Soccercoachw189

WELCOME…

December 8 2010 Issue 189 Under 4s - Under 16s

... to Soccer Coach Weekly. This week we’ve covered all angles, with a midfield/attack-minded main move, a dazzlingly defensive smallsided game, plus a Goalkeeper Special for SCW Surgery. And given the number of positions we’re tackling, it’s probably apt that our Formation Forum features the famously fluid Total Football principle too! Enjoy the issue...

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MIND THE GAP

Let creative midfield interplay and attacking runs bolster your goalscoring options...

MOTORING MIDFIELDERS

MOTORING MIDFIELDERS

Modern-day football formations make it essential that midfielders and attackers become accustomed to playing in congested areas. If they can display the skills needed to produce short, sharp interchanges of play, the rewards in the final third can be impressive.

Naturally, our lead session this week will not enable your players to perform free-flowing passing football to the same high standard as the likes of Arsenal and Barcelona. It will though provide a platform to help your side find a way through teams with flooded backlines, as well as those who attempt to break up play by deploying one or two holding midfield players.

Starting with an attacking triangle, you can adapt the attacking elements of this move to show the freedom of space that players can move into.

D

1

The ball is laid across the base of the attacking triangle as player A makes a A forward run.

BD

C

D

B

C

B

C

How to set it up:

A

A

•

Four attackers and four defenders are required for the session to work – in the diagram, the attackers are labelled A, B, C and D. • The drill is carried out in the final third of the field using the goal and a goalkeeper in position.

• Players A-D form a triangular shape.

• The four defenders are positioned in the shape of an upside-down letter ‘Y’, spread apart from each other but close to attacking players.

They must hold shape and allow the attackers to work angles.

2 D

D A

Getting started:

c

•

A

c B

Player A starts with the ball - he must make an angle so as to D B evade the first defender and pass to player B, before making a run Player B lays a similar ball to Aplayer C towards goal. who, after placing a pass into the feet Player B lays a similar ball to player C, who after laying a pass to • c of player D, make his own forward run. player D makes his own forward run.

B • Player D controls the ball and look for runs from A and C, whereby he lays a pass off to his chosen man.

• In this instance, Player A receives the pass. Making sure to stay movement without ball pass onside, he fires at goal with a first-time shot. shot Player C must continue his run in order to take advantage of any • loose balls or rebounds. pass • Vary passing shapes but always ensure a centralised midfield movemovement without ball breaks out into a double-headed attack.

Why this works:

shot

The session requires speedy and decisive passing over short distances. Opposition defenders are used as solid obstacles meaning attackers are encouraged to sidestep their man so as to find an angle for a pass.

The move should prove that the fewer touches each player takes, the quicker and more accurate the pass is likely to be, and with two attacking outlets, the last two defenders will need to make quick decisions as to which player to track.

Try to repeat this move until the attacking players can produce the quick interchanges using only one touch each.

2010/11: THE PREMIER LEAGUE’S PROLIFIC PASSERS

movement without ball shotBy player:

pass

1. John Obi Mikel - Chelsea, 963 (89% pass completion) 2. Barry Ferguson - Birmingham, 864 (84%) 3. Danny Murphy - Fulham, 798 (83%) 4. Michael Essien - Chelsea, 796 (88%) 5. Darren Fletcher - Man United, 763 (86%)

By team: 1. Chelsea, 5,740 2. Arsenal, 5,673

3. Man United, 5,365 4. Man City, 5,103 Source: Opta

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COACHING COLLECTION

a

SAID WARM-UP LIKE A PRO How to set it up: •

Create a suitable area so that each of your players has a few yards of space around him in which he will practise with the ball at his feet.

Getting started:

KEY ELEMENTS

DYNAMIC MOVEMENTS • Awareness • Concentration • Ball Control • Versatility

DYNAMIC MOVEMENTS Players use close control and movement, following the coach’s instructions

•

The players must react to your demonstration and then repeat the move, as follows: 1. The players make two steps towards the ball and then perform a big step-over with the right foot followed by two steps backwards. The exercise is then repeated for the left foot.

2. The players jog towards the ball and then make jockey movements backwards.

3. 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.

4. The players make side steps towards the ball and then perform a high step-over the ball with one leg before repeating in the opposite direction with the other leg.

5. The players jog behind their ball and then listen for your call of “right” or “left”.

The players must quickly react and circle the ball in the direction called.

6. The players repeat the same as above but this time they must jump over the ball and land before circling the ball.

Why this works: Young players can be notoriously lazy when it comes to warming up properly, but put a ball at their feet and they’ll be much more receptive. In this warm-up, players very rarely touch the ball, yet they are moving their limbs and rehearsing solid playing technique for any match situation that might follow.

SAID LIKE A PRO This week we catch up with a veteran of over 400 senior matches, Sheffield Wednesday centre-back Darren Purse…

“The older you get in football, the more you begin to have your own ideas about the game. I am progressing into coaching as I reach the latter days of my playing career, but I’m not looking to hang up my boots any time soon. If I can still be playing in three years’ time, whilst also helping to bring young players into the game, then I’ll be happy.

“Speaking of youngsters, it does seem that there is a distinct lack of them coming through at the moment. There is more and more pressure on coaches to produce talent, but we must accept that it’s a consequence of a successful Premier League that means kids are having to ply their trade further down the ladder.

“But the national side will only deteriorate further if this is not addressed and I, like all the other coaches out there, hope I can play my part.

“I’m very interested in training methods and am in the process of compiling lists of the good and the bad from my time as a

pro. A lot is made of some of the innovative and slightly off the wall techniques that have come over from the continent. There seems a lot of non-ball stuff, which I find strange, particularly when we are crying out for the English game to become more technical.

“And if a ball is the tool of our trade, surely we should be embracing it, with both feet! I realise there is always a big reaction when England do poorly at a national tournament, but I do agree that this should be the time when we really sit back and try to build again from the bottom up. We have so much going for us plus, we hope, a World Cup in 2018 to prepare for, so this is a chance to do something properly, and it should begin in the local parks.”

“We are crying out for the English game to become more technical.”

player movement

player movement

stepover

stepover

FOOTBALL PHILOSOPHIES...

SAY WHAT?

Majestic football quotes from the tomes of literature and philosophy...

“Five days shalt thou labour, as the Bible says. The seventh day is the Lord thy God’s. The sixth day is for football.”

- Anthony Burgess “To the aesthete it is an art form, an athletic ballet. To the spiritually inclined it is a religion.” - Paul Gardner “Football is all very well as a game for rough girls, but is hardly suitable for delicate boys.” - Oscar Wilde “I think football would become an even better game if someone could invent a ball that kicks back.” - Eric Morecambe “Why is there only one ball for 22 players? If you gave a ball to each of them, they’d stop fighting for it.”

- (Author Unknown) “Football, it seemed to me, is not really played for the pleasure of kicking a ball about, but is a species of fighting.”

- George Orwell

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COACHING COLLECTION DAVID CLARKE’S TOUCHLINE TALES

This is a great game for angles of defence and changing roles in attack.

LETTING STOP/START PLAY ITS PART I was running an exercise this week with my players grouped in 3v3s, and one lad in particular stood out. I wanted the rest of the group to watch some of his actions, so I kept stopping play to show them how he was using skill and movement to create space for himself - space that opened up the opposing three players and allowed him to score.

Using a ‘stop and recreate’ method is a great way of showing young players how certain things work during games, and teaches them in slow motion how to prevent a negative situation developing. If you do stop and recreate play you must do it quickly, always ensuring you get each player back to the positions they were originally in.

On this occasion it worked really well with the player involved keen to repeat what he was doing, but after a while the others began to resent being stopped and were getting irritated by my constant recreating of certain situations.

So always know the appropriate time to move on and let the game flow again. If you use ‘stop and recreate’ methods in your coaching you must look out for signs of irritation from players.

Another method is to run the exercise or game again without stopping, then at the end talk about what you saw and how you felt they were progressing. Whatever method you choose, you should quickly notice subtle differences in the way your team play or position themselves.

At the moment, this is how I plan out my sessions in order to include a ‘stop and recreate’ exercise:

This is a good way to control the whole session if you are coaching for an hour, and is one that keeps the players interested. It gives you the best set-up to get coaching points across whilst ensuring that your players are still developing their techniques and skills.

And remember, a good Q&A session for five minutes at the end will help you find out if your players have understood and learnt from you.

• •

Warm up - 10 minutes Exercise or game with ‘stop and recreate’ technique - 10 minutes • Same exercise or game letting it flow to the end - 10 minutes • Small-sided game - 15 minutes • Warm down - 10 minutes • Q&A with players at the end - 5 minutes

SCW SURGERY THIS WEEK’S COACH: HARRY HEMLOCK GROUP: GOALKEEPERS Harry is a retired professional goalkeeping coach...

Q

Q

A

A

I have a goalkeeper who has real potential, but he is never interested when warming up which means it takes him a while to get into matches. Do you have any advice?

Paul Trafford, Portsmouth.

You must stress the need to be ready from the off. Once the first whistle blows, he must be prepared for whatever the opposition is going to throw at him. It might be that you need to concede an early goal one week for him to realise this!

But there’s a bigger concern that he could do himself an injury if he doesn’t loosen up his body properly. I would suggest he begins to warm-up normally with the outfield players, then for the last five or 10 minutes prior to kick-off another coach spends time firing a variety of shots at him from close range. If he is afforded a bespoke warm-up schedule, he’ll more likely take it seriously and will be both physically and mentally better prepared for the game.

Got a question for SCW Surgery?

Email it in to us at james.evans@coach-soccer.com

My young side of six-year-olds recently lost our goalkeeper. How can I persuade players to alternate between the sticks until we find a new stopper?

Martin Crabtree, Twickenham.

I can completely understand why some young kids don’t want to go in goal, particularly if the team is losing matches. We are dealing with pretty fragile temperaments here. Not only can it be lonely and deflating in goal, but repositioned former outfield players don’t want to be put in a position where they might be letting the team down.

The trick here really is to teach players that conceding goals is the fault of the team, not the keeper. And that whoever does go in goal, they are filling in until a new keeper arrives.

While your lack of a stopper is obviously a problem, it does present a great opportunity to really firm up your team’s defensive elements. The aim should be that the keeper rarely has to touch the ball, and in that, you’re looking for defenders to block any forward attacks, with midfielders dropping back also.

Create a siege mentality and see how your players react.

Q

My goalkeeper does not like taking goal kicks as he can’t get the ball high enough or far enough. At the moment, they’re taken by our centre-back, but the situation can’t continue like this.

What should I do?

Karl Johnson, Corby.

A

I’m afraid that there is no magic formula that will instantly make your goalkeeper take kicks the way you or him want to, other than to practice. You’ll find that with practise comes confidence, and with confidence comes consistency.

Assuming you are helping him in that respect, in the meantime you may want to give him control of the goal-kicks yet tell the outfield players to come a little closer maybe to the edge of the box - where they will receive short and quick passes.

Obviously, you don’t want your team to be penned in their own half, but doing this does mean that players have to be more inventive in constructing passing moves upfield, and it still allows for occasional longer kicks that may catch the opposition off guard.

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 Contributors: David Clarke, Paul Dargan, Chris Galea, Joe McQuoid, Steve Southern © Green Star Media Ltd. All rights reserved.

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COACHING COLLECTION

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THE ART OF COACHING CHILDREN

OVERCOMING PERFORMANCE ERRORS A performance error happens because a player cannot perform a skill in a match that they can do in training.

Once you have identified this type of error and the player has acknowledged that there is a particular problem, you can set about helping him to correct it.

TIREDNESS

Tiredness is the easiest cause to diagnose and overcome. Ask the player about their pre-match routine. What and when do they eat? How much do they drink before a game? Do they sleep well before matches?

If necessary, get the player to keep a simple diary logging their exact routine.

Based on their answers you can advise them about eating and drinking before games to maximise their performance.

TACTICAL NAIVETY Speak to the player about what they would do in different game situations. Get them to talk through their decisions during exercises and games in training. In terms of overcoming the problem, put them into more game-related scenarios, and see how they respond.

Players can often learn more on how to play in different situations by experiencing them. Encourage players to talk to each other about what worked and what didn’t. Ask the defenders what they saw and how easy different options were to defend against.

ANXIETY ABOUT THE GAME The first step in overcoming pre-match nerves is for the player to realise that everyone else feels the same way and that if they can control their nerves they can turn it into a positive.

Different things work for different players and you may have to try a number of options before finding one which works.

Pre-match routines can help overcome nerves. Introduce a period of relaxation before games. Players sit quietly and focus on their breathing while you speak to individuals and give them positive messages about their own performances. Use self talk and visualisation to help players remember things they are good at, or aspects in which they excelled in past performances.

In some cases, changing a player’s position in the team can help them rebuild confidence. For example, moving a struggling winger to full-back can help to alleviate some of the responsibility on them.

FORMATION FORUM THIS WEEK: HOW ARSENE WENGER HAS ADAPTED TOTAL FOOTBALL TO ARSENAL We delve once more under the surface of the tactical formations that famously make teams tick...

As portrayed by: The Gunners (and Barcelona), who have revised and reinvented the hugely successful football blueprint as developed by former Ajax coach Jack Reynolds and, later, Rinus Michels.

The legacy: Reynolds was a former English footballer who moved to the Netherlands during the outbreak of World War I. His innovation was the basis for Ajax’s first eight league title successes.

Michels further developed the concept for ‘de Amsterdammers’ and the Dutch national team during their most resilient spell of the 1970s.

into pressed, tight situations in any area of open play.

• The ball retention and movement of players in possession has to be fluid and effective at all times.

• The ability to confuse defences is also paramount. This is done by keeping the ball on the ground as often as possible, creating diversions, and opening up multiple passing options, with an exchange of players across all positions a key element.

• Barcelona’s interpretation of Total Football is as much about ball movement as it is interchanging positions.

BACKGROUND:

MAIN STRENGTH:

• The original foundation of Totaalvoetbal is that any outfield player can replace any other in the starting XI, enabling greater fluidity, and making it much more difficult to be caught out of position.

• Arsenal and Barcelona now implement this in their current line-ups where they play 4-3-3 formations. Most of their players are able to operate in the variety of front six positions when counter-attacking.

• It means that the opposition can rarely relax, and more often than not find themselves relinquishing possession.

KEY ELEMENTS: •

Total Football is about filling empty spaces on the pitch, forcing the opposition

The 4-3-3 formation was the basis of the Total Football structure

The idea that any outfield player can adopt the position of any other is Total Football’s strength. Its versatility creates a monopoly of the ball because players aren’t tied to the position, and a monopoly of the ball implies, in nearly all cases, a monopoly of goalscoring opportunities.

KEY WEAKNESS: A concentration on retaining possession can also be Total Football’s downfall. Teams who can successfully soak up pressure are often capable of producing ruthless counter-attacking moves. In addition, the need or desire to ‘walk the ball into the net’ through Total Football is a criticism often levelled, particularly at Arsenal.

Fluidity is key in switching both the ball and player position player movement when attacking player movement when attacking player movement when attacking

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GAME ON

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SMALL-SIDED GAME

SWEEPING UP AT THE BACK •

Pitch size: 30x20 yards (min) up to 40x25 yards (max).

• Two end zones, 10 yards in from each goal-line.

• Two teams of four outfield players.

•

SKILLS

How to set it up:

• • • •

ball movement

ball movement

player movement

ball movement

SWEEPING UP AT THE BACK

Positional play Defending Attacking

player movement

player movement

1

The team in possession must figure out a way to get the ball into the end zone

2

A white player is faced with a 1v1 against the sweeper

3

The sweeper makes the tackle

Teamwork

Two keepers.

The rules: • •

No offside.

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

•

Each team sends one of their players into their defensive zone to become the sweeper or covering defender.

• The aim of the game is to dribble through the middle zone and into the opponents’ defensive zone.

• Now the player in possession has a 1v1 against the sweeper or covering defender.

• Rotate the players so that each one spends time in the sweeper role.

• The game is played for a set time period.

Why this game works: This is a simple small-sided game that displays the true value of the sweeper. His ability to stay at the heart of the action is created by dividing the pitch into designated areas, so while the attacking team can work an angle through the defensive line, there will always be this positioned defender to confront.

Let us know how you get on. Soccer Coach Weekly is always keen to hear your feedback, so email in to us at

james.evans@coach-soccer.com

player movement

ball movement

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