35_

The complete soccer coaching experience

SOCCERCOACHING No. 35 October / November 2009

International

Leon Vlemmings,

The return of the trequartista

MK Dons: Fighting our Demons

Feyenoord

The changing nature of football

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SOCCERCOACHING International

MEMBERS AREA All subscribers have access to the SoccerCoachingInternational online features and tools, including our extensive members area.

Here you will find 500+ readily available exercises and 120 online articles.

Sample Exercise: Tactical build-up from 4-4-2 with a diamond on midfield

Focus: Improve the build up in a 4-4-3 with a diamond on midfield

Article Archive:

Learning phase

Our article archive consist of 120+ articles from a various sources. Some of the articles in our archive were previously published in the magazine, however, most of the articles were never published in the magazine and are exclusively available on our website.

Age:

Now Available:

Phase:

Adult, U19, U17, U15, U13

Theme: Building up from the Back Number of players: 10 Organization - Build up starts at the Goalkeeper - Goalkeeper has to make the right tactical choice to pass the ball to one of the central defenders (depending on runs off the ball defenders and opponent's striker) - Wingbacks move up to midfield and gain possession to score in one of the small goals

• Technique trainning series from Michel Hordijk (technique trainer at FC Utrecht) • Rehabilitation and conditioning series from Nol Hornix (Conditioning trainer at VVV-Venlo) • Series on Possession games • Interviews with youth coaches from Dutch Amateur clubs • Sport Marketing Articles

... and much more!

Progression - Start simple, so that the players can get used to the build-up - Then slowly increase the resistance by adding more opponents - Progress to a 6v5 and eventually a 7v7

Coaching - Pass to strong foot - Protect the ball

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Contents 4

Cover story: LEON VLEMMINGS, FEYENOORD

From the Editor

12

Tactics: THE RETURN OF THE TREQUARTISTA

Dear subscribers, Welcome to the 35th issue of SoccerCoachingInternational!

16

Psychology:

22

Youth academy:

26

Coaching methodology

30

Youth Training Sessions:

34

Modern Game:

38

Technology:

40

Mental Development:

44

Technology:

48

MANAGING PSYCHOLOGICAL DEMANDS ON PLAYERS TO MAXIMIZE DEVELOPMENT

SHAKHTAR DONETSK YOUTH ACADEMY (3)

MK DONS: FIGHTING OUR DEMONS

YOUTH TECHNIQUE TRAINING

THE CHANGING NATURE OF FOOTBALL

KICKSPEED RADAR

This highly diverse issue of SoccerCoachingInternational, features 11 articles from 5 different countries, covering 10 different areas of this beautiful game. The cover story is an interesting interview with Feyenoord's assistant coach, who took over as head coach at the end of last season. He talked to us about last season's events (disappointing results and taking over as head coach) and about his new role as the assistant coach this season. From Rotterdam to Italy where Frank Dunne tackles the most striking feature of the new Serie A season; the return of the trequartista, the classic creative number 10, playing ‘in the hole’ behind two strikers.

From a 'Coaching' article, with a stop-over in Italy for a tactical return, to the USA, where Christian Lavers kicks off with part 1 of his series on managing the psychological demands on players to maximize development. On the other side of the States the newest addition to our International editorial team, Larry Paul, tackles the subject decision making and its relationship with speed and skill. After the psychological stop in the US we cross-over to the Ukraine for part 3 of the series on the Shaktar Donesk youth academy. UK based Dan Miccichi allows us a peek into the MK Dons academy and talks about how they support the work of their youth coaches. While three hours North, Andrew Blight identifies the technical, tactical and athletic challenges which are coming to the fore in the modern game and its implications for the coach.

This issue also features two technological articles; South African based Guy Oldenkotte looks critically at the Hawk-eye, which has been successfully used in tennis and cricket for several years’ but has not yet seen its introduction into football.

SoccerCoachingInternational also tested and reports on another great tool: the Kickspeed radar.

THE HAWK-EYE

Of course this issue would not be complete without our Youth Training Sessions, this time featuring 4 training session by technique trainer Michel Hordijk. Last, but not least our icing on the cake; Paul Cooper's column. All in all another great, diverse and international issue! But, as you know, SCI is more than just a magazine, its the complete soccer coaching experience, so don't forget to visit our website where you will see your wishes answered in the near future as well.

Column Paul Cooper:

If you have not done so, please let us know your thoughts on SoccerCoachingInternational by sending us your feedback and/or requests through our website.

MIXED AGE FOOTBALL, PLAY AND THE COMMUNITY

I wish you lots of reading and surfing pleasure!

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SPEED, SKILL AND DECISION-MAKING

Yours in soccer, Maaike Denkers Managing Editor SCI

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No. 35 – October / November 2009

Cover Story

Leon Vlemmings, Feyenoord

"Look at the qualities of your players first" Leon Vlemmings looks back on an interesting 2008-2009 season. After Feyenoord's head coach Gertjan Verbeek was sacked, he took over, facing a tough situation to say the least.

Feyenoord did reach the play-offs, but unfortunately the team didn't make it into Europe. In a conversation with SoccerCoachingInternational Leon Vlemmings reflects on last season.

The result is an interesting dialogue where Vlemmings dares to look critically at himself and takes his experiences to learn from them in the future. A quality which all coaches should have.

By: Paul van Veen

Leon Vlemmings recently gave a demonstration training at a special Youth Coaches day in The Netherlands. "I didn't want to just give a presentation and provide the coaches with some training material, so they could copy it and use it in their training sessions. My objective was to make them think: which exercises do I choose and how do I build up the training progression. For example, a training progression could be: to start with a passing and shooting exercise without options, then slowly give more options for every position. Next add some defenders and this way you can build an entire exercise up to 4v4 (see diagrams). But not every coach has to follow this build-up. It is about what coaches think is best."

No. 35 – October / November 2009

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Cover Story Possible progression of a training session Exercise

1

Exercise

- Passing and shooting exercise with options

Exercise

3

Exercise

- Passing and shooting exercise with different variations, players can decide themselves which one they choose

Exercise

- Introduction of a goalkeeper, players have to progress towards a finish.

The starting player may also pass the first ball to the inside forward

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4

- The introduction of defenders (in this example a midfielder), when he's covered wide, he can turn, otherwise he can pass. You can choose here to allow both midfielders to ask for the ball at the same time and the player can decide for himself which player he passes too (three possibilities together with the inside forward)

Exercise

- Introduce a defender who guards the inside forward, actually you play 4v3 towards the big goal in this exercise

2

6

- Introducing a fourth opponent we have now reached a 4v4 situation

This is a possible progression. When you go into more depth as a coach, you can add more steps in between. You also don't have to go through every step at every training session. You can start at exercise 1 and end at 2. But you also can start at exercise 4 and end with 6. It always depends on the squad, materials and the purpose of the exercise.

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No. 35 – October / November 2009

"To really think this through is important for a coach. When I start with a squad at the beginning of the season, I will first look at the qualities of the individual players. That's always the first thing you should do. I learned from a mistake I made in the past, as I would sometimes base the system of play and strategy on my vision on the game and expected the players to function within that vision. Now, I have switched it around.

I look at the qualities of my players and then I decide on the system of play. This is not new or groundbreaking, but I think there are still a lot of starting coaches who approach it the wrong way. Have a good look at your player's qualities: what are their strengths? Take a blank piece of paper and put everyone on the position where you think they'll function best. Do this without taking into account who plays best where in

Cover Story

relation to his teammates. You will come to a certain system of play and from there you're going to look at each match and determine what's going well and what's not, which will in turn determine your training plan."

Stimulate "I also say this to stimulate other coaches, so that every coach is going to ask himself: how did I really do? I recognize it from how I used to be. At the PSV Eindhoven youth academy there was a clear plan with set criteria, which players had to meet. A player was tested based on those criteria, just like they do in school. On the one hand that's a good thing, on the other hand you also have right footed players who prefer to play in a left winger position, like Diego Biseswar of Feyenoord. Should you not allow this because it doesn't fit within your playing concept?"

Effectiveness "More so, should that player stay on the flank? Or can he play more infield when he is more effective there? Or is a mixture possible?

When I became head coach of a second division club I had my

concept thought out and placed the players in the positions according to my concept, without looking at their qualities and capabilities first. I would not do that again. I am now constantly rethinking my playing style and game concepts and I would advise that to any coach. An example: when you have no wingers, you can't play with 3 forwards. It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out.

But would you dare to put a right-footed player in the left-winger position when he's more effective in that position?"

Best place "Lets go back to what I said earlier: start with a blank piece of paper at the start of the season and put every player on his best position. No matter what the playing philosophy or what other players there are. You'll notice that you're quickly going to look for the right combination within your squad: he would be more effective there, because ....

You may be risking not letting you players play in their best positions. While I do believe this is important as you have to stay as close as possible to the nature of the player. Playing together will come afterwards."

No. 35 – October / November 2009

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Cover Story Turn over When I came to Feyenoord, we had a situation where the club wanted to change things. Gertjan Verbeek (now head coach of Heracles Almelo - Ed.) became head coach, Wim Jansen was appointed as technical director, and a whole new medical team was hired. They really wanted a culture change. It all looked per fect in advance and we started with enthusiasm, but it all ended in disappointment. In every interview I've said I didn't want to look back on this period, but I've learned a lot from it."

Changing "Certainly, if you want to change things within a club, you have to take notice of the amount of steps and changes you are making, the speed at which you are doing this and the degree of involvement. When you change things, no one is applauding you right from the start. They first have to let go of their comfort zone which can be scary. They also have to do things where they don't see the purpose, because they think it already worked well enough. The same goes for the coach at an amateur club who decides to change the system of play from one season to the next. Changes are fine, but think about how fast you want to go. Otherwise you'll be like a choir master who's already turned the corner, while his choir remains behind wondering where their leader has suddenly gone.

Then everyone decides to go their own way and play to their own beat. It'll turn into nothing. You always have to challenge your group a little. But once in a while you have to let them loose, just to see if they are on the right track. This is the process I like the most about being a coach."

Learning moment "We all learned a lot from that situation at Feyenoord: the speed and quantity of the changes and how it evolved. In this situation, it simply did not work. And then suddenly on January 14th Gertjan is being sacked and I'm asked to take over. I had to really think about the offer, because times were emotional, both inside as well as outside the club. You are also faced with an odd situation: the supporters are taking the coach's side, who is leaving, and not on the side of the players. First I wanted to know whether the management and the Board had thought about it enough. Why did they ask me in this situation? Was it that I was just available or was I really the one they thought could make the tide turn in this

8

extreme situation? Their answers satisfied me and gave me a good feeling."

Terms "Besides my questions I also I had some terms. It was important that Patrick Lodewijks and John Lammers stayed on as assistant coaches. My wishes were granted.

Secondly, a new technical director or advisor had to be appointed. I was still a "kid" in a very tough situation at Feyenoord and I needed some experience to back me up. I wasn't worried about the players, there was enough trust within the squad to let me finish the season, but external influences

No. 35 – October / November 2009

were another story. The newspapers, magazines and internet sites were always full of the dilemma's at Feyenoord. The club appointed Leo Beenhakker as the advisor, which was excellent. The third condition was that it had to be clear who was going to be the new head coach, because that clarity create a certain level of tranquility within the club. Again my terms were met. Finally the squad had to remain in tact. There was a reason for our disappointing 13th position in the league, and I didn't want to have to worry about one of the players being transferred out. All my terms were met and I accepted the position."

Cover Story Education "The period as a head coach has been an educational one. The core process is the same for every coach, no matter which club or which team you are coaching. The process of giving training sessions, coaching at matches, having meetings, etc. is all the same. But everything that happens around it: media, sponsors, Members of the Board, supporters, there's so many other factors you have to deal with at a club like Feyenoord. Its intense, but its also a lot of fun and very exciting. With time things settled down and the squad was able to focus on playing football, training and improving as a team again. We went through some extreme times at Feyenoord and I think that only a few people have been through a situation like this at such a big club. So I experienced and learned that you just have to focus on what you believe in and keep things simple. The pressure from outside is present, but you have to keep focused on your own thing."

wanted Mario to work with me. I immediately said: you shouldn't force this. Allow Mario to decide for himself who he wants to work with. If that's with someone else, no problem. He has to be free in that decision. Other wise you'll get a kind of forced feeling and that's no good for him, Feyenoord or me.

Mario decided rather quickly he wanted to continue with me. A cooperation like this must grow during the season. I really enjoy working with him. He gives me enough space to do my par t, and there's plenty of communication. He knows exactly what he wants; he's capable of being dominant and makes clear to the players what he wants. But on the other hand he also gives players space and freedom, and lets others voice their opinions. He has a ver y good relationship with his players. He won't pin down players in advance with all kinds of agreements and little rules: just go ahead and if I do or don't like things I'll come back to you."

Opinion

Helping

"Every coach has to deal with opinions. Whether you are a professional coach or a coach at an amateur club. When you walk into the canteen after a match, you are surrounded by all the other people who work together and all the supporters, all of whom are committed and have an opinion. That's brilliant! It's something you have to deal with as a coach. For me this was educational and important to get the confirmation that I was able to take this kind of pressure. I don't think that in the future, wherever I'll work, it will be as extreme as it was here."

"My role as an assistant coach? As a head coach you have to declare how you see certain things and you have your colleagues to help you with that. They'll help you with meetings, training sessions, etc. During a match there should only be one coach. The assistants focus on the opponents. Regardless, four eyes see more than two.

When an assistant coach thinks that the head coach has to know something during the match, he'll tell him. But it's the head coach who decides to interfere or not. These are good tests to see if you have something to say as an assistant coach."

Mario Been

Small

"We have now star ted the new season and I'm assistant coach again. That wasn't as self-evident as it may seem. I knew the direction was going to talk with Mario Been and they said they

"We have a small technical staff for a major club like Feyenoord.

Mario is the head coach, I'm the assistant coach and Patrick (Lodewijks - Ed.) is the goalkeeper coach/assistant coach.

No. 35 – October / November 2009

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Cover Story That means the communication lines are very short, thorough and direct. If you're sitting at a table with six men talking about football, or with three, is a major difference. That's his way of working that I very much like. That also means that whenever you do a training session, you'll have two parts. Mario really likes the coaching parts, because you can explain everything on the black board - but to experience it on the pitch, that's actually the most important. In the coaching situation 11v11 he takes the basis 11 and I'll coach the other side. We let the team play the same way the opponent plays."

Adjustment "As an assistant coach you obviously can't interfere in the exercise all the time and force the players to notice something. 'Stop! What happened here? Where's the ball? Where's Roy Makaay?' That's impossible, so you'll have to adjust your coaching. So either do this afterwards, or during the situation and then you'll dictate it some more. But even as a (head) coach I would dictate more once in a while. Surely you try to let your players make their own decisions, but there are situations where you shout things that must happen immediately, so really you are dictating how you want it done. It's not only about freedom and asking questions. It has something to do with the maturity of the squad or of the person you want to help at that moment. I am a calm coach, I'm not someone who gives instructions all the time, so I prefer discuss it afterwards (and mostly individually). It's nice to see how Mario also has this capability. He's a man of practice, and with coaches like that you shouldn't bother with all kind of theories.

Coaching in different ways, occasionally asking questions, that's his nature."

Simple "When I say keep it simple, then I mean that your coaching must be clear and concrete to your players. Furthermore we coaches think we have to think of new exercises all the time. You can't do the same training session ever y time, because players will lose their focus. But a positional game in different spaces is definitely a different kind of position game. In a passing or shooting exercise you can make minor adjustments.

When you continuously make up something different, then you're more of an inventor then a coach. By using a variation of a limited amount of exercises, which are repeated continuously, players will recognize it.. And that's what eventually matters in the match. That you will see your options in the match, which are recognizable for you, so you automatically can react on them."

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No. 35 – October / November 2009

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The return of the trequartista

Italian football looks to fantasy players once again

One of the most striking features of the new Serie A season has been the return of the trequartista, the classic creative number 10, playing ‘in the hole’ behind two strikers. Italy’s three biggest clubs – Juventus, Inter, and AC Milan – have all switched to a system in which the main creative impulse comes from a pure playmaker.

This unexpected development has not just happened at club level. In September, in Italy’s World Cup qualifier against Bulgaria, coach Marcello Lippi abandoned his beloved 4-3-3 system – with which he had won the Champions League with Juventus and the World Cup with Italy – and played a midfield diamond, using Andrea Pirlo in the advanced playmaker role.

By: Frank Dunne

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No. 35 – October / November 2009

Tactics

Over the years Italy has produced some great number 10s. They included Gianni Rivera and Sandro Mazzola, Roberto Baggio (whom Michel Platini famously called a “9½, not a 10”, viewing him more as a second striker), and Gianfranco Zola. The country also imported some of the greatest number 10s in history, from Diego Maradona and Platini to Zinedine Zidane.

However, in recent seasons it had become widely accepted that the pure trequartista was an extinct species in Italian football.

Even players who seemed to have all the right characteristics for the role, like Juve’s Alessandro Del Piero, generally found themselves operating in wide areas, or being converted into pure attackers or pure midfield players.

Francesco Totti, a born trequartista, was usually used by Roma coach Luciano Spalletti as the striker at the head of a 4-2-3-1 formation. Antonio Cassano, who is undoubtedly Italy’s most naturally talented player at the moment, is nominally employed by Sampdoria as a second forward but really has a free role.

Frequently, he drifts out to the left or to the right and attacks the box from wide areas.

The reason put forward for the demise of the number 10 is that the modern game is faster and more physical than in the 1970s and 80s, space and time are at a premium, and playmakers who need time on the ball – and who don’t press, chase and cover in the non-possession phase – are a luxury.

No. 35 – October / November 2009

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Tactics The problems of playing with a trequartista The main problem of relying on one gifted player is that it is relatively easy for opposing teams to counter his influence by using one or two midfield players as defensive filters – sitting in front of the back four – or by man-marking. A second problem with the diamond formation – variously described as 4-4-2, 4-3-1-2 or 4-1-2-1-2 – is that the advanced playmaker and defensive filter player operate in a straight vertical line, forcing the two other midfield players to squeeze into the middle of the pitch, so as not to get overrun in the central midfield area. The byproduct of this is that teams using a midfield diamond are often narrow. In order to have another attacking option, they need fast attacking fullbacks who get into the final third and create an overload situation.

Why now?

The question has to be: why has the trequartista suddenly made a come-back in Italian football? One possible reason for the trend is that against the big teams in Serie A, many opponents sit very deep, playing with 10 men behind the ball and looking for the occasional counter attack. They often surrender the space up to the three-quarter line. This means that while strikers find very little space and wide players find it very difficult to get in behind the opposition, the attacking midfielders have more time on the ball to construct attacks.

What is required of a trequartista?

A classic number 10 – also called a fantasista or refinitore in Italy – needs certain attributes which not all players are blessed with.

He needs sublime technique, inch-perfect passing, 180-degree vision and anticipation. However, the game is still faster and more physical than 20 years ago. So the modern trequartista needs more. He needs strength and stamina too.

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Juve and Inter both chose to buy a player to fit the bill. Juventus paid €25 million to bring the Brazilian Diego from Werder Bremen.

Inter paid €16 million to bring the Dutchman Wesley Sneijder from Real Madrid. Both are creative, dynamic players but both are also natural athletes who are very difficult to shake off the ball.

This theory – let’s call it ‘the tough trequartista theory’ – seems to have been borne out in the early part of the season. Juve and Inter both set a fierce pace and were leading the league table (along with Sampdoria) after five matches. Milan, who were using the less physically robust Ronaldinho in the hole, were struggling in mid-table. Milan coach Leonardo now appears to have decided that the bulkier Clarence Seedorf is more suited to the role. In Juve’s first three games, Diego was in blistering form and at the heart of all Juve’s attacks. When he got injured against Lazio, he was replaced in the three-quarter role by the skillful but diminutive Sebastian Giovinco and Juve looked far less threatening.

No. 35 – October / November 2009

Tactics player still had a one-on-one with the last defender, but by shaping to shoot he managed to make a yard of space for himself. He then drilled the ball into the net from the edge of the area. This was undoubtedly a training ground move but Diego’s anticipation, the timing of his run, his balance and guile, and the power in his shot were the marks of a great player.

Mourinho’s conversion In recent seasons, Jose Mourinho has been one of the main advocates of the 4-3-3. When he arrived at Inter in June 2007, he had a very precise idea of how he wanted Inter to play. He asked Massimo Moratti, the club’s owner, to buy wide men Amantino Mancini from Roma and Ricardo Quaresma from Porto, to provide the crosses for striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Diego destroys Roma Last season Juventus were coached by Claudio Ranieri, who, throughout his career, has tended to favour a traditional 4-4-2 formation, using two aggressive, ball-winners in central midfield.

When Ranieri was sacked, Juventus promoted from within, and went for a coach with no experience in Serie A: Ciro Ferrara.

When Mancini and Quaresma both failed to deliver on the pitch, Mourinho experimented with various systems, finally hitting upon using Dejan Stankovic in the hole behind two strikers, Ibra and Adriano. Inter went on to win the title and Mourinho was converted to the merits of the diamond formation. He knew, however, that Stankovic, was not a natural number 10, merely a stop-gap solution. This season, bringing in Sneijder, to play behind two other new signings, Samuel Eto’o and Diego Milito, was key to Mourinho’s plan.

While it is perhaps not surprising that a classy Brazilian ex-player like Leonardo would turn back the clock at Milan, it is more surprising that a rugged, no-nonsense defender like Ferrara should do so. Juve’s forward triangle is made up of Diego behind strikers Vincenzo Iaquinta and Amauri.

Diego’s two goals against Roma in Rome’s Olympic Stadium in August demonstrated what he brings to the team. For the first goal he robbed Marco Cassetti on the halfway line, ran all the way to goal, shrugged off a shoulder barge from John Arne Riise and clipped the ball with the side of his foot into the net. The second showed his link-up play with Juve’s strikers, and demonstrated how a number 10 can create problems for defences by attacking the space behind his own forwards.

Diego’s second goal began with a long vertical ball played from deep inside Juve’s half along the ground towards the feet of Iaquinta (Diagram 1). At this point, Juve were outnumbered eight to three (excluding the goalkeeper) in the Roma half. The two strikers, Iaquinta (9) and Amauri (11), were about 30 yards apart, spreading the Roma defence as much as possible, with Diego (28) drifting in space halfway between them and about 10 yards behind. There seemed little danger for Roma. However, on seeing the ball played into Iaquinta, Diego sprinted towards the space behind the number 9. Three Roma players converged on Iaquinta, leaving space for Diego to move into. Iaquinta’s delicate first-time touch with the outside of his foot, directed the ball through the three Roma players and into the path of Diego (Diagram 2). The

Diagram 1: Roma v Juve

Diagram 2: Roma v Juve

No. 35 – October / November 2009

15

Tactics

Milan struggling This season, when Carlo Ancelotti left for Chelsea, Milan promoted Leonardo to first team coach, rushing him through his coaching badges at Coverciano. Leonardo immediately switched to the midfield diamond, beginning with Ronaldinho in the hole behind Pato and another striker, either Marco Borriello or Filippo Inzaghi.

the only real option. Italy’s two strikers – Alberto Gilardino and Vincenzo Iaquinta – were both very central and both marked. Italy were outnumbered eight to five (excluding the keeper) in the Bulgaria half at this point, but the Pirlo/Grosso combination was still able to find space.

Milan did not match Juve and Inter in terms of results over the first five matches of the season. There could be many reasons for this. One possible reason is that Ronaldinho has simply lost form or is unable to handle the demands of the number 10 role. He was taking too long to make decisions and was frequently knocked off the ball by physically stronger opponents. Another possible reason is that Milan do not have attacking full backs who have the pace or guile to create problems for defences. Inter’s right back, Maicon, is probably the best attacking full back in the world.

Juve brought in Fabio Grosso from Lyon on the final day of the transfer system. His goal for Italy against Bulgaria (see below) was a demonstration of his threat. Milan’s full backs, Gianluca Zambrotta and Marek Jankulovski, haven’t so far posed the same kind of threat.

Lippi pushes Pirlo forward to shake up Italy Italy coach Marcello Lippi has always argued that players have to come before formations. Nevertheless, he has enjoyed most of his success with a 4-3-3. In Italy’s 2010 World Cup qualification campaign, he began with a 4-3-3. Italy were top of the group but the football the team was playing was effective but unexciting and Lippi was coming in for a lot of criticism. In the final 30 minutes of Italy’s 2-0 win over Georgia, he experimented by pushing Pirlo forward from his usually deep-lying playmaker role, in front of the back four, to the trequartista position. Suddenly, Italy looked dangerous in every attack.

Diagram 3: Italy v Bulgaria

Grosso advanced to the edge of the Bulgaria penalty area with the ball. He had the option to cross, but the strikers were well marked. He could have tried to take on the full-back for pace, but the defender had cover. Instead, he played a one-two with Pirlo and raced into the box (Diagram 4). This was the moment when quality became decisive. Pirlo’s cushioned, first-time return pass into Grosso’s path was inch-perfect. Grosso volleyed home off the underside of the crossbar.

Lippi retained the system for the Bulgaria game four days later.

Italy’s 2-0 victory over Bulgaria showed the benefits of using a trequartista of vision and skill, like Pirlo, with an attacking full back, in this case, Fabio Grosso.

Italy’s first goal followed a switch in play from the right side of the midfield to the left. When the ball was played to Pirlo (10), who was near the centre circle, all of Bulgaria’s midfield players had moved across to their left, leaving a huge space on their right flank. Pirlo switched the ball quickly out to the advancing Grosso (Diagram 3) who was able to run half the length of the pitch without meeting a direct opponent. The pass to Grosso (3) was

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No. 35 – October / November 2009

Diagram 4: Italy v Bulgaria

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Managing psychological demands on players to maximize development

Background and Confidence

Part one:

The four components of modern soccer are well known and recognized by every major soccer association in the world: (i) the technical component, (ii) the tactical component, (iii) the physical component, and (iv) the psychological component. While this basic framework has remained unchanged for decades, the principles of training each component have changed over time – at very different rates.

By: Christian Lavers

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No. 35 – October / November 2009

Psychology

The technical component of the game has remained relatively unchanged for many years: the basic techniques of the game are basically the same as they were years ago. If anything, improved coaching methodology at younger ages has allowed players to master technique earlier and at a slightly faster rate – though repetition remains the key requirement for technical mastery.

Similarly, the basic tactical demands of the game have remained relatively unchanged for many years. Though subtle tactical innovations occur on a regular basis and are analyzed in detail after every major world competition, larger concepts such as the principles of attack and defense have not changed. For example, while one current tactical trend at the highest levels of world soccer may be to play with fewer target forwards, the principle of penetration in attack, and the requirement for effective attacking shape to have length, have not changed.

Perhaps the area where science has had the greatest impact in the past 10 years, and where there has been the most significant improvement in performance during this time period has been the physical component. Today’s athletes are undoubtedly stronger, faster, and more agile than athletes from previous generations due to advances in kinesiology, better application of nutritional science, and improved physical training methodologies.

However, the area perhaps least understood by most coaches, and the area with, on average, the least amount of change in training application over the past 10 years is the psychological component. Let me illustrate this statement. While the mental toughness and perseverance of great athletes is admired, the manner in which these behaviors are acquired is often overlooked or misunderstood. Similarly, the rapid improvement of some athletes, both technically and tactically, compared to their peers who seem to work just as hard, is marveled at but often explained as a fortunate genetic “gift.” Unfortunately, these dismissive comments prevent many coaches from truly seeking to understand the mental or psychological reasons for these differences – and more importantly, how to train these areas to maximize player development.

The reality: psychological “fitness” matters At the highest levels of soccer, the range of per formance is significantly smaller than at lower levels. To use an example, the difference in overall ability between the best and worst player on Manchester United’s full team is much smaller than the range of

overall ability on their Under-16 team. This reflects the reality that, as the level of play increases, the “minimum” standard of ability required to succeed continually gets higher.

At a closer level, however, it is important to realize that, as players move to higher levels, the psychological component begins to play a larger and larger role in success (or lack thereof). Quite simply, while the physical, technical, and tactical discrepancies between players grow smaller as you “move up the pyramid,” one area where significant disparities remain is in the psychological behavior of players. To understand this, consider the following common questions: • Why do some players repeatedly make bad decisions “off the field” that inevitably negatively impact their career?

• Why are some players more vulnerable to “dips in form” from game-to-game, or over different periods of the season than others?

• Why do some players seem to be on a steeper upward learning curve than others?

The answer, or at least a large component of it, has to do with the psychological fitness of the player: among other things, their discipline, mental toughness and determination, and their ability to sustain concentration. In other words, athletes that demonstrate certain mentalities will be significantly more successful in the long-term, at every level, than athletes without those mentalities.

Understanding and developing psychological fitness For purposes of this series of articles, I will define “psychological fitness” as the combination of mental and psychological behaviors that allow an athlete to: (i) approach challenges and set-backs with confidence in their ability to overcome them; (ii) sustain concentration on the details required for successful technical and tactical per formance; (iii) maintain long-term motivation to succeed; and (iv) manage competitive stress to optimize performance. Under this definition, psychological fitness as four basic components: a confidence component, a concentration component, a motivation and discipline component, and a stressmanagement component. When broken down in this manner, it becomes very clear why certain athletes are able to reach elite levels of performance and others, for a combination of many different reasons, do not. This understanding is the pre-requisite for helping athletes learn and train these mentalities and behaviors.

No. 35 – October / November 2009

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Psychology The confidence component At the most basic level, athletes that have confidence in their own abilities will almost always perform better than those that lack it.

Unfortunately, confidence can often be a fleeting mentality – strong one moment and vanishing into the mist the next. This battle for confidence exists at all levels, from the beginning player learning the basics of the game to the established international competing in a World Cup. So the question becomes very clear: how do players get confidence, and how do they keep it?

What is often misunderstood in this confidence “equation,” is that the battle to establish and keep confidence is intensely personal; confidence cannot be gifted to a player by another person, it has to be earned through personal experience. In other words, at its core, true confidence is only earned by personal accomplishment in overcoming difficulties and obstacles, and a personal history of overcoming difficulties will create a mentality of long-term confidence in any player.

To understand this principle, it is often helpful to consider how destructive false confidence is in long-term player development and success. First, players that are insulated from challenge, frustration and disappointment obtain a false belief in their own abilities – a false belief that grows stronger the longer the insulation lasts. Because they are not challenged, and therefore easily find success, these players begin to over-estimate their own per formance and artificially raise their own expectations of per formance. When they are suddenly put into a challenging environment for the first time, the collision between expectations and reality is painful; the player is not prepared for the challenge and the inevitable short-term failures that come with it. In these situations, the player can either (i) quickly become overwhelmed with the perceived per formance gap and suffer decreased motivation to overcome it, or (ii) rationalize their own deficits by making excuses and pointing blame and fail to learn from it. For very different reasons, either situation creates significant problems for long-term development.

In contrast, a player that has been carefully and frequently exposed to short-term challenges, and who has therefore, many times, faced frustration and disappointment associated with them and overcome them, will have developed a belief in their ability to “solve problems.” When they face a reality that their current performance may not be good enough, they know what is required to eliminate the per formance gap and how to deal with the surrounding emotion. In short, the player will have confidence in their own problem-solving ability, and therefore in their own longterm success. In the short-term, confidence arises when a player can look back at previous obstacles that they have overcome – and then apply the same mentality to the current problem.

The coach’s role in player confidence The role of a coach in helping players develop confidence is subtle: it is to provide the player with the information required to overcome obstacles and improve, and to display belief in the player’s ability to successfully employ those tools. The coach’s role is not to provide false praise, or to insulate the athlete from challenge, frustration or disappointment. (This is not to say that it is not important to provide encouragement and praise when it is earned and deserved.)

20

The best coaches at developing players with confidence in their own abilities are constantly providing challenges to these players that stretch them just beyond their current performance levels.

These challenges inevitably result in frequent short-term failure, but they are not unrealistic and are eventually overcome. A player faced with a short-term failure, but armed with the information about how to overcome it and assisted by a coach with the expectation that it will eventually be overcome, is prepared for long-term success and for developing confidence in their own ability. In other words the coach developing confidence does the following: (1) identify the current level of per formance of the player; (2) create an environment that demands slightly more than the current level of performance; (3) provide the player with the technical and tactical information required to improve their performance; and (iv) repeat steps 1-3.

No. 35 – October / November 2009

Psychology As you can see, the environment that creates confidence is rarely a comfortable one. As soon as players reach a certain performance level, the bar is raised higher, and they are immediately asked to get better yet again. In other words, the player can never get complacent, and is constantly being faced with new challenges. In this manner, the environment itself is reinforcing the behaviors and mentality required for long-term confidence.

Catch me if you can: when confidence “disappears” No matter how carefully planned or constructed the training and competition environment may be, at some point every player will make the statement “I just don’t have any confidence.” This moment is usually created by a string of poor performances by the player, dissatisfaction with their role on the team, or some

Second, the player must be provided with the information necessary to improve this performance. A large part of this will be technical and tactical information, and some of it may be recommending targeted individual training activities.

Finally, the player should be reminded not to focus on what they are not doing, but instead to focus on what they can do to improve. A reminder of previous moments when the player faced a “crisis” of confidence, and how it was overcome, can be very helpful. If the player has not had many of these moments personally, explain the confidence battle to them – and the fact that every player in the world has to fight it. Sometimes knowing they are not unique is a power ful antibody to the self-pity that a lack of confidence can create.

other disappointment. While some coaches may dread this moment, it can in fact be a key turning point for the long-term development of the player if handled correctly.

First, every developing player must understand the reality that short-term confidence is always going to come and go. No player, at any level, is immune to this truth. In fact, the emotions that arise when short-term confidence disappears are precisely what keeps some players from reaching the next level of performance.

When players view the lack of confidence as a terrible personal tragedy, they are less motivated to get better, and often seek external reasons for their “unfortunate plight”. However, when players see the battle for confidence as a permanent reality and challenge in development, the battle itself can become a motivator. In this manner, the difficulty can actually be a positive.

No. 35 – October / November 2009

21

Shakhtar Donetsk youth academy (3):

“Specific training is important at this level” Almost 3 years ago Henk van Stee and Patrick van Leeuwen – working for the youth academy of Feyenoord Rotterdam at the time – were appointed to take over the youth education at Shakhtar Donetsk. In the summer of 2008 Henk van Stee joined De Graafschap as head coach, but Van Leeuwen stayed. SoccerCoachingInternational paid a visit to Shakhtar Donetsk to take a closer look on how to start a top educational programme in Europe. In this third episode director Patrick van Leeuwen will discuss the specific training sessions, which are an important part of the training week for the youth teams of Shakhtar. Up to 3 out of 7 training sessions are 'specific training sessions'.

By: Paul van Veen

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No. 35 – October / November 2009

Youth academy "Specific training is important, because you can't always give individual players the necessary attention in group training sessions at this level. Additionally not every player needs individual attention concerning passing and shooting, while some players do. Likewise for heading, finishing and the options in a player overload situation.

That individual attention is easier to provide in small groups. It's logical that that you receive more direction and guidance when playing with four players, than playing with 18."

Six

Big steps

Long term

“During the assessment of players it also appears that players really are taking big steps forward whenever they work in smaller groups. They're focused and get more attention. That's why it's an important part of their development as a soccer player. But you have to have enough time during the training week. When you only have four training sessions, you obviously want to spend a lot of time on your team. We're lucky that we have seven training sessions a week with our U14s to U19s. From those seven we've chosen three sessions for specific training."

"One coach will do one specific skill for six weeks. Whenever there's a different coach on a par ticular skill ever y week, there will be different exercises and a different approach each time.

I prefer to have continuity and stability in that exercise during that period. This way the coach will be on top of the same thing, so you can really make some progress and don't have to star t over again ever y time. This way a coach can build in a progression and the specific situation can be more complex ever y time."

Heading

Parts

"In the old days the players only did one skill during such a specific training session, for example heading. After talking with the coaches we changed the structure, which means that our players have to do two skills during such a training session. We did this, because the sharpness of players; decreases after 20-25 minutes and the players actually want to do something else. So we changed it to 2, so the learning effect is at a premium. We trained two skills that day and had fun with it."

"We (Henk van Stee and myself) gave the coaches training sessions for each skill. The coaches started with these sessions, but we told them: 'you are responsible for your own part, so you can give your own add your own ideas to them’ Most of the coaches simply conduct the sessions as we prepared them, but some are trying to apply some of their own vision".

Period "In a period of six weeks we always train five skills. At the moment these skills consist of heading, 1v1, overload situations (2v1, 3v2), technique training (Coer ver), finishing crosses and some passing and kicking. These are the five skills, which we believe are the most impor tant to make the players better. The five skills are the same for ever y age group.

After ever y six weeks there is an evaluation and we review if we need to drop one skill and change it for another. Sometimes we notice something in a game and realize that its something we need to focus on in training, in these situations we add that skill before the six weeks are over."

"The U14s and U15s are finishing a specific training session together. For these two groups we have six coaches available, so every coach takes on a skill. We have 32 outfield players for these two teams, so every coach has approximately six players in his group. That's an ideal way to work. We do the same thing with the U16s and U17s. The U19s are a large group and we we also follow the same program with them."

Critical "I do look critically at the training sessions that are being conducted, but mostly they go smoothly. The most important aspect is that they spend the majority of the time on the assigned skill. But I also can understand that you sometimes do a heading exercise differently, to prevent headaches or a loss of concentration. So corrections are needed and welcomed."

Choosing "The players can't choose what skill they want to work on themselves. It is the coaches who determine which player does which skill. Of course we want the players to do something which fits with their position on the pitch. But we like to see our forwards and defenders learn to attack as well as defend well in 1v1

No. 35 – October / November 2009

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Youth academy situations, and that for example the wingers are involved with delivering crosses and finishing them. Furthermore it's understandable that players who have to improve their individual technique focus on this skill, and that who players have to improve their heading are practicing that skill. The analysis of the coach is very important."

Technique "The individual technique is a very important part in our vision at Shakhtar. I got involved with that when Ricardo Moniz was still working at Feyenoord Rotterdam. I definitely noticed the benefits of his sessions and the translation to matches to let the right players do the right thing. So a defender had to understand that a double scissor move is irrelevant, but it is important that, whenever there's pressure on him, he maintains good technique."

Street soccer "Here it's maybe more impor tant. We don't have any street soccer here. The skill level of a young player that enters the academy is generally less than the skill level of his Dutch counterpart, who has already played soccer on the streets with his friends for years. In this countr y both parents often work

Reaction Anatoliy Skirchuck, U15 Coach: "I think this form of specific training sessions is a good idea and especially now that the players are doing two skills per specific training.

We're scouting players from all over Ukraine and some players are missing certain skills. This is a perfect way to lift these skills to a higher level. Next to this it's always good for a player to have specific skills which are his specialties."

and the kids are at their grandparent’s house. New players are therefore frequently involved in Coer ver sessions and we see them make major progress.

That's the evidence that the Coer ver method works for children of all skill levels. Next to this it's per fect to let good players make more progress and be even more creative."

"We have a special Coerver coach, Oscar Ratullutra, a young Ukrainian soccer player, who really wanted to become a coach.� Oscar now coaches the U9s and deals with the Coerver part for the older teams. "People like to see technical players and the Coerver method is an excellent way to give players these technical tools.

Not only does it develop the basic skills which are necessary for soccer, but it also provide the players with extra skills to save them from difficult situations in the match. Next to this ever y player is almost continuously working with a ball when doing Coer ver training and isn't that something ever y player wishes?

Especially for young players this is important."

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No. 35 – October / November 2009

Example of a session with specific training in four groups

Youth academy

A: The orange player receives a cross from the flank and tries to finish on goal; after finishing he instantly turns around and receives a low pass from the next player (red); next he plays 1v1 against the red player and tries to score on the big goal; after the duel the red player becomes the next player, so he starts again with a cross from the flank.

B: At B they will work on individual technique. The player dribbles the ball to the next cone, turns to receive the next ball and passes the ball diagonally to the next player.

C: At C they will work on heading. The coach throws the ball to an incoming player, who heads the ball towards the goal.

D: In this organization there's a 1v1 situation.

The orange player receives a ball in the air - the defender (yellow); controls the ball and tries to finish in a 1v1 situation. When the goalkeeper has the ball, the defender immediately goes wide to receive the ball and he has the possibility to score by passing the ball into one of the two small goals.

No. 35 – October / November 2009

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MK Dons Academy:

Fighting our Demons In youth football coaches tend to learn or have come armed with the knowledge of the subject (football) first and foremost and then assume they can teach it. The minimum knowledge and understanding of child development or coaching methodology will tend to qualify the coach to apply for a job with our most talented kids.

Compare this with school teachers, who train for up to four years before they are even let loose on kids, and are then rigorously assessed on their abilities to communicate their subject to children. The main focus of their training, especially at the foundation stage, is on the young people themselves (including child development) and not on their respective subjects.

By: Dan Micciche, MK Dons Assistant Academy Manager (U9 – 14’s) The comparison is not necessarily fair for those who work with average grassroots players but more valid for those working with the best. Surely to coach the best players we need the best coaches which means those with the best knowledge and with the best communication skills. But the recruitment of coaches into professional

26

clubs is often not a meritocracy. Lack of funds often keeps excellent coaches out whilst attracting those who will work for less. Coaches therefore often do not get jobs based on their talent as teachers of the game. The power of the ‘old boy network’ (who you know rather than what you know) is also still strong.

No. 35 – October / November 2009

Most coaches in our country work part–time and have different reasons for wanting to work with talented players. Some see it as the first rung of the ladder on the way to the first team, whilst others see it as a career in itself.

Youth football has cer tainly experienced its own ‘big bang’ and this has led to more career paths being cut across the ages, abilities and sexes. Sadly, for the best, investment has not followed so enthusiastically, simply because it won’t pay the bills today or tomorrow.

The Environment Knowledge of the development process is essential if the coach is to make any long term impact. An understanding that

Coaching methodology • Allow for Ownership and responsibility Coach behaviour is influenced largely by the philosophy of the club. At MK Dons our aims are to develop resilient, resourceful and reflective players for our first team. In order for this to happen our coaches are expected to be the same and to act as a ‘Knowledgeable guide’ and mentors for the players, rather than dictators of the game.

This is something many youth coaches find difficult to do or don’t believe in.

This is either because they cannot find ‘empathy’ with the players and see it from behind ‘their eyes’ or maybe because they work in a way they were coached themselves. This assumes that everyone learns in the same way but managing difference is about recognising it in the first place and then treating the players differently. Some make informed decisions not to work that way and that is their choice, but it should to be an ‘educated choice’.

An example of the way we expect our coaches to behave is when it comes to match day. English youth football matches are often characterised by the constant passing over of information and instructions to the players and games can often be a matter of which coach can shout the loudest.

However, allowing young players to make their own decisions and problem solve should be in the forefront of our coach’s minds. Unfortunately this is often not the case. Players in our country temd to be described as lacking creativity, but this means negotiating risk and risk is something the coach often strives to eliminate in youngsters. It is right and necessary to see risk as a cost when dealing at the per formance end of the game (the professionals) but in development risk needs to be seen more as an investment (in learning) than a cost.

The returns can be very high.

Successful decision makers ‘weigh up’ the consequences of their actions constantly and the good players learn quickly when and where to take risks, but only if they are exposed to risk taking in the first place.

One of the key characteristics of some talented players is they are prepared to risk being wrong which means they must be willing to ‘have a go’. Coaches must never stifle this. Making sense of mistakes is the first step to eliminating them.

We (at MK Dons) like to take a more reflective approach. For us, the outcome of the game is very important, more to the players than the coaches. Players need to know what it is like to win, lose and draw playing well or badly, but reflecting on what

development is a marriage between technical, physical, mental and social skills is crucial and none of these can flourish unless the right learning environment is created and maintained.

Here is our (MK Dons) coaches checklist for helping to develop the right environment: • Make players feel Safe & secure in and around the club • Give them Challenging & motivating Practices • Give them Choices to make and learn to negotiate risk • Let them make Decisions for themselves • Create Problem solving exercises and practices • Build Trust

No. 35 – October / November 2009

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Coaching methodology the best. Courses ser ve mainly to ‘light a fire’ towards fur ther enlightenment, they do not turn someone into a coach overnight. Coaches are also expected to think ‘out the box’ in order to keep players constantly challenged and stimulated and are encouraged to experiment and tr y new things out but within clear boundaries (coaching programme).

• Make sure they Benefit all players (inc the GK’s) • Ensure they are Relevant and Realistic (Game – based) • They should be Simple & easily Organised • Try to enable Decision making & problem solving unless you are working on a particular physical skill that needs isolated repetition

The management at MK Dons like to think of ourselves as mentors and guides for the coaches as much as they are for the players. We recognise the sacrifices they often give up to be with our players and they are highly valued, encouraged and supported. To this end we have a number of systems in place to ensure our coaches are armed with the necessary tools to coach effectively.

Ownership & responsibility Coaches are encouraged to take a full and active part in meetings and in service events.

We often give coaches ‘topics’ to research and then feedback to the group. It may be

Website We set up our own Internal Academy website for Coaches, Players and Parents.

We use this as an online ‘sharing system’ where coaches can download practices and share ‘good practice’. We also use the website for discussion forums. Coaches can download and upload articles of interest.

Evaluating Practices It’s important coaches are given a level of autonomy and freedom to develop their way of working. Once the philosophy is established they are given guidelines to follow. For example, we expect to see a tight area practice in every session. was good and what was not.

Understanding the result of the match is essential for all involved, including the parents.

Assessments and grading is secondary to understanding and evaluation and we find this helps us think more in the long term, which is the ‘cornerstone’ of youth development. Reactive and short term thinking tends to lead to recruiting for the ‘here and now’ and discarding talent unnecessarily. It may also be responsible for tempting clubs to buy in talent from home and abroad rather than developing their own.

Staff Development at MK Dons We expect Coaches working with our young players to take responsibility for their own development and have a ‘thirst’ for knowledge. It is not enough to just enrol on a coaching course and hope for

28

Coaches often have difficulty in assessing whether the practice or session ‘worked’.

They may say it’s gone well based on the immediate per formance or even the enthusiasm of the players. But it is the transfer of the learning into the games that is most important. So we look more closely at how the players are performing rather than how organised the coaches look or how they ‘appear’ to coach (or their methodology). Sometimes an apparently well turned out meticulously organised coach can trick you into thinking he or she is effective.

The following checklist tends to help our coaches evaluate their work.

• Give the players a Clear learning focus • Create practices that Enables the repetition of the focus • Make them Challenging & Motivating

No. 35 – October / November 2009

Coaching methodology scientific or more general or simply a type of practice. Weekly meetings are done on an individual basis with each coach informally and again are reflective rather than reactive.

Understanding & perspective We put family life first for players and coaches and make sure that each coach knows we think this way. We are very aware of the commitments to the club by being part time and all of our coaches have a full life away from the football. We encourage coaches therefore to allocate time to the football rather than have a 24/7 approach. Turning mobile phones off for example and being with their families

and friends is very important in keeping things into perspective and not letting the football dominate all parts of their lives.

This also keeps the coaches ‘fresh’ with new ideas and enthusiasm.

Also if we regard coaches as human beings first rather than as ‘coaches’ they will tend to look at the players in this way which is the foundation of our philosophy.

Summary When Academies replaced the old youth sections Youth development suddenly became an asset or liability issue. The Press got interested and the comparisons

with other countries came thick and fast.

Kids playing football became of national concern and coaching got serious. Sadly investment has not followed this trend.

The talent ‘pool’ of coaches in our country clearly needs to be bigger if we are to expect a meritocracy and the inducements to work in youth development have to be more attractive. Youth development needs to be seen as an investment and not a cost but a huge cultural and economic shift might be needed for this to happen.

Any delay is probably down to our history and our genes rather than anything else.

No. 35 – October / November 2009

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Youth Training Sessions

Technique training session Last year we featured Training Sessions from around the World in this section, and this year we have changed the theme to Youth Training Sessions. This regular section will feature complete youth training sessions and in this issue we outline 11 exercises from technique trainer Michel Hordijk, divided into 4 sessions: Training 1: 1v1 situations Training 2: The opponent from the front Training 3: The opponent from the back Training 4: The opponent from the side

Training 1

1v1 situations

Exercise 1A Goal

Organization

To improve changing direction in order to execute a feint move under pressure from an opponent

Player A passes to player B. Player B receives the ball and dribbles to player C. He changes direction and ends with a feint moves facing player A as an opponent (defender)

Development -

Passing Receiving Dribbling Changing direction Feints

Coaching - Use both feet - Progressively increase pressure

Exercise 1B

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Goal

Organization

To improve position specific qualities: - Central defender: passing, penetrating midfield - Wingers: feints, dribbling, crosses - Playmaker: changing play. passing, penetrating the penalty area, scoring - Striker: movement off the ball, scoring

5v5 on half a field (or smaller, depending on the age and level of the players) with two large goals with goalkeepers. Use a 'Plusformation'

No. 35 – October / November 2009

Coaching - Every player may penetrate - Whenever the wingers have the ball, the strikers have to stay away from the ball, so the wingers can cross or choose to dribble and beat the defender - Create space between the defender and the attacker

Give YouthUsTraining Back Our Sessions Game

by Michel Hordijk Training 2

The opponent from the front

Exercise 2A Goal To improve using feints when the opponent is in front of you

Development -

Passing Receiving Dribbling Feints Speed

Organization 5 lines, 5-7 players, 2 balls.

Player A passes to player C. Player C executes a feint in front of player B and again in front of

player A. Player B runs to the middle line and receives the ball from player E. Player B executes a feint in front of player D and E and player D runs to the middle line, etc. This exercise can also be executed with 2 large goals with goalkeepers on each side

Coaching - Progressively build up the resistance from 50% (defending on a line) to 100% (first defender defends the line, second defender may leave his line and put pressure on the ball)

Exercise 2B Goal To improve dribbling and penetrate the defense in 1v1 and 1v2 situations

Development -

Runs off the ball Dribbling 1v1 1v2 Scoring

whenever he has the ball he is not allowed to pass it anymore: he had to dribble, penetrate the defense and score. This player cannot be offside. All other players are naturally also allowed to score

Coaching - The 'Ronaldinho' role can be played by all types of players, not just attackers - Improve the 1v1 skills

Organization 2v2 with 1 neutral player. 2 goals with goalkeepers on a field of approximately 30 x 35 meters. The central player is 'Ronaldinho',

Exercise 2C Goal To improve dribbling, using feints, penetrate the defense and score

Development - Positioning - 1v1 - 1v2

Organization 5 v 5 on a quarter of a field, 3 zones, 2 goals with goalkeepers.

Whenever a player receives the ball in the attacking third he may not pass it anymore, he must

No. 35 – October / November 2009

penetrate the defense and try to score. By keeping the middle zone relatively small you are placing the focus on dribbling and the individual qualities. When you make this zone bigger the focus will be on possession play.

Coaching - This exercise focuses on individual qualities, but also about positioning (so you can dribble and penetrate the defense).

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Youth Training Sessions Training 3

The opponent from the back

Exercise 3A Goal To improve the first touch and individual skills when the opponent is coming from behind.

Development -

Passing Receiving and turning away Dribbling Feints

Organization 2 lines, 4 players, 2 balls. At the same time player A and player B pass the ball to player C and player D. In one move player C

and D receive and turn towards the other side. Then player C makes a feint at player B, and player D at player A. Player A and B come to the middle, player A receives the ball from player C, player B from player D. Build up the resistance from +- 50% to 100% ( defending the lines ).

Coaching Practice different kind of first touches ( inside foot, outside foot, behind the standing leg ), with both feet.

Exercise 3B Goal

Organization

To improve receiving and feints in a 1:1- situation.

6-8 players, 16 balls, 2 goals with goalkeepers. Player A sets up a 12-combination with player B. Then player A passes to player C. Player B asks for the ball, and receives it from player C. Then player B plays 1:1 against player D ( max 10 sec. ).

Development - 1-2-combination - Passing - Receiving under pressure of an opponent - 1:1 - Scoring

Coaching - Good passing, on the right foot - Face the goal as much as possible

Exercise 3C Goal To improve receiving the ball with the opponent in your back

Development - Receiving the ball - Turning with the ball -

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30 balls. Player 1 passes to player 2, who is being defended by player 3 (1v1, both players can score). After this play player 1 will become the defender and player 3 will become the attacker. Player 3 will receive the ball from player 4.

Organization

Coaching

6 players, 2 goals with goalkeepers (distance approximately 40 meters),

- Good passing - Coach after the pass

No. 35 – October / November 2009

Youth Training Sessions Training 4

The opponent from the side

Exercise 4A Goal

Organization

To improve changing direction in 1v2 situations

The red player who receives the ball has 2 opponents and three goals (2 large goals with goalkeepers and one line he can dribble across).

Development -

Recieving Dribbling Cutting and protecting the ball Changing direction Seek the open space

Coaching -

First touch Quick feet Feints Scoring

Exercise 4B Goal

Organization

To improve moves and skills that can be used to change direction.

180 degrees-turns are practiced with 2 players, 90 degrees-turns with 4. The dribble after the cut or turn can be replaced by a pass.

Development -

Dribbling Cutting and turning Passing Receiving

Coaching - Practice with both feet - Don’t look at the ball - Quick feet

Exercise 4C Goal To improve change of direction and feints

Development -

Passing Receiving Dribbling Feints Change of direction Looking straight Speed with the ball

Organization 2 teams of 3 or 4, 20 balls, 2 lines made out of markers. The blue player passes

to the red player. The red player receives, and tries to score by laying the ball at one of the two markers. On the other side the blue player can avoid the red player from scoring by touching the markers with his hand. This means the red player has to use feints and quick change of direction in order to get rid of the ’defender’. Max 10 seconds, switch sides after the game.

Coaching - Quick feet - It’s about winning!

No. 35 – October / November 2009

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Football coaches need to be students of the game and be prepared to keep on learning to enhance their knowledge and facilitate player development. Football is constantly changing and developments are on-going through-out a season.

The coach can be seen as ‘the more capable other’ (Vygotsky 1978) and this really focuses on a supportive role to aid collaborative learning along with having a font of knowledge. Expert coaches should be primarily concerned with the learning experience for the young player and not the incidentals around a session.

Identified below are technical, tactical and athletic challenges which are coming to the fore in the modern game and the implications for the coach.

By: Andrew Blight

The changing nature of

FOOTBALL

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No. 35 – October / November 2009

Modern game 1990-2008 Athletic factors • Increased distances covered in all positions- some players are averaging 13km per game.

• Greater distances covered at high speed.

• The game is played at a quicker pace (ball and player speeds) • The number of sprints per game in the English Premier league has doubled since 2002.

• Gradual change in player body type to muscular mesomorph e.g. Essien, Drogba, Ronaldo. Linked to this, higher levels of body strength are now required.

• Recovery and regeneration strategies are greatly enhanced through sport science support.

2007-08 Athletic Output Arsenal FC • Covered the most distance at >7metres per second.

• Fabregas- 350m highest intensity running in 30 minutes.

• Arsenal placed 10th for the overall distance covered.

• Arsenal had 10 players in the top 60 players for 20m speed.

• Flamini and Fabregas regularly covered 13+km in games.

• Defenders cover similar distance at high speed but less overall distance than attackers and wide players.

• Thomas Rosicky covered most distance on game by game average at high intensity than any other player.

touches as a strategy.

• Increased positional interchanges E.g.

Rooney, Ronaldo and Tevez.

• More teams building and attacking centrally E.g. Spain play with a central ‘5’ overload of Iniesta, Villa, Senna, Silva and Xavi.

• More teams defending ‘later’.

• More Counter-attacking teams E.g. Brazil from defending set-pieces.

• Multi-purpose wide players and withdrawn strikers.

Players are now more able to play at a high tempo, pressurising opponents in ‘tight’ areas and affording little time and space.

Generally, at elite level the game is characterised by short, quick 1 touch passing. This occurs in the central, condensed areas of the pitch where clever movement and rotation is required to exploit limited space.

For the youth player, working in ‘tight areas’ is key and I often use a variety of 4v4 conditioned games to challenge their technical and mental capacity. It is really important as the coach to create a degree of stress within the 4v4 game, so the practice is game specific and is developing their character and decision-making. With these practices players will learn➢ How to get away from an opponent ➢ Movement away from opponents to receive the ball ➢ Receiving the ball ➢ Identifying and exploiting spaces

Future Physical Shifts..

• Physical profiles of players will continue to be enhanced.

• Elements of training will designed to fulfil genetic potential.

• Genetic screening will become a factor in player identification and recruitment.

• Specific positions will require unique and individual training programmes E.g. midfield: endurance • Agility and explosiveness will have even more importance.

• Players will sustain higher work capacity and intensity longer.

Tactical Innovations..

• More technically able players in all positions with defenders more effective in possession.

• Expansive use of the pitch both width and depth.

• Shorter passing ‘possession based’ game.

• Longer passing sequences with minimal

Premiership Possession factors (Per game Average team passing totals 2008-09)

Chelsea: 496 Arsenal: 442 Man Utd: 431 Liverpool: 399 West Ham: 355 Premiership Average: 314

From the information gleaned, there must be a focus on technical excellence to meet the demands of the modern game and this must start from a young age. Players’ must have an extended range of varied first touch skills with the ability to perform them at speed and under pressure. This could be achieved by developing a player’s range of moves in 1v1 situations, providing him with more options to outwit opponents with an element of craft and deception.

Reference: Information in this article is supported from a presentation by Arrigo Saachi and Pro-zone.

No. 35 – October / November 2009

35

The 4 practices are all linked to ball possession and have a direct link to the information provided below by Prozone.

1990-2009 Game Changes (Statistics from Pro-zone)

Practice 1

• More teams regularly keep possession more often.

• More teams keep possession with longer passing sequences.

• More passing and receiving situations are evident (20% more than 2002).

• More goals scored from prolonged passing sequences.

• More passes played below head height.

• More goals scored from central approaches.

• More teams regaining possession deeper and counter attacking quicker.

• 40x30 4v4 • Yellow team attack and blues keep possession until they can dribble the ball into one of the 5 boxes.

• Each box is different in size.

• A successful dribble through a box 1=1 point, 2=2 points etc.

Practice 2 • 50x25 4v4 • Directional play with blues and yellows playing in the central 30x25 yard area keeping possession until they can pass the ball through either one of the 3 gates situated on the end-line.

• No players allowed in 10x25 yard area.

Practice 3 • 30x20 4v4 in each half + Gks • Directional play with blues and yellows defending or attacking the goal. Players must play through the middle floating player who links up then helps build an attack in opposition half.

Practice 4 • 0x25 4v4 with 1 floater on each team (white for yellows, red for blues).

• Teams score by passing the ball through floaters legs and to another team-mate.

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No. 35 – October / November 2009

GK

GK

Events

Give Us Back Our Game

GUBOG offers a number of different courses and workshops for coaches, parents, teachers and players.

• 3 HOUR GUBOG INTRODUCTION WORKSHOP FOR COACHES TEACHERS AND PARENTS INVOLVED IN ALL SPORTS • 3 HOUR FOOTBALL CLUB COURSE – A PRACTICAL COURSE FOR FOOTBALL COACHES AND TEACHERS BASED AT YOUR CLUB OR SCHOOL. THE COURSE LOOKS AT THE ‘LEARNING THROUGH PLAY’ PHILOSOPHY WITH SMALL SIDED GAMES • 1 DAY FOOTBALL COURSE - A PRACTICAL COURSE FOR FOOTBALL COACHES AND TEACHERS BASED AT YOUR CLUB OR SCHOOL. THE COURSE LOOKS AT THE ‘LEARNING THROUGH PLAY’ PHILOSOPHY WITH SMALL SIDED GAMES • 1, 2 AND 3 DAY FOOTBALL COURSES FOR COACHES WITH GUBOG AND THE DUTCHUK FOOTBALL SCHOOL WITH BERT-JAN HEIJMANS, INTRODUCING THE MAGIC RECTANGLE. THE DUTCH 4V4 AND SMALL SIDED GAMES.

In association with the dutchUK football school

For further details on the courses please email Paul Cooper on

g i ve u s b a c ko u r g a m e @ g m a i l . c o m

The Kickspeed radar:

A great tool to improve your shot Football is a subjective sport. Compared to sports like swimming and speed skating, improving a certain aspect doesn't necessarily have to show in the end result. Regardless, as a coach you are always trying to improve you players skills, but measure this improvement is almost impossible. Whether the skill has improved is therefore subjective. For example you have been able to improve your players' skill level drastically, but you lose the next couple of matches in an unfortunately manner, as a coach you will have to convince both players and parents that there is improvement, regardless of what the scoreboard says at the end of a match.

Situations like that make it fun for coaches to use materials that can measure skill levels. Even though it is hard to measure things in football there have been some developments in this area lately. The PSV field lab is one example and Sportproof a company who measures skills like speed, agility and jumping strength is another.

Coaches can really take advantage of tools like these. IDCP has launched another great measuring tool for football coaches and players alike: the Kickspeed radar.

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No. 35 – October / November 2009

Technology

There are more products like this on the market, but the Kickspeed radar is very easy to use, small and easier to install.

Kicking power may not be the most important skill for a football player, but being able to kick the ball hard and aim well is definitely a skill players should pay great attention to. Just think about the distance shot on goal, taking free kicks or the cross pass. With the aid of the Kickspeed radar you can gain insight in the kicking speed of your players. Immediately after the shot you can read the speed from the build in screen.

Another great advantage of this measure tool is that your players will be very eager to find out their kicking power. SoccerCoachingInternational recommends using a tool like this in your training sessions from time to time (between 4-8x / year) for about 15-25 minutes. This way you create a competition element for the players and an evaluation element for yourself in your season plan.

Players will most likely start training their kicking power outside of the training session to make sure there speed and aim has improved next time you bring the Kickspeed radar out.

Simply being able to kick the ball very hard is not enough, we therefore recommend integrating this tool in an aiming session.

You can use the target or divide, for example a goal, into several areas and tell your players which area they must hit. The size and angle should be depend on the distance of the shot.

The Kickspeed radar will definitely motivate your players to work on the kicking power. As a coach its a great tool to keep tracking of the players' development. For just over 100 euro you will have a new tool at your club that will be very welcomed by your players.

No. 35 – October / November 2009

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The relationship between speed, skill and decision-making

Good players execute good decisions 40

No. 35 – October / November 2009

Mental Development This series of articles will look at the most important skill for soccer players, decision-making in match conditions. It’s importance lies in the fact that before a player can perform any action he or she must decide which action to take. These decisions will be made from a wide variety of options based on a rapidly changing and incomplete picture. A mistake or miscalculation in the decision-making process, DMP, renders effective execution a moot point. Superior execution of a poor decision isn’t beneficial unless it falls to luck and luck is not a coach able method. On the other hand, execution can be improved through simplification by better decision-making. A player can choose a different, more appropriate technique making the poor execution a non-issue. By using the DMP as the starting point we can look back and see that the player had other options more in line with the resources and situation at hand.

Think, “Play simple.”

Therefore, since the DMP precedes every technical/tactical action, with or without the ball, it is the starting point for all actions. Even deciding not to take any action involves it; the decision was made. This universality, it cannot be ignored or bypassed, clearly makes it the single most important skill.

Certainly correcting poor execution, technique, is important for player development but the effort has to be kept within the context of the problem. Problems with technique can often be traced back to the DMP, its root, as often as to the mechanics, its execution. Coaches spend too much time correcting, or insisting on, the wrong technique given the existing real world situation. For example, moving players to create a picture that wasn’t there or demanding that next time they just “try harder or do it better.”

The DMP can be improved through training. It is more than tactical awareness, reading the game, although that does play a major part. It involves intuition and insight and these are similar to any physical quality. They can be influenced, therefore developed and shaped, by outside forces. Later we’ll see certain characteristics that can be manipulated along with the tools to do just that.

By: Larry Paul

No. 35 – October / November 2009

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Mental Development Speed is the point of departure While holding the above thought in mind we’ll state that speed is the dominant quality/objective in soccer. Getting players to increase their speed of play is a prime objective of training. Alone, it is an intimidating weapon. Combined with quality decisions it can be an irresistible force.

When technical mastery is added there is often no solution for the opponents. But speed comes in two interrelated and mutually dependent forms and can be influenced in two ways.

The first form is physical speed or speed on the ground. To influence this you can concentrate on the physical/mechanical qualities, muscle strength, kinetic form, agility, flexibility etc. This is a focus on the body as a means of producing power and acceleration. Exercises, drills, games, and activities are designed with the idea of improving the per formance of specific muscle groups usually through repetition and adjusting the level of resistance. While an important consideration this approach involves a long time frame, the gains are easily lost and must be constantly maintained, often outside the domain of the game itself, i.e. laps, sprints, speed ladders, shuttles etc. Puberty also plays a significant role and cannot be ignored. This is speed in its raw objectively measurable form, divorced from the DMP. Its objectives will be to decrease/increase time over distance. But this is not a measure of the player’s contribution to the game, just a collection of data that will require interpretation and then application to the real world on the field.

The second form is mental speed, rapidly moving through the DMP. It takes into account that all actions are preceded by a decision. While this form is harder to observe the relationship between the two forms is demonstrated because you can influence speed on the ground through the DMP and vice versa. Players have two DMP options they can employ that will improve their physical speed. First, they can decide to start closer to their target shortening the distance. In soccer distance is measured from here to there, from where I am to where I need to be and not in predetermined increments. Players can simply choose to start closer to their target thus shortening the distance they have to travel.

Besides shortening distance players can increase the time they have to achieve

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their objective by starting sooner. How is this done? Because the success of the movement is determined by whether or not the player gets the job done i.e. to give themselves an advantage, to exploit an opening, fill a need etc. You consider the objective in the situation, not beating a time on a stopwatch, as the finish line.

Beating the opponent’s reaction/objective is the measure success. Players who

No. 35 – October / November 2009

consistently get there “Firstest with the mostest” are at a significant advantage and likely have a greater impact on the game than those who come in second. By starting sooner, players give themselves a head start on the opponents in setting up shop and being open for business.

Raw speed is simply a tool that the DMP can use but the objective has to be known

Mental Development Standing outside the game If you stay inside the soccer community and research the DMP you’ll find that most articles, thought and discussion centers on two types of decisions. First, ones already made, a retroactive point of view. This makes for an interesting narrative, good story telling, but is of little use in going forward. You can relate to the story, to the feelings and emotions, even understand the technical and tactical elements involved, but how do you apply that to future situations? It’s easy to find the chain of cause and effect looking back but it’s very hard to see into the future. Clearly something is missing, something that connects previous experience with future actions in this point of view.

The other type of DMP articles often contains passive, slow witted and immobile opponents. On paper speed is never a problem for your team. Running behind defenders couldn’t be easier and attackers play the ball blindly into a trap.

Passes always find their target, tackles are always made and the shots are on target.

It’s not difficult to make good decisions when the opponents are playing for your team. Fortunately this is not the case, opponents are for real and have a habit of not cooperating with your plans. If that were otherwise there would be no sense in playing.

before the tool is applied. If it isn’t the player won’t be where they need to be or they’ll be too early or too late. In any case it’s a waste of physical energy. When ever y member of the team does this it leads to broken lines, miscommunication, chaos, the amoeba system and players have to fend for themselves. Actions become disjointed and the technical demands become greater because the

complexity of the situation exceeds the players ability to make sense of it. The player can’t make a decision what technique to use because he or she can’t understand what is going on or what options are available. Speed, without thought is as great a threat to the team as using it as it is to the opponents. It’s times like this that you can say they “Play too fast, think too slow.”

In order to get the highest return on our time we should make sure that the DMP plays a central role in training. But to do this we’ll need to find a good model of it in order to understand what it is, how it works and how we can use it. A model that can explain the relationships between past events and future decisions; that includes both the external objective world and the internal subjective one; one that includes the process of learning; one that takes into account the actions of our opponents, teammates, coaches and a host of unknown and unseen factors; one that supplies concrete pictures to abstract concepts; one that sees decision-making as a goal centered process; one that pictures the world as is, not as should be: one that can deal with a fast transient environment and finally one that has stood up to rigorous testing and has proven to be practical, adaptable and most importantly works.

Such a model exists but for that we’ll have to step out of the soccer community.

In the next issue: Meet John Boyd’s OODA Loop.

No. 35 – October / November 2009

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Hawk-eye:

Was it a goal or not?

The technology has been successfully used in tennis and cricket for several years’ already but despite the commercialization of soccer, governing bodies are still reluctant to introduce technical devices to determine the most important factor; was it a goal, yes or no!?

By: Guy Oldenkotte

It has led to discussions in many households, pubs and coffee shops and offices; did the ball cross the line or not? The cause of confusion is that television cameras are at the wrong angle most of the time as they look down at the ball, and do not have a sufficiently high frame rate to follow the exact line of the ball. This is crucial to capture the moment in which the ball crosses the line.

While some will claim it is part of the game, others will argue that there is simply too much at stake to allow an important moment being undecided. With money available for every goal scored in various competitions, a score that is not awarded now ads a new dimension. Clubs will not only be affected from a sporting point of view, it also hits the club’s financially.

Old discussion The discussion about ‘what to do’ has been going on for several years already. Since 2003 FIFA has been working with manufacturers to develop Goal Line Technology. A system that used radio transmission was first publicly tested in 2005 during the U-17 FIFA World Cup in Peru. Though the test showed some important insights, the system was declared unsuitable. “Together with the International Board, we declared that if we possessed a technique for goal-line situations, or if we one day find a solution, we would accept it. But it has to be a solution that is precise, fair and immediate, because football is also the one sport that is all about the moment,” FIFA President Sepp Blatter recently told Chelsea and England skipper John Terry in a reply to his question about why technology is still not in use. Terry can rest assure; FIFA and UEFA have recently decided to appoint two more additional assistant referees for the 144 group matches in the UEFA Europa League this season. The assistant referees will provide an extra pair of eyes and hopefully provide a solution for the continued debate.

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More eyes According to the guardians of the Laws of the Game, IFAB (comprising The FA, The Scottish Football Association, the Football Association of Wales, The Irish Football Association and FIFA) the two additional assistant referees will ‘enhance the control of the match in accordance with the Laws of the Game in key areas of the field of play by adding an extra pair of eyes near to each penalty area’. The two additional assistant referees are supposed to support the referee, to identify infringements, reduce matchchanging errors and to deter players from committing infringements. They obviously will also be supposed to be in a better position to determine whether a goal is scored. By means of a radio communication system the assistant referee can support the referee in important decisions but the final decision are still taken by the referee.

A hawk’s eye But in a time where we send people to the moon, create technology thinner than a hair and even retrieve data from carriers, many believed, would be lost forever, the reliance on the human eye for far-reaching decisions in soccer is astonishing. The human is simply the weakest link. In sports like tennis and cricket sophisticated technology has been in use for many years already to assistant referees during difficult and disputable moments. The system has proven to be almost 100% reliable. “There is a big difference between tennis and soccer. In tennis you are assessing only one dimension which is the line. In soccer you have three dimensions, namely the length, height and depth of the goal,” FIFA President Joseph Blatter explains the views of the soccer governing body. The system used in tennis and cricket is called Hawk-Eye (see side-bar) and was jointly developed by scientists in the US and England. “The hawk eye system has been tested in

No. 35 – October / November 2009

Technology

several matches in England in the 2nd division,” Blatter admits referring to a trial in 2008. The system was also tested at various UEFA U-19 qualifiers the same year. ”The result was that even with seven cameras, if the ball is not visible, you cannot indicate with accuracy if there is a goal scored or not. The ball must totally cross over the line and it was impossible to detect.” According to the FIFA president it took no fewer than five seconds to determine whether the ball crossed the line or not. “Five seconds – that’s enough for the ball to be cleared and another goal chance to arise at the other end of the pitch.” Blatter claims that the developers have therefore told FIFA that “they have to go back and start again as it was not possible to identify the ball”.

Problem solving The introduction of new technologies and techniques has always been a painstaking process within soccer. But even Wimbledon, known for upholding its traditional values, has embraced technology like Hawk Eye. The system was challenged many times, including by champion Roger Federer, fans and commentators at its introduction in 2007. But the system proved that everybody else was wrong. “We are not so far behind tennis but it is easier in tennis to see if it is in or out,” Blatter says.

“The difference between tennis and soccer is that in tennis you stop the game. In soccer you won’t. It goes on.” During the FIFA Confederations Cup final between USA and Brazil the consequences became clear. “The game is not stopped because there is a conflicting situation and three seconds later you can have a goal at the other side,” Blatter explains. With at least five seconds required to determine whether a goal was scored, the incident proved that only a fail-proof system would be useful.

Brazilian striker Kaka would have loved to see goal line technology being used in the game. The player was denied a score in what could have been a valid goal.

“It would have been fantastic if I had scored a valid goal at that time,” he calmly said afterwards. Nevertheless Kaka was clearly aware of the importance for him to score goals after he signed

Even Wimbledon has embraced technology to determine whether a ball is in out.

a multi-million dollar transfer to Real Madrid only days prior to the match. And as the Brazilians were struggling against the US Kaka could have had a significant contribution in the turn-around of the game, proving the value of the transfer had merits. “These are aspects of the game FIFA has to check on,” he advised the football governing body.

Detection Hawk eye is not the only system available to determine the position of an object. In 2007 sports equipment manufacturer Adidas, together with Cairos Technologies introduced the Teamgeist II. This ball included technology that would indicate when a goal was scored. A magnetic field underneath the goal would recognise the sensor once the ball had passed the goal line. It relayed a message automatically to the referee to inform him a goal was scored. “The purpose of the Adidas intelligent ball and Goal Line Technology is to provide greater transparency

Hawk Eye was initially used to provide TV viewers with more statistics and entertainment.

No. 35 – October / November 2009

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Technology Hawk Eye was initially developed by British scientist Dr Paul Hawkins. The scientist wanted to develop a system that could track a ball. To determine the exact bounce of a ball, the hawk-eye system makes use of high-speed cameras that identify the centre of the ball within the frame of each film. This information is translated into the exact 3D position of the ball at a series of time intervals. From these 3D positions, the trajectory of the ball is calculated. With the trajectory, hawk eye projects where the ball will make its point of impact.

Although Adidas announced the new ball during the FIFA Confederations Cup, it will only reveal more details in December, when the final draw takes place.

The Teamgeist II used sensors and a magnetic field to determine whether a score was made. during a match and to assist the referee in making quick decisions that can impact the outcome and quality of the game,” Hans-Peter Nuernberg, Adidas Innovation Team’s senior researcher told media at the time. “Now, the technology, of course, is still in the experimental stage. But, we will continue improving the system until it becomes 100% accurate.” The ball was first tested at a FIFA tournament in Japan in 2007. “With the complexities and precision needed for Goal Line Technology, it is imperative that the system is tested in a variety of competitive game situations,” said Christian Holzer, COO of Cairos Technologies at the same press conference. “The opportunity to test the new technology during such a competitive tournament will supply us with the valuable feedback needed in order to

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continue refining the system.” How much improvement Adidas has achieved is something the company didn’t want to divulge when SoccerCoachingInternational approached the German giant. For the FIFA World Cup in 2010 the company has been contracted again to design the ball that will be used. “We are only launching the World Cup ball on the fourth of December 2009.

Therefore it would be premature to talk about it now,” the public relations manager of Adidas South Africa, Zobuzwe Ngobese, told SoccerCoaching-International. The inclusion of the technology seems to be unlikely as FIFA President Sepp Blatter only recently hinted it was not working well-enough yet.

“The other system, with a chip in the ball, has also been tested. It was too complicated and has not been 100% accurate eitherl. We are working on that,” he said.

Room for discussion It seems that, for the time being, soccer governing bodies will continue providing food for thought in the worldwide debate.

Brazilian star Kaka was clearly disappointed his goal wasn’t acknowledged

No. 35 – October / November 2009

Although the technology was initially adopted by TV broadcasters globally to provide more visual entertainment and statistics, the system has slowly been embraced by sports governing bodies.

Hawk eye is now used in cricket to resolve ‘leg before wicket’ shouts, at snooker too indicate the supposed movement of the ball, as well as in tennis to determine whether a ball was ‘in’ or ‘out’.

FIFA doesn’t mind. “There will always be errors in soccer, but let soccer have this human face where human errors par ticipate in the human game,” Blatter says. “It is really a game for everybody,” he justifies his stance while fuelling the ongoing discussion whether FIFA actually has a higher cause. It is not the first time the international association is accused of manipulating the game. Let’s see if the people agree that soccer ‘should have a human face’ when they lose money in the coming UEFA Europa League season when not one or two but up to four referees will fail to tell whether a ball passed the goal line, in what could have been, a decisive moment.

Brazilian Corner Coach withdraws defender because of his strength

Vasco use power plate in physical training

Vanderlei Luxemburgo, coach of Santos FC, decided to withdraw defender Domingos. The player was punished for having abused his power in training games against his own team - he's injured goalkeeper Rafael, full back Bruno and striker Kleber Pereira.

Brazilian second division club Vasco changed their routine to try to improve the fitness levels of the team. They bought a power plate to use in the physical training routine of their players.

The device consists of a platform and support, and attempts to develop the balance of players.

From striker to goalkeeper Brazilian player Agenor, has a remarkable story. The player, is currently trying to avoid conceding goals, while he began his career as a striker, with the specific task of making them.

Agenor who was born in southern Brazil, played for several teams, but was unable to really break through until he recently joined amateur club Nova Geração. He started on the bench and didn't get a lot of playing time as a striker. One day during a training session the coach decided to play a penalty kick tournament and Agenor volunteered to be the goalkeeper. He saved three penalty kicks and has since switched positions from striker to goalkeeper.

New team invests in structure Bahia of Feira de Santana, a small team who plays in the first division of the regional championship in Bahia, is using technology to improve their training. In order to facilitate this, the board is building a training center for the players.

The power plate is used by all players, ten minutes before the start of every training session and every game. In addition to working on balance, the device reduces the risk of injury in athletes.

Marcos uses YouTube to train Goalkeeper Marcos, 2002 World Cup champion, has revealed an unusual strategy to train against penalty kicks. He uses YouTube to observe the opponent’s spot kickers and studies the way they strike the ball. The main objective is to identify the player who stops just before striking the ball, forcing the goalkeeper to make a premature decision.

The Brazilian corner, a contribution from Universidade do Futebol www.universidadedofutebol.com.br

The center will serve not only football, although this will be the focus.

All players will be evaluated before starting at the club, and the results will determine the type of work each player will have to do.

No. 35 – October / November 2009

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John arrives some forty five minutes early. His favourite bit is helping to inflate the goals. He is nine with severe behavioural problems. His is a sad but not uncommon story. His dad left when he was young and his mother is embarrassed by his behaviour and is never seen out with him. The week before at an organised kid’s event he had tried to stab some older children with a pair of scissors and swore at the adults in charge before being taken home by the police. His school have been notified, but they are well used to his behaviour as he has bitten, punched and kicked some of the teachers there. The time putting up the goals and getting the equipment from the coaches’ cars is a chance to talk one on one with the bloke. Just chatting about what he did that day, but with their undivided attention. He makes for the pitch where the younger ages play from 37. He helps out and organises the games and is fabulous with the younger ones. One of the mums who help from the estate has started to take him to church on Sunday. The local community are beginning to look after John.

By: Paul Cooper

Mixed Age Football, Play and the Community “I am sure those games instilled in me and my pals a sense of responsibility and a notion that one had to adhere to rules in life if you were not to spoil things for other people.

We had no referee to apply the rules of the game. When a goal was scored we restarted the game with a kick off from what passed as a centre spot. When a foul was committed, a free kick was taken and no one took umbrage.

We seemed to accept that if anyone did not play by the rules of football, the game would be spoiled for everyone.

Those games played without supervision taught us that you can’t go about doing just what you wanted because there are others to think of. Of course it was not a conscious thought at the time, but these kick-abouts on the bomb site taught us the rules of society and prepared us for life.”

old as 16. This pitch is for the serious players. They play flat out for 2 hours, taking individual water breaks when their team allow.

The coaches never need to interfere here as they look after their own game. The offer of bib’s are shunned as the kids like to play in the kit worn by their heroes or whatever they want to wear.

"A lot of great players in the world will often say they don't know how they produced a piece of game changing magic - "It just happened", said with a shrug of the shoulders.

What has actually happened is that they have often merely instinctively carried out an act from the archives of tricks and instincts built up over the years of playing football with no boundaries in their formative years."

Tommy Smith – ex Liverpool FC

Oscar Egbogu - (Grew up playing street football in Africa and now plays 5-a-side in London)

Mike is small for seven but has magic feet. He plays for a local U7s team and scored all their goals the week before in an 8-0 win. He makes straight for the pitch where the older lads play. His eleven year old brother goes with him and when on the other side makes sure his younger sibling does not take the mick with some crunching tackles, although he inevitably does with some of his dribbling skills. Mike is the youngest on this pitch with players as

Alex is ten and he makes for a pitch which attracts the mainly semi sporty. They enjoy football when it is a laugh but it is not top of their priority list. They take quite a few breaks and mess about on their bikes down the grassy slope. Later the mums come from the estate with the little ones ages 2-3. They look after themselves and have the time of their lives kicking the balls around and making structures with coloured cones. The mums usually end up

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No. 35 – October / November 2009

Column in goal or playing against the little ones.

When the mums sit down for a rest and a natter the little ones invent their own games. I watched one two year old build a semi circle of coloured marker cones before putting a ball on each.

She then proceeded to kick the one at the end to try and topple the one opposite and so on. One of the mums is Ania who is originally from Poland and sadly has no family left. She comes

each week with her twin three year old son’s. She has found it difficult to integrate into the local community but she and the boys have already made new friends through football. She is a big reader and other parents have been bringing her books for her and the boys’ home library. At the end of session all the boys and girls help put the gear away and beg for a ball to be left out so they can then get in another 10 minutes play.

“Forty thousand generations of human beings have grown up doing this (outdoor play). And two generation’s haven’t.”

Stephen Moss

With a job three days a week as an Inclusion Support Worker at a local secondary school I help try and keep pupils that would

normally have been excluded or expelled, stay in the school system. A number of the boys at the school with behavioural problems are already at the GUBOG football scheme and four of them are already coaching for us. This is a great way for them to change their lives by being good role models for younger players and giving them a clear exit route for the future. There are no facilities at the venue so it is a case of having to use one of the big trees to spend a penny, which is very rare as they get so lost in play. This is all about the community and using the equipment and space as they please. There is something for everyone and they just select who and where they want to play with some younger children playing with kids more than twice their age.

Learning social skills and football go hand in hand.

“If problem-solving, communication, collaboration, innovation, and creative thinking is to remain part of our legacy as a species, then play must be restored to its rightful place at the heart of childhood” Alliance for Childhood At a recent coaching workshop with an inner city council, I was explaining that in our experience the chief ingredients that have worked beat are mixed ages, where kids can chose where and who they play with and allowing them to organise and referee their own games. The twenty football development community coaches were in agreement but health and safety and child protection issues don’t allow this to happen. So John won’t come early and put the goalposts up and help and coach the younger ones. Mike won’t be ‘megging’ the teenagers and his older brother will not be bringing him on the crossbar of his bike. The mums will stay at home and a chance to play footy with the tots is lost.

Meanwhile organised kids’ football is getting further and further away from how children socialise and play. I had an email from one of the mum’s last night. She said she had been crying for the last hour. Her son of 11 who comes to the community sessions has just been dumped by the local club after playing in the same team since six. She was informed by text and had already paid the seasons fees. No community, no play, no development and the adults get to decide.

The answer lies within the community itself. For generations they have sorted it out but have now had their wings clipped by checks and balances, fear and mistrust. The time has now come to take off the shackles and let them manage themselves. That includes places where kids can just go and play as well as proper community clubs where all children are catered from and have a cradle to grave policy where football becomes a healthy lifetime obsession. What we are doing with the community scheme, which is being adopted by others around the UK, was a normal scene in parks, playgrounds and recreation grounds a generation or so ago.

Sadly it is now deemed too risky for many organisations to adopt.

These organisations are the ones that get the grants and have the power and the money but are only allowed to deliver a heavily diluted version of what is really needed.

* all names have been changed for this article No. 35 – October / November 2009

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EDITORIAL

No. 35 – October / November 2009 SoccerCoachingInternational is a magazine for soccer coaches all over the world from the publisher of TrainersMagazine, the Dutch magazine for soccer coaches. The Magazine will be released six times a year.

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Editorial Staff Andrew Blight, Rick van Bokhorst, Paul Cooper, Guilherme Costa, Maaike Denkers, Frank Dunne, Christian Lavers, Patrick van Leeuwen, Dan Micciche, Guy Oldenkotte, Larry Paul, Paul van Veen

No. 35 – October / November 2009

ISSN 1571 - 8794

Give Us Back Our Game Magazine W inter edition 2009 !

W O N t u o e n i z a ag M

G Working with mixed abilities O B Small sided games U G How to organise a GUBOG event Rugby Game Sense Voices from the playground The optimal learning environment for youth football

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