E Coaching Magazine
HEADS UP! December 2011
Contents 1. RMA- My Take After Visiting the NTK 2. 4 v 4 Training Games 3. Making Goals Safe for Your Training 4. Coaching Education Testimonials 5. Indiana Soccer Nominations Now Open 6. US Youth Soccer Concussion Procedure and Protocol 7. Guidelines for Heading 8. Photo of the Month
RMA…it’s coming to Indiana! Vision of Rene Meulensteen “The vision of Rene Meulensteen, first team assistant coach at Manchester United, is basic and straight forward; “the team with the most creative players and players who can dominate the 1vs1 situations all over the field will be the most successful team in the world”. Rene’s vision and philosophy has proven right many times over with the confidence given to him by Sir Alex Ferguson and the continued success of Manchester United. This vision is now being carried out via The Rene Meulensteen Academy (RMA). When analyzing the game of soccer we can clearly see how important it is to have players on your team with the ability to dominate the 1vs1 situation. Attack minded, crafty players can make the difference. Yet it appears that during everyday club training very little attention is giving to this critical feature. The Meulensteen Academy will go deeper into the various 1vs1 situations, giving each coach important insight into the movements, when and where they can be used and how they affect the game.
I recently had the opportunity to travel overseas to Holland to gain a firsthand look at the training methods being utilized by Rene Meuhlensteen, Assistant coach for Manchester United. The aim was to see how his methodology, RMA, played a part in the overall skill development of the Dutch youth. The first portion of the trip allowed me to see regional training at Boxmeer, NL at the Olympia FC. Youth were arranged by age groups and then instructed in the protocol for the days “NTK” (National Technical Championship) Regional Competition. The youth were put through four circuits, once in the morning and then again in the afternoon. Coaches utilized a brief review of the skill training, and then the players got busy. The four criteria used in both sessions involved primarily: 1) individual moves and turns, 2) 1v1 to four small goals, 3) a combination of passing and 1v1 to large goal and finally 4) 4v4 to large goals. RMA trainers’ evaluated talent as the day went along, with 9 children selected for the finals to beheld two days later at the Olympic Training Center, Papendal, Netherlands. On Sunday, the finals were held and over 900 youth from throughout the Netherlands gathered for the Championships. Youths 6-10 competed in the morning, while the 11-15 year olds took the afternoon slot. The same circuit training scheme was utilized, with the first, second and third best players identified in each age grouping. I was joined by Marc Maxi (Indiana Soccer), Rene, and Fons van den Braden (Sports Partners NL) as the selection process was explained in determining the NTK winners.
NTK: Technical Championships Are you “Boss” of the ball? Are you able to make the difference on the pitch? These are the questions that go to the heart of Rene Meulensteen’s “Moves and Skills” philosophy that is the foundation of the US National Technical Championship (USNTC). The Technical Championship or USNTC series is founded on the “Moves & Skills” teaching principles of Rene, Manchester United’s first team coach. Rene’s methods are admired all around the world and many star players have praised Rene for improving their game, including Ruud van Nistelrooy and Cristiano Ronaldo (both now playing at Real Madrid, Spain).
The USNTC allows you to train like the European professional players. Players 7 – 14 years of age will enjoy a full day of technical training and games similar to what Manchester United Youth Academy player’s experience. In the Netherlands this three-year-old event has grown steadily, making it now the largest youth soccer event with 6,200 players and over 100 clubs participating. Each player will receive a soccer ball, USNTC shirt, trophy, lunch, and a personal certificate. The “Moves and Skills” learned will give the player the ability and confidence to dominate any 1v1 situation on the field. At the end of the day Rene Meulensteen Academy coaches, along with local club coaches will select the top players of each age-category to attend the USNTC final. In the final event the skill competition winners in each age-category will be recognized as the best technical players of 2010 in the US. The overall winner will earn a long weekend trip to Manchester United, the most famous soccer club in the world! He/she will watch an English Premier League game at Old Trafford (Manchester United’s famous field), tour the stadium and visit the fan-shop at “The Theatre of Dreams.”
4 v 4 Training Games Coaching via 4v4 games has been heavily influenced by the Dutch methods and philosophies. As a result, Dutch youth teams play a lot of 4 v 4 with a few of the games detailed below. Here are a few examples. Some you may be familiar with and others may give you ideas that you can use with your teams.
4 Small Goals {without keepers} The goals are positioned on the end lines spread to the width of the field. This encourages play from flank to flank and takes the play out of the middle of the field. The 4 goal setup encourages directional changes. Goals may be scored from direct passes or from a dribble. The coach may determine the exact method of scoring – a direct pass, a give and go, 1 vs. 1 dribble, switch fields to score.
End Line Soccer Teams must defend the entire width of the field. A goal is scored when the ball crosses the end line and is under control — a dribble or a pass received. The ball must cross the line and be stopped to count.
Cone Accuracy Game Place cones along the end line – spacing them apart. a goal is scored by knocking a cone down with a pass. Once the cone is down, it stays down. A competitive game for passing accuracy. Teaches players how to properly weight and pace their ball, as well as maintaining the accuracy needed to knock over the cone.
Long, Narrow field (40 x 15 yds.) The game is played to the length of the field, so the shape will start with a deep forward. The first look should be deep and then build from there. There is no width to speak of, so the shape will be determined by the length. Link up quickly with the deep set forward and go to goal. In the transition, it is very important for the deepest front player to break out and establish the shape.
Combination game – 1 keeper and an end zone goal area One team will attack the full size goal with a keeper. The other team will play to the end zone. To score in the end zone, the ball must be played or received under control. No control of the ball, no goal! The team attacking the end zone plays through the entire width of the field, while the other team then must defend the same area. Switch direction of play so that both teams attack and defend both goals.
2 small goals and 2 line goals Play directly into the small goals and play controlled through the line goals. The ball must be controlled as it passes the line goal — received by a teammate or controlled by the dribbler.
The following is an article I took yesterday from Soccer America. I believe too many of you young players are leaving up to your coaches or parents to secure the goals prior to training and games. Climbing or hanging on the goals or nets, has the potential for the goals to tip and possible cause a life threatening injury. The video at the end will show you why!!
Making Goals Safe for Your Training By Randy Vogt
The goals are 8 yards in length by 8 feet high. The youngest age groups in youth soccer will often use smaller goals. The goalposts must be white. Should referees come to a field with goalposts that are not white, play the game and report the color of the goal posts to the league. Check to make certain that there are no holes in the net that the ball could squeeze through, such as an opening between the net and the crossbar, goalposts or the area between the net and the ground. I cannot tell you how many times that I have been to fields that have been played on that day in which there are several visible holes in the nets that the ref did not try and tape. Every once in a while, the official’s view of a shot resulting in a goal will not be ideal. Perhaps he or she was screened or was at a bad angle or the sun was in the referee’s eyes. Making certain that there are no holes before the game eliminates potential problems on the vitally important task of whether to count a goal during the match. Interestingly, according to the Laws of the Game, it is not necessary for the goals to have nets. Hopefully, every game that you will be officiating will have them. Only once in my career was I ever confronted with refereeing a match without nets. This is a time when having your cell phone in your referee case with important phone numbers of league officials, referees and assignors is useful so that you can find out what the local league’s opinion is of playing a game without nets. Many portable or temporary goals now have wheels near the front post to help move the goals. When you are checking the goals, make sure that the wheel is pushed back off the goal line. Most importantly, though, is the fact that the goals must be anchored to the ground. Should the goal not be anchored, the home team or host organization is responsible for placing weights,
sand bags, etc. on the back and sides of the goal to make certain that it will not fall over. Should they not do this upon your prompting, do not start the game. To illustrate how dangerous this could be, pick up one goal post off the ground to demonstrate to all concerned how easily the goal can be dislodged. But be sure that there are no players or others nearby when you do this! A decade ago, I was an assistant referee for a tournament game played near where I live on Long Island. Before the match, I checked the south goal and it was sufficiently anchored. During the first half, the north goal, which had been checked by the other assistant referee (AR), fell over. Obviously, the other AR did not check to see if the goal had been anchored. Thankfully, nobody was hit or killed. The goal was immediately anchored so that the game could continue. There is no bigger safety issue on a soccer field than falling goals. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research, from 1979 to 2008, at least 34 fatalities and 51 major injuries in the United States occurred have been linked to unanchored or portable soccer goals. An estimated 120 people per year were treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries stemming from soccer goalposts during the period from 1989 to 1993. The serious injuries and deaths have been the result of blunt force trauma to the head, neck, chest and limbs. Most of these serious injuries and fatalities occurred during practice sessions when nobody such as coaches or other adults checked the goals to see that they were anchored before training began. Another concern is goals not being used for training but that remain unanchored on soccer fields. Taking a couple of minutes to check that the goals are anchored upon arriving at the field could save a life and a lifetime of regret.
Please take the time to watch the following video with your family. Zach's Law PSA - Promoting Soccer Goal Safety
http://youtu.be/6i8KWPxb1j4
Coaching Education Testimonials “I really enjoyed the D course. After the first weekend, I found myself looking forward to the second weekend just because of how fun and interactive the instructors made it and because of the other coaches attending. One of the most beneficial things in this course is the amount of practice coaching we have to do. The experience and feedback from those sessions helped me more than anything else. I am continually building knowledge and these sessions gave me more confidence in my own abilities. It was pretty evident that every coach there improved from the first practice session to the last, which is a testament to the instructors. What I learned in the D course will help me with organization and planning of training sessions and in managing a team in different situations. Also, the opportunity to observe different coaches, other than the ones I am around all the time, is very valuable to me. I picked up a lot in how they phrase or demonstrate things and learned ways to tweak the same activities I already do. It is so beneficial to be interacting and getting ideas from other coaches. Overall, the class gives you new perspective and is a great way to make new contacts and extend your network of fellow youth coaches in the community.” Lisa Gebhard Assistant Coach IUPUI Women's Soccer Former Player for FSV Gütersloh 2009
“I found the entire class very interesting and informative. I walked away each day with new knowledge and information. I especially liked the Analyzing the Game segments.” “As for myself, as a coach, I learned that I can utilize many of the drills I already have in my coaching toolbox in new ways to develop different skills in my players. Even though I came into the class with a wide berth of experience, I left feeling like I learned a great deal to improve my coaching.”
Geoff Gordon President, NYSL
“When I attended the D coaching course the past two weekends, I really didn't know what I was getting into. I would have to say without a doubt it was an awesome experience. I learned how to make my lesson plans flow enough, so that when practicing them, breaks could be limited and I could jump from one activity to another extremely fast. I also learned a ton of new activities to bring to my teams practices. I learned new ways of how to incorporate a goalie into the whole practice and new activities for shooting and finishing. Being a first time coach, this course is what I am going to reference to when I am trying to think of what to do at practice next week. All that we learned in the last two weekends are great references and ideas for my future practices. It was a great learning
process for me, not only about the new activities and how to use them in practice, but also for myself and what kind of a coach I will be. I learned that being a player and a coach are two completely different categories. When I played, I demanded a lot from other players and I yelled quite a bit. Now being a coach I learned how to approach situations a little differently and instead of demanding something out of someone, I learned how to explain the problem and help the player understand the reasoning to why it should be done this way as opposed to the way they have previously done it. All in all, the course was a great experience for me and I really enjoyed it.�
IUPUI #12 Margaret Allgeier Position: Defender Class: Senior Height: 5-6 Hometown: Fort Wayne, Ind. High School: Bishop Dwenger
Each year, thousands of people give their time and talents to make youth soccer possible in Indiana. Most volunteer their time without thought or need of recognition, but Indiana Soccer believes that recognizing these special individuals is a wonderful way of saying thank you. Nominations for the Indiana Soccer Awards for 2011 are now open. Please nominate a special coach, parent or administrator today. Nominate one or nominate many, there is no limit. It is very helpful if you submit several letters of recommendation from others with your nomination, but it is not necessary. Summit your APPLICATION Nominations will close on January 15, 2012. The 2012 awards dinner will be held February 25, 2012, at 6:30 PM at the Renaissance North Hotel, 11925 North Meridian Street, Carmel, Indiana. More information and reservation forms for this event will be available soon.
Concussion Procedure and Protocol For US Youth Soccer Events Concussion: a traumatic brain injury that interferes with normal brain function. Medically, a concussion is a complex, pathophysiological event to the brain that is induced by trauma which may or may not involve a loss of consciousness (LOC). Concussion results in a constellation of physical, cognitive, emotional, and sleep-related symptoms. Signs or symptoms may last from several minutes to days, weeks, months or even longer in some cases. CONCUSSION SIGNS, SYMPTOMS, AND MANAGEMENT AT TRAINING AND COMPETITIONS Step 1: Did a concussion occur? Evaluate the player and note if any of the following signs and/or symptoms are present: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
Dazed look or confusion about what happened. Memory difficulties. Neck pain, headaches, nausea, vomiting, double vision, blurriness, ringing noise or sensitive to sounds. Short attention span. Can’t keep focused. Slow reaction time, slurred speech, bodily movements are lagging, fatigue, and slowly answer questions or has difficulty answering questions. Abnormal physical and/or mental behavior. Coordination skills are behind, ex: balancing, dizziness, clumsiness, reaction time.
Step 2: Is emergency treatment needed? This would include the following scenarios: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9)
Spine or neck injury or pain. Behavior patterns change, unable to recognize people/places, less responsive than usual. Loss of consciousness. Headaches that worsen Seizures Very drowsy, can't be awakened Repeated vomiting Increasing confusion or irritability Weakness, numbness in arms and legs
Step 3: If a possible concussion occurred, but no emergency treatment is needed, what should be done now? Focus on these areas every 5-10 min for the next 1 - 2 hours, without returning to any activities: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9)
Balance, movement. Speech. Memory, instructions, and responses. Attention on topics, details, confusion, ability to concentrate. State of consciousness Mood, behavior, and personality Headache or “pressure” in head Nausea or vomiting Sensitivity to light and noise
Players shall not re-enter competition, training, or partake in any activities for at least 24 hours. Even if there are no signs or symptoms after 15-20 min, activity should not be taken by the player. Step 4: A player diagnosed with a possible concussion may return to US Youth Soccer play only after release from a medical doctor or doctor of osteopathy specializing in concussion treatment and management. Step 5: If there is a possibility of a concussion, do the following: (1) The attached Concussion Notification Form is to be filled out in duplicate and signed by a team official of the player’s team. (2) If the player is able to do so, have the player sign and date the Form. If the player is not able to sign, note on the player’s signature line “unavailable”. (3) If a parent/legal guardian of the player is present, have the parent/legal guardian sign and date the Form, and give the parent/legal guardian one of the copies of the completed Form. If the parent/legal guardian is not present, then the team official is responsible for notifying the parent/legal guardian ASAP by phone or email and then submitting the Form to the parent/legal guardian by email or mail. When the parent/legal guardian is not present, the team official must make a record of how and when the parent/legal guardian was notified. The notification will include a request for the parent/legal guardian to provide confirmation and completion of the Concussion Notification Form whether in writing or electronically. (4) The team official must also get the player’s pass from the referee, and attach it to the copy of the Form retained by the team.
Guidelines for Heading
Photo of the Month
Indiana Soccer’s Lori Lindsey (2nd from right) being honored, along with her teammates from the US Women’s National Team, at the White House by Michelle Obama.