Topic for the Players

NORTH READING

COACHES’ MANUAL

Week 2

Topic for the players.

Topics for this week are: dribble, attacking 2v1 or 1v1. Almost all moves we will use during sessions you can find in videos prepared by GPS Technical Department:

Level 1:

Level 2:

Level 3:

Topic of the week: Game is the best teacher.

The best teacher of soccer is not a father, mother, professional player or even coach. The best teacher of soccer is just the game. I won’t have better technique because someone told me how to do this. I won’t make better decision because you told me what to do. The only way to improve our kids as a football players is to let them play, let them experience this beautiful game on their own.

“Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Involve me and I will understand. Step back and I will act.” Old Chinese proverb is still valid. Telling is not a training. How many times has someone driven you to a location but you can’t recall how to get there – but if you drove there yourself you could?

Our coaches’ task is to create environment for players to improve. Prepare place for them where they can learn soccer, where they can make their own experiments, even if it means make mistakes. How create that environment? By “guided discovery”.

The methodology of Guided Discovery is based on questions and how those questions are framed to gain the answers from players. The questions do not necessarily need to be verbal; they can be in the shape of a drill or a game. Variables like age, ability and experience also dictate the difference in a coach’s approach and application to this methodology.

When a player makes a mistake, the coach should not dismiss it as wrong. Offer your opinion as the correction, but ask. Why did you make that decision? Where there any other options available? What else can you see? Who is supporting you? How could you create other options? Etc.. So the game is the main part of the education. After all, as I wrote before, is there any better coach than the game itself? Within the planning and coordinating of a training session, drill or small-sided game becomes the “question” and the players are able to continually provide different answers to the same question.

By coaching in this method, the game or drill creates the questions, the guidance from the coach helps the players create and discover the answer and continually makes the players think for themselves.

As you can see, in previous week and also this one, our sessions are 70-80% games, challenges or duels. I prepared some questions to each drill but to be honest game will be asking players. To win a game or a challenge they have to make right decisions. Of course if you have others ideas or questions to ask don’t hesitate to use them.

So let players play, give them advices instead answers, show them possibilities instead prescripts. After all soccer is player’s game not coach’s.

U9&U10 Training

• Sting/Blaze (GU10) Monday 5:00-6:00
• King Cobras/Titans (BU10) Monday 7:00-8:00
• Girls (U9) Wednesday 4:00-5:00
• Thunder/Galaxy (GU10) Wednesday 7:00-8:00
• Boys (U9) Friday 4:00-5:00
• Stingers (BU10) Friday 6:00-7:00

Topic: Dribbling

1st DRILL

Organization: Each player with the ball. Four players inside small grid, the others outside the big grid.
Process: Outside player does Toe/Sole Taps Combinations. Player inside small grid has to do 2-3 change of directions (1), then changes place with outside player.
Progression: Players split into four teams. Each player with the ball. Each team stands next to the corner’s cone. First player from each team runs toward small square do change of direction and goes back or to the next row (it depends of kind of change of direction). Visual signals for change of directions. Coach as an active defender inside small grid.
Concept: Toe Taps, Sole Taps Combinations.Outside/Inside Hook, L-Turn.
Questions to players
How can I see coach’s signal or defender? (I have to rise up my head) (I have to look at the ball and at the coach).
What do I have to do after feint? (Accelerate to escape from the defender).
Hints:
Visual signals: Rise hands or color cones, e.g they have to take one action when coach shows blue cone, another one when red.
This is drill where is not too much player’s invention and creativity. We take a look if they do technical elements in right way and give them feedback or another demonstration how particular feint or Cod should look.
In drills we focus on technical performance, the most important think is good demonstration.

2nd DRILL

Organization: Two 1v1 duels at the same time.
Process: Yellow player is attacker, blue defender. Attacker always decides about start (1). His task is to pass the ball (1) through one of the three goals. Defender has to block this pass. He runs on the opposite side of the cones, than attacker. He can’t cross line of cones. After each challenge players change their places.
Concept: Outside/Inside Hook, L-Turn.
Questions to players
What do I have to do after feint or change of director? (Accelerate to escape from the defender).
How my first touch should look after change of direction? (I should push the ball little harder to escape from defender).
How can I deceive my opponent? (Use feints or change of direction).
Hints:
This exercise is also more about technical performance than about decision making. Only kind of decision is which feint should player use or when to score? Don’t tell player that he made technical mistake, he knows that. The best moment we can step in when we see that player did good feint but didn’t use it in good way e.g. he did a change of direction but after that he stopped instead accelerate to escape from defender. So we can ask him: What do I have to do after feint or change of director? You did good “Cod” but it gave you nothing, why?

3rd DRILL

Organization: 1v1, 2v2 game with four gates.
Process: On coach’s signal players run around a gate and receive a pass from the coach. 1v1 game. To gain a point player has to dribble the ball through one of the four gates. When it is done, he keeps the ball and tries to gain another point. It is forbidden to dribble through the same gate twice in the row. Coach passes next balls.
Progression: 2v2 game or two 1v1 games
Concept: Outside/Inside Hook, L-Turn.
Questions to players
How can I deceive my opponent? (Use feints, change of direction, change of speed).
How can I gain advantage at the beginning? (I can use first touch to gain space or to deceive defender).
What should I do after feint? (Accelerate).
Where are my goals? (Around me everywhere).
Hints:
This game is easy for players and you will see how many changes of direction they will use. A lot. Just let them learn that game on their own. Let them experience it. In this game players sometimes forget that they have 4 gates they can dribble through. In that moment we can step in for a just 2-3 seconds and ask “How many gates do you have?” We don’t even have to wait for an answer. Player will show us an answer.

GAME

Organization: 6v6 game.
Process: Free game 6v6. Observation if players use change of direction during the game. Quality of these feints.
Concept: Outside/Inside Hook, Drag Back Turn.
Questions to players
How can I deceive my opponent? (Use feints, change of direction).
What can I do with first touch? (Protect the ball, beat opponent, gain space).
Hints:I wrote some questions above but in this game let them play. If we want tell something to players, give them advice ask them about it individually, when they have a rest.

Field Preparation

After conversation with Mr. Mike Kellogg we decided to step back with “rules”. One more time, if here is anything you disagree or you want to change or don’t understand, don’t hesitate to contact with my by mail: or by phone: 857-285-0434. And enjoy the soccer: