WELCOME…
October 6 2010 ›› Issue 180 Under 4s - Under 16s
...to another issue of Soccer Coach Weekly. We’re back with our usual mix of top training techniques, qualified coaching tips and expert advice. Plus, our new Formation Forum piece takes a look at the classic 4-4-2 set-up from the perspective of the defensive midfielder. Enjoy the issue!
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TURNING IT ON 2x2yds
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A brilliant yet simple move that emphasises the need to control, turn and move into5yds space... 2x2yds 12yds 2x2yds
CONTROL ON THE TURN
Technical ability is becoming more important than ever in the modern game, and players’ ability to control the ball and move off quickly can make a great difference to a team’s forward options. Players who possess the ability to receive, control instantly, turn and move away, have a huge advantage, particularly in the notoriously cluttered central midfield areas of youth football. This move is therefore designed to get players focused on receiving and moving off. It relies on a good first touch, and develops into a passage of play that can offer a lot to your side in terms of giving the team space and the room to breathe.
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CONTROL ON THE5ydsTURN 2x2yds
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Getting started:
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Vary weight and height of passes into the box
Why this works:
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l Add pressure by making the supply man follow his pass with the aim of trying to tackle the player controlling the ball.
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l Also add a passing target for when the player reaches the second cone.
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Set up with the control box in the centre
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l Two players in the left-hand boxes take it in turns to play balls into the player in the control box. l Get the serving players to pass balls at different heights so the player gets used to controlling it with different parts of his body. l The receiving player must control the ball with one touch, ensuring he keeps it within the square. l He turns to the left and dribbles the ball to the top cone, then sprints to the second cone. l He leaves the ball at the second cone and sprints back to his control box, ready to receive a pass from the other supply man.
This is a fast-paced move that combines instant control with the need to get the ball and the player on the move quickly. Making your player vary his turning direction once he has received the ball will shape his mindset so that he is always aware he may need to turn away from tackles coming in during a normal game.
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How to set it up:
l You need three players for this move, plus a good number of balls and cones. Create a control box measuring 2x2 yards square. l From each of the two left-hand cones of the box, walk diagonally for 12 yards and create two more identical coned squares. l From each of the two right-hand cones of the box, measure 5 yards at a slight angle, placing two cones at these points.
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The player must combine instant control with the ability to turn and dribble
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Soccer Coach Weekly 1
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COACHING COLLECTION
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Warm-up DRIBBLING SQUARE
How to set it up:
l Arrange your players around the four corners of a square measuring 30x30 yards. l Along three edges set up a small square, some slalom cones, and a mannequin. The other edge has no props on it.
Key elements
Four moves for four players at any one time...
DRIBBLING SQUARE
l Versatility l Ball control l Awareness l Speed
Players move anti-clockwise performing a different task on each leg
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Getting started:
One player from each corner begins dribbling along his side of the pitch in an anticlockwise direction. Depending on where he starts, his task will be to: 1 Dribble into the small square, complete two turns, then dribble to the opposite side. 2 Dribble and slalom in and out of the cones to the opposite side. 3 Dribble and jockey past the mannequin. 4 Dribble the ball quickly using various parts of both feet (inside, outside, sole).
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Why this works:
This is a simple warm-up, elements of which you’ve probably performed many times yourself in the past. Combining them all into one move though (and in a square area that leads players to come back round to the point they started from) means that everyone gets to try each specialism, and there are always four moves going on at any one time.
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SAID LIKE A PRO We ask some of the game’s professionals about their training ground gripes, past and present. This week, it’s Rotherham United coach and veteran midfielder Paul Warne. “People may be surprised to hear that we use a lot of continental training philosophy here in South Yorkshire because most of the methods I use come from Dutch theory programmes – so lots of stuff about short, intense work. All the drills are based on the rule of four minutes hard effort followed by three minutes recovery. Even if it’s a mini game I try to implement this. “I don’t subscribe to the idea of 10-mile runs and all that long-distance work, so all of our fitness moves are about timing and short burst activities. The only long-distance running we did during the summer was a 1km run in four minutes, breaking every 250m for a one minute rest. “I get the impression the long-distance stuff is being phased out more and more these days, because most of the lads have got a good aerobic base already. That means doing training over 1km is a waste of time. I also won’t do hill running or cross
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country because that can increase the risk of knee and back injuries. Some managers feel that the long-distance running drills get the best out of players and make them push through the pain barrier, but you can go on cruise control. In my short burst drills you have to be fully focused from start to finish as the intensity never stops. “Overall, I try to implement the stuff that I felt most benefitted me during my playing career, and so far I think it’s serving us well. What you must always remember as a coach is that you cannot treat the whole team as one, because players are at such different levels, in terms of age, stature, mental toughness and natural fitness. The most important thing is realising in each what it takes to get fit, and then making sure that each player maintains that condition throughout the season.”
“Doing any training over 1km is a waste of time.”
FOOTBALL PHILOSOPHIES... Say What?
No player can be brilliant all of the time. Here’s four ways to boost the confidence of one of your team if he has had a bad game or an unusually poor training session.
“We’ve all been there” - empathy is a great tool. Your player will know he didn’t do well, but making him accept the fact that he’s encountered an off-day, just like some of the best in the world, will make him feel a lot better! “Ignore the bad stuff, you were brilliant at...” - kids can often be over-critical, so push the poor elements to one side and praise them for what they did well. “Did you forget to go to bed last night?!” - give them a way out. If they were unusually poor there’s a fair chance there are extenuating circumstances, and you can get them to open up. “Next week is a new challenge” draw a line under what has happened and get positive.
Soccer Coach Weekly 2
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COACHING COLLECTION TouchLine Tales
KEEPING YOUR COOL WHEN THE HEAT IS ON My Under-10s played this week, a match they were controlling for long periods, and playing some good soccer at the same time. The most influential player on the pitch was my attacking midfielder who scored a fantastic goal as well as setting up another for a team-mate. The opposition were obviously aware of how well he was playing so double marked him in the second-half. At one point he got sandwiched between two players and went down clutching his side. The referee just waved play on and I could see he was aggrieved. At the next coming together, he went in two-footed on his opposite number a tackle which caused uproar from opposition parents and players. The referee came across and asked me to take him off or he would send him off. Of course, I agreed, but my player was very upset by this because he felt he was the one who had been fouled initially and he was being punished as a result of it. It was a great shame, but I took him to one side and explained that the referee cannot see what happens in every tackle, and that before then he had played brilliantly in the
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centre of the park. Yet whatever the circumstances, I made it clear that he could not plan revenge by committing a foul himself. The better way to have dealt with it would have been to have brushed it off and scored again, rather than giving the opposition the advantage by having a man dismissed, something that very nearly happened.
himself and the team down. Talking to your players about incidents on the pitch is far better than siding against the referee and shouting from the sidelines, which I have witnessed before and no doubt will again in future. Players really do learn from their experiences, and they’ll have plenty more of them playing youth football!
“If the referee had been less lenient we could have been in trouble.” As there were only five minutes left in the game we coped with the loss of our best player and ran out 2-0 winners. However, if the incident had happened earlier in the game and the referee had been less lenient, we could have been in trouble. My player understood the explanation I gave him, and I think the lesson had been learned. He missed some of the game so he knows next time if he retaliates he will let
scw Surgery THIS WEEK’S COACH: Tom Monkhouse AGE GROUP: ACADEMY
Tom Monkhouse has coached professional Academy players in Sweden, Iceland, Ireland and England
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How do I train my players to be more accurate with their shooting? Ray Arber, Norwich Well this one just comes down to one thing - practise. Unfortunately, there are no quick-fix methods. That may sound like a cliché, but it’s true - if you do something right enough times it will become second nature. Even professional players need to practise daily and you can never be too good at something. Of course, there are many moves that can help your players, and trying to pick a certain spot over and over is arguably the best, but don’t ignore the old-fashioned technique of telling players to really get their laces through the ball and to give it a whack. Footballs are becoming lighter all the time, and the threat of a ball swerving and moving through the air can very easily be worth a few goals throughout the course of the season, so if they want to shoot from long range, let them!
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A couple of my players recently got turned down having trialled at semi-pro clubs. How can I pick them back up? Tom Cleverley, Cardiff You don’t need to be a coach to know that the road to the professional game sees the hopes of tens of thousands of kids dashed along the way. And it can be a tough. As a coach, if you have players being invited to spend some time with local clubs of any note, then you are in a good position and it is a credit to the ingredients that you put into the mix that your squad are earning acclaim. But this is where the other side of the job comes in, and that’s lifting those kids. The most important thing is to state that any rejection is just that, one rejection. There are opportunities to impress every week, and many Academy-aged players won’t actually develop their game fully for another five years or so. The other thing is to realign the players’ minds back to what it was that got them involved in the sport in the first place – a love for the game.
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Do you think it makes much of a difference for players to be training on all-weather pitches? Duncan Wilkinson, Didcot Most definitely. All-weather pitches are not only practical and convenient, but they help players adapt to the football behaving in a different way. Obviously the pitches these days are better than those a decade or two ago, but where possible I’d try to mix it up because it all helps in terms of awareness and control. When it comes to playing matches on artificial surfaces, well that’s a different matter. I’m not sure I believe in that, because you cannot beat playing competitively on grass. The realism of the pass and the game cannot be replicated on an artificial surface. But no-one wants to come back from training caked in mud, so use anything to your advantage if it helps the players.
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Got a question for SCW Surgery? Email it in to us at james.evans@coach-soccer.com
Soccer Coach Weekly is published by Green Star Media Ltd, Meadow View, Tannery Lane, Bramley, Guildford, GU5 0AB, UK. Email: james.evans@coach-soccer.com Tel: +44 (0)1483 892894 Fax: +44 (0)1483 894148 Editor: James Evans Publisher: Kevin Barrow Managing Director: Andrew Griffiths Customer Service: Duncan Heard Designer: Isobel Cardew Contributors: David Clarke, Paul Dargan, Mike Ronald, Steve Southern © Green Star Media Ltd. All rights reserved.
Soccer Coach Weekly 3
TACTICAL TALK
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THE ART OF COACHING CHILDREN
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON?
A brief guide to keeping football in the family... The majority of youth sides are coached by one of the player’s parents – it’s how a lot of coaches get involved in the game, after all, when taking over the reins from another Dad. This can kick-start a massive learning curve as many parents’ boots were probably hung up several years before. More importantly though, while rookie coaches might have some technical knowledge, their understanding of youngsters’ learning processes is probably limited. And part of that learning is making sure that players (and their own parents) aren’t reacting negatively to the potentially awkward aspect of father and son operating side-by-side. If you find yourself in such a situation, here’s a quick checklist of dos and don’ts that should help you out, because coaching your own child should be a pleasure, not a headache!
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Five DOs
l Do keep football separate from any disagreements at home. l Do treat everyone in the squad the same way. l Do ask other coaches to spend time with your child rather than you always coaching them. l Do listen to your child’s feelings about you coaching them. Respect what they say, whether you like it or not. l Do get feedback from other coaches, players and parents on how your child is doing. Sometimes it’s hard to stand back and make a fair and honest judgement on your own child.
Five DOn’ts
l Don’t accept gossip and criticism from your child about other players. l Don’t favour your child when selecting or coaching. l Don’t be harder on your child because he/ she is your child.
l Don’t always pick them to demonstrate a technique or skill. l Don’t embarrass your child in front of the other players and coaches. As your child gets older, you will find they want more space and independence, especially in their teenage years. It is important you don’t outstay your time. The ideal thing to do at this point is help another team. Too many coaches stop just when they are getting good.
“Get feedback from other coaches sometimes it’s hard to stand back and make a fair and honest judgement on your own child.”
FORMATION FORUM This week: DIAMOND DESIGN - 4-4-2 and the classic defensive midfielder position. In a new series, we’ll be delving under the surface of some classic formations... As portrayed by: Dunga, one of Brazil’s 1994 World Cup winners. The legacy: Recent Sweden coach Lars Lagerback admitted it was during his home nation’s draw with Brazil in the Group stages of the 1994 World Cup that he first realised the true potential of the holding 4-4-2 formation. He has since adapted it to suit Sweden’s style.
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BACKGROUND:
l Full-backs should get forward. At least one should participate in every attack, and sometimes both. l At the start of the attack, keep the strikers together, but the further they progress forward, the more they should try to stretch the defence. l Get six or seven players forward when an attack occurs. l Crosses will come in from full-backs as frequently as the midfield players.
KEY ELEMENTS:
l The defensive midfield player is key when the team starts to attack, though he should never venture outside of the middle square in the whole game. He
must balance the team when defending but be versatile when attacking, leading play with composure, discipline and showing the ability to make a good pass. l He needs to always stay mobile, changing style to suit balls coming back from attackers or his fellow midfielders, whilst also progressing any passes forward from defence. l Because there is no classic winger, the three offensive midfielders are free in their roles. One will always try to get through into the backline of the opposing team, in effect as an additional striker. This puts more emphasis on the Dunga-esque midfielder holding back.
The classic defensive midfielder should always operate in a middle square outside of which full-backs offer additional attacking options
At the most offensive point he becomes a slick supply line for attackers or an additional outlet for midfielders dropping play back
MAIN STRENGTH:
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The 4-4-2 formation has equal capabilities in defence and attack, and it means players cover almost the whole pitch, from box to box.
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KEY WEAKNESS:
It remains quite rigid compared to other formations, meaning that players have to expend energy getting back.
movement ball movementwithout without ball movement without ball
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Soccer Coach Weekly 4
Game on
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MIDDLE OR WIDE ADVANTAGE small-sided game PITCHING IT TIGHT player movement shot on goal
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shotplayers’ on goal How limiting space can widen vision...
How to set it up
player movement shot on goal
Skills
l Pitch size: 30x20 l Vision yards (min) up to 40x25 yards (max). l Passing l This is a 4v4 game l Control plus two keepers. l Construct two channels of 5 yards in width, one down each side of the pitch from the touchline. l The game is played for a set time period of 10 minutes.
ball movement
PITCHING IT TIGHT
l Awareness
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The team in possession must pass up the middle of the pitch
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The narrow pitch means they need to pass accurately and shoot quickly
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Play from end to end as you would do a normal game
The rules
l Play as you would do a normal game, but with no offside rule. l If the ball leaves play, you have a few re-start options: 1 The coach passes a new ball onto the pitch 2 The players take a roll in 3 The players take a throw in 4 The players make a pass in 5 The players dribble in l The aim of the game is for the teams to score in each other’s goal, whilst negotiating a much narrower playing area.
Why this game works
Although simple in concept, this is a difficult smallsided game, and one that is brilliant when preparing for situations where space on the pitch is at a premium – for instance when two sides slot five men into midfield. The fact the pitch remains long in length means that play can be spread about. That said, attackers must be sure of their control and angle of approach, as the defender’s task is made that much easier by only having to cover a relatively small width. Teams will generally find that they need to build up through the middle of the pitch using quick skills and passing combinations, so close control and good technique is encouraged and can serve teams well.
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Soccer Coach Weekly 5