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    Amateur

    Coaching Soccer Weekly: Methods, Trends, Techniques and Tactics from WORLD CLASS COACHING

    Get an in-depth look at the methods, strategies and techniques used by a youth coach working full time with players of every age and skill level. This includes training plans, team management and planning ideas, latest trends in coaching and education, as well as interviews with other coaches and trainers that are on the cutting edge of soccer development.

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    Latest Episodes:
    #113 Early Season Training Sessions Aug 04, 2017
    Show notes

    After two weeks of training my teams are getting ready for their first games. I’m starting to get an idea of how the teams fit together.

    The formations I use for small-sided soccer keep it pretty simple. I always use a 2-3-1 for teams playing 7 v 7 and 4-3-1 for playing 9 v 9 games. I’ve found that these formations are effective, easy to teach and create a great pathway to the 11-a-side game. They allow me to teach the principles that the players will use playing different variations of the 4-3-3 which is the most common one used by the teams in our club.

    This week’s question is from Nick

    He’s asking about pre season friendlies.

    Nick says,

    “I wanted to ask about friendlies, I coach a high school girls team and we have four friendlies or scrimmages against varying levels of competition before our actual season begins.

    I know there are two schools of thought when it comes to friendlies and wanted to know which you recommend. The first being, If you want a winning culture and to start the season with positive momentum you should play to win as much as possible (obviously accounting for player health and fitness), the other being, it’s a friendly, the result doesn’t matter, but the way you play, your ideas, and getting players time and exposure is the real value.”

    Thanks for the question Nick!

    I focus on different aspects of play when I’m doing preseason friendlies or scrimmages with other teams during the year. If we’ve been working on building from the back then that’s all I coach and I base our success on whether or not we’re keeping the ball well.

    You have to sell this to the players but if you do then the players will be looking at their success as something different than the score and it will help them prepare for the games that really matter.

    In This Episode

    I’m sharing the way I decide what to work on with my teams at the beginning of the season. If you just watch your team play you’ll see that there’s a lot to work on. If you try to cover too much in a short period you’ll just overwhelm them and not get anywhere. Today I also share a couple of sessions that I’ve used with my own teams of different age groups

    Printable Show Notes

    The show notes for each episode are accessed through the WCC Training Center.

    They are FREE but you will need at least a Free Membership to the Training Center in order to view and print them. They’ll be available there for eight weeks before they’re placed in our archive which can be accessed at any time by Elite Members.

    Click on the image of the notes and if you’re already logged in to the Training Center you’ll be taken to the Podcast page. If you’re not logged in your be taken to a login page where you’ll also be able to login or register if you are not already a Member.

    Remember!

    Make sure you subscribe to Coaching Soccer Weekly through iTunes, or your podcast provider of choice, to be sure you never miss an episode.

    We would appreciate it if you would leave us a 5 star rating and/or a written review on iTunes to help spread the word about the show and ensure that we can continue to bring you top notch guests in the future.

    Future Episodes

    Next week I’ll talk how important it is that coaches have the courage to be patient in order to develop great soccer players.

    #112 Youth National Championships Jul 28, 2017
    Show notes

    We started back to training this week. It seems earlier than usual but that’s just how the calendar came together. There are still a lot of families on summer vacations so attendance has been spotty. That affects what I try to cover because I don’t want to have to repeat myself once I have everyone back. I also want to give the players a chance to adapt to training again rather than throwing them straight into the deep end on day one.

    I’ll talk more in next week’s episode about what I cover in the first few weeks of the season and how I structure them.

    This week’s question is from Bridget.

    She’s asking what parents should expect from their coaches and club regarding evaluations.

    Bridget says,

    “My question is: what should I expect from the club or coach as far as feedback or a developmental plan for my son? My son plays select U12, div 1, and has been there for 1.5 years and has recently been passed up on playing opportunities (playing on an additional team) but we get no feedback whatsoever. I have requested it but get no response. It’s hard to feel secure that the club is developing my son fully without any evaluations or communication regarding. Is this a big red flag or do some clubs feel this is not important to do or share with the parents?”

    Thanks for the question Bridget.

    This is an important question not just for parents but for coaches and club directors to consider. It would be idea for each player to have a Personal Development Plan. These plans focus on the what each individual needs to do to improve their individual performance. Personal Development Plans are common in the US Soccer Development Academies and other high level programs.

    Most club coaches are working with too many players to make creating these for each player unrealistic. At the very least every player should expect to receive an evaluation at least once a year. These should provide meaningful feedback on what can be improved and how to go about improving it.

    Our club uses ZoomReports to distribute and track individual player evaluations. You can go to ZoomReports.com for more information on their service.

    In This Episode

    The US Youth Soccer Nationals are happening this week in Texas. Some coaches feel that youth national tournaments are unnecessary. Others say that there are too many different ones so none of them are truly a ‘National Championship’. Today I look at each of these events and talk about the positive and negative aspects of them.

    Future Episodes

    Next week I’ll talk about what my early season training sessions look like for the different age groups that I coach. Getting the players off to a good start can set the tone for your entire season.

    #111 Do Good Players Make Good Coaches? Jul 21, 2017
    Show notes

    This is the last week before our club starts training for the fall season. The weather in the midwest has been incredibly hot and humid. Fortunately, the heatwave is going break over the weekend and next week won’t be as hot.

    The first few weeks of training are always inconsistent because families are taking the opportunity to travel before the summer is over. That means that I won’t have everyone at training for the first week or so. Because of this, I usually plan to have a relaxed start to the season.

    The first few training sessions will include some basic technical work to knock the rust off and play a lot of small-sided games. This helps move the players back into the flow of training and playing again after the summer break.

    It’ll be a couple of weeks before we have our first games so I won’t really know what my teams look like until we get a couple of games under our belt. Then I’ll know what we need to work on to help continue the player’s development.

    This week’s question is from Nick

    He’s asking about training to play against a back four.

    Nick explained that he will be playing with a back three this year and then asked,

    “My question is, since the other teams in our division all play with a back four, should I use that formation in offense v defense drills when I want to focus on forward or attacking play since that is the defense they will most likely be facing? Or do I run the risk of confusing my defenders by having them run too many formations?

    I want to give my forwards an authentic look at what they will face in a game, but I also don’t want my defense to play a sloppy back four because it’s not a formation they are used to playing, or because they know it’s a ‘practice formation’ rather than one that will likely be used in a game. But I’m not sure I want to spend valuable coaching minutes explaining the principles and tactics of a formation I’m unlikely to play.”

    Thanks for the question Nick.

    The key to using attack v defense games is to focus your coaching on only one side of the ball at a time. If you want to work on attacking a back four then you shouldn’t worry about what the defending team is doing. Focus on coaching the attacking team to take advantage of opportunities to successfully attack and score.

    In This Episode

    Today I want to discuss the assumption that just because someone was a good player that they would be a good coach. I think this is something that happens at every level of the game. I share my opinion and some examples of when a playing background can be both helpful and harmful to a coach.

    Future Episodes

    I’ve been working on a number of different topics for future episodes but I haven’t settled on one for next week. Check the World Class Coaching Twitter account early next week to see what I decided.

    #110 Playing with a Back Three Jul 14, 2017
    Show notes

    Last week provided a nice break over the 4th of July holiday. Stepping away from the field and not thinking about coaching for a bit is always a welcome change of pace.

    We now only have two weeks remaining in our summer break. It seems like it just started and now it’s half over!

    Now I’m working on the plan for my team’s first couple of months of training. I don’t like to script out specific training sessions this early but I like to have an outline of the topics that I want to cover to help us get off to a good start. That doesn’t mean that I’ll limit my sessions to those topics. If there’s something that the team is struggling with I’ll work that into our sessions as well.

    This week’s question is from Sean.

    He’s asking if he should break with his philosophy to try and win near the end of the season.

    Sean gave me some background on his team than then asked.

    “Do I encourage my girls to play long balls more often, knowing we can get easy goals, and maybe win some games? Or do I stick to my philosophy of development first, possession based play, and more than likely go 0-8 and possibly demoralize my girls going into tryouts?”

    Thanks for the question Sean.

    First, there’s nothing wrong with teaching the girls when to make long PASSES. That’s different than playing kickball.

    My advice to Sean is that I wouldn’t break with my philosophy just to chase the win. If you win you’ve just undermined all of the work you’ve done. If you lose then you lost while abandoning your principles.

    In This Episode

    Today I’m looking at the shift, by many professional teams, to playing with a back three. I talk about why this is happening and whether or not it’s something you should try with your own teams.

    Future Episodes

    Next week I’m going to discuss whether or not you need to be a good player to be a good coach. I’ve read some articles on the subject recently that have had me thinking about how important playing experience is.

    #109 Four Favorite Possession Games Jun 30, 2017
    Show notes

    I continuing to enjoy my summer break from the field. The summer doesn’t start for me until the team meetings are completed and that happened last weekend.

    I’m using the extra free time to work on the Fall Technical Training Curriculum for our U8 through U12 teams. Talked about that back in episode 18 Creating a Technical Training Plan. If you want to know why we do this and how it’s put together you can listen to that episode.

    I’ve been interested in the Confederations Cup since it’s the only international soccer that I’ve been able to see. The use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is something new that’s being tried in this competition. I talk about the positives and negatives as well as my opinion on the use of this kind of technology in our game.

    This week’s question is from Joe.

    He’s asking about selecting players.

    Joe says,

    “Over the last few months I have noticed some coaches select players for what they are doing now, and not so much on what they are capable of. Players that are technical, smart, spatially aware and dedicated are getting passed up for players who are larger and faster at the time of Try-outs. What is your take on natural speed and size vs a smaller, maybe slower technical player. And do you think speed can be improved?”

    Thanks for the question Joe.

    This is the classic debate between athleticism an skill. It’s such a complicated subject. I share my thoughts but I have to apologize for rambling a bit. There’s just no clear cut answer and so many things to consider.

    In This Episode

    Today I’ll share my four favorite possession activities. I’ll also tell you why there are only four as well as why these are often the only possession activities I’ll use with my teams.

    Printable Show Notes

    The show notes for each episode are accessed through the WCC Training Center.

    They are FREE but you will need at least a Free Membership to the Training Center in order to view and print them. They’ll be available there for eight weeks before they’re placed in our archive which can be accessed at any time by Elite Members.

    Click on the image of the notes and if you’re already logged in to the Training Center you’ll be taken to the Podcast page. If you’re not logged in your be taken to a login page where you’ll also be able to login or register if you are not already a Member.

    Remember!

    Make sure you subscribe to Coaching Soccer Weekly through iTunes, or your podcast provider of choice, to be sure you never miss an episode.

    We would appreciate it if you would leave us a 5 star rating and/or a written review on iTunes to help spread the word about the show and ensure that we can continue to bring you top notch guests in the future.

    Future Episodes

    I’m taking next week off from the podcast for the 4th of July holiday but I’ll be back the following week with an episode looking at the trend toward playing with three in the back and how you might apply this to your own teams.

    #108 Set the Tone for Your Season Jun 23, 2017
    Show notes

    With tryouts behind me I’ve had a nice break from coaching. It’s given me more time to attend and watch some professional games. Unfortunately, the international leagues have finished but the Confederations Cup has had some good games.

    I was watching the Mexico v New Zealand game when an incident happened in the box that made me ask the question, “Who’s responsibility is it to stop the game?” This follows up on my thoughts on dubious penalty kicks and how we should react to them.

    In this episode I share my opinion but I’d love to hear yours. You can listen to my take on the show and then leave your comments below.

    This week’s question is from Dennis

    He’s asking about Cogi Training

    Dennis says,

    “You’ve mentioned a bit about Cogi Training. I’ve looked it up on-line, like the concept and have incorporated as much as possible into my sessions. Could you guide your listeners to the entire system on-line?”

    Thanks for the question Dennis.

    There isn’t one book, video or web site that will show you everything there is behind the Cogi Training system. I asked Michel Bruyninckx, the originator of Cogi Training, about this last summer when we attended his coaching clinic. He said he wasn’t able to distill the training method down to fit in a book or video.

    Hopefully he’ll try in the future but for now you can visit www.cogitraining.com for the latest information on Cogi Training.

    In This Episode

    I’ve been preparing for my preseason team meetings that are coming up this weekend. We do these each year and I think they are a very important part of the process of running a team. I thought I’d share how I structure mine and why I think they’re so important

    This week I share how I structure my preseason team meetings and why I think they’re so important.

    Next Week

    I haven’t settled on a topic for next week. I have a few ideas in the works so check back next Friday to see what I decided.

    #107 Train Fast to Play Fast Jun 16, 2017
    Show notes

    We completed our club tryouts last weekend. It’s a crazy time for player, parents and coaches but an important one to make sure that our players are challenged at an appropriate level.

    I’ve talked about our process in previous episodes including Episode 105 just a couple of weeks ago.

    We’re not working to prepare our teams for the preseason meetings that we hold each year. I’ll talk more about that process on next week’s podcast.

    This week’s question is from Cory.

    He’s asking about discipline during practice.

    Cory says,

    “I have a question for you relating to “discipline”. Next year, I will coach a U11 boys house team which has a few boys who have a tough time staying focused. I am pretty good at keeping their attention compared to others who try but I would like to know what my 1-2-3 steps should be if an individual boy is being disruptive or is misbehaving while still keeping things positive. I’m hoping to avoid yelling loader, making them run laps or do pushups as I don’t know if those are positive in nature. I have tried “go and sit on the sideline” and then come to talk to them to see if they are “ready to focus”. If a child is having a really tough time, I will sometime discuss the issue with their parents. This being said, I “get” that they are kids and focussing isn’t always the natural strength for some kids.”

    I answer Cory’s question on the show.

    In This Episode

    This week I’m looking at the most underappreciated key to technical development. Performing technical training exercises at speed is missing link between training day and match day.

    I discuss why training at speed is so important and how you can incorporate this focus into every aspect of training from the warm-up through the final scrimmage.

    I’ll also tell you when you should consider slowing it down so that you can speed it up again.

    Next Week

    I’ll discuss the importance of a preseason team meeting and what it should cover so that your players and parents go into the season knowing what to expected.

    #106 Keeping Soccer Players Safe and Healthy Jun 09, 2017
    Show notes

    We concluded our State Cup tournament in Kansas this week. Each state holds it’s own competition for U13 to U19 teams. The winner of each age group advances to one of four different regional championships where the winners earn the right to attend the US Youth Soccer National Championship.

    This is one of my favorite times of the soccer year because it showcases everything that the teams have learned. The competition between the best teams in each age group brings out the best in everyone.

    Win or lose it’s a great way to finish a great year with your team.

    This week’s question is from Joel

    He asks about planning sessions for a larger group of young players

    Joel says

    “I am currently planning practices for a squad of 24 U9 boys. I am finding it difficult to organize practice activities that prevent long lines and having periods where the kids are inactive. Any suggestions on how to organize and plan a practice with multiple squad teams at such a young age?”

    Thanks for the question Joel

    I give Joel my suggestions for the best ways to format his sessions to maximize the fun and development of the players and make it easy to manage a larger group of players.

    In this Episode

    I’m discussing the most common soccer injury issues with Dr. David Geier. These are issues that every coach and parent should be aware of. Keeping our players safe and healthy insures that they’ll be able to maximize their development and enjoyment of the game for a lifetime.

    Dr. Geier is the author of ‘That’s Gotta Hurt – The Injuries that Changed Sports Forever’

    You can also follow his blog posts and podcast by visiting www.DrDavidGeier.com

    Here’s a link to the PEP Conditioning program that Dr. Geier recommends.

    Next Week

    I’ll discuss the importance of training your players at game speed and when you should slow it down.

    #105 Tryouts as a Tool for Development Jun 02, 2017
    Show notes

    I took last week off from the podcast to take some teams to Chicago for a Memorial Day weekend tournament. It was a great weekend and a fun way to wrap up the year for the teams.

    We played on grass fields which really slowed the game down compared to what we’re used to when playing on our home turf fields. It was a different challenge for the players which they adapted to well.

    I love playing on grass but it’s so seldom that you get to play on grass fields that are smooth and allow the ball to roll properly. We’re going to continue to see more and more complexes move to field turf because it’s low maintenance and allows play under most weather conditions.

    This week’s question is from Nick .

    He asks about tryouts that are spread out over six days.

    Nick says,

    “I coach a varsity high school girls team and we have tryouts that span over six days, I wanted to know if you have a specific evaluation system for tryouts and how you might structure tryouts for that many days to maximize the evaluative capacity of each activity and day.”

    Thanks for the question Nick!

    My suggestion would be to have four phases of each day: warm-up, technical, small-sided games, full-sided game. The technical topics would vary and the small-sided game format would highlight that topic.

    I assumed Nick was having tryouts for multiple teams: Varsity, JV and C Team. In that case I would move players during the day or from one day to the next so that by the last day I would have the teams together.

    Then Nick responded and said,

    “Unfortunately we only have a varsity team. Our school doesn’t have the resources to field a JV team. We usually have around 35-40 girls try out and I try to pare that down to about 23-26 for the final roster. Any advice you can give on that type of tryout would help immensely. I wish I could take them all, but it’s just too many players to manage effectively.”

    I suggested that I would use the same system but use the small-sided games to separate the players into groups. During the full-sided game I would play the top players versus the rest and use that time to put the top players into different positions.

    In This Episode

    Since we’re getting ready for tryouts not this weekend but next, I thought I’d talk about topics around this subject.

    I’ve talked about tryouts in two previous episodes. The first was in episode 16 – How to Run Tryouts for More than 2,000 players. It dealt with the process we use within our club. The second time I talked about tryouts was in episode 63 – Surviving Tryouts. I looked at all of the challenges around the tryout season and how to deal with them.

    I review some of those issue in this episode but focus more on the importance of tryouts and how I evaluate players and place them appropriately during the process.

    Next Week

    I’m going to be talking to an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist about sports injuries and injury prevention. We’ll discuss steps parents and coaches can take to help young soccer player stay in the game and be healthy and active the rest of their lives.

    #104 From High Pressure to Goal Scoring May 19, 2017
    Show notes

    I had my teams in a tournament this last weekend. We enjoyed great weather and very good competition.

    These end of the season tournaments are great for me and the players. I can see how far they’ve progressed over the course of the year and the players have a chance to put all of our training into games against some very good teams.

    A couple of the teams played up into older divisions to challenge their ability to perform against even greater pressure than usual. It’s a difficult balancing act but at this time of year I’d rather put the teams in a little over their head than have them cruise through an easy division.

    After we finish up our league season this weekend we’ll be traveling to the Chicago area for the Campton United tournament over Memorial Day weekend.

    This week’s question is from who asked not to be named. He asks about player selection.

    He says,

    “I’m just now listening to ep 101 (changes to chase the game) and you mentioned having a few ideas for the next few podcasts, one of them being what to look for in a player at tryouts, but you weren’t sure the order you’d release them in.

    Unlikely, but if it helps sway the decision at all…I’d vote for the tryouts topic. I have a decent eye for talent and coach a very good young team and we have apparently have a lot of new girls coming out. We also very clearly missed on girl that’s on our second team.

    I know it’s an art more than science but really intrigued to hear your thoughts.”

    I’ll be doing a whole episode on this in a few weeks. I told him that making decisions with young players is tough. You can place a kid on a lower team and find that they really respond to training. So much so that you wish you would have placed them on a higher level team.

    That’s why I always tell parents not to worry about where their child is placed initially. Just get them started, from there we’ll be able to get them at the right level to ensure their development. Given good training and positive environment – They find their level.

    Our Academy teams have players that started out on third and fourth teams as young players and there are players that were ‘World Beaters’ at U8 that are nowhere near the top anymore.

    In This Episode

    I look at high pressure defending. It’s a topic I discussed back in episode #20 Developing a Pressing Mentality. It’s been awhile since that episode and I have some new aspects to add that I think you’ll find interesting.

    Liverpool have scored 21 goals as a direct result from high pressure defending and quick counter attacking this season…an incredible 25% of all their goals. This new guide will show you how they did it and how you can train your team to do the same.

    Jurgen Klopp is one of the first coaches to play with a constant high pressure defending tactic as a main focus of his style of play. He won the German Bundesliga twice with Borussia Dortmund and is now causing havoc in the English Premier League with Liverpool. Now, more of the world’s top coaches, like Guardiola, Mourinho and Conte have jumped on the bandwagon and are using the high pressure defending tactic more and more.

    Printable Show Notes

    The show notes for each episode are accessed through the WCC Training Center.

    They are FREE but you will need at least a Free Membership to the Training Center in order to view and print them. They’ll be available there for eight weeks before they’re placed in our archive which can be accessed at any time by Elite Members.

    Click on the image of the notes and if you’re already logged in to the Training Center you’ll be taken to the Podcast page. If you’re not logged in your be taken to a login page where you’ll also be able to login or register if you are not already a Member.

    Remember!

    Make sure you subscribe to Coaching Soccer Weekly through iTunes, or your podcast provider of choice, to be sure you never miss an episode.

    We would appreciate it if you would leave us a 5 star rating and/or a written review on iTunes to help spread the word about the show and ensure that we can continue to bring you top notch guests in the future.

    Next Week

    I’ll be taking next week off from the podcast as I travel with my teams for tournaments over Memorial Day weekend. I’ll be back in two weeks with a new episode.

    Previous 1 27 28 29 30 Next

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