The last article dealt with technical skills of individuals. Today we will look at tactical factors that will contribute to your team's success. All of this information and more is dealt with extensively in our book:
Formations
Every team needs a basic formation or system of play. These are referred to by numbering, such as 4-4-2, 3-5-2, 4-2-3-1, etc. In a three number description, the first number specifies the number of defenders, the second specifies the number of midfielders and the third the number of forwards. In a four number system the second and third numbers specify defensive and offensive midfielders respectively.
Picking the right formation for your team is critical. There are two main philosophies on how to pick a formation. The first is based on the coach's preference and expertise. the coach picks a formation and then recruits or trains players to play it. The second is based on the abilities of the players available and the likely competition. Here the coach looks at skills and tactical understanding and the relative strengths of the team and then picks a formation. Players still need to be trained to play it well.
The first method works well in situation where coaches have time and ability to recruit players who know the coach's system of preference. The second method works well in situations where a coach has a limited numbers of players to choose from, a short pre-season for training and limited recruiting options.
The book mentionned above goes into more detail as to the type of players needed for each system, coaching requirements, strengths and weaknesses.
Individual Tactical Understanding
Individuals need to understand their role on the field and the roles of their team mates. Let's look at some key elements with examples:
A central defender needs to know when to mark, when to join the attack, when to hold the ball, when to clear it, when to pass it. They need to recognize the spaces available for the opponent and how to close them down. they need to recognize spaces for themselves when they have the ball and passing options. They need to know when to cover for an overlapping outside defender, when to go up for a set play (corner) and when to stay back. they need to recognize the opponent's system of play and strengths and weaknesses and adjust their own play and that of other players if necessary. They need to communicate frequently, clearly and directly (note - tie in to mental fitness).
Outside defenders require similar understanding.
Midfielders are the engine of your team. They need to be available to receive balls from defenders and they need to supply the strikers with quality scoring opportunities. They need to recognize space and time for their own opportunities to go in for a shot. When transitioning to defending, they need to hustle back and challenge the other team (i.e. shut off their engine) and close spaces. they are two way players and transition from offense to defense and vice versa more than anyone else. They need to have the ability to perceive plays, players and space aroud them, to anticipate opportunities and runs and to deliver the ball accordingly. They need to make decisions quickly (do I hold, do I pass quickly, do I have space to run with the ball). Central and outside midfielders have different responsibilities and roles.
Strikers need to be keenly aware of their position relative to defenders to take advantage of space and to avoid off-sides. Their main tactical ability relates to timing of runs and direction of runs. they need to have extremely quick decision making ability and anticipate play. The main focus is to get into good scoring positions. Also, they need to be able to defend by pressuring opposing defenders in possession. The key is to decide when to challenge hard and when to drop back and wait for the opponent to play. They need to recognize opportunities to hold the ball and lay it off to an overlapping midfielder or defender. When they receive the ball they must be aware of available space and decide if they have room to turn and then take a defender on 1v1 or pass. If they are marked tight, then turning into the defender likely results in loss of possession. Strikers also need to know when to retreat, i'e. hold the ball and dribble toward own goal to look for support or create space to turn.
Goalkeepers are in the best position to see the play in front of them. They can vocally help everyone on their team with positional play. In terms of goalie specific tactics, distribution of the ball is the most often used tactic. Do I punt the ball deep, straight or to the side. Do I throw it quickly and long, wide or central? Do I roll it out to a defender to build an attack. Do I ask for the ball back on my feet. If I receive it back, do I kick it out or pass it out? How much time and pressure is there? Same is for goal kicks. On set plays, goalies need to position their defenders, walls and organize marking.
Individuals Combining As Units
We define units as the group of defenders, midfielders and strikers. In essence, each team is made up of these three units. Coaches and players need to know how individuals within the units interact with each other. We alluded to some of these interactions above. Just a few more examples:
If an outside defenders needs to step up and challenge an opposing overlapping midfielder, the central defender needs to pick up whoever the outside defender was marking. the other defenders need to recognize that movement and shift positions to provide cover. Playing with the off-side trap is probably the area of soccer requiring the highest level of synchronization. One of the outside defenders needs to take charge because they can have a view across the defensive line and communicate to all others to move up and get "in line". Central defenders would have to look to both sides constantly to organize the line - not possible.
Midfielders need to know when to cover for each other when one or more are joining the attack. They need to be aware of where the gaps are when transitioning to defense. For example, if a central midfielder went deep for a shot and the opposing team transitions fast through the middle, then an outside midfielder may need to shift to the middle to cover.
Strikers need to know when to make diagonal and crossover runs with each other to lose defenders. they need to know if they should flick a ball on to a sprinting team mate, or if they should play a diagonal ball wide for their partner making a diagonal run.
Units Combining As a Team
The final step of integration is to get the three units combining with each other. For example, outside defenders can make runs all the way to the opposing end and cross the ball, acting as wingers. When that happens, a midfielder needs to be prepared to cover if the opponent breaks out quickly. Strikers may have to follow an aggressive opposing defender all the way into their own defending third in a situation when the other team is pressing hard. that may mean that on your team's next transition forward a midfielder takes that striker's role so that your whole team doesn't have to wait for the striker to move back up.
There are endless examples and we only present a few to illustrate the concepts.
Game Tactics
Bringing it all together in a game is what makes the difference. Players and coaches need tio work together in developing a game plan based on your team's abilities and the anticipated play of the opponent. Teams must be flexible and adaptable. If the original game plan doesn't work, the coaches and the players need to communicate "on the fly" to make adjustments. In really great teams, the players will do it on their own if the coach isn't seeing what they see. They need to change formations within a game, they need to change positions within their units and between units.
Coaches and players need to be on the same page regarding the objectives. Do we need to score a goal or defend the current score?
Teams that are better prepared tactically will win more games.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Winning Soccer Games - Technical Skills
Today we will start breaking down one of the four soccer building blocks identified in our last article - technical skills. Our focus is on out players at this time. Goalkeepers will be mentionned in a generic sense, although they deserve the same treatment in all four building blocks. We will deal with goalkeepers in detail in the future.
The key technical soccer skills are:
The key technical soccer skills are:
- ball receiving (ball control)
- passing
- dribbling (running with ball)
- 1v1 moves
- shooting
- heading
- tackling
- jockeying
- goalkeeping (generic comment)
Breaking these skills down further:
Ball Receiving:
- approach to ball (attacking ball, waiting for ball, running into space for ball, jumping for header)
- first touch (stopping ball, directing ball for second touch to dribble, shoot or pass)
- decision making (prior to receiving, decide what to do - this is a tie in to the mental fitness building block)
- body position
- part of body to be used
Passing
- weight of pass (i.e. strength) appropriate to distance of target
- direction
- on ground/off ground
- straight or bent
- cross
- to target or into space
Dribbling
- keeping ball close to foot or pushing it ahead
- speed
- head up
- parts of the foot (instep, outside, laces)
1v1 Moves
- body fakes
- direction
- speed
- deceleration going into move, acceleration coming out
- change of direction or straight
- type of move (stepover, scissors, cut back, Cruyff, etc., etc.) - each player should develop a couple
Shooting
- picking target (look up before shot)
- approach to ball (angle, backswing, hip rotation, striking ball, follow-through)
- power (hard shot or more placed shot)
- part of foot
- low or high shot
- straight shot or bending ball
- dead ball or moving ball
- left or right foot
Heading
- approach to ball (jump, stand, dive, momentum generating arch-back)
- part of head (forehead straight for power, side of forehead for direction)
- target - high, low, straight, side
Tackling
- angle of approach
- standing tackle or slide tackle
- eye on ball
- timing of tackle
Jockeying
- distance from player
- angle
- speed of movement
- eye on ball
Goalkeeping
- agility
- flexibility
- leg strength
- vertical leap
- reaction speed
- reflex
- diving position
- ready position
- communication
- catching
- foot saves
- ball control
How do all these tie in to winning games?
First, you need establish a benchmark for your team relative to age group and level of competition.
Each age group has a certain level of skill that players should be able to perform. For example, 6 year olds don't need to be able to do diving headers, 16 year olds do. Establish the level of skill expectation for your age group. How do you do this? Typically coaching certification programs will lay this out for you. Alternatively, research books and the internet. You can look at our coaching books and web site and the drills give you the expectation for each age group. Finally, you can travel in your area and observe games and practices to see what players are actually capable of.
You may want to make a chart for your team. List all skill areas of interest down the left hand column. The next two columns are labeled basic and advanced. The next columns have the names of your players. You now have a grid. Under the basic and advanced columns write in the level of performance for each skill. For example:
Short Pass (5-15 m)
Basic: within 30 cm of target, moderate difficulty for receiver to control.
Advanced: right on target, easy to control.
Then rate each player on a scale from 0 (cannot perform basic skill) to 10 (can perform at an advanced level consistently).
Then look at your results and see in which skill area your team is weak in total.
Now observe your competition and rate them.
You now know which skills your team needs to improve gainst the "absolute" benchmark and against the competition. They may not be the same. You now need to decide which gaps to fill first based on what you think will lead to the best improvement of your players, team in total, and competitive results. A suggestion is to start with those skills that rank below both the benchmark and the competition.
You will want to consider the linkage to the other three building blocks. For example if your 1v1 moves are weak, but your game approach is to play a fast/short passing game, you may not need to improve 1v1 moves a lot. We will deal with this linkage in future articles.
Our Practice Books And Resources
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Youth Soccer Drills & Practices
Competitive Soccer Drills & Practices
Soccer Goalie Drills & Practices
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Soccer Coaching - How To Win Games
We received a very simple question via e-mail from an interested soccer fan:
How do teams like Real Madrid, Man U. win games?
This soccer fan had researched everywhere and did not find an answer. So we asked ourselves: How do they win? Is there a secret recipe? Is there a magic formula?
After some thought we decided that the four fundamental building blocks of soccer provide the answer. these blocks are:
1. Technical Skills
2. Tactical Ability
3. Physical Fitness
4. Mental Fitness
We believe that the team, in any contest, that on that given day exhibits the better combination of those four areas will win the game. Yes, there is luck on occasion, but we believe that less than 5% of games are won by luck.
No team will ever deliver 100% in each of the four areas at any one time, so it is the relative strengths and the total combination that determines the outcome.
In future articles, we will examine in depth each of the four building blocks and how they work together. We will look at training to overcome specific weaknesses in your own team and how to react to the opponent, who may be better in some or all areas.
Stay tuned !!
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Youth Soccer Drills & Practices
Competitive Soccer Drills & Practices
Soccer Goalie Drills & Practices
Monday, June 30, 2008
Soccer Coaching Learnings From Euro 2008
Now that Euro 2008 has ended with a desrving victor, Spain, it is useful to examine any new trends and learnings from the tournament. Our team at http://www.soccerpracticebooks.com/ watched and analyzed every single game of the tournament. Here are our observations:
Formations
The trend away from the standard 4-4-2 continued to more teams playing with one striker, mostly in a 4-2-3-1, with the occasional 4-1-4-1. The idea is that the three offensive midfielders can alternate in the support of the lone striker and therefore create a more variable and unpredictable scoring threat. Germany is a key example of this with any of Ballack, Schweinsteiger or Podolski joining Klose in the final attacking plays. The downside is that if the opponent shuts down these midfielders, then the lone striker is a bit lost. Also, there can be a loss of variability because in a two striker system one of them often goes wide for a cross and doing so opens up the space in the middle. Finally, when opposing defenders have the ball and start playing out of the back, then one striker isn't always enough to pressurize the defense and not always did we see the offensive midfielders step up. They tended to focus on the opposing midfielders.
The two defensive midfielders provide backing for the attacking midfielders during transition to defense, and have responsibility to start the attack from their own end.
The 4-1-4-1 is mostly a response to the 4-2-3-1 putting a defensive midfielder to cover the central attacking midfielder from the 4-2-3-1.
In our view, the system you choose depends on the ability of the players you have. What is important is that your team stays disciplined in all areas of the field, that the transition to defense and to offense works and that the attacking play is variable enough to cause problems for the opponent. We advocate that any team is capable of playing more than one system and is able to adjust in a game when the starting formation doesn't work.
Tactics
Formations
The trend away from the standard 4-4-2 continued to more teams playing with one striker, mostly in a 4-2-3-1, with the occasional 4-1-4-1. The idea is that the three offensive midfielders can alternate in the support of the lone striker and therefore create a more variable and unpredictable scoring threat. Germany is a key example of this with any of Ballack, Schweinsteiger or Podolski joining Klose in the final attacking plays. The downside is that if the opponent shuts down these midfielders, then the lone striker is a bit lost. Also, there can be a loss of variability because in a two striker system one of them often goes wide for a cross and doing so opens up the space in the middle. Finally, when opposing defenders have the ball and start playing out of the back, then one striker isn't always enough to pressurize the defense and not always did we see the offensive midfielders step up. They tended to focus on the opposing midfielders.
The two defensive midfielders provide backing for the attacking midfielders during transition to defense, and have responsibility to start the attack from their own end.
The 4-1-4-1 is mostly a response to the 4-2-3-1 putting a defensive midfielder to cover the central attacking midfielder from the 4-2-3-1.
In our view, the system you choose depends on the ability of the players you have. What is important is that your team stays disciplined in all areas of the field, that the transition to defense and to offense works and that the attacking play is variable enough to cause problems for the opponent. We advocate that any team is capable of playing more than one system and is able to adjust in a game when the starting formation doesn't work.
Tactics
The trend to minimize ball contacts continued. There was a lot of one touch and two touch soccer being played. It seemed like the more skilled the players, the less touches on the ball and the more quick passes. Exception being when they went into 1v1 situations. Some game statistics had over 600 passes per game.
One or two touch passing is not to be confused with tactics, however. Some teams played a lot of one touch passes in a slow build style, looking for opportunities for final penetrating passes or combinations into the scoring zones (Spain and Holland), we call this horizontal/vertical soccer. Other teams played as quickly as possible into the attacking third, we call this vertical soccer (Germany and Russia). Again, it is a matter of choice for the coach.
There was a general preference for quick transition play with the entire team moving fast. Almost all teams transitioned to defense very quickly, getting all players but one striker goalside as fast as possible. Transition to offense was equally fast, however the horizontal/vertical teams only broke fast on counter attack opportunities, otherwise they played the possession game. Vertical teams broke fast to the other half, no matter what.
Skills
overall ball skills are improving everywhere, and countries that had a lull in the 1990's are producing higher skilled players again, Germany being the prime example. Like aerobic training is the foundation for speed, so fundamental skills are the foundation for tactics. We always recommend, regardless of age of players, to train skills.
We offer soccer practice books that are up to date on all these development, check them out:
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
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Soccer Coaching - Complete Player Development
There are four areas coaches need to train in order to develop individual players and hence their teams:
- Technical Skills
- Tactical Skills
- Physical Fitness
- Mental Fitness
The coaching approach and time spent on each of these areas in practice and throughout the season depends on the age and competitive level of the team. below are some suggestions.
Technical Skills
Ball control (receiving and controlling), passing, finishing, heading, tackling, etc. are the fundamental skills each soccer player needs. The younger the player, the more time needs to be spent in practice and outside of practice.
- Ages 4-8: 80% of practice time
- Ages 9-12: 60% of practice time
- Ages 13 +: 40% of practice time
- Competitive: 25% of practice time
As players get older and more competitive, the intensity and complexity of drills must be increased.
Tactical Skills
Areas of training are combining with team mates, playing in units (defenders, midfielders, attackers), transitioning and combining between units, playing in a specified formation as a team.
- Ages 4-8: 5%
- Ages 9-12: 20%
- Ages 13+: 30%
- Competitive: 40%
The requirements for the youngest group should start with the basic idea of scoring goals and preventing goals and the direction of the goals.
Physical Fitness
An aerobic base is essential for all soccer athletes. With the youngest groups this is easiest developed in fun games that involve some running. As players get older, we believe fitness is trained best in conjunction with technical plays, sprint and shoot drills for example. Only at the competitive, senior and professional level would fitness training without soccer balls be appropriate. This would involve strength development (weight room), resistance sprints (held back by elastic cord or parachute), etc.
- Ages 4-8: 10%
- Ages 9-12: 15%
- Ages 13+: 20%
- Competitive: 20%
Mental Fitness:
The mental fitness aspects again vary as children and players develop. The key for the very young ones is to get them to enjoy the sport, develop social interaction with others and instill a love for the sport such that they want to come back. With the next age group, coaches need to start on focus, discipline, communication and interaction for the purpose of achieving team results. In these younger groups, the coach builds mental training into practices in such a way that the players are passively trained, i.e. they may not be aware that they are being trained. Monitoring behavioural results and adjusting techniques are the coach's job.
As we progress to older age groups and more competitive play, the coach still develops the mental training program, however, players are now actively engaged. Open discussion about expectation, measurements, results and improvement plans are held with individuals and the team. Players receive their own exercises such as visualization, goal setting, performance self monitoring, team environment building events, etc.
- Ages 4-8: 5% - largely within drills and team pizza party
- Ages 9-12: 5% - some instruction, team events
- Ages 13+: 10%
- Competitive: 15%
All of these elements are carefully trained and balanced in the practices you can obtain by clicking on the links below:
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
Sunday, April 27, 2008
soccer drills - effective design
What Makes Excellent Soccer Drills?
Excellent and effective soccer drills must support the theme of the practice session. They must be targetted in complexity towards the age group and the competitive level of your team and players. They must motivate the players. Young kids need fun motivational games, older and more competitive players need more challenging exercises since they are motivated by accomplishment and competition.
Effective soccer drills must be easy to explain and demonstrate. They must be designed for the space and equipment available and must be adaptable as the players go through them (add or reduce the complexity). They must always show improvement in players performance from beginning to the end of the drill.
Excellent soccer drills must be relevant to game situations and players must easily understand how they can translate what they learned to a game. You can test this in the end-of-practice scrimmage. They must keep players' attention and interest and must keep players moving with a ball as much as possible and must always end with a success.
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
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Soccer Tactics - Transition Play
In previous articles we have discussed the relative benefits of a possession vs a fast break approach to the game. Today, we'd like to briefly review what we believe to be the "engine" of modern soccer tactics:
Transition Play
Stepping back for a second, the aim of the game of soccer hasn't changed since its inception: Score goals and prevent the opposition from scoring on you. Sounds simple, but with today's athletic ability, technical ability and sophisticated training methods, its not so simple anymore, or is it?
Looking at the game from a different perspective, one can say that soccer is a game of constant change of possession. So one team is always defending trying to win the ball, while the other wants to move the ball into scoring position and score. Unless the team in possession scores, there will be a change of possession. After change of possession, both teams will need to transition:
The team that lost the ball now needs to transition from attacking to defending, trying to force a turnover. The team that was defending now needs to transition to attacking. How best to do this?
The simple answer in today's soccer is:
AS FAST AS POSSIBLE
Speed is of the essence. Looking at it from both teams' point of view:
Transitioning to Defense:
You want your team to immediately pressure the ball and not let the opponent get organized into an attacking mode. This is best done by putting a challenging and a support player on the opponent with the ball and everyone else to close down passing options by marking players and closing down passing lanes. This requires mental and physical speed. Mentally, your players need to react extremely quickly to a change of possession, perceive the position and movement of opponents and anticipate possible plays so they can prevent them. This requires lots of training sessions, co-ordination of positional responsibilities and communication. Physically, players need to be able to get to their destinations as fast as possible, sprinting and not jogging is the requirement.
Transitioning to Offense:
Your team has won possession of the ball. It should already know what the opponent wants, i.e. see comments above. Your goal is to get the ball moving towards the opponent's goal as quickly as possible, before the other team has done its job of marking and closing down options. In this transition, your players also need to react quickly, perceive where the spaces and opponents movements are, anticipate plays and make the runs and passes quickly. This requires technical accuracy (passing in particular), physical speed and mental speed.
If you train your team to be fast in both transitions, faster than any opponent you can imagine, and train to execute accurately at high pace, you will be successful.
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Monday, March 03, 2008
Soccer Goalkeeper Evaluation
How can you determine if one goalie is better than another? Whom should you pick after team tryouts are complete? Who should start?
Here is one method to objectively evaluate your goalkeepers. It is based on a weighted point system. Give your keeper a score for each attribute between 0 and the maximum number of points for that attribute. Add up all the scores for each keeper and you have a rating based on complete soccer goalkeeping skills. If you would like to assess different values to each attribute based on your preference, feel free to do so.
Soccer Goalie Attribute Rating Systems:
- Reaction and reflexes on goal line (20 points)
- Domination of penalty box - catching crosses (20 points)
- 1 v 1 ability (speed, angles, save %) and challenging (20 points)
- Organizing the team from the back - vocal (10 points)
- Playing with confidence and being a presence (10 points)
- Flexibility (10 points)
- Upper body strength (10 points)
Total Maximum Score: 100 points
How do you assign the scores? You can use your observational ability over time or you can use specific measurements. For example, count the number of saves a keeper makes on the line facing shots from various distances and angles. Number of crosses caught in traffic and without pressure (low and high). 1v1 situations saved. Game observation regarding team organization and presence. Flexibility tests and bench pressing strength.
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Monday, February 04, 2008
English Soccer Goalkeepers
This will be one of our shorter articles, but perhaps one of our most controversial ones. One may ask why England is struggling at the national team level, indicated most recently by failure to qualify for Euro 2008.
One theory is to look at the number of English players in the Premier League. In 1992, 75% of all players were from England. In 2007 that dropped to 38%.
Now that may not be unusual in the top leagues today; Germany has a high % of imports in the Bundesliga, and they have enjoyed moderate success. Italy, France and Spain also have imports in their leagues, but more nationals??
Now here is the interesting difference between England and Germany, for example. Premier League teams have an unusual high % of import goalkeepers. And that is where we will challenge your thinking, if you're an England fan. Could it be that the goalkeepers are more important than experts give them credit for?
Where are England's Kahn, Lehmann or Buffon? Aren't critical goalkeeper mistakes in world cups (Seaman), qualifiers and friendlies becoming routine? Why start a national rookie against Croatia?
Our suggestion: ENGLAND - DEVELOP WORLD CLASS GOALKEEPERS.
Godspeed
Our Practice Books And Resources
One theory is to look at the number of English players in the Premier League. In 1992, 75% of all players were from England. In 2007 that dropped to 38%.
Now that may not be unusual in the top leagues today; Germany has a high % of imports in the Bundesliga, and they have enjoyed moderate success. Italy, France and Spain also have imports in their leagues, but more nationals??
Now here is the interesting difference between England and Germany, for example. Premier League teams have an unusual high % of import goalkeepers. And that is where we will challenge your thinking, if you're an England fan. Could it be that the goalkeepers are more important than experts give them credit for?
Where are England's Kahn, Lehmann or Buffon? Aren't critical goalkeeper mistakes in world cups (Seaman), qualifiers and friendlies becoming routine? Why start a national rookie against Croatia?
Our suggestion: ENGLAND - DEVELOP WORLD CLASS GOALKEEPERS.
Godspeed
Our Practice Books And Resources
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Soccer 1v1 Skills - A Necessity
We want to share a statistic from a major European soccer league with you. Tracking close to 150 games they measured the amount of 1v1 situations each of the teams won in a game. They then correlated the 1v1 success to wins, ties and losses. The results are:
The team that won the majority of 1v1 battles:
- won 48% of the games
- tied 23 % of the games
- lost 29% of the games
One way of looking at this statistic is to say that if you win the majority of 1v1 situations in soccer, you have a better than 70% chance of not losing the game.
We think this is incentive for coaches to train 1v1 situations. Our soccer drills and practice plans emphasize 1v1. Also, click on the soccer skills training link below to access the Coerver Coaching system and other soccer skill training resources.
Our Practice Books And Resources
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Soccer Systems of Play - A Global Perspecive
Today we want to focus on a debate that has been dividing soccer clubs, soccer coaches and even entire countries. The question is:
Should there be a unified system of play that is taught at all age groups, across all soccer clubs across a whole country? Or, should each team, coach and club be left to develop the system of their choice?
The Unified Approach
If an entire country adopts a unfied approach from the ground up, then players arriving at the national team will now the system to perfection and make the team stronger. For example, if a country chooses a 4-4-2 system with two central defensive midfielders, then starting from age 9 or so, all teams can train that system. Coaches will be taught how to develop players and as kids move up in age, they will be very familiar with their roles on the field. This allows coaches to focus on individual technique development, fine-tuning the system, teaching targeted variations. Coaches will not have to spend time retraining new kids arriving on the team with whatever system the coach prefers. Imagine you are taking on a competitive U17 team and everyone knows how to play their position. Or taking on a college team?
The downside is that teams become predictable to their opponents. Teams will find it difficult to adapt to a different system when the game situation calls for it.
The Individual Approach
At the youth level, players have different talents and skills and quite often the coaches have no influence over who shows up to play on the team. Since everyone wants the team to perform at its best, the coach needs to pick a system of play that best suits the abilities of the players and is most effective in their competitive environment. Therefore coaches train each team uniquely. The next year, new players arrive and a new system may be required. This keeps coaches thinking and trying to optimize performance. Players will learn different positions and different systems and become very adaptable. By the time kids reach adulthood, they should be able to quickly adapt to any system.
The downside is that you may develop generations of players who know a little bit about everything and aren't expert at any one thing.
The Answer ?
We will not pretend to know which is the better way. We do propose that each country and club within a country or region thinks about this topic and makes a strategic decision as to how they want to approach player and team development. It could be a unified approach, an individual approach or a hybrid of the two. Once a strategy has been selected, stick with it and implement it with discipline.
Let us all be mindful, that the fundamental goals of soccer have not changed:
- Prevent the other team from scoring goals
- Score goals yourself
Then develop the strategies and programs best suited for your environment.
At Soccer Drills and Soccer Practice Plans we offer soccer drills and complete soccer practice plans that fit either philosophy. Our soccer drills are designed to develop players and teams techniques and tactical understanding regardless of system used. Our Soccer Systems of Play book introduces all modern systems of play for you to choose from. Check it out.
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Saturday, December 08, 2007
soccer drills
As we approach the new year it is time to plan your 2008 season. We are here to help by offering state of the art soccer coaching resources. Regardless of age group and skill level of your team, we have top quality soccer drills and soccer practice plans for you. That includes specialized goalkeeper training sessions. We also offer clear, up to date, explanation of modern formations and systems of play. Fully diagrammed with coaching tips. Click on any of the links below to get more info.
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Friday, November 02, 2007
soccer ball control drills
It is never too late to improve your soccer skills, however, the older a player is, the more difficult it becomes. It has been said that you need 4000 touches on the ball per week from early childhood on to develop excellent soccer skills.
We have developed a progressive skill development program for a team we are coaching right now. The focus is on ball control and passing. Both are individual development programs that are ideally suited for indoor gym training, but can also be used outdoors.
The concept is to challenge players through 10 levels of skill which they must achieve to demonstrate competence. Today, we want to share with you ball control skill development. If you combine the exercises with the idea of 4000 touches per week, then 2-3 hours per week doing these exercises will give you sufficient touches. The drills today are designed to play balls off a wall from various distances, various angles and various height of contact on the wall.
These exercises can be done outdoors by playing off walls. You may want to use rubber balls so you don't damage high quality and expensive regular balls. Players will improve weight of passing, ball receiving skills and 1/2 touch control. Other benefits are improving anticipation, movement without ball, reaction, decision making and aerobic conditioning.
Note: The number in the "passes" column is the number of consecutive successful passes following all rules a player must complete to move on to the next level.
Please click on the link below to open the program, print it and enjoy the improved skill of your players.
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Monday, October 08, 2007
Soccer Goal Scoring - Build-Up
A major international soccer league reported on where and how goals were scored. Over 400 goals were recorded and we will provide an analysis of the results, and what it means from a coaching point of view.
What was the build-up to scoring goals?
What was the build-up to scoring goals?
Goals in the study were scored after:
controlled attacking plays (slow or fast build-ups): 43%
set plays (corners, free kicks,etc.): 26%
counter attacks: 13%
turnovers: 10%
2nd efforts after set plays: 8%
Coaching Implications
The stats emphasize the needs to practice three key areas:
1. a strategy of play leading to scoring chances, be it slow possession, fast break, combination of above,etc.
2. set plays and second efforts after
3. turnovers/quick counters
Too many times coaches emphasize only one or two of the above strategies, thus limiting a good % of chances and making the opponent's defending job easier.
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Saturday, October 06, 2007
Soccer Nutrition
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Soccer Goalkeeper Warm-Up
Far too often goalkeepers are left on their own while the team goes through their pre-game or practice warm-up and stretching routines. Maybe someone will throw some balls or take some shots at the goalie. At www.soccerpracticebooks.com we believe that a proper soccer goalie warm-up is essential. It gets your keeper game ready and sharp, therefore being in the best mental and physical condition to make the saves that count. Below is a soccer goalie warm-up plan for you to use. Click on the link and a PDF file will open in a new window.
Make sure the warm-up ends with a good save by the goalie !!!!
We offer an entire book of soccer goalkeeping practice plans and drills:
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Sunday, September 02, 2007
Soccer Tryout
www.soccerpracticebooks.com has developed a quick tryout package for soccer teams. This package is ideally suited for situations with limited time prior to season start. The package includes information forms, evaluation charts and three tryout sessions. It is available as a free bonus with any soccer book combo deal available at:
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Soccer 4-4-2 Zonal System
The following is an example of systems explained in our Systems Of Play book. In the book are diagrams showing basic positioning for defending, transition, attacking.
Soccer Systems Of Play
OVERVIEW
This system is very popular and used by such great teams as the Dutch National and Manchester United. It is a very effective and versatile attacking system based on coming down the sides as well as spreading the defense and then penetrating through the center. With overlapping outside defenders and midfielders the 4-4-2 quickly converts to a 4-2-4 or 2-4-4 putting immense pressure on the opposing defensive units. The vulnerability of the 4-4-2 lies in its flat back defense which can be torn apart by diagonal runs through its center.
TEAM REQUIREMENTS
Teams employing this 4-4-2 system must have outside defenders and midfielders who are in exceptional aerobic shape as they will both make deep runs to attack and then need to chase back in the team's transition to defense. The zonal system requires a high degree of verbal and visual communication, particularly when defending, to ensure that opposing attackers are challenged and covered. This system relies on the off-side trap and that is where defenders need to be alert to ensure they step
up just before the ball is played in behind them. This requires almost automatic mechanisms because there is little time to provide each other with instructions.
When attacking, the outside players as well as the forwards all need to be able to play 1v1 and place accurate crosses into the penalty area. Both forwards and central midfielders must have goal scoring technique and capability for heading the ball.
Inside midfielders are the strategists who read the play, decide when to come back to support the defenders, where to distribute the ball and when to make penetrating runs down the middle. They require excellent vision and ability to read the position.
COACHING REQUIREMENTS
First and foremost, coaches need lots of time before the season starts to train the key elements of this system. Emphasis needs to be on keeping players in their zones and on getting them to make the right decisions regarding challenging penetrating opponents. Much work will be required to coordinate the off-side trap, which again requires verbal and visual communication. Players with ability to beat opponents 1v1 on the wings with the ability to play effective crosses into the target area need to be developed. Aerobic conditioning and speed training are a requirement, articularly for the outside players.
GAME STRATEGY
This system works very well when attacking just about any other system an opponent might play. It is particularly effective against other zonal 4-4-2 systems or a 4-3-3 system because it outnumbers it in the critical midfield area. The weakness of this 4-4-2 lies in defense, particularly against a 3-5-2 system which can outnumber it in central midfield, thus pulling out a central defender causing difficulty with the integrity of the flat back zone. A 3-4-3 system can also cause difficulties, particularly if its three forwards get additional support
from overlapping midfielders. Ultimately, the strength of your own team will determine if the opponent is forced to make an adjustment to their system during the game or if you need to adjust because the opponent's system is dominating. This 4-4-2 is a very attractive attacking system with risks on defense.
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Sunday, August 19, 2007
soccer passing drill - ages 9-12
Each month we will feature a soccer drill from one of our soccer practice books. We will show you the training secrets behind the drill, how and why they improve your players and your team. This information is exclusive to this site. All our soccer drills in all our books have the same depth and training benefits behind them.
Today's soccer drill is Technical Drill #8 from our Youth (9-12)Book. Please click on the link below to open the drill, print it and enjoy finding out the training concepts behind it:
Skill Development
Attackers will learn receiving the ball in a tight space under pressure. They will need to move the ball quickly and therefore will need to set up a good first touch. Passing must be accurate over a short distance. Players will learn the proper weight (pace) of the pass for these short distances. One and two touch passing will quickly become the standard. The small size of the grid will ensure maximum number of passing opportunities in a very short period of time. There is very little opportunity to set up 1v1 moves. Attackers will learn to judge the movement of players and pass into space as well as to the feet.
Defenders will learn to close down players with the ball putting on pressure quickly. They will have opportunities to practice slide tackles at the appropriate times. Once defenders win the ball, passing is not likely an option. However, they will learn to keep possession, mostly through shielding the ball.
Tactical Development
The tactical underpinning for the attackers is to learn how to split the defense. That is why there are more points for a pass between defenders. They will learn to anticipate where spaces between defenders will open up. The player with the ball will need to develop vision and play a ball into the space that either is open or will open up shortly. The other attackers need to recognize the same space at the same time and move into it before the ball arrives. Therefore timing of runs and passes will develop into automatic movement after a while. It is a great drill to have two forwards and two midfielders play against two defenders.
Defenders will learn the key tactical element of "challenge and cover". One defender will put pressure on the ball carrier while the other needs to be in position to (a) challenge if their partner gets beat in a 1v1 or (b) intercept a pass to the most likely target. In particular, the covering defender is responsible to shut down the passing lane and opportunity between them. Once the ball is passed, it is typically the covering defender who now challenges and the challenger will move into covering position.
All players will learn quick transitions from offense to defense and vice versa. As soon as possession changes to defenders, defenders will now need to play a possession game to keep the ball away from attackers. Attackers on the other hand will learn how to apply pressure and win the ball back.
Mental Training
The key mental aspects being trained are anticipation and quick decision making.
Attackers need to make a decision first as to how to receive the ball, i.e. is the first touch a pass or a set up in a certain direction for the pass. Once in possession, they need to anticipate the runs of any of the other three, always looking for the pass between defenders. They then need to decide if the 3 point pass is available or not. There is little time. They also need to be able to change their decision quickly if the play they thought was available has been closed down.
Defenders also need to make quick decisions. They need to decide who will be the challenging and who the covering defender. That will require verbal communication. Once in position, they will need to read the movements of the attackers and anticipate the pass. The decision then becomes whether or not to move to close down a passing lane or to wait and intercept the actual pass. It all depends on what skill level and pace the attackers operate at. So defenders will also learn to judge the abilities of their opponents.
All players will rotate through all positions so they will all learn the responsibilities of various functions. That will make them better in reading opponents and ultimately get them to make better decisions. Communication, both verbal and non-verbal will be required and acquired.
Finally, the point system adds a natural competitive element, forcing players to play quickly and look for the play that gives maximum points.
Fitness Impact
This drill will have lots of short sprints for all players. As the players get better there will be a lot more running. The drill will deliver both aerobic and anaerobic benefits when the players are good enough to keep in constant motion, playing with few interruptions. Initially, however, expect some static breaks and hence the key benefit will be short distance speed development. There will also be lots of turns and quick body rotations so that flexibility and co-ordination should benefit.
Game Application
Playing the ball through lanes between defenders is one of the most effective ways to penetrate a defense. Two attackers can easily play through two, three or even four defenders. For instance, your team has possession in the opponent's half. The opponent plays with a flat back four defense and your forwards are covered by the central defenders. The ball carrier anticipates a diagonal run by the striker in behind defenders and plays the ball between the neares two defenders. That can open up much more space and a quicker attack than playing the ball to the feet of a covered striker with their back to the goal. Also this is a crucial technique to play the ball out of defense when being pressured.
If you watch some soccer on TV you will see this play a lot and you will see its effectiveness. It is valuable in all areas of the field.
Coaching Tips
Introduce the drill to the players, stating the objective and ask them to do a quick demonstration. If they don't seem to understand, step in and show them. Do not explain the entire theory behind the drill up front. Getting them organized and started should not take any more than two minutes.
To get the maximum benefit out of this drill, encourage the players to be in constant motion.
Do not stand in the practice grid, but rather on the side to be able to observe. Let them play without constant interruption or shouting of instructions by you. They need to learn to make decisions on their own. If the drill really is slowing down or the players are not catching on, then take a brief time out and show them what they could have done better in a specific situation. Give positive feedback as they improve. You will notice smoother and faster play as time progresses.
Have two or three grids going at the same time and spend time which each group. That allows the two groups not being observed to develop independence. Do glance over though and see if they are doing the drill or slacking off because you're not there.
This drill may give you new ideas as to which positions might be better suited for some players than where you thought. Some good passers, communicators and decision makers may offer themselves for midfield positions. Quick runners with good sense of spaces opening up may be new candidates for forwards. A forward who slide tackles may be a defender in the next game.
After the drill is done, call everyone in and ask what they learned or thought was important. They should mention most of the points above. The missing ones, you fill in. Take no more than a minute for the review.
If you think the team didn't quite get as far as you'd like, repeat the drill at the next practice, explaining clearly what needs improvement.
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Sunday, August 05, 2007
Soccer Tryouts II - Player Positions
If your league is starting soon, you may be involved in running tryouts for your team.
You will need to have some objective way of selecting your players. We believe that a measurement system is very safe and fair. In our last article, we offered a template leading to ranking players from best to worst. Today, we offer you a second evaluation tool.
This model helps you determine which position a player is best suited for. It is based on the skills mostly required for either defense, midfield or forward. Once you have rated your players, you can see which score highest for various positions.
This is important because you need to establish how many players you need for each position. For example, if you wanted 18 players on your team, 2 goalies, 6 defenders, 6 midfielders, 4 forwards, you may find out that the 19th best overall player is your 6th best defender. Now you have a choice. Do I keep one less defender because the 7th best midfielder and 18th ranked player could be converted to a defender? Or, do I keep the 6th best defender and drop the 18th ranked player?
If you are familiar with MS spreadsheets, you can easily adapt the template provided based on your own preferences.
Soccer Tryout - Position Profiles
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