The key to developing soccer skills as a young kid is the number of touches you get on the ball. I heard it said long time ago that 4000 ball touches per week are a good number. So let's do the soccer math:
As a kid, we used to play 3 hours a day, 6 days a week. Half of it was 1v1 , 2v2 or 3v3 games with lots of individual action. The other half was full field scrimmages. At an average of 5 touches a minute, this translates into 5400 touches a week or more.
Contrast this with what you see on soccer fields today. First of all, kids tend to only play in organizations, i.e. clubs. If they are fortunate, they practice twice a week for 1.5 hours and play one game. Let's observe practices. The absolute killer to soccer skill development are line drills with many kids sharing one ball. You can tell by kids standing around waiting. Next are long set up times the coach uses between drills. Then you see warm-up runs without a ball and fitness work without a ball followed by full field scrimmage. If the kids are lucky they get 200 touches a practice and maybe 20 in a game. Total is 420 per week and you wonder why kids aren't as skillful as they used to be? As they grow older, it becomes more and more difficult to make up for that lost time.
That is why our practices at www.soccerpracticebooks.com are based on maximizing the number of touches on the ball. The key principles is to work in small groups of 2-4 players for most drills. Warm-ups quite often involve individual ball work. Fitness drills involve a ball as well. Players never wait for their next touch of the ball. We also have designed the entire practice sessions such that a coach can set up cones for all the drills before the practice starts, so that there is no time wasted between drills. We focus on continuous action with the ball. In our typical 90 minute practice session, we estimate a player gets between 700-1000 touches. At two sessions per week and a game this gets you to 1420 to 2020 touches a week or five times what you see around the parks.
We believe we are close as possible to delivering the skill development of earlier generations. Try our practices - you won't regret it.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Soccer Fitness: The Downside Of Static Stretching
The downside of static stretching
STATIC STRETCHING before a run, or other exercise, for that matter, makes you run more slowly and less efficiently, a study recently published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research warns.
In this study, re- searchers at Florida State University collected data from 10 trained distance runners who performed two one-hour runs, once with stretching beforehand (four 30-second reps of five basic stretching exercises) and once without. The one hour runs consisted of 30 minutes at a set pace (65% of VO2max) during which basic running economy was measured, then 30 minutes going as fast as they could to see how much distance they could cover.
The non-stretchers burned about 5% fewer calories in the first part of the experiment, and ran 3.4% farther in the second.
In another study, researchers from the University of Milan also found that static stretching before any exercise makes you jump lower, more slowly and with less force. Adding to earlier research, this study looked at different joint an- gles, such as you might encounter in swimming, basketball, soccer, etc.
Numerous studies confirm that static stretching decreases muscle strength, but they don't define how much stretching it takes. So researchers at George Mason University (Prince William campus, Manassas, Virginia) had subjects test their one-rep maxes on the leg curl after doing 0-6 sets of 30-second hamstring stretches. They discovered that one set of 30-second static stretching decreased muscle strength by more than 5%. Each additional set of stretching affected leg-curl strength even more, with six sets causing an almost 15% decrease. Before training, stick to dynamic stretches; save static stretching until the end of your workout or game.
STATIC STRETCHING before a run, or other exercise, for that matter, makes you run more slowly and less efficiently, a study recently published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research warns.
In this study, re- searchers at Florida State University collected data from 10 trained distance runners who performed two one-hour runs, once with stretching beforehand (four 30-second reps of five basic stretching exercises) and once without. The one hour runs consisted of 30 minutes at a set pace (65% of VO2max) during which basic running economy was measured, then 30 minutes going as fast as they could to see how much distance they could cover.
The non-stretchers burned about 5% fewer calories in the first part of the experiment, and ran 3.4% farther in the second.
In another study, researchers from the University of Milan also found that static stretching before any exercise makes you jump lower, more slowly and with less force. Adding to earlier research, this study looked at different joint an- gles, such as you might encounter in swimming, basketball, soccer, etc.
Numerous studies confirm that static stretching decreases muscle strength, but they don't define how much stretching it takes. So researchers at George Mason University (Prince William campus, Manassas, Virginia) had subjects test their one-rep maxes on the leg curl after doing 0-6 sets of 30-second hamstring stretches. They discovered that one set of 30-second static stretching decreased muscle strength by more than 5%. Each additional set of stretching affected leg-curl strength even more, with six sets causing an almost 15% decrease. Before training, stick to dynamic stretches; save static stretching until the end of your workout or game.
Our Practice Books And Resources
Kids Soccer Drills & Practices
Youth Soccer Drills & Practices
Competitive Soccer Drills & Practices
Fast Break Soccer - Competitive Pro
Soccer Goalie Drills & Practices
Sunday, September 05, 2010
Soccer Defending and Warm-Up
We will start sharing some results of our continuous research with you.
An excellent video on defending technique can be found here:
An excellent video on defending technique can be found here:
Defending Technique
A good dynamic warm-up program can be found here:
Our Practice Books And Resources
Kids Soccer Drills & Practices
Youth Soccer Drills & Practices
Competitive Soccer Drills & Practices
Fast Break Soccer - Competitive Pro
Soccer Goalie Drills & Practices
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Coerver Coaching
Hi
I just heard about a wonderful program for your club. I am sure you probably already know about Coerver Coaching. They are acknowledged leaders in
the soccer instructional world.
I heard about this program because I recently bought
a DVD package from them with their new Make Your
Move program. It has been excellent. Now through
their website Play Great Soccer they have developed
a terrific offer for soccer clubs. It will give every
player, parent or coach a 30 day pass to their
library plus a number of other valuable
instructional tools.
Check it out and review it here
Coerver Coaching
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Soccer World Cup 2010 - Tactical Observations
Now that the world cup is 2/3 through the first round, some observations on tactics can be made.
Defense
Not much has changed here. Most teams operate with a flat back four zonal defense. At most one team appears to be playing with three defenders, that being Chile. Definitely no more sweepers. Central defenders by and large maintain their position, with the exception of Lucio from Brasil who does venture forward occasionally. The outside defenders do move wide, mostly for the purpose of building the attack from the back making themselves available for an outlet pass. Surprisingly, there aren't as many overlapping runs by outside defenders because...
Midfield
Most teams play with two central, largely defensive (or holding) midfielders. Their job is to win the ball in the middle of the field and quarterback the attack. Usually one is more defensively oriented while the other is more adventurous in moving forward. A good example of flexibility in this position is Germany. With Ballack out, Schweinsteiger and Khedira take turns with penetrating runs through the middle while the other then stays back.
There are two predominat styles using the two central midfielders. One is within the classic 4-4-2 offering two wide midfielders. The other, seemingly more popular, is playing with three attacking midfielders in front of a single striker. Two of the three usually play wide while one supports the striker more centrally. The key observation is that in the better teams these three midfielders interchange position thus making covering them more difficult. Another benefit are quick runs through the zonal defense thus avoiding off-side and getting into scoring positions or crossing positions from within the penalty box.
A few teams play a 4-3-3 on paper, although when looking how it functions it looks more like a 4-5-1, the notable exception was Paraguay against Slovakia, playing with the three true forwards - reminiscent of days long gone by.
Attack
As mentionned above, usually one or two strikers. It would seem that the lone striker system is only effective when one of the central midfielders supports them. Which then raises the question: Why not play with two strikers in the first place? It also seems that teams that play this 4-2-3-1 revert to a 4-4-2 when they need to score.
Transition
We are seeing about an equal amount of slow , possession style build-ups from the back and fast break transitions. It seems to depend on the amount of defense facing the team with the ball. Spain in their first half against Switzerland played the slow build up almost (if not totally) to a fault. When they needed to score in the second half, they played a much faster and more effective game. No coincidence that this was helped by a second all out striker. Surprisingly, Brasil is playing the ball out of the back much faster than they used to. Germany is playing a mix of possession with sudden penetrating runs/passes through the gaps in the defense, and fast break attack when the opponent isn't regrouped defensively.
Opinion
I can see why lower ranked or underdog teams play a 4-2-3-1 - it gives them the best chance of not getting scored on - witness New Zealand against Italy. Skilled and better teams have no reason to play a slow possession game and act with one striker. Every time they do, they slow themselves down. When they need to attack, they quickly switch to two or even three strikers and dominate the opposition. Why not start out that way and set the tone from the beginning. I believe a lot of scores are close because the better teams are actually too afraid of the underdogs, too worried about being embarrassed.
Enjoy the rest of the tournament
Defense
Not much has changed here. Most teams operate with a flat back four zonal defense. At most one team appears to be playing with three defenders, that being Chile. Definitely no more sweepers. Central defenders by and large maintain their position, with the exception of Lucio from Brasil who does venture forward occasionally. The outside defenders do move wide, mostly for the purpose of building the attack from the back making themselves available for an outlet pass. Surprisingly, there aren't as many overlapping runs by outside defenders because...
Midfield
Most teams play with two central, largely defensive (or holding) midfielders. Their job is to win the ball in the middle of the field and quarterback the attack. Usually one is more defensively oriented while the other is more adventurous in moving forward. A good example of flexibility in this position is Germany. With Ballack out, Schweinsteiger and Khedira take turns with penetrating runs through the middle while the other then stays back.
There are two predominat styles using the two central midfielders. One is within the classic 4-4-2 offering two wide midfielders. The other, seemingly more popular, is playing with three attacking midfielders in front of a single striker. Two of the three usually play wide while one supports the striker more centrally. The key observation is that in the better teams these three midfielders interchange position thus making covering them more difficult. Another benefit are quick runs through the zonal defense thus avoiding off-side and getting into scoring positions or crossing positions from within the penalty box.
A few teams play a 4-3-3 on paper, although when looking how it functions it looks more like a 4-5-1, the notable exception was Paraguay against Slovakia, playing with the three true forwards - reminiscent of days long gone by.
Attack
As mentionned above, usually one or two strikers. It would seem that the lone striker system is only effective when one of the central midfielders supports them. Which then raises the question: Why not play with two strikers in the first place? It also seems that teams that play this 4-2-3-1 revert to a 4-4-2 when they need to score.
Transition
We are seeing about an equal amount of slow , possession style build-ups from the back and fast break transitions. It seems to depend on the amount of defense facing the team with the ball. Spain in their first half against Switzerland played the slow build up almost (if not totally) to a fault. When they needed to score in the second half, they played a much faster and more effective game. No coincidence that this was helped by a second all out striker. Surprisingly, Brasil is playing the ball out of the back much faster than they used to. Germany is playing a mix of possession with sudden penetrating runs/passes through the gaps in the defense, and fast break attack when the opponent isn't regrouped defensively.
Opinion
I can see why lower ranked or underdog teams play a 4-2-3-1 - it gives them the best chance of not getting scored on - witness New Zealand against Italy. Skilled and better teams have no reason to play a slow possession game and act with one striker. Every time they do, they slow themselves down. When they need to attack, they quickly switch to two or even three strikers and dominate the opposition. Why not start out that way and set the tone from the beginning. I believe a lot of scores are close because the better teams are actually too afraid of the underdogs, too worried about being embarrassed.
Enjoy the rest of the tournament
Our Practice Books And Resources
Kids Soccer Drills & Practices
Youth Soccer Drills & Practices
Competitive Soccer Drills & Practices
Fast Break Soccer - Competitive Pro
Soccer Goalie Drills & Practices
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Soccer Player Evaluation - Performance Index
One issue a soccer coach is often confronted with is how to select players for their team (making cuts) or how to award positions in the starting line-up. We have previously written about player evaluations. We now have developed a very simple measurement system to RANK players.
THE SYSTEM
Rate your players on a scale from 0-10 for their soccer performance. Performance should include technical skills, tactical ability, physical fitness, and mental fitness. You can use our player evaluation tool or develop your own way of coming up with a rating.
Then rate your players on practice attendance on a scale from 0-10. The rating is simply the practice attendance percentage. A practice attendance of 60% for eaxample gets a rating of 6.
Multiply the soccer performance rating by the practice attendance rating to come up with the PERFORMANCE INDEX.
For example, a soccer performance rating of 8 and a practice attendance rating of 8 equals a performance index of 64.
Now set a target for where you would ideally like all players to be, say a performance index above 80. Also set a cut off target below which you would not keep players or below which they should not be in the starting line up, say a performance index of at least 64.
Rank your players and see where the cut-offs are.
THE APPLICATION & MEANING
We suggest that you might want to start with an ideal performance index of 80, which means a soccer rating of 10 with a minumum attendance of 8, or a minimum soccer rating of 8 with attendance of 10 would be your ideal player.
You may want to set the cut-off at 64 based on a rating of 8 and attendance of 8. This also means a player with a rating of 10 and attendance of 6.5 would make the cut, or a player with attendance of 10 and soccer performance of 6.5. Not unreasonable we think.
You can use the results to have a discussion with your team to explain that you value both soccer performance and practice commitment. You can have individual meetings to share the index with each player and thereby point out which areas they need to improve.
If you are coaching a team where performance OR attendance don't matter, then this index wouldn't work for you.
Give it some thought, play around with it, and see if this may be useful for your situation.
Coach Tom
THE SYSTEM
Rate your players on a scale from 0-10 for their soccer performance. Performance should include technical skills, tactical ability, physical fitness, and mental fitness. You can use our player evaluation tool or develop your own way of coming up with a rating.
Then rate your players on practice attendance on a scale from 0-10. The rating is simply the practice attendance percentage. A practice attendance of 60% for eaxample gets a rating of 6.
Multiply the soccer performance rating by the practice attendance rating to come up with the PERFORMANCE INDEX.
For example, a soccer performance rating of 8 and a practice attendance rating of 8 equals a performance index of 64.
Now set a target for where you would ideally like all players to be, say a performance index above 80. Also set a cut off target below which you would not keep players or below which they should not be in the starting line up, say a performance index of at least 64.
Rank your players and see where the cut-offs are.
THE APPLICATION & MEANING
We suggest that you might want to start with an ideal performance index of 80, which means a soccer rating of 10 with a minumum attendance of 8, or a minimum soccer rating of 8 with attendance of 10 would be your ideal player.
You may want to set the cut-off at 64 based on a rating of 8 and attendance of 8. This also means a player with a rating of 10 and attendance of 6.5 would make the cut, or a player with attendance of 10 and soccer performance of 6.5. Not unreasonable we think.
You can use the results to have a discussion with your team to explain that you value both soccer performance and practice commitment. You can have individual meetings to share the index with each player and thereby point out which areas they need to improve.
If you are coaching a team where performance OR attendance don't matter, then this index wouldn't work for you.
Give it some thought, play around with it, and see if this may be useful for your situation.
Coach Tom
Our Practice Books And Resources
Kids Soccer Drills & Practices
Youth Soccer Drills & Practices
Competitive Soccer Drills & Practices
Soccer Goalie Drills & Practices
Monday, January 04, 2010
Soccer Drills & Practice Plans - World Cup 2010 Editions
soccerpracticebooks.com has just released all new editions of their soccer drills and practice plans. The new editions feature added coaching points, drill progressions & variations and tips for each drill as well as updated graphics. Check out an example right here:
Coach Tom
Our Practice Books And Resources
Kids Soccer Drills & Practices
Youth Soccer Drills & Practices
Competitive Soccer Drills & Practices
Soccer Goalie Drills & Practices
Indoor Soccer Drills & Practices
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