U17 Boys - Moving with the ball

This afternoon we had a session with the U17 Welland boys.  My goal was to get into a small sided game and work on shape and moving with the ball. 

We started off with a dynamic warm-up then some turning exercises.  Lots of turns, all the time.  :-)

We then moved them to a functional drill when we set up a grid approx 60yds long and 20yds wide to simulate a slice of field that 4 defenders might use to work the ball around the back.  We had 2 grids facing each other.

We started with the boys moving the ball back and forth, working on their shape and technique and how to properly execute the sequence.  All players were to make their first touch/look forward looking to attack (head up, eyes probing), then turn and pass to support.  Both sides were doing it, facing each other with no defenders.

We then put a passive defender in there just moving with the ball and forcing some decisions by the 4 players.  We then took one ball out and each team had a target player in the opposite grid.  So the ball was being moved around looking to play a ball to the target.  Most times he wasn't open so the ball had to be turned moved to support, quickly.  To make it more realistic, I worked on the defensive shape of the other team to set the stage.  The target player when you were in possession was a defending players when the other team was in possession, pressuring "high".

The next progression was 2 target men (also acting as high pressure) and this was forcing the ball to move quicker and sooner.  We were getting some success and the players were feeling their success.  Some players struggled with the idea of the wide players staying wide in possession so I demonstrated how they are important support for the target players if they are stuck.  Shape is EVERYTHING in this exercise.

The next progression was having the 2 target men and one extra cross into the grid when defending.  Now it was 4v3 but the 2 target men now had one less defender in that half, making them easier targets.

Was it a smash success?  No.  Did they make progress and improve?  I would say yes.  During a brief question and answer session the coaches realized the players were getting the idea.  They understood that sometimes they were under immense pressure receiving the ball because the shape was collapsing and they were taking away their own space.

Coaching points:

• Shape and movement depending on where the ball is
• Quick-early-accurate passes
• Receiving the ball with first touch/look forward.  Long first touch when there is space in front
• Eyes up and probing looking for forward options
• Set up defensive shape to make possession more realistic
• No square balls

When we moved to our small sides game, we introduced how the shape of the back players would form in different situations and how the midfielders and strikers had to move with the ball so there was always support and better chances to keep possession if there was no forward option.  The GK was a part of that shape movement.  Before starting the game we did a quick run through of what we might look like as the ball moves around.

Coaching points during the game:

• Same points as the functional exercise
• Look to move the ball forward when the option is there and continue moving with the ball, as a unit

I have to think more about what I could improve here.  There are a number of things.  With this age, the boys are fun and work hard, I just can't be sure of numbers and that throws things off.  I adapted my original plan and it worked well, I just prefer knowing as much as possible before showing up.  I left the balls in my trunk and the weather turned cold quickly last night and I forgot to check the air in them before arrival.  We had a pump, but it's still not professional. My coaching position was not good for the functional part as I got in the way a few times.  I will have to make note of that on my plans to remind me.

The other coaches had good points to make and I need to remember to integrate them more into the delivery of the session.

It's frustrating not having these players more often, but high school soccer is very busy and we don't want players breaking down and falling behind with school.  My hope is that they apply this info form our sessions into their play for their schools.

Good Bye, Al

Today our club lost a good friend. Alan Edwards passed away Friday April 20 after a long battle with cancer.

He was born in Liverpool, England and came to Welland via St Catharines.  He was a die-hard Everton Supporter, but supported Canadian soccer with a passion.

Al served the Welland Soccer Club as a coach, board member, convenor, and through various committees for many years.  He preached the simple message of fair-play, enjoyment for all and the free and unobstructed sharing of information.

He had a positive effect on many of my friends and me.  He was always very encouraging towards anybody's efforts when it came to soccer.  His family, friends, former players and students will miss him.

St Mike's Junior Boys - Annual Tournament

The St Michael's High School annual tournament was held today.  I was able to see 2 games when I wasn't in class.  This morning I wasn't sure what to expect for their first game.  Honestly, I didn't think they were ready to play from what i have seen so far.

At the end of the day the team had lost their three matches 0-1, 0-2 and 0-1  BUT they didn't look lost on the field and they have a place to work forward from.  Some of the boys are hard-nosed competitors and any coach loves to see that.  They had chances, challenged for most balls and have a solid GK to back them up.  It would have been nice to see their spirits pumped up with a goal, but it was not to be.

It's an exciting time because the team has moved from the preparation stage to competition.  A few more sessions would have been good, but we'll see what the change in scenery brings to the program.

Coaches Lucchetta and Luppino want to fix up their shape a bit on Monday because they play again Tuesday.  I wish there was more time, but that's high school soccer.

Go Mustangs!

U13 Fitness and agility - Session 5

Tonight we had another fitness and agility session with the combined 5 teams, U10-U13 boys.  We had 61 players in total.

We didn't change it much from last week.  We ran a 30-minute combined run and exercise segment then 30 minutes with a ball doing turns and dribbling on the tennis courts.

The energy with the combined teams continues to be there and the boys are responding positively to the program.  That is the most rewarding part of this whole thing.  The coaches of the five teams have great chemistry and the parents who are helping seem like they are excited to be there.

We will make a few tweaks for next week to keep it fresh, but I wanted to give this format 3 weeks like we gave the other format from weeks 1-3.

Two of my observations are that many of the boys are running better and their footwork has improved during the ball skills portion.  So we are seeing improvement and that is a major goal of any program.

One of my hopes is that we can still reconvene on occasion once the season starts.  We will have to co-ordinate that between all of our schedules.  Another hope is that the other coaches take the turns we do and work on those.

Overall, I think the organization worked and we were able to flow from the track to the tennis courts and from sequence to sequence.

There is a difficulty with coaching position.  There are so many players and if I get to one side to address them all, the other side is a fair distance when it's windy AND it's difficult to get 60 young players to stay quiet all at once.  I will have to think this over.  And during the run I use a whistle and the coaches walk the track opposite the running to cheer the players on.

There is a safety concern.  We do have to take some time and cut some stray branches away from the base of the fence around the court and refasten the fence to the bottom guide wire.  There are portions where the fence sticks out.  It's not in our immediate area, but it's there and the coaches would be sick if somebody were to be injured.  This can be a job for some parents while the kids run.

U13 - More possession play

Tonight we had a session at the tennis courts again.  We had 13 players out, with one in final prep for his Ontario Basketball Association play down.

We need to get on the grass because we are cheating our keeper of GK directed activities.  But he needs to work on his ball skills like everybody else, so it's not lost time.  I also feel like it's time to break out into more open space.  The work has been fun and somewhat productive, but it's going to hit the point where the kids want on the grass.

So, we worked more on skills to aid our team in possession.

We started with a warm-up of simple passing and receiving.  13 players, 6 balls in playing and open player and passing.  During this portion we were looking for balls played ahead of moving players.  We progressed to the receiving player taking one touch then turning quickly.  Coaching points were:

• quick passes
• aim pass so receiver does not have to break stride
• after the turn get on the ball right away and play it (don't leave it "out there")

We then progress to a turning and passing that we occasionally do. We spent a little more time focusing on the right turn with the right foot at the right time.  Some players still turn with the wrong foot, leaving the ball exposed to the defender.  They were OK with it and willing to work at doing it properly.  That's all we ask for.

Then we split the group.

Coach Paul took players 3 at a time and worked with them at moving the ball across the field.  He was very happy with their work rate and desire to listen.  His coaching points were:

• Shape of support players
• Turn and pass to support player done quickly
• First touch/look forward when receiving the ball
• Speed of ball moving across the group
• Ball played in front of support players
• First touch of player receiving the ball

On my half, I ran 5v3 keep-away then a 5v5 mini game

The kids did fairly well at it.  Some are still a little slow getting the ball out from their feet and back into play.   The explanation is consistent ... they are forced to rush and fiddle with the incoming ball because they are not creating enough space for themselves to give allow more time when they have the ball.   The story is the same ... get the shape right and everything falls into place.  That's the coach's job to fix.

• Coaching points for keep-away:
• Mobility and angle of support
• Communication
• Quick-early-accurate passes
• First touch away from pressure
• Look up before and after receiving ball
• Spreading out using the entire area available (shape)

We then went to 5v5 games.  Same coaching points, but we added:

• Patience when looking for an option forward, but always be looking
• Work ball around quickly looking for forward options

Coach Paul was running his exercise during all this.  When the boys were all back together we play 8v7 including the coaches.   I played long enough to help the boys set the tone.  Coach Paul stayed in so it was 7v7.  Our main goal during this game was to see what the boys were doing when they had no play forward.  We worked on our overall shape, shape around the ball, how we were receiving the ball and quick movement.

By the end of the night it was resembling some pretty good soccer and decisions were getting better and better.

Having Coach Paul there and practicing working the ball across the field really showed during the game portion.  The players playing wide were quick to turn, move it back and the team worked the ball around to the other side. The technique was improved, but more importantly the "when and why" of the sequence is what they showed a better understanding for.

I had a good feeling after the session as it flowed smoothly and the boys seemed to enjoy themselves.  The only part of my plan I did not get to was 1v1 play during our warm-up portion.  I dropped it because I felt it would change the flow of the practice after we were started.

In hindsight, I wonder how my desire to minimize cost and avoid renting indoor facilities might be hurting our sessions.  The work rate has been good and we've had a lot of touches, but we lack the space that would allow us to work on more game realistic situations.