Tools, Tips & Techniques
09 June, 2010 issue 163
Under 4s - Under 16s
A different angle to defending Jockeying opponents denies them time and space. With the correct angle of approach players can delay forward progress and steer opponents away from the danger zone, says David Clarke
How to jockey your opponent
How to practise jockeying To coach your players how to jockey set up a 10 yards square. Working in pairs, players start on opposite sides of the square. The attacker attempts to dribble across the area, the defender tries to jockey them, forcing them out of either side of the area.
Getting it right Start the practice without any further instruction. Then, look at each player’s technique and coach them as necessary. Perhaps the most important element of jockeying is the angle of approach. The illustration (right) shows you the correct and incorrect angles of approach. Correct the angle of approach as necessary then address the other key elements of jockeying: Speed of approach Players should slow as they approach the attacker to help maintain balance. “Don’t dive in” – they don’t need to win the ball straight away. Body position Players should have their arms outstretched on either side, guiding the attacker to a safe part of the pitch. Think of a shepherd directing his flock.
The jockeying game
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Approaching “head-on” gives the attacker the option to go either side, making defending difficult.
Approaching “side-on” forces the attacker into an area where they can be more easily defended. movement
dribble
blocked area
Now try this l Set up a pitch as shown in the illustration (left). You can mark out the numbered areas using cones. l The attacking team must try to score in the big goal and is awarded between one and five points for a goal, depending on the zone they score from. l If the defenders win the ball they earn three points and two more points if they score in either of the mini goals. l Therefore, the defenders should jockey the attackers into a low scoring zone before attempting to win the ball. This reduces the risk of conceding a goal if a tackle is unsuccessful. l Each team has five attacks. The team with the highest combined score from attacking and defending wins.
Coach development
weekly
Under 4s - Under 16s
The art of coaching children The four “dos” of holding children’s attention Talking to a group of children can be a huge challenge for many coaches, especially those who are used to working with groups of adults. Before starting to talk you need to consider how to make sure your players are listening to what you are saying.
remember, I do I understand”, the more activity and the less talking the better. Remember also the 30 second rule: you should never spend more than 30 seconds at a time talking to your players during training.
Limit It
Here are my four “dos” of holding children’s attention.
Keep your chats short and sharp. “Little and often” is an excellent motto. Tell the players one or two things at a time between your coaching activities. During a 10 minute exercise you might bring the players in for four 30 second chats which repeat variations of the same one or two points.
Attention Make sure you have all the players’ attention before you start talking. Off the cuff questions are a good way to gain attention at the start. Once your players get into the routine, and realise that you are only going to talk for a short time before they will be off and active again, they will settle much more quickly.
Face the weather Whether in rain, wind or bright sun, make sure the players are protected from the weather conditions and can see you clearly. If necessary, that may mean you will have to talk to them facing into the weather.
Balance Follow the ancient Chinese proverb “I hear I forget, I see I
David Clarke’s touchline tales Tournaments are about having fun... and winning is just a bonus Our first tournament of the season was a great success. On a very rainy morning our own brand of 6-a-side fast one-touch soccer was unstoppable. I was with the U9B team and we were out to enjoy ourselves.
Fortunately at this tournament the grounds had some very high walls in them, so I could get the boys going with a few games of Slam! which they love. They can play this for hours, it gets them warmed up for the game but doesn’t wear them out for the matches.
I look on tournaments like these as the fun way to end the season. There is a lot to gain from these events, but the biggest is team bonding – the players are together for a long time in a festival atmosphere, even in the drizzle everyone was in a good mood.
I looked across at the A team and they were going through a session of heading. This surprised me rather since there would be precious little heading going on the small pitches we were playing on! The A team struggled, but my boys played some excellent passing games.
However, one of the downsides of tournaments is the length of time you have to wait between games. What I like to do is give the players something fun to do to occupy their time rather than lots of warm ups – trying to structure the players time using warm ups over such a long period spoils the festive feeling.
We played a 1-3-1 formation which worked well – in fact so well that we won the tournament. Our final analysis was Played 5, Won 4, Drawn 1, Lost 0, Goals for 8, Goals against 0. Perfect defending and great attack. I can’t wait for the next one!
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09 June 2010
Player development
weekly
Under 4s - Under 16s
Tactics
Turn a corner In April I wrote that you should hand a training session to your players and get them to come up with some set piece ideas you can use in matches. I did this last week and this was the best idea that they came up with, says David Clarke
Clever corners to lose a defender
I like this idea as it shows that my players are using their soccer brains to find a creative solution to a problem.
MIKE’S ON!
We’ve had trouble heading high balls at the near post recently and this corner tactic solves that problem by getting the ball closer to goal. From here we can more easily create goal scoring opportunities that don’t involve heading the ball.
The attacker calls for the corner taker to go short, the defender moves to cover the short coner...
My players are keen to use it at the first possible opportunity because they see it as their move. I’ve written out the steps below so you can try it with your players too. Let me know how you get on.
How it works l An attacker starts at the corner of the penalty area nearest to the side the corner is being taken from. l When the corner taker looks up the attacker moves towards them shouting their name and calling for a short corner. l A defender will come across to try to cut out the short ball. l The attacker slows, allowing the defender to get slightly in front of them, then quickly turns and moves towards the penalty area. l At that moment the corner taker plays the ball into the space that the attacker is moving into. l The defender is caught out by the move of the attacker. l The attacker is now free to either pick out a team mate in a goal scoring position or press on into the area themselves to try and score a goal.
The attacker makes a quick turn to fool the defender and the corner taker slips the ball into space...
The attacker is now free and has the defender has been taken out leaving space in the penalty area. direction of run
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pass
09 June 2010
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Games workshop
weekly
Under 4s - Under 16s
Small-sided game Warm-up
Dribble, jockey and hold off
Dribble, jockey and hold off
This is a great warm-up to get your players challenging for the ball so they are ready to play in matches.
How to play it l Arrange your players into pairs. l The partner in possession of the ball must dribble and try various skills. l The second player must jockey and continuously change position in relation to the dribbling player. l On your first whistle the player in possession now turns away from their partner and begins to hold them off. l On your second whistle, the players change roles.
Adribble fast moving 1v1 warm-up.
Five minute fitness
Half sit-ups with ball
Half sit-up with ball
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.
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How to do it l This works on the abdominal muscles without using the legs. l Lie flat on the ground with knees bent and feet flat on the ground (1). l Keep the ball as far above the head as possible throughout the drill and raise upper torso from the waist, keeping bottom firmly on the ground (2). l Slowly raise body up half way into a sitting up position (3) and hold for a count of five, then slowly lie back down. l Do 12 repetitions before resting for 30 seconds. l 2 sets of 12.
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Keep the ball high in this fitness exercise.
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: david.clarke@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 Š Green Star Media Ltd. All rights reserved.
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09 June 2010