U13 - Full field shadow play

Today we had a full field session on the turf in St Catharines.  So both U13 boys teams can prepare, we shared the field.

We both took 45 minutes on the field.  We moved the one goal way back into the football end-zone so the team that was off the field can work on other things.  It worked out OK and two teams got to have a fairly useful training session after a frustrating week of rain.

For the first 45 minutes we worked 1v1, changing direction to create space to shoot.   The organization was:

• Goal off the field and at the back of the end-zone to not interfere with team on field
• Three lanes set up, all three heading into the goal on different angles
• The attacker served the ball into the defender who served it back to start the game

Coaching points were:

• Look to fake a shot to get defender to commit, chop the ball into open space and shoot
• Try shooting with either foot
• Ball must move after the chop and attacker must get on it and shoot quickly 
• Faking a shot properly requires a full body approach- arms, hips, head, foot all used to "sell" the shot.
• Balance during the turn so you can move to the ball faster than your opponent 

We have a problem with a few players shooting when the player is in front of them or make the move and don't get on the ball quickly enough to shoot.  If you don't get on it quickly the defender has time to re-organize.  There was visible team-wide improvement and it's something we will address again.  I am confident we can get every player on track.

We then went to 3v3 and looking for the players to use those fakes and chops to create space to shoot, pass or dribble.  We demonstrated a few situations where it can happen.  It was going "not too bad" then I realized the shape of the attackers was all wrong.  After fixing that it was better.  

The organization for that was:

• All the balls at the net
• 3 attackers 20 yds out
• 3 defenders serve ball from net and move to pressure
• Game is live when attacking team makes one pass.  This was done to avoid the receiver just pounding the ball on goal
• Defending team moves to attacking start position when their game is done

When we went to full field, the players seemed to be in a learning mood.  All we did was start at the kickoff position, 11 players in grey, 3 in blue just jogging within the play.  We ran it as a shadow play type of setup.  All of the balls were at the touch line at half.  As the ball moved around we were just massaging the shape into place.  We then switched to a sequence where the ball had to move in and out of the midfield and moved around the field so the team was forced to move.  It worked OK and it was our first time.

We play an attacking 4-3-3

There are things we need to fix:

• Wingers coming back to support wide defenders
• Defenders moving up with the ball, closing down large gaps between them and midfielders
• Midfield triangle not going flat
• Players going to a place to help, but not so close that they kill space
• Speed of our passes
• Longer balls played sooner and driven with the laces

Coach Paul's job was to prevent having both central defenders or attacking midfielders on the same side of the field.  That worked out OK.

Today we had a few parents helping bring the balls back into a good starting position helping keep the flow of practice going.

I felt a bit rushed during the shadow play but that's mainly because I wanted to keep going.  It was my first time doing it with this group and I had a little chat with them about trying to stay attentive because coaching over such a large area is difficult.  Not their fault, but I had to at least put that bug in their ear.  I hate to do it, but next time I will use a whistle to stop the play.

Practice was early today (8am) but the boys were energetic and the 1v1 3v3 exercises early on had some spirit. 

The next time I need to make better use of the three players who were wearing pinnies and not part of the 11.  I didn't want them defending just yet, but next time they will play a more opposing role.

You forget how difficult it is coaching full field after being indoor for 4 months.

Did the players understand what we wanted?  I think so.

Was the organization suitable?  Today the organization did not hurt our progress.

Did they show improvement?  I would say "some".

Did we put them in a position to get more out of the next session?  No doubt.

Did they enjoy the session?  They continued to work till the end.  I think they enjoyed the 1v1 3v3 portion more.  But they knew we have to work on this and splitting the field meant we had the full field second today.

Assistant's feedback: not happy with shooting after the 1v1 move in first exercise, happy with progress during shadow play but wants to see stronger passes.

Next session?  Full field with some defending, faster pace, practice driving ball with laces.