Soccer Talent Requires Three Key Ingredients – Ignition, Meaningful Practice and Excellent Coaching.

Sourced from http://www.footy4kids.co.uk/

I'm sure you've often heard expressions like: "She's a natural striker" or "he's a great defender, just like his dad. It must be in his genes".

I'm not going to delve too deeply into the old and rather tired "nature v nurture" debate here, (if you want to check it out, a Google search will reveal hundreds of articles on the subject), I'm just going to say that children are NOT born with the ability to play soccer, any more than they are born with the ability to play the violin or run 100m in less than 10 seconds.

Genes can give a child red hair or blue eyes but to suggest children can be born with a "triple stepover" gene is a little silly, to say the least.

But while genetics are not the deciding factor in whether a child excels at soccer (or anything else) it is a fact that some boys and girls are born with certain advantages.

Children who are genetically predisposed to have a strong body, powerful lungs, etc., and have parents prepared to make the sacrifices necessary to regularly take their children to soccer practice have a head start in the race to be a soccer star. And you will see plenty of them at coaching sessions for pre-schoolers and kindergarten kids.

But genetic advantages and parenting style is not the end of the story. Far from it.

While good genes can help two and three year olds keep a step ahead of their peers, genetics plays a very minor role in producing talented young soccer players.

Instead, soccer talent requires three key ingredients – ignition, meaningful practice and excellent coaching. [1]

Ignition

Ignition is the spark that makes a child want to excel at soccer. It could be a film (such as Bend It Like Beckham), the desire to please a parent, an internal drive to be the best or the realisation that becoming good at soccer might lead to a desirable lifestyle. It could also be the influence of a role model. Someone like you, perhaps.


Meaningful practice

Understanding the importance of practice for young players requires an understanding of how children learn motor skills.

All motor skills – from walking to heading the ball into the back of the net – are generated by electrical impulses that originate in the neural pathways in the brain.

Over time, and with lots of meaningful practice, a substance called myelin insulates these pathways, stopping the electrical impulses from leaking and thereby allowing a young soccer player to perform the relevant skill or technique more quickly and accurately.[2]

Put simply, a child with myelin-wrapped soccer pathways plays the game "instinctively" and well. She's got broadband. On the other hand, a child without myelin-wrapped soccer pathways is still struggling to get by on dial up.


Myelin can be produced at any age but the prime age for myelin formation is between four and 12, an age range that can be properly be called The Golden Age for children who are learning to play soccer.

Technical skills learned during this period can be quickly and firmly embedded, i.e. wrapped with myelin.
The relevance of this to youth soccer coaching is clear: time spent teaching tactics to young players is not being spent wisely. At the youngest ages, all a coach's energy should be focused on proper technical training, or myelin building. [3]


Coaches should also note that it's much easier to wrap a soccer-specific pathway in myelin than unwrap it. That's why bad habits are so difficult to break and why you should teach correct technique from day one.


But it is not sufficient to simply put in lots of hours practising skills and techniques. Even 10,000 hours of practice is not enough.[4]
Rapid myelin growth occurs when children practise their soccer skills in a challenging – even uncomfortable – environment.


This is best achieved by playing a variety of small-sided games (SSGs) instead of using drills. Soccer-like games hone technique, expose faults and force children to find solutions to problems.
Futsal, 4v4 and five-a-side move young players outside their comfort zone, encourage risk taking, experimentation and are thus much better for skill acquisition than traditional drills or playing eleven-a-side on vast, uninspiring pitches.

Excellent coaching


The final – and most important prerequisite for producing talented young soccer players – is excellent coaching.

The good news is that excellent coaches are not necessarily the most qualified.
They don't even have to be particularly knowledgeable. Most talented players didn't have coaches with outstanding win/loss ratios or coaching degrees when they were five, six or even 12 years old.

But their coaches did possess a set of recognisable characteristics:

Excellent coaches are a source of ignition. They inspire their players, not just because they are kind and patient but also because they have high standards. One of the best youth coaches I ever met insisted his players turn up 10 minutes early for practice, always wore spotless boots [cleats] and they maintained eye contact with him when he was speaking. His players loved him.

Excellent coaches facilitate meaningful practice. They don't routinely give their players the answers, their players play a lot of SSGs and they know how to think for themselves.


Excellent coaches show their players how to perform a skill but they will leave it up to them to find out how to actually use it. And you will never, ever hear an excellent coach shouting "SHOOT!" or "PASS!" or anything like that during a match. They are more likely to be reading a newspaper.

Excellent coaches don't over-praise success. They know that doing that discourages young players from taking risks – in case they fail – and children who don't take risks learn very slowly, if at all.

Finally, excellent coaches understand why William Butler Yeats – an Irish poet and Nobel prize winner – said:

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."




References


[1] [3] D Coyle, The Talent Code, Random House, 2009
[2] Z Jonker, Cracking the Code, q.v. CMYSA, April 15, 2011
[4] Malcolm Gladwell devotes a section of his book Outliers to the notion that to become world class at anything requires 10,000 hours of practice.

Catering For All Abilities

Sourced from http://www.footy4kids.co.uk/


Part 1: what is "success"?

In this article, I suggest how we can cater for children of widely differing abilities and why we need to make sure that all our players, not just the better ones, come away from our coaching sessions with the feeling they have achieved something.

But before considering how we can differentiate our sessions we need to understand how our players define "success".

Definition: Differentiation is how we adapt experiences and activities to meet the developmental needs of individuals or groups of children.

For young children up to age of about 10, it is simple. Effort equals success, regardless of the end result. That is called being "task orientated".

From the age of 11 or 12, children understand effort will only help them up to a certain point. A 12 year old, for example, may believe that no matter how hard they try they will not be as good at, say, shooting as the team's star attacker.
This new knowledge forces them to choose to either continue to be task orientated ("if I try hard I will be successful") or to redefine success in a more adult way where success means being the best. This is called being "ego orientated".

What does this mean for us as youth soccer coaches?

How your players measure their own success and whether they are ego or task orientated is very important.

A task-orientated striker, for example, will always work hard, running into spaces and trying to reach crosses even if they are not scoring goals.

On the other hand, an ego-orientated striker who hits a dry spell will stop trying in order to protect their view of themselves as successful. They may also blame their team mates for not providing them with chances to score or drop into midfield and say they want to "build up from the back".
Clearly, most youth soccer coaches would like a team full of task-orientated players. I know I would!
We can manage the way our players define success (and if they work hard or not, even when they are not achieving good results) by being careful about the messages we send out to them about success, hard work and winning.

If we focus on the importance of winning matches, design training sessions that do not cater for players of differing abilities, if we congratulate our players when they win regardless of how hard they had to work to do it... we are encouraging them to be ego orientated.

Anatomy Of A Women's Premier League Club - Playing the 1-4-3-3

One Women's Premier League Club in the Capital Football Competition in season 2010, embarked on a three year plan to change the way things are done in Premier League Football in the ACT region.

That club was Woden Valley Women's FC and the Head Coach is Ed Hollis. It was no easy task, the Woden Valley Women's FC had more than its fair share of success in the first year of the three year plan, but Coach Hollis and his staff are not fooling themselves - this is a work in progress.

This year, some absolutely fantastic Football was played in the Women's Premier League grades (PL18, Reserves and PL). The standout Clubs were Belwest (who can forget their absolute dominance for so long), Belconnen United (slow to start but as Hollis describes them - "the sleeping giants") and of course, Woden Valley WFC. Newcomers, Tuggeranong United and Brindabella Blues laid the foundations for the next season and what a terrific addition to the PL they are and will be going forward. Canberra FC were very disappointing and you would expect significant work to be done by the Club to  make them ompetitive in 2011 - anything else is a poor reflection on a fabulous Club.

The Woden Valley WFC story in 2010 is a really interesting one and Coach Hollis gives us a fascinating and candid look into the making of  competitive Premier League teams in the current era. There is so much to learn from their experience - including how to use the 1-4-3-3 and why its so productive for young developing players. Woden Valley WFC lifted the bar this season, now its for others to respond and no doubt some will. Those that don't will fall further behind. That's the way it is in Football at any level.

So sit back, cup of tea to hand, put up the "do not disturb" notice on the door, kick back and listen to this local Football story.

Download the Podcast here:

Futsal Grassroots Coaching Seminar

This really is a good initiative. If you are coaching a team in the local South or North competitions, do your best to get to this seminar.

FUTSAL GRASSROOTS COACHING SEMINAR

 

 

 

Date: Friday October 15
Time: 6.00pm-8.00pm
Location: ANU Sports Hall
Fee: $25.00
Registration: Register and make Payment Online Now

This seminar has been designed to provide the beginner Futsal coach/Parent with some basic information in regards to coaching Futsal. (Fifa 5-a-side Football).

 

Topics covered will include:

• Practical Session on Basic Laws of the game.
• Theory Session on Basic Team Tactics (Formations, Positions, Individual roles and responsibilities)
• Practical Exercises for the development of players aged 8-14.
• Practical Exercises for team warmups
• Practical Session on appropriate Coach Behaviour

 

Coach Smarter, Not Harder

Sourced from http://www.footy4kids.co.uk/

If something isn't working on the training pitch many coaches resort to shouting louder or making their players do a routine over again until they get it right.

Here's an example: Your U11 players give the ball away too easily in matches so you decide to devote a training session to keeping possession of the ball.

The usual way of doing this is to play games where one team has to keep the ball away from the other team for a set number of passes. Sounds like it should work, doesn't it?
Divide your players into teams and tell them to try to make five consecutive passes before losing possession. Easy! But it doesn't work. If you continue to make them try for a long time without success, they will lose interest and you will be frustrated.

What a coach in this situation should do (and we've all been there) is to take a step back and consider why the game or drill isn't working.

In this example the answer is clear: keepaway is boring. Passing the ball around the pitch with no end product – other than the coach shouting at you to try harder – is not soccer. There's no fun in it. A smarter coach would realise this and stop playing this way.
He would think of a different way to achieve his objective. He might, for example, put up a couple of goals and tell his players that they must pass the ball five times before shooting.

You might think that this is just common sense. And you're right - it is! But, as Roy Keane said: "Coaching is common sense. Trouble is, common sense isn't that common." You have to work at it. If you want to be a smarter coach, you have to be flexible.

If something isn't working, stop doing it and do something else instead. Be creative and don't be afraid to take risks. Smarter coaches also know that young soccer players get bored easily and they have two session plans in their back pocket – one that should work and one they can use if the first plan falls flat.

Coach smarter, not harder!

Maximise space to teach team shapes

Courtesy of www.footy4kids.co.uk

Maximise space to teach team shapes


Demonstrate the need for space (with thanks to Bob Christensen)

First, you need to show your players that it is easier to play soccer surrounded by space rather than other players. You can do this by setting up a very small pitch (about 20 yards by 10 yards), splitting your squad into two teams and getting them to play soccer in it.

After they have played for a few minutes, stop and ask your players if it is easy playing soccer in this space? If not, why? Someone will say it is too crowded.

Similarly, create a circle about eight yards across, spread your players around it and ask one of them to stand in the middle. Tell the players around the circle to pass to each other across the circle, keeping the ball away from the player in the middle (the 'defender').

Ask them if it is easy or hard? Then make the circle bigger and try again. Is it easier now there is more space between the players?

Make the circle really big (about 30 yards across) and repeat the exercise. Discuss why it is now easy for the 'defender' to intercept the passes. The answer is because the outside players are too far apart.

Training with an Eye on Detail

This is sourced from NSCAA National Standards Project

This observation caught my eye:
"The emphasis is now on the smallest of details within the individual player’s techniques. The players work on a certain technique for long periods of time. Lots of coordination training takes place, first without the ball. All the players received large doses of balance activities, beginning with the proper running styles in a very relaxed manner....
The training we observed was highly organized, realistic and dependent on the coach’s knowledge and ability to instantly see and correct the smallest detail or fault. Each player was involved in each part of the session and was constantly moving."




Training with an Eye on Detail

At Sporting Club of Portugal, coaches pay close attention to precise movements
By Roby Stahl


The emphasis in the Sporting Club of Portugal (SCP) youth program is on the identification and recruiting of players and development both athletically and academically once they are in the SCP program.

Don't be afraid to let your players take risks

Sourced from www.footy4kids.co.uk

Don't be afraid to let your players take risks

I was watching an U7s match at my local school last week. There was a lot of aimless running around going on, and most of the players were trying to get within touching distance of the ball.

They were tackling each other, falling over and some were standing around watching the birds fly past. A fairly typical U7s match, in fact.

Suddenly, one girl burst out of the melee and started to run with the ball towards goal. The only problem was, it was the wrong one.

When she got about ten yards from the goal she stopped, looked up and realised she was staring at her own goalkeeper. After a quick about turn, she started running the other way.

She ran past three of four of the other team, evaded several attempted tackles from her own team mates and finally got within striking distance of the other goal - about two feet from the line - where she promptly took a swing at the ball, missed it and fell over. She got up with a huge smile on her face.

Sadly, her coach was not impressed.

Five Golden Rules To Keep Your Players Happy

Sourced from http://www.footy4kids.co.uk/

Five Golden Rules To Keep Your Players Happy

1. Play games, don't use lots of drills.

There is a place for drills in youth soccer coaching when introducing new skills or techniques. But they should be used sparingly.

The coaching sequence should be: warm up, demonstration (five minutes), then unopposed or 1v1 practice for another five minutes. If appropriate, continue with small group activities (groups of three or four players for 10 or 15 minutes). Then set up a conditioned small-sided game (SSG).

What's a conditioned SSG?

It's simply a 3v3, 4v4 or 5v5 match where you change the rules to allow your players to practise a skill or technique in a game-like situation. For example, if you've been working on improving your team's goal kicks, play a SSG where every time the ball goes out of play, the game is re-started with a goal kick.

Note: Don't forget to finish every session with a free for all match with no coaching from you. Playing soccer is what your players came to do!

10 Essential Rules For Effective Communication

This could apply to all age groups. Something in this for every Coach!
Coutesy of  http://www.footy4kids.co.uk/



10 essential rules for effective communication


Getting your players to understand what you want requires a bit more than simply telling them what to do! Here are 10 essential rules for creating effective communication between you and your players:

1. Keep it simple. Young children cannot remember complicated instructions. If you tell a five-year-old to do X, then Y and then Z, they will do X and stop. Older children can remember instructions with two or three components but will struggle to remember four. So keep your instructions short and simple.

2. Talk to the players on their level. Get down on one knee and make eye contact as you communicate. Don't wear sunglasses or tower above them.

3. Always be polite. Using words like "please", "sorry" and "thank you" sets a good example. It also makes your players feel important. Never shout.

4. Tell them, and then tell them again. Once is never enough. Repeat your instructions using slightly different words and check your players' understanding before you move on. One of the best ways of doing that is to ask a child to repeat what has just been said.

5. Listen carefully. Don't interrupt players when they are trying to tell you something. Show them you are listening by maintaining eye contact and remember... their opinions are just as valuable as yours.

6. Avoid inconsistent or confusing body language. Don't, for example, shake your head while telling the player "nice try".

7. Be consistent, firm and fair. No means no. Don't waver or you will become a doormat. Treat everyone equally and don't bend or break the rules for anyone.

8. Never criticise a child in front of others. This will result in resentment and hostility, and not the improvement you're hoping to achieve.

9. Focus on the behavior not the child. Make sure your player knows that it's their actions that you're not happy with, not them.

10. Make sure you know and use your players' names. Nothing is more damaging for a child's self esteem as not knowing their name.

Note: All children need acceptance, encouragement, discipline, consistency and positive attention. As a soccer coach, you are in a unique position to supply all of these. Please don't waste the chance!

"Loitering" or "Cherry Picking" in Small Sided Games For Under 10 and Under 11

Now this is a really sore point for many coaches and brings howls of objection from parents on the sidelines, who are otherwise silent. No one likes"offside" in Football at any level, its the equivalent of pushing in at the front of a queu. There is no provision for "Offside" in the small sided games that our Under 10 and Under 11 children play and our referees will not rule on it.
But ask any coach at these ages, they nearly all agree that its better for the players to respect the existence of offside, often talking to each other before the game to make sure each will do what they can to ensure their players don't "loiter" in an offside position. In the USA they call it "cherry picking". When young players do find themselves well forward as they do, with the game heading off down the other end of the field, the coaches usually tell them to make the effort to transition and get back on side. Near enough is good enough and a lot better than "loitering".
When a coach leaves a player down near the opposition goal, ready to recieve or pinch a ball and shoot at goal, you know one thing for certain - the coach is chasing the win and development has been abandoned. When it happens, no one of comfortable, because it feels like cheating.
There is another school of thought that says you just let them play and if they want to sit up at the opposiiton goal well let them. But that produces nothing of value is my experience and develops bad habits.

Cherry Picking

Sam Snow
Apr 26 2010, 12:00 AM
http://www.usyouthsoccer.org/Blog.asp?post_id=1020
Sam Snow is the Senior Assistant Technical Director for US Youth Soccer.

I had an interesting question from a parent of a youth player that steers us toward a piece of the player development puzzle.

Defending Corner Kicks

I watched a youth team practicing corner kicks at training last week and it looked slow and pretty much hit and miss with the only instruction being bellowed out into the night "get up to the ball"!

Defending Corner Kicks

Sam Snow
Apr 19 2010, 12:00 AM
http://www.usyouthsoccer.org/Blog.asp?post_id=1020
Sam Snow is the Senior Assistant Technical Director for US Youth Soccer.

Recently, a coach of elite female players asked these questions of several colleagues looking for thoughts and ideas…

1. In the women's game, what is your strategy and organization for defending corner kicks?

2. What are your favorite activity/activities to introduce these ideas and concepts?

Coaching Youth Soccer - West Ham United International Academy

I reckon this is one the most useful and concise explanations of youth player development I have read .
Every point hits the mark. If you coach in this zone in football you will recognise the simple distilled truth of it all.

Here's one except that may interest you and if you recall our interview qith the Head Coach of the Mens Football Program at ACTAS, it is a matter that is of vital interest to him - he must spend time fixing what others have not. What does the Head Coach of any Premier League club in the ACT do when his best player options have serious technical deficiencies?


"Once they move into secondary school (age 11+), the basic skills of control and passing should be strongly embedded. Unfortunately, that is mostly not the case and too much time is spent rectifying the problems that should have been taken care of much earlier."


This really is worth a read.

Coaching Youth Soccer


Tony Carr
Academy Director, West Ham United Football Club

Although individuals can be born with natural skills, it is only regular practice that provides the necessary technique to play the game well.

The years from ages 5 to 8 are absolutely vital because youngsters are totally receptive to everything you tell them, and they have not developed any bad habits. Up to the age of 11, is another crucial period. Throughout this time the emphasis should be placed on having fun and enjoy playing. Too much emphasis is placed on winning at all costs.

The Craft of Coaching

This is an excellent article by the National Coaches Assocition of America.
If you Coach, use the article as a template for self reflection. If you are a supporter or parent of a player who goes to games, use it too reflect upon your team's Coach, then figure out a way to help the Coach. But don't dump on the Coach becuase things may not being going well.


The Craft of Coaching

Many qualities and attributes are needed in moving players to new levels


Bill Beswick, renowned sports psychologist formerly of Manchester United and now with Middlesborough FC, has a saying which should inspire all coaches:

“A good coach is able to take a player where they have never been before and will not get to on their own.”


This in many ways gives meaning to what it is to coach and encapsulates the primary purpose of the coaching profession. This article explores coaching as a craft, a professional endeavor which requires pride of performance, acquisition of highly-valued skills and has an objective which is both enormously satisfying and develops an insatiable appetite for more.

At an NSCAA Academy a few years ago, a disgruntled graduate from a highly successful Division I college program said, “I didn’t learn one thing in four years of college; I haven’t improved since I left high school.” It was astonishing to discover how disenchanted this player had been with his college experience. He had played in several Final Fours, one of which his team won. It is clear that serious players want more from a coach than winning trophies. They want to prepare for the next level. They want to get better.

Many would argue that the ultimate acid test of a player is “What impact did you have on the game?” Surely the ultimate acid test of a coach is “What impact did you have on your players?”

FFA National Curriculum in commercial academies, development programs and clinics - or is it????

This item is osurced from Football NSW website:
http://www.footballnsw.com/index.php?id=17&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=3573&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=6&cHash=1f76cd93e3

Have a  read of this interesting article. Then ask yourself - why is it so expensive to have child placed in a High Performance Program, is it really "high performance" or simply community development and why is the FFA intending to spend lots of money propping up A League financial disasters rather than underwriting game development all the way down to your child. You get to choose whether you spend your disposable income and if you should engage a private provider for football development, no problem. But the FFA and State Federations exist to service the game and are they doing their job? This article sparked more questions for me than it answered and the FFA (and by extension CF) are well and truly on the hook.
And what a retrograde step it is to have the U12's move to 11v11 and full field, when we in the ACT had the answer in small sided games. Talk about curriculum!!!

FFA National Curriculum in commercial academies, development programs and clinics
08.04.10 12:19

“It has come to the attention of Football Federation Australia that several Member Federations and Hyundai A-League Clubs are conducting a number of elite academies, development programs and coaching clinics.
Some of these academies, programs and clinics mention that the content will follow the FFA National Curriculum. ..."

The Teenage Brain - part 3

One of the pleasing aspects in which the Nationals are run, is that you cannot hear the Coaches delivering a barrage of instructions from the sideline. Mostly the parents seem to be more observant than commentators intruding into the game. The players play and work things out for themselves. Good learning! It is entirely consistent with the general infomration provided in this series around brain development.

Frances E. Jensen, MD, senior assistant in Neurology at Children's Hospital Boston and a professor at Harvard Medical School, is translating the most up-to-date research on the teen brain which she shares with parents, teachers and teens during her presentation, "Teen Brain 101"

NPL Special Series - The Teenage Brain part 1

The FFA's National training Centre Challenge began a series of national football tournaments, designed to showcase our talented Footballers at age. The players are all teenagers (15-17 years of age). The FFA's National Junior Championships have begun at the Under 13 age group and will continue across the age groups throughout the year. The sound technical and  attitudinal development of teenage football players is crucial to the development of the game in Australia.

Our best Coaches (Club or representative) should be tasked with the development of the junior / youth players.
The best guides the best to be the best!
It is easily the most rewarding sphere of Football coaching. It is too often left to find its own way forward, particularly at Club level, usually by well intentioned parents who volunteer simply because no one else is available.

So if we are in the crucial business of developing junior players (and an enromous amount goes on before the Under 13 age group), we should have some better understanding of human development at these age groups. Some elementary understanding / awareness of the development of the human brain is so importnat for us as Coaches of junior football players. It may help us manage the diversity of players that present each season at age.

There would not be one coaching course that does not see participants speak about some aspect of player development that revolves around "Behaviour and Atittude" of some players - talented or otherwise at age.  So with that in "mind" lets take a quick three part trip through "The Teenage Brain". The presenter is:

Frances E. Jensen, MD, senior assistant in Neurology at Children's Hospital Boston and a professor at Harvard Medical School, presents and translates the most up-to-date research on the teen brain which she shares with parents, teachers and teens during her presentation, "Teen Brain 101"

The Pull Spin

Always looks good and done quickly is a winner.

The Side Step

Another good one - practice and use.

The Scissors

A real good move - practice it and try it in a game.