A Good Small Sided Game - End Zone Game

Sourced from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR90Xc6k2-I&feature=mr_meh&list=UL9xMMkZADsmU&index=22&playnext=0

This is a terrific little game that enables the coach to get to a lot of teaching points. Listen to this coach. There are a lot of variations / progressions to this game, but this is good one for a junior coach who has a few players missing, or just enough to rotate one of the teams. Then turn it into a competition - kids love it - so do the older players.Give it a go.

Playing Out From The Back - A Challenge To Coach and Play - But So Good!

Sourced from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liTLmoCDx-w

This short example features the Under 16 Boca Juniors in training.

Looks like we are not the only place that has problems growing grass!

Coaching styles: which is the best one for you?

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

"I think parenting and coaching/teaching are the same thing. And they are the two most important professions in the world." – John Wooden

John Wooden was the most successful college basketball's coach in the game's history. During his tenure at UCLA, his team won seven consecutive national titles, winning 88 games in a row in the process.[1]
Wooden was a great coach and a spiritual man. He was quiet during games, placed great emphasis on treating his players with respect and was more like a father figure than a coach to many of them.

He said there are four laws of learning: explanation, demonstration, imitation and repetition, and his overall coaching objective was one that any youth soccer coach could usefully adopt: to create correct habits that can be produced instinctively under pressure.[2]

Clearly, there is much to admire about John Wooden's coaching philosophy and his approach to life in general.
But it's not just famous professional coaches who have a distinctive coaching style. We all have one – whether we realise it or not – and your coaching style will have a big impact on how successful you're going to be.
There is no one best style; the one you choose will be determined by your experience, the age of your players and the particular situation you find yourself in during training sessions.

Soccer coaching styles

The four main youth soccer coaching styles are:

1. Tell

This style of coaching could best be described as "old school".
The "tell" coach makes all the decisions and doesn't allow his players any involvement in decision making. His players are told what to do and how to do it.

2. Sell

A "sell" coach decides what his players need to do in much the same way as a "tell" coach.
However, unlike a "tell" coach, he will explain his decisions, attempt to persuade his players that it is in their best interests to do what he says and he'll also encourage questions.

3. Share

This coaching style is more of a "this is the problem, what shall we do about it?" style than the previous two, although the coach will still make the final decision based on the feedback from his players.

4. Allow

This is the most open style of coaching.
An "allow" coach talks about how the team plays and asks his players what they think they could do better.
He is open to suggestions and usually allows his players to make their own decisions regarding what to do at training sessions.[3]

Which is the right style?

There is no one best way to coach – each style of coaching has advantages and disadvantages.
Some coaches are comfortable with the "telling" style of coaching, for example, as it allows them to plan, set the pace and control their coaching sessions.
"Telling" may also be the only way to manage a large group or if it is important that your players act immediately without thinking, i.e. in an emergency.
However, "telling" is not a motivating style of coaching. In fact, it could easily demotivate young soccer players who like to take an active part in their learning.
At the other end of the spectrum, adopting an "allow" style of coaching can build a team that has strong, intelligent players but it could also result in disorganised and chaotic coaching sessions.

How do I decide which style is best for me?

Your choice of style will depend to a certain extent on your experience and ability to coach. It will also be influenced by the age of your players and their maturity.
Less experienced coaches might feel more comfortable telling their players what to do or trying to sell their opinions but they are ignoring the fact that coaches don't have all the answers.
More experienced coaches are more likely to be able to make a success of the "sharing" or "allow" styles but it would be a mistake to adopt either of these styles with very young players who lack the emotional maturity to analyse their own ability.

With U4s to U6s, for example, "telling" – providing you don't do it in a military fashion – is probably an appropriate style whereas older, more mature players – say from U12s upwards – are likely to respond well to sharing or allowing.

Whichever style you adopt – and there's nothing wrong with adopting a range of styles during the course of a single coaching session – the important thing is to reflect on the way you coach your players and if you are coaching them in a style that meets their needs.


References
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wooden
[2] J Wooden, They Call Me Coach, quoted in the Boston Globe, June 5 2010.
[3] P Crisfield et al, The Successful Coach: Guidelines for Coaching Practice, The National Coaching Foundation, 1996, pp.43/44

Penalties and Penalty Shootouts - What Do You Really Know About It Anyway!

This program is broadcast on 2xxfm across the Australian Community Radio Network, Tuesday, 31 May 2011 at 7:00PM.

Picture of Terry's infamous effort in 2008 - its a little known fact that Terry is a proud graduate of the "Woden Valley FC Finishing School"! All enquiries to former WVFC President Alan Hinde or current PL Co-ordinator Mike Swan. Primary pre-requisite is an ability to demonstrate that you are able to consistently miss the goal at close range (shots which clear the cross bar by a considerable hieght are particularly well regarded by the school staff).

And it looks like this when the ball is in the back of the net from a penalty shot. All three WVFC players (Lachie, Alex- the goalscorer  and Simon) have been asked to attend the WV Finishing School Board of Studies before training today - Alex for failing to put the ball over the bar and the other two for looking like it was an acceptable outcome. Terry has gone ballistic on Twitter! They could loose their place, but Vice Chancellor Hind declared "so what we've got any number of suitable applicants" True!

This program is about "penalties" and "penalty shootouts". Seems to be a lot of them lately. Do they really influence the game as a whole? They sure influence individual matches.

It was Men's Premier League match last week, which ended in a score draw courtesy of two penalties, which started this subject rolling with some pretty interesting discussion about all aspects of penalties.

None more interesting than "did penalties really make a difference to the game"? It is hard to take the big picture view when its your team on the receiving end of the penalty award for a foul inside the penalty box. But there were other questions "are there patterns to how a player will take a penalty kick and a goalkeeper make a save, and does it change depending on who is in which position"?

But there he was - a member of the opposing team walking up to place the ball while our goalkeeper was moving around the goal line like a demented giraffe. There was no shortage of advice from the sideline, though how the referee would comply defied analysis and gravity. It didn't look good.

This discussion caused one wag, who by now was trying to show a renewed interest in the discussion that had come to a crashing stop with the award of the penalty, to remark "did we do any homework on this bloke that's taking the kick"? Much laughter followed as another stalwart declared - "we are flat out getting the water bottles filled and the nets up". Another said "he'll kick to the left" - we looked at him with some surprise and renewed respect, after all he sounded like he had given it some thought - "do you know him?", "no, but he's a lefty and they always go to the left", followed by another who pointed out that this player was "right footed you goose and they always kick to their left". So that cleared up, we watched and waited.

As it happens, our GK went to the right and got a foot to the ball, while the penalty taker had the cheek to kick straight down the centre, only to see it deflect into the back of the net. The penalty taker had the hide to claim victory. After all, our GK had nearly kept it out. But there is no near enough in penalty shots.

And that started the discussion off again - penalty shots and penalty shoot outs - can you prepare for them? The final whistle went, a draw the result and everyone tried to make everyone else feel good by saying that we had taken a point away from the game and not really lost. Didn't feel like that though! Who would be a goalkeeper?

As I drove home I recalled that excellent book "Why England Lose and Other Curious Phenomena Explained" by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski. There was a section in it on "penalties" and its a good one, so I would conclude the day with a pseudo academic wander through the mysteries of penalties. Better than thinking about those lost two points. The book did not disappoint - its all there! If only I had recalled all this information at the game. I'd have won the debate, but alas, not the game!

So that's what we are going to concentrate on this week - all things around penalties - with an extract from the book read by Colin Mace. Its just amazing. I think you will like this program. So sit back, cup of tea to hand or a restorative drink, close the door, put up the do not disturb sign up and listen carefully. There is always a chance you will miss the ball!


The full Manchester United v Chelsea Penalty Shootout for the 2008 Champions League trophy, referred to in this program can be viewed at  http://youtu.be/8Ab584AaQs8 
Looks a bit different when you know a little more about what went on behind the scenes.

A review of this book is as follows:

At last, football has its answer to Freakonomics, The Tipping Point and The Undercover Economist. "Why do England lose?" "Why do Newcastle United always buy the wrong players?" "How could Nottingham Forest go from winning the European Cup to the depths of League One?" "Penalties - what are they good for?" These are questions every football fan has asked. Why England Lose answers them. It brings the techniques of bestselling books such as Freakonomics and The Undercover Economist to bear on our national sport. Written with an economist's brain and a football writer's skill, it applies high-powered analytical tools to everyday football topics. Why England Lose isn't in the first place about money. It's about looking at data in new ways. It's about revealing counterintuitive truths about football. It explains all manner of things about the game which newspapers just can't see. It all adds up to a new way of looking at football, beyond cliches about "The Magic of the FA Cup", "England's Shock Defeat" and "Newcastle's New South American Star". No training in economics is needed to read Why England Lose. But the reader will come out of it with a better understanding not just of football, but of how economists think and what they know.

Publisher: HarperSport (6 Aug 2009)
ISBN-10: 0007301111
ISBN-13: 978-0007301119

Download Podcast here:

Poor Behaviour Around Junior Football by Parents is a World Wide Problem For the World Game

This program will be broadcast on 2xxfm (98.3mhz) across the Australian Community Radio Network, Tuesday, 24 May 2011 at 7:00pm.

In this program we continue with the problem of unacceptable behaviour by parents and coaches toward junior players and referees.

We have previously listend to the English FA's "Respect" campaign media on this subject. They take it very seriously and so they should.

In Australia, the FFA has made no real effort to confront these issues on a National and federation member level. That is not to say each State / Territory is not concerned for these matters, they are, but we have no unified national approach. It is a serious ommission on the part of the FFA.

In this program, we listen to media produced by that innovative US State football orgainsation Georgia Soccer, titled "Attitudes". Its first rate.

Here is the Georgia Soccer Mission:

“Georgia Soccer provides ethical leadership and fair standards to support development and growth of soccer as a life-long sport for all who love the Game.”


Georgia Soccer describes itself this way:

Georgia Soccer is the authorized state youth and adult association for Georgia within the United States Adult Soccer Association, United States Youth Soccer Association, and through them is part of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF). Also, Georgia Soccer serves as the official National State Association of USSF making it responsible to act on behalf of USSF and provide licensing courses for coaches and certification courses for referees.



In turn, the United States Soccer Federation is the recognized national soccer association within the Federation International de Football Association (FIFA), the worldwide governing body for soccer. Essentially, we serve affiliated member organizations throughout Georgia in both program and administrative support activities.

All of our affiliates organize and operate their own programs. Our assistance primarily helps strengthen their ability to provide good, well-rounded soccer experience for their membership. Most importantly, our youth & adult soccer affiliates benefit most by sharing their experiences and knowledge with each other.


If want to know more about Georgia Soccer go to http://www.georgiasoccer.org/default.aspx

Download Podcast here:

Why They Stop

Sourced from http://www.usyouthsoccer.org/news/story.asp?story_id=3912
By Vince Ganzberg, Director of Education for Indiana Youth Soccer, proud member of US Youth Soccer

"Mom and Dad, I don't want to play anymore!"

After investing the time and money into any sport, this is the last thing a parent wants to hear, but it happens.
Frequently.

Children quitting organized sports occurs more often than one might think. Research has shown that approximately 70-75% of children will quit playing a sport by the age of 14. Why do they want to stop?

To answer that question let's look at why they start or why parents put their children into a sport in the first place.
1. Competence (learning and improving)
2. Affiliation (Being a part of something like a team or a club)
3. Fitness (agility, balance, coordination, and physical health)
4. Fun (This is the overwhelming reason why children play sports)

Notice that "winning" is not one of the reasons.

When children leave a game, they want to know two things: 1) When do we play again? 2) Where is the snack? Children are not as concerned about winning as adults may think. Children all want to compete, but they each have their own interpretation of competitiveness. For most, if one team is red and the other is blue then "game on." Children strive to do their best when they step into "competition." They also want competitive matches. Remember when you were a child playing in the backyard and the game was too lopsided? What did you do? I remember stopping those games to start a new one with different teams or balance the game out. I think many of us forget what emotions we went through growing up as a child and how we viewed competition.

Let's get into why they stop. Research says children stop playing sports for a variety of reasons. Six of the seven primary reasons are "ADULT CONTROLLED" behaviors. Can you guess which one isn't?

• Lack of Playing Time
• Overemphasis on Winning
• Other Activities are more interesting
• Lack of Fun
• Coaching/Adult Behaviors
• Dissatisfaction with Performance
• Lack of Social Support

If you guessed "Other activities are more interesting" then you are correct! Give yourself a pat on the back. There are times when a child just finds something new that they really like. The rest of the reasons are adult controlled behaviors. When adult controlled behaviors are forcing children out of a sport, adults are putting themselves before the needs and development of children.

Lack of Playing Time

This is an adult controlled behavior due to the coaches and parents wanting to "win" the game. Do players want to win? Absolutely! They all strive to do their very best to win. Research has also shown that children today would rather play than sit the bench for a winning team. Allow your players to play in the game for their own sake. As a coach you need to see their "soul" on the field and allow them to get into the game so they can get better. Not putting children into a game is like not allowing them to take a test in school. There is nothing wrong with having some players earning more time, but all players should be given a minimum time to play.

Overemphasis on Winning

"Winning isn't everything, it is the only thing". That is the famous Vince Lombardi quote which was also misquoted. He actually stated "The will to win isn't anything, it is the only thing". So many coaches feel as though their whole self-worth is out there on the field, and if they don't win as coaches, then "they" not the children are a failure.
The same goes for adults on the sidelines. A recently statistic showed that 25% of coaches quit due to adult expectations with regard to outcome. The late Bill Walsh stated that "Twenty percent of every game is by chance." In the 1980 winter Olympics, the Russian hockey team would have probably beaten us 9 out of 10 times but that day, it was America's day to win.

As a coach or parent, you can't control the outcome. If it is the other team's day, it's simply their day! Only two teams need to win in our country, and those are our Men's and Women's national teams. Soccer is a team sport that is "player" driven - once the ball starts rolling, there is nothing people outside the lines can do. Give them the game, and let them determine the outcome!

Lack of Fun

Children view sports differently than adults. Most children, if not all, start playing a sport because it looks fun. There is a saying "Get them playing-keep them playing." Get their interest and then maintain it.

There is also a saying that "Drills destroy skills." No lines, laps or lectures. Soccer is a free flowing game where the players make decisions and decide the outcome. Instead, use training sessions that put players in an environment where they can make decisions and maximize touches on the ball.

As Director of Education traveling around the state, I am always surprised at how many coaches use the age-old practice plan starting with "laps." Coaches and adults need to know that endurance training is only effective at 12 to 18 months after PHV (Peak Height Velocity), which is about 13 years, 6 months for boys and 11 years, 6 months for girls. For the younger ages (6-10 years of age), you can work on their fitness (not just endurance) with the ball, rather than running laps.
"Teach don't talk." Our children live in a very busy world today. As a result, the ability for them to listen to coach talk has declined. Teach them in training, but make your points short and sweet. Also, include them in the process of learning by asking them questions on the topic you have for that training session.

Finally, let them play! "Over the past two decades, children have lost twelve hours of free time a week, including eight hours of unstructured play outdoor activities. The amount of time children spend in organized sports has doubled, and the number of minutes children devote to passive spectator leisure, not counting television but including sports viewing has increased fivefold from thirty minutes to over three hours," (Elkind, 1).

It is a different world we live in now. As a coach, you can give them some of that "free time" back by allowing them to play as soon as they arrive. I observed a club who does this, and their players are begging their parents to get them to training early because they know they get to play the game at the beginning. The game is the best teacher; so as a coach, allow them to play and express themselves and to have FUN!

Coaching/Adult Behaviors

For some reason, some adults and coaches transform from Winnie the Pooh to a grizzly bear when a game rolls around. Everything from yelling at officials' bad calls to conversing with parents from the other team is widely seen throughout youth sports. Remember this - without referees, there is no game!

Put yourself in someone else's shoes. Imagine that your child (who is a new referee) is getting verbally abused by adults because a hand ball was not called during a U6 match? As a parent, you have taught your children to be respectful of their elders and to give their very best on the field. Verbal abuse of the officials on the field leads to referee loss. Did you know that nearly 75% of the referees in Indiana are under the age of 16? We must provide a tolerant, respectful, safe environment for these referees to use as a training ground, and it starts with each and every one of us. It takes a village to raise a child, whether they are players or referees.

Be a role model for your child. Try to view a game like a "grandparent." They just want to go and see their grandchild be happy. Let's take a lesson from this. They have been there, done that. Experience is a great teacher. As a parent you want to see a child's "soul" when they are out on the field and not just their face. Kids can only play freely when we, as adults, allow them to control their own destiny.

The numbers don't lie, only a small percentage of players will go on to play in college, and even fewer than that will play at the professional level. Refer back to the reason why you enrolled your child in a sport in the first place. I am sure for the majority of you; it was for one the four reasons at the beginning of this article – competence, affiliation, fitness or fun. Please remember that your child is not you! Your childhood is over - give your kids the game.

Dissatisfaction with Performance

Stay away from "PGA" or Post Game Analysis in the minivan/SUV after the match. Coaches, stay away from the "PGA" closing statements after a tough loss. Children remember this, and feedback isn't always what they want to hear. Children know when they make a mistake in a match. Repeating it again verbally isn't the answer. Try to shift gears and turn a negative into a positive. Let it go, and make sure that they know you still love them no matter how many mistakes they make. There is a reason why the X Games are popular with children. The most prevalent is that they can determine their own outcome, be creative, and make mistakes, without anyone analyzing their performance.

Lack of Social Support

There is "tough" love and there is "TOUGH" love. Most athletes that make it to the next level mention their parents gave them "tough" love but were supportive of them every step of the way.

This actually ties in with dissatisfaction of performance. Be there for your kids through the tough times and the good. It is easy to be supportive of them after a victory, a game winning goal or an important save. Remind your children that tough times don't usually last, but tough people do. When children feel abandoned by their parents/coaches that is when they often go to something else. Sometimes, that something else isn't a positive activity.

We all can help create a better environment to make sure that children begin playing and keep playing, staying active, keeping healthy, and making them lifelong participants in athletics.

Have Fun!

Reference:

Elkind, David, Ph.D. 2007. ""The Power Of Play: how spontaneous, imaginative activities lead to happier, healthier children"". Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press.

The Equal Playing Time Issue - When Words and Deeds Don't Match - Young Players Suffer and for What?

 Sourced from  www.footyforkids.co.uk

The equal playing time debate


According to Colleen Hacker, NSCAA National Academy staff coach and professor of sports psychology at Pacific Lutheran University, children play soccer:

 

• To have fun.
• To be with friends.
• To experience the excitement of competition.
• To enhance their physical fitness.
• To demonstrate their competence

 Sadly, however, about 75% of children who play soccer stop playing the game before they get to the age of 13.

 

A recent study found the top five reasons for this high drop out rate were:

 

1. Lack of playing time.

2. Overemphasis on winning.

3. Other activities are more interesting.

4. Lack of fun.

5. Coaching/adult behaviors [1].

 

There's nothing we can do about reason 3 but we can do something about all the rest, especially the number 1 reason why children stop playing: lack of playing time. In fact, if we make sure all our players get a fair amount of playing time, we will go a long way to removing reasons 2, 4 and 5 too.

 

Logically, there is no good reason to keep a child on the bench for longer than absolutely necessary. Children learn new skills and practise what they've learned in training sessions on the pitch. They won't learn anything sitting on the bench, except that their coach obviously thinks they aren't good enough to play for the team.
 

As Jim Thompson, executive director for the Positive Coaching Alliance says:

 
"Kids love to play. They don't like to sit on the bench. Moreover, most of the benefits of playing a sport are tied to competing in games. Kids who sit benefit less from sports than kids who play. I don't see how anyone can argue with this."

 
So why do some coaches persist in playing their "best" players all the time and ignoring the needs of their new or not-so-skilled players?

 
There is only one answer: they want to win matches so much that they dare not take a risk with a player who might make a mistake and cost the team a goal.

 
When I put this to "coach A" – an U10s coach who unashamedly picks teams to win matches – he defended his policy by saying that if he gave more playing time to his weaker players his team would lose matches they could have won. And if that happened he would be in danger of losing his best players – they would move to a team that did play to win every week.

But even if that is true (and I'm not sure it is) what does it matter? A team that puts player development ahead of results will certainly attract more children and, if the coach is good at his job, he will develop them into proficient players.

Coach A also said that part of his job was to help his players understand that the team is "bigger" than the individual and the interests of the team should always take precedence.

He followed that by saying his players had to earn the right to make the starting line-up, it wasn't going to be given to them, but if his team was winning easily he would give his subs a few minutes at the end of the game "to prove themselves".

 

At this point I took a deep breath. For a start, nine year olds need "meaningful minutes" on the pitch, not five minutes at the end of a game that is already won. And children earn the right to play by coming to training sessions and trying their best, not by being the most talented.
 

Effort, for a young child, equals success and to deny a hard-working child the chance to play in a match with their friends seems to me to be heartless in the extreme.

It is also counter productive. Eventually the bench warmers will quit and only the "stars" will be left. What if one or two of them decide to leave with their benched friends or a couple of players pick up injuries?

 

Where will the team be then?

 

And rather than teach his players that the team is more important than the individual, this coach would be better making sure his players know that he values effort over achievement and every player, no matter what their level of expertise, are important to him and the team.

 

As players get older or move up to a higher level of competition, it may be acceptable to give skilled players more playing time than the less skilled. But even if 12 or 13 year olds don't get equal playing time any more, the allocation of playing time still has to be fair.

 

Giving the same players five or six minutes at the end of a match is not sufficient. Playing time needs to be meaningful. When the subs go on, the game needs to be in the balance, the result still uncertain.

 

Whatever your policy is on playing time, it needs to be communicated effectively and in a timely manner. So before the season begins make sure your players and parents know how you will decide who is in the starting line-up and how you will manage your substitutions.

 

Whether you coach kindergarten soccer, rec, travel, college, high school, academy, mini soccer or eleven-a-side on Saturday mornings please remember one thing: your players want to play, not sit on the bench.
 

So give them – all of them – fair, meaningful playing time.

 

 

 

 

 

Japanese High School Nara Todaiji Gakuen To Play In The ACT

Sourced from Captial Football website

This is short notice news, but its likely to be very good news for junior / youth players and coaches in the ACT.

Nara Todaiji Gakuen arrives in Canberra today to start their five match development tour in Canberra. If they are anything like Nara Ishiju who visited last year, they will be sensational to watch. Well, half as good will get me to the games for sure!

It's tough in their part of the world at the moment, so this tour is pretty special. Get to the games and give the young players your support. Kindnesses remembered help build the future. Nothing does that better than football!

This is their school:

Canberra City and Canberra FC (PL18 and PL16) are the two lucky clubs that will get a chance to play Nara Todaiji Gakuen.

Tōdaiji Gakuen (東大寺学園 Tōdaiji Gakuen) is a private school, combined middle and high school in the city of Nara, Japan. It was founded in 1926 as an offshoot of the famous Tōdai-ji temple, and began as an evening middle school (夜間中学) for working students. Daytime education began in 1963, when the current name was adopted, and evening education was dropped in 1977. Today, most of the students go on to the national universities, especially Kyoto University and University of Tokyo, or medical courses. (sourced from wikipedia)



The fixtures are as follows:


Wednesday 23rd March v Canberra City PL18 (Hawker Football Centre, kick off 8pm)

Friday 25th March v Canberra FC PL18 (Hawker Football Centre, kick off 8pm)

Saturday 26th March v Canberra City PL16 (Hawker Football Centre, kick off 6pm)

Monday 28th March v Canberra FC PL16 (Deakin Stadium, kick off 7pm)

Wednesday 30th March v Canberra FC PL18 (Deakin Stadium, kick off 7pm)

NARA TODAIJI GAKUEN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL – TOURING PARTY

Takahiro Yoshibayashi (gk), Tomo Yamagata (gk), Taisei Hirooka, Kazuya Onishi, Daichi Kato, Yoshizuki Fumoto, Toyoki Okuda, Yuki Katakami, Taisuke Matsuda, Takahiro Shigeoka, Mizuki Ri, Taisuke Matano, Takuya Hirata, Takuma Fujioka, Yusuke Nishimuta, Naoto Kawai, Shunya Asai, Taiyo Yoshida, Haruki Matsuoka, Masato Tanaka, Tetsuki Bun

COACH: Keiji Sawada

Is It The Barca Way For Football Development In The ACT? It Should be!

Well if it isn't, it should be.

They are the perfect training aide for National Football Curriculum. Who wouldn't want to play like Barcelona? The number of triangles they create in quick time, the willingness of every player off the ball to work to provide the next best option, the hunger to retain the ball and then win it back quickly if its lost, are attributes you would want in your team, every team, not just the representative teams or development programs. Every Junior coach should analyse the Barca style, Capital Football should make it their business to get as much vision of their games, edit it to provide a training resource to coaches and clubs.  If the Junior Clubs mandate the use of the 1-4-3-3 this season, the National Football Curriculum will really take off and the Football leap ahead.

Parents take note - look to have your child trying to play like this and their coach advocating and training to play in this style. Its fun! The best that Football can offer - next to the enjoyment of playing a truly beutiful game with your mates.

If you get a chance, find a video fo the recent first round game between Barcelona and Arsenal. It was nothing short of Football heaven. An inspiration for the season ahead here in the ACT at every competitive level in junior commmunity football.

The Les Murray Blog from that wonderful Football program "SBS The World Game", contains a terrific article on Barcelona - http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/les-murray/blog/1048057/Is-Barca-the-best-in-history#add

Les Murray had this to say:

Is the current FC Barcelona the best club team of all time?

"...Sorting through the images that are in my mind, and the experiences that I’ve had as a student of the game for more than half a century, I’m having difficulty resisting the supposition that this Barca is not only up there with the cream but may be as good as it gets.
It’s important that I qualify what I mean here. I’m not talking about the greatest club in the world, based on trophies won, achievements made over prolonged periods, star players paraded etc. I make reference only to the unique excellence of this current Barcelona, the one under the guidance of Pep Guardiola, which is yet to complete its third season.
Greatness in football is defined by many things. But the greatest point of distinction and respect, is when a team becomes a singular reference point for all that other teams admire and want to become. This is the Barcelona of today, in a way and to an extent one has rarely seen in the long annals of the game." ....

"The stars have aligned, creating a product that is the envy of all clubs and will be remembered and nostalgically recalled fifty years from now. By and large it has a team that was not bought but organically fashioned from within, and by a technical ideology which, though inspired by the Dutch, is now distinctly its own. This is important when making comparisons for too many great teams of the past were assembled by the cheque book.
This fact promises the greatness of the current Barcelona some serious longevity, which brings us back to the original question: is it the greatest club team of all time? "....
"What I can and will say, is that the Barca of today is the finest club team I have ever seen. I would guess that many would take the same view, including Craig Foster who I’m sure would shamelessly concur. And I’ve been around more than twenty years longer than him.

I rejoice every day at being alive to witness the infinite beauty of this Barcelona and sometimes have to pinch myself to see if it’s all real."

Here is a couple of video clips of Barcelona to inspire you:

When Coach, Club Administrators and Players All Get On The Same Wavelength - Magic Things Happen

Sourced from http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=39226

Victorious Brisbane Roar players celebrate winning the A-League minor premiership.

The Club, the Coach and the Players all have to work in synchronisation if supporters are to see the best the Club has to offer in a season. Same for us at community level.
The massive turn around by the A League club, Brisbane Roar in season 2010/2011 is nothing short of astonishing. The previous season saw them on the brink of collapse, a new and very experienced coach was appointed, a deliberate and massive turnover of the playering roster was undertaken, not a whole lot of money to be going on with and that's before a ball is kicked in the competition.

There is a lot of lessons to be learned from the Brisbane Roar campaign this season that can be applied to your club.

There have been a couple of savage blowups among our Clubs in the off- season and in particular, one Premier League club. These unhappy times usually follow a lack of success the previous season. People leave declaring the club is "stuffed". Well, how could it be any other way when these all so important people depart??? But clubs soldier on and thank goodness they do. There is always another season. When the finger pointing has stopped and no one is interested in listening to the tiresome gossip eminating from the disenchanted departees, the club repairs and rebuilds. This can be done in a season, as seems to be the case with Brisbane Roar. Other times, particularly in community based football, it may take a few years.

No one gave Brisbane Roar a hope at the start of the season - now look where they are. They are a smart bunch up there in Brisbane.

A great Football story that resonates at every level in the game.

This short article (excepts from) captures the essentail elements.

Chemistry key to Roar success

Saturday, 5 March 2011
by Liam Daly, Sportal

A quality starting 11 and proven Hyundai A-League stars certainly aren't taken for granted by the Brisbane Roar, but coach Ange Postecoglou says an all-round team chemistry has been the key to their 2010-11 success.

The Professional Footballers Association named seven Brisbane players in their team of the year, and on that statistic alone it would be easy to assume that the quality of their roster has been responsible for their record-breaking, one-loss season. ......

But for Postecoglou (Coach), the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Offseason recruitment – and the Roar did plenty, bringing in 12 fresh faces – was more than a star search; it was a calculated mission to find complimentary talent.
 "It's a little bit different (to picking a rep side)…with a rep side, sometimes you don't know if the chemistry's right. It's not just about having the best players," said Postecoglou.
 "Sometimes, in terms of your recruiting, you fall into the trap of just going for the players who are good players, but do they necessarily fit into what you're doing."
 "Our chemistry has been good all year, and that's the key to our success, it's not so much just having the quality of players we do have. And we do have great quality throughout our squad, but the chemistry's right."

"They all play our style of football and they all react well to one another, and I think that's the key for us." .........


"The big thing for us is that everyone's ready to go, and as we've proven quite consistently this year, and even in the last game, it's not just a matter of who starts, it's a matter of who comes off the bench that makes a big difference, and we've been better at that than all other clubs," he said.

"....... we've been good all year with people coming off the bench and contributing to the side. I'm sure come grand final day, we're going to have the 15 or 16 blokes who are selected ready to go and ready to make a contribution."

COERVER® Coaching to offer World First Diploma in Youth Development in Canberra.

Sourced from Coerver Coaching media release.

Coerver are world leaders in the area of Football individual skill development. This course is a rare opportunity.

Alfred Galustian,(pictured below) Co-founder and International Director of Coerver Coaching will deliver Coerver Coaching’s World First Diploma in Youth Development in Canberra on 5/6 March, 2011.

 

Coerver Coaching is the World’s Number One skills teaching method. Australian football continues to develop and increase its focus on the technical elements of our players and this is a great opportunity to learn with one of the World leaders in technical development.

Alfred Galustian is the Skills Specialist Advisor to the English Premier League (EPL) to train the EPL Clubs’ Academy Directors, including Coaches from Manchester United, Manchester City, Newcastle United and West Ham. Alfred is also the Technical Advisor to the Football Federation Australia, as well as to the Japanese FA, French Football Federation and Chinese FA.

Coaches will explore the Coerver Coaching World's Number One skills teaching method and identify the key elements in technical development for our Youth players.

Alfred Galustian said, “This is a very exciting development for Coerver Coaching and Australian Coaches. The modern game is fast, exciting and increasingly skilful. Players are often coached in teams, on team patterns. What Coerver brings is that individual component, the ability for a Coach to improve his or her players’ individual skill. Increasingly it’s individual skills that can make or break a match and win the game.”

Coerver Coaching, was started by Alfred Galustian and former Chelsea player Charlie Cooke in 1984. Coerver Coaching currently operate in 28 countries including Australia, Asia, Europe, North America and South America.

To register contact below:
Jason Lancsar

COERVER Coaching Asia Pacific
e. contact@coerveract.com
m. +61 421907788
w. http://www.coerveract.com/
w. http://www.coerver.com.au/
 
The co-founders of Coerver Charlie Cooke (left) and Alfred Galustian (right) talk about the Coerver method.

Triangles, Triangles and More Triangles - Where Did The 1-4-3-3 System Come From?

Sourced from http://au.fourfourtwo.com/blogs.aspx?CIaBEID=2308 by Gregory Parker, Jan 24 2011 08:51

Here is another short article on the 1-4-3-3 system of play.

A good summay of its evolution, but importantly, the author points to the critical element in this system of play (well any systen when it comes right down to it) - the need for players on and off the ball to constantly create working triangles. No triangles, no passing options - simple as that and kids need to get this geometric shape trained in so that it is a deeply entrenched preferential behaviour when playing and particularly under pressure of time and space.

The diagram illustrates the matter nicely. Start referring to the positions by their numbers - helps convey the roles and responsibilities for each position. This diagram has the midfield three players in "point forward" - that is positions 6, 8 and 10. The other configuration required by the FFA in later years is "point back".


Hope you find this helpful as we geear up to begin training all those junior / youth players arond the ACT.

Figure 1. A basic modern style 1-4-3-3 System



Where Did The 433 System Come From?


Did the Dutch invent the 4-3-3 system? No they did not. But they did give us "Total Football" and a whole different way to look at the game. Total Football utilized space in a different way, used a circular motion of players with take over roles, and pressing. Rinus Michels was the developer of this type of football, which placed heavy physical demands on players. Valeriy Lobanovskyi (Dynamo) in the early 1970s also had similar ways of looking at the game. Michels style of football was developed during his time with Ajax, which he then demonstrated to the world in the 1974 World Cup using the 4-3-3 formation. Michels would later take "Total Football" to Barcelona, where other Dutch greats followed. The Spanish have since developed a new style of football, based on this Dutch influence culminating in the 2010 World Cup win.
The 4-3-3 system can be traced back to the 1920/30s. Football was in a period of change. Herbert Chapman (Arsenal, Northhampton, Leeds) is credited with the development of the W M system. Football had now evolved from 2-3-5 to 3-2-2-3. By the late 1950s football looked different again with the evolution of the 4-2-4 system or use of a 4th back. While the initial developments leading to the 4-2-4 were devised by Marton Bukovi . The credit for creating the 4-2-4 lies with two different people: Flavio Costa, the Brazilian national coach and another Hungarian, Bela Guttman. By the 1962 World Cup, Brazil had developed the 4-2-4 system to such an extent that it resembled 4-3-3 when Zagallo would play back deep into the midfield. The great Alf Ramsey also experimented heavily with a 4-3-3 system in the 1950s and 60s. He was the last coach of England to win the world cup (1966). During the world cup final, however, he played a 4-1-3-2 (4-4-2?) system. That is another story. The formation seemed to evolve quickly over the 1960s and early 70s in different parts of the world. By 1974 the timing was perfect for Michels to unveil "Total Football" with a new variation of the 4-3-3 system. The system was evolved further by Cryuff and Van Gaal with the 3-4-3 variation.

The Dutch may not have invented 4-3-3, but they did give us "Total Football" which used a wonderful 4-3-3 system, a different way to view space, and a system to develop young players. The 4-3-3 is an exciting system and there are many different ways to play the system (not just midfield triangle facing forwards or backwards). It is not just 3 lines of players. It is how these players interact together and move, that determines how a 4-3-3 system works. It is more about individual and team tactics, than formation (the Brazilians understand this well). The 4-3-3 system creates more triangles than other systems (see figure 1) and is a great system for our elite youth teams to learn from. It can create a very attacking style of football, but again this gets down to the tactics of the coach. I have great respect for other formations as well. The 4-2-3-1 system appears to be better understood by community and representative players as an interim step or alternate formation, from my experience. The triangulation of the formation is perhaps the most important aspect here. To give a player 3 or 4 passing options in attack is very important. It all starts with the 6 and 7 year olds in 4v4 games.

Football tactics develop over time, sometimes together but in different parts of the world. Culture will play its part on how football is played, as well. The trends today suggest that speed and distance players cover in games will increase. Players may not be regarded as just a forward, midfielder or back but may have multiple roles. Are we seeing the development of a "total footballer"? The development of the "total footballer" will allow for new approaches and formations to the game. Learning the basics of the game will still be the most important thing in football. Which is the best training method? Game sense training, formation training, reductionist/didactic type training or a mix?

Triage for youth football coaches – how to cure a sickly team

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

We have begun or are about to begin the 2011 pre-season. Trials have begun and many more in Junior Football Clubs will commence soon.
The selection processes at the Clubs can be a painful and disheartening experience for many young players and parents. You just hope the Clubs have their act together, keep nepotisim at bay, ensure that parents and players understand that playing in the Club at the desired level the previous season  is no guarantee of selection for the next, and that competent coaches are making the decisions.

A lot of unecessary sadness in junior/youth football originates in the pre-season selection process. It can affect attitudes of parents and players for years to come.

Players cut from trials should be given reasons for their non selection, that's very important, because we don't want to loose these players from the game and if they are young, next season they will have grown and just may surprise.

Players not selected at one level in their age group must be actively and carefully managed into another team in the Club.

But someone has to decide. Most Club coahes and officials find this process stressful. Its at this time the we parents need to keep our feet on the ground and keep any disappointment we may privately feel for our children, well hidden. Focus on the positives of playing the beautiful game and enjoy them playing , whatever team they play in this season. We never get these days back!
When the selections are over, training commences, you know the season has really begun.

Trial games are very, very important at every level of the game, particularly in junior / youth football. Regular attendance at training (however many times you train a week) should be a not- negotiable component of being in a Football team in Junior or Youth Football - at any level of in the competition.

Coaches  struggle every week with developing / improving their team, making them more competitive. Its a rocky road.

This article provides some very useful advice:

Triage for youth football coaches – how to cure a sickly team

Analysis of your players' strengths and weaknesses – both individually and as a group – should take place during matches, not during training sessions.

Tests such as timed sprints, how long it takes a player to dribble round a line of cones, the number of times they can juggle the ball and how many passes to a static player they can make in 30 seconds are irrelevant when assessing how well your players perform during a match.

Players can even display a lot of skills when playing with their friends during small-sided games but it's not much use if they can't apply their skills in a pressurised match situation. So that's where the analysis should take place.

How to analyse team performance

As soon as the whistle goes to start a match, you're like a doctor faced with an injured patient and, as you are certain to be faced with a number of problems, triage is required. Which symptom is the most worrying? Which problem is potentially life threatening and needs immediate treatment?
Triage can be completed during the first half of a match and the result will help you give an effective half-time team talk. It will almost certainly provide the focus of your next coaching session.
To make an accurate diagnosis, you need to examine your patient in a logical, progressive way.

First, what are the symptoms?

When you are mentally or physically writing down your team's symptoms (i.e., their problems), be careful to avoid generalities.
Statements such as "we need to work harder", or "we must shoot more" are too vague to be helpful, especially when talking to your players at half time. So be specific: perhaps players off the ball are not moving to support the ball carrier or players in good shooting positions are reluctant to "pull the trigger".

Which problem is the most serious?

The next stage in the process is to decide which problem needs addressing first. If your players made better use of the space on the pitch and supported each other more, would you have more or easier shooting opportunities?
Or is the reluctance to shoot so severe that they won't/can't shoot even if they get within two yards of the goal? If so, you may decide that this is the most worrying symptom.
But before a cure can be found, we need to find out what is causing the symptom that is worrying us so much. More analysis is required.
Who is responsible?
"Everyone" doesn't play for your team so they can't be responsible for the problems. You must name names. Are Lucy, Chloe and Alex not moving after they pass the ball? Is Hannah not shooting when she gets the chance?

Where does it happen?

Failure to shoot at goal usually happens in the final third (the third of the pitch nearest your opponent's goal) but not always. If it is in the final third, does the problem only happen on the one side of the pitch?
Poor support play can happen anywhere but it may be restricted to one part of the pitch. Do your players turn into statues only in the middle or defensive third?
Knowing where the problem occurs will help you when planning the corrective coaching session.

When does it happen?

Does the problem only happen in the first few minutes of the match? Or all the time?
OK, I've done the triage. I know what I've got to fix first. How do I find the cure?
The first place to look for cures is in footy4kids. There are hundreds of pages of tips and "how to" articles and you're sure to find something that will help you and your team.
But for a range of specialist coaching solutions, check out the great selection of products at my shop by clicking here.

And don't forget that you can send me your football coaching problems and I'll send you personalised advice. It's all part of the service!

When should I administer the cure?

Once you have identified the most critical problem afflicting your team, you will want to correct it as quickly as possible. But beware of trying to administer the cure during half time.
Young players should not be subjected to a lecture from you as soon as they walk off the pitch. They will probably be tired and possibly feeling stressed if things are not going too well. At this moment they need encouragement, not criticism, and they most certainly don't need to listen to a lecture.
So unless you can effect a cure by simply moving one or two players to different positions, save the corrections for the next coaching session.

Space: the final frontier?

This item is sourced from footy4kids.co.uk.

I thought this was a good one to start the 2011 Football season. The more we do for our children in Football, at the local, community based level that is of quality and costs nothing to parents, makes the kids happy and keen to play, the stronger our game gets.

"It's no good simply telling your players to "spread out" because it doesn't mean anything. Should they should stand five yards apart? 20 yards? 30 yards?"

While it may be unreasonable to expect three year olds to abandon their natural inclination to swarm round the ball and spread out across the field, the question "why won't they spread out?"' is a good one.

The stock answer is that very young children are primarily interested in themselves, are not mature enough to understand the concept of teamwork and they just want to have fun! And for a young soccer player, the fun is where the ball is, not guarding a piece of grass 20 yards or more from the action and hoping to receive a pass that never comes.

My advice to coaches who have teams of very young players is to not waste their time trying to make their players spread out. Instead, they should let them carry on swarming around the ball because they are learning so many useful skills. They include how to tackle, how to take the ball from another player and how to keep it when they've got it.

Want to Influence the Game? Then Influence the Coaches!

This program is broadcast on 2xxfm (98.3mhz) through the Australian Community Radio Network on Tuesday, 22 December 2010 at 7:00PM.

In tonight's program we focus on Coach education and coaching. Coach education is the greatest single influence (for good and sometimes not so good) in our game. Good coaching, good coaches and mentoring those that want to coach is absolutely essential to the development and growth of the game

We look in two places – here in the ACT , with a candid peak at one PL club that took the whole FFA development thing into serious competition. By contrast, we listen to a fascinating discussion between several US Women’s Professional Soccer League Coaches, courtesy of Amanda Vandervort of Soccer Science, as they talk about the women’s game in the USA and how they got into coaching. We need a lot more women football coaches in our game.

Here in the ACT, Capital Football has by comparison to past years, maybe decades, massively increased the number our of people in our football community undertaking courses of instruction in the current coaching methods required to support the FFA’s national football curriculum and national football development plan. If you want to influence the game, influence the coaches. We must continue to do all we can do to educate, support and mentor our Football coaches, from the local Under 9, the Under 15 Div 3, all the way through to our Premier League teams.

Coaches need access to training resources at every level of the game and in this respect the FFA must do more – the FFA’s S2S coaching support system, or perhaps the Football NSW’s Global Football System, are just two resources that can be made available down to club level coaches at remarkable little cost to the game, but for enormous return to the game. The FFA should bankroll this support to every coach in the nation. A small cost for a big return and the most direct way to influence coaches outside of coaching courses. But it looks like clubs will have to take the initiative.

Pat McCann has been at the forefront of Coach Education in the ACT region and his work has made a real difference. High performance programs come and go and sometimes it sticks and sometimes not, and not always the best use of a Technical Directors scarce time and effort. Influencing coaches, that;s the thing if we want sustained and continuing change and development in the game.

Interestingly, Pat is the current Head Coach of Woden Valley FC Men's Premier League teams. In this capacity, Pat has brought all the new thinking into this club which was desperately in need of change. The messages he gives the young players mirrors the FFA new directions and it works. Similarly, Ed Hollis the Head Coach of the Woden Valley Women's Premier League does exactly the same thing for the female players. One Premier League club, one consistent and coherent approach directly in line with the direction the FFA is taking player development. Makes sense. Given the young age of many players in the club (male and female), the focus is on development almost as much as it is “winning”. How can it be otherwise. The players benefit, not by a big pay day, as this club like most others in the Premier League don't have a lot of money, but through development of their football talent in a Club setting. Doesn't get any better.

The Women’s Professional Football (soccer) game in the USA is incredible, but probably just as fragile as it is here in Australia. Our system of development for women players is different to the USA, where it is underpinned by the fantastic Women's College Soccer programs. Some of our young female players are currently on College Sports scholarships to play in the US College Soccer Leagues. We have nothing like that in Australia. In this interview, we listen to the following WPS coaches talk about their game in way that makes perfect sense to anyone following the game in Australia. The coaches participating are:

• Emma Hayes, Chicago Red Stars Head Coach
• Pauliina Miettinen, Sky Blue FC Head Coach
• Lisa Cole, Boston Breakers Assistant Coach
• Denise Reddy, Chicago Red Stars Assistant Coach
• Nicci Wright, Washington Freedom Goalkeeper Coach
• Anne Parnila, Sky Blue FC Assistant Coach

Alas, something put the electronic zap on my interview with Pat McCann at Capital football’s offices and the sound quality is not as it should be, so you may need to persevere, but I assure you the content is worth it. I'll see what I can do do improve the recording. This interview will not be broadcast till the sound quality is improved.

The Soccer Science interview was done on Skype. But its all good to go.

So kick back, glass of Christmas cheer to hand, headphones on and listen.

Download the Pat McCann interview here:

The Amanda Vandervort interview with the US WPS coaches is here:

Prepare Junior Football Teams for the 2011 Season - The Woden Valley SC Lightning Tournament

Its time to start planning the pre-season activities for your Junior Club or team.

Soon after the Junior Clubs have finished their gradings there is one local pre-season tournament that has been making a name for itself and providing an excellent opportunity for coaches and players to start their preparations before the season begins - it's the Woden Valley SC Lightning Tournament. This tournament is for U11 to U16 Girls teams and U11 to U15 Boys teams.

There is likely to a couple of others running similiar tournaments around the ACT. IF you know of them, let the NPL know and we'll give it some publicity.

The WVSC Lightning Tournament is a day of Football. It's good fun and good football.

ARSENE WENGER INTERVIEW: Part II

Sourced from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1206363/ARSENE-WENGER-INTERVIEW-The-transcript-Martin-Samuels-fascinating-meeting-Arsenal-manager--II.html

This is the second part of the full transcript of the interview with Arsene Wenger conducted by Sportmail's Chief Sports Writer Martin Samuel at Great Ormond Street hospital on August 6, 2009. He spoke at length to two journalists, the other being Matthew Syed of The Times.


MS: You cannot be by nature an insecure person. One of the things you have done this summer, selling two of your players, Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure, to Manchester City, who are perceived as serious challengers to your place in the top four, strikes me as the action of a very confident man. Perhaps too much so.

AW: True, but in the end you come to the conclusion, can you stop Manchester City creating a big team? I don’t believe so, because if we do not sell Adebayor they will buy Samuel Eto’o or somebody else because they have the resources, they have so much money. My only question was whether we could afford to sell Adebayor; where he went was less important. To be scared of that would be the problem.

MS: You described yourself as an emotional person when responding to stress. Beyond football, are you emotional, do you watch films and find them moving?

AW: I am not extrovert. I do not like to show my emotions. In my job I learned very early on to dominate my emotions. You can cause a lot of damage if you express your feelings with the team. After a game you can do fantastic damage by going overboard and saying negative things you cannot repair. I learnt the final part of mastering your emotions in Japan. You have people there, a man loses his wife in the morning, he comes to work and does not speak about it. They do not wish to disturb others with their problems.

MS: Not always healthy though, is it?

AW: It is criminal for that person. Whenever there is trauma in the world, psychologists encourage people to talk about it, because it is important it comes out of you. I am sure I pay a price sometimes for holding it in.

MS: How is that manifested?

AW: I don’t know what it does to my health. I know it pays a price on my head, that is for sure.

MS: Are you including the times when you play down an incident or say you haven’t seen something bad involving one of your players, when we all know you have?

AW: Yes, because you are thinking, ‘Why has he done that?’ and you know you cannot explain it. But once you have this reputation for saying you did not see what happened, even when you genuinely did not see it, nobody believes you. But at other times, I saw it, and I said I didn’t see it to protect the player, because I could not find any rational explanation to defend him.

MS: You take on a lot for those players. You are very disciplined, you work very hard, you keep your emotions in check. How would you describe your relationship with the players: is it paternalistic or purely professional?

AW: Comprehensive. Professional. It is also a job where you have to have an optimistic view of human nature or you become paranoid. You always have to think that a guy wants to do well. I have known some very gifted coaches but they could not stand not being in control of what other people said and did. And it is a job where you cannot be suspicious. In every company, you have a boss who when he gets the job suddenly becomes suspicious of everybody. They finish mad. A coach is there to help, so he must be optimistic about human nature, he must think that if he helps in the correct way the players will respond.

Don't put the cart before the horse - Gotta Have a Good First Touch!

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

Many youth soccer coaches spend a lot of time teaching their players quite advanced skills.
These include: how to move quickly from defence to attack, how to defend in zones, how to score from set pieces... some even try to explain the intricacies of the offside rule!

But some also "put the cart before the horse" and neglect to ensure that their players' basic skills are up to scratch first.

Result? A lot of needless frustration and a lot of wasted time for coaches and their players.

Spending time going back over the basics is always a good investment, especially if you focus on your players' first touch of the ball.

Without a good, safe, first touch, your players will struggle to keep the ball. They'll also find it hard to pass accurately, receive passes or shoot and they certainly won't be able to defend in zones or score from set pieces.
First touch: common mistakes and how to put them right

Are you a successful coach?

This is sourced from http://www.footy4kids.co.uk/

Some very intersting survey results in this article.


There are many articles that suggest a team's win:loss ratio is not the correct way to measure success in youth soccer and we should measure the development of the children who play the game instead.
A coach who takes the opposing view – that I am a good coach if my team wins matches – is, in effect, saying that he is the most important person on the team and that the needs and wishes of the children who play for HIS TEAM are secondary to their own.

That may be an uncomfortable thought for the thousands of "win at all cost" coaches that prowl and growl along the touch lines every Saturday morning but there's no getting away from it: if you put winning matches at the top of your list of objectives, you are doing the children who play in your team a great disservice.
I can hear emails winging their way to me already. Emails along the lines of: "Steve... if we don't put winning at the centre of everything we do, our best players will leave the team to go to clubs that are more successful and eventually we'll have nothing!"

But if players go to other clubs, they are still playing soccer. So what are you worried about? That your team is weakened? But it's not your team. It belongs to the children who play in it and if they are still getting what they want out of soccer then your win:loss ratio is (or should be) irrelevant.

So let's consider for a moment just why our children want to play "the beautiful game".

Some Advice For Dealing With Parental Complaints

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


I coach a young Futsal team, all the boys are from the same school and the abilities vary enormously.
They are all good lads. We have only trained so far and our first game is this week. The boys are keen and train hard. Everything Ok so far - or so I thought!

Just when you think its going well, a parent gives you a ring and does a heartfelt downlaod on how unhappy her boy is at the moment and the other boy(s) criticising him because he isn't  a good player, and of course - its all awful, they are not putting up with it and what am I (coach) going to do about it. Hmmmm!

I try to explain that the situation she has just recounted to me did not happen as she described it, I was there, neither her or her husband attended and in Futsal you are close enough to hear just about everything at training. She reminds me that her son is "not a very good player" and "makes lots of mistakes". I try to explain to her that while her boy is not very strong technically, in this case the weakest in the group, he trains well, is very well behaved and is getting better. I also remind her that bridging large technical deficiencies will take a lot of time and practice, much more than he will get from me in one season, so its best to reconcile herself to that now and appreciate the forward progress when it happens and keep him playing. I go on to say that while the siutation was nothing like the one she described, the thing that mattered is why and how her son feels as he does at the moment and what we can do about it. She agrees, but not happy, still feeling that her son is on the     receiving end of what I suggest to her can only be described (were it true) as Bullying. Just didnl;t happen, but I know for certain that we are a long way from home on this one.
I remind her that the game is not played in silence, that the boys all make plenty of mistakes in training and will make plenty every game, and that they do express their exasperation with themselves and about each other when they are playing or training. Players have expectations of each other. In my view it is withing reasonable bounds. No good though, she is back on how awful things were at training for her son.
I try in vain to tell her that what was said to her son by other players at training was not significant nor unusual nor more so than the others. I feel I have failed to make my point. This is not what this parent wants to hear - but what do they want? I ask her or her husband to come to training as observe it for themsleves - other parents do when time permits! No response.
I take another tack. I say that if she can accept that the level of commentary directed at her son by any other player (and in total) was neither unreasonable nor excessive, then what we are dealing with is her son's concern that he feels he is not as competent as other players. Its how he sees it at the moment.  If he feels this way, we must deal with it, but deriding the other boy(s) and suggesting that my coaching allowed or enabled it to happen, is both incorrect and in this case unhelpful.  
The parent responds by saying that he son had a dreadful football season and in her view, "for all the same reasons". Hmmm! There is some baggage here. Ok I say to myself, lets get this to a place where I can assist the boy, because the thought that he will feel misreable during the Futsal season is not acceptable.
I also remind her that the more experienced players are "competitive". I coach to "develop", and leave the "winning" to them when they play. I make the point that these young players are all very hard trainers and play the way they train. I close by saying that this is a team environment and her boy has joined a group of lads who, while they are certain not to the best team, will be competitive and their experience in the game so far has taught them what is needed to "win". I say to her that this is healthy, there is nothing wrong with a good work ethic and we must ensure her son becomes part of that environment and not allow himself to be cast as a "victim" because he feels he is not as comnpetent as other players.
As I listened to this concerned parent, I remind myself that the father of this lad was a serial pest on the sideline in football this season past. I had a coaching support role from the school in football and dealt with the team and coach the boy had this season. I recall (to myself only), how I had to reprimand the father for "inappropraite coaching" on the sideline (several times) and on one occassion for abusing a young refs assistant because he felt the offisde call was wrong. I can only imagine the talk on the drive home. I wonder to myself if this father (or indeed the mother) has ever asked himself how his son feels about his conduct. I know the answer is no, my experience is they never do. I can think all this but can't say it to this concerned parent (mother) on the phone.
The discussion ended amicably, but I feel certain that it will surface again.
Obviously the boy is distressed because he feels he is not as good a player as some of the others. I can do some things to make him feel more at ease. I know I can speak to two of the experienced players (very responsible boys) and enlist them to assist him feel good about his contribution as the season unfolds. Peer group support works well if done well. I can make some adjustments without appearing over concerned to the other boys. I reckon the boy is strong enough to go past this problem, he never misses training, works hard in training and never complains at training and that all counts for a lot. It will take time and I don't want him to stop playing. As to the parents, well, that's a work in progress. Sometimes its like that!
So I rang a couple of coaches I know and did a bit of reading. It doesn't matter how many times over thte years you encounter this kind of situation involving parents, its always difficult and worrying. You can never be complacent. But it can take the gloss off coaching and that's just not fair to all the other young players. Here is something I found that is useful.



Some Advice For Dealing With Parental Complaints
Almost every parent occasionally disagrees with your decisions as a coach (whether or not you hear about it). Usually, the parent is simply putting the interests of the child first - and seeing things from the child's point of view. Most parents don't complain, and are more likely to leave the team if they are unhappy with how things are handled. So, it is good to have parents who will bother to give you feedback (even if it can be painful to hear). Most of the time, this feedback is well-intentioned - and the parent simply wants an explanation for what has happened or wants to offer some suggestions about alternate ways to do things. Most of the time, this advice is well-intentioned (and the parent had no desire whatsoever to take over the team - or to try to order you around).