SoccerCoachWeeklyIssue 285 Wednesday, October 10, 2012

The pressure game

1SoccerCoachWeekly Essential tools for your team

They say all good teams should defend from the front, and this exercise rehearses defending in every area of the pitch. It’s great for pressuring opponents, shutting the ball down and limiting opposition forward movement. Another feature of this game involves defending when outnumbered, and when the team is out of balance.

How to play it• The game starts with one of the keepers, who plays out to an attacking team mate in his zone.• For this game you need balls, bibs, cones and goals. • Set up a 60x30-yard area with three equal zones, as shown.• The game is 6v6, plus keepers.• The game starts with one of the keepers, who plays out to an attacking team mate in his zone. Attackers can drop back, able to move freely from area to area.• The defending team, however, is locked into the grids - two players in each in a 2-2-2 formation.• Because attacking team members can drop back to support, they will create overloads against a maximum of only two ‘defenders’ in each section.• But when attackers lose possession, each must recover back to his original area as quickly as possible and cannot tackle until he is back there.• As you would expect, the defenders’ best chance of turning over possession is to close down quickly.

Technique and tactics• Look for players forcing errors. Turning over possession in dangerous areas is key.• Defenders must decide the best areas to force attackers into. That could be back into the previous zone or wide away from the danger areas. • They must also recognise when to go and press the ball, and when to drop off.

Winning the ball high up the pitch means reds now have an effective overload. They take advantage of this and score

The keeper plays out into the first zone with the defending team locked with two players in each zone

Pressing high can result in the defending team winning the ball. Now, whites have to retreat back into two players per zone

TOOLS, TIPS AND TECHNIQUES

David Clarke Head Coach, Soccer Coach Weekly

30yds

20yds 20yds 20yds

player movement ball movementshot

2

SoccerCoachWeekly WARM UPWednesday, October 10, 2012

Run and avoid the pass

SoccerCoachWeekly Essential tools for your team

Soccer Coach Weekly is published by Green Star Media Ltd, Meadow View, Tannery Lane, Bramley, Guildford, GU5 0AB, UK. Email: david.clarke@coach-soccer.com Tel: +44 (0)1483 892894 Head Coach: David Clarke Editor: James Evans Publisher: Kevin Barrow Managing Director: Andrew Griffiths

Customer Service: Duncan Heard Designer: Steve Southern Contributors: Michael Beale, Stuart Denser, Alan Hart, David Lewis, James Michaels, Steve Watson © Green Star Media Ltd. All rights reserved.

How to play it• Divide your players into two teams. In the example shown, I’m using six players per team in a 20x20-yard area, but feel free to choose your player numbers and area size to suit.• One team acts as the runners and works inside the area.• Give the other team six balls and spread the players around the outside of the area. These players are the passers.• The passing players must pass below knee height or the pass does not count.• Ensure too that each ball played is actually a pass (not a shot). It must be made with the side of the foot only.• The running players must be constantly on the move, trying to avoid being hit by a ball from the outside players.• If one of the running players is hit by a pass they are out of the game.• The game can be scored in two ways:

- The last player running is the winner- Time how long it takes all the passers to get all the running players out

• Now swap teams.

Technique and tactics• Runners must be aware of both team mates (so they don’t get in each others’ way) and the passers (so they can avoid being hit). Keeping heads up at all times is crucial.• For passers, this is a great exercise in assessing a situation that’s developing in front of them. Should they pass the ball towards a group of players (target practice) or aim the ball where they feel opponents may run (anticipation)?

Players set up in two teams of six – one on the inside of the area, another around the edge

The outside players must eliminate opponents by playing the ball against them

The last man standing is the winner

A UNIQUETAKE ONTARGET

PRACTICE!

Michael Beale Premier League Academy soccer coach

player movement ball movement

20yds

20yds

3

SoccerCoachWeekly FOOTY4KIDS

The 3-2-1 gameHere’s a simple attacking game

that makes players approach the idea of attacking play in different ways

How to play it• Create a 40x30-yard playing area with a goal at both ends, as shown.• Divide your players into teams of four or five. There is no need for keepers.• Players play as they would a normal game, except for the fact they are, at first, restricted to three touches of the ball before passing or shooting. Scoring a goal is worth one point.• When a team scores, it must go to two-touch, but the next goal scored is worth two points.• Finally, teams that score while playing two-touch must go to one-touch, but the next goal is worth three points and completes the challenge.• Which team can get to the magical six points first by scoring three-touch, two-touch and one-touch goals?

Techniques and tactics• As with any game that limits the number of touches allowed, players must show good technique, must be aware of the players around them, and must be moving for the ball at all times.• What’s more, as the number of permitted touches decreases, you’ll see teams attacking in different ways. With three touches the approach play can be formed of measured dribbles, but when one-touch, there will be greater urgency and a more direct passage to goal.

The first challenge is for a team to score a goal using no more than three touches

Playing two-touch offers a tougher challenge

SoccerCoachWeekly Essential tools for your team

And reds complete the game by constructing a one-touch goalscoring move

Steve Watson Editor, Footy4kids.co.uk

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

FANTASTIC VERSATILE

ATTACKING PRACTICE

30yds

40yds

ball movement shot

3 touch

Reds, now 2 touch

Reds, now 1 touch

4

SoccerCoachWeekly TOUCHLINE TALES

Moving indoors

SoccerCoachWeekly Essential tools for your team

The evenings are drawing in and the pitches are becoming a lot more sodden, so I’m ready to run some sessions indoors to take advantage of increased light and a fast, dry environment. Within the next couple of weeks I’ll start running indoor sessions, going big on the skill and technique side of developing my players.

I had a problem last season in that once we had gone indoors things like goal kicks, corners and free-kicks became secondary to building attacks from the back. So my players were fantastic playing through midfield and attacking wide or centrally, but when it came to free-kicks we looked rusty. It’s obvious why – little practice meant poor execution.

What I had to do was ensure we spent time outside for half an hour or so a week practising those things. We’re lucky that we have floodlit facilities (albeit in high demand), but I hadn’t built any extra training time into my pre-season calendar

for parents and players, so many moaned about coming out an additional evening a week!

This year I have built the whole thing into my session plans so the parents have known well in advance when we want to do extra work. It also means we can sort out tactics for matches that take place on what can only be described as mud baths!

How I envy those of you who have hard pitches and generous amounts of daylight all year round where good, clear passing play can be maintained whatever the season.

Going back indoors also adds a big element of fun and fitness. Simple games of 3v3 can become really fun when you are indoors. Adding to that the fact that my indoor pitch has four walls, means games are fast, skilful and offer players plenty of touches of the ball.

Indeed controlling a ball hit off the wall at different angles is a great way to give players the skills to control passes in matches, and you can build your team’s passing game from there. So the fitness and fun angle is a plus that will make up for the things that I cannot work on when training indoors.

Now could be the right time for you to consider a change in tact for training. The first indoor session is always played in a cacophony of noise, laughter (and an amount of chaos) because the ball just keeps coming back however hard it’s kicked, but stick with it and see the difference in your players.

The man in black is you!Anyone involved in youth soccer needs

to be prepared that one day he may be asked to take charge of a game, but if you’re a coach, you’re much more likely to receive the call. So it pays to be prepared.

Here are nine things you should consider:

1. The rulesThe biggest thing any stand-in ref needs

to have a grasp on. As a coach anyway, you should be okay on this one!

2. A decent stopwatch (or two)Get the team to club together for a

stopwatch with nice big controls that work for cold fingers. And never trust your wristwatch!

3. Check the pitchYou must assess the playing surface

before a game. Be prepared for clearing away dog mess and the odd bit of litter.

4. You’re not aloneBrief the assistant referees on exactly on

what you expect from them (e.g. ‘You guys call the touch decisions but leave the fouls

to me’, or ‘I don’t usually give a foul for a back pass to the goalie at this level, is that okay with you?’.

5. Be a human!Make a point of introducing yourself to

the away manager as early as possible. Ask if he has any tearaways on his team that need watching. He’ll say “All of ‘em”. (Correct!).

It’s polite to stay away from your team huddle at half-time (assuming another of your coaches is giving the half-time team talk). You don’t want to appear biased.

6. Play the name gameAsk the away manager if any of his kids

have a name that sounds like ‘ref’. If he does and you haven’t checked, you’ll be driven up the wall thinking it’s you being screamed at to “get back”, “wake up” or “keep moving”!

7. Keep it cleanBelow the age of 10, fouls are usually

down to poor technique or over-enthusiasm, not nastiness, so don’t just whistle or yell at offenders from a distance.

If a player does something daft, bend down to his eye level to get his attention, then quickly and quietly explain exactly what he did wrong. Then tell him he’s a good lad - big thumbs-up and a big smile. This takes about 10 seconds and he’s much less likely to repeat dangerous play.

8. Stay on your heels

Refs run backwards a lot. Check your mirrors first to make sure there isn’t a kid in the way!

9. Be politeAnd finally,

always thank the away management afterwards.

David Clarke Head Coach, Soccer Coach Weekly

Steve Watson Editor, Footy4kids.co.uk

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

“The first indoors session is always played in a cacophony of noise,

laughter (and an amount of chaos) because the ball just keeps coming

back however hard it’s kicked.”

Always look behind you when running backwards!

5

SoccerCoachWeekly SMALL-SIDED GAME

Throw to pass, head to scoreHere’s one of the simplest games

your team can play, but it rehearses two components that players (and coaches) overlook more than any other – vision, and heading ability.

How to play it• Create a playing area measuring 35x25 yards, as shown.• This game features two teams of four players, with no keepers.• It’s played, simply, by throwing and catching the ball.• The player in possession cannot move with the ball. This therefore encourages his team mates to make movements off the ball.• The player in possession must not have the ball in his hands for longer than three seconds. This encourages quick passing and decision making.• A goal is scored by heading a thrown pass into the goal.• A team that intercepts can go straight onto the attack themselves.• Play for 10 minutes.

Technique and tactics• Because the player in possession has control of the ball in his hands, he can look up and survey passing options more easily.• When setting up a chance, look for this player to throw the ball just in front of the player who is heading at goal, so that momentum can be transferred from the moving player into the header, therefore generating more power.

20yds

20yds

player movement ball movementrun with ball shot

The team in possession in this netball-style game passes the ball around...

...looking for an opportunity to head into the goal

SoccerCoachWeekly Essential tools for your team

When defenders intercept they can break forward and attack

Michael Beale Premier League Academy soccer coach

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

35yds

25yds

ball movement header/shot

6

SoccerCoachWeekly YOUR SAY

SoccerCoachWeekly Essential tools for your team

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

This week Stuart DenserLondon

Q My players just won’t spread out and pass the ball the way

I show them. How can I get them to pass more? Tarek Khan, Solihull

A The fact is that young players will spread out on the pitch and pass

the ball when they see a need to. They won’t do it otherwise.

So what you need to do is show your players why finding a space of their own is to their advantage.

The way I do that is to gather them in a small circle, perhaps three yards across, with one defender in the middle. Then I give them a ball and ask them to pass the ball around but not let the player in the middle touch it.

Of course, it’s impossible to do that for more than a few seconds.

I then ask them why it was easy for the defender to get the ball. Hopefully, they will say ‘it’s because we are so close together’.

Make the circle a bit bigger (about eight yards across) and play again. Ask your players why it is now easier to keep the ball from the defender.

Keeping the ball away from an opponent works when players spread both themselves and the ball. If you can let them make the leap between keeping the ball and creating chances, then things will start to click.

For young players, sometimes showing them how not to do it is as effective as showing them how to do it. Let them prove the point to themselves and they’ll soon be finding space naturally.

TACKLED: Results

Here’s the result of the poll we ran in Soccer Coach Weekly 283 asking if you thought the development of our young players was being held back because there were still too many old-school coaches (with old-school methods) in the game.

SCW Surgery TACKLED: Let’s get physical?

PUT IT TO THE VOTE: Which of our guest coaches do you agree with? Visit our Facebook page or email your thoughts to David Clarke at david.clarke@coach-soccer.com

Is youth soccer right to follow the pro game in becoming less physical?

James MichaelsLuton

It’s become clear over the past decade that the next generation of world footballers will be technically the best we’ve ever created. The days of shoulder-charging, pulling shirts and tackling thunderously are, thankfully, being put behind us. We want to promote a sport that’s good to watch and based on brains, not brawn.

The most common cause of tempers spilling over on a soccer field is through overexuberant physical play, be that in the pro game or on amateur pitches. Coming after a period of cleaning up the game and being more respectful than ever of opponents, it surely makes sense to construct a way of playing that means we’re fair and honest towards opponents, and the game is being played in the best way possible where soccer is the winner.

Looking at it purely from an English perspective, we know that unless we concentrate our emerging players on technical (rather than physical) application, we’ll never be able to catch up with Spain, Portugal, Brazil and others. These are teams who have adapted youth soccer programmes based on the ideal that soccer is a game of skill first and foremost. Do we want our next generation to succeed, or not?

At a time when our professionals are in the spotlight for many of the wrong reasons, isn’t it about time we gave them credit for inspiring the next generation as to the way the game should be played?

A part of me feels we’re in danger of overstating the issue here. Soccer is a physical game and will always be. Even at the youngest level, players will use their physical presence in the tackle, will jostle for position, and there’s always going to be a spot of shirt-pulling. To suggest that those ‘hands on’ elements have completely left our game, is a bit sensational.

“Looking at it purely from an English perspective, we know that unless we concentrate our emerging players on

technical (rather than physical) application, we’ll never be able to scale the heights of

Spain, Portugal, Brazil and others.”

Alan HartHuddersfield

In recent seasons I’ve told my players to play their own game, not be ‘encouraged’ by what they see on the television. Kids needs to learn the basics of the game – which is a perfect combination of technical skill and physical presence – rather than be guided by adept pros whose speed of thought and movement means they don’t need to engage so much in the combative side of the sport.

I think we’re in danger of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. What many people forget is that youth soccer is already a more diluted version of the pro game. Take competitiveness as an example - through the endless campaigns to make youth soccer less results driven, people seem to forget that it was never as competitive as the Premier League in the first place. For most kids, the scoreline was already forgotten no sooner had they walked off the pitch. It’s the same for the physical side – we’re not talking sliding tackles with studs showing, flailing elbows and shoulder barges. This is just youth soccer, with kids trying to use what little physical presence they have.

Youth soccer tends to throw together kids of similar ages but very different stages of development. If you have a small lad who is technically very good and a bigger lad who has presence but lacks skill on the ball, is it really fair to suggest the small lad can use his advance (technical ability) yet the bigger lad cannot use his (presence)?

As much as some would have us believe otherwise, soccer isn’t (yet) a non-contact sport. We should be encouraging our kids to look after themselves on the pitch, because that builds confidence in other aspects of their life. Why strip away a part of their armoury because seeing physical soccer in action isn’t as visually pleasing as tiki-taka?

“We should be encouraging our kids to look after themselves on the pitch,

because that builds confidence in other aspects of their life.”

YES NO

YES

NO

75%

25%