come into town that we don’t really need to travel but the players enjoy these types of trips and as I said last week, there are some benefits of travel that you just don’t get if you just stay at home.

This week’s question comes from Dimitri. He’s asking about choosing a formation for his first game.

Dimitri says,

“I have just started this week with an under 16s girls team. I’ve only coached them once and only 8 players turned up, so not enough for a full team, and that’s the only session I have with them before their first game of the season this Saturday.

The women’s first team manager is really supportive and is keen on player development. Success for the manager means that some of them are able to play for the first team, not whether they win or lose now. It’s great having that sort of set-up, but I now have a dilemma preparing for this first game

The first team play with a 3-4-3 formation, so to make the transition to the first team a bit easier for the players I think it’s a good idea to use the same formation with elements of their system. However, the players have said that they didn’t have a set formation last season or that they’ve been working on before I’ve just took over the team, and some of the players have only just joined. I feel as though a 3-4-3 is a challenging formation that the players are probably not familiar with. Is it worth sticking to my plan of preparing them for a smooth transition to the first team on this first game and risk confusing the players and them not having fun because of it, or should I use a more conventional 4-4-2 as more players are familiar with it just for the first game?”

I agree with Dimitri, playing a new formation that they haven’t had a chance to work on in training is setting them up for failure. There’s plenty of time to teach them the 1-3-4-3 in the coming weeks. Get them off to a good start with a formation they are comfortable with.

In This Episode

This week I want to look at mistakes that are commonly made by coaches. Some of these are errors that I made as a young coach. I think it’s important that we look closely as what we do and always be on the lookout for things that we can change to improve the soccer experience for our players.

Remember!

Make sure you subscribe to Coaching Soccer Weekly through Apple Podcasts, Google Music or your podcast provider of choice, to be sure you never miss an episode.

We would appreciate it if you would leave us a 5 star rating and/or a written review on iTunes to help spread the word about the show and ensure that we can continue to bring you top notch guests in the future.

Future Episodes

Next week I’m going to look at the importance of adding transitional elements to your drills, exercises and games during training.

I think that giving back to the game in this way is important for coaches that have gained experience through education as well as trial and error.

This week’s question comes from talking to a number of the rec coaches.

They’ve asked about the best formation to use for teams playing 5 v 5

The way I look at formations is first as a vehicle to teach some aspect of the game.

I think we can all agree, I hope, that 5 v 5 is all about developmental. I think there are three ways to organize the players: Box, 1-3-1 and a Diamond.

The video below is one that I made for the coaches on the topic:

In This Episode

When I talk about drills or small-sided games I’m often asked how large the grids should be or how far apart the cones should be. These are variables that depend on so many things. Changing them can dramatically affect your players’ ability to be successful and learn what you want them to learn. Today I look at the various ways you can change an activity depending on what you want to get out of it.

Future Episodes

I’ll be taking next week off from the podcast as a take a couple of teams to a Labor Day weekend tournament in Omaha, NE. I’ll be back the following week with an episode on that Friday.

The goalkeepers are usually much smaller in relation to the goal so the things that will work for young players will not be effective for professions. I tell my youth players to keep the ball on the ground and aim for one side of the goalkeeper or the other. They don’t need to put it in the corner because a strong pass to one side or another is usually enough to beat most youth goalkeepers.

At the professional level the keeper obviously have a much greater ability to cover the entire goal. That’s why you see a great number of penalty kicks taken high and hard. Adult keepers can get to the lower corners and often that’s where they guess so a kick that is higher and harder is more likely to be successful.

I’m going to talk about overtime and ways to decide games more next week because a recent article on PK’s and this shootout really got me thinking about it.

This week’s question is from Robert.

He’s asking about the use of cones in training.

Robert says,

“Talking in general terms: we use cones to mark out places we want our players to stand at trainings – but then we want them to find spaces at game day.

I’m thinking of adapting as many of my sessions to be “in between” the cones, for things like pass and follow drills. Shooting would change from “start at this cone, – dribble to that cone, then shoot.” And become more like ” taking a touch away from the nearest cone, dribble between two cones, then shoot”

Is there information on this mentality? Most of the books and Internet trainings have cones for players to start and finish at.”

Thanks for the question Robert!

I agree that the cones can become a crutch that limits our player’s understand and ability to transfer what they’ve learned in training to matchday. I also think they are necessary in the initial phase of learning to give the players a reference point.

I start to remove them or change the point of reference as soon as I can. For example. When we’re playing rondo games I want the players on the sides and not in the corners. This gives them more space to move and support their teammates and also makes the point that they shouldn’t be standing in one place.

Whenever I can I use the cones as defenders for the players to move away from rather than a starting point. Even the cones used in the Cogi patterns I’ve talked so much about can be through of this way because the players are always using the farthest foot away from them or opening up to the outside of them.

Here’s a link to a activity I did that’s focused on opening up to receive the ball. The players move to the space between the cones rather than to a cone itself.

In This Episode

I truly believe that the vast majority of coaches want to do what is best for their player’s long term development. They start the season with a plan sometimes written out in detail and other times it’s more of a general idea of how they want to proceed.

At some point during the season many start to make little compromises that will help their team be successful in the short term even though they may not be to the player’s long term benefit.

Today I’ll look at the internal and external forces impact a coach’s decision to go for a quick fix rather than stick to their long term plan.

Here are the links to the articles I mentioned:

http://goalnation.com/youth-soccer-coaches-must-courage-patient/

http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2014/03/17/13/07/pia-sundhage-finding-the-balance

Future Episodes

Next week I’m going to look at the different methods that have been used over the years to decide games that are tied after regulation and some new ideas that are being proposed to make overtime and PK’s fairer.

I’ll talk more in next week’s episode about what I cover in the first few weeks of the season and how I structure them.

This week’s question is from Bridget.

She’s asking what parents should expect from their coaches and club regarding evaluations.

Bridget says,

“My question is: what should I expect from the club or coach as far as feedback or a developmental plan for my son? My son plays select U12, div 1, and has been there for 1.5 years and has recently been passed up on playing opportunities (playing on an additional team) but we get no feedback whatsoever. I have requested it but get no response. It’s hard to feel secure that the club is developing my son fully without any evaluations or communication regarding. Is this a big red flag or do some clubs feel this is not important to do or share with the parents?”

Thanks for the question Bridget.

This is an important question not just for parents but for coaches and club directors to consider. It would be idea for each player to have a Personal Development Plan. These plans focus on the what each individual needs to do to improve their individual performance. Personal Development Plans are common in the US Soccer Development Academies and other high level programs.

Most club coaches are working with too many players to make creating these for each player unrealistic. At the very least every player should expect to receive an evaluation at least once a year. These should provide meaningful feedback on what can be improved and how to go about improving it.

Our club uses ZoomReports to distribute and track individual player evaluations. You can go to ZoomReports.com for more information on their service.

In This Episode

The US Youth Soccer Nationals are happening this week in Texas. Some coaches feel that youth national tournaments are unnecessary. Others say that there are too many different ones so none of them are truly a ‘National Championship’. Today I look at each of these events and talk about the positive and negative aspects of them.

Future Episodes

Next week I’ll talk about what my early season training sessions look like for the different age groups that I coach. Getting the players off to a good start can set the tone for your entire season.

I was watching the Mexico v New Zealand game when an incident happened in the box that made me ask the question, “Who’s responsibility is it to stop the game?” This follows up on my thoughts on dubious penalty kicks and how we should react to them.

In this episode I share my opinion but I’d love to hear yours. You can listen to my take on the show and then leave your comments below.

This week’s question is from Dennis

He’s asking about Cogi Training

Dennis says,

“You’ve mentioned a bit about Cogi Training. I’ve looked it up on-line, like the concept and have incorporated as much as possible into my sessions. Could you guide your listeners to the entire system on-line?”

Thanks for the question Dennis.

There isn’t one book, video or web site that will show you everything there is behind the Cogi Training system. I asked Michel Bruyninckx, the originator of Cogi Training, about this last summer when we attended his coaching clinic. He said he wasn’t able to distill the training method down to fit in a book or video.

Hopefully he’ll try in the future but for now you can visit www.cogitraining.com for the latest information on Cogi Training.

In This Episode

I’ve been preparing for my preseason team meetings that are coming up this weekend. We do these each year and I think they are a very important part of the process of running a team. I thought I’d share how I structure mine and why I think they’re so important

This week I share how I structure my preseason team meetings and why I think they’re so important.

Next Week

I haven’t settled on a topic for next week. I have a few ideas in the works so check back next Friday to see what I decided.

We played on grass fields which really slowed the game down compared to what we’re used to when playing on our home turf fields. It was a different challenge for the players which they adapted to well.

I love playing on grass but it’s so seldom that you get to play on grass fields that are smooth and allow the ball to roll properly. We’re going to continue to see more and more complexes move to field turf because it’s low maintenance and allows play under most weather conditions.

 This week’s question is from Nick .

He asks about tryouts that are spread out over six days.

Nick says,

“I coach a varsity high school girls team and we have tryouts that span over six days, I wanted to know if you have a specific evaluation system for tryouts and how you might structure tryouts for that many days to maximize the evaluative capacity of each activity and day.”

Thanks for the question Nick!

My suggestion would be to have four phases of each day: warm-up, technical, small-sided games, full-sided game. The technical topics would vary and the small-sided game format would highlight that topic.

I assumed Nick was having tryouts for multiple teams: Varsity, JV and C Team. In that case I would move players during the day or from one day to the next so that by the last day I would have the teams together.

Then Nick responded and said,

“Unfortunately we only have a varsity team. Our school doesn’t have the resources to field a JV team. We usually have around 35-40 girls try out and I try to pare that down to about 23-26 for the final roster. Any advice you can give on that type of tryout would help immensely. I wish I could take them all, but it’s just too many players to manage effectively.”

I suggested that I would use the same system but use the small-sided games to separate the players into groups. During the full-sided game I would play the top players versus the rest and use that time to put the top players into different positions.

In This Episode

Since we’re getting ready for tryouts not this weekend but next, I thought I’d talk about topics around this subject.

I’ve talked about tryouts in two previous episodes. The first was in episode 16 – How to Run Tryouts for More than 2,000 players. It dealt with the process we use within our club. The second time I talked about tryouts was in episode 63 – Surviving Tryouts. I looked at all of the challenges around the tryout season and how to deal with them.

I review some of those issue in this episode but focus more on the importance of tryouts and how I evaluate players and place them appropriately during the process.

Next Week

I’m going to be talking to an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist about sports injuries and injury prevention. We’ll discuss steps parents and coaches can take to help young soccer player stay in the game and be healthy and active the rest of their lives.

This has given us time to do some concentrated training. We’ve been able to work on improving some areas of our play without worrying about having a game on the weekend. I’ve this has helped us developmentally but at this point the players are getting a bit antsy. They’re looking forward to their next game after going without for a while.

This has had the effect of compressing our schedule into the last half of the spring which may help us be even more sharp toward the end when it will be important as we prepare for end of the season tournaments.

This week’s question comes from Nick. He asks about the challenge of getting his young players to spread out.

Nick say,

“I am currently coaching a U-8 team and we are preparing for the spring portion of our season. The fall was my first time coaching and one of the biggest challenges I faced was teaching my players to spread out and look to pass the ball. We practiced passing every training session but once it was game time it just became a free for all for the ball. Other coaches in the league seem willing to just label U-8 as a stage of “herd ball” and move on. What tips can you offer to help break my players who range from 6-8 years old of the habit of crowding the ball? Or should I just resign to the fact it will stay “herd ball”?”

This is a very common issue for younger teams. In my answer I give Nick some ideas of how he can help is players develop an understanding of space and pressure as well as a small-sided game incorporating channels. You can hear all of the details on the show.

This week I discuss the issue of playing up. You see it with young academy players making their first appearance with the first team of a professional club. You’ll also find youth players training and playing with teams a year or more older than them. Why is this done? What are the advantages and disadvantages of playing up? How do you know if your son or daughter would benefit from playing up?

Remember!

Next Week

I’m going to share a ‘Double Box’ training session that I’ve done a couple of times in recent weeks. It’s a simple set-up that’s been fun and challenging for my players.

I talked about this way back in episode 7 A Coach’s Role in Developing Young Referees.  If you’re a coach or parent I’d highly recommend that you get certified.  It’s a way to give back to the game and maybe help some young referees develop some confidence.

This week’s question is from John.

He’s working with a U12 recreational team this fall and has a mix of new and experienced players.

John asks:

“What advice do you have for the Recreational youth soccer coach at these older youth ages and what you can really be expected to accomplish in the short timeframe with pretty significant player turnover from fall season to spring season to fall season? I almost see my role now as making sure the kids have a fun safe experience, teach them some of the soccer concepts and give them ideas on how to improve on their own. Teach them about not giving up, how to work for your team mates, and how to give your best effort. I was just curious to hear what your thoughts would be about these issues and what you would consider to be the happy medium.”

Thanks for the question John.

I gave him some advice on specific sessions to address issues he was having. But I think there’s a larger question here.  How can you match your expectations with the abilities of your team?

This is important to the enjoyment and development of your players as well as your sanity. I talk more about it in this episode.

Today I look at the issue of diving and faking injuries to win free kicks. This is an issue at every level because our players emulate what they see the professionals do.Some say it’s just part of the game and that it happens in other sports but I think it’s a much greater problem in soccer and I talk about why. I’ll also share some ideas of how we can stamp it out and why it’s so important that we do.

Here are some examples of what I’m talking about:

Remember!

Next Week

Next week I’m going to look at zonal defending and how you can train your team to use it more effectively.

This week my teams started the spring season with an outdoor tournament. The weather was a bit rough but it was great to get back outdoors playing the full-sided game again.

It always takes the teams a few games to get used to the larger space again so getting three or four games in over a weekend is a great way to jumpstart the season.

Our league has moved back to larger fields for the 7 v 7 games so it’s interesting to see the player manage the larger space. I like the way it has opened up the game but I think they may actually be a bit TOO LARGE.  But it’s definitely an improvement over the fall so I’m not going to complain too much.

This week’s question is from Sammy and he’s asking about developing a set core set of exercises.

Sammy says:

“The coaches I read and listen to suggest that developing a “coaching core” of 10-20 exercises that you’re doing all the time is far more valuable for player development than having 150 activities in your coaching Rolodex that you may pull out once a season. I’ve been trying some new things this season and trying to narrow the activities I do to what I consider “the essentials”.

My question is 2 fold: 1) Is this true in your opinion, and 2) if narrowing your activities into a coaching core is advisable, what are some rules of thumb for coaches looking to develop a solid coaching core?”

Thanks for the question Sammy

I said, “I agree that you should have a set of core activities that you use so that you’re not constantly teaching the exercise instead of the techniques and tactics but I also think that you should also add different ways of training occasionally to keep it fresh for your players.

I think you should identify the areas you want to focus on given the age and ability level of the players and build your core exercises around those topics. They will change as the team develops but you’ll always want to cover the key areas of possession, 1v1, finishing, defending, and combination play.”

In This Episode

I’ve been coaching both boys and girls teams for many years. I’m often asked how they’re different and which I prefer. I’ve always dealt with them differently and I’ll share those differences with you today.

I also came across a great article while researching more information on this today that I think you’ll find very interesting. It confirms much of what I thought was true but I couldn’t tell you why it was.

Here’s a link to that article.

Next Week

I have a number of topics that I’m working on for future episodes but I haven’t settled on one for next week. Follow WORLD CLASS COACHING on Twitter for an update the week of the show.

In addition to continuing to work on ball skills and possession play we also added a couple of set pieces to our arsenal. Nothing too complicated, just one corner kick and one free kick play.

These set plays give the players a number of options from one setup so that they can read the situation and take what the defense is giving us. I also feel that organizing a few set plays inspires the players and gets them thinking creatively about these types of situations.

You might think that this time would be better spent on technical development but inspiring players to think creatively and find solutions can happen in many different ways. I think we need to expose our players to many different creative environments.

Last week I mentioned that this week I’d talk about scaling your session to fit the number of players that you have at a particular training session. Unfortunately I forgot that I already talked about that in episode 83.

So instead, I’ll answer a question from Matt about playing out of the back at the younger ages.

Matt says:

“I’m writing because lately there has been some debate among parents on one of my son’s teams (U9) regarding the importance of trying to build out of the back when the goalie gains possession.

In your opinion, is it better to have the goalie play to the defenders every chance they get so that everyone becomes used to playing under pressure (as eventually opposing teams adjust by pushing up and pressing more), or is it better to teach kids to make judgement calls based on the positioning of the opposing team – play short when they can, but occasionally play long when the other team starts crowding your players on every goal kick?

It seems to me you would want to teach decision making first rather than having the defenders constantly play under pressure from goal kicks (“play smarter, not harder”), but I was curious what you thought was better for long term development? Obviously this can get the full/centerbacks involved more, but does having them play under constant pressure at the younger ages teach them something that they won’t pick up in their teen years, as I’ve read some people suggest?”

I give my detailed answer in this episode and in the show notes available below.

This week I describe six different types of activities that I use to get my training sessions started while still waiting for everyone to arrive.

In my preseason meeting each summer I talk about the importance of having the players at practice on time. But that’s just not always possible. I have some sessions that start at 4:30pm. The kids get out of school around 3pm, so they don’t get home until 3:30pm and then they have to leave for practice by 4pm.

I don’t want to start my session at 4:30pm because I’ll have to explain what we’re doing to each player as they arrive and change the organization to accommodate the extra players.

So when I arrive at the field the first thing I do is to setup an activity that the players can start doing as soon as they arrive.

I’ve found that my players look forward to getting to practice because they know something fun is waiting for them right at the start of the session.

This works with players of every age group and ability level. You just have to pick an activity that’s appropriate for them.

Next Week

I’ll look at the characteristics of the world’s best coaches. This is a great time of year to really look at what we do and why we do it so that we can have an even better plan going into the spring season.

They usually try to play too fast and think too slowly. The games can turn into a frantic game of ‘turnover soccer’ where neither team can keep possession and there’s no flow to the game. It can take two or three weeks for the players to make the transition to the faster indoor game and think quickly so that they can play quickly.

This week’s question comes from Seth.

 “I have a question on scaling practice for varying player numbers. Mostly this is a simple matter of changing a grid or field size and presents no problem. Sometime though it’s a challenge to decide whether an exercise should be scaled to accommodate more or less players or be split into two identical exercises.

As an example, I will be running the session you describe in episode 36 “decision making on the ball”. In the show notes you describe and illustrate the session scaled for 10 players. I have a team of 14-16 boys. should i scale this to accommodate all boys on one field or create two separate exercises and divide them up? My preference is to scale it for 14-16 but I can also see where this might create more congestion and chaos and detract from the session”

I think this is an important factor to consider because we will often plan a session for a certain number of players but we’ll end up with a greater or lesser number for many different reasons. We need to be able to make adjustments to accommodate the number of players we end up with.

In this episode I give my guidelines for when to scale a session up or down and the specific answer for how to adjust the session Seth is asking about.

This week I describe how I think we are often guilty of stealing our player’s learning opportunities. We do this when we tell our players what to do and when to do it rather than giving them the chance see it for themselves. This can keep them from learning WHY they should do it.

I talk about how both parents and players can be guilty of this and why it happens. As well as how to strike a balance between teaching and tell your players.

 TeamSnap.com is again our sponsor of this week’s episode. Last week I talked about how I use TeamSnap to setup my teams and get the season started. This week I describe my favorite feature of the app and website, Player Availability. It makes it so easy to keep track of who will and won’t be at each practice or game.

Whether you coach or manage a single team or organize a whole club, league or organization. TeamSnap makes organizing every aspect of active sports life easier.

You can start your free 21-Day Trial today without entering any credit card information by going to teamsnap.com/csw

I’d also be VERY grateful if you could rate, review, and subscribe to Coaching Soccer Weekly on iTunes, Google Play Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

In the Next Episode

I’ll share how I plan my training for the indoor season as well as some specific training sessions that I use during each phase.

But as always, I looked forward to getting back on the field and preparing my players for the winter leagues that are just about to start.

I decided to make this week’s Q & A the subject of the entire episode because it’s timely and I’ve received a number of emails asking for my opinion on the subject.

Adam says,

“Like Kansas, we have prolonged cold winters here in Salt Lake. We typically have three types of indoor facilities to choose from for matches for my U12 team. 

1. Indoor Soccer facilities (indoor hockey rink style where you can play the ball off the walls)
2. Futsal courts with out-of-bounds lines
3. Full indoor turf fields (far fewer of these) 

A lot of coaches I know frown on indoor soccer (hockey style) and prefer futsal. They insist indoor brings about bad habits, but I never hear more than that simple dismissal, although using the walls is generally referenced.  There are very few full indoor facilities to choose from, so it is the least likely option for us. 

I’m curious on your thoughts for indoor vs Futsal vs full field.”

So today I’ll talk about the key aspects of these formats. The pros and cons of each as they relate to development. My opinion on how useful each one is in improving your players technically and tactically as well as my pick for the best format for over all development.

We have a new sponsor this week, TeamSnap.com. I have only ever accepted sponsorship support from products or services that I actually use. All of my team use TeamSnap’s simple but powerful website and mobile application to manage all of their team organization and communication.

Whether you coach or manage a single team or organize a whole club, league or organization. TeamSnap makes organizing every aspect of active sports life easier.

You can start your free 21-Day Trial today without entering any credit card information by going to teamsnap.com/csw

I’d also be VERY grateful if you could rate, review, and subscribe to Coaching Soccer Weekly on iTunes, Google Play Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

In the Next Episode

I’ll describe how I think we are stealing our player’s learning opportunities. I think this may be the most important topic for coaches and parents to discuss as we reach the midpoint of the soccer year here in the States.

I really appreciate everyone who takes the time to listen and especially those who contribute to discussions in the comments section of each episode, review the podcast on iTunes or send me emails with questions and suggestions.

Hopefully the information I share here helps you and your players get more enjoyment and development out of playing the game we all love.

This week’s question asks about ways to train triangles of support especially for the midfield three in a 3-2-1-2 9 v 9 formation.

Michael asks, “I have a question regarding the 9v9 drills for the triangle in the midfield. I play a 3-2-1-2, which comes out to a triangle in the middle. I use my outside backs to go into the midfield, so far its been working,  and of course work in progress. Can you suggest any particular drills for that triangle?   My team has been using the triangle training method and their passing and thought process has been terrific. Any thoughts you could share will be appreciated. 

I share a session that I recently did with one of my teams on this same topic as well as a possession game that I think would be a great way to train the midfield three to work better together defensively and in transition.

The Importance of the Players Knowing Why

In this episode I talk about why it’s important for the players to know WHY they’re doing something. There’s a danger in just putting drills together and running your training session because there won’t be any connection to the game. The players will likely just go through the motions and complete the session but not really get anything out of it.

If they see the connection they’ll be able to train as if their playing. It will prepare them for what they’ll see in the game.

I share ways to structure activates that will make them more relatable to the game as well as why I don’t think small-sided games are always the answer

There are two opportunities in every training session that I think a lot of coaches miss. I tell you what they are and how they can help your players get more out of every training session you have with them.

I’d also be VERY grateful if you could rate, review, and subscribe to Coaching Soccer Weekly on iTunes, Google Play Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

In the Next Episode

Next week I’ll be talking to Sean Pearson who is the author of 433 v 4231 which is a detailed overview of how Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool compares to Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United. It’s a very interesting look at two of the most popular systems and how these coaches adapt them to their particular style of play.

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 place them too far above their ability level then they’ll be unmotivated because they never experience success.

I generally place my teams division relative to their standing in our club during the fall season. For example, I put our top U11 team in the top division of U11. But since they won the division easily in the fall, I’ll place them in with the U12’s next spring.

This might seem obvious but often times teams play up from the start to play tougher competition from the outset. This year that was tougher to do because everyone had new teams due to the change in the age groups.

This week’s question comes from Seth. He explains a bit about his background and then says,

“Here is the challenge. Our teams are a mix of kids usually spanning 3 age groups. I am constantly challenged to coach to this cross section of age and certainly a wider variety of skill levels than the teams we play. Most clubs form several different select, premier or club teams at each age level and for the most part have relatively common talent level.

While this age/skill level discrepancy does present challenges on the practice field, where it really becomes a challenge is managing playing time in matches. On the one hand I buy into the “player development” over “getting the result” mindset but usually the “getting a result” issue is driven by the kids. Last Saturday we had a very tight and exciting match and it was so obvious to ALL the boys that when I subbed certain players the balance of the game shifted dramatically.  My current policy is that I try to “provide at least half a game playing time for each kid…averaged over the season” so that if they only got 10-15 min in one game they can get 40 or more in a different match. So far this works out but it kills me and I lose sleep over whether I am managing this correctly…..How to effectively develop at the same time, on the same team and in the same matches, both the “elite player” playing at age, and the kid 2 years younger that doesn’t want to play rec any longer but doesn’t quite fit into our team from a physical stature or skill standpoint.”

I share my thoughts and how I approach this challenge with my teams at the start of this episode.

Encouraging Communication

Communication between players is vital in a game where the play flows freely with no timeouts, and few set plays. It’s not enough to tell them, ‘You’ve got to talk out there!’ We need to train our players what to say and when to say it. Once you decide on a common language then you have to make talking to each other a habit. There’s no quick way to do this. Today I describe how I encourage communication between my players and make talking to their teammates as much of a habit as striking the ball properly.

Check out the show notes for the complete diagrams and descriptions of the training session that I often use to focus on the importance of communication on a soccer field.

I’d also be VERY grateful if you could rate, review, and subscribe to Coaching Soccer Weekly on iTunes, Google Play Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

In the Next Episode

Next week I’ll talk about the importance of your players knowing WHY their doing a particular drill, exercise or small-sided game. Making sure that you directly relate training to games is the best way to ensure the maximum transfer of training.

We still have one league weekend remaining and then a season ending tournament before we move indoor for the winter Futsal season.

I enjoy the change in format from the outdoor game to Futsal because I think it wouldn’t be as interesting to train and play the same year round. Sometimes a change is as good as a rest.

This week’s question comes from Robert. He asks:

“I was wondering if you had ever done a podcast on pre-game warm ups? My players play 60 min games and debate; how long a warm up is needed? Is there the proper amount of time? What should really be focused on?”

We did our first podcast on ‘Building a Better Warm-Up’ with Scott Moody of SoccerFIT. I think it’s such an important topic that I made it our very first episode.

In the podcast I described the warm-up pattern that I use for my teams and how early I have my players arrive before the start of the game.

Working with the Parents of Your Players

Unless you’re coaching professional players you’re dealing with parents. Less as they get older but still to a degree. With our ‘Pay to Play’ model in the US learning to work with parents is something every coach needs to do.

But it doesn’t have to be a negative relationship. In this episode I share how I work to make the parents part of the team. I describe the things that you need to do to starting now to allow the relationship to help you develop your players as individuals and as a team. And I share with you the guidelines I have for training, games and outside communication that allow everyone to contribute to the development of the team.

Here’s a link to the blog post I mentioned in this episode on the six reasons parents should not watch practice.

I’d also be VERY grateful if you could rate, review, and subscribe to Coaching Soccer Weekly on iTunes, Google Play Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

In the Next Episode

Next week I’ll share the methods I use to encourage communication between my players. This will include the exercises and games that have helped the players understand the importance of communication.

We started off the game trying to play our normal game but it quickly became apparent that it was going to be an exercise in frustration.

I explain the change I made and why I was concerned if it was the right thing to do.

This episode is a bit of a long one because I had a great discussion with Mike Saif, President and Founder of WORLD CLASS COACHING about his new book, ‘Coaching a Team to a National Championship‘.

The book details how the team was formed and the process that resulted in the team winning the U14 USYS National Championship. Mike shares the Five Key Factors that he feels made the difference and took this team to the highest level. These are elements that every coach can add to their arsenal that will make their teams more successful.

Whether you’re looking to put together and develop a group of players from scratch or you’re searching for the key elements that will take your team to the next level, there is something for every coach in today’s interview.

The printable show notes below include a complete transcript of the interview as well as a selection of exercises and drills that Mike used to prepare his team.

I’d also be VERY grateful if you could rate, review, and subscribe to Coaching Soccer Weekly on iTunes, Google Play Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

In the Next Episode

Next week I’m going to talk about how you can develop and maintain a good working relationship with the parents of your player. This is an often overlooked component that is vital to the smooth functioning and development of your team.

But first I look at last week’s controversy at USYS Nationals. I describe all of the details in the episode but the basic facts are that in the U18 G game between Carlsbad Elite (CA) and Ambassadors FC (OH) both teams basically walked their way through the game on the way to a tie that put both teams into the semi-final. Carlsbad was through unless they lost the game 4-0 or worse but Ambassadors needed a tie or the team from Syracuse could go through.

There’s a link to a short video from the game in the Show Notes where you can see what the game looked like toward the end.

The Ambassador’s coach said the game was not ‘Fixed’ and started as usual but as the game went on both teams stopped pressing. It was very hot and there had been players collapsing the day before. With no reason to push forward both teams just sat back and were happy to just see the game out.

US Youth Soccer said that they’re looking into the matter and fines and/or sanctions may be imposed. In case you wondered, neither team won the tournament. Tennessee SC beat Ambassadors in the semi and Carlsbad in the Final

This is a tough one in some ways because I understand the desire to rest your players because you know you’re already through to the semi-final but this was not a meaningless game to the girls from Syracuse. They were robbed of the opportunity to go through and that does seem unfair.

As I said, last week was very educational. Today I share some of what I learned about CogiTraining. It’s a training method that is based on educational principles and the science behind how we learn.

Check out the Show Notes for a sample CogiTraining Session and links to the video I mentioned.

Printable Show Notes

The show notes for each episode are accessed through the WCC Training Center.

They are FREE but you will need at least a Free Membership to the Training Center in order to view and print them.

Click on the image of the notes and if you’re already logged in to the Training Center you’ll be taken to the Podcast page. If you’re not logged in your be taken to a login page where you’ll also be able to login or register if you are not already a Member.

Remember!

Make sure you subscribe to Coaching Soccer Weekly through iTunes, or your podcast provider of choice, to be sure you never miss an episode.

We would appreciate it if you would leave us a 5 star rating and/or a written review on iTunes to help spread the word about the show and ensure that we can continue to bring you top notch guests in the future.

In Future Episodes

In upcoming episodes I’ll share the training sessions I’m using with my teams to prepare for the fall season that’s starting soon as well as some interviews that I’ve lined up that I think you’re really going to enjoy.

The method includes that use of the SenseBall to improve the player’s touch and coordination as well as movement patterns that build from simple to very complex to challenge the players cognitively as well as physically and technically.

Here are some videos that show some examples:

I’ll be taking lots of pictures, notes, videos and a interview for the podcast if possible.

The down time has also allowed me to spend some great time with my family. During the season I always wonder what people who don’t coach every evening and weekend do with their time. During the summer I get a little taste of that.

I’ve also been working on the Technical Training Manual for this fall. I’ve made some changes for this year but really just built on the work we did last spring.

I’m really ready for the new season with my new teams. It’s always great get a chance to work with new players and continue the development of those that are returning. I have a lot more new players this year given all of the changes that have taken place with the age groups.

Today I have an interview with an extremely innovative coach. He approaches the game from a very different perspective. He’ll challenge many of your commonly held beliefs. This includes his total focus on creative dribbling and finishing, the fact that he doesn’t teach passing and receiving, he trains his teams indoors year round, he doesn’t train his player’s weaker foot and he believes that he’s found a safer way to train heading, even in younger players.

In many ways he thinks of the game differently than any coach I’ve ever known. Every coach will take something away from this discussion that will change their perspective and have them rethinking what they do and why they do it.

Here are the links to Andy’s books and videos:

To receive a free copy of ‘Training Soccer Legends’ send Andy an email by clicking here.

Printable Show Notes

The show notes for each episode are accessed through the WCC Training Center.

They are FREE but you will need at least a Free Membership to the Training Center in order to view and print them.

Click on the image of the notes and if you’re already logged in to the Training Center you’ll be taken to the Podcast page. If you’re not logged in your be taken to a login page where you’ll also be able to login or register if you are not already a Member.

Remember!

Make sure you subscribe to Coaching Soccer Weekly through iTunes, or your podcast provider of choice, to be sure you never miss an episode.

We would appreciate it if you would leave us a 5 star rating and/or a written review on iTunes to help spread the word about the show and ensure that we can continue to bring you top notch guests in the future.

In the Next Episode

Next week I’m going to layout all of the changes that we’ve made to World Class Coaching and our Coaches Training Center that are going to make your life as a coach much easier and give you tons of great drills, exercises, small-sided games and complete training sessions that you can use with your teams.

No more searching through thousands unrelated drills on Google or YouTube. The new Training Center will cut the amount of time you have to spend planning 75%. You’ll have a quick search, with refined results, making it easy to pick the exercises you need so that you can go to practice.

The podcast show notes will also become part of a Free Membership to the Training Center.

As I’m recording this we’re a couple of days away from flipping the switch on the new site. If you go to WWW.WCCTRAININGCENTER.COM before the launch you’ll only be able to log in if you’re already a member but once we launch you’ll have the option to become a Free Member and enjoy access that you don’t currently have.

Today I’m talking to Wayne Harrison about his ideas on player development. This includes: how positions in the 11v11 game can be taught with all of the small-sided formats, the importance of Rondos, how they can be progressed and used to relate directly to the game

Wayne describes how his training methods are developing a ‘One-Touch Mentality’ in his players. This is often misunderstood as limiting the players options. Once you listen to Wayne you’ll realize that he’s teaching his players HOW to think not WHAT to think.

Wayne’s latest book, ‘Tactical Thoughts on the Development of the New 4 v 4 , 7 v 7 and 9 v 9 Game Sizes‘, covers many of these areas and we talk how you can create a continuous line of development from 4 v 4 through to the 11 v 11 game.

We had some challenges with Wayne’s audio during our talk and I really appreciate his patience during the process. I apologize in advance if any part of the interview is difficult to understand but there’s so much great information that I felt it was important to bring it to you even if the sound is not up to my usual standards.

Printable Show Notes

The show notes for each episode are accessed through the WCC Training Center.

They are FREE but you will need at least a Free Membership to the Training Center in order to view and print them.

Click on the image of the notes and if you’re already logged in to the Training Center you’ll be taken to the Podcast page. If you’re not logged in your be taken to a login page where you’ll also be able to login or register if you are not already a Member.

Remember!

Make sure you subscribe to Coaching Soccer Weekly through iTunes, or your podcast provider of choice, to be sure you never miss an episode.

We would appreciate it if you would leave us a 5 star rating and/or a written review on iTunes to help spread the word about the show and ensure that we can continue to bring you top notch guests in the future.

In the Next Episode

Next week I’m talking to a coach with a completely different perspective on the best way to develop players. Most of you will not have seen teams play like his teams do. Make sure that you catch that episode because it will give you a lot of food for thought.

Since our system is, ‘Pay to Play’ many parents view themselves as agents. They shop around and look for the best ‘deal’. I don’t have a problem with parents looking out for the best interest of their children but too often I think they’re looking for the wrong things. For many there’s a fixation with ‘being on the top team’. What many parents don’t understand is that the third team in one club could provide a better developmental environment than the first team in another. I wish some parents would spend more time focusing on the club structure, developmental philosophy, and the coach’s approach to teaching rather than what division the team will play in.

Coaches don’t always go into this process with the best of intentions either. There are many that think ‘new players’ are ‘better players’. They’re quick to discard a player because of their deviancies rather than working to improve them. So each year they trade a big chunk of their current player issues for new players with new issues.

So this week I want to vent a bit about tryouts. This is much cheaper than therapy would be  I’ll talk about how we go through the process.  What I think we do well and what could be improved. And I’ll look at it from the coach’s, parent’s and kid’s perspective.

Hopefully this will give you some insight into how we get through this often trying time that will help you down the road.

I don’t see a point in having show notes for this episode since it’s just my description of tryouts and opinions on how it played out.

Please share how your tryouts work in the comments section below or email me at tommura@worldclasscoaching.com.

Next Week

I’m still working on a series of interviews with coaches and trainers discussing some interesting topics. The coaches I’m talking to have a unique take player development that you may not be familiar with. Look for those in the coming weeks.

There were a number of things that I’ve learned from it already. Over 80% of coaches who responded want more training sessions. The recent episodes have included more commentary than actual training sessions but there’s been a lot going on to talk about.

I asked what type of sessions or topics you wanted to hear more of and there was a wide range from more technical sessions to sessions that are focused on players U15 and up.

When I asked who you wanted to hear from. Just as many coaches want to hear from youth coaches as professional coaches. I have a number of interviews planned for the next few weeks with youth coaches that have a slightly different take the best way to develop players.

If you didn’t have a chance to complete the survey here’s the link. I’ll leave it active through this week if you’d like help improve the podcast.

This week I want to review the tournament I attended with my teams over Memorial Day weekend. I discuss the benefits of traveling with your team, what you should look for when deciding which tournament to attend as well as the specific things I learned from this trip and how it will impact my coaching going forward.

Rather than retype everything I talked about on the show I’m having the episode transcribed. As soon as it’s completed I’ll post a link to the show notes below.

Next Week

I’m going to talk with Sam Polak about the Champions League final. We’ll discuss the major moments of the game and the overall tactics of each team as well as how you can apply some of those lessons with your own teams.

This week I describe the formations you should consider when playing 9 v 9. This is an important transitional period since it’s the final stage before the players move to the full sided game. So not only should you consider the developmental benefits of each system but also how they might help your players gain a better understanding of what they’ll do in the full sided game in a couple of years.

This includes seven different formations that I think could be used for 9-a-side soccer along with the advantages and disadvantages of each one. I also describe how using each one can teach your players something different about the game as well as which 11 v 11 systems they can be transformed into. At the end I’ll tell you which two systems I prefer and give you some activities to train the key concepts that I think are important for your players to understand to play within the formations most effectively.

As part of the upcoming changes to the format of small-sided games in the US our U11 and U12 teams will now be playing 9 v 9 rather than 8 v 8. I’m pleased that US Soccer recommended this change because I think having nine players on the field allows for more flexible formations to be used in order to teach different aspect of the game.

As I said in last week’s episode on the new 7 v 7 format, our primary motivation at these young ages should be on the technical and tactical development of our players rather than results. It’s with this in mind that I’ll discuss the various formations that you can use in order to select the one or two that will work best for your team.

There may be others that I haven’t considered. If there’s one that you’ve had success with please tell us about it in the comments section of this episode on CoachingSoccerWeekly.com.

2-4-2

• Advantages
  1. Two Forwards
  2. Great midfield presence
  3. Excellent width
• Disadvantage
  1. Two in the back
     1. Ok if other team is playing one forward
• Transfer
  1. 4-4-2
• What does it teach?
  1. Pressure and cover in defense
  2. Wingers staying wide
  3. Working up and down the wings
  4. Relationship of Forwards

2-1-3-2

• Advantages
  1. It might not seem much different than 2-4-2
     1. The key is the holding CM
  2. Holding CM to screen for two defenders
  3. Still have good width
  4. Two Forwards
• Disadvantages
  1. Two in the back
• Transfer
  1. 3-5-2
• What does it teach?
  1. Holding Mid
  2. Attacking Center Mid
  3. Relationship between Center Mids
  4. Pressure and cover in defense

2-3-3

• Advantages
  1. Width in midfield and attack
  2. Can play three Mids in the center
  3. Great attacking shape
• Disadvantages
  1. Still only two in the back
  2. Committing a lot of players to forward positions
  3. Isolated CM
• Transfer
  1. 4-3-3
• What does it teach
  1. Wingers playing a position and a half
  2. Triangle in midfield

3-4-1

• Advantages
  1. Good cover in the back
  2. Great width in midfield
  3. Numbers in the center of midfield
  4. Diamonds of support
• Disadvantages
  1. Only one forward
     1. But attacking CM is able to join the attack with cover from the HCM
• Transfer
  1. 4-4-2
• What does it teach?
  1. Wingers
  2. Outside backs
  3. Lone striker
  4. CM relationship
  5. Different ways to play them

3-1-3-1

• Advantages
  1. Very balanced
  2. Very fluid
     1. Outside backs can push up
     2. WM can go up or back
  3. Cover in the back
  4. HM
  5. Attacking Mids to support the Forward
• Disadvantages
  1. Lone Forward
•  Transfer
  1. 4-2-3-1
• What does it teach?
  1. Transition up and back
  2. Easy to create angles of support

4-3-1

• Advantages
  1. Four in the back
  2. Play three CM centrally
• Disadvantages
  1. Lone Forward
  2. Width only in the back
  3. Very defensive
• Transfer
  1. 4-3-3
• What does it teach?
  1. Outside Back pushing up
  2. Midfield three

My preference is to start with a 3-3-2 because it’s such an easy transition from the 3-3-1 formation that we have been playing in the 8 v 8 format. As the players become comfortable with this formation I will also introduce the 3-1-3-1 because of it’s flexibility and how easy it is for players in all positions to transition back and forth between attacking to defending phases.

Training Exercises

3 v 3 Exercise and Small-Sided Game

This begins as an exercise for the defenders to work on pressuring and covering with the ball in different positions on the field. Once they are comfortable with the concepts then you can make it a game where the attacking team attempts to get the ball across the endline and the defending team works to pressure and cover effectively to prevent this.

Triangle Passing

There are many triangle and diamonds created by both of these systems so working on the passing patterns that were described in Episode 8 – The Triangle Training Method. Will help create patterns that are useful for possessing the ball in these formations.

Dutch Wine Glass

This is a great pattern for working on playing up, back and through. The exercise can also be transformed into a shooting environment as described in Episode 34 – Getting More Out of Your Finishing Exercises.

You can use any number of these formations to give your players an introduction to different ways to play or you can settle on one that will give you the easiest transition to the 11v11 game. I like to use two different setups so that they can see the strengths and weaknesses of each one without constantly changing so that the players are not overwhelmed.

Whichever way you decide to go, make sure that stay focused on preparing your players technically and tactically so that they’ll be ready for the next step when the time comes.

Printable Show Notes

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In the Next Episode

Next week I’ll look at another important challenge that players are faced with each year but it’s even more magnified with the age group changes occurring next year. How do you best prepare your players for the transition to 11 v 11 soccer?

This has been a crazy week. I’ve jammed a week of work into four days. When this is released I’ll be on my way to Cincinnati, Ohio for the Flying Pig Half Marathon. It looks like it’s going to be a wet one! If anyone listening is going to be out there running or spectating I’d love to hear from you.

This week I’m looking at formation for teams playing 7 v 7. Since this is going to be the new standard for U9 and U10 teams beginning next year I’ve had a number of questions about how to approach it. Including one from Jim in Massachusetts I don’t think that the formation should be a huge focus for teams a this developmental stage but the framework you choose will impact what your player learn from the game. I’ll discuss the six different formations that I think could be used for 7-a-side soccer along with the advantages and disadvantages of each one. I’ll also look at how using each one can teach your players something different about the game and how this smaller version of the game might transfer to the larger game as the players get older.

At the end I’ll tell you which formation I prefer and give you some activities to train the key concepts that I think are important for your players to understand in order to play within the formation most effectively.

Which Formation Should You Use?

Over the next two years every state in the U.S. will move to 7-a-side soccer for U9 and U10 teams.  Some have been using this format for years but others will be transitioning to it from 6v6, 8v8 or even 11v11. I thought this would be a good time to look at the different ways to organize a team to play 7 v 7.

In episode 24, Formations for Small-Sided Soccer, I talked about my view that when you’re choosing a formation for these age groups the focus should be on how they are going to help or harm your ability to develop your PLAYERS not on which one is most likely to make your TEAM successful. There’s nothing wrong with having a successful team at U9 or U10 unless you’re sacrificing long term development for short term wins.

I think you can have BOTH development and success but one has to have priority above the other. This decision will inform you choice of which formation or formations you use with your team.

I prefer to use more than one because each one has its strengths and weaknesses but more importantly because each one can be used to train a different aspect of the game that will benefit the players as they move to the next level.

There are three factors that I think you should take into consideration before choosing a formation: the size of the field, HOW you want to play and the experience level of your players.

US Soccer is  setting the maximum field size for this age group is 30 x 47. That’s a much more narrow field than most leagues and tournaments are using now. This makes it easier for two defenders to provide cover in the back.

Formations

2-2-2

• Advantages
  1. Narrow field – easy to cover
  2. Good pressure in the middle
  3. Two forwards
• Disadvantage
  1. No width created
  2. Hard to create angles for passes
  3. Very static
•  Transfer
  1. None
• What does it teach?
  1. Pressure and cover in defense
  2. Sliding from all positions

2-3-1

• Advantages
  1. Enough defense to cover small field
  2. Width created in the midfield
  3. Easy for players to see angle of support – diamonds
  4. Space for outside midfielders to attack
• Disadvantages
  1. One forward
  2. Hard for defenders to get forward safely
•  Transfer
  1. 4-2-3-1
• What does it teach?
  1. Creating supporting angles
  2. 1v1 in wide areas

2-1-2-1

• Advantages
  1. Enough defense to cover small field
  2. Holding CM helps defenders
  3. Defenders can get forward and have CM drop back
  4. Three CM creates opportunities to combine and join attacker
  5. Players can pull out wide and have the middle covered
• Disadvantages
  1. Getting one player to hold in the middle at this young age
•  Transfer
  1. 4-3-3
• What does it teach?
  1. Training a HM
  2. Transition of WM

3-3

• Advantages
  1. Solid defensive block
  2. Hard to break through
• Disadvantage
  1. VERY static
  2. Hard to stretch the opponent’s defense without a forward
•  Transfer?
  1. None I can see
• What does it teach?
  1. Creating a defensive block

3-2-1

• Advantages
  1. Lots of cover defensively
  2. Outside backs and get forward easily
  3. Two central midfield players
• Disadvantages
  1. Too defensive
  2. Forward could be isolated
  3. Easy for a 2-3-1 to play out of the back into wide areas
•  Transfer
  1. Inverted triangle in the middle of a 4-3-3
• What does it teach?
  1. Getting outside back into attack

3-1-2

• Advantages
  1. Same as 3-2-1 but with one fewer CM
  2. Two forwards to work together
• Disadvantages
  1. CM has too much space to cover
  2. This becomes a 2-2-2 in attack
  3. Unbalanced
•  Transfer
  1. Maybe 4-3-3
• What does it teach?
  1. Outside backs getting forward
  2. Training HM

My preference is to use the 2-3-1 because: two defenders are enough, the width comes from the midfield, I like the angles of support that are created by the position of the players and there is ample space for the wide midfielders to take players on 1 v 1.

Training

These are exercises that I will use to prepare my teams to play the 2-3-1 formation next year.

Training your players to defend in pairs will teach them how to pressure the ball and cover for each other making it easier for them to defend with only two in the back.

I will use the variations in episode 35 – 11 Diamond Drill Variations to train the players to take advantage of the diamond passing options that are available in the 2-3-1 formation.

Adding pressure in 4 v 1 and then 4 v 2 keep-away games will get them in the habit of playing into space and away from pressure.

This passing pattern will train the players to create opportunities by moving in relation to each other. It can also be done to finish on goal by combining with the forward (Player D).

These are just a few of the activities that can give your players the tools to get the most out of the 2-3-1 formation.

I think it’s important choose a formation with will provide the framework for you to teach the players how to play the game. You may choose to stick with one system to make it easy for your players to then focus on how they’re playing rather than where they’re playing. You can also use two or three different ones to allow you to highlight a certain area.

I would strongly suggest that you move your players from one position to another to expose them to playing in different areas of the field. This may bring out abilities that they didn’t even know they had. It also shows your players that every position is important. Everyone wants to score the goal and hear the cheers but we should educate our players (and their parents) that a great defensive play that saves a goal is just as important as a creative attacking play that scores one.

Printable Show Notes

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In the Next Episode

Next week I’ll look at the final stage of development before the players move to the full sided game. I’ll breakdown the systems of play that can be used for the 9-a-side game and how to train your players for this important final step.

If you don’t have an Instagram account I would suggest you check it out. Here’s a link to our feed:

You can find us @worldclasscoachingsoccer. Please follow us there if you’re on Instagram already. If you’re not, you should check it out because there are some interesting people to follow there (also check out @433) that relate to what we do.

This week I want to discuss what I think is the most important age group in youth soccer. I’ve had a couple of requests to go over the important technical and tactical aspects of this age group. Since most leagues around the country have started or are getting ready to start I thought this would be a good time to do it.

I firmly believe that the U8 age group is the most important age group we have. These players are the future of the sport and we should put our best resources behind their development.

That’s why I think that coaches who do a great job with U8 players should be considered just as important and sought after, if not more so, than coaches that win States Cups , High School Championships, NCAA Championships or titles at the pro level. Many of those coaches do not have the necessary skills and patience to develop players at this young age. And if we’re not developing young players, who are the coaches of the older age groups going to work with when their current crop of players ages out?

Goals

1. Fun First
   • They won’t keep playing if it isn’t fun
   • Soccer practice should look like play not like training
2.  Teach techniques and tactics at their level
   • They can learn more than you think they can
   • Presentation is the key
3. Create players who are confidence with the ball
   • Encourage experimentation
   • Reward effort over outcome
   • A skill must first be acquired before it can be applied
4. Make them to want to come back
   • The most successful U8 coaches are the ones who have all of their players back next year
   • We want our players to fall in love with the game
   • The only way to get them to progress is to get them to come back

Tryouts

1. Should we have them?
   1. Rec Model
      1. As many kids as possible
      2. Grouped by school
      3. Play with friends
      4. The more players we get started early, the more players we’ll have at u16,17,18
      5. Completely valid for the first two years I think
   2. So why doesn’t this happen
      1. Somebody started putting ‘good’ U8’s together
      2. Those teams were more successful
      3. Parents wanted their kids to have that opportunity
      4. Either for development or bragging rights
      5. Coaches did it for those same reasons
2. Premier Model
   1. There are benefits
   2. It’s easier to coach a group of players at a similar level
   3. It’s better for the development of the top players
      1. Greater challenge
      2. Progress learning faster
   4. It’s not better for the players below that level
      1. They would benefit from playing with the stronger players
      2. Our experiment with two teams together
   5. Important to focus on ‘Talent Identification’ vs ‘Talent Selection’
      1. What’s the difference
      2. Ajax looks for TIPS Talent, Intelligence, Personality, Speed
      3. Liverpool uses TABS Technical, Attitude, Balance, Speed
      4. Beware of ‘He/She really looks like a player!’
      5. Good article from ‘Changing the Game Project’
         1. http://changingthegameproject.com/our-biggest-mistake-talent-selection-instead-of-talent-identification/
      6. Tiered system to put players at the right level
         1. Players develop at different rates
         2. Have a place for the kid that loves the game and works hard
         3. He might be younger or smaller but you’ll want him when he’s older
         4. This helps you avoid ‘cutting’ players

Training

1. Fun First
   1. Organize as much as you can around fun game
   2. Always play a fun an engaging game first
   3. Always end with a ‘real’ soccer game
   4. This will have them excited when they get there and have them leaving wanting more
   5. Make skill exercises competitive whenever possible
   6. This can turn anything into a game
      1. Passing example
      2. Pass and follow
   7. Teach the key skills of the game
      1. Dribbling
      2. Shooting
      3. Receiving
      4. Passing
   8. Teach tactics they can understand
      1. Teach Space instead of positioning
         1. If you want to get frustrated fast
            1. Try to keep most U8’s in positions
         2. You should teach them what the positions are
         3. But more importantly
            1. Move the ball to space and away from pressure
            2. Find open space to receive the ball
         4. Teach pressure and cover defending to avoid ‘Bunch Ball’
            1. 2 v 2 is a great game for this
         5. Defensive posture and patience
            1. A 1 v 1 environment allows you to teach defense and practice attack
         6. It’s ok to start over
            1. Why would you want to pass back with the goal is over there!
         7. The game at the end of the session will help you teach some of these but games against other teams is where most of this learning will occur

Games

1. Let’s assume you’re playing 5 v 5 with goalkeepers
   1. You can use these same ideas if you’re playing without goalkeepers
2. I suggest teaching them to play 2-2 AND 1-2-1
3. Each have their developmental benefits
   1. 2-2 Benefits
      1. Simple
      2. Right – Left = Coach’s Side – Parent’s Side
      3. Balanced
   2. 1-2-1
      1. Teaches three lines – Def/Mid/For
      2. Right – Left – Split
      3. Common shape to the game
   3. Encourage decision making
      1. Avoid ‘Nintendo Coaching’
      2. Some direction is good but asking questions is better
      3. Ask, “What else could you have done?”
   4. Praise Effort not Outcome
   5. Coach don’t Criticize
      1. Nothing kills fun quicker than criticism
      2. That doesn’t mean you can’t coach
         1. Strike the right balance

There’s no doubt that working with U8 players can be a real challenge at times but if you take a moment to see the game from their perspective you’ll be better able to give them what they need to develop a life-long love of the soccer. Not to mention a great foundation for future success.

We would appreciate it if you would leave us a 5 star rating and a written review on iTunes to help spread the word about the show and the information that we are sharing here.

In Future Episodes

Next week I’m going to share a training session I did over spring break. It includes a number of competitive shooting games that the kids really enjoyed.

I was fortunate to be able to assemble an extremely knowledgeable and experienced group to address these issue:

Nick Garcia – Executive Director of Brookside Soccer Club

Chris Duke – Executive Director of Kansas State Youth Soccer

Shane Hackett – Executive Director of Heartland Soccer Association

Jon Parry – Director of Coaching – Boys of Sporting Blue Valley & Sporting Kansas City Academy Director

US Soccer has mandated a number of changes that will be occurring over the next two years.

First is a change from organizing teams based on birth dates from August through July to calendar year age groups.

Second, US Soccer will be requiring all U12 teams and below to play small-sided soccer. While many States have been doing this for years, there has been no set standard for roster sizes and playing formats.

Lastly, US Soccer has created Concussion Initiative Guidelines. Chief among them is a recommendation that heading be eliminated for players U11 and below with limited heading in practice for U12 to U13 players. This change took effect January 1, 2016 for the US Development Academies but as I understand it is up to each league and club to decide when and if the change will be implemented.

The discussion covered each of these areas and how the different entities are dealing with the challenges of making such important changes with as little disruption as possible.

Everyone agreed that clear communication to parents, players, coaches and administrators is vital to a successful transition.

A complete transcript of the discussion will be available in the printable show notes by Monday, February 29 so check back then if you’d like to download a copy.

I sincerely thank everyone involved for making this an interesting and helpful conversation.

We would appreciate it if you would leave us a 5 star rating and a written review on iTunes to help spread the word about the show and the information that we are sharing here.

In Future Episodes

On next week’s podcast I’ll have a discussion with Sporting Kansas City Assistant Coaching and Goalkeeper Coach John Pascarella about how we can do a better job of training our goalkeepers in a team environment.

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 situations. It’s a session that my players really enjoy and get a lot out of.  I’d encourage you to try it with your own team and see if you players aren’t more confident and creative afterward.

I’ve had many conversations with coaches and parents about whether or not creative players can be developed. It’s the same nature vs nurture argument that you can have about just about any aspect of human performance.

I believe that creativity is not so much taught as it is encouraged. We need to teach our players to control the ball and how to use fakes and moves to unbalance defenders but probably more important than that, we need to create an environment that encourages the use of these skills.

Too many players are taught HOW to be creative with the ball but then they’re criticized, made to feel guilty and even punished when it doesn’t work and they lose the ball. If you’re going to create skillful creative players you’re going to have to accept a period of time where they lose the ball more often than you’d like. But if you encourage them to take risks and go for it you’ll develop a player than can create something out of nothing.

This is a session that was inspired by a conversation I had with a fellow coach about a game that he played with his teams.

Free Dibbling

• Both Feet
• Favorite Foot
• Other Foot
• Two Footed ‘V’
• Footability

Pairs Between Cones

• A Ball Each
  • Staying on their side
  • Each at their own speed
  • Two Footed ‘V’
  • Footability
  • Foundations
  • First easy
  • To the ‘Edge of Out of Control’
  • Freestyle – Be creative and quick

1 v 1

• Each player gets 30 seconds with the ball
• Defender shadows the Attacker from their own side
• If the Attacker reaches the cone he receives a point
• Ladder progression
  • 1. Winner Moves Up
  • 2. Loser Moves Back

Ball Hog – 3 v 3 or 2 v 2

• Organization
  • Half of a court
  • One game on each half
  • Four teams of three
• Rules
  • Score in an end zone
  • Can only pass backward
  • Must dribble forward
• Observations
  • Players keep passing back at first
  • Fear of losing the ball
  • We tell them 1v1 is good but pass if it’s 1v3
  • Here we want them to go for it
• Coaching Points
  • Attack the spaces between defenders
  • Use Fakes
  • Quick Changes of Direction
  • Or Both
  • Support behind but to the side
  • In the open space
  • Attack the space quickly if you receive a pass

Scrimmage

• Talk about how the practice relates to the game
• Look for situations to be a ‘Ball Hog’
• When and Where
• In this game I want them to go for it

This session gives players permission to take players on and be creative. We all say we want to develop creative, skillful players but then we do one possession activity after the next where the emphasis is on keeping the ball and not losing possession. This sends our players the message that risk taking should be avoided because they might lose the ball.

It’s important to create a balance between the possession work that is necessary for the team to play together with work that puts the players in positions to take players on and make things happen. This will give them the skills to take advantage of both situations when they encounter them in the game.

We would appreciate it if you would leave us a 5 star rating and a written review on iTunes to help spread the word about the show and the information that we are sharing here.

In the Next Episode

Next week I’ll share a session that you might think is the exact opposite of the one I just talked about but I found that the two complimented each other perfectly when done back-to-back in the same week.

Our club took a two week break for the holidays. This is just as important for the players as it is for the coaches. It allows for everyone to spend time with family and friends and enjoy the holiday season.

For the last 30 years my family has taken a trip to Glenwood Springs, CO between Christmas and New Years. If you’re looking for a great place to teach your family to ski you won’t find a better place than Ski Sunlight.

I really enjoyed the break but I’m also excited to get back and start the second half of the soccer year.

Training Session

The session I share today is set indoors but it’s not specifically a Futsal session. The goal of the season is to teach the key aspects of possession that apply both indoors and out. These exercises will help us be successful now but more importantly they’ll provide a foundation for deeper understanding when we move outdoor in the spring.

Training indoors usually means being confined to a much smaller area than we often enjoy during the outdoor season. This means that any work on possession training must be done with smaller numbers in tighter spaces.

I actually view this as an advantage. It forces me to spend more time on the foundations of possession training: quality passing, width, penetration, and angles of support. All of these things transfer perfectly into the outdoor game so the work we do indoors will make the team much more fundamentally sound when the spring comes around.

Once I’ve taught my teams the key attacking and defending principles of Futsal we spend most of the rest of the season alternating between work on individual ball skills and team possession.

This session focused on possession is one that I return to, or some variation of it, a number of times during the winter.

4 v 1 or 4 v 2

I have the players start playing this as soon as they arrive. We vary the size of the area based on the number of players. Sometimes we start with 3 v 1 and progress to 4 v 1 and 4 v 2 as more players arrive. This gets the players moving right away.

Coaching Points

1. Right /Left / Split support
2. Sharpening angles
3. Movement to support
   1. Move toward the ball NOT away from it
   2. Off the shoulder of defenders
      1. Break lines of pressure
4. First touch
5. Quality of passes
6. When to dribble

Variations

1. One touch after five passes
2. Stay extra for 10 passes or a split
3. Must receive with sole

Square Passing

I use a square instead of a diamond to maximize the space we have. My teams train on basketball courts so we only have a space that is about 15 yards wide and 25 yards long.

Passing Progressions

1. Pass and Follow
   1. Open up
   2. Receive on back foot
2. Variation One
   1. Receive with sole of front foot
   2. Pull across the body
      1. Pass with the other foot
3. Variation Two
   1. Receive with sole of front foot
   2. Turn with the inside of other foot with back to pressure
   3. Pass with same foot
4. Variation Three
   1. Check toward ball
   2. Layoff to supporting player
   3. Run around corner cone
   4. Receive pass on the other side

This episode of Coaching Soccer Weekly is supported by ZoomReports.com. If you’re a coach looking to give your players valuable feedback or a director of coaching searching for a way to manage the evaluations for your whole club you should try a free trial of ZoomReports by going to ZoomReports.com and entering the promo code CSW when registering for the free trial.

Transitional Possession

Organization

1. Two Teams
2. One on each side of the court
3. Team in possession completes five passes
4. Defending team can sends one defender over to pressure
5. They add a defender each time the attacking team completes five passes
6. If defenders win the ball they pass it to their side
7. If the ball goes out it’s put back in play immediately
8. The first team to 10 points wins
9. The players must count out loud

Coaching Points

1. Move the ball away from pressure
2. Quality of touches and passes
3. Techniques repeated in Square Passing
4. R/L/S
5. Angles of support
6. ‘Sharpening angles’
7. Face the Field – Open body position

Variations

1. Start with NO defenders
2. Start with more than one
3. Number off and have players sprint for ball a new ball when one goes out of play

4 v 4 with Bumpers

Organization

1. Two teams on the court
2. One spread out on the sides of the field as neutrals
3. No Goalkeepers
4. Play five minute game and rotate

Futsal Game

We finish most training sessions playing the same format we’ll play on the weekend so this time of year we finish with a 5 v 5 Futsal game.

I look for coachable moments where there is a breakdown that results in the loss of possession. We talk about the different choices or techniques and then restart with the correct action.

I like to leave the last five to ten minutes for free, uninterrupted play.

This session would take about an hour and a half to complete. We usually only have an hour in the gym during the winter so I would do the Transitional Possession Game one week and then the following week cover the same warm-up and technical drills followed by the 4 v 4 Bumpers Game but always ending with a regular Futsal Game.

The third week I would plan an Whole / Part / Whole session like I describe in episode 28 on Organizing Your Training Sessions. That would start with the 4 v 4 Bumpers game and then the Square Passing or 4 v 1 Game depending on which area needed more attention; the technical work or shape and decision making work.

This three week micro cycle covers everything that the players need to learn in order to be able to maintain possession effectively. The concepts apply equally to the 5 v 5 Futsal game as they do the larger formatted outdoor game. This makes us more effective in the short term as well as providing a foundation for the work we will do in the spring.

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In the Next Episode

Next week I’ll share a shooting and finishing session that I do regularly with my teams during the indoor season. It includes the tight passing and support play that is needed for in the indoor game.

Coaching players of this age is very different than working with any other age group. The course shares some great methods to engage these young players and help them develop and understanding and love for practicing and playing the game.

If you work with players that are U10 or younger I would encourage you to take this course even if you’ve already achieved higher credentials. You can learn more about the USSF ‘F’ License by clicking the link.

Training Session

This session was inspired by one that I found on www.TheCoachingManual.com. I’m always looking for new and interesting ways to approach topics and I really enjoy how this site presents its sessions.

This session focuses creating an environment that will help to train your players when to dribble and when to pass.

Warm-Up

The area is 20 x 30 yards and can be used for the entire session with very quick modifications.

To begin with the players each dribble a ball around the area and discover the different techniques required to navigate each portion.

The players need to dribble the ball more closely when in a crowded space and can get the ball out of their feet and move faster when their is more open space.

Two to A Ball

The players are in pairs with one dribbling the ball inside the area and one moving around the outside. The player dribbling the ball performs one, two or three moves and then passes to their teammate on the outside. The outside player should move around the perimeter.

When the outside player receives the ball he takes his first touch into the largest space available.

Add Defenders

One pair is designated as defenders. They try to win the ball from dribblers and intercept passes. If they do then they dribble the ball and stop it on the sideline before going to pressure another player.

Each set of defenders work for 30 seconds to a minute before their change roles with another pair.

The players must now decide where to dribble and which moves to use in order to avoid the defenders and keep possession until they can pass to their teammate on the outside.

Team 2 v 2 Game

The team is divided in two with half of the players putting on pennies and going to one end of the area and the remaining players on the opposite side from them.

The team that is defending passes to the other team who tries to dribble, pass and combine to reach the other side of the area and stop the ball near the line.

If the defending team wins the ball they can counterattack and try to stop the ball on the other side of the area.

4 v 4 + 2

Moving to the expanded game you should look for the players to make good choices about where and when to dribble or pass.

I didn’t notice a complete transfer from the 2 v 2 to the 4 v 4 game. The players became a lot more direct than they were before. This caused them to force passes and over dribble more than they had before.

The next time I use this session I will use an endzone game rather than the four-goal format shown here. My hope is that the players will focus more on possessing the ball and making good choices than on just trying to score.

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In the Next Episode

I have an interview with Jonny Carter about how to prepare for and successfully complete your next coaching course. It was a really interesting discussion that I think you’ll enjoy.

With this foundation in place, the players need to repeat these skills over and over again in game situations. Small-sided games provide a fun and realist environment for this repetition. The players enjoy playing games so it’s much easier to engage them. The sessions are fast paced and fun for me too.

Next week I’ll give you some examples of adjustments that I make to small-sided games to focus on the aspects that I want to improve.

This week I want to discuss a situation that all coaches face from time to time – the lopsided matchup. These games are no fun for either team but they do present an opportunity that can make your team stronger going forward.

I’ll talk about my own experience with these types of games and how you can get the most out of them no matter which side of the result that you’re on.

The Challenge of the Mismatch

If you’ve coached for any length of time you will have been involved in a game where one teams was MUCH stronger than the other. This is not a good situation for either team; no one enjoys getting outplayed and outscored but even the team that is doing the scoring doesn’t enjoy the game because it’s not challenging for them and there’s no fun in winning a game by a wide margin against an opponent that doesn’t have the skills to compete.

This is different than winning a game by four or five goals against a team when you’re just playing really well and they can’t seem to find a way to stop you.

I’m talking about the games where the two teams don’t belong on the same field. This can happen in a tournament where the teams are incorrectly seeded or in a league game where a newly promoted teams from division three plays a team that was just moved down from division one. They are both division 2 teams but the difference in talent and ability may HUGE.

I had a recent experience with mismatched games in a tournament that I talk about in detail on the podcast. I used some of the strategies I’ll discuss to keep the score down and make it more competitive.

As with most situations we face, you can choose to be negative and resentful or you can try to get the most out of it you can.

What to do When You’re MUCH Stronger Than the Other Team

• Begin by having the team play as usual
  • Give your opponents the respect of playing your best
  • Sometimes they’ll put up a great defense fight and make it hard to score
  • May play especially defensive
    • Just sitting back
• Don’t assume anything at the start
  • Once the result is no longer in doubt
  • Your players know it and the other team knows it
  • This is when something needs to change

The First Adjustment I Make

• Rotate players into different positions
  • Benefits your players
  • They enjoy it
  • Probably makes it harder to score

Rules for Your Players

• Depends on what you want to train
• A move or fake each time they get the ball
  • Works well if the other team pressures the ball but you’ve been able to move it around them with passes
• A certain number of passes before you score
  • If you are just running through them each time
• Everyone touches the ball before you score
  • Gets everyone involved
• Switch the ball two or three times before you can score
  • Requires the players to read the space and pressure
  • Make them switch it in the attacking half
• Start with the goalkeeper for every attack
  • Build from the back
  • Difficult when you win the ball back near the opponents goal
  • Very obvious
• Only score in a certain way
  • Headers
  • Volleys
  • One touch
  • After a combination play
  • Weak foot

No Pressing

• Like in basketball
• Drop back when the goalie has it
  • Punt or goalkick
• Possession Only
  • My least favorite

The Problem with Altering Your Play

• Some coaches take it as an insult
• I’ve had coaches say, ‘Just play, it’s our job to stop you.’
• I understand this and respect that perspective
• I’m not trying to belittle the other team
• I’m just trying to train mine

What to do When You’re the MUCH Weaker Team

• If I know going in
  • Prepare the players
  • Sometimes
• Point to reasons
• No excuse for poor effort
• Give them things to focus on
  • Number of moves each player uses
  • Number of passes each player makes
  • Consecutive passes
  • Number of times in the other team’s half
    • Or box
• Change the formation
  • Help to keep it close
  • Make it as hard for them as possible
  • Teach the players a different way to play
• Leave the formation the same
  • Challenge them to play the best they can
  • Encourage them to measure their improvement not the result
  • Build confidence for future games

Change Style of Play

• A BIT more direct
  • Tough balance to strike
  • No kick ball
  • Don’t panic
  • BUT
  • Look for longer options
  • Play balls behind their defense

Attitude is everything

• Remain classy no matter what
  • This is the best lesson your players can learn from you
  • I’ve seen and heard some ridiculous things from coaches and parents
  • Your kids see this and will model it in the future
• This is true whether you’re up by a lot or down by a lot
  • The losing team aren’t the only ones that can act poorly
  • The winning team can be graceful or rude
  • Respectful or offensive
  • Running up the score is obvious but being rude while not scoring can be worse
• I tell teams that there is always someone better than you
  • You may be in their position one day so let’s respect them as we would want to be respected

Remember that regardless of the level we’re coaching we’re training kids to become good people not JUST good soccer players.

If you use some of these strategies when your next game gets out of hand you could be teaching your team something it would have taken much longer to do in any other way.

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In the Next Episode

Next week I’ll share how I use rules and restrictions to focus on certain skills or tactics when my teams are playing small-sided games during training.

The first is that they are mandating small-sided soccer for players below the age of 12. They are also standardizing the formats for each age group. The U8’s will play 4 v 4 without goalkeepers, U9-U10’s will play 7 v 7 and U11 and U12 teams will play 9 v 9. This is a change from the 6 v 6 and 8 v 8 formats that many of the State Associations have been using for years.

The second announcement is a change to the age group cut-offs from August 1st to January 1st.  The rest of the world has been using the calendar year age groups for more than twenty years. The funny part of this for me is that the US used calendar year when I start coaching more than 25 years ago but changed to get in line with the rest of the world that was using August 1st to fall in line with school year ages. When we changed to August 1st the rest of the world then switched to calendar year shortly after. Hopefully US Soccer has done more research this time so that this is the final change.

I think that the format change is great. Playing 7 v 7 and 9 v 9 makes a lot more sense than 6 v 6 and 8 v 8 when you look at the way they relate to the full sided game.

I don’t see how the age group changes matter one way or another for 90% of the youth players who will never complete for places on national teams.

The final question I have is when will this start. The changes are mandated for August 2017 but USYS has “encouraged adoption of best practices in August of 2016.” So it looks like it will be on a state-by-state basis which will cause chaos for a year when neighboring states make different decisions. Hopefully each region will be able to agree on how to proceed but that seems unlikely.

This week I finish up my series of episodes on formations for young teams with a look at how the different formations can be used with teams making the transition to the 11 v 11 game.

I’ll review each of the most common systems of play and look at how they can help or hinder developmental goals during this important transition.

11 v 11 Systems of Play for U13’s

When teams begin playing full-sided game it can be a very difficult adjustment. At this age the ball usually changes from a size 4 to a size 5. Also, the fields more than doubles in size but we only add three more players on each team.

These factors totally change the game. In small-sided games one player can take over a game but in the 11 v 11 game the team has to work together to retain possession and create goal scoring opportunities.

This transition is a time when the coach can create a playing environment that encourages the players to see options and make decisions. As I’ve mentioned in the previous two episodes, formations are not the most important factor in your team’s success but they are a framework you can use to train your players to play the game.

Today I’ll discuss each of the most common formations and how they can be used to develop players.

When I’m looking at a formation I’m looking for one that is simple to understand, easy to adjust depending on our players and type of team you’re playing and grants players the freedom and opportunity to make decisions.

I think using multiple formations is important for players because it helps them to understand different systems and ways of playing. The more experiences we give them the more well-rounded they will be.

All formations have strengths and weaknesses. They are just a tool to organize the players and like any tool they can be used to build or destroy.

4-3-3

In my opinion this is the most flexible system. There is a lot of room for player rotation. This has become the most popular ‘base’ system. Your players will likely play in some variation of this system in the future so it is a good one to introduce.

Strengths

• Solid back four
• Three players in the center of midfield
• Most modern formations have three in the middle
• Three attackers
• Covering the width of the field
• Keep opponent’s defenders pinned back
• Space for defenders to get forward
• Easy to open up and play out of the back
• Midfield can be adjusted to suit players and the game
  • 1-2
  • 2-1
  • Free Rotation

Weakness

• Get outnumbered in wide areas
• Center Striker can become isolated if wide attackers drop back to win the ball
• Only one option in the box for crosses

Application for Young Players

• This is the system the Dutch used in the 70’s to create Total Football
• Requires players to move to create options
• Players changing positions
  • Midfield
• Gives defenders attacking opportunities
• Space to create 1 v 1’s on the wings
• Easy to rotate wide defenders and wide forwards

4-5-1

This is very similar to 4-3-3 formation. You are just pulling the wide forwards back into midfield.

Strengths

• Very solid defensively
• Wide area are now defended

Weakness

• Isolated forward
• Asks them to hold the ball and bring players into the game
• Young players can become impatient and go on their own
• Out run their support

Application for Young Players

• In my opinion this is a fearful 4-3-3
• It compacts the field
• Makes it hard to get forward
• Need a strong target to hold the ball

4-2-3-1

You might look at this as just another 4-5-1. The difference is the freedom given to the three attacking mids and forward by the presence of two holding midfielders.

Strengths

• Clear distinction between back 6 and front four
• Holding mids create screen for defenders
• Frees up outside backs to attack with confidence
• Closer support for forward
• Creates wingers out of outside mids

Weakness

• Getting holding Mids to hold
• A bit more complicated
• Still have isolated forward

Application for Young Players

• This will take time for the players to understand
• There are so many different roles and responsibilities
• Rotating players asks them to drastically change how they are playing
• Play a number of games in a row in the same position to learn what to do before rotating

3-5-2

This is one of my favorite formations for young teams.

Strengths

• Continue to work with three defenders as we did in 3-3-1
• Lots of numbers in midfield
• Two forwards to work together
• Easy to open up and play out of the back

Weakness

• Defenders need to slide from side to side to cover the back
• Asks a lot of wide mids to get up and down to attack and help defend

Application for Young Players

• The three defenders doesn’t worry me a much at younger ages
• The players lack the ability to switch the point of attack directly
• We can slide as they switch it
  I usually play with one holding midfielder who is always responsible for being between the ball and the goal.
• This creates a great screen for the defenders
• If you have strong defenders and wide players you can dominate possession with this formation

3-4-3

This is my second favorite formation for young players.

Strengths

• VERY easy to understand
• Lots of attacking pressure
• I like to have all three forwards slide to the ball side of the field
• Makes it tough for defenders to play out of the back
• Our width comes from our wide mids

Weakness

• Can get out numbered in the center of midfield
• Three in the back is always riskier than four

Application for Young Players

• This creates diamonds of support everywhere
• Spreads the field and creates the most 1 v 1 opportunities of any formation.
• It does leave the defenders in the back
• They can’t get forward without risking counter attack or asking other players to cover
• I rotate defenders and midfielders (wide for wide and central for central) to solve this problem

4-4-2

This is not a system I see used all that often anymore. Some coaches who grew up playing it may fall back to it but most have moved on to more modern and dynamic systems of play.

Strengths

• The easiest transition for players to understand
  • 2-2-1 turns into a 3-3-1
  • 3-3-1 turns into a 4-4-2
• Great cover in the back
• Two strikers to play together up front
• Wingers to spread the field

Weakness

• Will get out numbered in the midfield

Application for Young Players

• I think this system will force players to play more directly especially in the center of midfield because they are outnumbered by most other formations
• I don’t like it because morphing into different formations is not easy
• I think it compacts the game and leads to more long balls to relieve pressure
• Frankly it just doesn’t suit my style of play

I accept that ANY formation could be used to train young players to play the game with possession, skill and creativity but I just think that some foster these qualities more easily than others.

Whichever formation you choose to play the most important thing is that you empower your young players to play the game with confidence and skill. If you focus on the process of development more than the results of the game then your players will follow your lead and you will be creating the foundation for the future of soccer in this country and around the world.

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In the Next Episode

Next week I’ll get back to sharing technical and tactical sessions I use with my own teams.  I think teaching players how to defend individually and in small groups is an underappreciated area by many coaches. In the next episode I’ll show you a complete defensive training session that I’ve used successfully with a wide range of age groups.

For younger players who are subbing more often and playing shorter games playing three or four games over a weekend can be good for them.Playing multiple games over a short period of time allows the player to learn from the previous experience and apply that knowledge in the next game. I think tournaments can be a useful tool especially early in the season when you’re trying to get a young team on the same page, very quickly.

This week I want to look at a key transitional period in development. The U11 and U12 years are crucial in the development of a player. You’ll often hear coaches talk about this period as the, ‘Dawn of Tactical Awareness’. The players become much more aware of how they can cooperate with their teammates to achieve mutual goals.
Until now their focus is usually more self-centered. I don’t think this should be looked at negatively because self-centered learning is an important stage of development and helps to provide a great environment for acquiring new skills.

As players make take the next step from a focus on themselves to small group dynamics they start to become aware of the importance of working together. This awareness comes at different ages for each player but U11 and U12 are generally accepted as an appropriate time to focus a bit more on team dynamics.

In this episode I’ll discuss the formations that I’ve seen used with these age groups  and how they can help players prepare for step up to full-sided soccer.

U11 and U12 Systems of Play

Twenty years ago or so, every age group played 11 v 11. So you would have eight year olds playing 11 v 11 on a large field. A short time later decision was made to play 4 v 4 for U8’s, 6 v 6 for U10’s and 8 v 8 for U12’s. Then U13 would be the age when teams began to play 11 v 11.

Looking back, it’s obvious that this change was a huge benefit to players enjoyment and development in the game.

Last week, in Episode 24, I discussed the possible formations that you could use for teams playing 6 v 6. This week I want to look at a key point in player development; the U11 and U12 years provide a vital link between small-sided soccer and the full-sided version. The way we organize the players in this stage can set them up for a smooth transition to the full-sided game.

What to Consider When Choosing a Formation

Do you want three lines?

• Attack
• Midfield
• Defense

Cover in the Back

• Three defenders covering the wide of the field
• Two defender working on covering each other with the help of the midfield

Width in the Midfield

• Create wingers to attack the flanks

Lone Striker or Pair

We’d all like to play with two but in 8 v 8 we run out of players to do all of this

Systems

2-3-2

This creates a balanced shape and creates lots of diamonds of support. I focus on creating Right-Left-Split. It also creates an easy transition if you want to play 3-4-3 in 11 v 11 game. Not many do but it can be effective given the right players.

Strengths

• Two forwards
• Good width from outside midfielders
• Lots of outlets defenders
• Easy to open up and play the ball out from the keeper

Weakness

• Only two at the back
• Puts huge pressure on your defenders and goalkeepers
• Doesn’t encourage defenders to go forward
• Not enough cover

Outside midfielders end up being responsible for going all the way up and down the line

This can be a useful formation if you a few solid defenders and a very good goalkeeper. If you know you’re stronger this formation puts more players forward and allows you to take advantage of this but it does leave you open to counter attacks.

2-4-1

This formation allows you to train center midfielders. You can have one attacking and one defending or play them side-by-side. This transition easily to a 3-5-2 formation in 11 v 11.

Strengths

• Wingers can really stay wide
• Two center midfielders can cover without help
• Defensive center midfielder to help back two

Weakness

• Only one forward
• Two at the back still have to cover the width of the field
• Wingers have to go farther forward with only one forward
• They still have to help defensively

I feel that this formation focuses too much on the midfield and not enough on the forwards or defense.

3-3-1

This provides and easy next step from the 2-2-1 formation in 6 v 6 and then to 4-4-2 in the 11 v 11 game.

Strengths

• Cover the width of the field in the back
• Still have width in midfield
• Opportunity to teach overlapping

Weakness

• Only one forward

This is by far the safest formation. It is  also simple for the players to understand.

3-1-3

This might be better be described as a 2-1-2-1. It can quickly collapse into a 3-3-1 defensively or expand into a 1-3-3 in attack.

Strengths

• Good cover across the back
• Lots of attacking options
• Teach outside players to get up and down the field

Weakness

• Can create gaps in wide midfield areas
• Players need to understand when to step up and drop back
• Good learning opportunity
• Lots opportunity for mistakes

I would use this formation as a transition once the players gain an understanding of 3-3-1. It also encourages outside defenders to get forward and outside midfielders to attack.

3-2-2

Two forwards that are positioned wide put pressure on the outside backs of the opposition to stay home. If you have two or three very strong and smart players that can play centrally this formation can take advantage of their strength. It also creates lanes for outside defenders to get forward. You can play with midfielders side-by-side or front and back.

Strengths

• Two forwards playing in the gaps between backs
• Other team has a hard time getting defenders forward
• Maintain three in the back
• Allows strong central players to get the ball a lot

Weakness

• Wide midfield areas are tough to cover
• Relies on the strength and intelligence of the midfielders

This is an advanced formation and requires a lot of understanding by the central players. I think you would spend more time coaching the formation than the skills of the game.

4-3

You could use this formation to train the roles and responsibilities of a back four. The midfield three can play with two attacking or two defending.

You might use this system if the other team is stronger and you want to defend and then counterattack.

Strengths

• Very solid defensively
• Tough to attack centrally
• Outside backs can get forward and not sacrifice cover

Weakness

• No attacking outlet
• Allows other team to possess out of the back and keep possession

I feel that this system is far too defensive to be played with young players. It’s too ‘Tactical’. The game should be about learning the principles of attacking, defending and possessing at these age groups not just going for a result

There are probably other ways to organize a team to play 8 v 8 but these are the most common I’ve seen on the field or in my reading and research.

Whichever formation you choose to play you should focus first and foremost how playing that shape will benefit the players and guide them in their transition from small-sided to full-side soccer.

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Click on the image of the notes and if you’re already logged in to the Training Center you’ll be taken to the Podcast page. If you’re not logged in your be taken to a login page where you’ll also be able to login or register if you are not already a Member.

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Make sure you subscribe to Coaching Soccer Weekly through iTunes, or your podcast provider of choice, to be sure you never miss an episode.

We would appreciate it if you would leave us a 5 star rating and/or a written review on iTunes to help spread the word about the show and ensure that we can continue to bring you top notch guests in the future.

In the Next Episode

I’ll look at the final step in this process and discuss the different systems of play for the 11 v 11 game and how they can help achieve developmental goals.

This is a topic that I have on my list but it’s one that I’ve avoided because it’s not one of my strengths. I have a couple of corners and free kicks that I use with my teams but I don’t’ have enough to focus a whole episode on this topic. I’ve planned to do some research and put an episode together but I haven’t gotten around to it.

I thought this would be a good opportunity to ask you to share your favorite set play or restart. Everyone has a couple that they use with their teams. If we put those all together we could create a great resource for all of us. If you send me your one or two favorite ideas then I’ll combine those into an episode and eBook. The easiest way to send these to me would be if you use our Session Designer through the Member Drills Database.

You can create the diagram and description there and just send me the URL from that page. You can also email them to me at tommura@worldclasscoaching.com. If you send those to me I’ll put it all together for a future episode.

Formations for Small-Sided Soccer

There are a great many books and videos that discuss the different formations that can be played in the full-sided, 11 v 11 game but I haven’t seen many that look at how coaches should organize their players when they are younger and playing 6 v 6, at U8, 9, 10 or 8 v 8 at U11 and U12.

There are some leagues and associations that use 7 v 7 for the U8’s through U10’s and 9 v 9 for their U11 and U12 small-sided soccer games. We will actually be making the change to those formats next year but I thought I would deal with how we are playing now in hopes that other coaches are trying to decide how they will play and maybe this will be helpful to them.

Some coaches may say that it’s not important which formation you play with these age groups; it should just be about technical development. And I agree that technical development should be our primary focus of our work with young players but which formation you use can have a direct impact on player development.

The formation creates a framework for the choices the players have to make. Each formation present the players with different option during the course of the game. If we want to create lots of 1 v 1 situations then there are formations that will spread the players out and make that happen. If we want to focus on getting them to see angles of support and passing options then another formation might work better.

There are five different formations that I’ll discuss today. I’ll point out why they might be used along with their strengths and weakness.

2-2-1

There was a time that this was the most common formation I saw used with 6v6. It provides three lines, Defenders, Midfielders, A Forward. This creates an easy transition to a 3-3-1 in 8 v 8. That leads into a 4-4-2 in the 11 v 11 game.

Strengths

• Defensively solid
• Easy to understand
• Right and Left
• Teach players to slide to the ball side and cover
• Converts to a 2-3 in attack

Weakness

• Easy to play through the middle if players get stretched
• Lone forward can get isolated
• Middle is empty when the goalkeeper wins the ball and defenders open up
• As a club we want to play out of the back as often as possible

I don’t like to use this anymore because it doesn’t create triangles and diamonds that make decision making much easier.

1-3-1

I don’t see this very often. I observed PSV playing this formation in a 6 v 6 game during a tour we guided to Holland a number of years ago. The center midfielder got back to help cover the defender. Then it looked like a 2-2-1 until they won the ball. The wings would spread out and create a diamond going forward.

Strength

• Stretch the defense with wingers
• Create diamond shape
• Penetration
• Depth
• Width
• Lots of choices so lots of opportunities for improvisation
• Numbers in attack

Weakness

• LONE DEFENDER
• This would create a lot of 2 v 1’s if the CM got caught too high
• Lone forward
• Could become disconnected
• Wide players not tucking in to cover middle with CM drops back
• Hard to play out of the back without having lots of player change position when the keeper has the ball

This formation would definitely add more width to the game but playing with one true defender against at least one forward would put a lot of pressure on that player. I suppose it would be good for teaching 1 v 1 defending and the importance of recovery runs but it would give me a stomach ache.

3-2

I’ve used this formation when I’ve coached weaker teams or when playing a superior opponent. It can also be a good way to introduce the 6 v 6 game to new players.

Strength

• Solid defensively
• Two forwards to work together
• Easy for players to understand
  • “Where does a midfielder go?”
• Easy to get the ball wide out of the back
• Switching the ball across the back is easy
• Lots of opportunities for wide defenders to get forward down the line
• Playing give-and-goes with the forwards to join the attack
• Easy to open up when the keeper has the ball
• I’ll talk more about that at the end

Weakness

• Doesn’t teach the concept of playing with three lines
• Three lines of pressure are tougher to break down
• Less attackers if the outside backs don’t get involved

This is one of three formations I use with my own teams. They all morph easily from one to the other and are easy to understand.

2-3

This formation works well when you have a strong team that attacks and defends well. Committing players forward creates lots of chances. Two solid defenders can work together to defend effectively. So this is not a risky fromation with good players.

Strengths

• Width in attack
• Create lots of 1v1’s on the wings
• Beat a player wide and someone will be open in the middle
• Two defenders provide enough cover
• Easy to open up and play out from the goalkeeper
• Two defenders can easily open up and play out of the back

Weakness

• Doesn’t create three lines
• Make sure there isn’t a large gap between the two lines
• Defenders can become, ‘stuck’ in the back

I don’t use this as often as 3-2 and the next formation, the 2-1-2. I don’t think that it encourages defenders to get forward enough. Sure, you can teach the players that they don’t always stay back but it’s hard to create chances for them to get forward in this arrangement.

2-1-2

I love all of the angles and options that this formation presents. It’s easy to put your strongest player in a position where they can impact every phase of the game.

Strengths

• Two defender
• Two forwards
• Three lines
• VERY simple to open up and play from the back
• Triangles of support all over the field
• Great for laying out easy decisions for the players
• Spreads the field and creates lots of 1v1 opportunities
• I want my players looking to beat players 1v1 so this is perfect
• Easy to switch to 3-2 or 2-3 during the game
• Not hard to explain to the players

Weakness

• Can get outnumbered in the midfield
• Who covers wide players in the midfield CM or Defender

I don’t see a lot of negatives to this formation. I think it can work well for a team with only a couple of strong players. Put them in the middle and they can help everyone. It can also work for a strong team because it creates a lot of 1 v 1 situations to take advantage of.

I may start the season with 3-2 but my goal is to switch to a 2-1-2 as the season progresses.

Playing Out of the Back

I mentioned that as a club we want to focus on playing out of the back. The 3-2, 2-3 and 2-1-2 all provide an easy shape for us to open up from. We end up creating the same shape regardless of the formation

The Risk

Playing out of the back is risky. Even experienced players will make mistakes. You have to accept mistakes as a part of the process and use those times as opportunities to teach the players.

Choosing a formation for teams playing small-sided soccer should be more a matter of finding a framework to train your players how to play than a system to maximize your chances to win the game. I have no problem with winning! But winning while developing creates the Win-Win that will give your players the foundation for future development and success.

Printable Show Notes

The show notes for each episode are accessed through the WCC Training Center.

They are FREE but you will need at least a Free Membership to the Training Center in order to view and print them.

Click on the image of the notes and if you’re already logged in to the Training Center you’ll be taken to the Podcast page. If you’re not logged in your be taken to a login page where you’ll also be able to login or register if you are not already a Member.

Remember!

Make sure you subscribe to Coaching Soccer Weekly through iTunes, or your podcast provider of choice, to be sure you never miss an episode.

We would appreciate it if you would leave us a 5 star rating and/or a written review on iTunes to help spread the word about the show and ensure that we can continue to bring you top notch guests in the future.

In the Next Episode

Next week I’ll discuss the formations that I’ve seen work well for U11 and U12 players. These are important ages because they are getting ready to transition to play the full-sided game. The decisions we make at this stage can make that transition easier or more difficult.

Please let me know what you think of those and if there’s anything you’d like to see done differently. I take your comments and requests seriously because they will give you more of what you’re looking for which can only improve the podcast.

In the last couple of weeks I’ve been working on things to get ready for next season. In addition to coaching teams in the club. I’m also the Skills and Curriculum Director for the U8-U12.

I take this responsibility very seriously because what these young players learn now directly effects their future development. We do something that I think is fairly unique that I believe will make a huge difference in the technical ability of our players so I thought I would share our process with you in this episode.

Technical Training

I think most coaches and club directors would agree that proper technical training should be the primary focus of our teams in their early years of development. Unfortunately, coaches sometimes focus too much on elements that will help the team win today rather than help the players develop in the future. This loss of focus can happen because of pressure to win either from the coach themselves or from the parents and players.

As a club we decided to make one of our two training sessions each week strictly a Technical Training session.

The main purpose of our Technical Training curriculum is to provide foundation for our player’s continued technical development. Gary Allan with Minnesota Youth Soccer said it very well in a article he wrote for their website on developing a coaching philosophy, “Just as it is necessary for builders to cut deep into the ground for a foundation of a tall building, so you are laying the groundwork for the future. No one looks in awe at the gaping hole that is dug, or ever sees the concrete laid for a building’s foundation once it is built, but in order for a beautiful and majestic building to rise, the solid, but unseen, foundation is necessary.”

We also implemented this program as a way to provide equal training opportunities for all levels of players within an age group.

By having a set curriculum we are also educating our coaches as we train our players. The coaches receive a manual that outlines each exercise for each training session in the Micro Cycle. The descriptions include the key coaching points that should be focused on.

Rather than writing out a complete description of the methods we use. I will have the podcast transcribed and added to the printable show notes next week. I’d do it sooner but transcription takes one week to complete unless you want to pay three times as much (and I don’t).

I have included the study on small-sided soccer and the Manchester United 4 v 4 Scheme in the printable show notes below.

Printable Show Notes

The show notes for each episode are accessed through the WCC Training Center.

They are FREE but you will need at least a Free Membership to the Training Center in order to view and print them.

Click on the image of the notes and if you’re already logged in to the Training Center you’ll be taken to the Podcast page. If you’re not logged in your be taken to a login page where you’ll also be able to login or register if you are not already a Member.

Remember!

Make sure you subscribe to Coaching Soccer Weekly through iTunes, or your podcast provider of choice, to be sure you never miss an episode.

We would appreciate it if you would leave us a 5 star rating and/or a written review on iTunes to help spread the word about the show and ensure that we can continue to bring you top notch guests in the future.

In the Next Episode

Next week I’ll be spending some time away with my family so there won’t be a full podcast but I will share a 1 v 1 exercise that I’m planning to use toward the end of our 12-week Technical Training Curriculum that I think you’ll find interesting.

Last week I gave you an overview of our tryout process. This week I look at how I arrived at a formation and style of play for one of my teams as well as how it evolved and changed over the course of the year as well as how it might change during a game.

This is a process that I think we all go through with our teams. I thought you might find it interesting to hear how I approached the task. I’d be interested in your perspective as well so please let me know what you think by sending me an email or posting in the comments section of CoachingSoccerWeekly.com under this episode.

Formations, Systems of Play and Player’s Roles & Responsibilities

I want to talk about making adjustments to your team during the game but first I think it’s important to set the stage by talking about how you arrive at a formation for your team in the first place.

I always say that at the beginning of the year it’s like you have a puzzle to put together but the problem is there is no picture on the pieces; you just have to starting trying to put them together until they fit.

Coaches all have their favorite formations. Ones that they’ve played, formations that they are comfortable teaching and have worked for them in the past. But I don’t believe that you can put any set of players into any  formation and make it work for them. The formation needs to be adjusted to fit the players not the other way around.

First I find out where the players are comfortable. This might be where they’ve played in the past or just where they are most comfortable on a soccer field.

While I have some ideas of where they can play from tryouts. I don’t pick my teams by position at the younger ages. I focus on selecting the players that are of a similar ability and then fit them together into a team. At the older ages we look more at creating a balance between defenders, midfielders and forwards within the team.

During the first couple of week I look for the tendencies of the players. Are they more attacking or defensive minded? Are they aggressive or a little soft? Who is good technically? Who can strike the ball well? No player has everything in one package. Every player has something to offer the team. Our job as coaches is to arrange these players to maximize their talents and combine them into an effective team.

I play a lot of small-sided games with the players and have them organize their own teams so I can see what positions they gravitate toward. I also have them rotate often so I can see them in different positions.

Having our teams in the same age train at the same time on adjoining fields gives us the opportunity to scrimmage for the last part of practice occasionally. This makes it easy for me to move players around and try different formations.

A preseason tournament can provide a great opportunity to evaluate your team’s abilities and potential formations. I like to find friendly events with no finals if possible. Playing three or four games over a weekend makes it easy to compare how they look playing in different shapes without being concerned about advancing.

I start with my favorite formations: 3-4-3 for girls teams and younger teams, 4-3-3 for most other teams. I like playing with three up front and with girls and younger teams you can often play with three in the back because they’re not able to switch the ball with one touch to expose the back side of our defense.

I like the 4-3-3 formation because of how flexible it is. You can move easily from there into a 4-2-3-1, 4-3-2-1 or even 4-5-1. This makes it easy for the players to see how minor adjustments to their roles and responsibilities can transform the formation.

Sometimes this is all it takes and it’s obvious how the players fit together. But this year I had a team that was difficult to organize from the beginning of the season.

Difficulty Finding a Shape

I coached a U12 competitive team this year that had been very successful the previous year but had some turnover of players during tryouts. I added some very good players but we needed some work technically. That’s not unusual for players at this age but we were more talented physically than we were technically at the beginning of the year. Add to that the fact that we would be playing up in the U13 division so that we could play 11 v 11.

I’ll let you listen to the podcast to hear how we approached these challenges.

I think as coaches sometimes we want to tinker with the team too much. Once you have a formation, system and style of play that works well for your players you don’t want to change it drastically. Subtle adjustments to the player’s roles and responsibilities can completely alter the focus of the team and help them see out a game much more easily than completely changing formation.

Printable Show Notes

The show notes for each episode are accessed through the WCC Training Center.

They are FREE but you will need at least a Free Membership to the Training Center in order to view and print them.

Click on the image of the notes and if you’re already logged in to the Training Center you’ll be taken to the Podcast page. If you’re not logged in your be taken to a login page where you’ll also be able to login or register if you are not already a Member.

Remember!

Make sure you subscribe to Coaching Soccer Weekly through iTunes, or your podcast provider of choice, to be sure you never miss an episode.

We would appreciate it if you would leave us a 5 star rating and/or a written review on iTunes to help spread the word about the show and ensure that we can continue to bring you top notch guests in the future.

In the Next Episode

Next week I want to talk about how you can improve the technical ability of the players in your club with a systematic approach that I think you’ll find interesting.

I know your team will enjoy these warm-up activities and you’ll find that when you start your sessions the way I describe, your players are more prepared and engaged right from the start.

Fun Warm-Ups

The warm-up activity you choose is important to get your players mentally and physically ready for the session. Your players are usually coming from school or other activities and you need to get their attention and focus before they’re ready to learn what you have to teach.

Fun warm-up games are a great way to engage players of any age. I think we sometimes forget that unless we’re working with professional teams ( and I doubt that anyone listen to this podcast is )we’re coaching kids. These kids are playing soccer mostly because they enjoy it. The more they enjoy what they’re doing the more eager they will be to listen and learn what you have to teach them.

Some of these games have names that might indicate to you that they are only for young players. I’ve used them with teams of every age from U8 to U18. I suggest that you use them with any team you work with.

I’m confident that your player will get as much out of them as mine do.

Stuck in the Mud

Rules:

• One ‘It’ player
• Everyone else dribbling
• Stuck if your ball is tagged
• Unstuck by teammate
• Start with one ‘It’ player progress to more

Focus:

• Always be moving
• Keep the ball close and under control
• Protect Ball
• Use the foot farthest from the defender
• Shield
• Face up
• Help teammates

Progressions:

• Set time to get everyone stuck
• Work in pairs

Hospital Tag

Rules:

• Everyone dribbles
• Everyone is ‘It’
• Tag a player with your hand
• They have to hold that spot
• When tagged a third time they go to the ‘Hospital’
• Perform five moves or physical exercise before returning

Variations:

• Have players only tag shinguards
• Have players touch the ball
• Tagged player holds a certain part of the body
• Designate one or more  ‘It’ players without a ball

Tag

Begin with basic game of tag – no soccer balls. One or more ‘It’ players hold a penny or scrimmage vest. The ‘It’ player tags other player with their hand. That player then becomes ‘It’

Next, EVERY player has a ball – including ‘It’ players. All other rules are the same.

Then progress to having the ‘It’ players run without a ball. They try to touch the soccer ball of the dribblers with their foot. If they do then they get the ball and the other player gets the shirt.

You can progress this further by saying that the ‘It’ player has to TAKE the ball, not just touch it. This means that the players have to fight for possession even if there ball is touched away by the ‘It’ player.

Possession Coaching Points:

• Protect your ball
• Keep the ball away from the defender
• Use the farthest foot
• Bend your knees and move the ball farther away
• Keep the ball moving
• Look to turn into space
• Don’t just run away
• Be strong on the ball

Defensive Coaching Points:

• Work hard to win the ball
• Tough but Fair
• Give the ball back if accidently foul dribbler

American Gladiators

Set-Up:

Create two or more 10 to 15 yard grids. Six to eight players are on a team in each area. One player from each team is designated as the ‘Gladiator’. On the coach’s signal the ‘Gladiators’ enter the other team’s area and try to knock all of the player’s soccer balls out of the area. The team who lasts the longest wins that round. Play until one team has won certain number of rounds.

Stress of the the coaching points from the previous games that will help the players protect the ball as in the other games.

Variation:

• When a player loses their ball they stay in the area
• Support their teammates who are under pressure
• Receive passes and move the ball away from pressure
• This takes the game from individual to team possession
• When to pass and when to keep the ball
• Spread out and make the area the defenders have to cover large
• Move the ball away from pressure and into space

All of these games require every play to be moving and active. The players each have a ball most of the time so there is a strong technical component to each of these games.

You can have the players perform dynamic stretches between each round to form a complete warm-up. This will have your players physical and technically ready for the session. They will also be engaged and excited about what you have planned for them next.

Printable Show Notes

The show notes for each episode are accessed through the WCC Training Center.

They are FREE but you will need at least a Free Membership to the Training Center in order to view and print them.

Click on the image of the notes and if you’re already logged in to the Training Center you’ll be taken to the Podcast page. If you’re not logged in your be taken to a login page where you’ll also be able to login or register if you are not already a Member.

Remember!

Make sure you subscribe to Coaching Soccer Weekly through iTunes, or your podcast provider of choice, to be sure you never miss an episode.

We would appreciate it if you would leave us a 5 star rating and/or a written review on iTunes to help spread the word about the show and ensure that we can continue to bring you top notch guests in the future.

In the Next Episode

In next week’s episode I’ll share my player’s favorite possession game. This is a great game that can be used with almost any age group or ability level. This game is also an excellent environment to train all of the key elements of possession.

I especially appreciate the ‘Five Star’ iTunes reviews and comments:

• Grant77 said ‘A quality coaching education podcast’ – Thanks Grant!
• Briarwood said ‘ Really enjoying the practical examples of coaching sessions to work on various techniques and tactics’ – Thanks Briarwood!
• Cspalding said ‘An informative offering. This Podcast offers great insight on techniques for coaching soccer that can be used at many different levels, from coaches that are new, to coaches that have been working in the field that are looking for a fresh take. The podcast offers valuable insight on not just how to work on specific tactics and skill sets, but why you need to work on them. The positive approach is refreshing and the information is concise. What a great piece for any coach trying to improve! Two thumbs up’ – Thanks Cspalding!

Thanks to all of the coaches who have taken time to give us a review or send us their comments.

This week  we talk with Stevie Grieve. Stevie is the Head of Coach Education for a Football School in India. There he is responsible for designing and implementing a coaching education program for more than 100 coaches. He is also the Head of Youth Development and Technical Director for Garhwal FC where he has developed a curriculum and weekly framework for teams from U9 to U19. He also regularly coaches training sessions across all of these age groups.

Stevie has become a true student of soccer tactics. He’s written 10 tactical books with a focus on the modern evolution of the 4-3-3 into the 4-2-3-1. He’s a regular contributor of article to the WORLD CLASS COACHING magazine. The articles focus on tactics that are being used by the top teams from around the world.

He also uses these skills as a TV analyst for Champions League and Europa League games as well as his own tactical show that is broadcast across South Asia call ‘The MindGame’ for Ten Sports in India.

We talk about how the trends and tactics at the highest level of the game affect the grassroots development of soccer players in youth clubs.

Here are some of the questions I ask and things we discuss:

• Is there a connection between what’s happening at the top level and the instruction players are receiving at the club and in grassroots soccer?
• Do you see this just with youth clubs that are attached profession organizations?
• Do you think this is beneficial to overall player development?
• We all want to see a creative, skillfully played game. Do you think our current youth development model and tactical trend will encourage this?
• Can we create these types of players and teams or does it need to happen organically?
• If we can create them, How?
• If we can’t, what kind of environment can we create that will nurture and encourage them to develop naturally?
• In general do you see that we are moving forward or backward in our efforts to raise the level of play globally?
• Do you think we’ll begin to see Indian players on the rosters of major clubs around the world?
• Are there three things that you think every youth coach should be doing with their players to give us the best chance to develop players that can excel in the modern game?

You can follow Stevie on Twitter @Steviegrieve and see his weekly blog post on www.CoachingSoccerTactics.com.

Don’t Forget!

Make sure you subscribe to Coaching Soccer Weekly through iTunes, or your podcast provider of choice, to be sure you never miss an episode.

We would appreciate it if you would leave us a 5 star rating and/or a written review on iTunes to help spread the word about the show and ensure that we can continue to bring you top notch guests in the future.

In the Next Episode

In next week’s episode I’m going to break down a number of different ways to use the most popular possession game used by coaches at every level. It’s one we all use but I usually see it done only one way when there are a number of different ways to format the game depending on what you want to achieve.