The North Haven

The North Haven

Soccer Club

The Director of Coaching Program

Curriculum by Age

U-14 Curriculum

Program Overview and

Overall Expectations

Players should be confident with their ability to handle and distribute the ball.

Focus begins to change from individual to team tactics.

Understanding of different formations and the effect of team shape on the game.

Defensive players should be getting involved in the offense (Overlaps, through balls, etc.)

Offensive players should be working in unison with other attackers to help team defense and locking the ball in.

Offensive players should be able to create space for self, take on defenders, and release ball.

Defenders should be aware of offensive threats and know how to adjust to eliminate them.

Communication to help yourself and teammates.

Players should be self and team motivating.

Practices are 1 ½ hours per week with the option of attending 1 ½ hour Friday night skills.

All players are encouraged to attend Friday night skills as part of their program.

U-14 Curriculum

Technical, Tactical, and

Fitness Expectations

Technical Expectations

Dribbling / Passing / Receiving / Shooting / Heading / Throwing
U14 / Be aware of other offenders and dribble to set them and yourself up. / Using all passes to create dangerous attacks. / First touch should be under control. / Shooting unsettled balls on frame.
(1/2 volleys and volleys)
Getting the ball in the back of the net. / Keeping long balls in front of defense.
Defender header without fouling. / Using throw in as a weapon.

Tactical Expectations

Offense / Defense / Spacing / Movement
U14 / Attack as a team.
Defense should be involved in attacks. / Defend early.
Keep play in front of defense.
Where and when to use pressure. / Using formation to maximize both attack and defense. / Anticipate play and react accordingly.
Quicker pace of game.

Fitness Expectations

Agility / Endurance / Sprint / Shuffle / Back Pedal
U14 / Be able to make all soccer runs effectively. / Full field 75 minutes. / 10 yard bursts.
40 Yard long runs. / Both ways staying with offensive player for 15 seconds. / 15 yards fast.
No limit on slow.

U-14 Curriculum

Program Breakdown

U-14 Six Week Curriculum

Week 1: Team Possession. Players need to understand the importance of possession by their team and not just their own. This is a fine line for coaches because we do not want to squash their creativity but they need to realize their teammate may be a better option than themselves. This also involves communication, triangle passing, and touch.

EX 4v4 +2 4 against 4 with two neutral player always on offense. A team scores a goal for every 5 passes strung together. Focus on possession with both dribbling and passing.

Week 2: Long Passing. At this age players should be capable of playing balls outside of their immediate ten yard radius. They need multiple ways of playing a ball to a distant teammate. Chips, drives, and ground balls can all be used. One type of pass can be focused on at a time with all touches combined at the end.

EX. 4 cones in the center of each line in a 20 yd box. 2 players start at the first cone. One player starts a run around the cone on his right. The other player plays a ball leading him to the spot. He then plays to a third player at the next cone. That player leaves the ball for player one and makes his bend run around the cone to his right. Pace and leading the player are essential.

Week 3: Shooting – Unsettled balls including headers. This is essentially shooting in game scenarios. Rarely is the ball sitting in a spot or rolling smoothly in a game. This helps the players practice the reality of how a ball in a game will be played to them and they must have the ability to get this ball on frame. This also includes some shooting vs. finishing knowledge.

EX. From the edges of the 18 box players serve balls into a central player who must put the ball on goal in as few touches as possible. Outside players should mix up services to get a look at different balls.

Week 4: Offense – Full team attack. Players can no longer dominate a game individually at this age. They need to realize they need all 11 players attacking as a unit for their greatest opportunity to score. This can start slowly but should increase speed as the faster the counter attack the more effective it will be. I sometimes even do this as a walk through at first just so every player is aware of what each position’s responsibility.

EX. Start on left side of midfield. Defender plays ball forward to midfielder and then makes an overlapping run. The mid leads the defender’s run to set up a cross. Mid follows to support defender at top corner of eighteen. The opposite side of field has two forwards and three mids making offensive runs to front and back posts, while the other players fill in the appropriate spaces. This is done at first with o defenders then they can be added as the offense is successful.

Week 5: Defense putting pressure on the ball in the offensive third. This is also known as locking it in. I start this by explaining that the other team cannot score if the ball is in your offensive third. The focus is once again in the entire team mentality. This breaks down if one player does not cover their responsibility. The biggest weakness here is players recognizing who the most dangerous player is to cover. Too often they just sit in space.

EX. 3/4 field with one regular end and the other with two goals on the outside lanes. The keeper with his starting defenders starts with the ball in the keepers hands. The defense is trying to score in the goals on the sides. The keeper can distribute any way he feels appropriate. (Discourage punting unless the offense is overplaying the short ball.) This drill is for the remaining 6 + players to pressure the ball and keep them from releasing it up field. The two forwards must work together while making sure they attack together and don’t get split. 6+ offenders means to play as many as needed to gain pressure. The goal is to get down to the six position players who would be on the field. This is also a great drill for the defenders working the ball out of the back.

Week 6: Team – Speed of play. The greatest asset to an attack is speed. The quicker a team is able to transition from defending to attacking the more dangerous they will become. This also deals with shape. Going from a compact defensive look to a spread attacking stance. Once again it is important to emphasize the role of all players in transitional attack.

EX. This drill is done on ½ the field going towards goal. Create three teams of 6. Team one starts with the ball they have 10 seconds to attack the goal. Team two defends with one of their players in goal. 1 point is awarded for a shot, 3 if it’s on goal and 5 for a goal. Team two takes team one’s spot and team three rotates in. This drill should be adjusted for the numbers on the team and as the team gets better at the drill the time should keep coming down. This helps increase the pace of your offense and the ability to make quick decision on your defense. Encourage play as fast as possible and if a team is sleeping let them suffer the penalty. The final score can be used towards fitness penalties.

Week 7-10: The final weeks are not planned for in the curriculum. At this point in time each coach has a feel for their team’s strengths and weaknesses. The final four weeks should be used to address the technical aspects of the game his/her team needs. This may be a review of some of the prior weeks or it may be a new higher level skill for the team to work on. Either of these can be coordinated with the director of coaching as a resource to help develop the final four weeks. At this time we would like to see the independence and creativity of individual coaches but we are prepared to fully support any needs. We would like to hear about what you are working on so that we may share ideas within our coaching community. This final four weeks is also the time to address each team’s unique tactical strengths and weaknesses. Once again the director is fully available to help as much or as little as needed.

U-14 Curriculum

Practice Outline

Introduction (20 minutes)

* Review prior game

* Warm –up stretching and soccer movement.

* Discuss the technical and tactical focus of practice for today.

Main Session(45 minutes)

* 5 minutes ball work – this is an opportunity to include fitness with the ball.

* 20 minutes on main technical topic.

- 5 minutes to teach

- 15 minutes of drills

* 20 minutes tactical work. (Applying the technical work to the game)

- 5 minutes discussion

- 15 minutes of small-sided games

Scrimmage(20 minutes)

* 8 minutes of coach run

- stopping play to help players understand focus and create teachable moments.

*12 minutes of free play scrimmage. Players play with no interruptions.

Conclusion ( 5 minutes)

* Players do final cool down.

* Reinforce with players aspects of the practice that were strong and places that need work.

Suggested Soccer Websites for Coaches:

Eastendsoccer.com

Joesoccer.com

Books.google.com/books

In the “search” box, type in “Joe Luxbacher

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