We spend time on passing and on tactics to understand our style of play

SOCCER COACHW

EEKLY

April 6, 2016Issue 467

$6.99/£4.99

< Photo By nick Webster

got a coaching problem? let me solve it for you

BALL MASTER

• CENTRE CIRCLE KEEP BALL IN PAIRS • ONE-TWO LINK UPS • LA MASIA WORK OUTS

GET PLAYERS TO LOB THE GOALKEEPERHOW TO USEA CHIPPING TECHNIQUE

6 STEPS TO SHOW OFF SKILLS

DEMONSTRATIONS CAN HELP DEVELOPMENT

4TOP TRAINING

SESSIONSMATCH DAYWARM-UPS

T he end of the season for my teams in England is fast approaching. There

are only one or two matches left and most have had a good season – but not all the teams at my local club have done so.

One of the hardest things for any coach is trying to manage a whole season where you have either lost your best players, you put the team into the wrong division or - more commonly - you get promoted and struggle in the league above.

One of the teams I help coach has just that problem. A couple of seasons ago they were winning most of their matches and finished in the top three, and were such a good team the manager asked his club to move this team into a different, more challenging, league. Now when I go to their matches they look a different team. It’s the same group of players but a succession of very bad results has taken all the confidence out of them.

When I coach the team I talk to the players a lot about what they did well during the match and

Coaching a struggling teamWe spend time on passing and on tactics to understand our style of play

SOCCER COACH

WEEKLY

April 6, 2016Issue 467

$6.99/£4.99

< Photo By nick Webster

got a coaching problem? let me solve it for you

BALL MASTER

• CENTRE CIRCLE KEEP BALL IN PAIRS • ONE-TWO LINK UPS • LA MASIA WORK OUTS

GET PLAYERS TO LOB THE GOALKEEPERHOW TO USEA CHIPPING TECHNIQUE

6 STEPS TO SHOW OFF SKILLS

DEMONSTRATIONS CAN HELP DEVELOPMENT

4TOP TRAINING

SESSIONSMATCH DAYWARM-UPS

Soccer Coach Weekly is published by Green Star Media Ltd, Meadow View, Tannery Lane, Bramley, Guildford GU5 0AB, UK.

Soccer Coach Weekly Issue 467

Contents

SoccerCoachWeekly.net� Issue�467 SOCCER COACH WEEKLY 2

To subscribe to Soccer Coach Weekly call Duncan Heard on +44 (0)1483 892894 or subscribe online here

In this issue...

ASK DAVEGOT A COACHING PROBLEM? LET ME SOLVE IT FOR YOU!It’s good to have somebody to ask for advice

when you encounter a problem with your team – and whatever your coaching problem, I’m sure I can help.

I’m delighted to offer you a personal service exclusive to SCW subscribers. Just email me your query on any soccer coaching matter and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. I’ll give you the advice you need to solve your particular problem‚ and I’ll even send you the resources you need from our archive of coaching sessions.

Just email me today: askdave@soccercoachweekly.net

Telephone+44 (0)1483 892894

Head CoachDavid Clarke david.clarke@coach-soccer.com

Illustrations Mike Ronald

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how they could have done other things better. Give them hope that results will change. It is not enough to constantly tell them they were unlucky - they know this is just an excuse.

It isn’t easy when you’ve been used to winning but this is a great opportunity to learn how to be a better coach. It’s also a chance to teach your players to overcome adversity. Here’s what to do:> Set new, manageable targets: Can you win the first half? Can you win the second half? > Suppose you let in 6 goals last week but scored five. Aim to cut the goals conceded down to 4 and score more goals at the other end.

3 BALL CONTROLThe basic elements all young players need

4 CENTRE CIRCLE KEEP BALLThe ability to keep the ball for short spells is important

5 ONE-TWO LINK UPSPass and follow the pass to support the player on the ball

6 MATCH DAY WARM-UPSSome ideas to help you get your players ready for matches

7 CATCH IT!How to use a chipping technique – and get your keeper catching it

8 IMPROVE YOUR DEMOSSix steps to better demonstrations for player understanding

> Spend a lot of time with your goalkeeper doing drills and most of all talking to them about the team and why so many goals are going in.> Use small-sided games to get them playing well again.

Setting realistic targets gives your players something to aim for. They may still lose matches, but if they meet one or two of the targets give them a huge amount of praise, they will respond positively.

SoccerCoachWeekly.net� Issue�467 SOCCER COACH WEEKLY 3

By

Dav

id C

lark

eD eveloping your players to be the

best they can is one of the things that I am always talking about and

striving to attain. You need to work on the basics of the game and build on that with your players adding to their skills and their match day tool box with all the techniques and tactics that make them better players.

It is very important they learn from you the coach how they should play the game and how they should behave and the sportsmanship that goes with that.

From the minute players turn up to training or to a match they should be getting ready to warm up and to be a vocal part of the team. Everything in youth coaching has its place and everything should be thought out.

At Barcelona they work on every aspect of the game with their youth team – skills, technique and ball control. These are the

DEVELOPMENT

One�of�the�basic�elements�that�all�young�players�need�to�develop�their�soccer�skills�is�ball�control�–�just�ask�the�former�youth�coordinator�at�Barcelona�Albert�Capellas

Building on Ball Control

basics that the Barcelona youth players are given. They play passing games and warm up games like the sessions that follow this article to get their players ready for training and matches.

“From the age of seven to the age of 15 everything is about working with the football,” says Albert Capellas, Barcelona’s former senior youth coordinator.

“With the very small boys, the most important thing is to control the ball very well, to have the ability to run with the ball and to think very quickly and execute their passes very well. We spend so much time on passing and on tactics, to understand our style of play, which is the same from the eight-year-olds to the first team.”

Just look at the players that have come through the system – Lionel Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and even the Chelsea player Cesc Fabregas came through the Barcelona

youth system.“It’s not luck,” insists Capellas. “It’s

work. It’s our model, which has been honed over many years by lots of people providing specialist skills and all working in the same direction, with the same objective: to prepare players for the first team.

“When they play matches we impress on the boys three objectives,” says Capellas. “Firstly, they must be the more sporting team, committing fewer fouls and being less aggressive. Then they must try to win by playing very well, more creatively than the opposition, with attacking football. And finally they need to win on the scoreboard. But we don’t want to win without the first two aims being fulfilled.”

And that’s a blueprint all coaches can work with.

Celtic v FC Barcelona in the UEFA Youth League at Cappielow, Greenock, Scotland

Centre Circle Keep BallThe ability to keep the ball for short spells is important so players can keep the ball during match play

WHY USE ITThis is all about battles to keep the ball from each other which helps possession play in matches.

SET UPYou need to use a circle like the centre circle of an adult pitch or create a circle 15 yards in diameter. We used 16 players in the session.

HOW TO PLAYSet up as shown in the diagram with players split into pairs. Two pairs start in the middle of the centre circle with others spread around the outside. In the middle, one team is nominated as attackers and the other pair defenders. The attacking pair must keep possession for 30 seconds in order to score a point. To help them do so, they can use players around the outside for one-twos. If the possession is lost, the other pair now

attempts to retain the ball for 30 seconds. Rotate the pairs every 90 seconds.

TECHNIQUEThe central players need to work hard at all times – either in moving to support, or closing down opponents in possession. Outside players must be alert and ready to receive the ball at all times.

POSSESSION

Player movement Ball movement Run with ball Shot

SoccerCoachWeekly.net Issue 467 SOCCER COACH WEEKLY 4

1 Pairs of players go up against each other in the circle taking

turns to try and keep the ball for 30 seconds to score a point

2 The players can use the outside pairs to pass to so

they can keep possession away from the other pair in the circle

3 After 90 seconds change the pairs so two

new pairs come into the circle and play continues

4 Make sure players are putting good effort in to

press the pair with the ball and make quick changeovers when called for by the coach

5 There will be a lot of balls flying around so you may

want to get some parents to help with gathering them back in

One-Two Link upsThis is all about passing and following the pass to support the player on the ball. Players can pass over different distances to get used to the weight and accuracy needed

WHY USE ITWatching the top teams in the Champions League shows the importance of playing good passes with correct weight and accuracy.

SET UPMark out two lines which are 10 yards apart, and split players into two groups. We used 12 players in the session.

HOW TO PLAYOn each side, players wait in rows, facing the other group. The player at the front of group A passes the ball to his opposite man in group B. He then follows his pass, joining the back of group B. The receiving player takes a touch to control the ball, then passes long to the new player who has moved to the front of the other queue. He too follows his pass and the move continues. Once the players get the hang

of the session, limit the move to one-touch, then gradually close the gap between groups until it is just one yard apart.

TECHNIQUEEach player must focus on a good first touch, an accurate pass and then an immediate sprint to the back of the opposite group.

10yds

15yds

PASSING AND MOVEMENT

Player movement Ball movement Run with ball Shot

SoccerCoachWeekly.net Issue 467 SOCCER COACH WEEKLY 5

1 Each group of players has a ball and the player

at the front of the group passes the ball across to the other side

2 The player on the other side must control the

ball with one touch

3 The passing player runs after his pass

following it across the area to the other side 4 The player who has

controlled the ball now passes across to the next player in the group

5 As players get the hang of the session it should

speed up and get quicker – now you can make it one touch

Match Day Warm-upsI usually change the content of the pre-match warm-up when I think that the players are bored with the current schedule, and are not showing enough intensity

WHY USE ITSpending time planning and discussing with your players what they would like to do in a warm-up is often a very effective way of ensuring that they enjoy it, and that they prepare both mentally and physically for the game ahead.

SET UPVarious approaches can be included in your warm-up: > Jogging > Possession > Stretching (static and dynamic) > Crossing and finishing > Sprinting > Small-sided games > Ball work

HOW TO PLAYConsistency is the key to a pre-match warm-up as you need your players to work freely, knowing exactly what they are going to be completing during their preparation. This will allow the players to focus on the game ahead.

The diagrams show the three most popular ways of taking your team through the initial running and stretching routine. 1. The slow jog The team reacts to your call and jogs across the pitch and back 2. The line dash With cones between 5 and 10 yards apart, the team works in two lines and runs in pairs 3. Free space In a 15x15-yard area, the players are free to run around, limbering up and getting active

15yds

15yds

1 Players run across the pitch following

your instructions such as “jump on the spot”

3 Here, players sprint down the inside of

a line of cones before turning at the bottom

5 In the final phase players are free to

work on their own flexible moves in tight areas

2 You can run with them or get your captain to

run and encourage good movement

4 Players then sprint back to to

the back of the queue

MATCH DAY

Player movement Ball movement Run with ball Shot

SoccerCoachWeekly.net Issue 467 SOCCER COACH WEEKLY 6

WHY USE ITThe chip is either used to find players in space when the opposition blocks a pass or to chip the goalkeeper. This session helps players to chip the ball accurately.

SET UPMark out an area of 30x20 yards with five-yard squares at each end – the goal areas. We used 10 players in the session. You need balls, cones and balls.

HOW TO PLAYSplit the players into two teams of five. Play a 3v3 in the main area of the pitch with two players in the goal area that they are attacking. Goals are scored by chipping into the hands of a team-mate inside the area without the ball bouncing. The game restarts with one of the catchers rolling the ball out to the opposition.

Advance the game by having a player from each team in the area. The team in possession must chip the ball to their goalkeeper, who must catch under pressure from the opponent who can only head the ball.

TECHNIQUEPlace the non-kicking foot slightly behind the ball. The kicking foot should come underneath the ball with the inside three toes directly under it. Swing the leg with the body leaning back.

Activity by: David Clarke

20yds

30yds

In this exercise players must use a chipping technique to get the ball into the hands of one of their team-mates in the target box

Catch It!

SoccerCoachWeekly.net Issue 467 SOCCER COACH WEEKLY 7

Player movement Ball movement Run with ball Shot

1 To score a point the ball must be chipped by a

player into the hands of a team-mate

4 The catching technique should

create a ‘W’ with the hands when the ball is caught

3 Opponents should try to

press as normal to give the attacking team less time to chip

5 Advance the game so there is both a goalkeeper and an

attacker from the opposition in each of the boxes

6 The goalkeeper must catch the

ball under pressure from the attacker, so the chip needs to be very accurate

2 Players should use this chipping

action with the body slightly leaning back and the toes chipping under the ball

CORE SKILLS

SoccerCoachWeekly.net� Issue�467 SOCCER COACH WEEKLY 8

By D

avid

Cla

rke

THE ART OF COACHING CHILDREN

Demonstrations�are�a�very�powerful�way�of�getting�information�over�to�young�players.�Here�are�the�six�steps�to�ensure�your�demonstrations�have�the�effect�you�want

Show and TellSTEP 1: SET THE SCENE

Establish exactly what you want to achieve from the demonstration.

Tell your players what you are showing them and exactly what

they should be looking at. Outline the criteria for success.

STEP 2: GET THE LEVEL RIGHT

If it’s a new technique or skill you will need to go right back to basics. If it’s a skill you have been working on for a while you can focus on the

more advanced aspects. Always highlight the basics though even if your players are good at them. Don’t overload your players with information. If it is a complex skill break it down into steps and work

through them over a period of time.

STEP 3: KNOW YOUR STUFF

You should be clear on what you are about to demonstrate. Make a note of the key factors you want to get across to your players so you don’t

forget any of them. Practise the demonstration beforehand so you are confident in your own ability

and can talk through each part of it.

STEP 4: CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING Ask your players questions to

check that they have understood what they have been watching.

You can even ask a couple of players to come out and

demonstrate after you, so you can check they have understood.

Allow your players time to ask you any questions.

STEP 5: HANDS ON After your demonstration, make

sure your players get an immediate opportunity to try out the skill you

have just demonstrated to your players. Keep reinforcing the key factors and

correcting any faults you see.

STEP 6: ASSESS THE RESULTS

At the end of your session gather your players in and check that they have remembered the key factors

you were trying to get across. Answer any questions they have

regarding the session and tell them what the next steps will be in terms

of developing the new skill.