Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Fitness, Soccer Skills, Uncategorized | Tags: Chelsea, how to coach, Manchester United, simple drills, simple warm-ups, soccer drills, warm ups
Sometimes I get really good ideas for my team warm-ups from just watching the professional players warm up at matches I go to. If you get to a game a bit earlier than usual you will often see the professionals warming up before the game.
I just sit there and watch them and take a few notes which give me some great ideas what to do with my own players at our next match.
It doesn’t matter what age you coach, all ages can warm up in the same way. When you go to watch your next game see how simple some of the warm ups are for even the most skilful players.
The superstars of the English Premier League warm up with simple runs, stretches and jumps.
Watch these clips taken before Chelsea and Manchester United games where the players are warming up before their matches.
Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Fitness, Soccer Skills, Soccer Training, Uncategorized | Tags: how to coach skills, Robin van Persie, skills, Skills School, Soccer Coach Weekly, technique, The F-word
The best way to get young players to understand the technique behind skills is to show them how to do it your self. If you understand how to do it and can demonstrate to your players, they will be able to follow your instructions and also have a bit of respect that you, old as you are, can do the skill!
In my publication Soccer Coach Weekly I have a column which runs bi-weekly called Skills School. In this column you can get all the skills your players should learn and how to do the technique. All you have to do is get out in the backgarden and practice them.
Here’s an example from skills School:
The swivel
How to set it up
Get your players into threes, with one ball in an open area. The players (A, B and C) start around 10-15 yards apart. Moving around the pitch the three players control, swivel then pass to one another.
How to play it
A passes to B who controls the ball, swivels with the ball on his right foot before releasing it to C. The three players then continue to move forward. When you advance the play, C controls B’s pass, then passes to A. He controls, swivels then delivers the pass to B, and so the practice evolves.
Key coaching tips
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First touch is crucial – it can be the difference between keeping or losing possession – so passing must be accurate into the path of the receiver. This means you must work on your players’ control.
Improve your players’ awareness by changing positions.
Ive put a clip up of a coach showing how skills are done with some young Brazilian players to give you one or two hints for your next session on skills:
Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer News, Soccer Skills, Uncategorized | Tags: cancelled matches, cold, ice, leeds, manchester city, play on snow, snow, training
It’s been a frustrating time in England trying to play matches and take training session with deep snow all around the place. It was interesting to hear how difficult lots of professional teams have found it to train this last couple of weeks because most outside pitches have been frozen solid.
It’s not just problems with pitches though it’s also a problem getting to the grounds.
I got my U9s up to training to clear the astro turf pitch we can use. Six turned up. I slipped on ice and could barely walk. The parents faced a gruelling drive home. They won’t do that again in a hurry.
Wycombe Wanderers have found the same problem. Because they were playing Leeds United who have undersoil heating and an army of people to clear snow off the pitch, they had to travel all the way up north to their match.
They haven’t trained all week, whereas Leeds have a plastic training pitch which they can use in conditions like this.
Most clubs have to train indoors if they can find somewhere open.
When you hear that a big club like Manchester United with all their facilities are finding it difficult to train even though they have undersoil heated training pitches you know there is a problem. Your local rec isn’t going to be much use.
Manchester Utd have penciled in a trip to Dubai to train – now there’s a thought. Wonder if my local club would stump up the cash for a little trip like that.
But there are things you can do if you can sort out a flat bit of snow to pass the ball around on. Get everyone to bring flasks of hot drinks and do half an hour of simple passing. As long as its daylight your players should be okay.
I’ve been asking around to see what players have been up to and thought I’d put up a couple of clips for you to see:
And remember in the 70s when games went ahead with an orange ball?
