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No. 36 December 2009 / January 2010

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Contents 4

Cover story: STEFANO CUSIN, AL ITTIHAD TRIPOLI FC FORMER HEAD COACH

Fr o m t h e E d i t o r

Youth U20: U.S. SASSUOLO CALCIO U20S, WITH PAOLO MANDELLI

Mental development: BOYD’S OODA LOOP

Youth academy:

Women:

Youth Training Sessions:

Communication:

Psychology:

SHAKHTAR DONETSK YOUTH ACADEMY (4)

KLEITON LIMA SANTOS FC AND BRAZILIAN NATIONAL WOMEN'S TEAM

10 PRACTICES BY DAN MICCICHE

THE ART OF COMMUNICATION

MANAGING PSYCHOLOGICAL DEMANDS

Semi Pro Adults:

Development

Training Session:

HUGO LANGTON ASHFORD TOWN FC ASSISTANT MANAGER

Welcome to the 36th issue of SoccerCoachingInternational! This December 2009 / January 2010 issue of SoccerCoachingInternational will be its last in printed form. However, we are very excited about what the future holds. Be assured the magazine will continue to thrive on the Web. As a SoccerCoachingInternational Subscriber, you have received a print copy of the magazine and moving forward you will still have access to all of its great content, as the magazine will retain its place as a core part of the SoccerCoachingInternational website. All of the features, articles, interviews, sessions and columns you have enjoyed over the years will continue to be published online, in a digital magazine format. We’ll be enriching the online magazine in many ways, including more frequent issues (10/year!), video features in the magazine, and more direct communication with our readers, enabling you to make comments on articles and to submit your own tips and best practices. Although SoccerCoachingInternational will no longer appear in print after this issue, our mission will remain focused on helping soccer coaches around the world to do their jobs better. Our hope is that you will find this new direction satisfying, and will like our coverage even better as we explore new ways to bring you the content you’ve come to rely on. Throughout the magazine you will find a couple of pages featuring explanations on the new directions we are going to take and the benefits of going online. We hope these pages will give you some clarity and understanding of the changes to come and that they will contribute to a smooth and easy transition from print to online!

AREA TRAINING

But there is more to this magazine then merely an explanation of what is to come, as this issue is once again packed with a great range of articles from all corners of the world. I hope you enjoy this last issue in print form and I hope to see you all online in February 2010 for the launch of our new website and our first e-magazine!

Column Paul Cooper:

Yours in soccer, Maaike Denkers Managing Editor SCI

DO I REALLY HAVE WHAT IT TAKES?

OF TIME & SPACE

Top interview

Stefano Cusin, Al Ittihad Tripoli FC former head coach Al Ittihad football club was founded in 1944. All home matches are played at the club's stadium '11-th June, which has the capacity to fit around 80.000 people. From 1949 until 2009 Al Ittihad won 25 championships, 6 Cups and 9 Super Cups and with that result they are one of the most successful football clubs in Libya. One of the people who is responsible for the 2009 Championship title is Stefano Cusin, an Italian coach with a lot of international experience and success. By: Dusan Petrovic

Libyan 2009 Champion “To understand the importance of football in Libya, first of all you need to know that in Libya there are neither discothèques nor cinemas, there isn’t much entertainment, actually the only true entertainment is football. Matches are played on Thursdays or Fridays (a day of rest like Sunday is for us). There is always great tension around the event, the players come onto the pitch like gladiators in an arena. People want to see the show, goals, victory… blood. With the 2014 Africa Cup in sight the place is developing well and the government is building new stadiums, the latest in Bengazi, the “Hugo Chaves Stadium” is stunning." "There’s a big difference between the top 5 teams and the others. In Tripoli there are two teams who have always been contenders for the top: Al Ittihad and Al Alhy. Every taxi, person, car and shop has a red or green flag depending on which team they support. The derby brings no fewer than 80,000 spectators to the stadium and for the event referees come from foreign federations such as France, Germany or Italy to guarantee unbiased ruling. Playing and winning the Derby (just this happened to me last year) is a unique emotion… 300,000 people along the road leading from the stadium to the players’ hotel and

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

the bus taking 5 hours to do the journey of just a few kilometers. Coaching Ittihad means training in front of 2 – 3 thousand people who sing with their banners hanging from the nets around the pitch. The championship games are played fairly and there are no bad fouls. The teams try to better themselves through good play. The president of the federation is Dr. Mohammed al Khadaffi, an extraordinary man, with whom I have a good rapport. He is a truly passionate fan of football, who watches matches from all over the world on his ultra big screen in his office! Al Ittihad has no less than a million supporters. There is enormous pressure on the team, if they win all is well, if they draw or worse still lose, there is immediate and violent uproar… and this only calms down with the next victory!”

Philosophy “My idea of football, as a game and a philosophy, could be defined in a motto, “if you train well you’ll have a better chance of winning your next match”. I am very scrupulous and meticulous in preparing my training sessions. Everything needs to be weighed up, planned so the session can flow. During the week I like to reproduce all the tech-

Top interview nical-tactical situations that my team will come across in their following matches. I believe in football “with intent”, I don’t want the nature of my team to change for different opponents… just small modifications, some awareness, but my team must always have its own precise make up!”

System “I have no favorite system. I think that every coach will agree that it is the men you have that make the system rather than the contrary. As I have said, I’m for a football “with intent” and so will go more towards a solution which guarantees “depth” on the flanks (right and left) with a constant presence in midfield. So as a result I use 4-4-2, 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 systems etc. remembering that these “numbers” are only such because we are talking about a dislocation in a static field when they are NOT in possession of the ball, but knowing that the game of football has constantly moving dynamics. I modify and change the line up depending on how the match is going and on the needs of my team; in that moment, with those players, in that context. So, all of this is subject to modification. This is the “system of play”, not to be confused with the “organization of play”, which is something completely different!”

Technical and tactical aspects in training sessions “I am convinced that technique and tactics cannot be divided. What I mean is, I believe that the player is a “whole”; by working tactically at top speed also technique is improved. Repeating the same technical exercises over and over again is not productive and does not involve the player. But above all there is no connection to the match, where different movements are required constantly and we can only reproduce this with intense technical-tactical practice! I realize I’m going against the flow, but my method is “global” just as the game of football is “global” itself! As far as the tactical part is concerned, I reproduce match situations in my training sessions. Both for the phases of ball possession and repossession, depending on the problems of play, I give some solutions. I try to push the team in a certain direction, while leaving them the initiative, so that once they are on the pitch, during a match. Certain mechanisms can be set in motion by a vocal command from one or more players, or by a visual command which is clear to all. As there are numerous and complex situations of play I dedi-

cate a lot of time to my team’s “organization of play” – a well organized team is surely a more competitive one.”

Physical preparation “Over the years I have tried different ways and theories with regard to my team’s physical preparation. In keeping with my personal convictions, I can say that 70% of my team’s fitness training comes through “playing”. I have already said that technique cannot be divided from tactics. I will add the physical aspect to that as well. What has pushing a 150 kg roller got to do with football? Much better is accelerating, stopping, changing direction during an exercise of ball possession, and all this in respect to ball position and the dynamics of play!

“if you train well you’ll have a better chance of winning your next match”

It would be much easier to hand over the team to a fitness trainer for an hour to do some running without having to think about anything rather than constructing a “measured” training session, which responds to the team’s needs. However, I prefer the more difficult way, because it gives more rewarding and winning results.”

Psychology

"I expect great concentration from everyone"

“The psychological aspect is fundamental and deserves particular care and attention. Getting the players used to reasoning for themselves is something that needs practice. During my training sessions, I expect great concentration from everyone, if they want to end up playing in a match. Each session needs to be intense, different and stimulating in order to make minds work. Vice versa, I have also organized 'relaxation techniques' to deal with tense moments when the team is under great pressure or if they need to 'delete' a performance. I use techniques which help to re-establish the composure which is needed before 'charging' the group up again.”

Coaching staff “My coaching team has 3 people, which I know well. There is the goalkeeper trainer, a technical collaborator and a physical trainer. Dialogue is constant and there are numerous exchanges of information, we spend hours analyzing both individual and team performance. We weigh up what kind of work load and tension we want and decide together using the information we have. At Ittihad, besides my staff I had another physical trainer (who was given the task of getting injured players back into shape), another Libyan technical collaborator, 2 interpreters, 2 physiotherapists and a doctor.”

"A well organized team is surely a more competitive one”

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

Weekly training plan: TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

High intensity training session 1.Warm up: two 8 minute exercises – throwing the ball, heading the ball, on ½ pitch (alternative passing with feet) 2.Stretching + gym + back stretching (6 - 7 minutes) 3.Players in pairs with 2 balls carry out movements across the entire pitch with throws, change of play (passing from one side to the other), dribbling and constant movement (10 minutes) 4.See Exercise 1: 2 groups of 10 – 12 players, ball possession with two colors, with 4 goals in a 30 by 40 meters space, 6 players against 6, 4 min. work / 2 min. recovery (30 minutes total)

High intensity training session 1.Warm up with the physical trainer; with running, ball and gym (15 minutes) 2.High intensity tactical practice 6 against 4 (30 minutes) on 2 halves (see exercise 3) Free zone in the middle with 2 players (one of each team) When defense intercepts the ball they have to pass it to the player in the free zone, its a goal for the defending team. Attacking team can score on goal. Player in the free zone will start the play on the other side (6v4) exercise 3

exercise 1

5.Phase 2 repeated. 6.Physical work without using the ball (changes in rhythm): a. 10 meter run b. recovery c. 10 meter run d. recovery e. 10 meter run f. recovery g. 10 meter run h. recovery i. 10 meter run j. recovery k. 10 meter run l. recovery for a total of 70 m. running (7 times 10 m.), repeat 6 times (15 minutes). 35 sec. micro recovery, maxi recovery between the 2 minute series to be repeated twice. 7.See Exercise 2: Game – 10 against 10 on ¾ of the pitch, two touches of the ball (10 minutes)

3.4 series of 7 repetitions (490 meters 4 times) zig-zagging (10 m. + 10 m. + etc.) Micro pause 45 sec. maxi pause 4 min. 4.Stretching + gym + back stretching (7 – 8 minutes) 5.See Exercise 4: Game 4-4-2 against 4-3-3, free play on ¾ pitch (15 minutes) exercise 4

exercise 2

THURSDAY

8.Cool down; slow running to recover energy (2 to 3 minutes)

Physical recovery / tactical training 1.General warm up with trainer + 4-3-3 against 4-3-3 throwing the ball. 2.Game of two 45 minutes halves against under 18 team, with two distinct teams, respecting pre-established tactics 3.Cool down; stretching + back stretching (5 – 6 minutes)

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

Top interview FRIDAY

Team preparation

1.Warm up (see exercise 5): 5 minutes free with or without ball, 15 minutes “circle” on the centre circle of the pitch, 3 players in the middle, others around: 1 touch of the ball. The three players in the middle must intercept as many balls as possible in 1 min. 30 sec. and the number of intercepted balls is counted before changing to another 3 players.

“Starting with the presupposition that my team must have its own make up and principles of play, what I call 'organization of play' which is independent of the system used, I do not want to change the nature of my team. Above all, on the day of the match I want my team well trained and concentrated. I speak about the opposing team in a general sense. By watching a ten minute film, of play during both halves, I point out the most noticeable characteristics. However, I generally watch the last three matches of the opposing team in order to modify play. For example, if they play with a defense of 3, or with a defense of 4, this makes a difference and requires a change in position of the forward players and their backup. I want control of the game, with good ball possession, and so I try to understand how to attack and score first! To do this I trust in my team’s identity and in our guidelines. I’m convinced that you need time to change tactical behavior in a player, or better, you need training sessions. I don’t believe those who think that in 2 or 3 sessions you can be a “chameleon” every week, changing to suit the way the opposing team plays. During the match, however, I need to be able to 'read' the game well, because if it is true that the choice of one player rather than another, in a particular position, makes a difference, it is important to follow the evolution of the game and make necessary modifications in tactics so the team can work at its best.”

exercise 5

2.30 minutes of tactical work: - with overlapping on the flanks (right and left), maximum velocity (game) – with addition of a full-back defender (pattern 1), a midfielder (pattern 2) or a striker (pattern 3) - 1 against 1, 2 against 1, 3 against 2 (striker + attacking midfielder) against (defenders + defending midfielder) 3.Complete recovery – gym movement + stretching (10 minutes) 4.15 minute game 5 against 5 or 6 against 6 on two pitches (1/2 pitch) Maximum intensity (game) 2 halves of 7 minutes.

SATURDAY 1.10 – 15 minute general warm up with trainer. 2.15 minutes of “attacks on the goal”, starting at 60 meters from the goal (see exercise 6) a. on lateral throw-in, interception of the ball, free kicks etc. 4 players run to goal (maximum velocity), they do 8 – 9 runs (total of 500 meters)

Passport: 2008/2009 2007/2008 2006/2007

exercise 6

2005/2006

2004/2005

Al Ittihad Tripoli (Libya)- Premier League "Champion " Botev Plovdiv (Bulgaria)- Premier league Congo Football Federation (Congo-Brazzaville) National Technical Director for under 21 and Olympic team. Empoli F.C (Italy) & Acada Sports (Cameroon) Premier League - Technical Director. Empoli F.C (Italy) & Acada Sports (Cameroon) Premier League - Technical Director. Team Cameroon (Cameroon)- Under 20. Montevarchi Calcio (Italy). U.T Arezzo (Italy). S.D Arezzo (Italy). A.C Fiorentina (Italy)- Observer. S.D Arezzo (Italy). A.S Roanne (France).

3.Tactical work / set plays: free kicks, corners etc.

2003/2004 2002/2003 2001/2002 1999/2001 1998/1999 1996/1998 1994/1996

SUNDAY

Clubs as a player:

10.00 meeting 15.00 match

Sporting Club Toulon (France) Servette de Genève (Switzerland) Etoile carouge Genève (Switzerland) Olympique de Marigot (South America) U.S Annemasse (France) A.S Roanne (France) C.C Arezzo (Italy) Etruria Calcio Arezzo (Italy)

MONDAY 1.Very often I do training on Mondays, those who have played the previous day do 25 minutes of light technical work and slow running. 2.for the players who have not played in the match, I do 45 minutes of intense “ball possession” so as to have a balanced group on a level of general athletic condition.

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

U.S. Sassuolo Calcio U20s, with Paolo Mandelli The story of Sassuolo Calcio, of Italy’s Serie B, is one of those football fairy tales. A small-town club spends its entire history in the amateur and semi-professional leagues and then all of a sudden – under new and enlightened management – it suddenly begins to rack up promotion after promotion. Sassuolo made it into Serie B for the first time last season after three successive promotions from the semi-pro league, Serie D. Much of the credit for the club’s meteoric rise can be put down to a company called Mapei, which started out six years ago as a sponsor, liked what they saw and became owners. By: Frank Dunne

“The job of an U20s coach is to keep motivation levels high” While the rise of the team has been exciting for the 40,000 or so locals, it has created some growing pains for the youth set-up. As Gianni Soli, who has been head of youth football for six years, puts it, “We have grown so rapidly that, even though we have a project to implement, we find ourselves up against things which are beyond our powers at the moment. We are living through things that we have never experienced before but the club is right behind us and they believe in the youth set-up.”

of the ability of your youth coaches. The project of the youth set-up is to get as many players as possible into the first team.”

Developing young players

Coaching the U20s

Sassuolo has to compete in the recruitment of young players with a number of bigger clubs in the region, such as Bologna, Parma, Modena and Reggiana. “They are established clubs who find it easier to recruit the best young local kids. We don’t really have kids from outside the province, except a few in the U20s who have come through a collaboration that we have with Inter.”

One such coach is Paolo Mandelli, now in his fifth season with the U20s. Mandelli describes his squad of players. “It’s a young group, with about half the players between 17 and 18 years of age. We made a choice to work with younger players. Young players work well, with a lot of enthusiasm. We know that we are lacking a bit of experience and a bit of strength in depth in the squad to compete against some of these big teams, though. These are nearly all players from our own youth system, with only about seven or eight of the 23-man squad joining from other clubs.”

The club’s long-term ambition is to get into Serie A but it doesn’t have the economic resources to spend its way into the top division by buying world-class players. That puts pressure on the youth setup to deliver home-grown players of a sufficient quality. Soli says that the key lies in a “good choice of coaches at first team level and also in the youth set-up. The whole thing develops on the basis

Soli said that he chooses coaches who have “a good way of relating to young players. I like coaches with patience, who can coach with rationality. I don’t like hearing coaches yelling at kids. We can’t spend a huge amount on salaries for coaches. These are people who love the work they do.”

In Italy, there is no reserve league, and making the jump from the U20s to the first team is very difficult. “You have to have quality. Without technical quality it’s very hard to make it. But being good

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

Youth U20s isn’t enough. What makes the difference in the end is determination, how much you really want to get there. One of the difficulties with youngsters today is to manage to create this stimulus, this kind of motivation. They get enthusiastic very easily but give up too quickly when things go wrong.” Mandelli said that the current generation of youngsters needed to be motivated. “One of the most important jobs of a youth coach is to try to maintain a high motivation level. You need to know how to press the right buttons. You need to know the right moment to push them and the right moment to ease off. In order to do that, you have to be able to get inside their heads, to put yourself in their position. If you stick to your own conceptions and ideas you’ll be too often in conflict with them. For example, for this age group, with training sessions every day after school, it is very demanding, and it can be a bit stressful. So you need to keep the rhythm and tempo of the session high and enjoyable. Sometimes you have to lighten up on the tactics and allow them to recharge their batteries.”

Season’s objectives “It might seem odd,” Mandelli said, “but at the beginning of the season I said to the players that I didn’t have a fixed idea of what we could achieve. I said that it was up to them to demonstrate along the way what they could do, so that we could establish our objectives accordingly. To repeat last season’s performance of coming seventh (out of 14), ahead of much more successful teams than ours, will not be easy.” A typical week involves five sessions, from Monday to Friday, with a match on Saturday. Sometimes Thursday is used to rest

players. “According to how things are going, I might work with just one team unit, like the midfield, and let all the other players have a day off,” he said.

Training session, September 2009 The 90-minute session involved a warm-up based on passing in pairs, some technical work based on ball possession, a tactical exercise, a small-sided match on a small pitch, some sprints and a cool-down. The session was much lighter than usual, conditioned by a large number of absences. From a squad of 23 players, today only 12 (plus two keepers) trained. This was due to injuries, a flu virus and players who were taken to train with the first team. “It was also influenced by the fact that we don’t have a game this Saturday so I was able to lighten things up, keep it fun. The warm-up was very light and based on technique. They were having a bit of a laugh while they were doing it but they were doing it. Then

we played keep-ball in a box, which is fun but which also trains ball possession. The core of the session was the tactical activity. The base exercise involved four players in a diamond formation and a keeper (see Exercise 1). The central midfield player (number 8 in the diagram) plays a low ball to a midfielder stationed about 10m in from the left-hand touch line. He comes to meet the pass and plays the ball first time to the central striker (9). He then makes a horizontal run towards the centre of the pitch where he picks up the lay-off from the striker. Like the wide player, the striker comes a few paces to meet the ball and lays it off first time. As the ball is laid back into the path of the wide man, the wide player on the right (7) starts a diagonal run towards the box. The ball is played first time into his path and he shoots on goal. Mandelli explains the objectives of the tactical phase of the session. “The tactical exercise ends with a shot on goal, which they

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

Youth U20s enjoy. It is based on certain inter-passing moves which require them to find the right timing for movement off the ball and to play the through ball. The most important thing is to make them understand how important the timing is. Moving one second too early or one second too late is the difference being scoring a goal and not scoring.” Mandelli believes that developing such tactical awareness comes through repetition and practice. “If they do these exercises with the right mentality and with a certain regularity the results will follow. I do this type of exercise at least once a week and often for much longer periods. These are predefined movements, so they know them already. I don’t need to explain them in depth each time. They know what they need to do and they know what their team mate is going to do. The key signal for the player attacking the space near the box is to start his run once his team mate is a position to play the ball, when he has the ball under control.” “In this kind of exercise I’m only interested in looking at the timing of the moves, not in the perfection of the technical skill, such as the quality of the pass or shot. It’s ob-

vious that I want them to score with the shot and to pass well. But if I want to coach shooting, I’ll do another type of activity, focusing on the contact between foot and ball and shooting far more often. I try to isolate the single purpose of the activity. If I’m coaching tactics, I coach tactics. If I’m coaching skills, I coach skills.”

sitions, and different people moving off the ball. I’m also looking at the movement of the player who receives the first pass, the timing of his movement to show for the pass. The variations are primarily to simulate as many different match situations as possible, in line with how the team would normally be organised during a game.”

Every few minutes Mandelli varies the starting positions of the players (see Variations 1,2, and 3). “The tactical objective remains the same throughout the variations, even though there are different starting po-

The session ends with a 6v6 match in a small pitch, with one free player who plays with the team in possession. “We play with limited space to keep it very dynamic, the offside rule applies in the box to keep things compact and they play three-touch to keep it intense.”

Paolo Mandelli Mandelli came up through the youth system at Inter Milan, playing at all levels from 10 years upwards. He was signed on a professional contract at the club, making his debut in the first team at 18 in the 198586 season. During his time at Inter he was loaned to Lazio and also went on to play for Sambenedettese, Messina, Reggiana, Monza, Foggia, Modena and finally Sassuolo. At 36, he retired from playing and began coaching at Sassuolo. Mandelli has the FIGC Category 3 and Category 2 (Uefa B) coaching badges. The 2009-10 season is his fifth season with the U20s.

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

“I didn’t expect them to replicate the tactical exercises they had practiced earlier,” Mandelli says, “because there isn’t the space and time to do that. Normally I would play 10v10 on the full-sized pitch. Today we played in the small space because there were only 12 players. But you still have to have rules and respect positions, because otherwise you end up with a playground kickabout. I want them to understand that they can have fun playing football but it’s not the same kind of fun that kids having playing in the street. There are still demands on them.” The match is followed by some high-intensity sprints then a cool down, juggling the ball and doing some basic ball-control techniques. The shuttle runs are reserved for the end of the session, Mandelli says, because “this kind of work makes the muscles feel heavy, it produces a lot of lactic acid. If you do it at the start of a session it can prejudice the quality of the work you do afterwards. If you do it at the end they can recover with a short cool-down. Even in the cool-down I want them to do something with the ball, something to improve technique.”

Youth U20s Exercise Organisation: Four players are organised in a diamond formation in one half of the pitch. One keeper. The central midfield player plays a ball to a midfielder stationed about 10m in from the left-hand touch line, who plays it the central striker. The wide player then makes a horizontal run towards the centre of the pitch where he picks up the lay-off from the striker. He then plays the ball into the path of the other wide midfield player who shoots.

Coaching: Good crisp first pass; the wide player comes a couple of steps towards the ball before passing to the striker; all passes are struck first time; the striker moves a step or two towards the ball when it is arriving; the other wide player makes a diagonal run towards the box as soon as he feels that the left midfielder is going to be able to control the ball; the through ball has to be hit with the right pace to ensure that the shooting player can reach it and doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to check his run, and in the right direction, to ensure that the shooting player doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to change direction while running; a firm shot on goal.

Variation 1

Variation 2

Variation 3

Organisation:

Three midfield players, two wide and one central, in one half of the pitch, with a keeper. The central midfielder plays the ball to the left midfielder and carries on his run. He receives it and then plays it to the right midfielder and continues to run straight towards the goal. The ball is played into his path for a shot on goal.

Four players in a diamond, plus a keeper. The central midfielder plays the ball into the central striker who lays it off into the path of the right midfielder who is making a horizontal run infield. As the right midfielder arrives on the ball, the left midfielder starts a diagonal run towards goal. The ball is played into his path for a shot.

No. 36 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; December 2009 / January 2010

Boyd’s OODA Loop John R. Boyd (1927-1997) was a combat fighter pilot and instructor for the United States Air Force. He rose to the rank of Colonel because of his contributions to military thinking on strategy, tactics and design. It was during his instructor period in the late 1950’s that he began to question why the U.S. Air Force had such a remarkable record of success in the Korean War. This lead to an introspective look at how he made decisions in the time compressed, high stakes, emotionally charged, physically and mentally demanding environment of air-to-air combat. An environment where one wrong, or late, decision could be your last. The OODA loop, a synonym for the decision making process from now on, had been born and would be developed over the next forty years. In combat and soccer you don’t think or act in isolation. There is an adversary, perhaps several, friendly forces and a myriad of factors that have to be taken into account. This means that decision cycles are intertwined among a variety of ever changing participants. They are an interactive process among multiple players with conflicting and contradictory perspectives and goals. You don’t get to take turns and finding agreement is the exception not the norm. Three realizations come at this point. First the DMP is a dynamic concept, it concerns time and time involves speed. Time is the measure of motion and can be stretched or compressed. Second it is on going and never ending. It is an inescapable part of the game and as Boyd said “life itself.” You don’t get a break, time out or do over, you just move on. Bora Milutinović observed, “In soccer the most important play is the next one” because the past is gone. Third since your own cycle includes adversarial, friendly and outside (coaches, parents, officials) forces, and vice versa, it is a tool to influence those forces or to be influenced by them. The interactions are more important then any individual cycle. This holistic view is what makes evident the fog of war and the chaos on a soccer field. The strength of the OODA loop is that it recognizes, even thrives on, the conceptual/temporal mess that players have to continually work through and live in in order to function. The validation for Boyd and his ideas comes from the wideranging acceptance of the OODA loop concept. The United States Marine Corps, Army, western Air Forces, business schools, strategic think tanks and others concerned with making decisions in a rapidly changing environment have adopted his thinking as a part of their doctrine. They recognize that it allows for quick, adaptable responses to uncertain situations in real world practical terms. It is based on rapid transitions, self-reinforcing feedback and results in the organic use of creativity for problem solving. Boyd stated “without OODA loops… we will find it impossible to comprehend, shape, adapt to, and in turn be shaped by an unfolding, evolving reality that is uncertain, ever-changing, and unpredictable.” His model provides the basis for understanding effective, efficient, rapid decision-making and the difference between winning and losing. By: Larry Paul 12

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

Mental Development

What the decision making process looks like Taken together the significance of Boyd’s ideas becomes apparent. We have a visual, conceptual guide on how to out think, therefore outplay our opponents. By understanding our own process we can “Get inside their OODA loops” and shape their perceptions and thinking to suit our needs. We can stay a step ahead, play at a higher tempo, confuse and confound our opponent and dictate the shape of the game. Likewise we can be aware when they try to do the same thing and take action to prevent it. Soccer outcomes, individual duels, small group and team actions are decided more often by what’s inside the head then in the body.

Unconscious and deliberative thinking

The OODA Loop, pictured below, shows the decision-making process as the relationship between observations, orientation, decision/hypothesis and act/test. This diagram makes the process look sequential, a simple if/then path through each area. It appears to be a linear progression that could be easily understood and mastered. But the DMP is anything but linear and a closer look at the feedback/guidance and control loops shows why.

For example, when our opponents have a goal kick we want the right midfielder to drop back and get closer to his right back. It’s simple stimulus response, opponent’s goal kick, drop back. The strength is this frees up the mind for higher level thinking by providing a structure, pattern for the player and requires the shortest time between actions. The weakness is that this type of thinking can become a rote pattern; the opponents can pick up on it and exploit it. The player becomes trapped inside his mind set in a changing situation. Outdated assumptions and expectations lead to mismatches between behavior and the new situation. This is when conscious deliberative thinking comes into play, represented by the lower feed back loops. Now our right midfielder notices that the opponent’s left back is open and receiving the goal kicks allowing him to play dangerous passes into their

The DMP model above is based on an individual or group that has to deal with an environment that is dynamic, ever changing and ultimately unknowable. At the same time he or the group is also dynamic, ever changing and ultimately unknowable. This produces a constant stream of mismatches between what he observes and the world around him. Unresolved this leads to mental confusion and chaos.

To cope we use unconscious and conscious thinking. Both involve deeply ingrained patterns of learned behavior, genetic heritage, cultural traditions, new information, an ever-expanding experience base and the subconscious. Unconscious thinking represents our autopilot state of mind and allows us the freedom to act quickly and to switchtask at a high level. This form of thinking is represented by the implicit guidance and control loop at the top. It takes for granted basic actions/processes/procedures/habits that we continually fall back on to solve problems and make sense of the world. In the short run this is the fastest way to respond to situations because it provides the most direct route from observation to action. Deliberation is unnecessary. But in the long run it is also an unreliable way to think. It’s yesterday’s news, needing to be constantly updated by new information and experience. Holding onto these patterns too long ignores the dynamic nature of environment and the player.

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

Mental Development strikers. He takes in this new information and assesses what it means against his current understanding. Does he take a new course of action, say pushing up, does he tell the right striker to move over or does he stay in autopilot mode in spite of the changing reality? All of this assumes that he notices, observes, the evolving situation in the first place. In these loops he’ll be mentally testing out various solutions in the form of decisions/hypothesizes and actions/tests. The results are fed back into what he observes in a series of rapid if/then equations. Each solution he considers/tests changes his observations and creates a new situation that he has to deal with.

nefits from that experience. The new behavior becomes a part of a growing autopilot and is available for future use. Meanwhile, besides being a faster way to arrive at decisions the implicit path serves as the watchdog for new situations and the conscious process. It’s where we realize “uh-oh, this could be trouble I better think about this” and avoid inappropriate responses. It keeps us from wasting time and energy on problems we can already handle but engages the deliberative side when it’s needed. This is the essence of learning. As long as our observations are close to our assumptions and expectations we can apply previous solutions and just move on. We live on autopilot, fast, efficient but

Joining the unconscious and conscious While the conscious thinking loops take more time to solve problems it’s the only path that can deal with new situations. The faster implicit path recognizes the novelty by acknowledging the mismatch but can’t solve the problem itself. That’s for deliberation. Problem solving requires both paths making the DMP a double loop system. Conscious thinking, systematically working through problems, creates new solutions that join and change the pool of options available for the unconscious/implicit side. These new experiences add to and build on the previous experiences in the orientation. This evolves the implicit guidance and control loop as it now be-

limited and rapidly going out of date. It’s when something truly new, something we’re not sure about comes up that we need to use a different way of thinking. The autopilot is overmatched, outdated or just plain wrong. That’s when the cognitive tools in the orient phase come into play in a proactive fashion. At the price of slower action we gain a more appropriate action. We also gain the opportunity to learn and grow by adding to our experience base. Learning when and which path to choose is a key skill in player development and one that coaches can directly influence.

In the next issue: Observations and orientation.

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

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Shakhtar Donetsk youth academy (4):

"Limit group training to two or three points of improvement" 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 at Shaktar. SoccerCoachingInternational paid him a visit to take a closer look at how to start a top educational programme in Europe. In this fourth episode director Patrick van Leeuwen will discuss group training sessions, which are an important part of the training week for the Shakhtar youth teams. The Dutch training method has a central role in this. By: Paul van Veen "Besides specific training, as described in the previous part of this series, you also have group training sessions. After Henk van Stee and I had been here for a few weeks we noticed that the academy staff at Shakhtar weren't working towards a specific goal. We then decided to make a weekly schedule and included all the aspects we wanted to see in soccer. In the morning there is a focus on specific technique trai-

ning. So for the afternoon sessions we limited ourselves to position play, passing and shooting exercises, tactical exercises, build ups starting from the goalkeeper and build ups starting form midfield towards the flank to ensure aspects of the 1:4:3:3 were being trained. Our main objective was that the 1:4:3:3 system was embedded into the training sessions, so the players would start to understand this system of play."

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

"On Mondays we do a lot of passing and shooting exercises, and also position plays with the U17s. On Tuesday afternoon we often do an intense interval training. Small games with a lot of repetition, get in ball possession, finishing and a lot of defending. The Wednesday afternoon of the U17's at the moment is about the build up. At a training like this we start with passing and shooting, afterwards we do a possession game and end with a 7v7 or 8v8 situation in which we start the build up from the goalkeeper. We coach the defenders on how to act, how to position themselves, how to ask for the ball and which possibilities they have in relation to the midfielders and attackers. In the last training before the game your objective is to make the players feel good. So we do more attacking exercises, where all positions are involved: attackers, defenders and midfielders. You want to see combinations that have some

Youth academy basic patterns that your players can rely on. The build up as well as attacking exercises must contribute to a certain base within the team, so that players know what can happen in a game and have something to hang on to within the chosen playing style. Of course during the game there is enough room for individual initiative and ideas." "One of the things we had to make apparent, especially to the coaches of older age groups, is that the education of players is more important than the result. You would often see a Monday training being used as a cooling down. That's a wasted training. Since we've been here this training is also used as a full training to make players better." "Our weekly schedule returns every week, and I hope that after three years of working with the coaches here, they are capable of making the right choices and are able to translate the problems they see in the games into a training session. The schedule has set days in order to tackle these problems, such as the Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning sessions. We have already noticed a difference in this aspect. However, it is important that the coach doesn't try to tackle too many issues in 1 session. He must limit himself to 2 or 3 points of improvement and not deviate from those. The advantage we have here is that we work with two coaches per group, so there's always plenty of attention for both sides. They are even able to put two assignments in one training by letting each coach work on a different issue with a group. That of course is a nice way to work." "We often play a practice match once a week, 11v11 where the teams are mixed. These matches sometimes are more useful than the 'regular' practice matches, because you now know for sure that both teams really want to play. We then have four coaches who all are coaching a certain aspect or line. And you'll have other benefits. For example, you can stop the game after 15 minutes to coach your players."

"The thing we are still working on is to raise the coaches to a higher level, so they'll be more capable of translating the problems the team encountered during the match into the right material for the training. That's where you can assist." An example of it is given by Patrick van Leeuwen after a 4v4 game on big goals with goalkeepers. "The coach actually made the field slightly too big. When making it smaller, you'll see more actions and that was the main target. After a score or an out ball I would start at the goalkeeper to maintain the speed in the game and to let the players switch rapidly. Then the players are forced to get in position quickly and not to stick with their emotions after they have scored a goal. This exercise is also suited to train tactics. When for instance the player on the right flank is in ball possession and the central player is sliding through, the player on the left flank can't go forward as well. He has to back up and move slightly to the centre."

No. 36 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; December 2009 / January 2010

Example training week Monday Warm-Up

Tuesday Morning: Specific training session. The 36 players are divided into 3 teams. One team does physical training and the other two teams play a tactical game against each other. After 20 minutes they switch and one of the other teams will do the physical training.

Afternoon: Warm-up

- Passing and shooting in two groups - Accents: 4 x 3 minutes, high pace, continuously coaching players, related to the playing style

Core

- Passing and shooting in two groups - Coaching: Technical coaching on passing and controlling the ball - Accents: 4 x 3 minutes, high pace, continuously coaching players, related to the playing style

Core + game

- Position game 5:3 / 3:3 + 2 (3)

Game - 4 v 4 line soccer or with 2 small goals

- Small sided games 4 v 4 or 5 v 5 with goalkeepers and on the other field line soccer - Accents: 6 x 4 minutes, good field occupation, pace, start play at goalkeeper

No. 36 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; December 2009 / January 2010

Youth academy

U17s Wednesday

Thursday

Morning:

See wednesday, specific training

Wednesday morning will consist of a specific training session, as described in part 3 of this series on the youth academy of Shakhtar Donetsk

Friday

Afternoon: Warm-up

Warm-up - Passing and shooting exercise, whereby you coach on passing and controlling the ball

Core - Improve attacking from a 1:4:3:3 formation

Finish

- Passing and shooting or possession game 4:4 + 2 / 3:3 + 2 (3) - Work with 2 groups - Accents: 4 x 3 minutes, high pace, continuously coaching players, related to the playing style

Core

- A game with the objective to improve the attack - 1:4:3:1 versus 1:2:3:3

- Game 1:4:3:1 versus 1:2:3:3 - Improve tactics - Improving a specific aspect in the way of playing, for example the build up from defense to midfield - Accents: give players 3 options and train this, 10x with build up starting with the goalkeeper, whenever the ball is out of play start with the goalkeeper again, players should start in their positions, try to stimulate players to try the trained options in the matches

Game - Game of 9:9 + 2 or 8:8 + 2 No. 36 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; December 2009 / January 2010

Kleiton Lima, Santos FC and Brazilian national women's team coach:

"Everything we do simulates what happens in the match" 20

No. 36 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; December 2009 / January 2010

Women As a player, Kleiton Lima played for a variety of Brazilian clubs as well as playing in the US. However, it is not his playing career, but his coaching career that marks his success in Brazilian football. This can mainly be attributed to the fact that he became a specialist on working with women's teams. Currently, he coaches the Brazilian national women's team and Santos FC. With the Santos FC women he won last years Brazilian Cup, the main tournament for women in the country. Unlike his predecessors in Brazilian women's soccer, Lima did not start his coaching career by working with men. He began his career in 1995 and started coaching women right from the start. He later coached several youth teams at Santos FC and even the professionals of Assisense Athletic Club in Sao Paulo, but has now returned to work with women. Kleiton Lima has a successful career in women's football, but even he is impressed with the events that took place this past year. After a successful period with the Brazilian team under-20 squad, he was hired to work with the women's national team. Furthermore, as coach of Santos he saw his team being reinforced by players like Marta, FIFA's player of the year for three consecutive seasons. By: Guilherme Costa

In 2008, Santos FC won the Brazil Cup, the main competition of women's soccer in the country. To add to this success the board of directors decided to improve the squad even more for this season by signing players like Cristiane, Erika, Fran and Andrea, who were all part of the Brazilian team that won the silver medal in the Beijing Olympics in 2008. On 1 August 2009, Santos temporarily added the best player in the world to their selection; Marta. The new number 10 received her shirt from Pele, the greatest player in the club's history. She signed with Santos for only three months - during the recess of women's football in the United States - as the forward has a contract with the Los Angeles Sol. With the newly hired players, Lima currently works with 48 athletes from very different levels: "The problem is that we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a structured youth program for women. Therefore, 15 year old girls play against players who are 28. Besides age there is also a big difference in the skill levels amongst the players. We have some players who need to work more on developing their basic skills, and others like Martha or Cristiane, who are among the best in the world". Besides the difference in level and experience in the group, Lima has to deal with several different phases as well. Players like Marta and Cristiane were hired for a short period, only to participate in the first female edition of the Libertadores Cup, the South American championship for teams.

While they are only at the club for three months, others are preparing for the entire season. "So there are different objectives, and we have to prioritize. Today we are playing for the Libertadores Cup, and that is our goal. The players who are registered in this championship are thinking about it, and the other group works on preparing for the season and play some friendly games, so they don't lose their match rhythm", Lima says.

Individual activities Because of the vast amount of difference amongst the selection at Santos, an individualized training program was developed. This allows the club to focus on the individual needs of each player. "The main thing is to start by testing all the players so we know where they are at. This is essential to plan the rest", Lima says. "We conducted physical tests, we analyzed the results and set up a specific training model for those who were below the average level of the group," Lima says. The physical part is, however, not the only concern Santos has with the assembly of the team. Lima said the team also needs to work on tactics, both for individual players as well as the team as a whole. "When you hire a specific player, you know that she will help with a specific aspect of the team. So your function is to create exercises that utilize the skills of each player and translate this back to cater the needs of the team. In order to accomplish this you spend a lot of time on tactics, like marking, handling and specific game situations."

No. 36 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; December 2009 / January 2010

Women Women vs. men "The physical part is the biggest difference. The exercises are the same, but the intensity decreases. Strength training is a little different because women do not support loads as heavy as men. It also changes the conversation, the way of talking. Women are more emotional, they have more trouble leaving their personal problems behind when they enter the field. The coach must therefore be careful in the way he addresses them and the way he punishes and praises them ", Lima says. "It's important you know the players and that you realize that each one responds differently. Some girls have limits close to men, such as Marta, while other don't. A coach should know this and act accordingly.”

Club vs. national team

Technical Training Besides the tactical work, Santos FC also works to develop the technical skills of the players. This is done according to the position and function they have on the field and on the information we gather during matches. Forwards will, for example, train on finishing and ball control. Midfielders will work on long passes, while the defenders repeat actions for quick reactions and the interception of passes.

Type of training "I do not like any exercises that aren't related to game situations. You can do this when you are training youth players, but it can’t be done at the level we are at. You have to relate it to the game - imagine how your opponent may behave, mark her accordingly - and work from there”, Lima says. He does design certain exercises that are not game related, but merely uses those to develop the technical skills of the players or to explain a certain movement. "This works when you are dealing with individual players and is a great way to demonstrate how certain situations can be resolved. With the group, everything that we do simulates what happens in the match."

Training games "We usually only play 11v11 games when we have the entire week to work with. This

is not a rule, but it usually works out that way. I prefer to use tactical exercises, but 11v11 training games also serve for this purpose. When we play these games we always use them to improve the defense, positioning and movements on the field”.

Reduced field Like most of Brazilian coaches, Kleiton Lima usually designs exercises in which he uses only part of the field. This helps to develop the agility of the players and work on speed (physically and mentally). At Santos FC this usually means small sided games with outnumbering situations or adding a neutral player that can play on both sides; always playing for the team that's in possession. He also uses it with limited touches of the ball.

Training fouls and corners "The training sessions are designed with the next opponent taken into consideration. We analyze the characteristics of the upcoming opponent and plan our sessions accordingly. We do not have a specific method to train these things. We repeat a lot of offensive fouls and corners. Work placement, displacement, where the players should be, where they should run and how they should finish. We also do exercises with different types of moves, for example direct crossing or with a pass to another striker."

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

Kleiton Lima has more to take into consideration than merely the differences between men and women. He is not only the coach of the Santos FC women's team, but also of the Brazilian national women's team. He therefore needs to think about the sessions and games he has with the women at Santos, but he also need to be on the lookout for players who can potentially join the national team. "My philosophy is the same, but the type of work is very different with the national team when compared to what I do with the women at Santos. The national team has peak moments and I have less time to work with them. We make good use of the time by training as much as possible. We talk more, even when we have games. The short period is the main difference, but there are also other factors, as you know the players better when you have more time with them, like at Santos FC. This helps with the work I am trying to do, but I don't have that luxury with the national team”, Lima says. "Another problem is that national team has players who play in very different cultures. We have women who play in the United States, Brazil, Europe, even some who play at an amateur level. It is important to set up a plan that works for all of them”, added the coach.

This article was a contribution from Universidade do Futebol www.universidadedofutebol.com.br

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Youth Training Sessions

10 practices by

Dan Micciche

Here are some ideas on practices that ‘work’ with young players. Each of these practices will have a clear learning focus as well as other ‘multiple outcomes’ that are returned to the players as they play. The practices are inherently ‘random’ since there will be several opportunities for the players to practice many different skills whilst focusing on one or a few aspects. In these practices we want our coaches to set the players appropriate challenges rather than giving them instructions. For example, we may have designed a practice which focuses on developing ‘one touch play’. Instead of saying to the players ‘you must play one touch’, we prefer to say ‘here’s a game where you can play one touch if you want to’. It’s up to the players to decide when and where they do this (not the coach). Each of these practices is characterised by the modern trends of the game in the 21st century. This includes shorter, quicker passing as well as fast and clever combinations. Therefore, we try to get as close as we can to the ‘game’ and where possible build into our practices changing overloads and counter attacking. Each practice should be relevant and realistic, enabling all players to benefit and allow for ownership and responsibility. Ultimately they should be designed for the players according to their age, ability, maturity and experience. Dan Micciche MK Dons Assistant Academy Manager (U9 – 14’s)

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

Youth Training Sessions Practice 1 Reds: •7v5 • Working on developing possession & progressing forward • Keep the ball for 5 passes inside the middle third & then attack the furthest goal • After the 5th pass restart from one of the end zones & then progress forwards • Use offside lines

Yellows: • Break up the play in the middle area & break out in any direction (counter attacking)

Progressions: • Make the middle area smalle • Reduce the overload (6 v 6, 5 v 7) • Add players in end the Zones & develop • Try to play 1 touch forward (if you can)

Age Group : U12 + Focus : Developing Possession

Practice 2 Yellows: • Attack in groups of 3 & try to score • As soon as the ball has crossed the middle zone Reds get another player from the side who can only join in from behind

Reds: • Win the ball back and get another player (making 4 V 3) • Score in the corner goals • Swap roles

Progressions: • Allow yellows to attack with 4 attackers • Add ‘resident striker ‘ up against the 2 red defenders who plays with any attack

Age Group : U8 – 11; Focus : Attacking with an overload, matched up or outnumbered No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

Youth Training Sessions Practice 3 Yellows: • Keep the ball for 3 passes and pass into the opposite zone = Goal • Support the lone player (Target) & make 6 V 3 • restart the passing sequence

Reds: • Win back the ball & play a 1 – 2 = Goal • swap defenders

Progressions : • Reduce the overload (5 V 3 at one end & 1 V 2 at the other) • Add a goal (& gk’s) • Increase the number of passes to 4, 5 & 6

Age Group : U8 – 11 Focus : Short passing

Practice 4 Blues: • Play as 2 Neutral players in the middle • One joins in to help the forwards and & one stays in the safe zone & supports from behind

Reds: • 3 v 3 - overload 4 v 3 with forward runs • Defenders win the ball back & pass through the middle to the opposite end (Attackers)

Yellows: • 2 v 3 – make 3 v 3 with support behind (set up passes) • GK serves to the middle blues who plays into any attacker (at either end)

Progressions: • Turn into a Through the Thirds game

Age Group: U12 + Focus: Developing Combination Play 26

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

Youth Training Sessions Practice 5 Reds: • Must keep 6 players in the end zone and only one attacker at the opposite end • Win the ball back & break using the attacker • 3 players can support

Yellows: • • • •

Try to play ‘through’ the reds with clever play keep 2 defenders marking the striker The rest are free Must have at least 4 players inside the end zone for a goal to count • Safe in the free zone • Restart from yellow GK

Progressions: • Outnumber the red defenders

Age Group: U12 + Focus: Counter attacking from deep

Practice 6 Reds: • In pairs • One player passes to the Yellows & defends 1 v 2 • Win the ball back & get a supporting player from the side & attack 2 v 2 • If yellows finish off their attack the other red (with a ball) breaks & tries to score on his own • Play with offside • Swap round after 5 attacks

Yellows: • Must have one attacker inside the reds funnel to score • Once shoot react & defend red breaking player attacking the 3 mini goals • Work on defending the counter attack once their attack is over (or if they lose the ball)

Progressions: • Attack in 3’s • Defend in pairs • 2 mini goals with a gk operating between them

Age Group: U8 - 11 Focus: Attacking 2 v 1 or 1 v 1 No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

Youth Training Sessions Practice 7 Reds: • Keep possession then score in the gates • Restart from the Transition balls

Yellows: • Win the ball back and break out and score • Anywhere • Any Gate • 2 gates only • Break out team has target available or as replacement

Progressions: • Yellows win the ball & pass to their T in any gate • Reds use gk on the outside to keep the ball

Age Group: U8 - 11 Focus: Counter attacking

Practice 8 Yellows: • Work from end to end trying to play a round the corner pass into a target (1 Touch) • Reds do the same in the other direction • Either team restarts from the ‘Transition’ balls on the outside • Either team restarts from the ‘Transition’ balls on the outside

Progressions: • Reduce the number of targets on the outside • Turn into a thirds game – play 1 v 1 at each end & score by passing one touch into the target & running onto the return pass & attacking the goal

Age Group: U8 - 11 Focus: Developing ‘Round the Corner passes’ 28

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

Youth Training Sessions Practice 9 Reds: • 2 – 0 up and have 10 minutes to ‘hold out ‘ • Play with one less player (or 2) • Keep one striker ‘up’ • Coach referees and controls the game • Free play • Give corners / Free kicks / Throw ins at any time to the yellows • Allow time outs for reds to sort out tactics. • Allow red forward to help out if required • Restarts from the Yellow gk

Variations: • Different scenarios, e.g. ‘Chasing’ a game – need 3 goals in 10 minutes

Age Group: U12 + Focus: Scenario Game

Practice 10 Reds: • Defend 3 V 4 in one end • Yellows defend 2 V 3 at the other end • Coach serves to a yellow striker • Once the ball is played in a recovering red defender from the other end makes a recovery run to help out the outnumbered defenders (make 4 v 4) • Meanwhile the middle red replaces the recovering defender and takes his position • If the reds win back the ball back they pass to their strikers at the opposite end who attack the goal (counter attack) – Yellows recover quickly

Progressions: • GKs serve the ball in to the opposite end • Turn into a game

Age Group: U12 + Focus: Defending against counter attacks No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

I have been lucky in that, as a student, player and coach, I have been able to learn from a wide range of people with whom I have worked. I have based much of my coaching philosophy around treating players with respect and facilitating individual and team development. My approach is similar to The FA ethos which is fundamentally player centred. Players need to be treated as individuals they all have a unique, complex make-up and through this approach respect, trust and integrity are values that can be nurtured. By: Andrew Blight

The art of communication:

‘Your players won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care’ 30

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

Communication When I worked at Middlesbrough FC academy (2004-2006) I was comfortable with and adhered to the clubs vision statement: • Work in an environment that encourages every individual to make a meaningful contribution. • Have a high degree of personal integrity and group honesty. • Recognise each player’s personal goals but not hidden agendas. • Continuously monitor and improve performance and accept accountability. • Be fun to be in- a calm environment with easy relationships. Middlesbrough FC’s mantra was ‘do the right things every day!’

Regardless, of how qualified or competent you are players will not respond to you unless you show empathy and are prepared to listen! In my experience, players need to feel cared for, whatever their ability, experience or age. Being an efficient communicator is the keystone of all social skills. Among managers, communications competence strongly distinguishes good performance from average or poor ones. People with this ability: - Listen attentively, develop mutual understanding and share information readily. - Address complex issues directly. - Effectively give and receive information, taking into account emotional cues in conveying their message.

Coach Behaviour As a coach, teacher of the game you model the practices you espouse. It is good practice to have congruence at whatever level you work. I try to create a mental checklist which I frequently refer to when communicating: • Is my body language positive? • Is the message I am conveying closely linked to my own values and beliefs? • Am I demonstrating good practice? • Have I created a caring, sharing and safe learning environment? • Have I created an open dialogue with the players? • Am I using the correct language and can it be understood by the players? • Voice Control- Paralanguage: consider pitch/tone, rhythm, speed, volume and repetition for effect. Research on coaching effectiveness (Smoll and Smith, 1996) suggests that coaches who are rated more positively by young people provide more technical instruction than generic encouragement, give more positive reinforcement than mistake-orientated feedback and engage in behaviours associated with control i.e. self-control and environmental control. Clear, positive, instructional, and supportive coaching behaviours have also been advocated in the promotion of young players’ self-esteem, enhanced motivation and reduced rates of attrition. I always reflect on the following quote when coaching/teaching: ‘ Your players won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care’

‘ Having an open dialogue with your players is crucial. I speak to them often and I have to say it really does enrich me in so many ways. This helps improve a manager’ Marcello Lippi Who coaches the coaches on communication? This is a neglected issue and one which still lacks a thorough answer. We might have good technical and tactical coaches but learning to communicate effectively can be a developmental ‘journey’.

Non-Verbal Communication Young players in particular observe others, it is a common trait. When they do this, they notice what people do and how they do it, what they say and how they say it. Impact of message: - Words (content) = 7% - How words are conveyed (form) = 38% - Non-verbal information = 55% We can all relate to this information and have witnessed others over/under-loading on a particular component of ‘message impact’. Non-verbal communication signals for you to consider when coaching: • Gestures • Facial expressions • Touching • Posture • Personal space

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

Communication

A high percentage of communication is non-verbal, and players are very aware of the coach and his behaviour. The players want to please the coach. It is the coach who decides on selection, contracts etc. How often do you as the coach self-assess your communication and behaviour? If coaches are unable to accurately assess their own behaviour, are they even aware of the ramifications of their communicated behaviour. Players are dependent upon formative feedback to improve and develop their own playing skills. Coaches often attempt to use ‘free’ time for providing observations on performance and individual goal setting for the next game. Why should this process be any different for you as a coach? See if you can ask an experienced source (mentor) for feedback on the delivery of a training session or the effectiveness of a pre-match team-talk. You can then be more reflective and set short/long term goals on a personal level. A temptation for most coaches during a game is to commentate and provide too much information for the players to assimilate. Always try to avoid coaching the player in possession of the ball. You will be much more effective by speaking concisely to players who are not directly involved in the play or after they have just made a play. It can also be good practice to provide information to players when the ball is out of play. Factors to consider during a game: • Observe and diagnose. • Tactical changes • General/Individual and specific encouragement. • Team Shape • Individual/collective reminders

Coach feedback can be classified into: • Specific: E.g. ‘Excellent run to beat the defender and cross’ • Positive: E.g. ‘good strike’ • General: E.g. ‘Well done’ • Negative: E.g. ‘stop giving the ball away’ Players’ generally prefer specific feedback and open questions. Open questioning stimulates individual and group thought and facilitates independent learning.

‘Who do you think is better at thinking, processing information and making decisions? The brain of one manager, or the brains of eleven out on the pitch striving towards one common goal.’ Jorge Valdano Summary Communicating Effectively: • Practice with questioning and feedback (focus- open and specific) • Awareness of Body Language • Rehearse and plan your message to have an impact and avoid confusion • Develop your own style • Open dialogue two-way process • Attention span • Language use not too technical Andy Blight (UEFA ‘A’ licence, FA Coach Educator, SAQ International diploma) provides: • In-service training for football coaches and players based at your club. The training can look at any component of the game and will facilitate both player and coach development. For further information contact: Andib20@hotmail.com

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

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Managing Psychological Demands on Players to Maximize Development

Part Two:

Concentration

Part one of this series of articles established a working definition of psychological fitness: 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 performance; (iii) maintain long-term motivation to succeed; and (iv) manage competitive stress to optimize performance. Part one then addressed managing and developing confidence in youth players. This article will address the type of training mentality and concentration required for long-term development, and how training can be structured to demand better concentration from players. By: Christian Lavers

The Concentration Component: How to Practice In the past few years, scientific research has begun to provide a much greater understanding of the ways people learn, and

why some individuals reach much greater levels of performance than others. The research has come to remarkably similar conclusions in all fields: (i) there is no evidence of “natural” talent; and (ii) elite per-

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

formers train more, and in a different way, than average performers. This research has resulted in the coining of what many now call the “10,000 Hour Rule” or the “10 Year Rule.” This “rule” provides that, generally, developing worldclass performance in any field takes at least 10,000 hours, or 10 years, of training. In fact, many studies have shown that it takes everyone close to this amount of time to achieve world-class performance; in other words, nobody becomes a world-class performer in any field in significantly less time due to a “natural” talent. This rule underlies the basic ingredient in player development – lots of work.

Psychology and the more typical training regime that most athletes engage in is best illustrated by an example: Regular Training: A soccer player looks to improve his finishing ability by going to the park and taking different types of shots from different areas on the field for 30 minutes, interspersed with some juggling or other recovery activities. He repeats this practice once or twice a week for a few weeks. Deliberate Practice: A soccer player identifies the need to improve his finishing ability when cutting into the middle of the field on the dribble and looking to place the ball inside the far post. The player takes 100 shots from this situation, varying only the height of the shot, the distance from which it is taken, and the bend or power on the shot. After each shot, the player evaluates the quality of the shot, and specifically why it was successful or unsuccessful. The player does this every day for a month.

Of more direct applicability to training methodologies, many of the same studies have shown that world-class performers spend these 10,000 hours training in a different way than most people. Specifically, the training or practice regimes of worldclass performers feature the following characteristics: 1)They have a very high amount of repetition. 2)They are intensely focused and concentrated. 3)They are designed to improve very specific aspects of performance. 4)Rapid, continuous and specific feedback is provided. In his book Talent is Overated, Geoff Colvin labels this type of training “deliberate practice” – in comparison to the more typical practice that most people engage in. The differences between “deliberate practice”

effort exerted. The three other characteristics – the quantity of repetition, the design of the training activity itself, and the quality and quantity of feedback – are controlled by the coach. Understanding these differences is also important to the player – who needs to be taught what “real” training involves, (both in a team and individual setting), and why it is so much more effective than the training that most people do. Engaging in “deliberate practice” is incredibly physically and mentally demanding – which is exactly why so many people don’t do it; most people lack the concentration or discipline to engage in mentally demanding training on a consistent basis. However, when a player understands the differences and their impact, it may be that they embrace the challenge and difficulty associated with “deliberate practice” – seeing it as exactly what will separate them from other players.

There are vast differences in the value that will come from these two different training programs. In the first situation, improvement will occur, but it will be slow and relatively haphazard – as there is not sufficient repetition in any one finishing technique to significantly improve execution, and the mental focus on the details impacting performance are very poor. In the second situation, significant improvement will occur for two primary reasons: (i) a specific technique and situation is being isolated and trained with high repetition; and (ii) the player is actively engaged in analyzing exactly what went right or wrong on each shot. (For example: Did I use the proper surface of my foot? Was my ankle locked in the appropriate angle? Was my body balanced properly to allow the strike I desire? Did my head and upper body remain controlled through the follow-through? Did I strike the proper location on the ball?) The development that occurs through “deliberate practice” is significantly faster, and over time will result in a player that greatly out-performs those engaged in regular training. Understanding the differences in these methodologies is very important to the coach that designs the training sessions for athletes with high aspirations. In fact, within a team training session, only one of the four characteristics of “deliberate practice” is directly dependent upon the athlete – the concentration and mental

Application of “Deliberate Practice” in Technical Training: Below are some examples of the ways that the principles of “deliberate practice” can be used to modify common training activities. Applying these principles consistently will help players to focus on the details of very specific techniques or tactical situations and become more “actively-concentrated” on their own performance:

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

Psychology i.

Restricting the ability of players to play too far backwards will force them to identify options to keep the ball in forward positions and maintain attacking pressure. ii. Restricting the ability to play backwards after the ball is played forward will make players think “twice” about whether a penetrating pass is a better option than a possession pass square or back. iii. Restricting the ability to play backwards will force players from behind the ball to support entry passes, and force players in front of the ball to find new supporting angles and passing lanes that allow further penetration.

1) 1 vs. 1 Attacking and Defending: The attacker may only beat the defender with one of two dribbling feints: the feint or the fake of the feint. For example, the attacker may use the scissors or the fake scissors. - Narrowing the choices of feints will increase the quantity of repetition of each feint. - The choice between the feint or its opposite will force the attacker to focus on the physical and technical details that make each move successful, and how they inter-relate. - The competition against a defender will provide immediate feedback. - Limiting the attacker’s choices will allow the defender to focus on the specific technical and physical signs that indicate which move will be performed.

Application of “Deliberate Practice” in Tactical Training: Incorporating principles of “deliberate practice” in the tactical component of the game requires identifying the situations on the field that create similar tactical problems – thus allowing players to see many different “variations on a theme.” Once the situations are identified, conditions can be imposed in a variety of small-sided games to create the repetition required: 1) Game Condition: The attacking team may not pass the ball backwards after the ball is played into designated forward zones.

2) Technical Finishing: Every shot must be hit with the same technique / surface and same foot (instep vs. outside, driven vs. bent, etc.) into one of two locations (low near vs. low far, high near vs. high far) from the same general location and body position, into a “goal-within-a-goal.” (For example a small cone goal or in the corner of the “real” goal.) a. Requiring use of the same foot and surface will increase the quantity of repetition of the technique. b. High repetition of the same technique for the same location will help the player identify subtle differences in approach, foot angle, follow-through, etc. that impact execution. c. The goal-within-a-goal provides objective measurement of accuracy.

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

2) Game Condition: The attacker may not pass the ball back to the player who gave it to him. i. Restricting the easiest (and usually closest) choice of pass will improve the range of vision of the attacking player. ii. Forcing the involvement of a third player will improve combination play and off-of-the ball movement. iii. Forcing involvement of a third player will result in ball movement into “new” spaces a high percentage of the time. iv. The continued involvement of three players will improve the defender’s awareness and recognition of movement away from the ball.

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Thema

Hugo Langton Ashford Town FC assistant manager

"We are in a complete rebuilding process" Ashford Town play in the Ryman League South, which is 4 divisions below the English football league. SoccerCoachingInternational spoke to Hugo Langton, who is the assistant manager at the club. Hugo tells the story of how the club nearly went under and how they were able to build the club back up from scratch. He also talks about his role as an assistant manager and about the club's coaching strategy and philosophy. "Our chairman had suffered a heart attack and there were off the field issues between him and another backer, which fortunately was resolved on the eve of the recent pre season. The first team manager, Steve Lovell, and I held out in the hope that everything would be sorted out, and both turned down offers from elsewhere. Now we are in a complete rebuilding process and we view it as an exciting project that we are just at the start of."

"I am basically the manager’s right hand man and I view my role as a vital supportive one. I am there to assist in the coaching, to provide match analysis, scout reports (on players and teams), to be a second pair of eyes. I am there for the manager to bounce ideas off too, although I think we do tend to agree on 99% of things, which I think is a major help."

Defensive shape "Sorting out our defensive shape was clearly the most important thing we needed to

coach the players. In fact it is still ongoing. We tend to play more of a 4-4-2 and we like the back four to stay together. We like our full backs to stay nice and close to the centre backs when we don’t have the ball. It’s about coaching and educating the full backs when and where they press the ball, and why. It’s about being compact and being hard to break down, and about stopping the ball being played forward. It’s about knowing when to push up as a defensive unit a few yards to push the opposition further away from goal. We recreate

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

situations, so our players understand their roles and responsibilities if they are defending from a wide area or what their jobs are should an opposition striker drop off deep to look for the ball. I believe in repetition so when a situation occurs during a match, the players know exactly what to do."

Semi Professional Attacking play "We believe in having two hard working wide players in the team, players who can get forward and get the ball into the box and also who can protect their full backs when we don’t have the ball. The more balls we can get into the box then surely the more goals we can score. It’s paramount we work with not just the wide players, but as a team as a whole on how we can create and exploit spaces in wide areas. It’s again about decision making. How can the wide man make room for himself? Does our wide man take on the full back or does he look to maybe get the ball into the penalty box with his first touch? How can the full back help him?" "One exercise I like to use is that the ball must go into the strikers feet in a central area before it can go out wide. As this automatically encourages opposition full backs to become compact, thus creating the space on the wing. We can create a fast moving session, and develop it quickly to include full backs once the basic principles are understood. It’s also crucial here to work on the runs other players make into the box."

SAQ "My belief is that everything we do in training should be done as if it were in a match. For example, I am not a fan of static stretching as you would not stand on a pitch and during the game performing a 15 second hamstring stretch. So I prefer dynamic stretching and performing exercises that are game related. The feedback get from the players is that the overall way in which we warm up and down aids their post match/training session recovery. In training there is so much you can use with SAQ. I like to work a lot with the players on becoming quicker over 10 yards, as for me if you can react the quickest then it could make the difference in scoring a goal or making that last ditch defensive tackle. We do this with a series of sprints but the starting positions will vary. Players may start on their backs and on my command get up and sprint the ten yards before being served a ball to volley or head back to a waiting player. Other starting positions include on their stomachs, knees or even sitting down. For me this is all game related as players will end up in those positions during the game and if we can react the quickest in those situations then it is clearly to our advantage. You can obviously alter it to suit attackers or defen-

Examples of typical struggles we face Part time players – we don’t pay their mortgages. Although they are paid if they are in the match day squad. As a result some may miss training or occasionally matches in order to work Non contractual – players can leave at any time (this is our choice though) Time together – time is precious as we will have them 3 times a week (including match days) Training – we train a lot on our home pitch, and often the weather can affect what we want to do, especially in the winter months. Other facilities are expensive to hire and also there is not much available. Last season we trained about 30 miles from Ashford on the Isle of Sheppey. ders, depending on what you are working on, that’s the beauty of SAQ for me – there are no set rules and you can tailor it to your own teams needs. I will also use SAQ circuits in training session warm ups, as movements are again all game related, the players get plenty of touches of the ball and also you can make the circuit as intense as you like depending on your teams needs."

Motivation and psychology "We have the players two or three times a week usually and we have to understand that they have day jobs and sometimes their days are long. They may leave home at 8am and not return home until after 11pm if they train or play in the evening after work. These players make a lot of sacrifices and sometimes if they are not playing it can affect them. We believe at Ashford in being honest with our players. If they are not playing we tell them why and we also set them realistic goals so they can get back into the team. I think the players who are not playing are more important than the ones who are playing. They are the ones you need to keep interested as things change very quickly and when you need them you need them to be ready and to be motivated."

understand that we will work with them to improve them and to improve their understanding of the game, and why things happen on a football pitch. We want players who will go out and give their all in the Ashford Town shirt, come sun, wind, snow or rain. If we talk to a player about signing for us, it’s pretty clear from the off what their motivation is. Some will immediately talk about money and others (who we clearly prefer) are straight in with questions about opportunity, the type of football we play, where do we want to take the club etc it’s our job as coaches/managers to provide the players with the best possible platform to learn and improve. Some will go on and play at a higher level of football, and if we can help them get there then it’s a job well done." "I also personally will go and talk to an opposition player after a game if he has impressed me, as it may be a player we may be interested in further down the line. That way can gauge what type of character he is and will he compliment our squad. We all know one wrong character can bring your whole team down."

Recruitment - how, where and why? "We feel at this level of semi professional football that our players must not be motivated by money, as like most teams in the English semi professional leagues, we don’t have an open purse, in fact our playing budget is considerably lower than what it was last season, but this is very common amongst most semi professional clubs. Don’t get me wrong, no one is out of pocket and the players are paid well enough for playing part time football. Our players

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

Semi Professional SAQ warm up circuit Description: 1. Bunny hops through hurdles 2. Receive header and head back to server 3. Slalom around poles 4. Receive pass 5. Dribble through cones and pass with laces back 6. Fast feet ladder - choose own variation 7. Bunny hop forwards and backwards over hurdle twice 8. Sprint between each cone but stop at each cone 9. Receive pass/cross and finish on goal * Players do 3 sets

Defending 4v4 Focus:

Description:

Working as a unit of 4 - sliding across pressure the ball - who/when/how communication support and cover Age: Adults, U19, U17, U15 Theme: Opposition Possession Number of players: 8

• Area is 20 x 30, two teams of 4, 2 small goals across back on each side. • Players have to try and pass ball on floor through the goals and teams cannot go into the other teams half. • Defending team must now operate as a unit. • You can increase the size of the area and add a third goal at each end to increase realism and intensity.

Full backs when, how and where to press the ball in wide areas Focus: When does full back go and press the ball. Does he show inside or outside (depending on distance from goal opponent is). Get touch tight, can you win the ball? If not can you stop the ball being played forward? Cover and balance from supporting defenders. Push up as ball travels - how and why Role of goal keeper - communication.

Age: Adults, U19, U17 Theme: Opposition Possession Number of players: 13 +

Description: • Set up as a phase of play. we want the ball to go wide as much as possible to be able to coach our full backs. • Progress to adding opposition full backs who can support the opposition wide players

Attacking with width Focus: Why into the strikers first? Coach understanding of creating space and role of wide player as ball is with strikers. Can strikers have only two touches? One to control and one to play wide or back to supporting midfielder. When ball is wide, what runs should strikers make? how and why? Role of opposite winger - attack back post. Can one of the attacking midfielders get in the box too? Role of winger? how can he make space for himself if need be? Does he take a player on or get the cross in quickly? Role of supporting full back.

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

Age: Adults, U19, U17, U15 Theme: Possession Number of players: 11 +

Description: • Ball must go from the midfield into the strikers before it can go wide. • Every time move breaks down, replace two attacking midfielders to keep it high intensity • Progress by adding attacking full backs then defending full backs • This exercise is all about getting the ball into the box as quickly and as effectively as possible with at least 4 people attacking it (two strikers, opposite winger, attacking midfielder)

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Player development:

DO I REALLY HAVE WHAT IT TAKES?

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

Development

Go to any bar or pub in any footballing country and you’ll come across some of the greatest football players on this planet - that never actually played! How many of the same conversations are spoken again and again, simultaneously around the world, amongst friends or whoever will stand there and listen – ‘I was a great player you know, I could have played in the Premier League, I could have played in the MLS, I was a better player than him when I was his age!’ By: Anthony Hudson

Having been brought up in a footballing environment, and like many footballing fans, I have spent so much time in the company of the game. And what saddens me most, is when I look back and remember all the people that have spoken words similar to these. ‘I could have been this or I could have been that’. What absolute nonsense! And what’s worse is seeing the signs in young players today, who will one day be standing in those same bars, saying the same thing. It’s so very clear to see. For me when someone says they were ‘good enough to make it’, I whole heartedly disagree. What people think; is because they have ability and can play on a given day, then they are good enough. For me, to be good enough to make it as a top professional, you have to have the whole package. Being able to play the game, well, is only just a start. For there are millions and millions of young kids out there with the same ability, same dreams who think they are unstoppable. It’s the whole package that makes it. Attitude for me is the most important, if you can play game – then it becomes your attitude toward it. Hard work, living a good lifestyle, being disciplined, willing to learn and develop, making sacrifices – these are all part of that package that make a player ‘good enough’. So when someone says ‘I was good enough to make it’, I disagree, because if they were, they would be. So that’s the past, people looking back and regretting what they should or shouldn’t have done. But, even more critical, is how to help the some of the young players of today, from falling down that same path? With every player comes the very best intentions and dreams, but how many players actually understand how very hard they have to work and what they have to do? I don’t think too many – which is why so few make it.

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

Development Agents, money, parties, friends and the thousand others distractions we have all around us, do nothing but one thing – distract! Everyone is searching for an easier option, an agent who knows this person, a friend who can get me here, my Dad that will pay for me to do this, and on and on they go. While all these can be extremely supportive – they cannot interfere with what’s important – and that’s a player’s development. What are you doing on the pitch? I wonder how many players ask the following types of questions: 1. What am I doing to improve my game? 2. What do I need to work on? 3. How can get better? 4. Am I doing everything to help me become a professional player? 5. Is my lifestyle right for being a professional? 6. Am I influenced by my friends? 7. Do I give everything, everyday in training? 8. Is my attitude right? Is my diet right? 9. Am I mentally tough enough? 10. Am I brave enough to really look at my weaknesses and willing to work on them?

I hear players say they want to become top professionals, but in the next couple of hours they also really want to go out and have a good time. I’m sure they really believe themselves when they say they want to be a player, but then they also have other things that mean just as much – it seems. What do I want? Am I prepared to make sacrifices for what I want? So here are a just couple of suggestions that I feel can really help a young player’s development:

Learn From Others I have always believed that it’s so important to have good role models. As a young player, I used to watch Frank Lampard at West Ham do extra training everyday after the rest of the team had gone home. He worked harder than everyone. And this has always stuck in my mind – especially when I keep seeing him scoring goals and putting in top performances at the highest level for club and country. I have had the privilege of watching and learning from some top people, but I know it’s not so easy for all young players to get that first hand. I would suggest reading about players, reading players biographies. If you’re a midfielder for example, go and buy Frank

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

Lampard’s book. It’s as good as sitting down and talking to him yourself – if not better. In those books, players open up, they tell you what they did, how hard they worked, what sacrifices they made, the struggles they overcame. What more could you want? We all hear young players breaking into the first team at top clubs, and almost all of them say, ‘it helped me so much training with the first team. I learnt so much and some of the older players really helped me, giving me advice.’ Well, if your creative enough and look hard enough - that advice is everywhere. What you can pick out of a Lampard or a Steven Gerrard book can be so very powerful l and can give all the advice and passion you need. David Beckham is another great role model for young players. For what he has gone through during his career and how he has carried himself, kept his professionalism, worked so very hard and continues to do so, is an example that cannot help but become such a positive influence on a young player looking for a little direction. Go and seek these out – and learn from the best.

Development Hard Work This may sound extremely simple and very much like stating the obvious, but it’s a quality that I think is very much amiss today. The words are thrown around often, but I don’t know if young players (and coaches for that matter) really know what it means to ‘work hard’? The game itself, played at the highest level is not easy. You have to work hard. As soon as a lot of young promising players are confronted with challenges which demands them to move from comfort to working really hard for there position, a whole host of what seems to be ‘excuses’ start to surface in a number different ways. What’s the excuse today? ‘Well, the coach played me here and I didn’t get the ball,’ or ‘I didn’t feel too good today’ or ‘I need to move to a different club where the coach knows what he’s doing and they play the football that suits me’….they go on and on and can be heard in the back seat of so many cars pulling away from games at the weekend. All of them nothing but excuses! Players have to understand and become willing to meet the demands if they want to progress. And those demands mean – in the good old fashioned way - ‘getting your head down and working hard.’

Anthony Hudson Head Coach (Manager) Real Maryland FC – United Soccer leagues Anthony Hudson became one of the youngest head coaches in professional soccer, after being appointed Head Coach at the age of 27 years of age. He took over the club that finished bottom of the table in 2008 and lead them to the Play Offs in his first full season, getting nominated for Coach of the Year along the way.

Coaching licenses UEFA ‘A’ License, English FA USSF ‘B’ License Free Flow Coaching License ‘Anthony represents the best of the modern coaches emerging with a combination of knowledge, qualifications and experience in both sports psychology and the coaching of high-level soccer. As such Anthony is well placed to contribute to any sports organization that has ambitions to be high-performing. I have no doubt Anthony will become a leader in the development of soccer in the U.S.A. – or elsewhere – and I recommend him unreservedly.’

There’s no escaping it – with so many distractions and so many players looking for an easier way to move up. There is no easy way. You get every single bit out of it - that you put in. When the game starts to become challenging, you have to become willing to meet those challenges. Working hard is a lost quality in so many young players today, but if the passion for the game and willingness to do the work that is required is there, then players will get what they deserve.

player you were and how much better you are than the person your all watching live on T.V., then your exactly where your supposed to be – in a bar, drink in hand, talking about it, whilst watching others do it! You are in exactly the right place. No mistakes about it. And the same for the opposite - there’s no mistake. If you’re at a top club, doing well, playing well, enjoying your game, doing what you need to do, your there for a reason, because you’ve worked for it. There’s no magic.

Growing up in a footballing family and around so many ‘could-have-been’ players, I have come to the conclusion that every single person is exactly where they are supposed to be. Everyone! If your in a bar, entertaining a group ‘none-the-wiser’, and impressing upon them about how good a

So as a young player, which one do I want to be? How would I feel if I ended up like so many do, wishing and wanting to do have done it differently? Am I willing to do everything within my power to fulfill my dream to become a professional footballer?

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

Training Sessions

Area training

Advantages of Area Training

below). Set-up an exercise the players already know in 2 of these areas and use the other 2 areas to teach them a new exercise. Small sided games and functional technique exercises are great for the Area training.

- Clear organization - Set structure - Small groups of players per area - Everyone is continuously engaged - Lots of ball contact for every player - Players know what they have to do - Lots of exercises per player - High intensity - Trainer is a motivator, not a police officer

VAK 1

VAK 2

VAK 3

VAK 4

How does it work? The playing field is divided into 4 areas (20x12 meters each), with a space of 2 meters between every area (see diagram

The organization of an Area Training 1. Warm-up

2a. Area 1

2b. Area 2 C

D A

Objective:

Improve fast feet with the ball

Improve passing in a Y-form

Improve 1v1 with two small goals on 1 side

Contents:

- Player A passes to player B - Player B turns and passes to player C - Player C receives the ball and passes to D - D receives the ball and dribbles to A - Every player rotates 1 position

The group is split up into 2 groups Group 1 uses areas 1 and 2 Group 2 uses areas 3 and 4 All players have a ball and pass it from their left foot to their right foot, not leaving their spot

Variation:

Coaching:

- Increase pace - Passing between left and right foot, but now with moving 1 meter forward and 1 meter backward

- Ask for the ball - Make a fake move before coming into the ball - Point where you want the ball - Functional movement - Look around you - Receive the ball with 1 touch - Pass hard

Coaching: - Move on your toes - Legs slightly bend - Look in front of you

No. 36 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; December 2009 / January 2010

Contents: - 4 players with balls on one side, 4 players without balls on the other side - Player with ball starts behind the goals and passes to player without a ball - Player with the ball must score by dribbling through one of the goals - When the other player intercepts he must try to score by dribbling through one of the goals

Coaching: - Receive the ball under your body (knee above ball) - Use fakes and feints - Accelerate after a fake

Give Us Back Our Game

2c. Area 3

2d. Area 4

3. Finish

Objective:

Improve 1v1 with two small goals

Improve cutting with the inside of your right foot after a pass

Use technique and improve cooperation between two players

Contents: - 4 players with balls on one sideline, 4 players without balls on the other sideline - Player with ball starts passes from one sideline to player without a ball on the other sideline - Player with the ball must score by dribbling through one of the goals - When the other player intercepts he must try to score by dribbling through one of the goals

Coaching: - Receive the ball and move sideways - Use cuts and turns - Turn away from you opponent, placing your body in between the opponent and the ball - Accelerate after a move

Contents: - In pairs - Every pair has a ball - The pairs are positioned in between the two discs on one side of the field, the player with the ball in standing in front - The first player passes the ball about 3 meters in front of him and runs after it. He cuts the ball with the inside of his right foot and passes to his teammate - Teammate passes the ball 3 meters in front of him in 1 touch and runs after it. He cuts the ball with the inside of his right foot and passes to his teammate - Etc.

Organization: - Play 2v2 - Dribble across the end line and stop the ball with your foot to score a goal - When the ball is out it has to be dribbled back into the field. No corners

Variation: - From a dribble - Dribble to line 2, cut and dribble to line 1, cut and dribble to line 3, cuts and dribble to line 2 and pass the ball to your teammate, who does the same - Which pair finishes first?

No. 36 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; December 2009 / January 2010

Time

Space:

The Game is changing Barcelona and Spain are shaping the future of the game with a possession based approach with short passing, fluidity of movement and interchange of positions. At a recent workshop I took at the University of Worcester we were discussing small sided games and a Spanish student said about the difference between English and Spanish players, “In England you do lots of passing drills, but when you do that you have your head down looking at the ball as there is no opposition. In Spain players like Fabregas learn by playing small sided games on small pitches so that he has to have a great first touch and keep his head up.” Here are a couple of games to help with this philosophy. By: Paul Cooper

“I admire his intelligence. You know when you play football it can look very complicated, but the best sign of an intelligent player is making it look simple.” - Arsene Wenger on Fabregas

The Barcelona Game “Barcelona’s three best players – Messi, Xavi and Iniesta – are each no taller than 5ft 7in, proving that there is still a place for small, skilful players, providing that coaches give them a chance.”

This game celebrates this wonderful style of play, utilising quick one and two touch passing in the team’s own half before unlimited touches in the opponents half. • 4-5 players a side • Pitch size 30-40 x 15-20 • Keepers Optional (role the ball out under arm only) • Play one/two touch only in own half • Unlimited touches in opponents half • Goals – i-goal 8x5 with no keepers. i-goal 12x6 with keepers • Bibs optional • Age group – U10 to adults

“I enjoy myself when I have the ball. I am still a little kid. I spent my childhood with a ball at my feet and I still love having one.” - Xavi

This game takes the best of both worlds - quick short one and two touch passing and also the chance to be creative in the oppositions half with dribbling, give and goes, slide rule passes and clinical finishing. When Barcelona beat Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League Final it took football to yet another level. Barcelona as Spain had done a year earlier in Euro 2008 played a wonderfully fluid, possession game based on short passing and intelligent movement off the ball. Teams are playing catch up and working on a style of play that involves the following; • Building from the back • Keeping the ball • One and two touch passing • Passes mainly below head height • Change in tempo • Turning and keeping the ball in tight spaces • Fluidity of movement

“How can you talk about ‘total football’ if your players don’t understand the game from every point of view? You have to be able to read each situation not only from your position but from that of your colleagues. Each pass of the ball by your team, or by the opposition, changes the situation.” - Johan Cruyff

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

Column Paul Cooper

Two Touch – One to Finish Game

Johan Cruyff is one of the great thinkers of the game. His comments above are the essence of football - but are also the least understood by many coaches and players alike. You can have all the technique in the world but if you can’t read the play or feel the rhythm of the game, you will be lost. This is why playing small sided games is an essential part of learning the game. Football is about problem solving and we must insure the players have these tools in order to develop. As this game is restricted to two touches and one to score, you need to think ahead in terms of what pass you make and your position off the ball. In an eleven a side game of 90 minutes the ball is in play on average for just 60 minutes. This means that each player only has contact with the ball for about 2-3 minutes, but will be required to make creative decisions off the ball for a full 60 minutes. • Accurate one and two touch passing to feet • Constant movement off the ball • Head up • Quick decision making – think a couple of moves ahead It is not a good idea to put touch restrictions on younger players as this can be very frustrating for them – they need to be able to run with the ball at all times. For adults and youth players I like to use a small pitch of just 30x15 for this game. The smaller the pitch the quicker the decision making and the better the first touch will need to be. It is essential to play with your head up. • 4-5 players a side • Pitch size 30x15 • No keepers • Play one/two touch only with one touch to score • Goals – i-goal 8x5 • Bibs optional • Age group – U10 to adults

“Youth coaches keep telling me young footballers can't perform the basic elements of the game anymore. They can do all of Cristiano Ronaldo's tricks, but they can't pull off a defence-splitting pass like Steven Gerrard.” - David James

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

It’s always good to have faith! Alex, who had just been promoted from the club’s youth squad, was starting to shine on the senior squad. During the years he got used to settle games and to always be one of the most important players in the field. On his senior squad debut season, he was already coming on for a few minutes trying to force his quality in, whenever he was allowed to. On that day, the match was very important and Alex came on a substitute to help his team to win it. Almost at the end of the match the referee whistled for a direct free kick in favor of his club and Alex approached the usual free kick shooter, a veteran centre-back not very enthusiastic of the youngster irreverence, and said to him very convinced: - John, let me take the free kick. I have faith! - Really? Have you faith? – John asked, paying lots of attention to what Alex was telling him. - Yes, I really have faith – Alex insisted. Then John answered: - If you have faith kneel down behind the goal and pray that I score!

EDITORIAL

No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010 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. Chief editor Paul van Veen Beatrixlaan 21, 2811 LZ REEUWIJK THE NETHERLANDS E-mail: paul@soccercoachinginternational.com Publisher Sportfacilities & Media BV Visiting address: Steynlaan 19 B-D ZEIST THE NETHERLANDS Postal address: P.O. Box 952, 3700 AZ ZEIST THE NETHERLANDS E-mail: info@soccercoachinginternational.com Phone: +31 (0)30 697 7710 Fax: +31 (0)30 697 7720 Project Manager Floris Schmitz f.schmitz@sportfacilities.com Managing Editor and Translations Maaike Denkers maaike@soccercoachinginternational.com Graphic Design Anton Gouverneur / Tania Dimitrova studio@sportfacilities.com

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, Hugo Vicente, Anthony Hudson, Hugo Langton Photographers: Tom van den Heiligenberg Jan Soek Subscription Rates You can subscribe to SoccerCoachingInternational on the website: www.soccercoachinginternational.com. The subscription rates can be found below: Subscription type: Magazine and website Trial (6 months) Website only Magazine only

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No. 36 – December 2009 / January 2010

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