U13 - Possesion Play

Last night the u13 boys trained outdoor on a tennis court again.  The weather was dry and the fields are still not open.  I want them breathing and running outdoors.  To me there is something different about the fitness demands and breathing indoor and outdoor.  Maybe there is no science to support me, but it’s my gut feeling.

I sent the parents a note about dressing for early season outdoor training.  Last night the temperature was 7’C (44’F) and a bit windy.  My suggestion is thin layers than can be peeled off as the player gets warmer.  A great suggestion made to my wife (who runs) is to dress for how you will be once you get warmed up.   

The last thing you want is to get cold in your core.  Once you hit that point, you’re toast.  The technical gear that is out there now is amazing.  Our problem when I was a boy was sweating under your layers and that sweat getting cold on your skin.  With dri-fit type clothing , that problem is gone.

Practice went well last night.  I showed up with a full plan in hand and the boys came in a good mood.  We had a few guests with us and they all got along swimmingly.

We started with a 12 minute run and some suicide type sprints.  We then ran a series of turning, passing and 1v1 drills just to get touches on the ball.  All exercises involved teammate, nothing in isolation.  Of course all exercises incorporating dribbling.

When we got to our game we stressed possession and options again.  Before we could get to possession and support coaching points we spent 10 minutes establishing our shape. Without shape, everything else falls apart.

I was happy at the end of training.  I determine what I really want out of that practice and focus the majority of my coaching points towards that.  Sometimes it becomes difficult to not over coach and you run the risk of losing your audience to excessive talking.  It was cold and the boys are young, so they want to play.

My next session will build off this and I will incorporate more keep-away type exercises.  I knew I was going to be alone today so I did not want to set up mini groups that I could not pay the proper attention to.

Overall I think I still need to tweak my approach with this group.  They are different from my other groups in the past and it’s my job to figure out what makes them most excited at training.  They keep coming back, working hard and giving me another chance to coach them and I appreciate that.

Next up is our group fitness on Thursday.