WELCOME…
December 22 2010 Issue 191 Under 4s - Under 16s
FOSTER CARE
W E E K LY
... to Soccer Coach Weekly. He’s the lone figure in the goal, sometimes even labelled a madman! But every great footballing side of the past has had a reliable keeper at the back. So this week we’re dedicating our main session to the man between the sticks. We’ve also got all the usual training tips and techniques, plus a chat with Welsh international Brian Stock. Enjoy the issue...
SAVING THE DAY FOSTER CARE
Anyone who saw Birmingham City goalkeeper Ben Foster’s incredible save to deny Chelsea’s Didier Drogba in the Premier League last month will have been reminded of Gordon Banks’ epic stop that foiled Pele at the 1970 World Cup.
1
2
Drogba’s vicious downward header seemed destined for the bottom corner, but Foster scooped the ball clear, adding to a number of other world-class saves in the match. It earned his side an impressive 1-0 victory against the champions. In youth teams, the goalkeeper can sometimes get neglected because of time constraints, and the fact that outfield players can be taught in one group together. So here’s a lead move designed specifically for the game’s last line of defence. Always remember to give your keeper the time he deserves. Make him feel special and in confidence terms alone, you’ll get an extra 10% out of him.
The keeper protects a smaller area and practises throwing technique when a shot is saved
The attacker spins around and shoots
3
How to set it up: •
In a standard goal, begin with a light warm-up, feeding balls to your keeper at low speed.
•
Place a cone inside each goalpost at a distance of between one and two yards, depending upon your keeper’s skill level – the more skilled he is, the nearer to the post you place the cone.
•
An attacker then needs to position himself on the six-yard line with some footballs.
serve
Getting started: •
Get the attacker to shoot from behind the six-yard line, aiming between the cones to give your keeper a concentrated area to protect.
• Every time the keeper makes a save and holds on to the ball, he clears it by throwing it over the attacker’s head to the feet of the coach. 2
serve 1
serve
throw
throw throw
shot
shot
shot
4
Short goalkicks build play from the back
5
Instruct longer balls as the keeper’s confidence grows
•
Next, remove the cones from the goal and position your attacker on the edge of the box. The coach serves a ball in to the player, who must turn and shoot first time, giving your stopper a shot to save from further out. 3
•
Now rehearse goal kick scenarios. Keepers are rarely closed down by attackers at goal kicks – instead, defenders are goal side. Your keeper should take advantage of this by playing short balls, as shown in 4 . Short balls do not always have to be to the nearest man. In this instance, the winger and full-back play a one-two to build attacking moves from the back.
•
Once your keeper has improved his confidence at finding a man, encourage him to seek out players further up the pitch (rather than just kicking aimlessly). 5 A ball flicked into space can produce immediate attacking options if your team is well drilled.
Why this works: These are a range of progressive keeper drills, each one expanding in difficulty, and each allowing your last line of defence to develop his skills of shotstopping and distribution. By teaching these methods gradually, you will witness visible improvements in awareness, technique and confidence.
ground covered
ground covered
pass
pass
Soccer Coach Weekly 1
COACHING COLLECTION
W E E K LY a
SAID WARM-UP LIKE A PRO How to set it up: •
Arrange your players into two groups one in front of you, another directly behind.
•
Each group should be about 15 yards away.
KEY ELEMENTS
PASS, CONTROL AND DRIBBLE • Passing
PASS, CONTROL AND DRIBBLE
• Dribbling • Control
The player passes, controls, then receives the ball and dribbles forward
• Speed
Getting started: •
The players make a pass to you. You make a return pass and the player dribbles out.
• •
The player joins the back of the other queue.
As coach, you then turn to receive a pass coming from the other direction, and so on.
•
You can experiment with various return passes – a ball along the ground, a bouncing pass, or an aerial loop.
•
The players must adjust to the serve, control the ball to the floor, then dribble out.
Why this works: This is a short move that tests control and gets players on the move. You’ll be looking for individuals to adjust their feet and body shape in order to receive your served pass. They must concentrate on the ball, show a soft touch, and be able to progress quickly and efficiently over the playing area, so this move tests directly all of the elements that they’ll encounter in a standard game.
movement without ball ball run withrun ballwith ball movement without pass pass
SAID LIKE A PRO This week we talk training ground trials and tribulations with Wales international Brian Stock… “I’ve always believed in surrounding yourself with people who know you and your game well. It’s essential that you can link-up well both in matches and on the training ground, but for me a lot of that is mental as well as physical. “I think all players need to feel as if they are understood in the way they play and the things they do. And if you can build that understanding with a coach or a manager – as well as with your teammates – then it’s clear you might have a recipe for success.
“So much of being a good player is having a great coach.”
“I’ve never really looked back after joining Doncaster Rovers in September 2006 from Preston North End. “It was manager Sean O’Driscoll who signed me following an initial loan spell. He took time to see the best in me. “Sean had previously been my manager at AFC Bournemouth, so I owe a double debt of gratitude to him - for giving me my debut as a 19-year-old and for rescuing me from a spell at Preston where things weren’t really happening for me. Any player will tell you it is great to be playing under a manager or a coach who knows your game so well. “He even made me captain in 2008 after our regular skipper was sidelined with a foot injury, and I wore the armband in the League One play-off final where we beat Leeds United at Wembley. In the time since, I have gained international honours, which is a huge thing, obviously. “As with any central midfielder, I am always looking to improve my shooting, particularly from long range. In training it’s probably 50% overall positional play, 30% attacking shape and 20% defensive awareness, and with Sean everything is done meticulously. So much of being a good player is having a great coach, and I know how lucky I am in that respect.”
FOOTBALL PHILOSOPHIES...
SAY WHAT?
Majestic and mad football quotes from the beautiful game... “If you lose you are a stupid manager, if you win you are a top manager.” - Under-fire Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini. “He was a lion of a man – no, make that three lions” - Gary Lineker’s tribute to the late Sir Bobby Robson. “Mind you, I’ve been here during the bad times too - one year we came second.” - Former Liverpool manager Bob Paisley. “I was just saying to your colleague, the referee has got me the sack, thank him ever so much for that, won’t you?” - Former England manager Graham Taylor. “He was certainly full of it, calling me ‘boss’ and ‘big man’ when we had our post-match drink. But it would help if his greetings were accompanied by a decent glass of wine. What he gave me was paint stripper.” - Sir Alex Ferguson describes his first meeting with Jose Mourinho.
Soccer Coach Weekly 2
W E E K LY
COACHING COLLECTION DAVID CLARKE’S TOUCHLINE TALES
This is a great game for angles of defence and changing roles in attack.
HALF-TIME IS PLAYER TIME I’ve changed the way I do my half-time team talk. It’s an experiment, and so far this season it has worked very successfully. Only on one occasion have we been ahead then given the lead away in the second-half. Indeed, twice we have come from behind to win the game. I decided to change my half-time directive after watching a compilation of matches in the World Cup and Champions League that went to penalty shoot-outs. Notably, at the end of extra-time, there was no huddle of players out on the pitch. The most successful teams seemed to benefit from the coach or manager going up to each player individually and talking to them one-to-one. So I decided that instead of going down the traditional route of getting my players to sit around and listen to me orchestrate the team talk, I would allow them to stand around either with their parents or in small groups and talk to them that way.
The time spent with each individual was only about 20 seconds, so I encouraged and gave each player one specific thing to think about in relation to their game, and how they maybe needed to modify or change it in the second period: “Great dribbling but sometimes try to pass the ball to the overlapping player…” “Some fantastic clearances, but watch the player who keeps getting goalside...”
“I can control what each individual player hears and the rest of the team can stay focused.”
It is also good for coaches who do not like the pressure of having to do a fiveminute talk when parents and players are all listening together. Like I said, it’s only an experiment, but so far it’s working for me. I haven’t tried it with players who are over 12 years of age yet, but I will do over the next few months and will let you know how I get on.
In this way I can control what each individual player hears and the rest of the team can stay focused without thinking that what I am saying does not affect them – like attackers listening to me discussing defensive play.
SCW SURGERY THIS WEEK’S COACH: TERRENCE JONES GROUP: 9 TO 12-YEAR-OLDS
Q
Terrence is a Level 2 coach who lead a community football initiative in South Africa last year…
My team often takes the lead in matches but doesn’t have the stamina to stay ahead. Do you have any advice on how to combat this? Eric McPartland, Norwich.
A
You have to ask yourself if this is physical stamina or mental stamina. If it’s the former, the chances are you’re not controlling properly how they use their energy on the pitch. It sounds as if your players are chasing balls when they don’t need to, and I suspect they’re losing goals not only through tiredness, but because they’re out of position as well. Ensure your players are operating as a unit, not individuals. And next time they take the lead, get them to play ‘keep ball’ – when in possession they should be wearing the other side out. If it’s mental strength, your task is to get the players to believe they are good enough. Always point out the positives in what they do, and reinforce the idea that, if they take the lead in a game, they are the better team, and they have every right to go on and win the match.
Q
Q
A
A
Some of my players’ parents complain that I rotate the team too much, and are threatening to take their kids elsewhere! How do I make them see that everyone needs to play? Rob Chew, Inverness. This is always an awkward situation and one in which you need to keep everybody happy. I believe if the results are good enough, then you are perfectly within your rights to make changes. As long as you explain to the individuals the reasons behind why they are being replaced or rested, you should be fine. At the end of the day, you are the coach and your decision is final. Naturally, it is typical – and understandable – that a parent who wants to turn up to see his child play may become frustrated, but everyone must feel involved, or you’ve lost the benefit of having a squad in the first place! Maybe call a meeting with any disgruntled parents to explain your course of action, and how you feel it will benefit the team as a whole in the long-run.
Got a question for SCW Surgery?
There are players in my side who don’t pass the ball to anyone else but their mates and this is upsetting the harmony of the team. Have you any advice? Bill Clarke, Nottingham. No matter how good the players are and no matter how many goals they score, you’re managing a team first and foremost. You can’t let them continue to do as they wish. Eventually, the other players will leave. It will happen, believe me, because I’ve seen it before. If you feel there are different factions within the squad – which will happen most of the time, because 11 players are rarely all great mates away from the team – then you need to address things very quickly. If you also feel that there are a small group purposely excluding the other players, then speak to the team as a whole (without singling out individuals) and monitor the situation for a couple of weeks in the hope it will improve. And try to give players in-game targets, like passing the ball between at least six team-mates before trying to score.
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 Contributors: David Clarke, Paul Dargan, Chris Galea, Steve Southern © Green Star Media Ltd. All rights reserved.
Soccer Coach Weekly 3
COACHING COLLECTION
W E E K LY
THE ART OF COACHING CHILDREN
ORGANISING LARGE GROUPS Moving from one exercise or game to another in training can often be a nightmare, especially if that means changing the group numbers each time.
NUMBERS GAME The ‘numbers game’ is a simple contest that allows you to get a player quickly into any size of group. At the same time, you can develop your players’ movement, running and agility skills, plus their reactions. Set up a square at the side of where you train. It needs to be big enough for your players to run around in, but small enough so that they will need to move constantly to avoid contact. At the end of any exercise, move all your players into the square and get them
running around avoiding contact with each other. When you call out a number – ‘three’, for example - the players need to get into groups of that number as quickly as possible, and crouch down. The last group (or anyone not in a group of the correct number) must do a small forfeit such as star jumps, press-ups or some crunches.
Encourage players to find new partners every time so they all get a chance to work with different team-mates. To make larger groups – eight, for example - get the players into groups of four and then merge two together. This is much quicker than trying to get the players into groups of eight straight off.
PROGRESSION
“Encourage players to find new partners every time so they all get a chance to work with different team-mates.” Once in their new groups, you can move on to the next exercise quickly and without players arguing about who is in whose group.
You can have the players perform different skills as they move around the square. For example, put a number of balls in the square and have the players pass them around as they move; and then whilst skipping, or moving sideways or backwards.
FORMATION FORUM THIS WEEK: WHAT ARE THE BEST USES OF THE 4-2-4 FORMATION? We delve once more under the surface of the tactical formations that famously make teams tick... As portrayed by: Brazil in the 1950s, Manchester United’s double-winning side in 1994 and Newcastle United, also in the mid-1990s.
•
BACKGROUND:
•
•
This formation was devised in the early 1950s as a way of trying to find a strong forward line or backline. It was a counter tactic to teams who tried to control the game in midfield.
•
4-2-4 was invented when most teams were using three defenders, so adding an extra man at the back was seen to make it stronger.
•
A similar ploy up front meant four attackers against a traditional line of three defenders, providing the team could get the ball forward efficiently.
•
Over the last 60 years or so, the 4-2-4 formation has been incorporated into sides who play an attacking version of 4-4-2.
•
Manchester United perfected this in the mid 1990s, operating Ryan Giggs and Andrei Kanchelskis in the two winger roles.
KEY ELEMENTS: • •
The defence consisted of a flat back four.
There were just two midfielders, but four attackers, comprised of two wingers and two central strikers.
The original concept was to have six attackers when in possession and six defenders when on the retreat – the two midfield players performing both roles. The formation needed at least one central defender to be creative going forward, since his immediate passing options upfield were sparse.
•
If performed well, the formation was fluid enough to be changed during the game, with attacking wingers dropping back when necessary.
MAIN STRENGTH:
A standard 4-2-4 set-up
The formation’s main attribute was in its attacking ability, which was almost cavalierlike. Brazil displayed that fact during their World Cup triumphs of 1958 and 1970, while Kevin Keegan and Ossie Ardiles were advocates too on British soil. The plan was that the team using 4-2-4 always scored more than the opposition, with defence not a priority.
KEY WEAKNESS: A lack of defensive thinking was exactly the formation’s downfall. If another side could dominate midfield, they would starve their opponents of the ball, rendering attacking players largely isolated.
This attack-minded formation required
strong midfield support player movement when attacking
player movement when attacking
player movement when attacking
Soccer Coach Weekly 4
GAME ON
W E E K LY
SMALL-SIDED GAME
AWESOME OVERLOADS •
Pitch size: 30x20 yards (min) up to 40x25 yards (max).
• •
Two teams of four players. Two keepers.
The rules:
SKILLS
How to set it up:
• • • •
run with ball pass/serve shot/header run with ball on goalpass/serve run with ball pass/serve shot/header on goal shot/header on goal
AWESOME OVERLOADS
Attacking Defending Awareness
1
Enter the pitch, three touches and shoot!
2
Two opponents enter and try to score in the other end
3
Move onto 3v2 for a different challenge each time
Passing
•
To start the game, the first player on the black team enters the pitch and has three touches to score against the white goalkeeper.
•
Immediately after this ball has been played, two white team players enter the pitch to create a 2v1 situation against the black player.
•
The game continues until all the players are on the pitch. The series of attacks is as follows:
• • •
BLACK
V
WHITE
1 1 3 3 4
V V V V V
GK 2 2 4 4
When all the players are on the pitch, play a two-minute 4v4. The next game starts with the white team attacking first. If at any point the ball leaves play, pass a new one onto the pitch.
Why this game works: It’s crucial that players appreciate the need to adapt between offensive and defensive situations, and this game tests those two conflicting forces in a direct way. Players will go from positive to negative overloads very quickly and will need to adjust both their position and their mental approach accordingly.
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
run with ball pass/serve shot/header on goal
Soccer Coach Weekly 5