Thursday Night Clinic 6 of 8

Tonight was the 6th of 8 Thursday night sessions I run at the Welland Soccer Club.

We reviewed opening up with the ball and then we coached and rehearsed movements after passing the ball to support that is behind you.

The picture we painted was the player in possession facing his own net while being pressured from behind. After passing the ball back to a teammate, we reviewed possible subsequent moments of support to turn that into a 2v1 going forward again.

Some got it. Some didn't. But they all will before 8 weeks are done.  I wasn't overly happy with how tonight went but I know it will sink in.  With 30 kids at different levels on the same floor, some will not be in a position to demonstrate their learning right away.

More players are opening up more consistently.  That was encouraging.

I told Coach Rick that I wasn't leaving the field with a great feeling but he is very good with perspective.

Next week we are going to work on penetrating passes. Partly for more game intelligence and to stop always passing to a player's feet, but also to force them to properly strike a through ball. Points will be simple. Quick Early Accurate passes that get between and behind the defenders as soon as possible.

Some very frustrating things happen in Canada. The kids don't play often enough and when we do play the defensive pressure is not there to force the team in possession to be better. Passes don't have enough pace. First touch is weak. Decision making is not the best. Players are not forced to move to an oncoming ball.

I tell everybody this story. When we were in Italy in 2005, my boys played soccer on the street with the local boys all day for 3 weeks except for the 6 days we were traveling. By the time we left, they were in the habit using their bodies to establish their space before the ball arrived, moving the ball quicker (to avoid getting hacked), defending with a bit more intensity and generally playing smarter. When we came home they were flying for 3 weeks then it all went back to normal. The same thing happened when we took our 1994 boys team to Holland in 2009 for 12 days. Oh well.