����� Coaches and their assistants are normally selected on a volunteer basis.� Usually a child is playing and a parent indicates their coaching interest on the registration application.� This is the ideal situation, but doesn�t always work out this way.� Last year, for example, we had 28 teams in our league which means we needed, at a minimum, 28 coaches.�� It is highly advisable that every coach have at least one assistant.� That brings the total coaches up well over 50.� We don�t always have that many volunteers.� At this point LYSA has to recruit enough coaches to make up the difference.� These recruited coaches may be perceived as reluctant, but we consider them merely apprehensive because of lack of knowledge or training.� LYSA will do everything we can to orientate and train new coaches for their various duties and ensure their tenure be as enjoyable and rewarding as possible.� The majority of our new coaches find the first year experience so rewarding they gladly volunteer in subsequent seasons.� Some volunteer themselves all the way through Division IV(9 years if they started at micro-K).
����� Usually in late July or early August coaches will be mailed rosters noting their players, players parents, addresses, and phone numbers.� It is up to the coach at that point to contact each player(normally talk to a parent first),introduce yourself, give any information you feel important, get feedback, and leave your phone number for future communication.� A follow up call should be normally be made later to address practice schedules.��
LYSA assists in creating a yearly �Practice� schedule in order to make our practices proceed in an efficient and expeditious fashion based on the limited space resources we have.� All coaches will be contacted at some point prior to the beginning of regular season games.� A representative of LYSA will inquire as to the preferred times of your team�s practice.� We recommend twice weekly practices of about 1 to 1 � hours in duration.� These times are not locked in stone and will be left to the discretion of the coach.� We encourage use of our facilities(Community Center, Living Stone Church, or LLCC annex)and would like to know the expected times of your practices.� If there is a reason you would not want to use our practice fields please contact a representative of LYSA to approve an alternate site.�
Scheduled games usually begin the weekend following Labor Day.� Division IV teams have in the past started the weekend prior to Labor Day.� Regardless, all coaches should receive a game schedule a couple weeks before season begins.� It is a good idea to get copies of schedule out to all players as soon as possible in order for families to plan around games.� Division II and above are travel teams and coaches are expected to organize road trips.� This consists of giving all players and parents fair notice of arrangements for away games.� These arrangements may consist of meeting place and time before the game.� Typically, coaches set up a meeting place at some landmark in Litchfield for all players and then caravan to away game-site.�� Coach should be familiar with directions(call opposing coach if need be..these numbers will be supplied with game schedule)and pass this information on to parents.�� It is normally a good idea to arrive at field(regardless of home or away) a half hour before start in order to stretch and warm up.���
Your first practice sets the tone for your upcoming season, and it is important to create a proper first impression. Often in a new coach's rush to get players out on the field, you might forget something as basic as introducing yourself and your assistants. Take a little extra time to prepare for this session, and be ready when the players arrive.
In general, the players and parents will know your specific team rules and policies because you've explained them during a pre-season meeting.� If this is the case, simply provide a quick review to remind your players and any parents who stay what is expected.
For logistical reasons, many coaches prefer to hold their organizational meeting in conjunction with their first practice session. If you do this, remember two things: Meeting before the practice can leave young players bored and restless. Meeting after the practice could lead to problems with parents rushing off early without really listening.
At the recreational level, it is common for coaches to know only a few of their players by name or face. The same is true for the players who will tend to cluster near the teammates they know and ignore the ones they don't know. Your goal is to get everyone to learn everyone's name as quickly as possible.
At the youngest age levels, you might want to bring stick-on name tags for players and coaches. Some teams have even made inexpensive scrimmage/practice shirts using plain cotton T's and fabric markers to draw on a name and number. At the very least, keep a 3x5 "cheat sheet" listing the player's name and 2-3 identifiers (e.g. Caitlin C./long blonde ponytail and orange shorts). Repeat the names as often as possible throughout the practice, and have your players do the same, switching partners and teammates for various activities. Repeat this process as necessary through the next several practices.
There are also several name games you can play.
As you learn your players' names, you will also learn a little bit about their personalities, skill level, and knowledge of the game. Younger players (U-12 and below) should not be locked into set positions, so it's not as important to find out where they prefer to play. Please realize this is a frequent area of disagreement among coaches, and players vary considerably. For every shy pumpkin who freaks at the slightest change, there's a ferocious feline ready to take on any challenge. Adjust to your young players' needs to maximize their individual success.
With older teams, you might find certain players have definite preferences and strongly resist being put into unfamiliar positions. Recognizing these preferences early can help you plan ahead, whether you want to keep the player in a favorite position or help the player adjust to a new position.
You also need to make an early assessment of your team's overall abilities and each player's individual skill level. This will help you plan practice that are most effective at developing skills and an understanding of the game. The reality of most recreational teams is that you will find a wide range of interest, ability, and experience. You will need to challenge the talented while reaching out to the newbies as well. There are a number of ways to address mismatches without causing problems. Recruit Helpers
If you were unable to get volunteers to serve as assistants during your pre-season meeting it's not too late. Parents of young players tend to stay at the practice field, and you should quickly round up 2-3 helpers from the crowd. These parents can tend to minor injuries, watch over discipline problems, help retrieve balls, or serve as assistant coaches. Problems can occur when your assistants don't share your philosophy or focus only on their own child. If you're not sure you have the right folks for the job, wait a few practices before officially naming your assistants.
Teaching young children takes lots of practice on the part of the coach, along with good humor and lots of patience. Here are some hints on things to do which will make it easier to teach your little charges.
There are certain skills which every soccer player needs to acquire. One of the most important is the ability to receive and control the ball with the feet, as this skill is essential in order to be able to do almost anything else with the ball.
In order to develop a season plan, the coach normally will want to take a look at the players for a session or two, unless the players are all first-time players. This allows the coach to get an idea of the average skill level of the players and to identify players who are exceptionally weak or strong (as these players will present challenges).
Once this assessment is done, the coach will set up the plans for the season by listing out the skills which need to be learned; looking at the available practice times; and deciding which skills to teach, in which order. Some flexibility should be built into the schedule, as practices have a way of getting rained out - or the whole team will come down with chickenpox - or there may be some event (such as a huge win by a team which has been having trouble) which may cause the coach to decide to have a "fun" practice instead.
Once the coach has decided on the skills to be taught, the next step is to pick drills or games which will be useful vehicles to teach those skills. Selection of drills can be tough for a new coach, especially if the coach has not spent a lot of time teaching children in this particular age group. It is not uncommon to pick drills which end up being too easy or too hard. Here are some good rules of thumb which can help in drill selection:
o If you cannot explain the game rules in 30 seconds, the drill probably is too hard.
o Games that all kids play (like tag or relay races) require the least explanation.
o The game/drill should be designed to force the weak ones to improve (avoid knock-out games that eliminate weakest players first).
o If some initial individual skill work will be required before it is possible to play a game or hold a contest, make sure that the players understand that you have a contest planned (as it is easier to do work on "boring" things if an end is in sight).
o To avoid wasting time, try to pick a series of games/drills which allow you to use the same grids/cones more than once.
o Always have at least one backup drill ready, just in case a game falls flat.
o Avoid picking games which involve lots of idle time or standing around, such as line drills (as the old saying that "the devil makes work for idle hands" also applies to young players with idle feet).
o Design drills so that, over the course of the practice, the player ultimately will be doing the skill at game-like speed and in game-like conditions. For instance, in teaching shooting on goal, players will be unprepared to score in games if their only shooting practice involves shooting a stationary ball at an undefended goal with all the time in the world.
The important thing is to keep your eye on what your objective is. If your objective is to teach passing, then you need to be sure that you are giving plenty of practice to those who need the work the most (while still retaining some "consequences" for doing the skill poorly - at least after a decent time to experiment with no pressure has been given).
For instance, keepaway games can be changed so that the defender plays for 2 minutes and then switches out. Or, he can switch out after he has intercepted 3 bad passes. In other games (like Sharks, where balls are kicked out of the grid), the rules can be modified. For instance, Freeze Tag is a form of Sharks, but the player is merely frozen (not eliminated) if tagged, and can be reactivated when a non-frozen player touches him. Another modified form of Sharks allows the player to run to his ball; do a quick set of Round-The-World toe taps on his ball; and get right back in the game.
The two most common reasons that a coach must make adjustments in a drill are when there are not enough balls available(LYSA supplies balls,but normally not enough for everyone to have a ball) or when there are the wrong number of players available (odd when he wants even, or vice versa). Here are some ideas to deal with these common problems.
You can guarantee that at least one kid will forget his ball at every practice. Others will have their balls stolen or have them go flat. So, if at all possible, get some spare balls which you can loan out (or even "rent" to a child - he "pays" by taking a jog around the field). Ask your parents if they have any spares at home which they can loan to you for the season (many kids get multiple balls at camps and are happy to loan one to you).
But, if everyone forgot to bring a ball, it is pretty clear that you cannot hold a dribbling practice (and probably cannot hold a shooting practice or pairs passing practice). So, come to every practice prepared with a backup plan for work with only the number of balls which you have in your ball sack. Some drills/practices which require only 1 ball to 3 players:
o
1v1v1 offense/defense
(2 players in grid, 1 on end as neutral or server or target);
o
basic 2v1 keepaway;
o
2v1 offense or defense;
o
some 3-team passing
games (such as running multiple gates in a large grid), wall passes or slotted
passes.
Some drills/practices which require only 1 ball to 6 players:
o
3v3 or 3v2 (plus
keeper);
o
2v2, plus 2 neutral
players;
o
4v2 keepaway;
o
offense v defense
games (such as games where Ds score on small goals at the intersection of
the midline/touchlines).
Experienced coaches know that you will only have an even number of players on those days when you want to work in sets of odd numbers (3, 5, etc.). So, what do you do when you have odds when you want even, or vice versa?
o
If you have an assistant
or spare parent or sibling of one of your players, use this person as an extra
for one group.
o
If you don't have
a spare, have one group form a triangle when doing work designed for pairs.
o
If you have an assistant
who can work with your keeper, this is a great time to do this.
Scrimmage time at the end of practice and only 9 players:
o
Play 5 vs. 4 and
put stronger players on the smaller team;
o
Use a goalkeeper/big
goal for one team, and no keeper/small for the other;
o
Use parent or self
as keeper for one team
o
Play 4 v 4 (+1),
where extra is floater/neutral who always works for team with ball
Young children often arrive at practice full of energy. After a long day indoors, they are ready to run and play - and not ready to sit and listen. Therefore, it can make your drill go a lot better if you begin with some vigorous warm-ups. Once they have been running around for awhile, they will be begging for a water-break. Use the time when they are panting/drinking for your announcements and instructions - they tend to be MUCH less disruptive when pooped.
The first thing to do in order to start getting rid of some of this excess energy is to get players working as soon as possible. Involve them in some game or fun activity as soon as they get there. There are plenty of activities that players can do alone or with 1 or 2 others. For instance, start juggling with the first arrival; include the second, then the third, etc. As the numbers get higher, start a new group. 1 v 1 keepaway games limited to a general area of the field is another good choice. You can adjust match-ups as necessary as more players arrive.
Another fun game is soccer golf, where you have to hit some far off target, such as a ball. Soccer bowling is a fun game where individuals or teams try to knock down cones from some distance by passing. Another option is to play soccer volleyball over a neutral zone (ball can't touch the zone). Allow the ball to touch the ground in your zone, but you lose the point anytime it touches outside of your team's zone or you don't play it into the other team's zone. If you have several players arrive early, get a small sided game of knock down the cones.
Factors which will influence how to select partners or teams for drills are varied. Common factors to be considered by the coach are: the need to divide by skill level or size to get success (or enough pressure, in the case of more skilled players); the number of players available (odd or even); the need to split up troublemakers or cliques and/or to allow players to get to know others on the team; the need to protect timid or shy players by putting them with players who are more kind-hearted; and the ability/willingness of a more seasoned player to assist a newer one in learning certain skills. Newer coaches probably will want to think about these factors ahead of time, so that they can make the necessary assignments without too much delay.
Some coaches prefer to always assign partners from the very beginning, in order to avoid gripes when someone is split from his favorite partner (especially his partner in crime). Others think that camaraderie is developed by allowing the friendships, so they permit players to select their own partners unless the coach has particular reasons to want to split up the pairs.
It is important to split up players who have personality conflicts; or who induce each other to fool around; or players who like to bully or boss around a particular player (often a new one). If more than 1 pair needs to be split up on a regular basis, the coach is often better off simply assigning partners, as kids can be counted on to make the complaint of "why does everybody else get to select their partners - and we don't? Of course, some coaches want the complaint to come, as this gives them a chance to explain why the players are being "punished". So, it is up to the coach whether to opt for peace, or use the selection process as a disciplinary tool.
When choosing partners, this can be done very quickly, either by calling out names (John and Jim in that grid) or by counting off numbers (1,2,3 - this group goes to the first grid; 4,5,6 - this group goes to the next grid, etc.).
Even in a harmonious group, there are times when it makes sense to put the strongest with the strongest (especially in attacking/defending work). A very good (or very big) defender will destroy the confidence of a budding tiny attacker, so there are times when it makes sense to pair them up by body size and/or skill - with body size being quite important in things like teaching shoulder charges or tackles to beginners (even though, once confident, it makes sense to mix them up again). The whole idea is to set the kids up to succeed by controlling as many variables as you can which would tend to make success less likely.
Often, a very good player who has been playing almost since birth will end up on a team with a bunch of teammates who have never seen a soccer ball before. This is tough on the coach and on the good player, but it is not an insurmountable hurdle. Here are some ideas of ways to keep this player challenged:
By being creative, the coach can provide for challenges for the better player, while keeping the better player from being so dominant that the rest of the group do not get to participate.
While the coach occasionally may allow the players to choose up sides (simply to get a feel for friendships or the assessments by players of relative skill levels), this should not be done this on a regular basis, because of the likelihood that these selections will hurt the feelings of the weakest kids. So, here are some other options for ways to choose up sides:
Once the teams are selected, consider having a captain who is responsible for each team. Kids need to develop leadership skills, and to learn to take responsibility by observing what is happening on the field. If the player is a "captain", consider letting the player pick the positions for his team - and put him in charge of watching to make sure that his team marks up, recovers back, and pushes up and supports. Try to let everyone act as captain from time to time - but announce who is to be captain on that particular day based upon hard work, performance in the last game, or some other criteria which serves as an "atta boy" or "atta girl" to the player. Pay attention to which kids do a good job as captain, so that you can put them in charge of certain areas of the field in games (e.g., a sweeper who is observant and confident enough to give clear instructions to his/her teammates is a jewel to have on the field).
In your very first practice, you may want to adopt a Rule about what you want players to do when you are talking. Many adults don't know this - but kids love rules - so if you want them to line up or sit down or put one foot on the ball or cross their arms in front of their chests or put one hand over their mouths - just tell them. Then, if a player is being disruptive, you can simply say "What is our Rule about what you are supposed to do when coach is talking?" Players hate for everyone else to think that they cannot follow the Rules, or don't know what the Rules are, so this can be very effective in getting them to display non-disruptive behaviors. And, if you have a Rule, then a simple announcement that it is "Time to line up" will cause them to assemble for the lesson.
The younger the age group, the shorter the time that you should be talking in any single burst. And, the younger the players, the more it is necessary to get them mentally involved in the lesson. The best way to get their attention is to introduce the topic through a series of questions, which allows them to show how smart they are - and gets them thinking. Here is an example of the "right way" and the "wrong way" to introduce a new skill.
"Okay, kids, today we are going to learn how to do a push pass. I need everyone to come over here and form a line in front of me (hint: make this a rule - and you save time). No, Johnny - I said in front of me - not behind me. Now, here is how you do a push pass. You point the toe of the support leg in the direction that you want the ball to go; you bend the knee of the support leg; you turn your passing leg outwards; lock the foot; and hit the ball in the middle and allow your leg to swing through the pass. Kyle, stop pushing Andrew. Okay, let me go through those points again. You point the toe of the support leg in the direction that you want the ball to go; you bend the knee of the support leg; you turn your passing leg outwards; lock the foot; and hit the ball in the middle and allow your leg to swing through the pass. Now, I need everybody to find a partner; get into one of the grids; and work on passing. Who doesn't have a partner? No, James, the grids run the other way. Andrew, stop throwing the balls against Steven. Robert, I need you to stand at the end of the grid, with Alex at the other end. No, Freddie, you hit the ball with the inside of your foot. Kevin, where is your ball? Now, doggone it, I want everybody in a grid right now. Didn't any one of you listen to me?
"Okay, kids, time to line up for a demonstration. Bring your balls with you. Kyle, I need you here beside me, please.
Today, we are going to learn to do passing. Can anybody tell me why we would want to do passing in a game?
How many types of passes do you guys think that there are?
Okay, now the pass that we are going to work on today is called the push pass, because you use the inside of the foot to push the ball in the direction that you want it to go.
Johnny and Andrew, I've been watching and somebody already taught you how to do push pass, so would you come up here and help demonstrate the proper way to do it? Now, guys, let's watch them to see what they are doing. See, to connect with the ball, Johnny is turning his foot out and locking his foot to make it stiff, because it is hard to pass with a wobbly foot. Does that make sense?
Okay, the next thing that Johnny is doing is pointing the toe of his supporting foot at Andrew. Why do you suppose that this might help to make the pass better?
Now, Andrew, next time that the ball comes to you, I want you to show everybody what happens if you hit the ball at the bottom instead of in the middle. Okay, guys, see that hitting the ball at the bottom makes it fly up in the air? Who can tell me why we don't usually want the ball to fly up in the air when we are passing? That's right - because it makes it lots harder for your teammate to receive it.
Okay, does everybody think that they understand how to do a push pass? What are the main 3 things that we need to know? What do we do with our passing foot? What do we do with our supporting foot? Where do we connect with the ball? Good, now get your balls and come over with me to the grids and I will show you what we are going to do.
Everybody stand at the end of this first grid. Now, Johnny, go to the far end of the grid between the cones. Take your ball with you and just put it to the side of the grid. Alex, come stand between the cones on this end. Now, put your ball on the ground, and pass it to Johnny. Johnny, I want you to receive it and pass it back to Alex.
Now, I need two players in each grid, lined up just like Andrew and Johnny. After everybody has worked on this for a little while, we are going to have a contest - so be sure to practice hard."
It is easy to see that the coach is talking LOTS more in the "right" way - and that the whole explanation is takes lots more time. So, why does this approach go over better with the kids? Three reasons.
First, the coach almost never says more than about 15 words at any one stretch (so it doesn't seem to the kids that the coach is saying very much). Secondly, the coach is allowing the kids to feel that they are smart and that they can figure out the answers themselves - because the coach is consulting them and asking for their feedback. Third, the coach is using demonstrators from the team who already know how to do the skill - which helps to convince them that they really can learn how to do this (and challenges the competitive ones to try to beat the demonstrators).
Note how the coach in the "right" example explained why passing was important before going into teaching the skill itself. By making the skill relevant, the players are more likely to want to actually try to learn to do it. Also note that the coach does a demonstration of the drill at the grids, by positioning one pair into a grid and showing what he wants to have accomplished. Most smaller players learn much better by watching and imitating, so the demonstration helps them to know exactly what is expected during the drill. Also note that the coach is promising that we aren't going to do this one exercise forever - and that a "contest" is coming up soon. This helps to keep the players working and focused, because they know that they are going to have to use this same skill later - so they won't be able to "win" if they don't work now.
Once most coaches learn to use the Q & A technique, they will solve most of their problems in introducing the drills and getting the players started on what they want them to work on. The bulk of any remaining problems will disappear with use of the 3 Rs. These are:
All beginners make mistakes. This is a normal part of learning. When players make mistakes, the very first thing which you need to decide is whether to correct the error. If, and only if, you decide that the error must be corrected at this stage will you then decide what method to use to correct the error.
Not every error needs immediate correction. In fact, one of the biggest mistakes that a coach can make is to try to get absolute perfection on the first few tries. If a player is corrected, and corrected, and corrected, it won't be long before he concludes that he cannot do ANYTHING right. And, it won't be much longer before he gives up and quits trying.
How do you decide whether to step in? The first clue is that the player is absolutely lost - and clearly doesn't understand what you wanted - so he is having zero success. Before you step in to correct one player, however, look around. Sometimes everybody is having trouble, which means one of two things: your instructions weren't clear or the skill is too difficult. If this happens, you need to stop the drill immediately; demonstrate again (don't use words - use actions); and start over. If they still don't get it with a full demonstration, the odds are very good that the skill is just too difficult - and that you need to go to your fall-back plan.
If most of your players are having some success, but are struggling with one or two elements of the skill (for instance, most are turning the foot correctly for the push pass, but accuracy is poor or the balls are often airborne), do a group correction. Young players often are very sensitive about being called aside (they think that this is a suggestion that they are stupid or slow - even though, in truth, most young players are so self-centered that they pay no attention at all to anyone else). As a result, a general statement that you noticed that a bunch of the players were having trouble with X is the better approach, followed by a quick demonstration. Then, as you go around the grids, you can simply issue reminders about "remember to hit the ball in the middle, not at the bottom".
Another option is to find the one or two players who are doing it right, and use them as your new demonstrators by praising them. For example "Okay, everybody, look at Michael He is doing the push pass exactly right. Michael, have you ever done a push pass before? No? Wow, you are doing really well. Look, everybody, see how he is turning his pass foot out and making his foot stiff, then hitting the ball in the middle. And, look at his plant foot, which is pointed right at Johnny. Way to go, Michael!" Because all of the other kids will want some praise too, this method can work very well (although the coach must be careful to spread these good examples around, to avoid looking like he has a "pet" player).
In the early stages of learning a skill, the coach must remember to praise, praise and praise. The player must feel that the coach is positive that the player CAN do it. Thus, as the coach makes the rounds, constant comments should be made to reinforce successes. Even if a player has messed up 3 out of the 4 elements of a skill, he still got one right. The coach needs to grasp onto this one right element, and build from there in order to get the player to keep on trying even when the skill is difficult for him.
How is this done? By pointing out what he did right, then pointing out a SINGLE correction which needs to be made, then getting him to try to make this correction, and praising the dickens out of his effort. Older players may be able to take multiple corrections at once, but young players do better with one step at a time if they are having trouble. So, using the example of the push pass, let's say that the only thing that the player is doing correctly is getting his plant foot pointed at the other player - but he is not turning his pass foot outward; he isn't locking his foot; and he is hitting the ball underneath with a floppy foot, so it is going airborne and flying wildly into the next grid. Overall, not having much success, right?
In this situation, with this many problems, the coach may decide that it is important enough to get success to do some individual corrections (as the player already feels like an idiot anyway, so coach really cannot make it much worse for the poor dear). The first thing to do is to offer encouragement, especially if the player is starting to get upset. It can help to remind the player of earlier successes ("well, you didn't think that you could do pull-backs either - but you learned how, didn't you?"). It also can help to mention the one right thing which they are doing (although the coach should be careful about making too big a deal of this, especially if this is a fairly small accomplishment, as the player may end up feeling worse).
If the coach is fairly sure that the player will be able to "get it" with a fairly short demonstration, then this is the way to go. The first thing to try usually is to get the player to stand beside the coach, and watch while the coach demonstrates, then to give it another try. Then, if this doesn't work, the coach may want to get down and show the player what is needed by turning the foot outward. Sometimes, the player may simply be confused by some word used by the coach. For example, many coaches will tell a player to "lock the ankle". Often, the little ones have no idea what this means - but will immediately understand if you tell them to "make your foot stiff".
The objective of the coach in making the correction is to get the player to show the coach a "good one" before the coach moves on. There may be some interim steps to this stage, with the coach saying "better" or "almost" - but the coach wants to be fairly sure that the player really does understand the concept (even if short on the execution) before the coach moves along. The idea is to build a praise or PNP sandwich (giving praise, followed by the negative, followed by more praise). Thus, in most cases, the coach will want to say "Good, Johnny, I really like the way that you are turning your foot out and striking the ball right in the middle. You might get more accuracy if you paid more attention to your plant foot, though. Remember that you want to aim your toe at your partner. Let's try that. Better. Show me another one. Good, see how much more accurate that it. You are almost there. Another 3 minutes and I think you will have it."
However, what do you do if the poor little thing is just not catching on? The coach cannot spend more than a minute or so with the player, or he risks losing track of the others. Besides, the poor partner is going to be bored to death if you take this extra time with one player. So, what does the coach do then? There are several possibilities. One is to recruit a willing parent to help out - and just send the child off to the side for awhile to work, while putting his partner into another group. Another is to pull over your best player at this particular skill, and ask him to work with this player (with the partner switching places with him). Often, this works terrifically, because the better player gets a chance to develop leadership skills (and also tends to "own" the player whom he has helped - which promotes teamwork), while the newer player gets the chance to see that somebody who is his own age really can do this stuff.
If you don't have any available assistants, or willing/able players, then you need to figure out a way to combine this group with another group so that the partner of the weak player does not suffer (or rotate partners fairly often, for the same reason). Then, you need to hold a separate session with the player to work on the skill (before or after practice, or even on the weekend for an hour or so). On occasion, if the skill is relatively easy, a simple demo for the parent right after practice is enough, with a request that they work with the player at home later. And, finally, if you still are getting no success, it may make sense to suggest some private coaching with a different coach. This often can help, especially with technique issues like kicking, because another coach may notice something which you have missed - or be able to explain things in just enough of a different way that it will finally "click" with the player. But, don't overlook your responsibilities to the entire team - and get so bogged down in the problems of this one player that you ignore the rest. Simply do your best to help, and accept that there are times when you may not succeed. By the same token, remember that players are growing and changing constantly, and that the problem could arise from temporary coordination problems or some developmental lag. Thus, keep encouraging the player to work on the problem, and keep your fingers crossed (for him and for yourself).
Turn the drill into a contest. The work-rate, especially for boys, goes up dramatically if there is a race to see which pair is the first to, say, get 20 good passes in a row. So, if they are acting bored and aren't working hard, consider turning the drill into a contest. No idea how to do this? Just ask the kids - they are the "fun" experts (and invent games all of the time in normal play). They will be delighted that you asked - and that you truly don't want practices to be boring. So, this is an occasion where everyone wins.
One common mistake is to have line drills( which are drills where all of the players are lined up in a row, waiting to take a turn at doing something). These drills are a recipe for disaster, as the kids are bound to get bored and will start pushing/shoving/bickering, instead of paying attention. If you have to have lines for some reason (such as shooting drills), have multiple lines and turn whatever you are doing into a competition between the groups in the lines. Another option is relay races, which force the next in line to pay attention - and forces things to move much more quickly.
The basic rule of thumb in soccer is: More Space = More Time = Less Pressure on Attackers. By the same token, to get less pressure for defenders, you use the equation Less Space = Less Time (for the attackers) = Less Pressure on Defenders.
It obviously is important to let players have success. Generally, an offensive drill/activity will first be done with very little pressure. Pressure on the attackers can be adjusted in two ways - by increasing the space to the point where the attackers can move fairly easily around any defenders or by having the defenders move in slow-motion. Then, as the concept is learned, pressure is slowly increased. When defensive pressure is first applied on beginning attackers, it often may be better if the coach does it. Teammates will, even when instructed not to, may apply too much pressure to begin with.
Why? Defending is easier for younger players than attacking. Moreover, younger players like to move and run, so it can be hard to get them to act in slow-motion. However, it is essential to be able to restrict your defenders in the early stages of training attackers, so that your attackers don't get rattled and are able to gain confidence. Here are some ways to harness these over-eager defenders:
Look for all sorts of ways to reduce pressure on the attacker, by giving the attacker more space or more time. You can do this by making the grid bigger, or giving the attacker a head start, or giving the defender a handicap. Be creative. For example, you can put a defender at a corner flag, and let him come out as soon as you serve a ball into an attacker coming straight at goal from around the 30 - or you can leave him by the goal post and not allow him to start until the attacker crosses the penalty arc. Or, you can put a defender 3-5 yards behind the attacker, and let them both go at once. And, all of these situations will arise in games (even the anchored defender, who is equivalent to somebody who has just twisted an ankle or knee), so don't be shy about using them.
New defenders also will need some help (although probably not as much as new attackers). A defensive drill/activity for newer players should be structured so that the space is relatively tight, which reduces the pressure on the defenders - and promotes their success . However, because defensive skills come somewhat more "naturally" to younger players than dribbling skills, the space which they are defending (and, hence, the pressure on them) typically can be increased more rapidly.
Many coaches are not sure how to train a goalkeeper, so they overlook this training. In addition, even if they want to work with their keeper, they have a hard time finding practice time where they can devote attention to this specialized training.
For beginners, it is not a bad idea to hold 1-2 practices on basic goalkeeping, so that they can try their hands at the task and see if they like it. Just simple stuff on hand position to catch the ball high/middle/low; footwork to move around the goal; the basic rules on when the ball can be picked up (so they can help the keeper to remember if the ball is passed back or if the keeper is close to the edge of the box); and basic punting. When teaching angles, you will need strikers anyway, and this is an excellent time to teach everyone about common keeper/striker mistakes in finishing.
If you have an older team, and only have 2-3 players who will play in goal, some ideas/options include:
There are a number of problems which may occur over the course of a season due to the behavior of parents or players. These include attendance problems; disruptions/misconduct during practice or games; "overly-helpful" parents; and parents who are chronic gripers. Difficulties in handling these four problems are why most coaches to decide to give up coaching, so it is very important to learn how to deal with them.
The first trick in learning to handle players is to establish your authority early. If players do not get the idea that you are the "boss", and that you will insist that they follow your rules, it will be very difficult to control them. Here are some time-honored ways to get this message across early. Tips on Asserting Your Authority
It's important for players to be able to recognize by your tone of voice and your manner when you intend a no-nonsense directive, or are drawing a boundary which they try to cross at their peril. Yelling does not work. Use a firm voice and a firm look, and DEMAND attention. Make it clear that this is non-negotiable - and your chances that they will listen increase substantially. Watch for their reaction, however. It is easy to scare little ones with a tone of voice which might induce teenagers to slowly think about complying - so adjust to your audience.
Sometimes a quick, firm word in passing is enough to get things back on track without stopping an ongoing activity. If this doesn't work, don't try to yell or frantically run around to get the attention of the players. STOP the group, DEMAND that they all stop talking and look at you, and WAIT until everyone does so before even trying to start with the substance of your remarks. Using "the Voice", say something like: "Eyes on me. Now."
If someone starts clowning or chatting in the background after you start trying to talk substance, STOP! Firmly re-demand silence before continuing. Keep doing this until they shut up, even if you spend 20 minutes on a 30 second announcement. Eventually, the other players will start to tell this player to be quiet, because they will get bored standing around. When the disruptive one starts to get negative attention from his peers, the behavior tends to cease quickly.
Remember that all young kids misbehave at times. If the child is not normally disruptive or if the disruption is not serious - and is quickly abandoned with a quiet word from you, there is no reason to make a big deal over it.
If you are too stern, and use the proverbial cannon to deal with a small gnat of an offense, this causes two problems. First, the compliant players will start to fear you - and will become so upset by any correction from you that they will tend to freeze up and become afraid to make mistakes for fear of displeasing you (so they won't learn very well). Secondly, the more spirited or defiant players will figure out that you have already used up all of your ammunition on a trivial offense - so they won't see any reason why they shouldn't commit HUGE offenses if the punishment is going to be the same anyway. As a result, it is not uncommon to find utter chaos when the coach is not using good judgement on when/how/why/where to punish offenses.
When misbehavior seriously disrupts the activities of the other players (either because it is persistent minor stuff or because of one egregious act), the coach needs to use "the Voice" and "the Look" to stop the behavior instantly.
It is a good idea to talk in terms of Rules - because players tend to remember Rules better. So, tell them that "Hitting a teammate is against our Rules".
Then, get the offender to tell you WHY this is against the rules. Forcing the offender to verbalize why other players might not like to be hit serves two purposes. It shows the other players that this kid knew better AND it causes the offender to suffer some humiliation in front of everyone by admitting that he knew better.
Once the player admits that he knew better, make him apologize. Sure, the apology is likely to be grudging - and delivered under his breath in the general direction of his belly button. But, by forcing him to apologize (and making him go sit out until he does apologize, if he initially refuses) helps to breed good sportsmanship down the line - and helps him to recognize that other players have rights too.
Sometimes, of course, a player may not understand why something is against the Rules. For instance, the little brother of a HS-level player may have seen lots of slide tackles in games, and truly may not understand why you got upset when he took out the ankles of a teammate with a reckless tackle. In those cases, it is important to explain why you are upset, and to explain what you want in the future.
What if one teammate started it, and the other finished it? Easy. Make them both apologize, then make the retaliator explain to you how he plans to handle things next time (e.g., come to you; use his words instead of his fists; etc.). However, the instigator should not get off scott-free. Consider giving him an extra "punishment" for starting things. Often, especially with arch-rivals, making the instigator say 5 good things about his adversary is quite effective in healing the wounds all around.
Be careful in using physical activity as punishment. Especially with younger players, learning to associate running or exercise with punishment can cause them to resent that activity when you need them to do this work. Nonetheless, there are times when a quick set of jumping jacks or pushups may help to refocus the player. As long as these are not onerous (no more than 5-10), the players usually accept the penalty with good humor and no lasting effects. However, if the player is looking for attention and wanting to clown around (or wanting to challenge the coach in some fashion), he will use the penance as an opportunity to have fun at the expense of the coach. As a result, if the coach already knows that he is dealing with a defiant player, the best bet may be to tell the player to go sit out until he can behave.
ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE sanctions is forcing the misbehaving player to sit out during an activity. Giving a time-out can often be very effective. Most players want to be with everyone else - even if they are being disruptive.
Usually, the coach will give the player the option of returning when the player decides to behave. However, if the player is refusing to participate in an activity which he doesn't like, then the better course is to sit the player out for the remainder of the practice. Otherwise, the coach will send the message to the team that, if you don't want to do an exercise, just go sit down - and you won't suffer any penalty. Once the players discover that you don't get to pick and choose what you do, and you don't get to scrimmage if you don't work, the incentives will be reduced to seek a time-out simply to avoid doing work.
Okay, so where should the player be sent to sit out? The ideal spot for a player to sit out is where you (or some responsible adult) can keep them in view, but where they are far enough removed they cannot easily create further distraction for the rest of the group. Where and how far will depend on the player, the setting, and the available supervision. (Don't let a buddy join them for company; if two players must be sent out, send them to opposite ends of the field).
It's important to not forget to use carrots as well as sticks. Just as in making corrections, good behavior should be praised and rewarded to reinforce behaviors you want at practices and games. One of the most effective ways to shape up a whole team that's half-hearted and distracted about whatever subject is the focus of the day's activities is to make most players' favorite part of the practice, THE SCRIMMAGE, contingent on the extent they get with the program. "The sooner we learn to do this, the longer we can scrimmage".
Sometimes, your players' energy and mood simply isn't a good match for the well- intended practice plan you designed. They're hopelessly restless, with unbounded energy. If the normally cooperative players are exceptionally wild, and none of the adjustments which you make seem to work, consider simply abandoning the plan for the day - and playing nothing but games (the winners of the last game get to pick the next one). As long as the games are soccer-related, the practice session is probably doing more good than you realize. The kids are getting lots of touches on the ball; team morale is soaring because coach is a good guy (and we got a free day); and coach is able to relax and enjoy watching the players act like a bunch of puppies. Consider it a vacation to recharge the batteries, and just have fun.
In addition to normal disruptions which can arise from high spirits or simply being a child, there will be times when unruly behavior is a symptom of further problems. So, if the tips given above don't work, it is time to try to figure out the root cause of the problem.
Disciplinary problems arise for a lot of different reasons, such as: the work is too easy or too hard; the work is boring (too much repetition or too much standing around); the partners are not helping with the work (perhaps because they are too unskilled or disruptive themselves); the player wants attention from teammates or the coach; the player is vying with the coach for control/leadership of the group; the player doesn't like a partner or wants a different partner, and is using disruption to try to force a change; or the player wants to get kicked out of practice for some reason (perhaps a parent likes soccer, but he doesn't, or the player wants to punish the parent by getting himself tossed out). Sometimes, the only thing wrong is that there is a full moon - and everyone is a bit rowdy.
So, the first thing that you need to do is to look around and see if you can figure out what is causing the problems. If everybody is acting up, the odds are good that there is something wrong with the drill (it is too easy or too boring in some way). If this is the problem, then adjust the drill or make it into a contest, and your problems are likely to be solved.
If just one group is having problems, look to see why. Often, you may have partners who don't match well in terms of skill level, or who have some innate rivalry, or who are such good buddies that they want to play when together. Be sure to watch for a minute to see if you can figure out what the problem is, then make needed adjustments. Often, this will mean that you need to switch partners.
If you switch partners, and the same problems arise between one player and his new partner (while the old partner is doing just fine), you have identified a likely problem child. However, you still may not know why the problem is arising - and may need to observe further or talk to the player to see what is going on.
Often, your best bet will be to call this player over to one side, while asking your assistant to take over. If you are alone, put the new partner in another group while you talk to the problem child. A simple inquiry about "what seems to be the problem" often will prompt an answer which gives you some clues. A happy grin, and a response of "just playing", may need nothing more than a reminder to settle down (with a reminder that he will need to sit until he is ready to work if he keeps this up). A sullen response of "this is boring" needs closer analysis (as this term may mean that the work is too hard and the player is too proud to admit it, or it can mean that the player really is bored silly). Cures for these types of problems can be found in the "How to Teach" section. A baffled look (or inability to keep looking at the coach while talking), especially when coupled with constant fidgeting, may indicate problems with ADHD - or a player who needs more explanation than normal for some other reason (such as a learning disability). Usually, this requires some discussion with the parents to find out the source of the problem. Some information on dealing with the special needs of ADHD children is included below.
On occasion, the coach will be met with a defiant stare - which almost always means real trouble ahead. Often, the player is challenging you for control of the team - and is using the disruptions to provoke you. Sometimes, these players try to hide their true agenda with passive-aggression (by slowly and maliciously complying with the strict letter of any request while obviously refusing to get with the program).
These types of defiant players will require some special handling, as they often are among the better players on the team and are eager to show their superiority. Sometimes, these kids truly believe that they are God's gift to the world, and entitled to special treatment. Often, however, these kids have perfectionistic parents who are never satisfied with the child's performance, and the child is venting his frustration at the coach or teammates.
As noted previously, some players want to try to see if they can take over the team from the coach - and will push every button in an effort to get the coach to do what they want - instead of allowing the coach to do what he wants. These little characters can be devious, and the worst are the ones who use passive-aggressive behavior to show you that you cannot boss them around (moving at the speed of molasses, and making faces behind your back).
What many coaches do not realize is that, to this brand of player, it is a "win" any time that the coach has to interrupt the presentation; any time that any other player looks at them; any time that the coach gets mad or upset; or any other time that they can behave in a defiant way and get away with it. Thus, the trick is to refuse to let them "win" - and to do it in a way that they get no feeling whatsoever that you are bothered by their behavior.
For example, if a player is deliberately "dogging it", the easiest way to deal with this behavior is to tell him that you are sure that he must be sick because he is moving so slowly - then force him to go sit down for the rest of practice. Don't give in and allow him to come back.
If the player refuses to do the drill correctly (e.g., when the ball comes to him, it seems to always go flying off at top speed - requiring a slow amble to go get it), calmly send the partner off to work with another group - on the grounds that it is clear that Johnny needs major work on his footskills before he will be able to do what everyone else is doing. Then, put Johnny off by himself to do juggling, or to pass against a wall, or whatever. Once again, don't allow him to come back to the group - at least unless he comes to you to offer a surrender (as in "I really do know how, I was just screwing off, can I come back"). And, make sure that he understands that it must be a full surrender - or he will be sent off again to do individual work (maybe for 2-3 practices).
If the player is openly defiant, calmly explain that it is YOUR team and, if he wants to be on YOUR team, he needs to plan on doing things YOUR way. Then, send him off to think about his decision. Whatever you do - especially if he is a star - do NOT tolerate this behavior. If he gets the belief that he is so wonderful that you will do anything to keep him, you will have no control over him - and little control over the others (as they will start to mimic his behavior).
If you stay calm, and get creative in tailoring your "punishment" to fit the "crime", you often can win these players over. They frequently can be natural leaders, and can become very valuable if their talents are properly channeled. So, as soon as they start to surrender, it can be a good idea to try to figure out some way that you can allow them to get favorable attention/praise from you (in other words, set them up to really please you). One way is to recruit them to help a particular player to learn to do something which they are especially good at. This allows them to feel important, while helping the coach and the other player, so everyone wins. Often, this is the first step in harnessing their leadership talents.
But, don't be afraid to call the parents if you are unable to get the player to behave. Sometimes there is something going on at home (such as a divorce) which is causing the child to act out. Sometimes the child may have emotional problems which need attention, or will have a learning disability (like ADHD). And, sometimes, it will be obvious from talking with the parents that their little darling can do no wrong in their eyes - in which case, the coach may face similar problems to those in the section dealing with attendance (and likely will need to take a similar approach).
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD/ADD) is a type of disability which apparently involves some mis-wiring of the brain or the hormonal systems in the body. As a result of the disorder, children tend to be markedly inattentive and often are hyperactive (sometimes to the point of being almost frantic in their movements). The disorder usually is treated by administration of stimulants (such as amphetamines) - which have the unusual effect of slowing these children down (while the rest of the population would be highly-stimulated by these same drugs). This disorder is NOT the fault of the parents. It does NOT mean that the child lacks discipline (either by the coach or by his parents). What it DOES mean is that, just like a child with diabetes or the player with asthma, this player needs to take certain drugs to be able to function normally. While these players can create some headaches and frustrations until the coach learns the proper way to handle their particular problems (and gives the parents enough feedback to adjust dosages, if necessary, to handle disruptions at practice), most of these children can do just fine in soccer. In fact, because of their high energy levels, these players often make terrific little players once their energy can be harnessed. To be able to harness their energies, the coach needs some more information about the disorder. Characteristics of ADHD/ADD arise in early childhood, often before seven years of age, for most individuals. Boys are about three times more likely than girls to have symptoms of ADHD/ADD. Individuals with ADHD/ADD may know what to do but do not consistently do what they know because of their inability to efficiently stop and think prior to responding, regardless of the setting or task (in other words, they tend to be very impulsive - and to act without thinking). This can result in serious social problems, impairment of relationships, and/or lack of success. Doing things without thinking about the consequences can put them in dangerous situations (as they might run into traffic without looking, or climb the tree while the coach's back is turned). Thus, coaches of children with ADHD must be vigilant in keeping an eye on these charges, especially when they are fairly young.
The official definition of ADHD can be found at the CHADD website (an organization for children and adults with attention deficit disorder). Children may have attention deficits (i.e., be impulsive and unable to focus) without being hyperactive - or they also can display the additional frenetic hyperactivity which is commonly associated with the disorder.
ADHD should be diagnosed by a physician or qualified mental health professional. It is not uncommon that children are suspected of having the disorder, when they simply are "full of life". Therefore, most coaches will not be able to diagnose the disorder. Nonetheless, if the player appears to be demonstrating many characteristics of an ADHD child, the coach may wish to quietly and confidentially approach the parents to report his observations - and ask for assistance and advice on the best way to deal with the child.
Many children with ADHD/ADD have above-average intelligence, so they may actually understand your explanations better than others. However, you do have to make sure they are paying attention. It is pointless to yell at them if they are inattentive or distracted. If they clearly are having a bad day, or didn't understand, the best approach is often to take them aside with their back to the group to have this discussion, in order to reduce outside distractions. It can be useful to get face to face with them, at their level, to force them to make eye contact and focus on you. Once you have their attention, you should explain things clearly and keep it very simple. Ask them to repeat what you said so you can be sure that they understood, then send them back to the group.
Indeed, if you already know that you have an ADHD player in your group, you can do this in the guise of a normal demo, simply by saying "OK, Johnny, now show me what we are going to do so I can be sure that everyone understood me". This avoids pulling the player out, and seems to reduce the emotional overlay which can lead to additional disruptions (as no player likes to be seen as different, or stupid).
If an ADHD/ADD child becomes disruptive, the best way to manage the situation is be firm, and to remove them from the group for a few minutes. Bring the player over to stand beside you. Don't make a big deal about it - just say "John, come over and stand by me, please". Or send the child off with an assistant. Often, if they just sit for 5 minutes, they can come back in (and use it as a carrot - "John, if you stand still and just listen for 3 minutes, you can do the demo for me"). It often can be helpful to simply tell them to come and let you know when they think that they are ready to follow the rules.
Children with ADHD/ADD often display the following problems:
o
They frequently have
difficulty with transition, especially going from activity to inactivity (i.e.
recess then to the classroom) - they may need some extra warning time and
assistance.
o
They may display
stronger than expected emotional reactions (emotional mountains out of molehills).
When this happens, it may be best to send them to sit for awhile until they
can get their emotions under control (to avoid any impulsive hitting or other
actions while they are upset).
o
They may have great
difficulty maintaining position in games and in managing their energy output
(throttle tends to be stuck on "full speed ahead"). They are not
doing this out of spite, they just forget in the heat of the moment. They
often do better in midfield spots where they can go to the ball, but may need
to be subbed frequently to avoid getting completely pooped out.
o
They may tend to
play "too rough" out of enthusiasm. If they are big for their ages,
you need to be especially careful in pairing them with others of their same
size - and nipping overly-aggressive behavior in the bud. And, if the child
is exceptionally afflicted (like most disorders, the symptoms can vary in
severity), you may need to get extra help. Don't be shy about asking the parents
to come to help, or asking your assistant to pull the child out for special
training if he is unduly disruptive. On occasion, a child who is severely
afflicted may need to special or unusual accommodations. For instance, if
the child tends to be too rough on the field, or to constantly steal the ball
from teammates in his desire to shine, the coach may need to consider putting
the child in goal - for his own safety and that of the other players. The
extra physical restrictions often will help such a child to focus, and to
perform very well.
In many respects, although these children may have superior intelligence, their distractibility may require similar treatment to children of sub-par intelligence or athletic ability. All of these children require additional structure; special instructions; additional supervision; and substantial patience. However, in his own way, each of these children can succeed at soccer - and the ADHD children may be able to become World Class players with proper training. Indeed, several players on the U.S. National Team have this disorder. Thus, the coach may find that the player whom he wanted to strangle at u10 is a player whose autograph is being sought by many at u23. It helps to keep reminding yourself that this is not their fault; that yelling at them is just as unfair as it would be to yell at a child with asthma for not running when he cannot breathe; that they almost always are trying; and that, ultimately, they really will learn to cope with their disability if the adults in their lives do not yell so much that they get to the point where they see no reason to try because everybody hates them.
The best time to deal with attendance issues is at the Preseason meeting. Remember, soccer is a team sport. As a result, it creates huge problems for the coach and the team if the players don't show up for games - as the absence of sufficient players spoils the game for everyone (and may even cause a game to be forfeited). Likewise, because many skills in soccer build on skills which were learned earlier, it can create a nightmare for the coach if a player consistently misses steps in the instruction - because the coach either has to make special effort to try to help the player to catch up; simply have the player sit out until he can find time to help him; or let the player flounder (which then disrupts the learning of his partner). Similarly, if the player is chronically late to practice, this leaves the coach with the same 3 bad choices (let the child sit; let him flounder; or try to juggle things so that he hold an extra parallel practice for the latecomer).
So, use this meeting to make clear what your expectations are on attendance. Talk about the importance of making a commitment - and keeping a commitment. Explain that you do not want to be the only adult who keeps their commitments and that, just as you won't skip practices or skip games, you don't expect the parents to allow their players to skip practices or games. Ask if everyone is willing to make a firm commitment to come to all of the practices and all of the games, unless there is some true emergency or illness. Hand out player agreements in which the player promises in writing to come to practices and games, and to work hard. Make a production out of this - and explain why you are doing so. Why is it important to address attendance problems early? The answer is easy. If you don't push hard for good attendance, the kids who will end up leaving your team are the reliable ones (because they will be sick of playing on a team where nobody shows up - and where the practices are no fun, because coach is always distracted by trying to bring others up to speed or the teammates cannot do the drills because they have missed so much work).
Furthermore, if the other parents/players see that Johnny is never coming to practices and not showing up for games (and coach doesn't act like this is a problem), some others will be tempted to start doing the same thing. So, if you allow parents and players to believe that you don't care if they show up and will accept any old excuse, your team is likely to be filled with players who show up when they feel like it - and whose skills (and win/loss record) reflect their lackadaisical approach. If one or two parents do not want to make this commitment, offer to try to move them to another team. And, if half or more of the parents do not want to make the same commitment to the team which you are, you need to consider whether it is worthwhile to bother with this group (because the chances are good that even the committed players won't bother coming by the end of the season, as it is not much fun to play or practice with people who show up so seldom that they may not even know your name). You can flatter yourself that you can make the practices so much fun that the kids will want to be there. However, the kids don't drive. Thus, if the parents view you as a glorified unpaid babysitter to use whenever it is convenient, or as a way-stop in a whirlwind tour of every extra-curricular activity in the universe, the pleas to return to practice will fall on deaf ears anyway.
Despite having this discussion at the outset, you may run into some problems with attendance by some players. Here are some things to do which may help you to nip these problems in the bud.
Always take attendance at practice. If anyone is tardy, note this as well.
Make a big deal out of any absence or tardiness. Tell the player that he was missed. Keep him late to go over anything that he missed (or ask for him to come early). Call the parents at home to ask why. Remind them that you need him at practice.
When a player is tardy, don't allow him to join the group immediately. Put him to work on doing warmups or fast-footwork drills. Then, hold him out of the scrimmage at the end of practice to do special work. Make sure that he understands that the reason that he is not scrimmaging is because he showed up late.
If the player is late more a few times, talk to the parent and find out why. Suggest other transportation options. Suggest a carpool. But, make sure that the parent understands what happens to YOUR schedule when the player is late - as it is very unfair to expect you to run parallel practices or to disrupt others.
Take attendance at each game, and give a star (or small treat) to anyone who made all of the practices for the week on time and who showed up for the game on time (give a reduced award to the ones who were tardy). Allocate any extra time to those with perfect attendance. If your best efforts at persuasion do not work, then your primary objectives are: trying to get the other parents/players not to follow in the path of the irresponsible parent; and if all else fails try to convince his parents to take him to another team.
Some coaches try to achieve these objectives by benching the absent player. However, this option often is not available to Rec coaches (because LYSA suggest the coach to play a player for one-half game if he shows up, even if the child never comes to practice). Besides, if the team has to play short if the player is benched, it is difficult to do this without upsetting the other parents.
Even where benching is possible, it may be very hard to punish the child (who doesn't drive) for the irresponsible behavior of the parents. The child often looks so miserable that other parents and players will feel sorry for him (which can cause a backlash). Likewise, angry confrontations with the parents whenever they show up do little good (as this scares all of the other kids; tend to upsets the other parents (who won't really understand what has gone on before or why you are so upset with this group of parents); and tend to affect how the coach comes across in the practices and games (because an irritated coach usually lacks a sense of humor and doesn't seem to be having a good time)).
In most cases, you also will want to hold a team meeting to talk about how to handle the attendance problems (in order to place the spotlight on the problem and bring any complaints or problems out into the open). Some coaches are afraid to hold meetings to discuss attendance problems - because they fear that the irresponsible parents will claim that it is the coach's fault that the child doesn't come to practice. However, if someone is going to make these claims, there is a good chance that they already are doing it behind the back of the coach anyway - so it makes sense to get these complaints out in the open where the coach has some chance of giving a rebuttal to the back-biting.
Remember that, if the majority are not happy with your coaching, this is something that you need to know (as either you are wasting your time or you haven't done a good sales job on your philosophy on player development). Quite often, parents with little involvement in team activities will blame the coach when what they really mean is "we don't like the win/loss record" or "my child should be playing more". This is why it is a good idea to address your definition of "winning" and your philosophies on playing time at the Preseason meeting - and to continue to give regular updates to the parents on the progress of the children, so that they will realize that the players actually are learning new skills in practice, which will help to improve their win/loss record over time.
Also understand that, to some parents, the only thing that matters is that their child is on a "winning" team (even as a bench-sitter). There also are parents who truly believe that they are entitled to drop in and out of any activity without penalty, and it is your job to be an unpaid babysitter for times when it is convenient for them to drop the child off. If most of the parents do not agree with your coaching philosophies, then you are the wrong leader for this particular group - even though you are a good person and may be a terrific coach. If you are the wrong person for the job which is being offered, then you need to know this - or you will be beating your head against the wall in frustration.
If parents have been acting as your assistants at practices, it is not uncommon for them to want to continue to participate during games. This is something which you need to watch closely, for several reasons. First, if other parents see a "non-coach" giving instructions to players on the field, they are going to be tempted to start doing this themselves. This will drive the kids crazy, because "too many cooks" really do spoil things. Secondly, most parents are going to be watching their own child - and giving most of their instructions to their own child. This can be very distracting to the child (even if the instructions are good) because it takes his attention away from the game and keeps him from using his own brain to figure things out for himself. Furthermore, many children simply want praise, praise and more praise from their parents - so any corrections will be viewed as a public statement of "Boy, you are so stupid, I hate having you as my kid." Finally, and often most importantly, the instructions being given by these "helpers" often tend to be completely wrong - and exactly opposite from what you have been working on at practice.
What to do? The key is tact - and a Preseason meeting. Explain to the parents that the kids need to be able to use the games as learning experiences - and too much criticism is going to feel to them that the parents view them as failures. Tell the parents that, on game day, the ONLY thing that you want to hear is some general praise "Nice job; good shot; unlucky; good idea; etc."). Tell your assistants that you really appreciate their help, but you need them to sit in the stands on game day, because you are afraid that other parents will be tempted to start "helping" by shouting instructions - and this will drive the kids nuts!
Then, if you have some parent who starts to give instructions, nip this in the bud early. Each time that the parent does this, smile and say "Remember the Rule, please." Be good humored about it. Make a sign which proclaims the stands as a NO COACHING ZONE. Bring a gag. But, don't permit this parent to violate your rules.
The same goes for parents who want to yell at opposing players or referees - except that you MUST leap in hard to prevent this. A very firm "George, we don't yell at the Refs" - followed by "Sorry, Ref - It won't happen again" - makes it clear to everyone that you don't like this conduct. Ditto for yelling at opposing players, but be even more forceful. It is very scary for smaller players to deal with irate adults - and you need to stop this immediately. If the parent doesn't listen, tell him to go sit in his car. Even if this means abandoning the game, or going to get a LYSA official to help(when playing at home), it is your obligation to protect these other children - just as you would want the other coach to protect your little ones. Besides, if you do not move in quickly, the next thing that you know, you will have some irate Dad from the other side coming to see your parent - and all hell could break loose. So, do what you need to do - but don't tolerate this type of behavior.
Almost every parent occasionally disagrees with your decisions as a coach (whether or not you hear about it). Usually, the parent is simply putting the interests of the child first - and seeing things from the child's point of view. Most parents don't complain, and are more likely to leave the team if they are unhappy with how things are handled. So, it is good to have parents who will bother to give you feedback (even if it can be painful to hear). Most of the time, this feedback is well-intentioned - and the parent simply wants an explanation for what has happened or wants to offer some suggestions about alternate ways to do things. Most of the time, this advice is well-intentioned (and the parent had no desire whatsoever to take over the team - or to try to order you around).
Most parents have 2 objectives when they sign the child up: for the child to succeed and for the child to be happy. If you praise the child in front of the parent, you can rest assured that the child will give you a big grin - and you earn points in both columns. Do this as often as you can - and you will keep gripes to a minimum. Any time that you start resenting the time that it takes to give this positive feedback, tell yourself that you could easily be spending double this time - and a lot less happily - talking to just one upset parent! In short, a good coach makes the parents believe that they have wonderful, successful and happy offspring - which causes the parents to believe that the coach must be an absolutely brilliant judge of children.
But, of course, you cannot please all of the people all of the time - and you may end up with a complainer or advice-giver despite your best efforts. If this happens, listen briefly to find out what the problem is, then schedule a time to talk about it. NEVER discuss any serious problem right before a practice (or right before a game). You have work to do, and don't need the distractions (and certainly don't need to be upset yourself if any harsh things are said). Furthermore, if the parent is really upset, you don't want any confrontation to occur in front of your players or other parents. So, set the discussion for the end of practice - or schedule a time to call the parent later (if this is something where the child does not need to hear the conversation).
NEVER discuss any problems or complaints right after a game. If a parent comes to you with a complaint right after a game, make up any excuse that you can and get out of there. Usually, these complaints come after a hard game and a hard loss, when everyone is upset. Give everyone time to cool off - so that things are not said which are regretted later.
When you do talk to the parent, listen carefully to the parent's problem. Be calm. Try to get them to see things from your point of view. If at all possible, lavish some praise on the child during the meeting (remember parental objectives). Try to verify their reports that the child is unhappy (for instance, some parents want their child to be the goal-scoring star, while the child truly is happiest as a keeper or sweeper). Volunteer to have a meeting with them and the child to talk about the situation. If the child truly is upset (for instance, he wants to be a forward, while you have rotated him to the back because he sorely needs to develop some defensive skills), talk about why you think that this is best. Usually you will be able to resolve complaints by open communication, and a calm approach to the problem.
However, some parents simply will not be satisfied, no matter what you do. This happens quite commonly with parents who were athletes, and ended up with non-athletic children, where it is easier to cast blame than to face reality about the child's lack of talent. If it is clear that you are not getting anywhere, suggest that you set up a joint meeting with LYSA members to talk about the problem. In the meantime, call the LYSA to give them a "heads-up" that they might hear from this parent, if it appears that the parent is truly irate.
If worse comes to worse, take heart that "parents-from-hell" tend to stick around for only a short time. Usually, you will find that they have been very unhappy with every coach whom their child has ever had - so they go back in the pool every season. In fact, don't be surprised if, when you call the LYSA, you hear a large sigh come out of the phone - along with a comment of "Oh, no. Not them again."
1.
Overview
Coaching children under eight years of age presents some additional challenges due to their immaturity, short attention span, and less developed muscles. You will also need to deal with a great variation between personalities, physical size, and abilities. Your objective should be for all of the kids to have fun, make friends, and learn some soccer skills that will help them should they decide to continue to the next level. You should not expect to win all of your games or expect everyone to listen to long lectures. Your goal is to introduce them to basic concepts like dribbling and kicking and make it enough fun that they want to keep playing as their bodies and minds mature. Go down to their level of thinking. Don't try to bring them up to yours. What was fun when you were five years old? The kid who is watching clouds float by will tell you were the greatest coach in the world if he had fun. He will have fun when he kicks the ball or at least when he makes an attempt and gets praise instead of criticism.
Here are some good principles to follow:
It's important to make sure parents understand what you are trying to accomplish and how you will be going about it. So, explain the objectives to the parents at the beginning of the season and get agreement. Some of the parents will be new to soccer, so give the parents a written summary containing the following:
Some that are appropriate for wee ones are:
3. Practices
Keep things moving quickly. Participate in all of the warm-ups and drills -in fact; exaggerate your motions to illustrate the proper procedure. Do the actions at the same time as you are explaining a stretch or a drill (not after).
Do the same warm-ups and stretches each practice. It is less important to do a lot of stretches with Y7�s. A warm-up regime may consist of 5 each of inside right, inside left, outside right, outside left passes and 5 gentle chest traps.
Encourage 15 min of practice at home on the days we do not practice. You may encourage the parents to participate in the warm-up exercises with their own child. This allows the coach to teach the proper technique to the parents, too, so that if they work with their child, they will reinforce proper technique. The coach my give the parents others suggestions for at home practice, i.e. dribbling and passing (working on leading your partner).
Have the kids hold a ball for the stretches where it is appropriate. This increases the fun and familiarizes them with the ball so they won't be alarmed when the balls comes their way on game day.
Avoid drills with line-ups. Try to incorporate skill development into soccer related games. They each should have the ball at their feet almost all of the time. Success is related to the attempt not the outcome. As a coach you must get excited about the attempt, not the outcome (if the attempt is genuine the outcomes will continually get better). This is difficult, because we as coaches (and parents) are conditioned to see the end results. Emphasize technique rather than speed.
At this age, there is less emphasis on progression than with older groups because they are too young to put several moves together successfully and they will get bored if there is not much variation between drills. For example, you may progress a drill to do it with the other foot, or complete a drill and then take a shot on net, but much more than this will bore them. However, a new drill or soccer related game can work on the same type of skill. An example might be:
Skills should be broken down into smaller components. For example, passing may be learned by one kid rolling the ball to a passer, who tries to pass it back. Then have the kids slowly push the balls with the inside of their feet and finally have them pass it back and forth at regular speed.
Drills for small children must be tailored to their abilities and promote the development of individual skills rather than team skills, which will come later.
Put any difficult children in at the start of the game. That way, as they start to lose focus they can come off and you can put in more mature children who will be focused for the duration of the game. There should be unlimited substitutions at this age. Have the assistants help with substitutions so you can concentrate on the game.
For the first couple of games you will have to give some direction ("the goal is the other way, Johnny") but you should reduce this as soon as possible to allow the kids to find their own. At the beginning, to get them to actively participate you may only need to point at the ball or tell them to "go get it".
However remember that it is not your game! Avoid active coaching on the field as it only encourages the kind of shouting that continues on into older age groups. If the coach does the thinking for them, they will never learn to do it for themselves. Same principle applies for doing the talking for them.
Don't spend too much time setting up formations at the beginning of the game or set plays. A simple "spread out" or "give five big steps for the free kick" is enough. At this age there is a universal tendency for the kids to bunch-up around the ball. You will see a swarm of kids move around with the ball popping out occasionally. This is normal and there is nothing you can do to prevent it, so don't worry about it or try to correct it. You may assign some kids to defensive duties but they are likely to make a run for the ball like the rest when they see it.
Under 6 is generally too young to expect any teamwork. If you see a pass, it is more likely than not an errant shot on goal. Where goalies are used, the selection of a goalkeeper may create some competition among the kids. In general, let every kid have a chance in practice. For games, putting a kid who is not capable in goal may hurt their confidence and cause resentment from the other players. Tell the players that goalie is an important position and you will watch them playing and select the kid who you believe is trying the hardest. If you chance the goalie, tell him or her they did well in net and now you want them to help the team by scoring some goals. Remember the objective: HAVE FUN!
Tip: Keep team numbers reasonable (avoid long boring lines), for example use two goals for two different groups so lines are half as long.
Have the players in two lines by the centre circle. Have a player from one line start moving towards the net and feed him/her a ball from beside the net. They have to dribble toward the net and shoot. Normally avoid any drills with line-ups, however this one works because the kids move quickly through the line. You should have lots of parents to help collect balls and keep kids moving through the lines.
Play 1v1 with one player against one player, each has a cone as a goal. This is every player; nobody stands and watches. The object is to hit the cone; there are no boundary lines, etc. This is nothing but 1v1 dribbling with a little bit of long passing/shooting, etc. They figure out very quickly that they have to beat their man and nothing else will do. After about five minutes, everybody switches to somebody they haven't played yet. This way nobody is hopelessly outmatched against the same player for very long. They hate to stop doing this until about forty minutes or so when their tongues are hanging to the ground (it's also a good conditioner). This also teaches individual initiative - nobody else is going to stop the opponent; nobody else is going to score the goal.
The team concept is best taught with unbalanced drills (i.e., 2 v. 1, and 3 v. 2, etc.)-- this is true for players of all ages, but especially with younger players. This will make the benefit of team play obvious and it will "let the game be the teacher". Start with 2 v. 1 drills, then when the players clearly recognize the value of combining to beat one player-- either to beat and score or to maintain possession-- consider a move to 3 v. 2 (vary the amount of space the drills are carried out in-- space is almost another subject).
Divide players into two teams. Station each team at a corner post of the goal, standing off, but facing the field. Place a keeper in goal facing the field. Coach/assistant stands behind the center of the goal with a supply of balls. Coach tosses a ball over the crossbar to about the penalty spot. A player from each team both sprint to the ball and attempt to control it, turn, and get a shot off. The second to the ball defends (if he then wins the ball, then he tries to shoot). When there is a score, save, or ball goes out of play, restart the same way with a different pair of players. May want to limit amount of time each pair has to attempt to score as some kids will dribble all over the field if you let them and everyone else gets bored. Limit the area that the combatants can "fight" in to the penalty area.
Picture a square about 20 yards to a side. Coach is at one corner. Two teams are at each of two corners to immediate right and left of coach. Coach serves balls between the two teams first players in line from each team attempt to receive ball and turn and pass to their own team. Second player to the ball attempts to defend, prevent turn, or gain possession and turn and pass to his team. Score one point for turning and passing and successful reception. This keeps the two players in line and the second players in line who are the receivers into the game. Receivers cannot enter field but can adjust position along a line to receive pass. Coach can vary the service to handicap one player or another, serve hard, soft, air balls, or into the space beyond the two lines, etc. Coach controls time and with cones lays out the space for play (if no one can turn and pass within a few seconds, no points and the next players are up; dribble out of bounds and the same thing-- get back in line and coach serves another ball).
Although you should limit the number of line drills, the following drills are very helpful in teaching younger players important fundamental aspects of the game (all these are on a field stepped off to regulation size, preferably with a regulation goal).
Players rotate positions:
Wee ones love the idea of a "new" game � so it is a good idea the change the rules of the game or chance the game every 10 minutes to keep interest. Instructions have to be broken into little steps and kept very brief. If you can not do it and show it in about 20 seconds, then do it in stages, demo part 1, then expand to part 2 etc.
The key to little kids soccer drills is for every player to have a ball and a variety of 'games', and drills that include every player. After playing soccer related games, pick one aspect of the game (dribbling, or shooting, or passing) and build the rest of your practice session around that.
The exercise is good for 1 vs 1 dribbling skills. It is especially good on a hot day as the kids defending can rest a bit. Divide the kids into 2 groups. If you have ten kids, say, assign each kid a number between one and five. So each team has a number one, a number two, etc. Try to make sure the kids with the same number are evenly matched. Set up two very wide "goals" with pylons. Spread the five kids on each side across each goal line. Call out one or more numbers, and those kids come out to play 1 vs 1, 2 vs 2, etc. and the rest of the kids stay spread across the goal line as defenders. Throw a ball from the sideline into the centre and let them play it until a goal is scored, the defenders stop it, or it goes out of bounds.
Variation: Colors. Use two each of different colored pinnies, armbands, or stickers to place on shirts, as younger kids will have trouble remembering numbers.
All players form a circle and choose someone (the "Monkey") to be in its center. The players forming the circle pass one ball among them while the person in the center tries to gain control of the ball. When this happens, the person in the circle who last touched the ball goes to the center. Some level of competitiveness develops but never on an individual basis and the "losers" quickly gets a chance to redeem themselves.
Mark off an area for the game to be played and select one kid to be the "Monster". Have the rest of the kids (each with a ball) dribble around within the area. The "Ice Monster" attempts to touch each player's ball, at which point that player "freezes" with their foot on the ball. If a player's ball goes out of bounds, they also freeze. The last remaining unfrozen player gets to be the new Ice Monster for the next round.
Have the kids (each with a ball) line up on one side of the field. These guys are the "Robbers". Have two more kids (the Cops) facing the Robbers somewhere near halfway to the other side. The object is for the Robbers to dribble to the other side without having a Cop tackle the ball away. If a robber loses his ball to a cop, he goes to jail (designate a small area off to the side or use a Goal structure.) Have the Robbers repeat the crossings until there are only 2 left. Make these guys the new cops, pull everyone out of jail and start over.
A keepaway game. Coaching points: concentrate on the player's close dribbling and screening techniques. Everybody inside a circle (center circle is fine) with a ball. One player without a ball is the Pirate. Everybody starts dribbling around. The Pirate player tries to steal a ball from any player and pass it out of the circle - now, the two players are Pirates and go after the others.....then three, then four. Finally only one player is left with a ball. He/she becomes the Pirate the next game.
Variation: Bomber. Just like above except the "IT" player has a ball and tries to roll/throw it at the other player's and knock their ball out of the circle.
Everyone dribbles and shields their ball within a circle while trying to kick everyone else's ball out, and simultaneously to protect their own. You can't kick someone else's ball out if your ball isn't in the circle. If your ball goes out you have to leave the circle it gets down to two kids in a duel. The coach may participate to keep the game from becoming to competitive, as the ones eliminated early may feel bad.
This one is good for getting the kids to move after they make a pass. It is appropriate for kids a little older, who pass the ball but like to stop and really admire their better passes. Everyone spaces themselves around the center circle. Give the ball to one person and they call out someone's name and pass to them. They then run to the receiver's position in the circle. The receiver upon hearing their name called steps forward to receive the pass and yells "I got it!" The sequence is then repeated. Several things are accomplished besides getting them used to movement. The "I got it!" yell addresses the problem of nobody playing the ball in a game because they thought the other was going to play it. We all learn each other's names quickly.
Invariably, someone is always left out so start a countdown from 10 to 0 and they have to figure out who has been left out (the left out person should be quiet). They start yelling among themselves to figure out who it is and this fosters communication on the field. (It's pretty humorous too).
After a few practices, they get it down so they look pretty sharp. Then you toss in another ball. They love it! Now they have to think a bit because people are moving and two are busy with the other ball.
Have more balls than players. Have the players line-up across one end of the field. Take their balls and spread them out around the field, these are the eggs. At the other end of the field is a goal called the "basket". Blow the whistle and turn them loose. The object of the game is to get all the "eggs" in the basket as quickly as possible. They are all on the same team, and aren't allowed to take a ball away from another player. Time them to see how fast they can accomplish the task.
The kids really like this game. The more balls (eggs) the better. You should see them score, and turn right around and go back for more balls.
Split your team into two groups and line them up behind two opposing lines. Each player should have a ball. Place an unusual color (or size) ball in the middle. This is the marble (a #2 ball works well). Have them try to move the marble across the other team's line by striking it with a ball. After the game starts, don't require them to use their own ball, they are free to use any other ball they can find.
At first the players may get really excited and kick the marble. If this happens, call time-out and put it back.
Variation: eliminate the teams and play it in a circle. The game is over when the ball exits the circle.
During the last practice of the season have a scrimmage between the parents and the players (with the coaches helping the players). This serves a couple of purposes. The kids love this game. They get a chance to show their parents what they can do and they enjoy beating their parents. (The parents never win, the coaches make sure of that....) Also, since many of the parents have never played soccer it shows them how difficult the game really is. The hope is that a parent may now think twice before "yelling" at a child for missing and "easy" shot in a game. Everybody seems to enjoy this scrimmage.
For warm-ups, play games which are not soccer related, but promote physical activity and are a lot of fun. Simon says, freeze tag, team tag, take-away, etc. Remember that the kids aren't showing up to play soccer, they're showing up to have fun. Have fun with them.
Teaches kids with the ball to shield it from an opponent and teaches kids without the ball how to take it away from an opponent. Use pylons to create a 15-yard square. One player, the shark, starts outside the square without a ball. All other players, the minnows, start inside the square with a ball. When the coach yells, "Shark's getting hungry!" the shark starts running around the outside of the square and the fish start dribbling around inside the square. When the coach yells, "Shark attack!" the shark enters the square and has 30 seconds to send as many balls as possible outside the square. When a ball leaves the square for any reason, the corresponding fish must leave the square and stay out until the coach gives the "Stop!" command at the end of the 30 seconds. A fish has done well if still alive. The shark has done well if few fish survived. Choose a new shark and play another round until every player has been the shark once.
Line up all the players on one end of the field. They each have a ball. On the whistle, they all dribble to opposite end, shoot ball into goal, get ball out of goal, and run back and finish with a shot on opposite goal. The first one to finish is the winner. Ask them "Who is going to win the race?" They all learn to say "The player who can dribble it the straightest!" A variation is to start half at one end and half on the other. This really teaches them to try to do it fast while maintaining possession. This drill really helps players deal with the balls that pop out of the bunch.
Soccer players need a lot of different skills, and it does not matter for most of these skills whether you teach Skill A or Skill B first. However, there are some skills that are absolute "must-haves" for any player- and are so important that you probably will want to teach them first.
These are basic ball-holding skills (receiving and shielding); basic ball-stealing skills (defense); and basic take-on skills (attacking). Most kids naturally seem to have a few basic defensive skills, even if they were never formally taught. The other two areas require instruction to accomplish with even minimal competency, so there is a good argument to start first with ball-holding skills; move next to take-on skills; and then to get to ball-stealing skills.
Why ball-holding before take-on? Simple. Once you get possession, the other side is going to try to take the ball back. If you can hang onto the ball under pressure, you'll have time to make better decisions (including finding an open teammate to pass the ball to). Also, if you are confident that you can hold the ball, you are much less likely to blindly try to simply whack it away and let someone else worry about it (a technique commonly known as "passing the responsibility rather than the ball" or the "hot-potato phenomenon"). What are ball-holding skills? Most folks refer to them as receiving and shielding skills. The first step (receiving) is to bring the ball under control quickly. Then, you use your body/legs to get between the opponent and the ball to protect (shield) the ball. It includes really basic stuff like simply stepping over the ball when somebody is coming in, as well as somewhat harder stuff (but still easy) like rolling/pulling the ball back behind you or to your side. The rolling/pulling of the ball requires some work, as you need to learn to use both feet - and to switch feet. However, one of the key ingredients is to learn to bend the knees; get the arms out; and use your weight to push back into the opponent. As kids get more advanced, they can learn how to spring off of an opponent (or roll off of him by using a circle turn). However, at the very beginning stages, they are fine if they can simply get their bottoms down; get those knees bent; push hard back into the opponent; and get enough weight on their support leg to be able to free their far foot and use it to roll the ball around. Along with these ball-holding skills, you will want to introduce some basic receiving skills, so that they can bring the ball under control quickly (which is essential if they are going to have any hope of shielding it).
How to do this? Start with two equal-sized players with a single ball in a grid about 3-yards square and have them work on holding the ball by using simple rolls, pullbacks and other touches to shield the ball. If you teach your players ANYTHING, teach them the skills to keep possession. Once they realize that they have the skills to keep an opponent from stealing the ball, they will gain the confidence to lift their heads up and find another player to pass off to. Before they gain this confidence, you can expect terrible passing simply because they will get flustered at the first hint of pressure (and might even "feel" panicked at pressure which is 10-20 yards away). Until your players can hold a ball 1v1 in a grid about 10 feet by 10 feet for a count of around 7-8, they are not going to have enough confidence to do very well on the field.
After learning some basic shielding/receiving skills, the next thing to learn is some basic dribbling skills. Different coaches have different philosophies on how to teach dribbling. Many coaches spend a lot of time trying to teach young players a lot of fancy moves which were made famous by noted international stars (who, incidentally, only perfected these fancy moves after years and years of hard work on the basics). This approach works for some kids who are naturally graceful and quick. However, it can have the unfortunate result of convincing an awful lot of kids that "I can't dribble" when they simply are still growing; are a bit clumsy; and cannot get their big feet and/or unwieldy bodies to do all of the ballerina stuff.
What these coaches don't realize is that a player only needs to know about 3 basic moves to be able to dribble very successfully--and that virtually all top-notch players use these same 3 moves about 90% of the time when they are dribbling the ball. ANYBODY CAN LEARN THESE 3 MOVES (and this includes the coach)!
The moves are the check; the simple cut/explosion using the outside of the dribble foot; and the chop (cut with the inside of the foot). If they can master these three moves, and learn the standard, straight-ahead dribbling technique (i.e. knee over the ball; front of dribble foot pulls the ball along so it stays on/near the foot at all times), they can learn to beat a reasonable number of defenders especially if those defenders are coming in at speed.
The key to take-on skills is getting the head up to watch the defender which is dependent on having enough ball-control that you know where the ball is and what it is going to do without needing to look. Then, as soon as the defender tries to stab at the ball, you can take advantage of his "dead leg" (weight mainly on one leg) by attacking the outside of the dead leg and going around him. Piece of cake!!
Of course, once your players become convinced that they can dribble, they probably will want to work on "cool moves". This is a great warm-up. In fact, it can be great homework (Coach at end of practice: "Johnny needs to learn a new move and teach it to us at next practice; anyone who uses it in the scrimmage gets a lollipop"). But don't put the cart before the horse. Convince them that they can dribble and the fancy moves will take care of themselves.
The next thing to learn is basic defense including simple delay as well as ball-stealing. The first thing to teach is simple delaying tactics by use of good footwork to get in the attacker's way. Time is the defender's friend, and speed is the attacker's friend, so you want to delay and delay and delay to allow your teammates to come and help. Once you're "numbers up", it's easier to steal the ball! The second skill is the standing tackle followed by the shoulder charge.
Of course, after you've taught these very basic skills, you'll need to work on passing technique and kicking technique since most kids won't be able to pass accurately or do a laces kick or a chip without instruction (although most will toe-kick just fine). Whatever you do, please don't teach your kids that the "proper" way to score is to break the net with a hard shot. Many kids get the impression that they cannot play forward unless they have a very hard shot. This is garbage. Most goals in games will be scored by passes, not by blistering shots on goal (pull out your WC tapes and watch - this is universally true for most goals, except for set plays). So, get them used to scoring by simply passing the ball into the net and their future coaches will thank you. Nothing wrong with scoring by a kick, mind you. Just don't get them into the mindset that their spectacular dribbling run through 6 defenders needs to end with a bullet shot as they'll inevitably put the ball out too far in front of them to get the shot off and the keeper will make a meal of it. On the other hand, they most likely would have scored if they had simply kept the head up; watched the keeper; and pushed it past him.
Depending on your age group, the next stage is often to introduce wall passes but these take lots of ball control/receiving/passing skills which often are not present at younger ages or with newer players. You'll also want to introduce the basic cutback or drop at some stage, as well as the square pass. The cutback or drop (where the on-ball player takes the ball to the goal line and cuts it back to the penalty mark) are common support options. These are all basic 2v1 options for support - and I haven't even added the overlap!
There is not much point in even adding much in the 3v1 or 3v2 attacking category until your kids have mastered the basic jobs of the on-ball player and the player who is closest to him (the 2nd attacker, in coach-speak). Once the kids have figured out how to keep the ball; take somebody on; and provide simple 2v1 support; add in the concepts of basic triangles for support and focus on the job of the off-ball players to promptly move so that the on-ball player always has 2 safe, short passing options. Along with improving first-touch and some more basic take-on, finishing and defending skills, this should be quite enough to occupy your team (and you) through the next World Cup.
Along the way, expect
them to make mistakes in deciding what was the "best" support option.
Expect them to go to sleep from time to time, and not move into a good support
position. Expect their first-touch to fail them. But, if you work them in
these basics and push them to learn these simple rules, they are likely to
be among the best players on the field in a few years.
Coaching
Emphasis for Division III � Division IV
��������� At this point, if goals and objectives have been met in micro leagues and Div. II, your players should be advanced enough to begin learning the offensive and defensive strategies that make soccer the �beautiful�game.� As a coach at this level, your training criteria is somewhat more complex than at the micro levels.� You begin to look at the field of play in a more analytical way.� Strategies of play should begin to develop.� Instead of singular activities such as teaching �lace� kicks and straight-away dribbles(although you should always spend some time refreshing the basic skill sets) you must begin to build your team into a complete functioning unit.�
����
The following pages should serve as a guideline on how to instruct
at this level.� Not every skill has to be engrained, however it is important that
the major concepts be utilized to some degree.�
Through this development cycle you are teaching your kids to truly
play as a team, each individual with the same objective that when performed
as a whole manifests itself into successful performance of the task.� Whether that task is penetration of a 3-forward
attack culminating in a successful cross and score, or the long-term strategy
of devising a defense that has the depth, balance, and communication to confidently
stop and set up counter attack against an opposing offense.� As a coach this has always been the most fun
part of the job for me.����
�
The basic job duties of a defender are: "No Get; No Turn; No Pass; No Shoot". This means that the first job of a defender is to keep his mark from ever getting the ball; then to keep his mark from turning if he gets the ball; then to keep his mark from passing the ball off to a more dangerous attacker; and, lastly, to prevent any shot on goal.
There are 3 basic positions in defense, which are best described by the acronym "PCB" (Pressure-Cover-Balance). The person closest to the ball is called the First Defender, and his job is to provide pressure on the ball.
The second-closest person who is goal-side of the ball (meaning closer to his team's goal than the opponent) is called the Second Defender. His job is to provide cover (as his job is to immediately become the pressure person if the attacker gets by the First Defender). In addition, the Second Defender frequently will have the additional job of guarding (called "marking") another off-ball attacker to whom the ball might be passed for a shot. Typically, the Second Defender will choose to mark ball- side of his mark if possible (but will mark goal-side if he cannot provide proper support for the First attacker or if he knows that his mark is much faster than he is, so that he needs a lead to keep from being beaten).
The defender who is in the deepest position (closest to goal) if a line were to be drawn from the attacker to the goal is called the Third Defender, and his job is to provide balance to the defense. In essence, he is providing additional cover for the two primary defenders, and also watching out for additional incoming attackers making runs towards the center or far post areas of the goal.
Regardless of which educational approach is taken, all players should be taught these basic principles, and how to apply them in a game setting. If formations/positions are taught, it is very important that players understand their supporting duties to those players who are immediately around them (e.g., that someone who is a midfielder understands that they will be the pressuring defender if closest to the ball, and that they must loop around to provide cover for the defender behind them - and pick up his mark - if beaten by the attacker). Sometimes, young players mistakenly believe that, unless they have the job title of "defender", they do not have defensive duties. Thus, it is very important that they clearly understand that these concepts apply to everyone, including those who are "forwards".
In the attack, there are 3 basic positions. The person with the ball is called the First Attacker. His job is to retain possession while getting the ball as close to goal as possible through dribbling, passing or shooting.
The player(s) within an easy ground pass of the First Attacker are called Second Attackers. Up until the time when the ball is advanced to within scoring range of the goal, the primary role of the Second Attacker(s) is to prevent loss of possession, while still allowing the ball to be advanced forward if at all possible. Prior to getting into scoring range, a single Second Attacker typically will position himself so as to allow short relay passes between himself and the First Attacker (in order to move the ball around the defenders). Of course, the ultimate goal of the attackers is to get the ball past all of the defenders and into unobstructed space within scoring range of the goal. Thus, as the ball moves within scoring range, the role of the single Second Attacker switches from a "safety-first" orientation of keeping possession (which may even mean moving the ball away from goal in order to keep it) to the more active role of setting up a shot on goal by himself or the First Attacker. At this point, the Second Attacker's objective is to move into a position which will allow the First Attacker to pass the ball into "scoring space" behind or to the side of the defenders (i.e., space from which an immediate shot can be taken). The positioning of the single Second Attacker will depend on the number of defenders to be beaten. Normally, however, a single Second Attacker will position himself on the far side of the defenders and set up within scoring range of the far post area, which allows him to distract and/or pull one defender away from the central goal area (or, if unobserved, to sneak in the "back door" while everyone is watching the attacker with the ball.
Where there are two Second Attackers (close supporters) available, they will position themselves to form a moving triangle with their on-ball teammate, by moving into space between or to the side of the defenders so that the ball always has a clear path to their feet. As the ball is moved into scoring range, one of these players often will abandon his close support role and will become a Third Attacker (although this job also may be taken up by any other off-ball teammate who can fulfill the duties).
The Third Attacker's job is to unbalance the defense by making deep runs, usually to the far side of the goal. By doing this, the Third Attacker pulls defenders away from the goal mouth, distracts the keeper and defenders in front of the goal, and opens up space in front of the goal which can be exploited by incoming teammates.
All
players need to be taught these basic principles of attacking support. In
particular, they need to learn the concepts of setting support triangles (basic
keepaway) and how to move to create basic 2-man and 3-man attacking support,
because these tools are essential weapons used by all soccer players to maintain
possession in tight spaces and create scoring chances.
With just a little direction, your players will be able to understand that, if their team sends everyone to the opposing goal, their own goal will be wide-open and vulnerable to a counterattack. But, of course, if everyone stays back to guard their goal, they won't ever score (and, besides, this would be boring).
Ask them for their solutions for the defensive problem. One of the first suggestions which you probably will get is to leave somebody by the goal. However, when you ask for volunteers, you are likely to find that everyone will want to be in the attacking group.
Well, if nobody wants to stay to guard the goal, then what other solutions are available?
Well, one defensive solution is to have everyone pick one of the players on the other team to guard when the other team has the ball. Instantly, you have introduced the concept of marking - and following your mark. But, what happens if somebody loses his mark (either because he gets distracted or is slower than his mark)? Well, then you need to have the nearest available player jump in and cover for him, right? This is the second basic element of defensive support - and needs to be learned (and relearned) constantly. However, man-marking may be unsuited for players below u10s, as they tend to be very distractable. In addition, because of smaller player size/strength, most opposing players tend not to be scoring threats until fairly close to goal - so it may be a waste of defensive manpower to mark players outside of scoring range.
Another defensive solution is available which may be easier for younger players to execute. In this solution, you can send 1 player to slow down the person with the ball (and another one to back him up) in order to give time for everyone else on the team to get back and make a swarm in front of the goal area. This is called "low-pressure defense," and is an approach which can work well with junior teams IF the pressuring players know how to do their jobs and IF the retreating players remain alert to the need to become the pressuring players themselves if the ball is played to an attacker who is close to them. Once attacking players are within scoring range, of course, they must be marked - particularly when opposing players have developed the leg strength to make lofted shots on goal.
What happens if the other team has some really fast players? Well, if you also have some really fast players who are good defensively, one easy solution is to man-mark these particular threats (even if you are using a low-pressure system overall). Bear in mind, however, even a slow defender can be quite effective in stopping a speedy attacker once he learns basic defensive footwork and positioning. Lots of players who have had exposure to other sports such as basketball already will have been exposed to these concepts. Essentially, the job of the initial pressuring defender is to slow the attacker down by getting in his way, steadily dropping back as slowly as possible - and not making any attempt to win the ball until cover has arrived. This is a job which anyone can do with practice, so do not allow your slower players to avoid learning these vital skills because of their lack of speed.
Once you have decided on how you will defend your own goal, then you are ready to decide the best way to attack the goal of the opposing team. At least initially, your best bet probably will be to permit most of the players to swarm (i.e., to play like midfielders), and choose one or two to stay outside and a bit ahead of the swarm ("Lead Bee" - or forward) and one or two to follow behind the swarm ("Ball Eater" or defender). Because the regular Bees tend to do the most running, you need to give them the right to switch out with the front/rear players if they get tired. Additionally, you need to give the front/back players the right to require a switch if they notice that somebody is getting tired. By adopting these rules, you introduce the idea of automatic observation and support for teammates - which is always a good idea. Of course, you need to watch that you don't have one player who is always trying to be the back or front player (and, if needed, you may need to make a rule that everyone else must get a turn before he can go back - or place some other limits which require that the bulk of playing time be spent in midfield).
Initially, until you develop good passers, most of your goals are likely to come from individual efforts or a simple short lateral pass to a teammate. So, when a Ball Eater gets the ball, it is usually best to simply allow him to try to dribble it upfield (although you can ask him to try to pass the ball to the Lead Bee if he thinks that this will work). Of course, once a Ball Eater has gone ahead of the swarm, you need to have someone else become a Ball Eater until he can get back. Often, the best approach is to find a reliable observant player to act as Captain, and have this player keep a lookout for when someone else needs to take this job (either by doing it himself or asking someone else to do this).
As soon as possible, start to introduce your players to keepaway games. Once they can achieve 5-6 passes in 4v1 or 5v1 keepaway, start playing 3v3 games where everyone on the team must touch the ball before they can score. If one player starts dominating ball possession, add a restriction of no more than 5 touches before the ball is passed.
Once your players competently can play these games (meaning that they can pass/receive/shield), they are ready for training on 2-man attacking patterns. In the meantime, of course, they should be spending considerable time perfecting their individual dribbling skills, and learning how to take-on and beat defenders with basic cuts/feints.
The ideal format in which to teach fundamental principles of offensive/defensive support is 3v3 or 4v4 soccer, and to use the basic principles of offensive and defensive positioning to introduce players to the concept of "positions". However, many coaches will find that their new team is playing 7v7, 8v8 or 9v9 soccer - even though their players lack the fundamental background and skills to be able to handle the complex decisions presented by such a large group.
Furthermore, many coaches will discover that their opponents rely on 2-3 big/fast players to dominate the game; relegate 2-3 slow/small players to the job of guarding the goal; and tell everyone else to just feed the ball to Johnny or Timmy if it comes to them. And, worse yet, these teams win lots of games - so it is likely that some parents will mount a campaign to take this same approach (especially if they see their own child as a potential superstar)!
As a result, one of your first tasks as a coach may be to explain to your parents that such coaches are merely using these players to feed their own egos - and are not doing any favors to any of their players. Over time, most of the non-superstars will quit soccer because of lack of fun (and those who want to stay in soccer will not have developed the skills which they needed to be successful, since they only got to touch the ball maybe 3-4 times in the entire game). Even the superstars are likely to face problems in the long haul, both from an emotional standpoint (when they finally face real competition from other stars) and from a skills standpoint (since they usually do not know how to pass or defend, and only know how to dribble/shoot).
But, unless you have solid credentials as a coach, many parents and players may start questioning your abilities if your team starts losing its games by big margins. And, your job of player development may be complicated by the fact that your team is blessed with at least 1-2 players who have little athletic talent/interest, or who have physical/mental impairments which make learning more challenging (so it is unlikely that these kids will become soccer players even if you spent every waking hour on the task). Sometimes, the kids on the team may have lots of overall athletic talent, but may be smaller/younger than average and cannot expect to win footraces or pushing contests with kids who are one foot taller and 50 pounds heavier, so you may have to face the reality that short-term wins are very unlikely, no matter what you do.
When you are facing these types of predicaments, it may become necessary to use some initial positioning assignments just to buy the time needed to work on the basic skills of the core group of players (bearing in mind that it may take 2 or more seasons to accomplish this). Here are some suggestions.
For the first few games at least, consider putting your best players on defense. While you probably will not score, at least you will avoid getting quite as badly clobbered. As quickly as you can, try to develop a few promising players to work in as wing defenders (which will allow you to rotate your more seasoned players into the central midfield or even into a forward role). It is generally considered that the hardest job on the field is sweeper (or central defender, if no sweeper); the second hardest is center midfield and central defender (with a sweeper behind him), followed by center forward, left defender, left mid, right forward, right defender, left forward, and right midfielder. Typically, for weaker or less-talented players, it is conventional wisdom to put them in one of the easier positions and sandwich them between two solid players (so that there is good cover if they run into problems).
Having started out with assigning players to particular positions in a formation, it may be difficult to try to abandon the positional approach later. All is not lost, however.
Why? Because you will set positional rules which allow maximum flexibility to participate in the play. For example, those players who are assigned to act as wing defenders will be given positional "rules" to cover the opposing attackers - but they will not have their feet nailed to the midline. Instead, they will be permitted to follow the opposing attackers anywhere (so, if their mark drops back to his own PA to try to get the ball, your defender will be on his heels trying to steal it back and put it in the net). Similarly, the sweeper will act like a trailing Ball Eater (and play around 10-15 yards off of his wing Ds - so he also can become a goal-scorer). Your center mid will be assigned to act as the fill-in for the sweeper, and assigned to drop back to cover if the sweeper goes to goal. Other players will also be given support duties for the players beside, in front of, and behind them.
Additionally, you will create a plan to train your players so that, over the course of 1-2 seasons, most will be able to play in any position on the field. Finally, you will spend considerable time teaching the fundamental principles of support and defense (as well as the skills at their foundation). As a result, as your players gain the knowledge and skill to apply these principles, their "positions" ultimately will serve more as guidelines for their major area of responsibility while they are in this particular relative space.
What initial formation should you choose? The basic decisions involved in choosing formations are covered in the Advanced section, along with a discussion of various common types of formations. However, regardless of the formation which is chosen, you must remember that your ultimate goal is to develop every player to the point where he can do any job on the field with reasonable competence and that, to reach this goal, each player MUST know the basic principles of offensive and defensive support.
�Basic Guide To Formations and
Positional Training
Most teams (and new coaches) are thrown into games after just a few practices, often before the coach has had a real chance to teach the players anything. Thus, new coaches often feel intense pressure to "win", and may take early losses personally. This can lead them to worry excessively about where to put their players to maximize their "wins" when they really should be worrying about giving their young charges valuable experience in all parts of the field. These same fears of "failure" (i.e., not winning) can also cause some youth coaches to focus on a few stars and relegate the rest to the bench or supporting roles. When this happens, most of the players don't learn anything or have any fun, and even the development of the "stars" can be harmed in the long run.
Because kids have these wonderfully short memories and an ingrained focus on "me", any coach can have a "winning" season by setting the kids up to succeed at some task in every game and praising them for this accomplishment. Of course, a good coach also wants to teach them to work together and to whittle down the "me" focus a bit. Therefore, good coaches will include some team objectives that encourage the kids to work together (e.g., "Let's see if we can get 3 passes in a row in each quarter"). So, don't be afraid to use a long-term focus and to define "winning" in a way that gives everyone a fair chance to succeed.
The first few games simply show the skills that any prior coaches taught your players and give you an idea of their natural athletic talent. So, the last thing on the mind of a new coach should be worries about winning the early games. Instead, the focus properly should be on long-term skill development. When this happens, the wins ultimately will start coming to your team as they become one of the more skilled teams on the field. This can take up to a year or more, so be sure to let everyone know in advance that you do not intend to worry at all about the short-term won/loss record.
How does a new coach who knows nothing about soccer get these kids trained and organized, so that they will be the most skilled? It is not very hard, as long as you keep it simple.
Soccer is a very simple game. It has only 3 basic positions that are used in attacking, and only 3 basic positions that are used in defending. This is why many soccer clubs are moving towards 3v3 and 4v4 games at the younger age levels, so that players get a good foundation in this basic positioning. In addition, by playing 3v3 or 4v4 soccer, younger players end up with substantially more contact with the ball, which improves their skill level and makes things more fun.
The 3 basic positions of players on defense are best described by the acronym "PCB" (Pressure-Cover-Balance).
The person closest to the ball is called the First Defender, and his job is to provide PRESSURE on the ball.
The second-closest person who is goal-side of the ball (meaning closer to his team's goal than the opponent) is called the Second Defender. His job is to provide COVER. That is, to be in a position to immediately become the pressure person if the attacker gets by the First Defender. In addition, the Second Defender will frequently have the additional job of guarding (called "marking") another off-ball attacker to whom the ball might be passed for a shot. The Second Defender will normally chose to take up a position ball-side of his mark if possible, but will mark goal-side if the ball-side position makes it impossible for him to provide support for the First Defender. Goal-side marking is also used if a defender knows that his mark is much faster than he is, as it gives him the lead that he needs to keep from being beaten.
The defender who is in the deepest position (closest to goal) if a line were to be drawn directly from the attacker to the goal is called the Third Defender. His job is to provide BALANCE to the defense. In essence, he is providing additional cover for the two primary defenders, and also watching out for additional incoming attackers making runs towards the center or far post areas of the goal.
All players should be taught these basic principles, and how to apply them in a game setting. It's also very important that players understand their supporting duties to those players who are immediately around them. For example, someone who is a midfielder must know that they must automatically and immediately assume the role of the "pressuring defender" if they're the closest player to the ball. Additionally, they must understand that they need to loop around to provide cover for the defender behind them and pick up his mark if they're initially beaten by the attacker. Sometimes, young players mistakenly believe that, unless they have been given the job title of "defender", they do not have defensive duties. Indeed, some coaches refuse to even use the label of "defender" in order to avoid this confusion, and just refer to the players at the back of the group as "backs", in order to reinforce the idea that everyone is a "defender" when their team does not have the ball.
It is normally easier for players to learn this basic positioning in terms of "Pressure-Cover-Balance", rather than using terms like First Defender. Thus, all that a young player needs to know is that the closest player to the ball is the Pressure player and to know what the job of the Pressure player is. Ditto for the Cover player and the Balance player.
There are also 3 basic positions in the attack. The person with the ball is called the First Attacker. His job is to retain possession while getting the ball as close to goal as possible by dribbling, passing or shooting.
The player(s) within an easy ground pass of the First Attacker are called Second Attackers. Up until the time when the ball is advanced to within scoring range of the goal, the primary role of the Second Attacker(s) is to prevent loss of possession, while still allowing the ball to be advanced forward if at all possible. Prior to getting into scoring range, a single Second Attacker typically will position himself so as to allow short relay passes between himself and the First Attacker in order to move the ball around the defenders). Of course, the goal of the attackers is to get the ball past all of the defenders into unobstructed space within scoring range of the goal and then, ultimately, into the goal itself.
Therefore, as the ball moves into scoring range, the role of the single Second Attacker switches from a "safety-first" orientation of keeping possession, which may even involve moving the ball away from the goal in order to keep it. Instead of "safety", the Second Attacker's role is to set up a shot on goal for himself or the First Attacker.
At this point, the Second Attacker's needs to move into a position that will allow the First Attacker to pass the ball into "scoring space" behind or to the side of the defenders, i.e., space from which an immediate shot can be taken. The positioning of the single Second Attacker will depend on the number of defenders to be beaten. Normally, however, a single Second Attacker will position himself on the far side of the defenders and set up within scoring range of the far post area. This allows him to distract and/or pull one defender away from the central goal area or, if unobserved, to sneak in the "back door" while everyone is watching the attacker with the ball.
Where there are two Second Attackers (i.e. close supporters) available, they will position themselves to form a moving triangle with their on-ball teammate, by moving into space between or to the side of the defenders so that the ball always has a clear path to their feet. As the ball is moved into scoring range, one of these players will often abandon his close support role and will become a Third Attacker although this job also may be taken up by any other off-ball teammate who can fulfill the duties.
The Third Attacker's job is to unbalance the defense by making deep runs, usually to the far side of the goal. By doing this, the Third Attacker pulls defenders away from the goal mouth; distracts the keeper and defenders in front of the goal; and opens up space in front of the goal which can be exploited by incoming teammates.
All players need to be taught these basic principles of attacking support. In particular, they need to learn the concepts of setting support triangles (basic keepaway) and how to move to create basic 2-man and 3-man attacking support, because these tools are essential weapons used by all soccer players to maintain possession in tight spaces and create scoring chances.
Ideally, your players would not be required to play any games before they acquired some basic ball skills and learned some a bit of soccer positioning. In truth, most clubs probably would be better off if they held skills contests like races to see which team could dribble around all of the cones in the shortest amount of time instead of games for beginning players. However, many clubs throw the kids into games before they are remotely ready to play, which causes coaches to pull their hair out as they try to figure out ways to organize the kids so that they have fun and put their skills to some use.
Part of the puzzle can be solved by making some preliminary decisions about the "style of play" which your team will use on attacks and defensively. Because attacking is harder to learn than defense, it can often be helpful to pay more attention to defensive skills at the outset. This can serve to hold down the scores against your team while your kids are learning the basics. Also, narrow losses can help to keep parental morale up, especially if the kids clearly are having fun and getting praised for their work.
With just a little direction, even very young players will be able to understand that if their team sends everyone to the opposing goal, their own goal will be wide-open and vulnerable to a counterattack. But, of course, if everyone stays back to guard their goal, they won't ever score or have any fun at all.
One good approach is to ask your players to think up some solutions to the defensive problem. One of the first suggestions that you'll probably get is to leave somebody by the goal. However, when you ask for volunteers, you are likely to find that everyone will want to be in the attacking group. Well, if nobody wants to stay to guard the goal, then what other solutions are available?
One defensive solution is to have everyone pick one of the players on the other team to guard when the other team has the ball. Instantly, you have introduced the concepts of marking and following your mark. But, what happens if somebody loses his mark, either because he gets distracted or is slower than his mark or is simply beaten? Well, then you need to have the nearest available player jump in and cover for him, right? This is the second basic element of defensive support and needs to be learned and re-learned constantly. However, man-marking may be unsuited for players below U-10s, as they tend to be very easily distracted. In addition, because of the lack of size and strength in the younger groups, most opposing players tend not to be scoring threats until fairly close to goal so it may well be a waste of defensive manpower to mark players outside of scoring range.
If
young children are put onto a field with a soccer ball, divided into teams,
and just told to use their feet to kick the ball into the goal of the opponent,
they will instinctively play "swarm ball" (or "magnet ball"
or take the "beehive" approach to the game. Why? Because they all
like to be where the action is which, oddly enough, is where the ball is.
As a result, they instinctively are applying a defensive style which is known
as "high-pressure defense", in which several players try to surround
the opponent and keep him from going forward.
Is the swarm a "bad" thing? Not necessarily so, at least from a defensive standpoint, as long as any attackers that choose to stay out of the swarm are accounted for. The swarm actually tends to be very effective at shutting down attacks by an opponent until the opposition learns to spread out on its attacks and develops the skill to accurately pass the ball to open players. Moreover, kids tend to adjust automatically as the swarm becomes less effective, so the size of the swarm naturally gets smaller over time even without coaching intervention.
Whether or not to permit a swarm obviously will depend on the number of players that you have on the field. In 3v3 or 4v4, it will be harder to swarm with more than 2 players, because you will leave your goal wide open. In 6v6 or above, it is possible to use a multi-person swarm fairly effectively.
There is also another defensive solution available which is relatively easy for younger players to execute. In this solution, you can send 1 player to slow down the person with the ball and another one to back him up in order to give everyone else on the team time to get back and set up in front of the goal area. This is called "low-pressure defense," and is an approach which can work well IF 1) the pressuring players know how to do their jobs and 2) the retreating players are ready to become the pressuring players themselves if the ball is played to an attacker who is close to them. In fact, many top-level international teams use the low-pressure defensive system, so we weren't kidding when we said that a defensive "swarm" is not necessarily a bad thing. Of course, attacking players must be closely marked when they get into scoring range, particularly when they've developed the leg strength to make lofted shots on goal.
What happens if the other team has some really fast players? Well, if you also have some really fast players who are good defensively, one easy solution is to man-mark these particular threats even if you are using a low-pressure or high-pressure system overall. Also bear in mind that even a slow defender can be quite effective in stopping a speedy attacker once he learns basic defensive footwork and positioning. Lots of players who have had exposure to other sports such as basketball will already have been exposed to these concepts. Essentially, the job of the initial pressuring defender is to slow the attacker down by getting in his way, giving ground as slowly as possible, but not making any attempt to win the ball until cover has arrived. This is a job that anyone can do with practice, so don't allow your slower players to avoid learning these vital skills because of their lack of speed.
Once you have decided on the best way to defend your own goal, then you are ready to decide on the best way to attack your opponent's. Many youth coaches are inclined to put their biggest/fastest kids as attackers to try to outrun the opposition, and to try to get the ball to these speedsters as quickly as possible by having their defenders 'boot it" down the field. While this approach, known as "boot-ball", is somewhat similar to an attacking style known as "direct play" it is done with considerably less finesse.
Although this approach may be effective initially, it doesn't tend to produce good soccer players in the long run for a couple of reasons. First, it promotes over-specialization since nobody gets to be an attacker except for 1-2 stars and all the rest of the team learns is how to kick the ball hard and far. Second, it fails to teach any of the players how to retain the ball in tighter spaces by using teammates. Over time, the early-maturing players who were the "stars" on these teams lose their size/speed advantage as puberty starts to level the playing field. Additionally, since all they know is how to be a fast-break forward, most upper-level teams will not be interested in them. Meanwhile, the supporting players whose only job was to mindlessly boot the ball up-field to the stars will not have any ball control skills and will likely have only mediocre defensive skills as well. So, resist the temptation to adopt the boot-ball style of play.
In the long run, the best future training for players is to teach "possession-style" soccer based upon the basic offensive positioning noted above. In this approach to the game, players are taught to control the ball well by using their body and feet to shield it from an opponent. They are also taught to use supporting teammates to move the ball in tight spaces by means of short passes which get longer as they develop strength and ball control. Additionally, they pick up the courage/ability to take on a pressuring opponent by dribbling. After developing these skills early in a small-sided setting (e.g. 1v1, 2v1, 3v3, etc.), the players will have little difficulty when extra players are added into the mix as the extra players will simply provide additional options on where to move the ball.
For suggestions on how to train your players in these basic positions, see the Practice Plan section.
Okay, but what if you are stuck with a team that is playing 8v8 or 9v9 or 11v11,even though it is plain that many of them need lots of remedial work on the basic skills? And, what happens when you get your team assigned only 2 weeks before your first game so that there is no possible way to cover even beginning 1v1 work before you are thrown to the sharks?
You know that many parents and players may start questioning your abilities if your team starts losing its games by big margins, even if you have solid credentials as a coach. Also, since this is recreational soccer, your job of player development is likely to be complicated by having at least 1-2 players who have little athletic talent/interest, or who have physical/mental impairments that make learning more challenging . Unfortunately, it is unlikely that some of these kids could become soccer players even if you spent every waking hour on the task. Finally, the kids on your team might have lots of overall athletic talent, but may be smaller/younger than average and be unable to win footraces or pushing contests with kids who are a foot taller and 50 pounds heavier. At this point, you may simply have to face the reality that short-term wins are very unlikely, no matter what you do.
When you are facing these types of predicaments, it may become necessary to use some initial positioning assignments just to buy the time needed to work on the basic skills of the core group of players, bearing in mind that it may take 2 or more seasons to accomplish this. While it IS possible to play virtually positionless soccer from the beginning by adopting an approach based upon natural swarming , it may be so unfamiliar to your audience that you decide that it's more trouble than it is worth. So, if you decide to use positional assignments for your group, here are some suggestions.
For the first few games at least, consider putting your best players on central defense. While you probably won't score, at least you'll avoid getting clobbered quite as badly. Then, as soon as you can, try to develop a few promising players to work in as wing defenders which will allow you to rotate your more seasoned players into the central midfield or even into a forward role. It is generally considered that the hardest job on the field is sweeper, or central defender, if you're not playing with sweeper. The second hardest is center midfield and central defender with a sweeper behind him, followed by center forward, left defender, left mid, right forward, right defender, left forward, and right midfielder. Typically, for weaker or less-talented players, it is conventional wisdom to put them in one of the easier positions and sandwich them between two solid players so that there is good cover if they run into problems.
Having started out with assigning players to particular positions in a formation, it may be difficult to try to abandon the positional approach later. All is not lost, however. Why? Because you can set positional rules which allow players lots of flexibility to participate in the play. For example, those players who are assigned to act as wing defenders can be given positional "rules" to cover opposing attackers, but don't need to have their feet nailed to the midline. Instead, you might allow them to follow the opposing attackers anywhere so, if their mark (the player they are responsible for) drops back to his own penalty to try to get the ball, your defender will be on his heels trying to steal it back and put it in the net. Your sweeper likewise can be given great freedom to simply play off of the main group of teammates as the trailing defender, i.e. the 3rd Defender or Balance player. If everyone is at the opposing goal, then he can move up as well and even score if the ball comes his way. Your center midfielder might be assigned to act as the fill-in for the sweeper, and told to drop back to cover if the sweeper goes to goal. Other players will also be given support duties for the players beside, in front of, and behind them.
Additionally, you need to create a plan to train your players so that, over the course of 1-2 seasons, most will be able to play in any position on the field. Finally, you will need to spend considerable time teaching the fundamental principles of support and defense, as well as the basic skills that form their foundation. As a result, as your players gain the knowledge and skill to apply these principles, their "positions" can ultimately serve more as guidelines for their major area of responsibility while they are in this particular relative space.
What initial formation should you choose? The basic decisions involved in choosing formations will be covered in the "Advanced" section, along with a discussion of various common types of formations. However, regardless of the formation, you must remember that your ultimate goal is to develop every player to the point where he can do any job on the field with reasonable competence and that, to reach this goal, each player MUST know the basic principles of offensive and defensive support.
As players get to high school age, it is likely that they will start to "specialize" in one or two particular areas of the field which best suit their talents. At this stage, coaches will also pay greater attention to adopting a formation and style of play that capitalizes on the special skills/talents available, while masking any weaknesses. This approach is possible because the players have progressed intellectually to the point where their brains are ready for the challenge of complex tactical decisions and they will have developed emotionally to the point where they are more willing to sacrifice their individual goals for the goals of the group. Even at this age, however, coaches must be mindful of their duty to work on correcting those weaknesses, instead of merely trying to cover them up.
Do not make the mistake of treating your young charges like older high-school players. There is, obviously, huge difference between a 17 year-old and an 8 year-old. Similarly, but less obviously, there is a huge difference between a 12 year-old beginner and a 12 year-old who has been playing soccer for six years.
New players need to gain experience in all positions. Don't try to constantly 'hide" them in positions that will cover up their deficiencies. This is the lazy coach approach. Far better to take the time to develop their skills, so that they don't need to be hidden.
Of course, this does not mean that a player should be forced into a position/job for which he clearly is not ready. Many shy players are reluctant to play goalkeeper, for instance. While it may be okay to give them chances to try this out in practice, and even push them to try, games may be a different story. If they really think that they'll humiliate themselves playing keeper, they'll rarely do a good job there. Ditto for players who are fearful of playing forward or back positions. So, if you get a shy one or one who is afraid to try new things, you may need to take a longer-term approach to their particular development. As long as you are keeping the player's development in mind in making positioning decisions, rather than focusing on the "wins", you should pat yourself on the back.
Will you make mistakes? Of course. Some probably will be doozies. But, every game or two, you will have some little tyke who gets the wonderful "I can't believe I did it" grin on his face as he attempts something which he never thought was possible and sees it work. Be careful about those grins, though. They tend to be addictive!
In general, attacking is much harder than defending. Why? Because attacking usually requires more advance (and advanced) thinking. In other words, a defender reacts - while an attacker has to have a plan if he is going to have a good chance of success. In addition, attacking requires better ball control than defending, because it is difficult to keep possession long enough to get within scoring range by just whacking at the ball. As a result, the coach must spend a lot of time in developing the ball control skills of his players, and in training them in the various elements of individual attacking.
Individual attacking has 3 basic phases. The first phase is what is commonly known as the First Touch phase. The quality of the First Touch, and the planning which goes into this First Touch, often will be the key difference between a successful attacker and one who constantly bombs out. The second phase is the actions required to beat any field defenders, so that you are 1v1 with the keeper (called "field attacking"). The final phase is the actions required to beat the keeper and/or last field defender blocking the ability of the ball to "see" the goal so that you can put the ball in the net. This final phase will be called Finishing (although it is important to bear in mind that the other phases may be compressed into this single phase, with a ball received in a way which allows the very first touch to be a shot on goal).
Indeed, any time that an attacker realizes that the ball is going to come to him, his first decision should be "do I have a decent chance at scoring a goal with my first touch?" If the answer is "yes", then he must always make the attempt to score. As noted later, a player misses 100% of the shots which he does not take, and it is critical to educate young players early in the notion of thinking about a shot first.
If no shot is "on" with the first touch, then the player must get the ball under control and take another look to see if a shot is now available (because defenders move around - so a momentary opening may have arisen). If a shot is still not "on", then he must figure out the best route to take to get into a good scoring position, then look once more for the chance for a shot. In other words, he needs to remember that his ultimate objective is to score goals.
If at all possible, the attacker wants to receive the ball so that he will be facing in the direction where he wants to go. However, he also wants to know what is going on behind him - so that he can anticipate the kinds of pressure which he will be getting from the back once he turns. And, of course, he wants to keep an eye on the ball itself, so that he can receive the ball well. How can he accomplish all of these objectives?
By adopting an initial stance which is open to the entire field, then turning as he receives the ball so that his eyes can sweep over as much of the field as possible to assess any obstacles to the attack. Commonly, the player will start with his back very close to one touchline and his body turned to be parallel to the touchline (which gives him a clear view of the entire field). Sometimes, of course, a player will be in the middle of the field. In this case, it usually is more advantageous to be facing somewhat towards the opposing goal, then to turn in at least a 180 degree arc as the ball is being received, so that the player can view as much of the field as possible prior to receiving the ball.
After checking out the obstacles in his path, the player must decide where the best space will be to receive and control the ball. It is imperative that the player know where the best space is BEFORE the ball arrives, so that he can use the best receiving option to put the ball into this space. In deciding what space is the "best space", the attacker must consider two things:
1. What are my chances of scoring if I keep possession here;
2. What are my opponent's chances of scoring if I lose possession here?
If not too risky, an attacker always wants to hang onto the ball or to help a teammate to do so, and will follow the ancient maxim "If we have the ball, the other side can't score." However, if the slightest goof on his part will turn the ball over to an opponent right in front of his own goal, then it is too risky to keep possession - and his job turns into one of finding the least dangerous parts of the field in which to turn over possession. Thus, when close to his own goal, the attacker will quickly move the ball to safe spaces to the sides of field (or will send the ball far upfield to a teammate) if this can be done safely, but will boot the ball upfield or over the endlines or touchline before considering turning over possession right in front of his own goal.
When near the opposing goal, however, there is no immediate risk if he loses possession of the ball, so he can afford to take risks. In this situation, the best space into which to put the ball is the space where he can take a shot which has a reasonable chance of going in. Usually, the space to the side of and slightly behind the defenders is normally the "best" space in which to direct the ball - even though the defender or goalkeeper may have a 50% chance of getting there first. Why? Because, even if you score a goal only 50% of the time that you take a shot, these are great odds - and it is foolish to pass up the chance when there is no real downside to taking the shot. Young players may not instinctively understand this - especially if they are naturally cautious - so the coach must train them to understand when it is a good idea to take a shot; when it is a good idea to try to retain possession; and when it is a good idea to cut your losses and dump the ball out of bounds.
Once the player has pre-selected the "best" space into which to play the ball, he will turn his attention to the actual reception of the ball. This requires that he pre-select the body surface which will allow him to best control the ball and redirect it to the intended space. The player then will get his body into position to permit proper reception of the ball with this body surface, so that the ball can be put into the intended space with precision.
As the player gains more experience, and as his opponents become quicker at making decisions themselves, he will discover that it is essential that he anticipate several moves in advance and pre-decide what he is going to do next. Just like in a match of chess or checkers, where it requires several moves to finally lay the trap to capture a piece, soccer requires smart players who use their brains as much or more than their bodies if they wish to be successful at higher levels.
Initially, however, the young player has more than enough to worry about in deciding what is the "best" space. Ordinarily, the coach will preselect the body surface to use (normally starting with passes on the ground) - and will try to make the job of the attacker as easy as possible by giving the new attacker plenty of room or by placing restrictions on the defender which will allow the attacker to develop confidence in stages. It may take a number of practice sessions before beginners can control the ball very well on the ground. Plenty of time should be spent to allow the players to become comfortable with the ball, and to develop a good first touch so that they can accurately move the ball into the chosen space to get away from pressure.
Once your player has taken his crucial first touch and has gotten the ball under control in a less-pressured area where he can have time to look up, his next step is to see how many defenders are between the player and the goal, and to develop a plan to get around them. Why? Because the player wants to get the ball away from his own goal (to keep his opponent from scoring) and to get the ball fairly close to the opposing goal (to improve his chances of scoring).
When the player receives the ball, and is not yet in shooting distance of goal, what he wants to do is to get within scoring range of the goal in a way which is best calculated to allow him to "beat" the opposing defenders. By the same token, one of the most dangerous defenders to an attacker is a defender coming up from behind him at speed, so the attacker does not want to get around the defender too early if there is any chance that the defender will be able to catch up with the attacker before he gets to goal.
If the attacker is blessed with unusually high speed, and can outrun any opponent, he has the luxury of being able to race towards the opposing goal at top speed. It is very difficult for a defender to slow down an attacker who is moving at top speed without committing a foul, and it is relatively easy for the attacker to move around any stationary defender with a simple touch to one side. As a result, this can be an excellent technique for a very fast attacker to use on some occasions. However, a wise coach will not overuse such attacks, because this makes the attacks (and the likely attacker) too predictable for the defense; the team wastes valuable learning time by using single attacking option instead of learning various styles of attacking; and the fast player wastes too much time on emphasizing a style of play which likely won't benefit him in the long run, while failing to learn how to participate in group attacking or how to handle opponents who are as fast as he is (as speed differences tend to diminish significantly after adolescence). Instead, the wise coach will try to train his players in how to attack individually, and as a group, when the opponents are as fast as they are.
How does an individual attacker make a successful attack against one or more defenders when he does not have any true speed advantage? The answer is that he learns how to use the element of surprise to create momentary speed advantages, and use these momentary speed advantages to get past the defender and to quickly cut back into the anticipated path of the defender to reduce the ability of the defender to catch him. There are several ways to obtain these momentary speed advantages. One way is to "take-on" the defender by going right at him, and then using fakes to get around him. This technique is discussed in more detail below.
Another way to get around the defender is through moves involving rapid changes of speed/direction. For example, as the defender is starting to bottle up the attacker on the touchline, the attacker can sprint forward and force the defender to sprint with him, then the attacker can quickly cut the ball back so that the defender keeps going for a few steps, while the attacker rapidly takes the ball around the back of the defender. This same option can be used in a variety of ways. For instance, the attacker can start this same move, fake a cutback, then keep accelerating down the same path when the defender starts to reverse direction. Once around the defender, the attacker immediately cuts onto the defender's path towards goal in order to force the defender to have to loop around to try to win the ball back.
An option which is useful in the middle of the field when a defender is closing from the side is to slow the run so that the defender adjusts his angle of approach (point of intersection), then accelerate when it is too late from him to recalculate and readjust. While this may be a bit sophisticated for very young players, it is easily within the grasp of players who are 9 and above.
To "take-on" a defender, an attacker wants to aim his attack almost straight at the first defender who is between him and the goal. Why? By coming directly at the defender, the attacker forces the defender to commit to him and, once committed, the defender automatically must start falling back as the attacker approaches. By causing the defender to fall back, this brings the attacker closer to the opposing goal (which is his objective). Nonetheless, the attacker knows that, at some point, the defender will stop falling back and will be forced to try to steal the ball, because the defender otherwise will end up dropping into the goal itself (and even off the field) which will make it easy to score.
So, the attacker wants to keep a close eye on the defender and try to keep him distracted by making some little foot-fakes (basically, small waves of the foot around the ball to pretend that he is thinking of spurting in one direction or the other), in order to worry the defender enough to focus his attention - but also make him scared to dive in to try to win the ball. The attacker wants to pick the time when he will try to beat the defender so that he can be in control of what is going to happen.
When the attacker is getting ready to take-on the defender, the attacker will want to bring the ball under close control and start to take smaller mincing steps (almost like he is prancing). The attacker will then use a fake or cut (or a series of these) to try to get the defender to make lunge towards the ball. As the defender lunges in the direction of the fake, he is said to "bite" on the move - and the act of lunging is called "diving in". By diving in, the defender will have shifted all of his weight to one leg (usually the front foot). This momentarily renders the defender powerless to use the leg on which he has put all of his weight. This is called having gone "dead-leg" on this leg - which means that he cannot lift this leg or use it until he shifts his body weight back to the other leg.
When the defender has cooperated by going dead-leg, it is usually a simple matter for the attacker to use this mistake to go around the defender. However, a defender obviously will not leave this "window" open for long - so it is very important that the player learn to explode through this window. Some young children grasp the idea more readily if you explain to them that, when the opportunity comes, you want them to EXPLODE (or jump) through the window just like they had a bunch of robbers chasing them. Once they have gotten through the window, they must then learn to SLAM THE DOOR on the defender by cutting back into his path to make it harder for the defender to catch up.
For beginning attackers, the most critical skills are to get their heads up and watch the defender for mistakes - then to try to explode around the defender when he dives. However, as the players become familiar with the basics of these techniques (and become more skilled in using the ball), they will need instruction in how to use dead-leg opportunities to their maximum advantage.
In the most common type of dead leg situation, the attacker dives forward from a sideways-on stance, so that his momentum is coming forward. In this situation, the player is completely "dead" on the front foot - and essentially is dead on the back foot, so the attacker has the lovely choice of going by him on the inside or outside of his lunging leg. If the attacker can go around the outside of this leg (bringing him around the defender's back), this is almost always the better option because it is much more awkward for the defender to turn outside than inside (so it takes longer to make this turn). Nonetheless, especially with new attackers who lack much skill in feinting and who take a long time to change direction themselves, it may be more workable to fake to one side and then immediately cut to the opposite side when the defender bites - and introduce this concept at a later date.
Another common dead-leg situation arises when the defender has lunged to the side (stabbed at the ball or "dived") in response to a fake. At the moment of this dive, the defender is also "dead" on both legs. Once again, because of the awkwardness of the turn, the outside option is better - but the inside option works too.
Dead-leg situations also arise when a defender is backpedaling rapidly. When the defender is running backwards , he has to move his weight from leg to leg - and his backward momentum can be used against him. Normally, the best time to take advantage of this situation is when the defender is just reaching back to put his weight on the inside leg (so that he has no choice with his momentum but to land on this leg). At this moment, if the attacker cuts and explodes sharply to the inside, the same dead-leg advantage will arise as if the attacker had gotten the defender to dive at the ball. These same principles also apply in deciding when to cut back behind a defender who is running alongside the attacker (i.e., the cutback should be timed for when the defender is reaching forward with the inside foot, as his momentum will require him to continue forward and put his weight on that foot, allowing the defender to cut over his back and head to goal - and forcing the defender to do an awkward turn to try to get back around to follow).
Obviously, the coach will not introduce all of these concepts at once. However, the coach needs to be aware of these various options, as well as the underlying theory, so that he can gradually find ways to introduce these concepts and allow the players to experiment to see "if this stuff works". Children often learn best when given some exploratory time to verify that something really does work or really is true. Thus, the lesson may sink in better if they are given the chance to try these ideas out and do some quick scientific experimentation to see if coach knows anything.
Before the attacker gets into shooting range, his main job is to hang onto the ball. As long as he has possession of the ball, the other team cannot score, so it is to his benefit to do what needs to be done to keep possession of the ball - but only until he gets into scoring distance of the opposing goal. Once in a good shooting position, there is little risk in taking a shot - and a lot of potential benefit to be gained.
While this is obvious to adults, it is not always obvious to children. Many children are very literal-minded. If the coach tells them to make sure to always try to hold onto possession by passing the ball around to open teammates, it is not uncommon to see them pass the ball around in front of the goal - and never attempt to put it in the net. Furthermore, if the coach spends lots of time on drills which have them carefully placing their balls on the ground, then backing up to take a net-breaking shot on goal, they will often pass up open chances to simply roll the ball into the goal in favor of trying to score "the way that coach taught us". As a result, it is very important to explain to young players when it is okay to take risks, and when it is better to play safe. It is also important to give them permission to score (which also means giving permission to miss, because the easiest way for a new player to avoid getting yelled at if he misses is to never take a shot).
The first thing to teach the attackers is that very little actual space is needed to get the ball around a defender or goalkeeper so that it can roll into the net. The ball just needs to clear the legs of the defender by an inch or less on either side. It is important to illustrate this idea to young players, so that they understand that it is possible to score goals in very tight quarters - and that they should try to do this.
The second thing to teach young players is that, to score goals, the best place to send the ball is to the place where it will be hardest for the defenders to get to it. Usually, this means that the safest place to send the ball is to the corners of the goal. However, if the middle of the goal is wide open, it is fine to send the ball there.
The third thing to teach young players is that you want them to score a lot of goals - and the very best way to do this is to pass the ball into the net as soon as they see an opening to do this, because passes are more accurate than shots and are easier to get off quickly. As a result, players should be encouraged to score goals using simple passes with the inside or outside to put a MOVING ball into the net. The coach should strive to create game-like situations in practice. As a practical matter, no defender or goalkeeper is going to allow your attackers to put a ball down in front of the goal, back up, and then run at it to blast it into the net. Scoring drills which involve long lines and stationary balls do a poor job of duplicating game conditions, and do not tend to create players who are comfortable in scoring goals with a moving ball by putting it around the feet of vigilant defenders.
The fourth thing to teach young players is when and where to take a shot. In other words, to introduce them to the concept of when they have entered "scoring range" - and should start to think about taking a shot.
For players and keepers to understand shooting angles, one of the easiest things to do is to purchase two long pieces of brightly-colored plastic rope. Yellow ski rope is perfect. Tie one end of one rope to a goalpost, and one end of the other rope to the other goalpost (if you only have one rope, tie both ends to the posts). Then, put an attacker on the field in front of the goal and intersect the ropes so that the attacker is standing on the intersection. Now, take the goalkeeper and put him between the ropes so that he can touch the rope on either side if he dives to that side. Show the players out in the field that they can get a pretty good idea of whether the goalkeeper is in proper position by just holding out their arms so that their hands are pointed at each goal post - and seeing whether they think that the keeper is centered on the angle and is out far enough. Initially, put all of the players behind the attacker, so that they get an idea of what you are doing.
Next, divide the players so that half are behind the keeper and the other half are behind the attacker. Set up sample angles, starting at the middle of the goal and working towards one side. Put a cone where the keeper needed to stand to be positioned properly. Once you get to very narrow angles towards the sides, have the groups change places to see things from a different point of view.
From this angle-mapping exercise, the players will see quite easily that the best approach on goal is dead-on towards the center of the goal. This approach makes the job of the keeper more difficult, because he must come very far off of the goalline in order to be able to cut down the shooting angle of the player. Because he is so far out, if he misses, the attacker has an easy shot on goal. Once attackers have learned to accurately chip the ball, it becomes even easier to punish a keeper who comes off his line - by simply lifting the ball over his head so that it can roll into the net behind him. Although you probably won't work on chips until later, it can be fun to point this out to the players to get them started thinking on scoring opportunities. Another thing that the players will learn from this exercise is that, once the ball can clear the inside of the near post (even if they are coming in from an angle), the keeper has so much territory to cover that it becomes much easier to slot the ball around him.
With this basic information on angles, they are ready to start to learn how to finish. This is a life-long process which involves some rapid processing of information, so miscalculations are inevitable (even among pros). Even the very best strikers in the world, who are playing at the highest levels, score only about once out of every six tries - which is one of the reasons that it is so important to encourage players not to get discouraged if the first few do not go in. There are 3 basic finishing options which they will need to learn. These are central finishing, and angle finishing to the near and far posts.
When coming in centrally, it is usually best for the attacker to come in at speed. Indeed, in general, it is a good idea to teach players to finish at speed, as there always will be breakaways in games and it is a pity to see a player who cannot capitalize on these chances.
To finish at speed is really quite easy - but, like anything, there is a knack to doing it. Because the player is going at speed, and his momentum will transfer to the ball, a "pass" at speed will be as hard as many shots. This pass also will keep the ball on the ground, which will force the keeper to make a difficult save (ground balls are harder to save than air balls).
There are three things that the player must do as he approaches goal at speed. The first is to get the ball under close control, which means that he is going to need to pull/drag the ball along with his dribbling foot to keep it right in front of him (see practice plan on straight-ahead dribbling for more details). The second is to pick the corner of the net where he wants the ball to go. The third is to turn the dribble foot at the proper angle to put the ball there - and to keep running as his foot strikes the ball so that he arrives at the net just a bit behind the ball.
While working on this technique, the best approach is to make a bunch of cone goals and let the kids experiment with making scoring runs. It is fine to let them just make hard passes thru the goal; keep on running; then turn around and come back the other way.
Until they get the technique down, there is no point in working with the opposition of a keeper. However, once they have the basic idea down, it is time to add a keeper. Of course, the easiest keeper to finish on is a keeper who freezes in goal. At younger ages, this is quite common (and sometimes happens for various reasons, even at higher levels). So, this is a good place to start.
Make several goals so that only 3 players are working on finishing at any one goal - which permits you to have one who is getting his ball, one who is getting ready to go, and one who is heading back to set up for another run) - and put a parent in goal with instructions to stay in the goal, but to move to make the save if the player send the ball early. Players will soon learn that, if they shoot too early on a stationary keeper, they will give him too much time to get over for the save. As a result, they will learn to hold the ball until they feel certain that they can get a shot/pass into the chosen corner before the keeper can get there. As players gain experience, they will want to start experimenting with fakes (and keepers also will want to try some fakes of their own to try to get the player to shoot with a non-favored foot or otherwise disrupt the shot).
After learning to shoot on a stationary keeper when coming in centrally at speed, the players will need to learn to finish on a keeper who is coming off his line. This is harder to learn, but is an essential part of their finishing tools. There are three basic ways to beat a keeper who is coming off of his line with the intent of diving at the ball. The first is to shoot early (taking the shot as soon as you see that he is coming out). The second is to shoot just before he arrives (by using a quick sidestep to get space just as he dives at the ball). The third is to use a feint to cause him to dive to the wrong side, then pass the ball around him for an easy finish. Most players will opt for the first and third options, as the chances of being taken out by the keeper are fairly high in the second option (although courageous older players may use this to try to draw a PK in situations where they held the ball a bit too long and seemed likely to lose the ball anyway). This is NOT something to teach younger players, however. Besides, they will have plenty to do in working on the first and third options - particularly since the coach will insist that they alternate using their dominant and non-dominant foot for finishing (as there is nothing worse than to see a player miss an obvious scoring chance as he wasted time trying to use the favored foot for a shot).
Now, in all of these scenarios, the situation was set up so that the player had plenty of time to go 1v1 with the keeper. While this often occurs in games, the most frequent situation is that a defender will be rapidly closing from the side or the back, so that there will be a smaller "window" of opportunity in which to shoot. Thus, the next thing which the coach will want to do is to add a defender who has instructions to run at a steady pace about 6 feet behind the attacker. If the attacker slows down, the defender will gain on him (and this is exactly what you want to have happen in order for realistic pressure to be applied). The attacker has to learn to be aware of the defender - but to leave his real focus on the keeper.
The next phase is to work on situations where a defender is coming in from the near side. Before the defender gets within slide tackling range of the ball (10-15 feet), it is important to move the ball to the far foot - which is the foot farthest from the incoming defender. This is one of the reasons why it is essential that players learn to dribble with both feet - as defenders have an aggravating habit of coming in from different sides, so attackers have to be prepared for this. Indeed, as defenders become more skilled, they will quickly figure out when an attacker is one-footed and will take advantage of this information by heavily guarding the favored side.
Once the ball is on his far foot, the attacker effectively has ruled out the slide tackle as an immediate option. However, the slide tackle is still an option to clear away a shot. Given the incoming angle of the defender, a near post shot is usually not available. Furthermore, as soon as the defender gets his body inside the posts and can help to cut down the near post angle, there is a high likelihood that the keeper will charge the attacker - with pretty good confidence that the attacker will be trying to put the ball in the far corner. So, what are the options? One option is to go for the far post early. Another option is to look for timing errors on the charge and split the defenders with a neat pass to the central/near area. An additional option (for more advanced players) is to fake a shot at the far post, then chip the keeper or slot the ball towards the near side as he dives towards the far post.
From this discussion of the multiple options just for central finishing with one or no defenders, it should be clear to newer coaches why attacking is harder to teach new players than defending. Likewise, it is obvious that training attackers takes considerable amounts of time, observation and encouragement. These factors often cause youth coaches to decide to focus their efforts on just 2-3 attackers who show some natural talent/affinity for goal scoring. However, all players need to be introduced to these basic concepts - and it is not as hard as it might seem to provide this training to all of them.
Of course, there are going to be times when the player is not able to come at the goal from a central position, and will be forced to come in from the side. Until the ball clears the inside of the nearest goal post, the far post is likely to be the only real shooting option. However, once the ball clears the first goal post, either option is available - and, in most instances, a shot should be made on the near post as soon as the ball clears the post. Why? Because the goalkeeper typically is moving backwards towards the central area of the goal so that his body will cover more of the goal - and the near post is most often wide open (unless an alert defender has moved in to block shots to that post).
When coming in at an angle, with the ball not yet clear of the near post, the goalkeeper knows that there is only one area of the goal which is available - which is the far post area. In order to try to block this option, the keeper often will station himself somewhat more centrally, so that he can block both high and low shots on the far post. However, against an attacker with good take-on skills who seems to be penetrating well, the keeper may prefer to stand just off the near post - expecting to charge the attacker if he gets close enough to goal that there seems to be a risk of the ball clearing the near post side.
The attacker should watch carefully to see which option is chosen by the goalkeeper. If the keeper is already cheating towards the back post (in soccer, the term "cheating" simply means to be moving more in one direction - it does not carry moral overtones), then it may prove to be productive to fake a kick towards the back post to cause the keeper to rapidly backpedal when you are a few feet from clearing the near post, then to quickly accelerate and slot the ball to the open near post area. with the outside of the foot nearest the goal or with the inside of the other foot.
Another option is to fake a high shot, then to shoot low and hard at the keeper's ankles. In general, low hard shots near the ankles are some of the most difficult balls to save. It is almost impossible to get down in time, so the only real option is to kick the ball away. However, if you have gone dead-leg on kicking leg, or have shifted your weight backwards, it usually is impossible to get to these balls at all. On the other hand, if the keeper is standing even with the near post, this means that he is vulnerable to shots on the far post, as well as in the central area if the attacker can get the ball inside the posts. For younger players who have inaccurate high shots, this keeper strategy is often successful - as the window which is open for the high shot is rather small. Moreover, a taller keeper often can jump and deflect the shot. So, what should the attacker do in this situation?
In general, the attacker should try to bring the ball as central as he can, and should take the keeper on in much the same fashion as a field player. Because most keepers expect a far post shot, they will tend to hold their charges on the ball until the attacker is right on them. This works to the advantage of a patient attacker, as he can often induce the keeper to go dead-leg on his near post leg by a feinted attempt at the far post (then slip the ball between the ankle and the near post); or get close enough to the keeper that he can "nutmeg" him (the ultimate gotcha of an attacker); or fake a pass to the near post, then pass the ball to himself centrally and do an off-balance pass to the far post; or, by being patient, end up with an open teammate on the far post who can accept an easy drop pass which can be slotted into the far post netting.
Once again, encourage creativity in this finishing. Some players develop all sorts of tactical feints and "smooth moves" to handle these situations - including back-heeling balls into the net, or doing behind the heel tucks, and so forth. These moves are exciting to players, and are fun to watch for the crowd, so let the players spend occasional time on perfecting their "moves." Usually, it takes considerable experimentation in practice before a player will find the courage to try new moves in games, so do not be surprised if a player will not use a move in a game which he has done well in practice. Especially in early adolescence, where "coolness" is highly important, it is fairly common for many players to wait on showing their new moves until they are CERTAIN that they will not make fools of themselves in the process. Contests sometimes can help to break this fear - but the best cure is time.
During training on angle finishing, you will need to add a defender who is coming in from various angles, so that the attacker will be exposed to realistic game situations and learn the best ways to adjust to these additional obstacles. Encourage players to learn to pounce on scoring chances and take the half-shot. There is an old saying in soccer that "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." As a coach, you want to make sure that you don't inadvertently punish players for taking the risk of shooting by criticizing their failure to pass the ball to a teammate. It is very easy to inadvertently train players to never shoot (so that the entire team is passing the responsibility and the ball around an open net).
In the next section, we will discuss group attacking, starting with basic 2v1 attacking. However, coaches are well-advised to spend most of their time with new players on development of take-on skills and on development of individual finishing skills, for two reasons. First, young children are inherently "me" focused. As a result, until around age 9, many will not want to share the ball with somebody else or even give much thought to the needs/positioning of other members of their own team. Therefore, during this self-centered developmental stage, kids are ripe for learning individual skills. Secondly, in order to be ready to use a teammate well, players need to understand the basic angles involved in finishing.
For example, in a situation with the keeper standing on the near post to stop an angled scoring run, one of the options available to an individual attacker who is fairly close to the inside of the near post is to pass the ball to himself towards the central area of the goal, then quickly try to slot the ball to the far corner. When a second attacker is added into this equation, this supporting player needs to realize what the positioning of the on-ball player and the keeper is telling him, so that he gets into position to accept the pass; holds his run so that he connects with the pass at the right moment; and then finishes the pass for the on-ball attacker.
This example illustrates why players who well-trained in individual scoring options already will have many of the tools needed to work in combination with other players, and underscores the importance which the coach must place on the acquisition of these skills.
The importance of learning the basic principles of small group attacking cannot be over-emphasized. The basic patterns which are involved in 1v1, 2v1 and 3v1 (or 3v2) attacking are the cornerstone of all other attacking patterns. As a result, unless the player has developed an understanding of basic small group attacking patterns, he will be ill-prepared to work within a larger group setting.
The move by many clubs to small group play at the lower age levels is a direct result of the recognition of the importance of developing an early awareness of fundamental small group attacking principles. In upper-level games, it is quite common that most players will not touch the ball for more than 2-3 minutes in an entire 90 minutes of play, yet they will have played extremely hard for the full 90 minutes. How? By making a huge number of supporting and covering runs to assist teammates, as well as doing his/her part to control the ball and play it correctly when in their possession. Their individual skill work will prepare them for their actual time on the ball, while their small group work will prepare them for their time off the ball (by showing them when, where and how to make proper supporting runs). In a nutshell, most of small group work teaches a player how to move when he doesn't have the ball.
When are young players ready for instruction in small group attacking? When they have reasonable ball-handling skills and have spent enough time to grasp the basics of individual attacking (and individual defending). Typically, most players will not be ready for significant work on 2-man attacking patterns until after 1-2 years or more of basic soccer training. The reason for this is that group attacking skills require that the player has basic ball-handling skills, as well as the confidence to take on and beat a defender.
Until the players have the ability to pass between one another with reasonable accuracy, as well as the ability to dribble and shoot with some proficiency, their ability to work as a group is going to be minimal. If group attacking work is attempted before these skills are adequately developed, passes will go awry; those passes which are executed properly will be poorly received; and, even when received well, the receiver will get so flustered by the presence of any opponents that he will be fearful to look up to find a teammate (even if someone else is wide open).
It is important for new coaches to be aware that it is not uncommon for coaches to be forced to go back to the basics, even with a team of older players, if those players never developed good ball control when younger. As a result, just because a player has played for X seasons (and theoretically should be ready for more advanced work), the coach should not assume that the skills actually are there. As a result, if you try one of the combination drills and it keeps falling apart, it may not mean that the drill is terrible or that you did a bad job of presenting it. The truth may be that the players just are not ready yet.
Other factors also may affect readiness to begin small group work. One factor is mental/emotional development. Before around age 8 or 9, children tend to be so focused on themselves that they do not see teammates, so they may not be ready yet to work cooperatively. Another factor is the time spent in practice, as well as the quality of prior coaching instruction and prior exposure to the game. For instance, the youngest brother in a family of 4 soccer-playing boys is likely to have been exposed to fairly competitive soccer since birth, and to have competed regularly against older siblings, so this child may be far ahead of other children who are the same age.
Still another factor is relative physical development and general body control. Coaches must be alert to the natural variation in growth rates, which may affect coordination, speed, agility and other athletic qualities. For example, if a number of players are going through a growth spurt at the same time and experiencing temporary trouble with ball control (because they have no idea where their feet end), this may not be a good time to introduce new topics where ball control is highly important.
So, what is the best way to judge if your team is ready for this work? If they get their heads up on a regular basis when dribbling; if they can receive balls on the ground and then move purposefully with the ball for a few steps; if they have started to watch out for each other, and talk somewhat (even if it is just mine or watch out); if they can pass accurately to someone who is stationary, as well as someone who is moving; and, finally, if they can link together 5-6 passes in basic 4v1 or 5v2 keepaway. If they aren't ready yet, the coach should just keep working on the individual skills. As a practical matter, when they finally start �seeing� teammates and have the skills to pass/receive balls accurately, they likely will start using teammates on their own without any prodding from the coach.
In the individual attacking training, the players already have learned that the first decision when the ball arrives (or even before the ball arrives) is whether they have a decent chance of a shot. If the answer is Yes, then they shoot. If the answer is No, the next question is whether they can easily dribble to a place where they will have a decent shot. If the answer is Yes, then they should dribble - unless they have a teammate who is in a better position than they are. As a result, they already know that the on-ball player is the one who makes the final decision about whether or not to keep the ball.
Now, they are ready to move to the next stage of understanding - and realize that most of the actual decisions of the on-ball attacker are going to be made for him by the supporting attacker(s). How can this be? Because, unless the supporting attackers move into positions which help the on-ball attacker to keep possession (either by drawing some defenders away or by actually accepting a pass), the opponents will gang up on the on-ball attacker and easily strip him of the ball. Secondly, unless the supporting attackers talk to the on-ball attacker - and act like extra eyes and ears - the on-ball attacker is much more likely to lose the ball to an opponent coming up behind him. Finally, unless they help him, he also is much more likely to fail to see an open teammate in an excellent position to score, which hurts the team. As a result, at this stage, it is time to impress upon the players that the OFF-BALL PLAYERS ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE ON THE FIELD in more advanced level play.
So, how do they learn their roles and positioning so that they can stop playing as individuals, and start to play as a team? During beginning keepaway games, the players began this process when they learned to establish and maintain immediate safety outlets for the ball. They learned that this meant moving to a place where the ball could see their feet - and to a place where the on-ball attacker could see them with no more than a slight turn of his head. They also learned that the on-ball attacker needs to have at least one close support player within easy passing range of the on-ball attacker - but that this close support person needs to be far enough away that he can receive and control a pass before a defender can shift over to him. They discovered for themselves that this usually meant setting up close support around 15 feet away, unless they were sure that the on-ball attacker could look up long enough to see them when farther away and could pass accurately to them. They also learned that at least one support player needed to stay fairly close, but that the others could provide pressure outlets by getting farther away into wide open space, and that they could keep the ball longer if they quickly relayed the ball to this open player if the on-ball player passed to them. Finally, once the safety outlets had been created, they learned that they needed to provide feedback and instructions to the on-ball attacker to warn him of an opponent coming from behind, as well as to help him to decide where to pass the ball next.
These same principles will be used in teaching movement with a purpose (i.e., movement towards the opposing goal in order to get into scoring range). While keepaway games are great for developing passing and receiving skills, as well as comfort on the ball, they are just the beginning stage of possession play and are a prelude to exercises which involve moving the ball forward towards a goal through the combined efforts of 1 or 2 other teammates.
The basic two-man combination attacking patterns can be divided into 4 basic categories, including passes to the side of the defender; passes behind the defender; passes in front of the defender; and faked/trick passes. The basic passing patterns are as follows:
The basic slotted pass is the easiest pass to learn. In this pass, the supporting attacker is running alongside and slightly to the rear of the on-ball attacker, at a distance of about 10-15 feet away. The on-ball attacker head directly at the defender, in order to commit the defender to him. Then, when about 2-3 yards ahead of the defender, the on-ball attacker slots the ball into space to the side of and behind the defender to his teammate to run onto, and then runs around the back side of the defender. The coach can set up a series of cone or flag defenders in a zig-zag fashion, so that A1 takes on the first cone and passes to A2, then A2 takes on the next cone and passes to A1. Later, the coach can add a series of defenders in a Tunnel of Death (see practice plans), but initially will want to anchor or restrict them in some way in order to insure success. In the next session, the coach will want to include a weaving pattern to the combination, so that A1 takes on the defender and passes to A2; A2 then moves to the inside (into the path which the defender might take), while A1 loops behind him to the outside - after which A2 takes on a defender and passes to A1, and the pattern is repeated. This is a common pattern used to run the ball along the touchlines, and also makes a nice warmup.
The next pattern which the coach may wish to introduce is the give-n-go, because the patterns are very similar to the previous patterns. In the give-n-go, the object is to pass the ball to A2, who immediately passes the ball back into space behind the defender, so that A1 must make a quick sprint around the defender to pick up the return pass. The give-n-go is also a very useful technique to move the ball along the touchlines. Once again, requiring players to string together a series of give-n-goes makes for a challenging warmup in future practices, because it tests their ability to do 1-touch passing and receiving while on the move. Because of this challenge, there is some chance that the coach may need to drop back and work on 1-touch passing/receiving before the players achieve much success in this technique.
Once these techniques are mastered, the coach will want to introduce the wall pass and the diagonal run, as well as the overlap. The wall pass is similar to a give-n-go, except that A2 is usually stationary along the touchline, so that the ball is played to him for a quick return much in the same manner as if his feet were a wall on a building. The diagonal run is a looping run away from the on-ball attack, which is very useful when longer passes are contemplated, because the diagonal nature of the run makes it easier for the receiver to pick up the ball anywhere along the diagonal (so he is more easily able to adjust to a less-accurate service).
The introduction of the overlap is an important step, because it introduces the concept of drawing a defender away in order to create space for a teammate - and illustrates to the players that the dribbler actually has power to rearrange the defenders by his own movement. This is the cornerstone of upper-level play, in which a player may be said to have done a first-rate job for the entire match without ever touching the ball, simply by creating valuable space for teammates to run into. The concept requires the ability to think abstractly in two or three dimensions, and it will take time for players to fully understand how valuable it is to be able to create space for teammates and why the runs which they are making are not worthless just because they did not get the ball.
After these passes have been taught, the coach will move to square balls, checking runs, drop balls, take-overs and dummy runs. A square ball is a pass which sends the ball laterally across the face of the goal to a teammate who is running alongside the dribbler (usually a couple of steps behind), and the first touch of the receiver almost always should be a shot on goal (normally by a pass with the inside of the far foot). It is often difficult for younger players to master the footwork involved in making square passes until they have developed good coordination, so this technique probably should not be attempted before around age 9 (unless the players have exceptional footskills).
A checking run occurs when the runner makes a run as if to accept a long service behind the defense, which tends to pull defenders towards their own goal. As a result, a large space typically opens in the territory which the defenders just left - and the runner simply checks back into this space in order to receive a ball without immediate interference from the defense. In checking back for the ball, the runner usually will have his back towards goal - so it is common that he will execute a drop pass, which is simply a back-pass to a teammate who is facing goal. The drop can create excellent scoring chances, because the player accepting the drop usually is coming in at speed and the transfer of his extra momentum to the ball can result in wicked shot on goal. Furthermore, because the drop is going against the direction of play, the defenders frequently are facing in the wrong direction and never even see the receiver until it is too late.
The take-over run is simply a quick switch of the ball to a teammate going in the opposite direction in order to confuse the defense. The on-ball attacker dribbles the ball close by a teammate and continues on running as if he has the ball, while leaving the ball for his teammate to pick up and go in the opposite direction. The dummy run is a similar type of ploy, in which a runner makes a hard run to a certain space (often making a lot of noise to draw attention to himself), while the actual play goes down the opposite side. These techniques are very appealing to players in their early to mid-teens, and this may be the best time to introduce them, after the players already have developed solid skills and re ready for a bit of finesse and trickery.
All of these are valuable techniques - and it is likely that it will take several seasons to fully explore them in a progressively realistic defensive setting. One of the things which young players often have a hard time in remembering is that, when the ball is passed, they switch roles with the on-ball attacker and instantly become the support player once they have passed the ball. It is not uncommon for them to simply forget that they need to be moving to provide the next support angle or pass option. Once again, patience is needed to prod them along, while reassuring them (and yourself) that they are making progress.
In the course of teaching these basic 2-man attacking principles, the coach also will want to devote time to training the players in the following additional principles:
As the players learned during their earlier training on the phases of individual attacking, the object of any attacker is to hang onto the ball and to keep possession until the ball can be moved into scoring range. Because the alleys down the sides of the field are the least crowded, supporting player most usually will be running along the touchline (or fairly close to it) in order to provide a safety outlet for the ball. The inside player, on the other hand, will constantly be on the alert for openings to make a run towards goal, and will want to probe and push at the defense so that he can take advantage of any lapse which opens shooting space in the central area.
Just as with individual attacking, safety stops being a major consideration when the ball is moving into scoring range. At this point, the job of the Support player is to find the best space behind or to the side of the last defender(s) where he can receive the ball for a decent shot on goal. Because most younger players cannot control air balls very well, or serve air balls with any accuracy, it is usually best to start training the players in finishing opportunities which can be created through passes on the ground. Thus, the Support player will need to get into a position where the ball can see his feet (or, later, into a position where the ball can see space which he can reach ahead of the keeper or defender).
Here is a common training scenario. Assume that you have 2 attackers coming down the right side, with the attacker about 15 yards inside and his Support player running near the touchline. Once the attackers get about midway into the opposing half (or slightly deeper), they will want to move the ball into the central goal area (because shots have a higher percentage rate in the central area). The final pass before they head towards goal usually will be to the inside player in a 2v1 attack and, as soon as the pass has been made, the Support player will sprint to overlap behind the on-ball player and head towards the goal, using a curved run so that he can see the other attacker and accept a dropped pass if one is sent. Ideally, the Support player wants to be able to get to the far side of the defender, so that the defender (and the keeper) cannot watch him and the on-ball attacker at the same time. However, because he wants the ball to be able to see his feet, the Support player probably wants to stay at the top of the PA in order to keep the drop option open until another option (such as a square pass) becomes more likely from the angle and positioning of the dribbler. Simply by his presence, the Support player is likely to draw the defender towards him (because he is so dangerous in the central area). As a result, there is a big possibility that space may open up on the back post for a shot by the dribbler. The coach will have to exercise judgement in deciding whether to restrict players from taking obvious shots and, if such restrictions are imposed, look for ways to release them as quickly as possible so that finishing continues to be encouraged.
The coach should realize that decisions to shoot or pass are made in split seconds, as are the decisions to stay put or make a run. Miscues will be common in the early stages, and it is easy for the coach and players to become frustrated or to conclude that this stuff doesn't work. This is a time when the coach must become a cheerleader, and constantly look for ways to praise the effort and to praise the idea, even where the execution leaves something to be desired. With practice, the players will grasp these concepts, and start to make impressive scoring runs of which everyone will be proud.
When you add another player, the objectives and positioning remain very similar to those used in 2-man attacking. During the field possession stage, the two support players will form a moving triangle with the on-ball player. One will tend to get to the space to the side/rear of the defender (i.e., will move into the typical space occupied if there was only 1 supporting attacker), while the additional support player will try to assist in penetrating the defense more quickly by taking a more forward position. If he is faster than the defense and the ball is in the opponent's half, he will want to get to a position which allows the ball to be played into space behind the defender and give him an unobstructed run towards goal. However, if he is slower than the defense or the ball is in his own half, he will simply take position ahead of the ball which allows him to provide adequate support.
This triangular positioning involves the same concepts used in keepaway and allows the ball to be moved past the defenders through short passes. The coach will want to emphasize and reemphasize the importance of these triangles, as the ability to quickly set support triangles is the litmus test for really good teams.
Once the 3-man group has successfully maintained their triangles and have moved the ball into scoring range, the rear player in the supporting triangle typically will peel off to make the looping run to the far post (i.e., he will make the same run as the supporting attacker in a 2-man combo). The other support player typically will move to take up a position in the vicinity of the near post (although he normally will be stationed at the top of the PA in order to be able to serve as an outlet player if needed - or as a shooter - or as a relay to the far post attacker). Thus, when in position, the supporting players continue to form a triangle with the ball - and continue to allow the ball to see their feet. The only difference is that, instead of trying to provide outlets for the ball into safe space, they are now trying to provide outlets for the ball which will permit an immediate shot attempt.
Some examples of three-man combination patterns are:
All movements in soccer "key" off of the actions by this primary group of 3 players around the ball. To illustrate this point, let's say that you are going to work on 6v4 attacking (something which occurs often in a game setting of 11v11). The fundamental need for the support triangle will still be there, so the nearest 2 players will serve the role of close support. The remaining 3 attackers usually will be allocated by sending two to provide deep penetration options (near/far post) and one to act as a pivot player/defender. By doing this, the team can more quickly get the ball into scoring range without loss of possession - and already will have players in place to make near/far post runs. Thus, the additional players simply make the game go faster because other players already are in the necessary space - and also cuts down on the number of runs needed from the close support players (so they don't get as tired).
Thus, once the players understand how the 3 primary attackers players should move, they will know where to move themselves (as it will be instantly clear when they are simply filling in and making the same run to the same place where they would have gone in a 2-man or 3-man attack). In turn, this makes it easier for them to read the other players, and to automatically know where their help is needed.
Most coaches will not introduce 3-man patterns until around u12, instead devoting the early years to work on basic skills and 2-man attacking patterns. However, this brief discussion is included in this Manual, because it is important for new coaches to understand how the basic 2-man and 3-man patterns link together (and why small group work is so important for the long term development of their players).
All defensive systems depend on the individual defensive skills of the each player. Simply put, unless a player has solid individual defensive skills, the player is unlikely to be able to understand or apply group defensive principles very well.
The following individual defensive skills should be learned by all players, regardless of the playing position:
Once these individual skills are learned, then the player must learn group skills, such as:
The most important beginning skills to teach a defender are placement, positioning and footwork in a 1v1 setting. Why are these skills so important? Defense by definition is a reactive state, where the attacker causes the defender to take steps to stop some action. Because of this, the defender be able to move quickly in all directions. The player must be able to stop and restart his movement in reaction to actions by the attacker. To do this, the player must be in a balanced position as often as possible, and the feet must be trained to move in the quickest and most efficient manner possible. The defender also must maintain the optimal distance from the attacker to give himself time to react before the attacker had gotten around him and is heading for goal.
Once properly placed in relation to the attacker, the defender must learn to position his body/legs in a manner which will block the attacker's best scoring options while also allowing quick reactions on his part. Next, the defender must learn to use his body to channel the attacker into less favorable areas of the field while patiently waiting for an opportunity to steal the ball. Of course, he also will need to learn techniques for winning the ball when the chance arises, and learn how to recover in the event that he is beaten by the attacker.
What is the correct placement of a defender who is guarding an attacker who has the ball? Normally, the defender will place himself a bit ahead of the attacker, at an angle so that he is between the attacker and the goal. This is called getting goalside of the ball.
If at all possible, the defender wants to place himself so that he is turned to face the attacker, because this placement allows him to keep a closer eye on the attacker and make more rapid adjustments so that he can stay in the way of the attacker.
The optimal distance of the defender from the attacker is determined by the attacker's current pace and potential speed. Usually, the defender will want to move within about 2 strides of the attacker or closer - and then maintain this distance by retreating using short quick steps.
Of course, occasions will arise when the attacker already has gotten up to speed, and the defender is not fast enough to get ahead of the attacker, so the defender has no choice but to simply run alongside of the attacker. Training on the ways to handle these situations will come after training on basic placement, positioning and footwork, so this will be discussed later.
All defensive training should begin with training of defensive skills in a 1v1 setting, and then progress to 2v1 training (numbers down and numbers up), 2v2 training, and 3v3 training. In this way, players will learn improve their own individual defensive skills and learn the proper techniques for working as a team to prevent the opponents from scoring, by learning to prevent them from taking the ball to dangerous parts of the field; or from passing balls into dangerous parts of the field to other teammates; or from allowing target receivers to collect any errant passes which might slip through; or from allowing such receivers who might get a ball in dangerous territory from getting off a shot. The essence of team defense is to use the available manpower to close down as many of the dangerous attacking options as possible, while patiently waiting for mistakes to occur or sufficient backup to arrive that efforts can be made to win the ball back.
In team defense, the closest person to the ball (whether a forward, midfielder or defender) automatically should step in to put delaying pressure on the ball. In soccer terminology, this person is called the First Defender or the Pressure player. The importance of immediate pressure on the ball cannot be overstated. Tell your players that you want somebody on the ball by the count of 2, then shout "2" - to get the point across that you want this pressure to occur instantly.
Why is Pressure so important? The longer time that you give any attacker to make decisions, the better decisions he will make. And, the less time that you give your teammates to get back to cover your own goal, the worse are your chances of successfully stopping the attack. So, immediate Pressure is applied to force errors by the attackers; slow down their attack; give your own teammates time to provide support; and, hopefully, to give your team the opportunity to try to regain the ball in a favorable part of the field. Just as in individual defense, the Pressure player's first job is to get into position to slow down the attacker and to remain in his way until a good opportunity arises to try to regain possession. The difference is that, once backup support has arrived, the Pressure player usually can stop being patient and can move to aggressively win the ball back, because his backup player can move in to take over if he is beaten. Thus, the availability of backup support often allows the team to get the ball back in better field position and at a time when the opponents are moving in the wrong direction to handle their own defense well.
So, who is the teammate who is supposed to provide this immediate backup. Usually, the teammate who is the nearest player goalside of the ball - or the player who can most quickly get into this supporting position - is responsible for getting into a position behind the Pressure defender, so that he can provide a safety valve if the Pressure defender is beaten. This person is called the Cover player (or Second Defender). Finally, the remaining teammates who are available for backup along the direct route of the ball towards goal provide additional support for the two primary defenders, and are called the Balance players or Third Defenders. The jobs of the Balance players involve many of the same basic skills and decisions as those made by the two primary defenders, so it is important to provide solid background in the Pressure and Cover roles before moving to substantial training on Balance.
The Cover player is the player who is the nearest teammate who is in the proper position goalside of the ball, or who can make the easiest run to get into this position. Proper positioning depends on the position of the ball on the field, as well as the position of any supporting attacker and the speed of the attacking group. Positioning is covered in more detail below.
The Cover player has the following duties:
The positioning of the Cover player depends upon where the ball is located on the field. If the attacker is relatively close to one touchline, the defense will want to bottle the attacker up on the touchline (and use the touchline as an extra defender), just as in individual defending. Thus, the Pressure player will try to steer the attacker close to one touchline by positioning himself sideways on so as to make a funnel towards the touchline, and the Cover player typically will move to close off the end of the funnel. However, the Cover player often will take an intermediate step and provide backup along a line from the goal to the far post until the attacker has been moved fairly close to the touchline. The Cover player must carefully gauge when to close the funnel and how distance can safely be left between him and the Pressure player, as the last thing which he wants to have happen is for the attacker to be able to cut in towards goal between him and the Pressure player (a tactic known as "splitting the defenders").
If the attacker has his back towards your goal, and is being heavily pressured from the rear by the Pressure player, then the Cover player has two choices. One is to provide fairly close support from the rear, to enable the Pressure player to move around towards the front to try to win the ball. The other is to become the Pressure player himself by coming in from the front, and allowing the rear player to provide Cover.
Finally, if the attacker has managed to turn towards your goal and is not near any touchline, then the Cover player typically will take a position about 2-3 yards to the rear and to the side (trying to add his body as extra coverage for the goal). The closer that the attacker is to goal, the closer the Cover player usually will position himself to the Pressure player, so as to be able to provide near-instant Pressure if his teammate is beaten.
When providing defensive backup, the Cover player must make an assessment of the relative speed and skill of the attacker. In general, where the attacker is considerably faster or more skilled than the defenders involved, the Cover player must drop off farther, so that he will not be beaten by the on-ball attacker or by a speedy runner to whom the ball is passed. The relative distance between the ball and the last backup defender is called "depth" of the defense. A defense which has a lot of depth defensively is often safer. However, the amount of depth to provide in any defense is a product of multiple factors (and, obviously, there are times when defensive support may be so far away that it is not useful). All defenses tend to compress in depth as the ball comes into scoring range, both because the defenders have run out of field and because the proximity of the attackers to goal requires that the defenders get closer so that they can react more quickly.
Once the Cover player is at the correct depth, where should he stand in relation to the Pressure defender? If the ball is located toward the sides of the field, a good rule of thumb on support angle can be reached by drawing a line from the far post to the ball. The support defender moves up or back along this line. The reason for adopting this angle is that the body of the Cover player fills up any passing and shooting lanes to the far post, while the body of the Pressure player fills up passes/shots to the near post. In essence, even though the defenders are separated by several yards, they will appear to be almost shoulder-to-shoulder from the attacker's viewpoint (as if they were making a wall across the goal).
In the center of the field, there really is no "far post", because the ball may be equally distant from either post. What then? In this case, the supporting defender may wish to pull up within a couple of yards back and to the side of the Pressure defender, in order to create the illusion of a horizontal wall which is blocking the ball. If in scoring range, he may pull up even closer. In general, the Cover player will pull up to the side which blocks a shot by the favored foot of the attacker (unless other factors, such as another attacker, make it more sensible to position to the other side).
What if there is also a supporting attacker to worry about? This will be covered in 2v2 attacking. First, we will address the situation where there is a free defender who can provide fulltime backup support (i.e., he doesn't have another attacker whom he also has to mark).
The first thing that the Cover player needs to do is to get into position. If he already is goalside of the ball, then it is a simple matter to shift up and over to establish the correct position. However, if he is upfield from the ball, then he must make an angled or looping run as he comes back to get into position. Why? He wants to keep his eye on the ball at all times, and he wants to be able to provide backup in the event that the Pressure player is beaten. As a result, he needs to estimate where along the path towards goal he would have to be to intersect the attacker if the attacker quickly got past the Pressure player, and then start heading for that spot. Then, as he sees that the Pressure player is managing to contain the attacker (so the risk of a break-through has gone down), he starts to angle around towards his ultimate Cover position.
Once in place, the Cover player becomes the "boss" of the defense - and it is his job to instruct the Pressure player on what to do next. Why? Because the Cover player can look around, while the Pressure player should have his eyes glued to the ball.
While positioning is important, the real work in training the Cover player involves training in communication skills. The Cover player provides the same type of support for the Pressure player that the 2nd attacker provides for the on-ball attacker. His job is to serve at the eyes/ears of the on-ball defender - and to provide clear communication about the best way to defend. Of course, his first obligation is to announce his arrival by shouting "Cover" when he is in place. Normally, his first instruction will be to start trying to steer the opponent towards one touchline ("Take him left" or "Take him right"). If possible, a right-footed attacker should be steered towards the right side of the defense (i.e., towards the attacker's left), in order to force the attacker to use his non-favored foot. Then, the Cover player starts to give instructions to the Pressure player on ball-winning ("Not Yet" or "Now"). or "Not Yet"). Normally, the Pressure player should wait for a signal from the Cover player before moving in to tackle the ball - so that he can be sure that the Cover player is ready to spring forward to provide instant Pressure if the tackle doesn't work.
Of course, the Cover player must be especially alert when the attacker is within scoring distance of the goal and will have a decent scoring chance if he manages to beat the Pressure player. This is especially true when the attacker is coming in centrally, so that the attacker has the full goal to shoot on. The Cover player knows that, once the attacker gets the ball within easy passing range of goal, it can be a simple matter to slip the ball between the legs of the defenders and into the net. As a result, if the attacker hasn't made a mistake which can be capitalized upon (such as putting the ball too far out in front) by the time that he has entered the PA, the Cover player will need to consider orchestrating a double-team rush on the attacker. When should this be done? Usually at the time when the attacker is approaching the penalty mark, and has just stepped on his shooting foot (so he only can get off a hurried shot/pass with his non-favored foot before the two defenders converge on him). The decisions involved at the same as in making the rush in individual defending. The only real difference is that the two defenders combine as they are going in, so that they can overwhelm and bottle up the attacker and/or put so much pressure upon him that his shot is easily saved by the keeper.
When the attacker is coming in from an acute angle to the side of the goal, then the defensive job is much easier (particularly until the attacker gets close enough to the goal to have a near post shot). The Pressure player will try to steer the attacker towards the endline, while the Cover player shuts off the funnel by positioning himself somewhere in front of the near goal post. This leaves the keeper free to take the middle of the goal (to be able to push high far post shots over the bar). In this situation, because the Pressure player generally can kick the ball out, the real interest of the Cover player is to keep the attacker from coming between him and the Pressure player - which will leave a big hole. Thus, he will want to close in a bit, and simply use patience to wait for a mistake.
When the attacker is coming in at an angle of 40-60 degrees, the defenders have a difficult choice to make. If they over-commit in trying to steer him to the endline, he may be able to spin over the top of them towards the central goal area and have an unobstructed shot on goal. On the other hand, if they over-protect the central area, they leave the wing area open for an attack. As a result, they usually will want to position themselves directly along the angle of his path. If they cannot close on the attacker before he clears the near post, then the Pressure player must drop down to cover the near post (so that the keeper can move more centrally) and the Cover player will need to slide in to block shots on the central or far post areas. This is a tricky time for the defenders, because failure to move together will create a momentary gap which can allow a shot (or hard near post pass) or allow the defender to slip through altogether.
In addition to training the players on how to set the proper angles in these situations, it is important to train them on recovery runs. When the Pressure player is beaten, the Cover player immediately steps up to provide Pressure. At the same moment, the Pressure player must INSTANTLY make a recovery run to get into a position to intercept the attacker if he beats the former Cover player. The most dangerous instance in 2v1 defending is during this transition time. If the former Cover player does not close quickly and carefully, both defenders will be beaten - unless the former Pressure player gets into an immediate backup position. Usually, the best option for the recovering defender is to make a sprint at top speed to an interception point on the line towards goal, while turning his head to see if further adjustments are in order. In general, the depth of the interception point should be set as deep as possible, while still permitting the defender to reach the attacker before he is likely to shoot. Once again, if the recovering defender sees that the new Pressuring defender has contained the attacker, he can flatten his run and come back to set up a Cover position. But, his first thought must be to get into a position where he could stop a shot (or intercept a cross, if a supporting attacker is in the picture).
As can be seen, even 2v1 defense is not particularly simple - and it can take a number of seasons for players to fully grasp how to handle the various options (and how to communicate well). However, smart players end up discovering the most of these principles on their own by being placed in these situations frequently. Hence, a smart coach will try to find time in practices for small group games or drills where the players can experiment with their own solutions - and learn from their mistakes.
2v2
Defense
The next step is to train players in 2v2 defensive coverage. The role of the Cover player in 2v2 is more complex, because he has two jobs - to provide Cover and to provide marking for his off-ball attacker. As was discussed in Group Attacking, the 2nd attacker (off-ball close support) will be trying to help maintain possession when outside of scoring range. Therefore, it usually is possible for the Cover player to devote most of his attention to the ball (instead of this attacker) until about the time when the ball is approaching scoring range. He accomplishes this by stationing himself goalside of the Pressure player, at an angle and distance which allows him to keep an eye on his mark, while still being able to move to provide quick pressure if the Pressure player is beaten.
As a general rule of thumb, when there is another attacker in the vicinity, the Cover player will first determine how close this attacker is to the ball and to the goal. In general, the wider the attacker is laterally and the closer this attacker is horizontally to the ball, the wider the Cover player may want to play away from the ball (so that he can intercept any long passes which may be sent in behind him or get to the supporting attacker more quickly if the ball gets through). In other words, the wide attacker is sufficiently worrisome that he is forced to pull away from his Cover job somewhat, so that he can get to the wide receiver quickly. On the other hand, as long as the supporting attacker remains well behind the dribbler and well away from the ball, the Cover player can devote his main attention to the ball.
As a general rule of thumb, a distance halfway between the two attackers is a good starting point if the attackers are square (i.e., on the same line horizontally) and outside of scoring range. If the second attacker is forward or if the ball is coming into scoring range, the defender must move closer to this potential receiver - even at the risk of abandoning his Cover duties.
In deciding whether to stay with his mark, or remain as in a Cover role, the defender must consider whether the dribbler or the mark is the more dangerous player. If the dribbler is in a clearly better position to score, the Cover player usually will want to stick with the covering role. If the receiver is clearly in the better position to score (i.e., the dribbler is at a sharp angle to goal, while the receiver is stationed or moving centrally), the Cover player must move ballside/goalside of this receiver and get into the likely passing lanes for the ball. When the situation is unclear, then he will need to make a choice based upon what he knows about his teammate's ability, the ability of the opponents, the ability of his keeper, and a host of other factors which may give him clues that one option is better than the other. When in doubt, the best decision normally is to mark any central receiver out of play, and leave the dribbler to the Pressure player and the keeper.
The defender is obligated to continue to mark an attacker who is moving forward until one of several things occur:
So, what must the Cover player do when the ball is passed to the receiver?
The most important part of his job is what is called "closing down" the attacker. The "close down" starts when a ball is passed to an attacker. When the ball is in flight, the defender uses this time to sprint towards the receiving attacker. If the defender is relatively close to the attacker, he should turn with the attacker (taking his eyes off the ball), try to beat the attacker to space he is going and turn back to find the ball. An extended forearm touching the attacker can help the defender know where the attacker is. The defender must not slow down his turn with the attacker, as he may obstruct the attacker. The beauty of this defensive reaction is that it takes the defender automatically into a supportive position.
If the defender is relatively far away from the attacker, it is critical that he use the time that the ball is in flight to gobble up as much ground as possible. All too often, the defender does not react soon enough, and gives the attacker too much space to receive and decide what the next play will be. Just before the receiver is to touch the ball, however, the defender must stop the sprint and go into a balanced state, being ready to react in any direction. The closer to the attacker, the more critical it is to get balanced. It is when the defender is in motion that the attacker can use the defender's momentum to beat him. The defender must first stop, then change directions. Often ,in a directional change, the player is again off balance and can be beat again. A balanced player can react quickly while remaining balanced for the next reaction. To get balanced requires the player to suspend movement, with feet a comfortable distance apart. The body may be turned slightly facing the ball and the direction the player wants the attacker to go.
Each time that the attacker makes a touch on the ball, the defender uses the time before the next touch to close down more space. If the touch stays close to the attacker, the defender should go into a sideways-on (or side-on) stance and take short steps or hops to get closer to the attacker. The defender should stay as balanced as possible with any leanings away from attacker back towards the defended goal. The defender must not allow the attacker to get past or behind him, and that is why the defender should be ready to react quickly going backwards as he shuffles forward towards the ball. The reason he needs to be side-on is to be in a better position to go back.
In general, defenders who are beaten by the attacker on the first or second touch are not on balance. Likewise, defenders that are not tight enough initially may not be working hard enough on the initial pass. Furthermore, defenders that stay well off the attacker after reception are not closing down properly. Thus, if a coach sees these errors, corrections are in order before bad habits become engrained.
While the former Cover player is busy worrying about the current dribbler, the former Pressure player must decide what to do next. In general, if his mark does not go forward immediately or makes a wide run away from the ball, he should drop back into the basic Cover position. Why? Because this player is now the Cover player! This switching of roles is often the hardest thing for young players to remember. As a result, it is necessary to practice 2v2 situations over and over until the switching off of roles, as well as the rules of Pressure and Cover, become so engrained that they are instinctive.
Ideally, no player ever would end up in a game where he has to defend against 2 attackers without any backup support. However, realistically, this happens in game situations (even if just for a few seconds until backup arrives), so players need to be trained on how to approach numbers-down defending with confidence. The basic positioning of the solo defender is essentially the same as if he were a Cover player in a 2v2 setting.
In general, until the ball comes within shooting range, a solo defender will try to position himself so that he can remain in the path of the on-ball attacker and slow him down - but he will want to drop off towards goal sufficiently to also keep an eye on the off-ball attacker. As a general rule, most off-ball attackers will remain to one side and slightly behind the on-ball attacker until the ball is entering scoring range. At this point, the off-ball attacker will start to try to move to the far side of the defender in order to prevent the defender from staying enough to provide any pressure on the ball and still keep an eye on the off-ball attacker.
When this move starts to happen, the defender has two basic choices (which depend on which of the two attackers is considered more dangerous). If the two attackers are coming directly in on goal (attacking centrally), then the most dangerous attacker is probably the on-ball attacker, because the goal is relatively open for a shot. In this situation, the best choice is likely to be to make a sudden hard sprint at the on-ball attacker in order to force him to make a rapid shot or pass before he planned to do so (because forced shots/passes often are screwed up - and a hard charge may leave the intended receiver offside). Of course, when the defender makes this decision to come out hard, he must do everything possible to win the ball or knock it away, leaving the keeper to worry about handling the off-ball attacker if the pass gets through. To minimize the possibility of a pass, the solo defender may slightly angle his run to put his body in the easiest passing lanes to the receiver (unless covering the dominant foot appears to be the better option).
On the other hand, if the on-ball attacker has a very poor shooting angle because he is coming in from the side of the goal - but his off-ball receiver is stationed centrally around the top of the box (as he should be)- the most dangerous attacker usually is the receiver. As a result, in this situation, the defender will try to position himself more centrally than the keeper (who will be standing close to the near post). Normally, he will stand around the top of the goal area, in the hopes of intercepting any horizontal pass to the receiver (which is the most dangerous pass to him) and helping the keeper by blocking a low far post shot by the dribbler. Essentially, at this point, the solo defender is leaving the dribbler to the keeper, and simply trying to provide backup to prevent passes to the receiver. He knows that, if the receiver gets the ball, he is sunk - because the whole net is wide open, so he simply does the best that he can to cut off the easy options - and hopes that the attackers cannot convert on the more difficult options.
When there are more than two teammates available to assist in defense, the concept of marking becomes very important. If a player has consistently marked his man out for the whole game, and prevented any service to his mark by making the mark appear not to be open, the player has done an excellent defensive job without having come anywhere near the ball. This can be a hard concept for young players to accept unless the coach makes a big deal out of excellent marking - and praises them despite the fact that they are not seeing much action. As the coach moves into teaching team defense, the first rule of team defense to be taught is that everyone on the team becomes a defender when the team does not have the ball. Thus, all players must understand the 4 basic jobs of team defense, which are: No Get, No Turn, No Pass/No Shoot.
"No Get" means to prevent the player whom they are guarding from ever getting the ball. Of course, it is not always possible to keep an opposing player from getting the ball - especially when serving as a midfielder, because there will be times when he cannot get back into proper marking position in time because of an unexpected loss of possession (or because his mark is a bit quicker and/or checked back to get the ball). If his mark manages to successfully receive the ball, then the job of the defender becomes one of "No Turn" (i.e., trying to keep the attacker from turning in the direction of his goal, if this can be done safely).
When is it a good idea to apply heavy pressure to prevent the turn? It is a good idea to do this when you have backup support behind you (which is why midfielders normally will apply very heavy pressure to stop the turn). It also can be a good idea to try to do this when additional support will be available quickly or the risk of allowing the turn is relatively high.
Of course, occasions will arise in a game where the attacker may be able to collect the ball and turn in the direction of the goal before anyone on the team can get to him. Once the attacker has turned and is heading towards goal, the primary object of the initial defender on the scene is to prevent the attacker from getting off a shot on goal from decent scoring range/position. This is accomplished by getting in his way; trying to slow him down until reinforcements can arrive; and trying to steer him to the outside (which cuts down his shooting angle and makes the keeper's job a lot easier). Thus, at this point, the marking defender will work to insure No Pass/No Shoot, with his emphasis normally on preventing the shot (unless the pass is considerably more dangerous). These concepts will continue to be applied in 3v3 defense, as well as in any other situation where more than 2 defenders are available.
Most teams which play 3v3 will leave one player back as a pivot player and supporting defender. Thus, defending in 3v3 can be easier than in 2v2, because most attacks end up being 2v3 (with the spare defender free to move in to provide extra cover or pressure to win possession).
The defensive group has 3 basic choices in how to position this extra defender, ranging from fairly risky to fairly conservative. Which positioning to choose depends in large part upon the skill of the opposing team.
The most risky choice is to have the spare defender station himself as an outlet player - staying between the defense and the sole defender of the opposing team. This choice is somewhat risky, because the attackers are now 2v2 against the defenders (so the advantage of extra defensive numbers is lost). However, it is somewhat better offensively because it provides an immediate outlet for a counterattack if possession is won (with your team needing to beat only 1 opponent to score). It also has the advantage of preventing the opponents from putting all 3 players into their attack, as this will leave their goal undefended if the ball comes to the outlet player.
The most conservative choice to use the extra defender in a sweeper-type role, which frees up the other defender to closely mark the supporting attacker. However, because there is no outlet player available when possession is regained, this approach will reduce scoring chances unless your team plays good possession-style soccer (or has a high-endurance player who can sprint forward to become the outlet player when possession is regained).
The third choice is a hybrid of these two approaches, in which the extra defender becomes a floating Cover player who plays in any part of the field in order to quickly provide double-team opportunities on the ball (this type of player is also called a "libero", meaning a unrestricted player). If the Libero has developed the ability to read the field well, and is able to accurately anticipate when he will be needed, this option can work very nicely. However, if the Libero is relatively unskilled, the only thing that he may end up accomplishing is exhausting himself (especially if the opponents have a good short-passing game).
Usually, in a 3v3 contest, players will start with the conservative approach while they assess the strength of their opponents, and will then start taking some risks if this appears to be appropriate. However, it will take several seasons before players can be trained to recognize the proper balance between defensive risk and offensive reward. There are multiple variables which must be weighed in a short amount of time, and mistakes are bound to happen. However, if the coach constantly exposes the players to 3v3 games with varying team composition (so players have to contend with individual opponents who may be weaker or stronger), the players will learn to assess their own capabilities, the capabilities of their teammates, and the capabilities of their opponents. As they learn to make these assessments, they will become increasingly skilled in making the small-group tactical decisions which are required to be successful at playing soccer at all levels.
This is a very basic outline of the types of decisions which are involved defensively in small group play. Once players are familiar with these basic decisions, they will be prepared to make better use of additional players on the field. Why? Because teams which have 11 players per side on the field usually will not have more than 5-6 players who are playing offense or defense at any given time. The roles of the players immediately around the ball (Pressure & Cover) do not change. If anything, their roles are easier when playing in a larger group, because the extra players cut down on the amount of running/work and provide extra coverage. For instance, if the team is defending 6v4, this means that it has two spare defenders available. How should it use these two extra defenders. Well, common sense (and 2v1 and 3v2 experience) tells you that the first one should be assigned to dedicated Cover, while the remaining player may be utilized the best by creating double-team options or assisting in marking a particularly dangerous opponent.
If a player has never been allowed to play in small groups, or has never been rotated through defense, he will have no idea how to approach this golden opportunity. Often, he will just stand around aimlessly, or go stand by his mark upfield (where he is doing no good at all). However, once he understands the basic principles involved in small group play, he is more likely to move automatically to provide defensive support when needed - and to automatically present himself as an outlet player when not needed on defense. Thus, even if technically serving as a defender, a player trained in solid 3v3 skills will realize that, if the opponent only has sent up one attacker who is easily handled by the 2 defenders already back, his best bet is to become an outlet player for them - and to bring the ball upfield until he is challenged; or until he can see that other teammates are better positioned to take the ball forward; or until other circumstances make it more important that he return to the back.
Many youth coaches refuse to label their primary defensive players as "defenders", because they wish to impress upon all of their players that defense is everybody's job when the team does not have the ball. So, they choose to refer to these primary defenders as "backs". This may be helpful with young players. However, the coach probably will want to introduce the more common definition of their role at some point in training so that the players are not confused when they go to camps or play for other coaches. In either event, the coach certainly will want to impress upon all players that they have defensive jobs, and teach all players how to perform those defensive duties in a competent manner in a small group setting.
The laces kick (a.k.a. instep drive) and the driven pass are very similar in terms of technique. The primary difference is that, in the driven pass, the player typically will want to keep an eye on play and has less of a need for added power on the pass. As a result, the player usually will not run through the pass or add any type of snap to the pass.
On the other hand, when a player wants to take a very hard low, shot like a penalty kick, additional power is needed. Also, smaller players will often need to add a significant follow-through to most shots in order to get enough power. Some coaches opt to teach the laces kick and the driven pass in the same practice. This is fine, as long as you have enough time and as long as you are careful to distinguish for players when each technique will be most useful.
Start with players, each with a ball, seated on the ground. Point out the big bone that runs along the inside laces of the foot. This is the hardest surface of the foot, and is the area which they will use to make a laces kick. Have them toss the ball up in the air, and try to hit the ball solidly in the center with the big bone of the foot.
Now, put them in pairs. One player will bend over and hold the ball with the hands, while the other player works on the foot position needed to make the big bone of the foot come into contact with the center of the ball. Players with big feet often have to turn the foot sharply to the side and turn the knee inward to get this optimal contact. Furthermore, as they continue to grow, they may need to periodically redo this exercise to find the correct foot position, so coaches should not overlook the need to do this if a player suddenly becomes unable to do a low shot after having prior success.
Next, work on the correct distance for the plant foot. One of the most common problems with young players is a tendency to put the foot too close to the ball, which makes it almost impossible to make good contact with the ball. Tell the players to leave plenty of room for their hips to swing, because they will get power from the swing of the hips/legs.
Finally, work on the proper approach to the ball. Put the player at an angle to the side of the ball, usually around 35 degrees, and back at a distance that he will need to take 3 steps to reach the ball . Note thata right-footed player will step L, R, and then put his L foot beside the ball. As the non-kicking foot is planted, the kicking leg is drawn back; the ankle of the kicking foot is locked with the toe down; and the knees of BOTH legs are bent so that the knee of the kicking foot comes over the ball as contact is made with the ball.
Coaching Note: Do not skip the phase of checking out the proper foot positioning. It is critical that the players be allowed to experiment with the positioning which feels "best" to them and they will automatically feel when they are making solid contact. The coach can make the rounds and to check each player while they are experimenting with their foot position.
Once both partners have tried this basic positioning, put partners across from one another at a distance of about 30 feet, each player with a ball, lining up the partners so you have two lines of players who are facing one another. Get some parents/assistants to shag errant balls and let the players work on their kicks. To maximize touches, allow both players to go at the same time and allow players on one side to use any ball which comes their way. While they are working on these skills, walk around and correct technique as necessary.
Common problems are:
Once the players have learned the basic mechanics of the shot itself, they are ready for the next stage, which is to teach the follow-through. In order to impart the maximum power to the ball, the player must continue to run through the shot, ending in a high-kick worthy of a can-can dancer, with his head/nose almost coming into contact with his kicking leg. To do this, it is easiest to practice the move without the ball. Simply put the players on the field and tell them to select a spot which represents the ball such as a mound of grass or a spot marked on the dirt. Have them start their run so that their foot will go over the spot; and then practice leaping through the contact with the ball so that they go over the spot and land on their kicking foot.
Coaching Note: Some players who are worried about stubbing their toes may be afraid of an exaggerated follow-through. For these players, it is sufficient initially if you can get them to run through the kick and land on their kicking foot.
Now, put the players back into their two lines. Because of the increased power, and the need to run forward, have the two lines alternate on doing these kicks and leave plenty of space so that nobody gets hit by a shot, Let the players see how much extra power is achieved by the follow-through.
Of course, in an actual game, there will be very few situations where the player actually can take the time to place the ball and then take a careful run-up. As a result, players need to learn to control and shoot balls that are coming in from the front, from the side, or from behind them.
Divide the players into groups of 3, and put players in a long grid about 30 feet by 40 feet. Make two narrow cone goals at one end to imitate the corners of the net with a "keeper" stationed several yards behind the goals so that he can more easily shag balls which come through the goals. Have one player as a shooter and one with 3-4 balls as a server. Start with service of a ball coming from behind the shooter by having the server about 15 feet to one side and slightly deeper than the shooter. Server rolls the ball so that it will cross the path of the incoming shooter about midway to the goals. The shooter must take one touch to control the ball and then take a laces shot at either of the cone goals. After 3-4 shots, the players rotate positions.
Repeat, with balls coming in square by putting server about 20 feet wide of the shooter and about midway to the goals, and have him roll the ball out as the shooter starts his run. Again, the shooter tries to control with one touch and put the ball into position to make a laces shot with his second touch. Rotate after 3-4 shots.
Repeat, with balls coming in from the front by putting put server about 20 feet wide of the goals on the goal-line and have him roll the ball so that it intersects his path about midway to the goals. Rotate after3-4 shots.
Now, repeat the entire exercise again with the server becoming a lazy defender who just jogs slowly towards the shooter to add a bit of extra pressure on him after the serve. Rotate players after each sequence of balls (back, side, front) has been completed. Finally, end with shooters dribbling their own balls in, and the extra player acting as a lazy defender to apply some minimal pressure.
Coaching Note: If players are having difficulty, the coach may opt to delay square and front-coming balls for a later date. This is especially true of younger players, who may not have the ability to accurately judge or time these balls, either from the service or shooting sides of the equation. If you run into this problem, limit your initial drill to balls passed in from behind recruit parents to help as servers when you are going to work on other types of service at a future practice. When the slight-pressure rotations have been completed, turn the drill into a contest. To prevent sabotage by poor service, have the contest between the shooter and the keeper. Then put the servers into their own groups for their own contest, using the others as shaggers and servers. See how many goals can be scored in X tries, perhaps around 9-10 each, divided into the types that you've practiced.
Now, divide the groups up so that the top scorers are in one group; the middle ones in another; and the lower ones in the last group. Run the contests again, making a mental note of strength levels of the various shooters.
Divide the players into 2-4 evenly balanced teams (good/average/poor shooters) and run some relay races or have some contests. Use your imagination about conditions. Ideas include:
Because you've already made balanced teams, you can proceed to a regular scrimmage at the end of the contests. Alternatively, you can allow the winning team to decide how to end the practice, and let them choose the ending game. Periodically, repeat this practice during the seasons to continue to work on shooting balls which are coming in from various angles. Almost all players enjoy shooting work, so these sessions are good to include after several hard practices.
The art of feinting is delightful, and even young players can get a kick out of getting an opponent to "bite" on a good fake. Over the course of the season, the coach should introduce a new fake/feint every 6 weeks or so as a part of normal take-on work. Players should be encouraged to try these new feints, and some warmup time should be devoted to learning the new feints. Coaches should not be discouraged if it takes players a while to actually use their feints in practice or in games. It takes time for a player to learn to "sell" the fake, and to remember to try it when under pressure. And, not every player will want to adopt a particular feint into his personal bag of tricks. Virtually all players, including top level stars, have some 4 or 5 basic feints that they use most of the time with great success. So, don't be surprised that players show decided personal preferences on which moves to adopt and which to discard.
In feinting work, the muscles which are used are those which allow the hips to swivel from side to side (and the shoulders/arms to get in on the action of swaying about). These are the same muscles which are used in the more fluid kinds of modern dancing, so it can be fun to use music as a part of the warmup. Start with some fast footwork drills to get the blood pumping, then do some stretches (focusing particularly on the muscles running along the flanks which allow twisting and swivelling movements of the hips). Also work on stretches of the quads, as part of any feint will include very quick acceleration moves. Along the way, do some rhythmic swaying, then add some push-off jumping from side to side.
In order to work on feints/fakes, your players will need to have learned basic take-on skills and how to explode by carrying the ball forward with the outside of the foot. If you have not covered this, you should do the practice on beginning take-on skills before holding this practice session.
Probably the easiest feint to learn is a simple step-fake. To do this, the player has the ball on the front of the right foot; takes an exaggerated step to the R as if intending to do a sharp cut toward the R with the inside of his L foot; then immediately explodes to the left, dragging the ball with him on the outside of his L foot. This fake obviously also can be done (and should be practiced) going to the L and then exploding to the right. In their beginning take-on work, players learned to imagine that they are exploding through an open doorway to escape the monster, and then they are cutting back to slam the door on the monster. Initially, you may want to eliminate the slamming door phase so that they can concentrate on the feint itself. However, as soon as possible, you will want to remind them to slam the door on the monster.
This move is very easy, and can be mastered by even very small players. To avoid having players running into one another as they explode, try putting them in a line (queue) or widely space them to that they each are facing a cone (which serves as a defender). Then, simply allow them to experiment on learning to fake one way and then explode to the other. Encourage them to turn their shoulders/hips in the faked direction, which will help to "sell" the fake. After working on step-fakes in one direction, switch feet and work on going in the opposite direction.
After the step-fake, one of the easiest feints to learn is one involving the use of a single scissors (Barnes) move. This next move should be added after doing some individual and small group work with the first move. Particularly with younger kids, you want to give plenty of time for the first move to "set" into their brains and muscles before adding a new move, so don't rush things too quickly. Besides, it is no big deal to wait for another practice to introduce the next move.
In the single scissors, the player comes directly at the attacker, moves his left foot around the front of the ball and plants it to the side of (and slightly behind the ball), while swiveling his hips as if he plans to take the ball to the left with the inside of his right foot. As soon as his right foot is moving over to the ball, he quickly brings his right foot behind the ball (so that he can carry the ball on the outside of his right foot), then explodes forward to the right while dragging the ball on the outside of his R foot. The primary difference between this feint and the simple step-fake is the movement of the faking foot to go in front of the ball before being planted. This is an important difference (both because it protects the ball better and because it confuses the defender more).
For younger players, it may work best to show them the move, and then start working on the motions involved without using any ball. Simply bring the L foot forward in a semi-circle (toe pointed down) and take a big step to the left (bending the knee sharply - as the left leg will give the acceleration). While transferring the weight to the L leg, exaggerate the appearance of a cut to the left side. Then, as soon as the weight is transferred, explode right. Note that some small players may have trouble bringing the foot in front of the ball with any speed (due to the relative size of the ball to their short little legs). It is fine for them to lift the L foot over the ball if this is easier. Once they have the move down, add a ball and allow the players to experiment with doing the move. Encourage them to keep their upper bodies relaxed (almost limp), so that they can fluidly switch directions.
Put an anchored defender (one foot must remain on a cone and the other leg should be waving to make it clear which leg is "dead") in the center between two cones which are about 15 feet apart. Have the attacker come directly at the defender; feint towards the side of the waving leg; and explode past the outside of the "dead" leg. As soon as he is around the defender, he must slam the door by cutting back behind him. Have him turn around and then come back from the other direction. Tell the anchored defender to alternate which leg is waved, so that the defender must decide the direction in which to start his feint. Let the attacker have about 4-5 tries, then switch places with the defender. It is important for players to learn to recognize this type of opportunity - and which way to go - because this type of situation occurs often in a game (for instance, a defender who is trying to back-pedal without galloping quite often will be "dead" or getting ready to go "dead" on a leg when the attacker chooses to explode into a move).
Next, instruct the defender to stay anchored without waving a leg, and to simply "bite" by lunging in the direction of the fake as soon as it is made. Illustrate to the players that, when the defender's body and weight are moving in the wrong direction, an attacker can go around the non-lunging leg because it is "dead" due to the lunge - and, in fact, is "more dead" on the side of outstretched leg (the one with no weight) than the leg where all of the weight has been placed. Why? Because it is very easy for the defender to pull his outstretched leg over and transfer his weight onto this other leg fairly quickly - but, due to his momentum, it takes a lot longer to recover and go back the opposite way. It is important for new attackers to understand that, when the defender is standing fairly straight, the "dead" leg of the attacker is the one with all of the weight on it. However, when already moving, the most "dead" leg is the non-weight-bearing leg.
After allowing both players to work on feints against a defender who is lunging to the side, add the final most common defensive error - which is to dive forward from a sideways-on posture. In this situation, the player is completely "dead" on the front foot - and essentially dead on the back foot, so the attacker has the ideal choice of going by him in either direction. Most commonly, the attacker will want to go around the defender's back in order to cut in centrally - and this approach causes the defender the most difficulty because the quickest way to turn is to keep going forward (but, to do this, he has to turn his back on the attacker, which is very high risk because he will not know where his mark is). As a result, practice on rolling off the back of the defender - but point out that the attacker always has the option of going down the line if this makes more sense.
[Coaching Note: As you progress in teaching more take-on skills to your players, you will begin to teach them how to "show" the ball to the defender to try to provoke a lunge or stab, so that they can accelerate around him - and illustrate which moves tend to be best to cause defenders to "bite" in various circumstances.]
Next, recruit some parents or assistants to become defenders in a "Tunnel of Death." Create the tunnel by putting 3-4 cone grids (each about 15x20 feet) in a row, with a defender standing at the top line of each grid so that he is between the 2 cones forming the top side of the grid. If you have a large number of players, you may wish to set up several of these stacked grids to reduce lines. If you do not have enough parents for players, you can rotate players through these slots - or start by using flags or cones for defenders.
Now, have the first player take-on the first defender and beat him, cut back to recover, then head directly at the second defender, and so forth. Tell your defenders to be very sloppy and to dive in the direction of the feint. Obviously, you are setting up conditions to get success. As soon as the first runner has beaten second defender (and is entering the final box), start the next runner.
After running the Tunnel a few times, you can give more freedom to the defenders. However, with young players, you will need to relax restrictions very slowly in order to give them time to develop confidence in their take-on abilities.
The very best scrimmage for take-on work is 1v1. So, put players in pairs based upon their ability (i.e., skilled with skilled), and put each in a grid (you can reuse the Tunnel grids). Put one player on one side of the grid with the ball, and put the other player on the other side. As soon as the on-ball player starts into the grid, the opposite player can enter the grid and start to close him down. The on-ball player must take-on the defender and try to get around him sufficiently to be able to pass the ball across the opposing endline. However, he cannot pass until he is at least even with the defender. If he does this successfully, he scores 1 point. Alternate who is the attacker, and play until someone has 5 points (or for X minutes).
Now, find out the points scored by each player. Put the players who scored 5 against others who scored 5, and put the ones who scored 1 against the others who scored 1. Play again.
The final game uses a real goal (if one is available). Divide the players into two equal groups, and give each team numbers from 1 to X. Put players on goalline, with teams on opposite sides of the net. Now, as you serve a ball out into the field, call out "Number 5" - and both players who are No. 5 race out and try to win the ball, then score on the goal. There are lots of variations on how to do this (including elimination and non-elimination games, and games where you call out several numbers at once - or number the players sequentially, so that you call out 5 and 2, then 7 and 1, and so forth).
Young players are notorious for losing possession on throw-ins, even after they have learned how to keep possession momentarily by doing a legal throw. Therefore, this lesson plan will cover the basics of a legal throw, as well as some ways to teach the players how to retain possession. Before holding this practice, it is a good idea to do some beginning work on chest-traps, as well as on receiving air-balls with the feet.
Start with some basic ball-control movements, such as rolls, vees, toe-taps. Do your stretches, interspersed with assorted ball control moves that you want to practice.
To do a legal throw-in, the ball must come back over the head (refs usually look to see if the ball goes back past the ears) before being thrown forward; both feet must be on the ground when the ball is released; and both feet must be behind or on the touch-line.
There are two basic ways to do a legal throw-in. One is to step forward with one foot in the direction of the throw, and drag the toe of the trailing foot as the ball is thrown. The other is to simply stand with both feet firmly planted and throw the ball in. Which style is used is a matter of player preference. Both ways are effective so let your players use the one that works for them.
The most common error in throw-ins is lifting the foot. This error almost always occurs because the player is trying to throw the ball too hard and almost always occurs in players who use the first method and are lifting the trailing foot in an unconscious effort to get more power on the ball. Therefore, if you notice that a player is lifting the foot repeatedly, switch them to doing throws by standing with feet together and tell them that their main job is just to get the ball on the field. By taking the pressure to set distance records off, your chances of a good throw are greatly improved.
After demonstrating the two styles of throw-ins, divide the players into pairs. Create two long touch-lines with a space of about 5-7 yards between them. Have one partner stand at or behind his touch-line and throw to the other partner, who catches the ball and throws it back. Watch for proper technique and make necessary corrections.
A fun game, which gives lots of repetitions, is to play "housekeeping" by putting one or more players in the "house" (center circle works well) with a supply of balls. Put the rest of the players around the circle. Objective is to clean house by throwing balls out using proper throw in technique. Foul throws are penalized with a five-second no-throw penalty for everyone in the house, which means that the house can get full of balls again. Outfield players retrieve balls, and then must dribble them back into the house. House players work for one to two minutes or until they clean up, whichever comes first. By varying the number of balls, you can make it more or less difficult to succeed. You also can place conditions on the outfielders to slow down the refilling of the house. When you call "time", you can count the number of balls in the house and record this for the "team". At the end, hold a "clean-off" contest between the two teams with the cleanest house.
Return to the touch-lines, and divide players into groups of 3. One will be the thrower, the second will be the receiver, and the third will be a shadow defender who plays behind the receiver. Start by having the receiver side-by-side with the shadow and have him break in towards the server, then sharply cut back down the line. As soon as he makes the reverse cut, have the server throw the ball down the line into the space where he will be running. In general, it is easiest for players to collect a ball which is already moving in the desired direction, so this is a good choice for a throw. Switch roles after 3-5 throws. The key to this throw is timing, so that the throw is made as soon as the player reverses direction.
The second option is to have the shadow defender on the back of the attacker, so that he cannot turn easily. Have the server throw in a gentle ball to the receiver's chest, which is immediately passed back to the server as he steps in bounds. Once again, rotate the 3 players through all roles.
The last throw-in option is to throw the ball to the feet of a player who is standing downfield. This is almost always the best choice for young players and, unfortunately, rarely used because all of the players are expecting the ball to go up-field and never mark the back players. Practice this option by having the shadow stand up-field and the receiver stand some distance downfield. The thrower initially sets up to throw up-field in the direction of the shadow, then quickly turns and throws the ball back to the open receiver.
Put 3 attackers on the field, along with 2 defenders. Put a thrower on the touch-line. Now, explain to the attackers that the thrower always must have a front target, a middle target and a back target player. You might also want to take time to explain what positions would serve this function in your lineup. In general, your wing defenders will take all throws outside of your defensive third. Wing midfielders will take your throws in the defensive third, because you want your defenders available in case possession is lost.
Start with shadow defenders, and work on movement of your players to get themselves open for a throw, except for your back player who should remain quiet and just slip back to become available. After 2 throws per attacker, allow the defenders to become active, and play a game where the attackers must have 3 touches on the ball to score and the defenders score if they can intercept the ball before these 3 touches. Play until all attackers have done 2 throws apiece, then switch 2 of the attackers with the defenders and repeat.
Play a regular game with the full team. Focus on good quality throw-ins from a technique standpoint, and look for target players to get open to offer options to the thrower. It will take several years for the players to develop the ability to break well, and to develop the judgement about when/where/why to throw a ball to a particular player. It also will take some time to develop air-ball receiving skills. As a result, your main objective is to get legal throws, and to get a beginning awareness of the tactics.
The shoulder charge is one of the most useful skills which a defender can have in his arsenal - and all young players should be able to learn this without difficulty. All that there is to a shoulder charge is to place your shoulder squarely against the shoulder of the opponent, and push against him. To start off, make sure that everyone's elbows are tucked in and pair kids by size/aggressiveness when to avoid injury. Simply allow the players to walk around without a ball, while pushing into one another with their shoulders. Show them that they can push very hard, even against the Coach, if they get their weight down and use their far leg to give additional power.
Next, have one player start to slowly jog, and have the other player close down on him until he is running side-by-side with the opponent. When coming onto another player to do a shoulder charge, it is VERY important to be sure to jog/run alongside for a few steps, so that your speed is matched with his. If you don't match speeds, it's easy to come in too hard and send the opponent flying which is a foul (and also not a good idea). Once you have made sure that your speed is matched, move over to make shoulder contact and start trying to push the other player away. To avoid sending the opponent flying, it is better to wait to start the contact until he is standing on his near foot (the foot closest to you), so that a push causes him to catch himself with his far foot. If started when he is on his far foot, it is much easier to knock him over and makes it more likely that the Ref will call a foul.
One of the main uses of shoulder charges is to legally push the opponent into touch. Be aware that shoulder charges are permitted only when the ball is in playing distance. For example, you cannot just push an opponent into touch just to slow him down so that he won't be able to run towards the goal to help his on-ball teammate. Shoulder charges can also be used in the middle of the field to steer an opponent towards one touch-line or simply tie him up so that it is harder for him to get off a pass. As players get older, they can learn how to spin off a shoulder charge in midfield, so it tends to become less useful over time when the opponent has space to spring away. Therefore, the primary focus should be on training the players for use of the shoulder charge when near a touch-line.
At first, have players work on shoulder charges without a ball, by simply running along a touch-line and trying to force each other across the line with a legal shoulder charge. Then, give one player a ball to dribble (it feels weird to try to dribble when somebody is pushing you from one side), and let them experiment. Be sure to have them switch roles periodically.
Next, have the dribbler start jogging down the line with a ball, and have the defender catch him; jog right beside him for several steps to be sure that speeds are matched; and then move in for a shoulder charge and try to steer him across the line. After several tries, switch places.
Once the players have learned to do a shoulder charge properly, they are ready to learn how to do a standing side tackle. There are two ways to do this.
One is with the outside of the foot that is nearest to the ball. This tackle works best if you can slightly ahead of the dribbler (so that your inside hip/leg will be free), then come in and nudge him slightly in front of his shoulder as you step in to knock the ball away with the outside of the foot. Time your run so that you push him just before he puts his weight on his outside (far) foot. This will force him to come down on his far foot too quickly as he tries to keep his balance which will make his dribble foot come down too wide and too far behind the ball for him to keep control.
The other is with the inside of the foot that is farthest away from the dribbler. As you come in for the shoulder charge, time your run so that you can step into the dribbler just as he has put his weight on his near foot. This will keep his leg out of the way as you swing your leg across your body to knock the ball out. Note that there is a slight difference in the timing of this tackle.
Have the partners try these tackles at a very slow jog, so that they will not get hurt if they get tangled up with one another. If done properly, the shoulder will push the dribbler over just enough to allow the ball to be knocked away, while both players can continue jogging. However, if not timed well, the tackler easily can trip the dribbler - so it is important to do this in slow motion. Essentially, the defender is timing his charge to take advantage of natural weight shifts which occur in running as the weight is transferred from one leg to the other, and helping to push the dribbler a bit off-balance so that he can get to the ball more easily. Because the dribbler is going to be somewhat off-balance naturally,it does not take much force to send him flying - so tacklers must be cautioned to be careful - and to go for a light bump only.
The final step is to try to actually win the ball instead of just knocking it out. This step probably is not advisable until players get to about U-10, because there is a good likelihood of some hard physical contact as the players fight for the ball. Until the players are mentally ready for such contact, this can be too intimidating. Moreover, until players learn to judge the size/strength of their opponents and gain some experience in lowering their centers of gravity, there is an unacceptable risk of injury. This is especially true if little David makes a mistake as he tries to take on Goliath and winds up in front of, or under, a steamroller instead.
Divide into groups of 4. Put 3 players slowly jogging around a circle (one after another). Add a defender, who must use a shoulder charge or side tackle to get all of the balls out of the circle. Have various size players in the circle but stay alert to caution big players when charging small dribblers. All knocked-out players to get their balls and go back into the circle but turn it into a contest by counting how many dribblers the defender can get knocked out in 2 minutes.
Play 4v4, with a forbidden zone in the middle of the field leaving about 20 feet of full field in front of each goal. The forbidden zone forces play to the wings which increases the opportunities for shoulder charges. Only the ball can go through the forbidden zone. Simply let the kids play for awhile to get used to the setup and praise any shoulder charges that you see.
Now, tell the kids that the area beyond the touch-lines is full of Moat Monsters and that anyone pushed into the Moat by a legal shoulder charge will be held by the Moat Monsters until the count of 10 while his team has to play short briefly. However, if the coach considers the shoulder charge to be too rough, the charging player will be held by the Moat Monster for 20 seconds.
When a player wants to kick a ball with optimum power, the instep drive is the technique that is most often used. On the center top of the foot, towards the inside is a hard bone. This is the primary contact point for the instep drive. Because of the proximity on this point to the shoe laces, some refer to this as the "laces" kick which may be a good reference point for young players, even though the contact point may be just inside of the laces.
If a player wants to keep the ball low, toe of the foot must be pointed at a downward angle when contact is made. The upper leg (thigh) must be the prime muscle group moving the lower leg through the ball on this kick.
Some of the key technical points for the instep drive are:
The following exercises are submitted not as one or two training sessions, but as examples of exercises that can be used in a training session, based upon the age and skill development of the players.
set up two parallel lines of cones far enough apart so that it will take a reasonable shot to get across. The area between the cones is "no mans land". Divide the team in two groups, one group on either side of "no mans land", each player with a ball. Instruct the players to get rid of all the balls on their side by kicking them as hard as they can to the other team's side. No one can go into "no mans land". Play for 3 minutes. Whoever has the least number of balls on their side wins. Watch for kids backing up, and lining up the ball like a goal kick. Stress getting rid of the ball as quickly as possible. You may need to even up teams if it seems unbalanced.
move two goals about 20 yards apart; play teams of 3 or 4 with goal keepers. Start with all balls in the goals, evenly divided between the two either keeper starts play by tossing a ball on the field. When a ball goes out of play, the nearest goal keeper puts another ball in play as soon as possible; players are urged to shoot on their attacking goal as often and as they can.
10 players in the penalty area, remaining players on outside as servers with multiple balls. Servers toss balls into the area where players contest possession and shoot as often as possible. Emphasize need for players that gain possession of the ball to quickly turn and shoot.
One of the most important defensive skills which players will learn is how to properly mark an opponent so that he does not appear "open" to his teammate. This is a difficult skill for beginning players to learn, because they tend to watch the ball instead of their marks. Furthermore, because it is only necessary to mark your man when your team doesn't have the ball, younger players can get confused about when to mark and when to get away. As a result, it is necessary to break these skills down into manageable steps, starting with just staying with your man and teaching some tricks on how to do this.
The first basic rules of marking are to be stay within 2-3 feet of your man. Start by putting players in pairs, with one player in each pair as the attacker. It is the job of the attacker to try to get away from his marker, and the job of the marker to stay with his attacker. Do not bother using a ball. Just put the players in a grid and play it like tag. When you blow the whistle, everyone must freeze and any defender who is not within 3 feet of his mark must do a "special exercise". Pick silly special exercises, like doing a duck walk for 3 steps, quacking "mark, mark, mark", etc.). Play for several minutes, then switch roles between defenders and attackers. Reinforce the idea that those who are sticking with the opponent are "defenders" and that attackers can go anywhere and should try to lose their marks.
Now, introduce the idea of transition which means the switch from offense to defense when possession is lost. Put pinnies on one member of each pair and give them a team name. Also give a team name to the kids without pinnies.
Put them back in the grid, and periodically shout out a team name for the kids who are to act as defenders. Require that they find their marks and get within 3 feet of their marks by the count of 2 which requires them to always have a good idea of where their marks are, even when trying to lose them). Once again, use a silly "exercise" for those who do not quickly switch off.
Now, introduce a ball and make the team without the ball the defenders. Put small cone goals at the ends of the grid so that each team has a goal to defend. At this point, things will fall apart with new players, as they will start watching the ball and stop watching their marks. Expect this. It is normal. Let them play for 2-3 minutes, and find the kids who have gotten the concept down. These are the kids whom you will name as captains.
Blow your whistle; stop the game; and assign captains for each side. Their jobs are to yell "Rockets, mark" or "Rockets, attack", depending on whether or not their team has the ball. Always try to have 2 captains for each side, as somebody will get tied up in the excitement and forget to shout instructions.
Play the game again, and watch the transitions. Don't interfere, just let things sort out for 3-4 minutes. Then, announce a new game, where the entire team has to do a "special exercise" if, when you blow the whistle, they are not marking properly. The use of a team special exercise is important, as you want the entire team to learn to look out for somebody who is not marking his man. This will be crucial in games when, for instance, a defender falls down and it is essential that another player pick up his mark, so get them used to the idea of watching each other.
Let them play for about 1 minute, then blow your whistle. Resume, and blow again when the other side should be marking. Now, play a game where a goal counts for 1 point, and good marking counts for 2 points. Be sure that you give equal chances as you blow your whistle for both sides to get 2 points. At this stage, do not give out any "special exercises" as the loss of the chance for 2 is quite sufficient to get the point across. Additionally, and you don't want to do anything more to single out the poor kid who messed up.
For younger players, this may be as much as you can handle in one session. However, for older players, you can proceed to the next step, which is learning where to stand in relation to your opponent, assuming that teams are equal in numbers. In general, the safest place for a defender to stand is goal-side AND ball-side of his mark. In the midfield, it is more important to be ball-side than goal-side. When in the penalty box, you normally should be ball-side unless your attacker is considerably faster/quicker in which case you should be goal-side. Inside the goal area, you should always be goal-side if standing still, and ball-side if you are running in towards the goal with your attacker.
By ball-side, we mean that the defender is standing between his mark and the ball, so that the ball cannot "see" the feet of his man. "Ball-side" marking looks like this:
Square:
Attacker (A)� Defender (D)����������� Ball(B)
Diagonal:
��� A
������������ D
������������������������ B
"Goalside" marking looks like this:
[ Goal ]
��� D
���� A������������� ����������Ball
Marking which is both goalside and ballside looks like this:
[ Goal ]
����� D
�� A
���������������������� Ball
Put a pair of players in a grid, with one goal at one end, and put another pair in a long narrow grid that runs along one sideline. To score, the team in possession must have passed to a teammate on the sideline, then shot on goal without an interception by the opposing side. The use of the alley forces ball-side marking - and helps to show why it is effective. It also shows the players that, to succeed, they must play to space ahead of or behind the marked teammate and immediately move to accept a quick pass back. In the meantime, once a pass has been made to the outside, it places great urgency upon the inside defender to either intercept the ball before it can come back in or to get between his mark and the goal. Play for about 3-4 minutes, then switch inside and outside players.
Add another inside player for each team so that they are 2v2 inside, and put a goal at both ends. This is the stage where the players start to learn to balance the defensive principles of Pressure/Cover with the concept of marking. When outside of scoring range, it is more important that the other inside player act as Cover so that, if the Pressure player is beaten, the on-ball attacker does not have a free run at goal. As a result, he will drop off vertically from his man, so that he is goal-side of his mark and also slightly goal-side of the Pressure player. He does this so that he can keep an eye on both. If the Pressure player can bottle up the opponent at the touch line away from the outside support, he will turn his efforts to winning the ball since the opposing inside player should drop back to provide an outlet pass for the beleaguered attacker and also to provide instant cover for his own goal if possession is lost.
However, as the attackers start to come within scoring range, the off-ball inside attacker becomes a much greater threat, so he will close down on him in an effort to be both goal-side and ball-side. He will be sure to choose goal-side if he does not believe that he can stay ball-side on a run towards goal. The outside defender, on the other hand, will generally try to stay ball-side because he knows that the outside player is just a relay person who will try to cross the ball in quickly if he ever gets possession.
After quickly discussing these ways in which marking decisions change as you add a third person, let the players experiment. The game is truly the best teacher for these concepts, as the kids will learn much more quickly from trial and error than by any extended lecture. So, just stand back and watch for at least 5 minutes. Praise good marking decisions and good interceptions, and overlook the poor decisions. To mark well is a skill that will take many years to develop properly, as there are a number of very complex variables that enter into the equation in a split second. Errors are common and the kids can see for themselves when they make an error so give lots of reassurance and encouragement.
Add an alley on both sides of the field; put a pair of opponents in each alley; and put the rest in the middle. Require that a team must use one set of alley players before scoring and that goals count double if they use both alleys. Then, sit back and enjoy yourself, as the players go about teaching themselves the reasons why good marking is so important.
Kicking work is fairly sedentary, so have a vigorous warm-up that will spend some energy and work on fitness.
The lofted kick is very useful, especially for defenders. Although it's slightly more difficult to learn than a laces kick, it can be mastered by most players. Very tiny and light players sometimes have difficulty getting good air, because they have so little mass that it is hard to get the �oomph" necessary to get the ball off of the ground. Encourage them to keep trying, as it will only be a matter of time before they can accomplish this. [Coaching Note: It's possible to get air with a laces kick by setting the plant foot well behind the ball, causing the body to lean back slightly since the player will be "reaching" a bit for the ball with the kicking foot. This causes the ball to be struck more on its underside which lifts it up. Be aware, however, that it might be better to reserve laces kicks for low shots in order to get kids used to the idea of keeping the knee over the ball and keeping the head down to keep the ball low.
Key coaching points are as follows:
The position of the foot will vary somewhat, depending on the size of the player's foot in relation to the ball. Players with large feet, especially tall boys at the end of U-12s who may be trying to hit a size 4 ball with a size 11 foot, will need to cock the foot outward and rotate the entire foot inward to get the proper ball contact. The only way to figure out the proper foot position is by experimenting a bit until it "feels" right.
Put the kids in pairs, with one kneeling and holding the ball and one striking at the ball to get the proper feel of where to kick it. The bigger the foot, the more of an angle will be needed to be able to strike it properly. Go around and check to see that the foot angle is correct and that the foot/ankle is properly locked. Reverse, and have the others do the same thing.
Then, put the kids into two lines some distance apart, and have them shoot the ball to their partner on the other side. Watch and check on mechanics. Each kid will have to experiment a bit on foot position, so you will need to make adjustments as you work with them. Most common errors are putting the plant foot too close to the ball, so that the hips cannot swing through; getting too far behind the ball to generate enough power; not locking the foot into position; and not following through.
Now, divide your team by size into about 3 groups and have a shooting contest between the members of each group. This allows the tiny ones to compete among themselves rather than with folks who have twice the size/power. Allow each player to have 3 shots, and take the one with the most distance. Next, have a contest to see who can get the most height. Finally, have a contest to see who can get the most height and distance.
Put a moat in the middle of the field, with some defenders/attackers on each side of the moat. To get the ball to your teammates on the other side, you have to loft the ball across the moat. If the ball goes in the moat, then the other side gets the ball and can do an uncontested shot over the moat. Make the moat fairly narrow at first since you want success and then gradually widen it. Rotate which kid on the team does the shot across the moat. Switch so that the attackers become defenders and do the lofted shots.
Any type of regular scrimmage will be fine. Kids take naturally to lofted shots and will be trying them without much encouragement, so simply praise the efforts that you see.
Start with some basic ball-control movements, such as rolls, vees, toe-taps. Do your stretches, interspersed with assorted ball control moves which you want to practice.
The first step in learning to dribble is learning how to "carry" the ball by dribbling it straight ahead. The technique is very important to get down correctly. Done properly, this technique allows a player to propel the ball forward by "feel", without needing to look down to see where the ball is. This technique should be practiced constantly.
The key coaching points are as follows:
After illustrating this move, allow the players to have some time to experiment by moving around in free space. When most have learned the correct foot position and are successfully dragging their balls around with them, distribute them on a line (like they were lined up for a race) and get them to dribble to the "finish" line and check the ball (checking should be taught in the practice before this one).
Start using a walking pace, then progress to a slow jog, then to a faster jog. It is doubtful that your players will be able to progress to full running speed using this technique until they have practices for several sessions. So, for your warmups for the next few practices, do a jog around the complex or your field to work on straight-ahead dribbling.
Once they have learned to dribble with their dominant foot, switch to the other foot. It is fine to drop back to walking speed (dribbling is tiring) to work on the technique. Your main objective is to get them to learn to dribble with the dominant foot - and at least occasionally be able to take some dribbling steps with the non-dominant foot when they need to do this to shield the ball. Some players will be naturally left-footed and others will have no strong foot preference. However, all players can learn to use both feet, if encouraged and prodded to do so.
How do you encourage them to do so? Ask them to guess whether a race is going to be won by a guy with 1 foot or 2 feet. They know that answer. So, if I am a defender, and I know that you can only turn in one direction,you have made it at least 50% easier to guard you - because you voluntarily have turned yourself into a 1-footed player.
Divide the group into pairs, based upon size/speed (i.e., put bigger/faster players together). Set up 2 cones per pair, about 8 feet apart and widely spaced. Put one player between the cones, as a defender. Have the other player come directly at him (can come thru in either direction). If the defender put his hand up in a "Stop" gesture, the dribbler must check the ball and stop before the gate. If the defender signals "thumbs up", then the dribbler can go thru the gate unharmed as long as he keeps the ball in contact with his foot as he goes thru the gate. If dribbler tries to kick it thru, then he loses a point. After 10 attempts, the players switch places.
A contest should be held after both sides have had a turn. Possibilities include: pair with the greatest success wins; player with the most success wins; all players with X put in one group for a contest and all of the ones below X put in another group for their own contest.
Of course, if you are going to go forward at speed, you are going to need to learn to be able to stop the ball. This is a good time, after some experimentation with speedy straight-ahead dribbling, to introduce the basic check� This is a very useful move to be able to do in order to keep the ball in bounds, or to do a quick turn when you are in a footrace with another player. In order to be able to learn this move, your players must be developmentally able to skip. Players who are younger than age 8 may not be able to skip - and, if so, will be too young to learn this move yet.
The key coaching points in teaching the check are as follows:
Put each player with a ball, and simply let them dribble around and work on stopping the ball with a check move. This move is not as hard as it sounds - and most players u8 and above can master it without real difficulty. Now, go back over a bit of your small group work - and let them incorporate the check into their work.
Divide the group into 2-4 teams. Set up a series of cone "gates", complete with gatekeepers (note: make the number of gates equal to the number of players on a team). Have the players dribble thru the various gates.The gatekeeper is allowed to kick their ball away if it is not in contact with their foot as they come thru the gate. Switch out gatekeepers periodically. Once everyone has run the gates, you can have a race if you like - or a contest to see how many gates can be run successfully. Of course, if your ball is knocked away, you have to re-run the gate, and this slows you down.
Progression: Players may be required to look up to see the number of fingers which the gatekeeper is holding up, and call this number out correctly, as they go thru the gate.
Play 2v1 in a mid-sized grid, which is divided into two parts, with a small cone goal at one end. Put 1 defender and 1 attacker in part near goal. Have other attacker at opposite end of the grid. Ball is passed to attacker at end of the grid, who dribbles towards goal end. Defender cannot come out of the defending end. Defender scores if he can kick ball back into no-man's land. Attackers score by making goal. Ball which goes over end line is a restart. Play to 5 points, and then switch roles. After playing 2v1 for awhile, you might try 4v2 and watch what happens.
Do not interfere or try to teach support decisions. Your team will not work on support roles until much later. For now, let the kids experiment with 2v1 decisions. The main idea at this point is just to get them used to carrying the ball in unopposed, and looking up to find a target player.
Ages
8+
The� push pass is a common pass used in soccer. To do a push pass, you use the inside of the foot (along the arch) to push the ball forward. As a result, the hip and leg/knee must rotate outwards to allow contact with the ball. Taking these elements in sequence, you will:
The push pass can be learned by most children by around age 8-9. Short children (because the ball is relatively large) may have difficulty with this pass, as they may have insufficient hip width or swing to be able to get enough power. Children under age 8 often do not have the balance/coordination to use this pass, and may do better with a laces pass (passing the ball by pointing the toe down and hitting it along the big arch bone which along the side of the shoe laces).
You can easily tell if the player is not using proper technique, because the ball will not stay on the ground and/or will not go in the desired direction.
Players will be working in pairs for much of this practice, so do a warmup which requires pairs. A nice version is to have partners link arms (with hand of outside arm on hip to form an extra link). Create two rovers who can replace one of the partners by linking his/her arm thru the available outside arm. When the rover has "adopted" a new partner, the old partner becomes the rover and must go find another partner. This develops into a fun game of chase, and gets the heart rates up. Intersperse stretches with this game.
It is a good idea to cover chest traps and heading in consecutive sessions. Why? Because, when an air ball is coming in around chin high, the player usually has 2 options. One is to back up (or jump up) and chest it down - and the other is to bend the knees slightly and head it. Often, just a slight change in positioning (under 1 yd or so) will be all that is needed to switch the surface being used to control the ball.
This type of receiving should be taught after some work on basic gallops and cross-over running (covered in the section on 1st defender skills). This footwork is important, because the player has to be able to move into position to receive the ball while keeping his eye on the ball - so he has to be able to be confident in his footwork. So, if you haven't worked on the footwork, do it as a part of your warmup.
Chest traps are pretty easy to learn to do, and most players can get moderate success in just one session. Key coaching points are:
Variation 1: You also can trap the ball with your chest (which is a type of trap which is often not taught - and should be). Often, a player can "catch" the ball with his chest and simply walk it into the goal, which is a very nice way to score (even if not spectacular). .
Variation 2: More advanced players may want the ball to pop back up/out in order to volley or juggle it (but, of course, it is pointless to try to learn this skill until you know how to juggle). They do so by simply keep the chest flat, although they give slightly to take some steam off the ball, which allows the ball to pop off the chest; and look to play the ball with a volley of some type.
After demonstrating the basic channel-type chest trap, scatter the pairs of players around the field, and have them gently toss balls to one another to practice the technique. Then, once they have got the idea down, put them in mid-sized grids; station the receiver on one line and the tosser on the other end; and require the receiver to have to move into position to manage the trap (as this is the realistic situation in games).
Do some basic ball control moves, along with your stretches. Introduce rolls, pullbacks, and circle turns, if you have not done so, as these techniques will be used in this session. Then, to fully warm up the players, put the players in pairs so that their arms are linked and they are leaning against one another, and have them try to roll the ball around with their outside foot. Have pairs switch sides periodically, so that they can work with both feet. Have a "sack-race" kind of activity, where the pairs try to walk/hop from one line to another, while controlling the ball with the outside foot. Have one race going forward; one going backward; and two going sideways (left-to-right and right-to-left).
One of the first skills which young players will need is the ability to shield the ball in order to keep a nearby opponent from stealing it. Confidence in the ability to shield the ball is critical to later success as a player - because a player who does not believe that he can hang onto the ball usually will get his head down, get flustered, and just blindly kick the ball away ("hot potato" clearance).
Common reasons to decide to shield the ball instead of trying to take the defender on by dribbling are that your opponent is bigger/faster or there is so much traffic past him that it doesn't make sense to keep going ahead (so you need to stop and find one of your teammates who is facing less traffic) or you are in your defensive third where it is too risky to dribble when you could lose possession.
By using various techniques to put your body between the opponent and the ball, so that you can gain time to give the ball to a teammate or take advantage of a mistake by the defender to get past him.
The first rule of shielding is to avoid turning your back on the incoming defender if at all possible. It is much harder to hang onto the ball if you cannot see what your opponent is doing - so try to keep one shoulder pointed at the defender at all times. About the only time that you want to turn your back on an opponent is when you know that you have back support and you will be able to play the ball back to a teammate very quickly.
The second rule of shielding is to take control of the situation yourself. If the opponent is coming in hard, it is generally a good idea to be the one to make the first contact.
The third rule of shielding is to be aggressive in holding onto the ball. It is okay in soccer to use your arms, shoulders, body and legs to keep an opponent from getting the ball (you just cannot push with your hands or kick/push with your feet), so don't be afraid to hold your ground or to use your body to push the opponent away.
There are four basic shielding moves which you will cover in this session. They are the simple step across; the roll; the pull-back; and the circle turn (Note: younger players may have trouble with the circle turn, but it is a good idea to introduce it anyway - and, for older players, it may be possible to add pull-back/taps behind the support leg and the stepover).
Put the players into pairs, and put each pair in a long/narrow grid with one ball (one player on one end and one at the other). The player with the ball will serve the ball to the other player, then act as the defender.This same grid will be used to teach each of these moves. Put the spare ball at one end of the grid.
This is the most basic shielding move - but is amazingly useful. The player simply steps over the ball to put either one or both legs between the ball and an incoming opponent.
There is a trick to it, however. In stepping across the ball, the player usually wants to end up being positioned to face the direction where there is the best chance of finding support players (i.e., toward the open field- not the touchline). In general, the only time that you want to turn towards the touchline is when it makes sense to kick the ball off of the opponent's shin guards to get a throw-in.
Obviously, the direction that the player will end up facing will depend on which foot is used to lead off. Let's say that the open field is to his left. He will want to step across the ball in the direction of the defender, starting with his right foot - and then lifting his left foot so that it rests on the ball or comes over beside his right foot. Some coaches recommend that the player get in the habit of swinging the lead foot around the face of the ball, instead of stepping directly over the ball, so that the ball is shielded at all times. However, this may be an extra complication for young players (who can get confused with multiple decision), so you can leave this for later if it seems like a good idea.
After learning the basic step across, the player needs to know when/how to use the move. However, give the players some time to experiment on actually doing the move before you get into this.
Put two players at opposite ends of a small grid. Have one player pass to the other player, then walk towards the receiver to start shutting him down. Have the receiver step across the ball to put himself between the opponent and the ball - and end up with his back foot (the foot farthest from the opponent) resting on top of the ball. Once they have this basic idea down - and have learned the mechanics, it is time for the next step - which is to make actual contact with the opponent.
The basic shielding posture is:
Now, return to the grid and allow players to practice making the shoulder-to-shoulder contact (or getting their shoulder into the opponent's chest, depending on the angle). The idea is to aggressively hold the opponenton one shoulder while you get your head up to find a teammate to give the ball to. In the warmup, the players experimented with moving the ball while leaning into the partner, so they should have some ideas of their own which they should be allowed to explore.
When in the basic shielding position, the ball is moved around either with the side of the foot or the sole of the free foot. The way to move it with the sole of the foot is by rolling the ball back and forth, periodically putting the foot down to movement of the plant foot.
There is a knack to doing this successfully, which is only gained by practice. Allow the players some time to work on this in the grid - and also suggest to players that they can work on this at home by pushing one shoulder against a wall, and simply rolling the ball back and forth to move in a circular fashion. After some experimentation, play a game where the defender gets 1 point if he can steal the ball or kick it away before the count of 5, while the attacker gets 1 point if he can hold the ball to the count of 5. Increase the holding time to 7 or 9 as you get success.
The pullback move is used when an opponent is coming in so quickly that it will be hard to step across the ball in time to shield it, so the ball is basically snatched to one side using the sole of the foot. Once theball is snatched back, the basic shielding posture is used to lean into the opponent - but the player will need to be more braced for the contact, as he likely will not have time to initiate the contact himself.
After illustrating this move, have the receiver move up into the middle of the grid (which will reduce the time needed for the server to get to him), and work on using the pull-back to get ready to shield the ball. Play the same game of points for holding the ball or stealing it.
There are two types of circle turns - one by using the inside of the foot and one by using the outside of the foot. The latter is the one which is most commonly used - although both can be practiced. In an outside circle turn, the foot used to turn the ball is cocked outwards and somewhat back, and the ball is tapped 3-4 times to allow the player to make a complete circle.
Usually, a circle turn will be used in a pressure situation to spin off of an opponent and explode away on the last tap. Therefore, when practicing circle turns, add an explosion to the last tap so that the ball is pulledwith the foot in the new direction. Note that it is fine to do partial circles (and, in games, most "circle" turns actually are about _ of a full circle). The key to using circle turns well is to be able to look up as the taps are being made,so that the ball can be laid off to a teammate if close support is available - as the ball almost always should be laid off in such situations, since the natural position of the first player will serve to obstruct the opponent. When you observe a player actively obstructing the opponent, however, you need to bring up the difference between just holding your ground (which is legal) and active movement to prevent the opponent from getting to your teammate with the ball (which is a foul).
Return to the same grid to work on the circle turn. Put the receiver on the back end line (to give him more time to control the ball once received, and allow him to initiate the circle turn as soon as the opponent gets within contact range. Instruct the server to act more like a shadow, just slightly crowding the receiver from the rear as he makes the circle - but not really make an effort to steal the ball. Remember: you are just introducing the idea of this move at this stage. Young players are unlikely to be able to execute this move under full pressure until they have spent more time working on dribbling (especially on explosions), so simply encourage effort.
Split up every other pair, so that you now have 3 players in a grid. Leave the server at one end, put the receiver in the middle, and put the other player on the far end of the grid (he will serve as the support player).Then, serve the ball into the receiver; allow the defender to close him down; and, as soon as the defender is on him, have the support player start counting slowly to X (which is the amount of time that most of your players could successfully hold off an opponent by shielding). Once the count is reached, the support player then can move in to accept a drop pass and the team then can try to dribble across the opponent's endline.
After 3 tries, swap out roles. Then, play a game of 2v1 - encouraging the inside player to hold the ball and wait for support unless the defender makes a clear goof which will allow him to get by.
Station a line of players at the midline, and a line of players on both sides of the goal. When you serve a ball into the middle, the first players on the goalline can start for the ball. The midline player starts after the count of 3 and acts as a support player for whichever goalline player wins possession. The player who wins possession may try to score himself, or can hold the ball and lay the ball off for the incomer (going 2v1). Defender scores by dispossession,and attackers score by getting a goal. You will want this game to move quickly, so use two goals if you have more than 9 players, as you don't want more than 2-3 in line. Have players move to a different station after their turn.
You can play a regular scrimmage, or can continue to play with lopsided teams (creating various restrictions to provide for arrival of late support). Regardless of your decision, praise all efforts to shield the ball andlook for support. Encourage teammates to talk to one another, and to call for the ball if available. Remind them that, when under heavy pressure, players may be afraid to look up - so they will need to YELL and get close to offer any meaningful help.
NOTE: I would NOT do an entire practice on heading at any level as, truthfully, too many repetitions can begin to hurt! I would, rather, run through the basic steps in 1-5 below as a part of practice over the course of a few weeks. I would then move to the more "advanced games", which incorporate not only the basics but tactics and service of the ball, as much as necessary to be sure all is going well. Everything through item #9 below is appropriate for players U-10 and above. #10 is more for U-12 while # 11 is definitely for older players, primarily because of the difficulty in getting good service from the wings. While the basics of heading should be introduced early, be aware that the ball simply does not get up into the air enough to require heading until somewhere around the U-12--U-14 age groups.
The basic guidelines are:
The two basic types of headers are defensive and offensive. As a general rule, defensive headers should go HIGH, WIDE, and FAR while offensive headers should be aimed towards ground.
To start with a group of 12 U-12's, every player should have a ball and gather around the coach.
End basics. A few exercises for varying skill levels follow:
Play basic keepaway, requiring the attacker to become a defender when the ball is stolen from him. Use enough defenders so that the players are forced to move around quickly.
In soccer, the term "tackling" is used to describe any effort to steal the ball or knock it out. Thus, in soccer, a tackle can be on the ground (a slide tackle). It also can be done upright, either by knocking the ball out as you run along one side of the attacker or done from the front by blocking him from dribbling the ball forward. Unlike American football, a tackle really is not supposed to bring the opponent crashing to the turf. Indeed, in many cases, the tackle will be judged as a foul if you do so. As a result, your first job as a coach will be to explain the terminology to your players and make the point that the player is tackling the BALL ITSELF and not the opponent. Alternatively, you can simply use a term like "ball-stealing", so that they don't have the idea that they will playing American-style tackle football with a pointy pigskin instead of a soccer ball.
The easiest tackle to learn is the knock-out tackle, which is used to hit the ball away when the attacker gets the ball too far in front. Teaching tackling is usually begun right after basic work on First Defender skills and the defensive stance.
Use the same grid and follow the same ideas of patience and delay, but give permission to go in for the ball when the attacker allows it to get out too far in front of him. In this exercise, the defender gets a point for sending the ball out of the grid in any direction while the attacker gets a point by dribbling over the opposing end-line. This tackle is used when you want to buy time for your teammates to get back and is particularly popular with wing defenders.
The next tackle, which is also very easy to learn, is the bump. To do this, quickly move into the attacker from a slight angle, lifting your lead foot over the ball so that your lead foot will end up between his legs. At the same time, turn into him with your shoulder/hips so that you can bump the him off the ball with your backside and take the ball away with the outside foot.
Once you commit, the key is to pounce aggressively and go in hard. The lead foot comes across the ball just when your shoulder/hips are firmly against the attacker. Try to time the move in so that the attacker is momentarily looking down at the ball and is standing on his dribble foot so that he is temporarily frozen. This exercise also can be done in the same grid, using the same procedure as before. One point for stealing the ball and one point if the attacker can get around the defender and dribble across the opposing end-line.
The next tackle is the front, or "block", tackle. The purpose is to block the ball into the attacker's foot, then to drag/lift the ball over the attacker's foot. Body weight must be over the ball to prevent the attacker from getting any leverage.
Key coaching points are: ankle of blocking foot locked, to make foot into an L-shape (hoe-shape) to use as a drag; keep body weight over ball; put support foot well to the outside.
Put the pairs back into their grid, one ball per pair. Have the attacker stop, with the ball just to the inside of his right foot. Now, have the defender step in so that his shoulder presses into the attacker just as his right foot blocks the ball into the attacker's right foot so that the ball cannot go forward. As soon as the block is made, the defender will try to lift the ball to the outside and bring it over the toes of the attacker by getting his locked foot under the ball and lifting/rolling it over. Note that the support leg must be sufficiently wide of the attacker to allow the blocking leg/foot and the ball to come across.
This is a more difficult tackle to learn, so give the players ample time to experiment. Most young players can block the ball easily but have trouble with the technique of dragging it over. Some will try to put the outside leg too far forward, and bump knees and/or give the attacker room to push the ball through their legs. Others will try to put the outside foot too far to the back so that they have no leverage to use against the attacker. It takes some time to figure out the best place to put the plant foot so that the ball is quickly blocked, and then lifted across. Once some success is achieved by both players, start with some very slow dribbling and let the players try to do just a block. When most have made a good block, then let them try to lift the ball across.
Now, simply let the players play 1v1 in their grids, as follows. The players stand at opposite ends of the grid, taking turns on who is the server. After serving the ball to the opponent, they close him down defensively and try to tackle the ball. Play until the defender has made 3 successful tackles, then switch. Do two full rotations.
Next, play a game in which each successful tackle is worth 1 point. The attacker scores 1 point if he can dribble across the opposing end-line without having the ball tackled away. Play until one player reaches 5 points, then switch roles. Note: Be sure to watch carefully to make sure that you are getting success. Reassign partners; or place restrictions on above-average players; or make the grids narrower if necessary in order to be sure that the defenders win more often.
Now, combine the kids in adjacent grids, and make a hexagon with some cones. Put a player between the cones at every other leg of the hexagon meaning that they will be in basically a triangle. Put the last player in the middle of the triangle, and play keepaway with the outside players restricted to movement only between their cones. This makes their movement more predictable for the defender. Play until the defender kicks the ball out 3-5 times, then switch. Counsel the defender to use patience when he sets an angle to bottle somebody up as his success is guaranteed by the placement of the outside players once he sets his angle properly.
Play keepaway in a small grid, with 1-2 defenders and about 4-5 attackers (the small space will favor the defenders. Give a point to the defenders for each time that they tackle the ball away or steal it and pass it to the other defender. Give a point to the attackers for each time that all of them can touch the ball without an intervening tackle by the defender. Play to 5 points and switch.
It is possible to begin a game with players running from the parking lot onto the playing field just before the whistle blows. It is also possible to be on the short side of a 1 - 0 score within a few minutes of kickoff because your team wasn't ready to play, physically or mentally. Showing up to a game on time means being on time for all warm-up activities. A coach can encourage punctuality by preparing a routine and making sure that every player and parent understands its purpose. The team's printed schedule should include arrival time for pre-game warm-up in bigger print than the kickoff time.
Older youth teams may spend 45 minutes to an hour preparing for a game. For preteens, a routine that takes 20 - 30 minutes should be adequate. Teams playing at an unfamiliar field should allow extra time for traffic and vague directions.
|
T
-30 |
The
first players and parents to arrive can socialize, watch the previous
game, and make sure they are properly dressed - shinguards, cleats,
an extra layer or two in cold weather, etc.. |
|
T
-25 |
As
players arrive, take the time to have a brief word with each one. "How
is your sore knee?" "How did your piano recital go?"
"Try to get out wide when we win the ball." Since the playing
field will often be in use, find an area where they can pass a ball
around in groups of threes. Encourage a variety of touches: one, two,
juggle, dribble and turn, in the air, on the ground. Each group should
intermix with the other groups using the entire area. Keep them moving.
You can also play a keepaway game; 2/1 offense/defense ratio. Socializing
is over now, it's time to play soccer! |
|
T
-20 |
Assign
a new player every week to lead dynamic stretching. All at an easy jog
pace: Jog, Backwards, Side-to-Side shuffle to the left, to the right,
Hit your outstretched hands with your knees, Kick your open hands (which
cover your rear end) with your heels, Carioca (alternate sideways crossover/cross
behind) to the left, to the right, Jump up off your Left foot, off your
Right foot, off Both feet, bend down Touch the Ground w/Left hand, w/Right
hand, w/Both hands. |
|
T
-15 |
Everyone
get a drink of water. Organize them for static stretching, more to develop
the habit rather than out of necessity as they approach their teens.
Announce lineup. Resist the urge to change it when stragglers show up
a few minutes before kick-off. From your notes, offer an offensive and
a defensive pointer to the GK, backs, midfielders, and strikers. Try
to keep your remarks to under two minutes. |
|
T
-10 |
Note
how many minutes until the final whistle of the previous game so you'll
be ready to make the best use of the time between games. Organize a
shooting drill that keeps balls and players moving. Make arrangements
to have an assistant warm up the GK separately! With YOU in goal, put
Player "A' just outside the penalty area even with the right goal
post, player "B' next to him even with the left post. The rest
of the players form two lines on either side of the goal posts just
off the playing field. First player in the line plays the ball diagonally
to "A' who shoots. Passer runs around "B' to take his place.
"A' goes to the back of near line after the shot. First player
in the other line passes to "B' who shoots while passer runs around
other shooter to take "B''s place. Limit the shooting distance
and number of touches before the shot according to age and skill. Encourage
low shots on target; put away rebounds. Parents can help collect missed
shots or kids have to chase their own high and wide ones. Keep the lines
moving. |
|
T
-5 |
Captains
are called out for the coin toss by the referee. When they return, bring
the team together for a very brief pep talk. A big cheer, and starters
take their positions on the field. There should be a minute or two to
warm up the keeper in the goal area you will be defending and to pass
a few balls among the players who are in their positions. When the other
team is ready to play, kick the nongame balls off the field, and you're
ready to kick . . . . . . . |
The amount of time available at the half will be extremely variable. At times it seems each league, each tournament, and even each referee will add or subtract time. The rules state that halftime should be a minimum of 5 minutes but that can be eliminated at some tournaments. This can be a valuable moment for a coach in a game and should be used wisely.
Planning begins before the half is over. Pick a spot where you can assemble the team, preferably away from distractions (parents, friends, siblings, etc.). Depending on the weather you may want to select a sheltered area out of the wind and sun. Send your team in that direction while you briefly talk with your assistants to confirm your opinions or get more suggestions.
Try and get the team to face you with no distractions behind you. They should be drinking or enjoying half time refreshments by now and your thoughts should be organized, perhaps on paper. Some players (particularly in the older age groups) may need to stretch or move to keep the muscles limber. Make sure that everyone has adequate fluids (note: adequate-don't drink till you slosh).
Step 1: Check for injuries- now is the time to note blisters, twisted ankles, etc. that may affect your line ups for the second half.
Step 2: Check for fun. In the younger age groups this is paramount. If they are not having fun, why are they there?
Step 3: Praise- be brief and complimentary.
Step 4: Announce line ups for second half.
Step 5: Make your points. They may just be a repeat of the topics you mentioned at the start of the game or a brief description of some problems you or the assistants noted. It should be limited to 2 or 3 points for U-10, just one point for U-8 and younger. More than that and you will run out of time or they will cease to hear you. Some coaches like to ask for players' opinions. This may best be left for older age groups since some immature teams will unleash a disruptive chorus of comments or complaints.
Step 6: Praise and encourage again.
Step 7: Send them out for warm ups/ start of the half (whichever there is time for). If there is time for warm-ups you may want to bring the team in just before the half starts for a huddle, very brief reminder of your points, and a team cheer. Be prepared to announce the line ups again since most younger age groups will have forgotten their position by now. Count the players on the field before the whistle.
Step 8: Have a seat and enjoy the game!
Two or three long blasts of the whistle signal the end of the game, but don't send your players home just yet. Watch your players for possible unsporting behavior on the field and nip it in the bud. (You can expect the referee(s) to check as well). Before the traditional walk-by handshakes, have your players come together quickly away from everyone else and make the following points.
If you lost, you may want to attend to egos by making sure that no one accepts or places blame, by saying things like "It's just a game.", or "Everyone has a bad game sometimes.", or "They had to get through ten of you before they beat the keeper, so don't blame him/her." These little homilies may help ease the pain. Don't go into a long technical analysis of what went wrong. Consult with the manager, assistant coach, or other volunteer for any announcements. Avoid serious team meetings after a game, especially after a loss.
Take the team out for a treat if you like. Maybe save it for a special second-half effort against a strong team, not as a reward for a win. If you're driving home with your son or daughter, keep the conversation light. "Did you enjoy the game? I did." Suggest that other parents avoid long technical discussions on the way home. A blame session often results which can breed dissension in the team.
If you have a lot of players on your roster, it can be a nightmare to organize who is going in when. In addition, you can be constantly interrupted with questions about "when do I do in, coach?", which will distract your attention from the game. With all of these distractions, you can forget to put a player in - or lose track of the time to sub. This is a sure-fire way to get lots of players and parents upset with you.
What works? One of the easiest ways to handle subs is to get a dry-erase board (about $10 Walmart or equivalent) and a wind-up kitchen timer.
Put all of your positions (G, MF,WF,SK,HB,FB) the board, in the formation that you intend to use. Then, divide the game into sub-in periods. Your league automatically may divide the game into quarters - and only allow subs at quarters (except for injury). As players get older, subs usually can be made during throw-ins in your favor, or on goal kicks or kickoffs.
For teams that are playing 11v11, it works well to divide the game into 6 sub-in periods (players may tend to call them "quarters" anyway, so you may have 6 "quarters"). This means that you have 66 available time slots. Divide this by the number of players on your roster, and you will find out the number of periods that each player can play (assuming equal playing time). With 18 on your roster, you would end up with everyone playing 3 time slots - and 12 players getting to play 4 (18x3=54 +12 = 66). You know that, at any given time, you will need to have 7 folks sitting out, right?
Next, put the names of the players - and the period in which they will be playing - by each position shown on the board. Then, at the bottom, put down who is out for each (this acts as a check on your positioning - as you will be over/short if you have somebody in 2 spots at once, etc.). Generally, you will want to have your strongest players in at the start and end of each half, so this likely will play a large factor in your list of ins-outs.
The list of "ins/outs" serves as a good balance to double-check that you don't have one player in two slots at the same time. It also serves as a good check to make sure that you have not shorted anyone on intended playing time. Even players as young as U-9s can be trained to use this system. It has lots of benefits, as they can see at a glance that others have to sit out (or get rotated into positions which they don't always like). In addition, because they know where they will be playing next, they can get warmed up and ready to play - and can watch the area where they will be playing to size up the opposition.
If you have unlimited subs, you will need to set your wind-up timer for about 1 minute less than full time for the quarter (to allow for problems in getting subs in), then put the timer on the bench where the players can see it. With 7 on the bench, somebody is going to be telling you/them when it is 2 minutes or so until time - and getting everyone ready. The list of "ins/outs" makes it easy to call off your players who are subbing out - and to count noses to see if you have 7 on the bench.
You will want to adopt a rule to get a player who is replacing somebody who is staying on the field - but moving to a new slot - to remember to look for where that guy is going so that he can tell him when he replaces him. In addition, you will want to try to always have a reasonably good player on the bench during any sub-in period (so that you can make a rapid substitution in a critical slot if you have an injury). This list of available players can prove to be very handy, as players have been known to awaken at 7:00 a.m. with a high fever when your team has an 8:00 a.m. game - and it becomes pretty easy to change the board at the last minute by dividing up the available extra slots among those in the "bench pool".
Many coaches put their lineups on regular notebook paper and keep them in a 3-ring binder - and this can prove to be a useful resource for times when the coach has some personal crisis, and needs to grab a quick line-up at the last minute. It also can be useful to go back and look at lineups which worked, and those which didn't, to see which players seem to work best together and to spot areas where a particular player may need more development. Even if you choose not to publicize your lineup in advance, for fear of hurting feelings if you need to make mid-game adjustments, this method of filling slots is still useful - and the windup timer is lots easier to set (and keep track of) than a watch.
Game time - but you don't know anything about your opponents (or, when you scouted them, it turns out that 2 of their best players were missing, so it looks like you may have goofed in your assessment of them). What do you do now? If you are an experienced coach, you might want to go to the Checklist for a list of factors which you will want to assess in the first 5-10 minutes of any match. If you have less experience, keep reading for some more detail about what to look for and why.
When you don't know anything about your opponents, you normally will decide to play somewhat defensively at first. Start with your better players towards the middle/back in order to get a feeling about the relative strength of the opposition before getting burned with an early goal which might demoralize your kids. If it turns out that you thought that they were weaker than they are and you miscalculated, then you will need to make some rapid adjustments early. You will probably need to rotate 1 or more of your stronger players to the back line which will buy some time while you analyze the attack more closely.
In general, the order in which you are going to want to assess the teams are as follows: first, assess your own defense. Because the whole point of the game is to score more goals than the opposition, you don't want to give up lots of easy goals, so looking at your own defense is always the best idea. Secondly, look at your own offense, and see if there are any obvious weaknesses in their attacks. Third, check your opponent's defense for weaknesses that you can exploit. Fourth, check your opponent's offense for weaknesses that may help your team defend against them. Fifth, assess the referee team to see if they will be a negative factor in the game. For example, you probably will not want to use an off-side trap if you do not have quality ARs - or have no ARs at all.
You need to assess which team is dominating the game. By this, we mean which team seems to always have possession of the ball (either constantly or by regaining possession very quickly). In particular, pay attention to whether your opponent is getting constant attacks on your goal in the opening minutes, as this is a clear signal that adjustments may be needed.
If your team is on the ropes defensively, this is usually due to one or more of the following factors:
If your team is on the ropes, you need to act quickly and decisively before situation gets beyond repair. So, if the opponents have already scored, or had some scary scoring runs, don't hesitate to make rapid adjustments to try to fix the defensive problems.
Sometimes, of course, the situation will be utterly hopeless - because you are facing a team which is entirely composed of the younger brothers or cousins of Pele, Ronaldo, Denilson and the rest of the Brazilian National Team's top stars. If this happens, and keep in mind that it happens to every youth coach at least once or twice, the absolute best fall-back plan is to praise your opponents to the skies. Tell the kids that, if they work hard, they can get as good as these guys. Admire the shots; admire the great ball work; admire their awesome dribbling/passing skills; and promise the kids that you will work very hard to get them to be as good as these guys, but it is going to take awhile. Reassure your players that the only problem is lack of experience and training. Heck, if these other guys have been playing soccer for 5 years, and your kids started just 3 weeks ago, there SHOULD be a big difference. Admit it - and give your kids some way to rationalize their "failure". Tell them that, against a team which is this good, you will be pleased if you get 1 shot on goal per quarter (or limit the score to 3 goals per quarter).
And, if the reason that you are getting beaten is because your team is tiny or young compared to the other guys ,which often happens where clubs use 2-year age breaks, point this out. Tell them that you are sure that they will do much better next year, when they are the older players. In short, reassure constantly; praise individual good effort; try to find some goal that is achievable; and reassure yourself (and your parents) that kids have very short memories and will be ready to play again within a day or less. Turning to the immediate fixes, here are some instant cures that can help:
Once you are satisfied that your team is holding up against challenges well, then it is time to focus on how you are doing offensively. You will want to take a look at three areas: what you are doing immediately after you get the ball; how quickly the attack is being mounted; and what approach is having the most success.
It is very important to look at what your defenders and/or midfielders are doing with the ball when they regain possession - because you need to maintain possession for a reasonable amount of time in order to mount a successful scoring drive. Are they blindly whacking it up-field, or are they taking enough time to find a target? When they look for a target, is anyone bothering to get open - and call for the ball? Are they carrying the ball themselves if no pressure is applied? If a defender is carrying the ball, is his supporting mid dropping back to cover?
You also need to look at how quickly the attack is being mounted. Often, young players want to streak off towards goal as soon as they get the ball and this means that the forwards and defenders are ending up in footraces. Unfortunately, there are going to be lots of times when the other team will have players who are as fast or faster than yours or will stay deeper than yours, so they have a head start. In general, it's foolish to base any attacking strategy entirely around winning footraces unless you have an exceptional speedster. Even then, you should be careful to avoid over-reliance on one player(as smart coaches can figure out ways to shut him down. In order to build an attack, however, it is necessary to slowdown the attack to give the midfielders time to recover - and to give the defenders time to push up and support the attack. One of the best ways to get this extra time is to pass the ball to the sides, or to pass back to another player who can switch the point of attack to the other side.
In addition, you need to look at whether your team is varying its approach if their initial efforts are not working (i.e., taking the ball down the opposite side or going down the middle if one side seems to have an exceptionally strong opponent). If they are not, you need to suggest this at your earliest chance (but, obviously, do this quietly). If your team has varied its attacks, which ones seem to be the most productive?
After looking at your own defense and fixing any problems, and then looking at your offense (and making adjustments needed), it is time to look at the weaknesses of the opposition. Experienced coaches may be able to do this while making their assessment of their own players - but newer coaches may find that it is more productive to look at their own team's weaknesses first, then look at those of the other team.
Obviously, the first thing that you want to find out is whether they have any obvious holes in their defense. Has the opposing coach put a slow-poke or lazy player on defense? Which side does he play on? Do their mids bother to recover or just watch from the midline? Is the keeper clumsy (drops balls frequently)? Does the keeper have particular problems with certain types of shots (ground balls or air balls)? Does the defense play anyone deep, so that you might be able to capitalize on offside? Does the defense push up too far? How is the defensive speed when compared to your offensive speed? Do any of their defenders tackle well? What do their defenders do when beaten (just stand/watch or keep hustling)?
Based upon your observation of the weaknesses of the opposing defensive group, you will be able to make suggestions to your players about where and how to mount attacks that will have a higher probability of paying off.
After looking at these other factors, you will want to assess any obvious weaknesses in the attack of the opponents. Look for predictability. Who are their obvious "go-to" players? Who are the obvious ball-servers? Do their attacks always come down one side of the field? What type of support is provided to the attackers? How many attackers are usually being sent forward?
This information can be very helpful to you in deciding if you need to tell certain midfielders to mark X more tightly, or if you need to move your defenders around to take advantage of attacking weaknesses. Be sure to look at what the attackers do when your team is on a scoring run. Do they come far back into their defensive half to try to get the ball? Do they leave anybody at the midline? If all of their forwards drop back, you will want to drop your defenders with them - and maybe just leave one player near the midline to apply immediate pressure if any balls start heading back out. By allowing your defenders to guard the opposing forwards deep in their defensive half, you substantially increase your chances of winning the ball back in scoring distance of their goal - which is usually worth the risk if your defenders are trustworthy (and will stay with their marks).
As a beginning coach, you learned to do a quick analysis of the game during the first few minutes, starting at the back and working forward to see if you had any glaring weaknesses. You then went back and looked for areas where your opponent was clearly weak and/or your team was clearly superior. Here is a checklist of questions that you may wish to ask yourself, as you go through this analysis.
Things to look for.� RICE
Lacerations
Strains and Sprains
Fractures and Dislocations
Hypothermia
Heat Stroke
Insect Bites and Stings
Lightning
Head
Neck and Spine
Upper Extremeties
Groin
Lower Extremeties
If you are an experienced physician, paramedic, nurse, or other medical personnel, then this section is probably not for you. The truth is that most coaches have no formal medical training, and yet, it is often the coach who is on the 'front line' for handling injuries in any sports activity. A youth coach should be prepared to deal with simple injuries, recognize more serious injuries, and work with the child following return from injury. This may entail taking first aid classes and basic CPR classes (an excellent idea for all youth sports). In addition, coaches should always have copies of the medical release forms that most clubs use with them at all times. Besides insurance information and emergency numbers, these forms should have information on any medical conditions that the child has such as medication allergies, asthma, cardiac conditions, etc.
The following information is meant to provide guidelines for the youth soccer coach in dealing with some of the problems that may arise during the course of a season.
By far the most useful item in your coaching bag of tricks will be commonsense. If you are uncertain about the severity of an injury, CALL FOR HELP! Remember that this is a game, not life or death. If the player is not responsive or is not in control of themselves, don't play around -- get help immediately! Your best bet is to have someone get to a phone and call your local emergency number.
Unless the injury is obviously severe, walk to the player. Younger children may dramatize the amount of pain they are feeling and the sight of an adult in full flight rushing to their side, may inadvertently send a signal that, by golly, they really are badly hurt. Remember that no one may enter the field without the referee's permission, including the coach, assistants, and parents. Wait until the referee's signal before coming out to check on the player. Be aware that most parents do not know this nicety and want you out there NOW. (A little parental education early in the season may save you a lot of aggravation down the road.) On your way out, instruct everyone to get 10 yards away from the injured - this is a fairly common request in soccer and it's a command most can respond to automatically. On the way out, calm yourself and avoid feelings of panic - now is the time to be cool and in control; afterwards, you can 'go to pieces' but now your players need you to be coldly analytical. Just because you're not a medical professional does not mean that you can't ACT like one. The "pros" first talk, look and listen -- you should never grab an injured person and move them right away. NEVER try to assist or move an injured player unless they are moving themselves and have demonstrated that they are doing so without crippling pain. Make this apply to everyone else without parental or emergency medical personnel involvement. Pain is a real blessing in injury cases since it will tell the injured when they are going too far. Let the injured person get themselves up on their own -- a serious injury will usually cause enough pain to keep the person from doing themselves anymore harm. If the player is responsive, talk calmly to them and ask them where it hurts or what happened. Getting the player calm enough to talk to and examine is one of the most important (and hardest) things you must accomplish. If the injury is a cut or scrape, you usually know the site and severity by inspection. However, if there is no visible injury, ask where it hurts. With younger children, be prepared for a vague waving of the hand covering anywhere from a quarter to half of the body. Ask them to point with one finger where it hurts the most. This should narrow the search down to a reasonable area.
Things to look for are:
If you see any of these signs, you need to involve the parent(s)/guardian(s) and call for 911 for help - but you are still not done. If bleeding is continuing freely (particularly if it is actually spurting), you'll have to take some basic steps to stop or control the bleeding. As you put on plastic gloves, tell the player that you are putting them on for the player's protection, and then apply clean gauze or bandages over the wound, applying gentle but firm pressure on the wound. If the eyes look abnormal, then shock is a possibility; if possible, gently elevate the legs and cover the player with coats/blankets/etc to keep them warm. If the neck looks 'odd', do not move the player but try to keep them warm. If an arm or leg looks 'odd' this is a sign of a possible serious broken bone, so movement should be minimal, but you can start with "RICE".
"RICE" is an acronym that is easy to remember but helps one recall what to do for most injuries:
"Rest" means keeping the injured relaxed and warm, usually lying down, and keeping the injured area still. If the weather is nasty, take steps to shelter the player, and if possible, get a coat or tarp tucked gently underneath them. "Ice" is straight forward - apply an ice pack (or ice inside a cloth) to the injury to minimize swelling. "Compression" means to apply gentle pressure to keep bleeding under control - note that internal bleeding is what causes swelling, so the same idea works for both. In the case where there is no external bleeding, a gentle but firm wrap with an elastic bandage will help control the swelling. "Elevation" is also straightforward - the usual rule of thumb is to get the injured area higher than the heart. Remember to let the player do most of the moving; in most cases, folding a coat or blanket a couple of times and sliding that underneath is all you want to do.
Even in the 'scrape' cases, you want to use "RICE". Make it a point to talk to the parents - ask them to watch for any complications. If the effects of the injury are not completely gone by the end of the game, recommend that they call their family physician. As a coach, there are only a few people to whom you can transfer responsibility for injury care - duly authorized medical personnel and the injured player's parent or guardian. The duly authorized medical personnel are a dispatched emergency care unit or hospital/treatment center, and not another parent or spectator even if they happen to be a doctor. Get parents involved early.
We often neglect to teach our players what to do in case of an injury to themselves, their teammates, or their opponents. Often the referee may not see the incident or know that a player is injured. Even if they do witness the event, they may decide that it is not severe enough to warrant immediate stoppage of the game. Typically they will allow play to continue until advantage is lost. Injured players should be instructed to sit, kneel, or lie down. Teammates should call "player down" to inform the referee. If the injury appears significant (and this is completely a judgment call) the team in possession should kick the ball out of bounds, point to the injured player, and tell the referee, "player down". Good sportsmanship suggests that the ball be returned to the team that intentionally kicked it out by throwing in to their end and allowing them to receive the ball.
A child who is injured and complains of pain should NOT be pushed back into playing. By the same token, if you are concerned regarding an injury, don't let the players 'talk' you into playing them. A general rule of thumb for an injured player to return to competition is: 1) the player wants to continue; 2) they must demonstrate a full, active range of motion of the affected part on the sideline; and 3) the player must demonstrate the ability to perform age appropriate skills at competition speed on the sideline prior to returning to play. In the case of significant injury (including illness), you should require both parental and medical approval before allowing the child to resume practice. This is not meant to protect you from possible litigation but to ensure that the player has received proper, qualified attention to the injury. (It's also important to remember that referees have discretion on allowing kids to play with limb casts and braces so you should check in advance if at all possible to avoid any surprises.)
Every coach has his or her own opinion on what is essential in a First Aid Kit. The essentials would certainly include disposable gloves, Band-Aids, gauze, tape and antiseptic. Additional items may be included according to your personal preference. A bag or container to keep things organized is very helpful. A plastic school lunch box makes an excellent container and is very affordable. In general it is cheaper in the long term to buy items individually rather that pre-made kits available in stores.
Any bleeding wound requires that the player be removed from the field and the injury be covered prior to returning to play. The coach should put on disposable gloves prior to examining the wound, for protection of him/herself and the player (there are many diseases, such as hepatitis and HIV/AIDS, which can be transmitted via blood-to-blood contact). The wound should be cleaned with gauze and clean water so the severity can be determined. Large cuts or gaping wounds that likely require stitches should be covered and the player sent to an appropriate medical facility. Minor cuts or scrapes can be cleaned and bandaged and the player may be permitted to return to play.
If there is active bleeding, apply a dressing to the site and put firm pressure on the dressing. If possible, elevate the site of bleeding. If the dressing becomes saturated, apply another ON TOP of the first dressing and continue to apply pressure. Any wound that will not stop bleeding or has bright red, pulsating blood requires prompt medical treatment. Never use a tourniquet.
Technically, sprains deal with joints while strains deal with muscles. Treatment for each injury, however, is similar in the acute phase. Use the "RICE" principles. Remove the player from the field and have them relax. Apply "ice" either in the form of an ice bag or using one of the disposable, chemical ice packs that will conform to the surface they are applied to. Ice should not be placed directly on the skin. Use a towel or a t-shirt for protection and remove the ice after 10 to 15 minutes for 5 minutes before reapplying. Use some form of wrap to apply "compression" (and to hold the ice in place) but don't apply too tightly. As swelling occurs, this can cause a tourniquet effect and inhibit blood flow past the compression site. If possible, "elevate" the injured part. If there is no significant pain or swelling and the player feels able to play, they may return to the game. They should be observed, however, for any limitation of movement or obvious pain and removed from the game at first opportunity.
In the event of an obvious fracture or dislocation, the player should immediately be sent to an appropriate medical facility. DO NOT attempt to re-set a fracture (realign the bones) or relocate a dislocation. You may make the injury worse. Try to stabilize the injured limb as best as possible. If the player cannot move or is in too much pain, call for help. Emergency technicians are trained in the proper way to transport and stabilize patients.
Nature has a number of nasty tricks to play on soccer players and spectators. In the fall and winter, it can be cold and wet. The temptation is to bundle up and wear sweat pants and sweatshirts under the uniform. As the player sweats, however, these clothes become saturated. As the sweat evaporates, it can actually increase the cooling effect on the skin by the cold air. If it is not too cold, it is better to eliminate the heavy undergarments and dry the skin with towels when the player comes off the field to minimize the evaporative, cooling effect. Mild hypothermia can be recognized by involuntary shivering, cold hands or cold feet. This is treated by drying the skin, adding layers of dry clothing, and finding shelter.
Moderate hypothermia is characterized by violent shivering, loss of fine motor coordination (can't tie shoes or zip coat), and mild confusion. This can be treated the same way as mild hypothermia. Be sure to keep the player (or spectator!) hydrated. Hot liquids provide internal heat as well as a "fuel source" in the sugar or fats they might contain.
In severe hypothermia shivering stops. Movements are uncoordinated, and there may be loss of consciousness. This is a medical emergency and you should call for help immediately.
Frost nip refers to freezing of the top layers of skin and is generally reversible. The top layers are waxy, white and hard but the deeper tissues are still soft. This is mostly seen on cheeks, earlobes, fingers, and toes. Re-warm the area by blowing warm air on it or placing it against a warm body part (stomach or armpits). Frostbite means the skin is frozen all the way through. Skin is white and "wooden" feeling with numbness. To re-warm, place the body part in a water bath of 105 to 110 degrees F. Do not add replacement warm water directly to injury. Immerse for 25 to 40 minutes. Thawing is complete when sensation and color have returned and skin is pliable. There can be significant pain when the area is re-warmed. Do not rub the area. Any ice crystals that have formed in the cells can tear the walls and worsen the injury! Do not use alcohol (increases heat loss), caffeine (it causes water loss), or tobacco (nicotine cause the blood vessels to constrict).
The other extreme is heat stroke and heat exhaustion. Perspiration cools the body by evaporation and helps keep the internal temperature normal. Heat exhaustion occurs when the body sweats too much causing dehydration and salt loss. This in turn produces cramps, dizziness, vomiting, clammy skin, flushed complexion, and weak pulse. The player should be moved to a shady, cool area and given liquids. In heat stroke, the player stops sweating, the skin is hot and dry, and the pulse may be pounding. Confusion, seizures, and loss of consciousness may occur. Immediately call for an ambulance, move the victim to a cool, shaded area, and sponge with cool water.
Bug bites and stings are another common problem. If a stinger is visible, it should be removed with tweezers or the edge of a credit card. Ice can re-applied to bites or stings for pain control. On rare occasion, an individual may be allergic to stings and develop hives, wheezing, or complain that their throat is closing. This is an emergency and requires help immediately. Some coaches (or players) carry a bee sting allergy kit (available in pharmacies) if they know they have an allergic individual on the team. Be sure you know-how to use it ahead of time!
Perhaps the most common weather related problem is lightning. The best way to deal with lightning is planning and prevention. Know where safe shelters are. These include enclosed vehicles with the windows up, enclosed buildings, and low ground. DO NOT stand near metallic objects such as fences, flag poles, bleachers, and gates. Stay away from trees, water, and open fields. Two of the most dangerous times for a fatal lightning strike are before the storm arrives and after the storm has passed. Lightning may travel as far as 10 km horizontally from the thunderhead, reaching the ground some distance ahead (or behind) the storm clouds. Every five seconds between the flash of light and the sound of thunder is approximately 1 mile. So when the flash and bang are separated by 15 seconds or less, it is time to seek shelter. Make sure to allow for time to reach the shelter. Plan on waiting at least 30 minutes after the storm has passed before resuming outdoor activities. If an individual should be "struck" by lightning, they do not carry an electric charge and it is safe to touch them. The most dangerous problem is cardiac arrest (the heart stops beating). Call for help and begin immediate CPR. In any event the victim should go to an emergency room since there can be some subtle and delayed reactions to a lightning strike.
Head injuries range from bumps to cuts to nosebleeds. Scalp lacerations can bleed profusely (accentuated if it is raining) and often require stitches. The more serious problems, however, are difficult to see since they occur inside the head, affecting the brain. Bumps and bangs to the head require observation mostly. Ice may be used to limit the swelling. The player should be examined by qualified medical personnel if there was loss of consciousness, disorientation or confusion, bleeding from the ear, unequal pupils, or inability of the eyes to follow movement of your finger. Severe headaches are also a danger sign, but it is difficult in children to quantify the severity of a headache. Unconscious players should not be moved since a spine injury cannot be ruled out. Do not use ammonia capsules to "bring them around" since the quick movements of the head to get away from the inhalant can cause more injury. Be sure to check that the player is breathing and has a pulse. If not, call for help and begin CPR.
Nosebleeds can be frightening to small children. Apply pressure to both sides of the nose, and ice to the bridge of the nose, and hold for 2 to 5 minutes. Do not tilt the head back since this allows the blood to drip down the back of the throat and may make them feel as though they are choking. If bleeding cannot be stopped, or there is a suspicious that the nose is broken, seek medical attention.
Foreign bodies in the eye are common especially on windy days. Do not rub the eye since this can scratch the cornea. If the player can cooperate, the eye can be gently rinsed with water. In general, the tearing action will wash away the offending particle. If the player continues to complain of a feeling that there is something in the eye even though there is nothing visible, it is possible that their cornea was scratched and they should seek medical attention.
Cuts inside the mouth may occur and are usually not severe although some may require stitches. It is recommended that players use mouth guards, particularly children with braces since these can cut severely. If a permanent tooth is knocked out: 1) handle it by the top (crown), not the root; 2) rinse it in clean water; and 3) try to reinsert the tooth into its socket (have the player hold the tooth in place by biting down on a clean gauze). If the tooth cannot be reinserted, wrap it in a clean gauze wet with water or milk, and immediately seek dental care (on occasion, teeth can be reinserted into the jaw).
The rule of thumb with any potential damage to the neck or remainder of the spine is to assume the worst. Never force a player to move, or try to move them if they cannot or will not move themselves. Call for help immediately. Do not move the player yourself!
The majority of injuries tend to be scrapes and cuts. However, broken bones (particularly about the wrist) and dislocations (especially involving the fingers and shoulders) also do occur. If in doubt regarding the severity of an injury, always err on the side of caution.
Prevention is worth more than a pound of cure in this case. Male players should wear an athletic support and cup. If an injury does occur, most are limited to pain and discomfort. Marked swelling and persistent pain indicate a need for medical examination
Once again cuts and scrapes are the predominant injury, especially about the knee. Sprained ankles are also common. The player should rest, ice the ankle region, and elevate the foot. It is probably best to leave the shoe on to minimize the swelling. If the pain subsides and the player is willing, they may return to the game. Persistent pain, marked swelling, or obvious deformity suggest a fracture and require medical attention.
Knee injuries including cruciate ligament tears are more common in the older age groups. Significant swelling or persistent pain indicates a need for an exam by qualified medical personnel.
Players often complain of pain in the heel after playing on hard ground. This is probably caused by repeated pounding as the foot hits the ground and the force is transmitted through the studs of the cleats. New shoes are changing the stud pattern to try and relieve this problem. Alternatively, heel cups or additional cushioning may help. Some players use "turf" shoes when playing on hard, compacted surfaces to avoid this problem.
Blisters are extremely common. They can be avoided, to a certain extent, by wearing well-fitted shoes, keeping the feet dry and wearing good quality socks. Do not tear away the skin covering a blister, it protects the new, tender skin underneath it. NU-Skin can be used to make a plastic bandage over the skin for blister prevention. If you must "pop" a blister, use a sterile needle. Moleskin can be used on the area around the blister (not on the blister) to prevent further irritation.