U17 - bringing out creativity

Today I had a chance to work with the U17 boys group again.  Technically speaking, as a group they are not that refined but they are good young men who are very athletic and enjoy playing with each other.  They had some very entertaining matches last summer.  The boys come from varied levels of play at different clubs and formed the core of this team around 2009.

The coaches with this group, Ben, Loris and Venanzio have done a good job making good soccer available to these players.  I coached Loris somewhere around 1992/1993 when he was U17/U18.

At this point, with these boys, you want to keep them interested in the game and help them to learn how to incorporate creativity and athleticism into their play.  A lot of boys are over-coached for too long and tend to be robotic and predictable when they play.  Because boys don't play soccer on the streets in Canada, we have the double duty of working on fundamentals and developing creativity while they are with us.

Today we did a lot of one-touch work with movement.  To keep the ball moving and compensate for the occasional errant pass, players needs to be willing to be flexible in how they played the ball.  Your desire is to be able to open up and make a nice simple pass with the inside of your foot.  We all know that in a game there are so many variables and situations that you gain more helping players discover all their tools rather than force them into one or two specific techniques.

To be creative on the fly you need, at the very least, the ability to play the ball with all parts of both feet (inside/outside/heel/laces/soul) and have very good footwork.  So younger players need to work on those skills and develop the mechanics for those movements.  Then, at some point, a player can catch defenders off guard by playing a penetrating pass with the outside of their foot or play a wall-pass in the air with their laces, etc.

When you are learning, it's very important to master the fundamentals and proper execution of each technique.  This gives the foundation for the players incorporating their athleticism and personal "flair" to solve problems on the field.

Give them problems to solve on their own and give them the freedom to solve the problems their way.  Make suggestions and use various teaching methods to draw answers from them, but you can't command creativity.

People watch professional sports and wonder "how do they do that so instinctively."  A few years back Steve Yzerman and Sergei Federov put together a sweet sequence of passes ending in a beautiful goal for the Detroit Red Wings.  The sportscaster after the show asked how they think of those things on the fly and Yzerman replied "We rehearsed that play a 100x at practice".

I like the following three statements:

PRINCIPLE  #1:  “THERE IS NO CREATIVITY WITHOUT THE MASTERY OF  THE FUNDAMENTALS.”

PRINCIPLE #2:  “THERE IS NO CREATIVITY WITHOUT FINDING YOUR OWN  PERSONAL EXPRESSION.”

PRINCIPLE #3:  “THERE IS NO CREATIVITY WITHOUT PRACTICE AND SELF-DISCIPLINE.  

(I've seen this before but worded differently.  I got this version from http://lynlasneski.posterous.com/3-principles-of-creativity)

U13 - Two teams announced today

Saturday we announced our two teams for 2012.  There might be changes/additions along the way, but for the most part the teams are there.  We have 30 players between the two squads, including three goalkeepers.

The two teams play in the First and Fourth division.  I made contact with some of the players who I thought would have questions and did my best to answer them quickly.

We did have one boy who was selected for the first team but wanted to stay with the second team because of social bonds he's forged with that group.  The boys are only 13 years old so that's A-OK and he will be left alone.

I used to call everybody and have long conversations.  Then I tried to personally meet with each person but that doesn't work because there is no office space or desk at the field.  I tried letters but that was weak.  What I've done the last few years is post a list on our team site.  You have to understand and respect that parents love their children and don't want to see them hurt.  When you have face-to-face meetings, parents try to soften the blow and ask for things such as "will you call him up?".  Half the time the answer is no, but if you say that in front of the player, it's like they're getting released again.  There is no need to kick somebody twice.

I am always ready to answer questions once the team list is posted.  The "truth" seems to be the easiest way in dealing with players who did not get selected for their desired spots. 

In 23 years I've been attacked three times and lost one friend for not selecting a player.  Not surprisingly, all via email.  I don't attack back and answer the specific questions asked.  They can keep attacking but I will not give them the satisfaction of answering that bell.  I leave their emotional outbursts out of the conversation and stick to core of the discussion, the player.

By this point in my life, I've been through about 45 tryouts as a coach and at least 30 as a parent of three males athlete sons.   It doesn't get any easier.  What makes it more difficult is I have a philosophical problem with tryouts at the young ages (See Jan 28).  Of those 45 coached tryouts, 9 involved one of my sons which is tricky business.

I try to protect myself and the process by laying out dates and procedures in advance and I work hard to not deviate unless something unavoidable comes along (snow storm).

The day passed peacefully and another round of trials is in the history books.  I have no problem facing any of the players when the tryouts are done.

U13 - I consider our program to be a success

Our program and two teams have been relatively peaceful.  One dad at out club told me it was that way because neither team was overly successful on the field.  I am not sure what drove him to say that, but the age group for his daughter has been a region-wide game of musical chairs since they were U9, and both Welland U9 teams finished 1-2 in the table that same season we started at U9.

When the competitive playing days are done, the only thing you have left are friendships and hopefully a desire to keep playing or coaching.  One player in 5000 makes it somewhere notable.  What about the other 4999?  Who caters to them?

I've had successful teams in terms of wins, but I always coached with people who felt that the team has to be stable.  The players and families involved have to feel it was time well spent.

I sent this as part of a larger note tonight:

"We consider our program to be a success to this point.  Heading into our fifth season, we’ve had relative stability with our club, on the sidelines and, most importantly, with the core group of boys in the program.  With all the teams, coaches and players jumping from club to club, our boys have had a consistent environment in which to forge relationships and learn a lot of things, including soccer.  

If you think that doesn’t mean anything, think again."

U13 Tryouts - Feb 9 - last session

Thursday was our last session for the U13 tryouts.  A lot of kids dropped out from the fall sessions so we've moved ourselves to the point where we are determining who will be on the first and second teams. 

An NHL scout told me that when you give a player enough looks, they start to realize where they fit in and cut themselves in their mind.  The news should not be a surprise.

Last night we just let them play.  We had a few boys missing for other commitments so there was more room on the field and more time to play.  We had them on the field in 2.5 minute shifts and took a break of 3 minutes halfway through to get everybody back on the same page.

Surprisingly the intensity and pace of the game was high right to the end.  As a fan, it was entertaining to watch.

We post the lists noon on Saturday.

U13 Tryouts - large passing drill for entire group

Tonight I was going to review 2v1 situations again but all the signals told me not to.  It was a 5pm session, so the arrival of players is tight and kids straggle onto the field for the first 10 minutes of the session.  We only have an hour with 30 players, so organization might be tight and I find the boys are a bit more hyped up so close to after school.

We set up our whole field passing drill similar to last Tuesday but this time I turned it sideways and made more, but shorter, lanes.  The frequency of ball touches was higher and the time to day-dream was down to zero.  From beginning to end of one sequence the boys have 28 meaningful touches on the ball.  While moving the players make penetrating type passes, laying the ball off and involved in wall passes.

I am going to try and explain this without video.  :-)

The figure shows the starting position of the exercise.  There are 6 lanes going across, each roughly 5x30.  There are 12 players positioned in the lanes and the rest of the players are at the start with a ball on their foot.  You should have as many players waiting in line as there are in the lanes.  If not, it will fall behind and your players will tire quickly.  With less players, reduce the lanes.

For the purpose of explanation we will only go through the first 2 lanes.  All passes are ONE TOUCH.

• The entry player passes to players 1.  
• He will then follow his pass, player 1 will lay the ball off and the entry player will put a pass through to player 2. 
• Player 1 now follows that pass, player 2 will lay the ball off for player 1 who lays it back, in the next lane for players 2 (wall pass).  
• The entry player takes player 1's spot in the lane.
• Player 2 must run around the cone before entering the next lane to meet Players 1's pass.
• Player 1 takes player 2's spot
• Player 2 then plays a pass to player 3.  Player 3 lays the ball off for player 2 who plays a ball through to player 4.
• Player 3 follows the pass. And player 2 takes player 3's spot.
• Player 4 lays the ball back for player 3, moves into the next lane (around the cone) to meet the ball back from player 3 (wall pass).
• Player 3 takes player 4's place.  Player 4 moves the ball to the middle player in the next lan and off they go....
• When the ball finally gets to the player at the exit, they just turn and run back to the start line.
• So the path of the ball in this sequence is Entry-1-Entry-2-1-2-3-2-4-3-4-next player
• As each player assumes the next players spot they turn to be ready for the next player coming behind them.
• As soon as player 1 and 2 execute their wall pass the next entry player plays a ball in.
• When there is a flow, every player should be at the point where they play a ball and then turn to be ready for the next ball coming to them (with very little rest).
• Concentration and accuracy are big in this exercise.  Every player will realize when they mess up it could cause the drill to collapse. 

Coaching points:

• Accurate passes
• Pay attention to where you are
• Take responsibility for your part in the exercise and don't be the cause of it falling apart.
• Ball laid back on an angle, backward at proper pace, on the ground
• Locked ankles on longer passes
• Do not stare at pass as another ball is coming behind you
• Keep moving
• Wall passes must be played firmly and in proper space  to keep timing with runs by receiving player

We then did a quick 1v1 drill before getting into a game.

We did not coach during the game.   It's tryouts and we're down to the last 2 sessions, so it was time to let them play.