Tools, Tips & Techniques
22 July 2009 issue 117
Under 4s - Under 16s
Lone defenders face a difficult decision When the opposition has won the ball and broken away leaving your defender in a 2v1 situation, how do they deal with it - do they try and tackle the player on the ball or anticipate the pass? asks David Clarke It’s a difficult decision for the defender, and requires them to think about how they can slow down the momentum of the breakaway, and tackle at the right time to prevent a move that will leave one of the attackers with a clear route to goal.
Choices for defenders in 2v1s 1
Goal line
The defender needs to work out how to isolate the player in possession, ideally by forcing them wide, away from their team mate making it easier to either tackle or cut off the pass. The defender must think quickly and get in position bending their knees slightly to lower their center of gravity, and work on holding up the player with the ball. Your players need to practice this decision making process, using exercises like this to help them make the right decision in a match.
How to coach your defenders Split your squad into teams of three, two attackers and one defender. Make a square with cones - the size of the square will depend on the age of your players, so, 5 yards for U8s, 8 yards for U9s-U14s, and 10 yards for U15s.
5 yards Two attackers and a defender stand back-to-back ready to run to the cones and start battle.
2
Goal line
One of the sides will be the goal line and put some balls next to the cones forming the line opposite. In the middle of the square two attackers and a defender stand back-to-back with the defender facing the goal line. One of the attackers shouts “GO”. The defender runs to one of the cones on the goal line, and the attackers to the opposite two cones. One of the attackers gets a ball and they attack.
How to score it The attackers score a point for getting the ball over the goal line, but they must have it under control - they cannot shoot. The defender gets one point for winning the ball or forcing it out over any of the other three sides of the square. Any
5 yards The attacker with the ball decides to try and beat the defender who moves into position to make the tackle. direction of run
dribble
infringements mean a point for the opposition. Play for six rounds, so each player gets two goes at being the defender.
“ We knew they wanted to go through the middle so we forced them wide” USA defender, Jonathan Spector v Spain
Coach development
weekly
Under 4s - Under 16s
The art of coaching children Developing young players to think for themselves Every successful soccer team has players who understand the game and who can look at situations and come up with solutions quickly.
I recently coached a group of players who were very poor at two versus one situations when attackers were running at the defence. Instead of taking them back to basics I stepped up the challenge with the exercise on page one of Very few players are able to do this naturally so how can you this issue. The players realised they had to make a choice. develop the ability to think in your players? Rather than just sit back and let the attackers dictate to them they could take the situation and turn it to their advantage. The result was a huge improvement in their Constant challenge Keep pushing your players. They won’t be learning if they are motivation and consequently their success rate. not challenged. Many mistakes occur because players are bored rather than not being capable. Freedom without fear You need to give your players freedom to try things Don’t be afraid to give players challenges you think might be without any fear of reprisal. Set aside 10 minutes of your too hard for them. They may well surprise you by what they session where you play games and allow the players to try can do when the stimulus of challenge is there. anything they want.
David Clarke’s touchline tales How a player labelled ‘useless’ became my first choice right back You always get this kind of gossip when players leave teams. I explained to him that they probably hadn’t been given a good training plan and probably struggled with the sessions that the coach had planned because they failed to understand them.
Last week I mentioned that it is a great reward if you can take a player who has been rejected or has left another club because they were considered ‘not good enough’. You need to work out a development plan for them during pre-season, and help mend their bruised egos and restore their confidence in playing soccer.
Development
In my sessions we start off with the basics and then as some players advance they go on to more difficult ones, while the A manager’s job Having taken on players like this you cannot sit back and just let rest concentrate on the areas they need to cover. Players rarely develop at the same rate. them carry on as they have been doing. If you were the manager of an office or factory you wouldn’t sit back and let your Both these players had been attackers at their last club, but employees fester away at the same level. neither had scored a goal. After a few sessions it was clear that one of the boys liked to see the ball in front of him, he wanted You also don’t want the other players in the team to think they to see the play going on rather than run and move and get are being held back by the ability of the new player. involved in the action up front. Last season one of the parents of a player of mine came to see me and asked why I had taken on two players who were, as he By the end of the season he was first choice right back for the team and the other player had developed into a defensive put it, ‘useless’. I asked him how he knew they were ‘useless’. midfielder. He replied that he knew the coach of the team they had come from and that he had been told they had been asked to leave No one was calling them ‘useless’ any more. because they couldn’t play very well. 2
22 July 2009
Player development
weekly
Under 4s - Under 16s
Technique
Running off the ball When you watch a match and look around at your players off the ball, how often are they just standing there waiting for the ball to come to them rather than making runs or moving into space to make themselves available for a pass? Get them moving with these exercises, says David Clarke When you see players in a match passing and moving into space, like Barcelona or Arsenal, it creates excitement and goal scoring chances. The key to your team doing this in their matches is to get your players moving around the training pitch interchanging positions and passing.
Moving to the ball 1
A
B
Passing and moving needs practice, so a good way to do that is to use exercises like these, which make players think about where they are running and the position of the ball in relationship to themselves and their team mates.
X
Simple practices for starters
A1
B1
Diagram 1: You need a large area, usually half the pitch, to play these two exercises. Start A and B 10 yards apart with point X five yards ahead and Y five yards further on.
Y
Player A starts with the ball plays a pass ahead of B for B to run onto at the X mark. B runs with the ball to position B1. A runs behind B (so they don’t get in the way of the ball) to position A1 then checks back to collect a pass from B at position Y. A runs on with the ball to A2 and the exercise progresses in the same way.
A2
B2
In this exercise A and B move and exchange passes. 2
Diagram 2: Advance the session by adding players to make threes. This is a much more creative session, with individual movement and passing all around the training pitch. They need one ball between them. Start them off in a row with about 5 yards between each player.
C
B
A B1
C1
l B and C start their runs to positions B1 and C1. l A passes to position B1 for B to run on to. l B passes to position C1 where C runs onto the pass. l A runs around the back of B to position A1 to receive the pass from C. B must be moving around the back of C to position B2, and so on - players move around the pitch.
A1 B2
Three players are moving around the field passing. pass player movement run with ball
You can walk your players through this first. They don’t have to get it exact, as long as they follow an ABC pattern. 3
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Games workshop
weekly
Under 4s - Under 16s
Small-sided game Warm-up circuit
Agility square
Dynamic movements with a ball
Get brains and muscles into gear Key elements Movement, agility, vision l Keeping the ball stationary, the players take two steps towards the ball and then a big step-over with the right foot followed by two steps backwards. The exercise is then repeated for the left foot. l The players jog towards the ball and then make side-toside movements going backwards. l The players take two steps forward and then make a kicking action to the side of the ball before taking two steps backwards and repeating on the opposite side. l The players take side steps towards the ball and then take a high step over the ball with one leg before repeating in the opposite direction with the other leg. l The players jog behind their ball and then listen for your
C
In this dynamic movement game players must react to the coach showing each of the five movements. direction of run
call of “right” or “left”. The players must quickly react and circle the ball in the direction called.
Five minute fitness
Tag sprint pairs
20 yard sprint tag races
This five minute fitness drill can be used during your training sessions for a quick break to help coaching points sink in, or as an incentive for a drinks break. 20 yard
How to do it
s
l This is a fast sprint to a team mate at the other end. l The first player sprints as fast as they can to tag their team mate who must stay behind the line until tagged. l Second player sprints back to the start. 5 yards
Repeat 5 times. Rest 60 seconds between repetitions.
Players sprint to tag a team mate at the other end.
DOWNLOAD THE MATCH DAY PLANNER AT: www.bettersoccercoaching.com/MDP.pdf Soccer Coach Weekly is published by Green Star Media Ltd, Meadow View, Tannery Lane, Bramley, Guildford, GU5 0AB, UK. Email: info@coach-soccer.com Tel: +44 (0)1483 892894 Fax: +44 (0)1483 894148 Editor David Clarke Publisher Kevin Barrow Managing Director Andrew Griffiths Customer Service Representative Duncan Heard © Green Star Media Ltd. All rights reserved.
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22 July 2009