Being a parent is hard enough. It’s even harder when your child is a competitive soccer player. You have to know just what to say before, during, and after every game, and this is no easy task. Will you be helping or hindering the coach? Do you care? Some parents aren’t involved in the game at all. So here’s some insight into the minds of the parents that are standing on the sidelines.

Parents have a lot of questions because they’re not sure how to help nurture their child’s soccer playing ability. These days, many soccer pundits are too ready to give advice to parents, restating advice tips picked up through acquaintances, on TV, or perhaps the radio. But we’ve heard all that before. Here are the tips and suggestions that I’ve found work in the real world. Read The Rest……

Three Techniques for Better Coach to Player Communications Part 1

#3 Coaching during the game

Here are three proven methods that will help coaches during game play and training sessions.

Conditions

One great way to get players to practice a specific element of the game is to play a small sided game with a condition attached to it. One example would be first time passing during the last third of the pitch.

To set this up, physically mark the last third with red cones. This gives players a visual cue so they’ll know when to use a first time pass. But the ability to hit a first time pass is one thing. Knowing why is another thing entirely. In training sessions, work on quick movements and have strikers run off the ball. As a result, they will create opportunities for receiving a first time ball from the supporting player. Read The Rest……

We’ve all seen it: the coach stands on the sidelines shouting orders to the team, but nothing changes on the pitch. The coach repeats the instructions, his voice a little louder this time. Still, no change in the players’ maneuvers. Eventually, the coach’s voice becomes a frantic scream as he becomes frustrated with his players’ apparent refusal to listen. Agitation leads to anger. Why can’t he get the players to listen and follow simple instructions?

If this scenario sounds familiar, then you’re in luck, because here are three simple and effective ways for a coach to communicate more effectively with players.

#1 Do the players understand the directive? Read The Rest……

How To Play A Pressing Football Match Part 1

Pressure
Putting on the pressure in a pressing game means a quick attempt to regain possession of the ball from your opponent. The player nearest the ball is responsible for this. A player who loses the ball may be the first to give chase (putting on pressure from the rear), but a second defender should also try to close off chances for the player who has the ball. This player applies pressure at the front. With this move, the opposing player has to concentrate on keeping the ball, which limits their options to short passes or dribbling the ball.

The players who are putting pressure on the player with possession have to direct them towards parts of the pitch with more players, and to areas which will limit their options. It is essential to communicate well in this type of game, and leadership is also important. The chase or close down should be the signal for other team members to cover an opponent. Mark near the ball and goal so that you can win the ball if there’s a chance. Read The Rest……

In youth football, you’re more likely to see a fast paced, attacking football game. Go to any local pitch and watch a game and you will see young people trying to gain possession of the ball and score. It’s all about instant gratification, and it’s great for supporters too. Parents who carry their offspring from game to game find it more entertaining if there are many scoring chances and good team play.

There are big differences in the strength of young players and in their speed, but you can use these to your advantage by addressing this in training, resulting in more opportunities to score. To find out if the situation is right for a pressing game, you need to consider not only your strikers’ speed and strength, but the speed and strength of the opposition. In addition, your game will be different depending on whether you are leading or trailing. Read The Rest……

In my Analysing Football Performance article, I wrote about the importance of concentrating on one part of the football pitch when you are evaluating whether your team is performing as well as it should. Although you do need to have an overall view of how the team plays, concentrating on a particular area will enable you to plan training priorities to coach the team into improving weak areas.

When I concentrate on evaluating the attack, I look at both wide players and strikers. During a game, there are certain key things to look for with strikers. One note of caution, though. It’s also important to see how plays build up from the midfield or defence. No striker will shine if the service from those areas is of a poor quality. Here is a list of the nine main areas I look at when evaluating their quality. They are: Read The Rest……

Three Rules For Good Team Play In Football Part 1

Making Decisions And Supporting The Team

Ideally, when players have possession, they should make the correct runs to help other team mates and make sensible decisions. An important aspect of good teamwork is having players who will support their team mates even though they may not get possession of the ball. When players are unselfish about making runs, then it shows that they are prepared to help each other.

This also applies in defence. The players need to decide which defence position they will hold (first, second or third) and take the appropriate position. The first defender’s job is to handle closing down attacks, judging the distance, timing tackles and positioning. The other defenders need to concentrate on offering cover, being aware of the first defender and keeping the attacker and ball in sight. Read The Rest……

You can always find out how well your football team has performed in a match, whether you win, draw or lose. The result doesn’t really matter. Sometimes a team will win even though the play is poor; at others playing their best may only result in a draw. Worse still, they may end up with a loss despite good play. The final score doesn’t always reveal how the players did, but you can use these three rules for good team play to assess your team’s performance.

The three rules govern communication, support and possession, and they work equally well for attack and defence. The first thing to establish is which team has possession of the ball. When you know that, it’s time to start your analysis. Read The Rest……

Changing a football team’s tactics is not easy and it’s something to think about when training. Have you ever attempted to get your players to change their play or to use a certain tactic and found that they have not managed it? This may be a regular occurrence.

Don’t worry, all football teams experience this. Around the globe, football managers meet with players, talk about different playing styles and new approaches. They may even practice the new moves when training, but when the whistle blows, footballers who have the skill to carry out your wishes play the way they always do. Read The Rest……

An important aspect of training junior footballers is being able to perform analysis and evaluation. Managers do this in the most basic way every weekend when they look at how their players perform. Most managers don’t see themselves because they constantly focus on what their players are doing and how they behave.

Analysing and observing is a crucial part of your job as a manager, since it determines how you organise training sessions so that they meet your overall training needs. One reason to look at how the players behave both in training and in play is to see how they are developing, how they look in comparison to other players and what strengths and weaknesses they have. Read The Rest……