U17 boys - friendly with Welland u16

Our U17 boys were on the turf this morning, sharing it with the u16 boys from our club.  It was supposed to be an 11v11 friendly, helping both teams get organized.

While we were waiting for their team to assemble we played some keep away, including the boys from u16 who were early.  It was very basic: 1 touch, in a circle, 2 guys in the middle type of keep-away.  NO COACHING.  Just having fun.  They don't realize they're learning and practicing, so they just play and have fun.  The only coach and motivator you need is their desire to not want to be in the middle.  :-)

Still waiting for their team to assemble, we moved the one net to half and lined a small field the width of the penalty area.  So the field is now 50x44. We were playing 10v10 so the space was tight.  There was very little coaching here.  I wanted them to figure out if they want to be successful the ball has to keep moving, quickly, early and accurately.  They seemed to enjoy this game as well, and some were figuring out the recipe for success.  Other than guiding a few guys into position, I left them alone.  I played with them and was having fun trying to keep up.  "Trying" is the big word here.

When we broke into our 11v11 setup, we had the boys in 4-4-2.  Most are familiar with the various roles.  I just walked the field with my whistle to blow down crazy fouls, but spent most of my time massaging the shape into place.

Some quick points to note for future sessions:

• recovery runs when team loses the ball
• releasing the ball earlier
• organization of 2 strikers up front
• organization of back 4 when working the ball around
• width in possession
• moving out past half when team is in possession

The kick-around never got out of hand and nobody suffered any needless injuries.  It's good to work with this team because these boys are the ones called when the u17 are short players.

Again, our original plan was displaced.  This time because we wanted to include the U16s and keep them busy.  We had planned to organize our boys into their positions via a short phase-of-play setup.  They all play 4-4-2 in high school, but it's still necessary to set up with your players.  That's something we can address the next session.

The high school soccer is a blessing in that the boys are able to enhance their school experience and stay active.  It's also a curse in terms of getting your own team organized.  If Coach Benny's work in the past prepared the boys to be successful at the high school level, then that part of his duty to the players was well done.

A nice observation for me is this team's trust in their goalkeeper.  He's a hard working young man with good hands and smart distribution.