and
Today's activity works on ball touches and fitness.
Recently I saw a training session where a coach called to his team near the end "ok it's time for conditioning, everyone jog 4 laps around the field". The players then started jogging (SLOWLY) and some made it 4 laps, others seemed to stop at 3 and others walked. The thing that was interesting about this team was they weren't a bad team and they had some good athletes on the team. It wasn't that they couldn't run 4 laps but the players obviously didn't want to and didn't see the importance of running 4 laps (and for the most part I don't either). There are some alternatives to this type of running that will help toward better fitness, take less time and work on ball skills.
Here is one 12-minute alternative to running for fitness.
Players get in groups of 2's with one ball per group. One-person works and the other rests. The person who is working starts with the ball between her legs and for a one-minute period passes back and forth from her left foot to her right foot and
back. The objective is for her to go as fast as possible. The resting player counts each time the right foot touches the ball. The reason for the resting players counting include the added motivation of having someone watching them which will usually encourage a player to work harder especially knowing that they are counting. Also, it keeps the resting players concentrating and prevents them from becoming a distraction. After the one-minute period the players switch roles (there is no time for this transition so it's one right after the other).
After each player has done this for a one-minute period, next do touches on top of the ball. The ball starts off slightly in front of the working player and she touches the top of the ball with her right foot and then switches to her left foot. She does this as many times as possible in a one-minute period and the resting player counts this as well and then they switch.
Next they go back to touches on the side of the ball but this time for a two-minute period and then they switch.
Next they go to the touches on the top of the ball for a two-minute period with the other player counting and then they switch.
If the players know ahead of time what they are doing and there is no break between sets this takes exactly 12 minutes and in this 12 minute period (6 of which each player is working at full speed), the players get a lot of touches on the ball and a lot of hard fitness (assuming it's done at full speed).
Give this a try and see how your players are after this short 12-minute period!
Any questions, comments or suggestions should be sent to Lawrence@finesocer.com or they can be posted on the FineSoccer Forum at
http://finesoccer.net
To subscribe to any of the FineSoccer Newsletters please go to http://finesoccer.com/subscrib.htm
Have a great day!
Lawrence
FineSoccer Drill 173
Here is a fun progression that works on possession, getting to goal, finishing first time, transition and much, much more.
Start with a field that is 40 x 30 with two full size goals (the size of the field can vary depending upon what you want to emphasize). A keeper is in each goal and the team is split into 2 teams and 1 neutral player. The two teams start on the side and the neutral player is in the middle. A server is at midfield with soccer balls. See diagram below for basic setup
he server plays a ball to the middle of the field and then the first two players from each team sprint on the field and play 2 v 2 + 1 to goal. The neutral player is always on offense. Using the diagram above as an example, the X's start off attacking the goal to the left and the O's start off attacking the goal to the right. To score a goal, the shot must be hit first time. This means that one of the X's can get the ball, dribble and then pass the ball to the other X or the N who would have to shoot first time for the goal to count. If the X's score, they get the ball out of the goal and then attack the other goal. If the O's are the team that let up the goal, the two O's sprint off the field and the next 2 O's take their place. In other words, if you score, you stay on and attack the other direction. If you let up a goal you leave the field and two of your teammates take your place. If the ball goes over the sideline, all 4 players leave the field and 4 new players take their place. If the ball goes over the end line, play continues with either a goal kick or a corner kick. The reason for this is we want to encourage players to shoot so we don't want to penalize them if they shoot a ball that isn't on goal.
This is a very fast moving game and players learn that if they score and transition quickly they can try to get to goal before the other team makes their switch. This forces the players on the side to pay attention at all times because they constantly have to be thinking which direction they might be attacking next depending upon what is happening on the field. You might also set a time limit of 2 minutes to any game so that if a goal isn't scored within 2 minutes all 4 players leave the field. This will prevent anyone sitting out too long.
Depending upon the numbers you have available, you might have two neutral players on the field or you could have 2 neutral players but only one on the field at any time and they rotate any time a goal is scored.
Also depending upon your numbers situation, you could next progress to 3 v 3 + 1 with the same rules or you could go 3 v 3 without the neutral player.
The next step to get to more players on the field is to play "Get out of here" as described at http://finesoccer.com/finesoccer_drill_64.htm
These are fun games that work on a lot of different aspects of the game. Give them a try and let me know what you think on the FineSoccer Forum
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Today's subject deals with games and scrimmages in training vs. drill, exercises and activities.
It's interesting because some coaches seem to feel that "drills" are the way to teach while others are strong believers that "the game is the best teacher" so they believe the best way to teach is simply to let the players play. I believe that most players will learn more if there is something in the middle where they do some exercises that build up to a game like situation.
The problem with coaches who just do drills, exercises and activities is that they will end up BORING the players to the point where they don't want to come to training anymore. While repetition is important, if the players don't see how it relates to a game like situation they wont get much from the repetition. An example would be if a coach were to make me strike the ball with my instep against a wall 500 times a day to get better at shooting. The truth is that this doesn't make me better at shooting. What it does do is make me better at striking the ball against the wall unless I can see how that builds into shooting on goal in a game.
On the other hand, if a coach thinks the way for players to become better at shooting is to have them scrimmage all the time and in these scrimmages the players are shooting with poor form, this isn't going to make them better since practice doesn't make perfect it simply makes permanent.
The most effective way to help someone become better at shooting would be to make sure they have proper technique by isolating the technique and working on it with no pressure (possibly by striking the ball repeatedly against a wall using proper form) and then having them do this with a small amount of pressure (a defender slowly coming at them) and then increasing the pressure (a defender coming at them at full speed) and then putting them against a live defense in a small sided scrimmage and then putting them in a position to do this in a full sided game. By doing this type of progression a player can work on proper technique and then slowly build up to where they see how it relates to a regular game like situation.
Many coaches who believe in the theory that the game is the best teacher don't understand how to use games as a way to teach. While players can learn a great deal through games there are ways to use modified games to increase the learning opportunities. For example, if a coach wants to work on taking players on in 1 v 1 situations, he can put in the rule initially that anytime you take a player on 1 v 1 you get a point. If you beat the defender in a 1 v 1 situation you get a second point and if you score a goal you get 5 points (you always want to make sure the players remember the ultimate goal is to score so reward goals accordingly). You could put other restrictions in play such as these 1 v 1 encounters only count in the offensive half of the field (you don't want to encourage players to take on an opponent in your defensive 18). By modifying games to work on specific parts of the game it allows the players to have fun playing while working on the coaches emphasis for the day.
If you have modified games follow some specific exercises that works on the same emphasis and then end with some unrestricted play, I believe you get the best of all worlds.
Whenever a coach uses modified games or exercises and activities the one thing I believe they should always finish with is an unrestricted game. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, the reason most players come to training is to get better AND TO HAVE FUN. Most players usually have the most fun while simply playing soccer so give them the opportunity to play. Another reason is that it gives the players the opportunity to try what they have been working on earlier in the training in a true game like situation. It would be like teaching multiplication but never asking the student to actually doing any multiplication. This just doesn't make sense and it doesn't make sense to not give the players an opportunity to try what they have worked on in a game like situation.
Over the years I have watched an incredible number of training sessions where it didn't seem like the coach had a plan or progression for the session (please note that I didn't say the coaches didn't have a plan or progression but rather it didn't appear that they did) and because of this it didn't allow the players to get the most out of their training. This is the reason over two years ago I decided to start the Full Season Training Sessions to allow coaches to get a better idea of how to run a progression over the course of a training session as well as over the course of a full season. To learn more please go to http://finesoccer.com/full_season.htm
Any questions, comments or suggestions should be sent to Lawrence@finesoccer.com or they can be posted on the FineSoccer Forum at http://finesoccer.net
To subscribe to any of the FineSoccer Newsletters please go to http://finesoccer.com/subscrib.htm
Have a great day!
Lawrence
This activity is best with 14-17 players including two keepers. Start with big goals (or even U10 goals will work) and use the basketball court as boundaries. Break the group into 3 teams (a red, white and blue team for our example) and have a keeper in each goal. Assuming you are playing with 17 players, you have 5 v 5 plus keepers. Pick a duration for the game (20 minutes is a good time period) and start with red v white with blue on the side. The rules are very simply. It's regular soccer but anytime a ball goes over a sideline the team that it went out off of, gets off the field and the team that is resting plays. So, using our red v white example, the two teams play and if the ball goes over the sideline off of white, it's red ball and they are now attacking BLUE. Red does NOT have to wait for blue to get on the field or set up. This is a game that encourages quick transition as well as possession and shooting (if the ball goes over the end line, it's a loss of possession but the team who knocked it over the end line does get to stay on the field).
The other way to get the opponent off the field is to score a goal. The team that gets scored upon has to leave the field and the team that scored the goal stays on, gets the ball and attacks the opposing goal.
When you start playing this game, it will seem to be quite chaotic but as the players get used to it, you will see them really adding a great deal of thought to their play. Instead of just getting the ball and kicking it (which will frequently result in them having to get off the field) they must try to maintain possession. Also, in the beginning, the team that is off the field will stand together at midfield waiting for their turn. Real quickly they will learn to spread out because they have to be prepared to defend either goal at any time. You will find that this drill will increase a team’s communication dramatically.
Some of the things that this game works on are possession (teams don't want to have to sit out so they will work on possessing the ball in order to get to play more), shooting (it's in a teams best interest to hit a lot of shots because if they score, they get a point and the opponent has to sit out, plus if it goes over the end line they still stay on, as a bonus, if the shot is blocked by an opponent and it goes over the sideline, the opponent has to sit out), communication, defense, organization and most of the other things that are used in a regular soccer game.
Not only is this game something that works on all of the above aspects of the game, it's also a great deal of fun for the players. To watch a player get caught in a corner with the ball and one or two opponents and see her realize that she can kick the ball off of the opponent so that it goes over the sideline for which knocks the opponent off the field is both fun to watch as well as very gratifying from a coaches perspective in that it encourages a player to really think on the field instead of just kicking or simply doing what they are told.
An added bonus is hearing the players yell to the team that just lost the ball out of bounds "GET OUT OF HERE!"
Give this game a try and let me know what you think on the FineSoccer Forum
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Today's featured activity is a game that works on crossing and finishing.
While the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter gives exercises, activities and games to become a better soccer player and coach, to really understand how to develop training sessions over the course of an entire season to help a team develop to their potential you need much more, you also need to have a better understanding of progressions throughout a training session and throughout a season. To learn more about this please go to http://finesoccer.com/full_season.htm
Today's featured activity is a fun game that lasts 8 minutes and has constant movement. Break the group into teams of 3's or 4's depending on what works best for your team. Each team has one ball. One player with the ball goes to the sideline and 18 yards from the end line. The player out wide dribble down to the end line, and crosses the ball back toward the middle. Her teammates try to score one touch. If the ball is on the ground and is scored it counts as one point for the team, if the ball is served in the air and volleyed into the goal, it counts as 3 points. If the ball is played in the air and headed into the goal, it counts as 5 points for the team. Each player gets to serve balls from out wide twice before they have to rotate into the middle and another player from the team goes out wide and crosses the ball. There is no defense (except for a keeper) and a team can only use their own ball to cross or finish.
The players in the middle make near post/far post/ 12-yard runs to maximize their chances of scoring. Also the balls can be served from either side.
There is no predetermined order for the serves so if one team scores a goal and gets their ball out wide before another team gets to goal they can get more turns.
This is a fun game and the players work on crossing, finishing, goalkeeping, fitness and communication. Give it a try and you will find it's an extremely efficient use 8 minutes of a training session.
Any questions,
comments or suggestions should be sent to
Lawrence@finesoccer.com or they
can be posted on the FineSoccer Forum at
http://finesoccer.net
To subscribe to any of the FineSoccer Newsletters please go
to
http://finesoccer.com/subscrib.htm
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Today's subject deals with putting players in a position to perform
and be successful.
While the Soccer Newsletter discusses ways to become a better soccer
player and coach, to really understand how to develop training sessions over
the course of an entire season to help a team develop to their potential you
need much more, you also need to have a better understanding of progressions
throughout a training session and throughout a season. To learn more about
this please go to
http://finesoccer.com/full_season.htm
One of the questions that coaches seem to ask a lot is "where can I
hide my weaker players on the field?" The real question should be "how can
I help develop my weaker players so they become stronger and help the team
rather than hinder the team?"
When you watch a lot of youth soccer you notice that certain players
(so called stronger players) will literally try to do both their job as well
as the job of another "weaker" player on the field. They do this
thinking it's helping the player and helping the team (it's a prime example
of an "I" player as described in
http://finesoccer.com/finesoccer_kids_77.htm). However, what these
players (and the coaches who instruct them to do this) need to understand is
that it holds back these other players development as well as the teams
development.
How fun can it be to have a teammate who tries to do your job for
you? How fun can it be to try to do another players job as well as your
own which will frequently result in doing two jobs very poorly?
As a coach, you can try to put players in a position where they have
to step up and take responsibility. Trying to find positions where you hide
the weaker players does NOT accomplish this at all. Instead set up
scrimmages where they don't have a stronger player beside them. This way,
if they don't step up, they get beat (please understand getting beat is
frequently a learning experience which is not necessarily a bad thing).
When the player sees the ball coming and there isn't a teammate to step in
front of her and take it, she will usually step up, and take the
responsibility herself. Once she does this throughout a game or two, she
will most likely rise up her level of confidence (which is frequently what
separates the timid player from the aggressive player) and take more
responsibility during full-sided games.
In order for this to work, it's important to do this against the
correct level of competition. If you put these less confident players
against an opponent that they can't succeed against it just further confirms
these players idea that they aren't good enough. Schedule the games so that
they can be successful and let the players work this out on their own
(players are so much smarter than we coaches like to give them credit for).
Instead of trying to hide players or putting them in a position to
fail, find a way to put a player in a position to be successful and you will
be amazed at the quick improvement you will see.
Any questions comments or suggestions should be sent to
Lawrence@finesoccer.com or they
can be posted on the FineSoccer Forum at
http://finesoccer.net
FineSoccer Kids 77
Welcome to the FineSoccer Kids Newsletter. Today’s subject deals with being a better team player.
The main part of this newsletter was written over a year ago as a Soccer Newsletter but since I have spoken to a couple of teams about his recently I think it’s important enough to repeat here as a FineSoccer Kids Newsletter. Please understand that the reason for me repeating this is NOT because I don’t have anything else to write but rather, until players start understanding this concept, they will struggle with soccer (and somewhat with life).
Many people are familiar with the "me" syndrome which is where players are in it simply for themselves and don't care what is in the best interests of the team. Given the choice between doing what is in their best interests or in their teams best interests, the players afflicted with the "me" syndrome will chose themselves over the team. If they can score a goal a game and lose most games or score the occasional goal and win most games, they chose the option of scoring and losing. A team with players suffering from the "me" syndrome will end up being unsuccessful. Many people are familiar with the "me" syndrome.
The "I" syndrome isn't as well known but can cause almost as many problems as the "me" syndrome. The player suffering from the "I" syndrome thinks that the way for the team to be successful is for her to do more and try to take over. This is the person you see at the end of the game who tries to dribble through everyone to score the winning goal. The person with the "me" syndrome does this for the glory while the person with the "I" syndrome does it for the good of the team. Unfortunately, neither really works. If you have 5 players with the "I" syndrome, you will have 5 players at the end of the game trying to do what each thinks is the best thing for the team. Frequently, this result in a frantic finish with players running all over the place but unfortunately, it doesn't usually work. The person with the "I" syndrome thinks she is doing what is in the teams best interests but in reality she is really being counterproductive.
The player with the "we" syndrome will do what is in the best interests of the team even if it means taking a step back for the team. While the "we" player and the "I" player have the same interests the "we" player understands that the bests interests of the team takes more than just personal effort. An example is that in the last few minutes of the game, while the "I" player is trying to do everything on her own, the "we" player is trying to find the best way to succeed any way possible whether it directly relates to their own effort or not. The "we" player ends up being the successful one even if sometimes the "me" and "I" players sometimes get the short-term glory.
A player can change from a "me" player to an "I" player to a "we" player but only if they understand the concept. Without knowing that being a "me" or "I" player is a problem, they will never know they have to get better and become a "we" player.
If you are a player, the first step in becoming a better team player is to ask yourself which whether you are a “me” player, an “I” player or a “we” player. Then if you are not happy with your HONEST answer, set out to do something about this.
Any questions, comments or suggestions should be sent to Lawrence@finesoccer.com or they can be posted on the FineSoccer Forum at http://finesoccer.net
To subscribe to any of the FineSoccer Newsletters please go to http://finesoccer.com/subscrib.htm
Have a great day!
Lawrence
PS Being successful in soccer requires a great deal more than just knowing where to stand or how to kick a ball. To learn more about how to be truly successful in soccer and in life, please take a moment to check out SoccerAtEase at http://finesoccer.com/socceratease.htm
We would like to thank Lawrence Fine and FineSoccer.com for allowing us to publish this article on the NASL website. Please visit http://www.FineSoccer.com and sign up for Lawrence's free coaching newsletters and articles.
Created:
12/20/99
Last Updated:
03/26/07
Since
February 24, 1999
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