David Clarke

It is mirrored in many ways by the words you and I have to use over the course of a season to motivate our players.

But the way children learn both in sport and academia is not through praising talent but through praising effort. Dozens of studies have found that the top performers – whether in mathematics, football, or music – learn no quicker than those who reach lower levels of attainment. In essence, childrens’ talent improves at practically identical rates.

Putting it simply, if your players practise more they will become strong achievers – talent alone is not enough for them to develop into good footballers. I won’t deny that some children come to the game and are naturally better than others, but if they don’t put in the effort the others soon catch them up.
That means phrases such as these are out:
“You did that exercise really quickly, you’re such a good player”

“Brilliant – you scored that goal without even trying!”

And phrases like these are in:
“You worked really hard at that exercise – keep it up”

“Great goal, you must be working really hard in training”

And if you don’t believe me listen to this: A leading psychologist has recently conducted an experiment based around the praise that her students received. All 400 subjects tested were given a simple puzzle.

Half were praised for intelligence – “wow you must be really smart”. And half for the effort they put in – “wow you must be hardworking”.

They were then given a choice of whether to take a hard or easy test. 75% of the students praised for intelligence chose the easy test because they were scared of losing the smart label, but only 10% of the students praised for effort chose the easy test; the other 90% chose the tough test to prove how hardworking they were.

They then took a second test of the same difficulty and the group praised for intelligence showed a 20% drop in performance compared with a 30% increase for the hardworking group. Failure had spurred them on.

Five words can have that profound an effect on the performance of children. If you praise your players for their hard work you will get more out of them than if you praise them for their talent.

It works with my team and I bet you can make it work for yours.

David Clarke

Set out a weekly plan and have the players keep a diary of their daily physical activity, as other forms of exercise can add to their football development.

Some players will respond to this, others might find it a struggle. Give your players tasks to work on from session to session, just like football ‘homework’, although don’t use that word, as it may well put some players off. Perhaps you can call it “extras” or “add-ons”.

Check that the tasks you gave each player have been completed, for instance by asking them to demonstrate them at the next session.

What tasks can you give the players?

Ball control exercises

Any type of juggling, trapping, flicking will serve your players well. Ask them to make up a 30-second performance.

Movement skills

Dodging, stopping quickly, accelerating, moving backwards, or sideways. Again, have the players make up their own movement circuit and demonstrate it at the next session.

Kicking skills

Chipping, curling, or firing the ball at pace is good. Kicking accuracy games such as Football Golf are very enjoyable, and can be played by a lone player or in groups.

Observational skills

Remember, not every type of homework has to be in the practical sense. Your players should be encouraged to watch as much football on the television (or better still, live) as their parents deem appropriate. Encourage youngsters to reference and observe as much as possible. For as many who write down a spectacular overhead kick, you’ll get the same number who comment on a box-to-box midfielder’s tireless running or a goalkeeper’s instructions when lining up a wall.

Get mum and dad to help

Another thing to consider is that working on their own can be limiting for kids. Encourage the players to ask their mum or dad to help in these situations by feeding the ball to strike or being the target for the pass. You may be surprised at just how much your players can round their technique in between training sessions, and the parents will undoubtedly enjoy playing their part also.

David Clarke

There are times when a ball comes to a youth player and they look very awkward trying to control it because it’s too low to chest or head and just too high to control with the foot.

The thigh is a good area to use when controlling high balls, because anywhere lower on the leg makes it much harder to cushion the ball.

The technique

• When the player sees the ball coming they should get into the line of flight.
• They must keep their eyes on the ball.
• Keep their head steady.
• Relax as the ball approaches.
• They should put their thigh in the path of the ball and retract as it arrives.
• If they don’t retract, the ball may not drop down and will bounce away.
• The contact surface they must use is above the knee up to about halfway up their thigh.
• The inside of the thigh is also good for stopping balls flying straight at them.
• The ball should drop to the ground and be easy to control.

Watch Inter Milan’s Maicon use his thigh twice to score an amazing goal

David Clarke

This was a question which posed itself last Saturday morning in a match my Under-10s had against the team that shared top spot in the league with us. We were level pegging in the table but they had played a game more.

We knew therefore that a win would offer us a healthy advantage at the top. Sometimes we all get too carried away with scores and results but in this instance it was a big game against a team of a similarly high standard. The only real difference was in terms of tactic – we typically pass the ball whereas they kick it long.

These occasions can be intimidating affairs for the players involved but we have such a friendly atmosphere at our club that both groups were laughing before kick-off and thoroughly enjoying the occasion. The first five minutes were very tight; no-one gave an inch. We won a corner, giving us chance to put into action something we’d been practising in training. A quick exchange worked, the ball ended up on the head of our attacker, and we were 1-0 up. A few minutes later we got another corner – same routine, same result! 2-0.

What is it about a 2-0 scoreline though that makes the team in the lead sit back?

Because sit back we did! It was frustrating for me and the players’ parents too as we watched our well oiled machine begin to choke. What I really enjoy about my side though is that they can think for themselves – for a while they worked it out, pressing the opposition, holding the ball and concentrating on their passing game.

But by the midway point in second period, the skill of the other team in spraying passes and sticking to a tactic at which they were well versed meant I needed to change things, or they’d quickly be back in the game. So I dropped a player from midfield into defence and locked it up tight. I knew this would relinquish possession in midfield but against a long ball team most of those central players were being bypassed anyway. I also pull

ed a player back from the frontline and sat him in front of the defence – it was like Fort Knox. We could repel any invaders that took us on. I wouldn’t normally have gone so defensive, but we’d played a pressing game and our stamina levels were flagging. Pulling players back actually made the other team’s tactic less effective, and on a day where league points mattered more than the spectacle, a defensive ploy seemed the right thing to do.

I wouldn’t play this way every week because youth football is about so much more, but it ensured we held on to win the game.

Watch the highlights of Inter Milan winning the 2010 Champions League 2-0 against Bayern Munich

David Clarke

Plan
I work in three-week blocks and have a particular focus for the sessions in these weeks. For instance it might be that we need to improve our defensive organisation around free kicks or corners.

I write down the key points I need to put across to my players over these three weeks. I then break it down into the objectives for each individual session and the key message for the players to take away from the session.

From that I decide which games and exercises will best introduce and reinforce the message.

Do and observe
As I coach the session, I analyse key aspects of my coaching. I focus on one or two elements of the session such as my demonstrations and questioning or organisation and work/rest ratio. I make mental notes about them and how effective they are in the session.

Review
I am very critical of my own coaching and always striving to improve it. Immediately after the session I ask myself how well the session went. Were the elements I was focusing on as effective as I had wanted?

I always write brief notes on my session plan to remind me what went well and what could be improved upon in the next session. I also review the session within my three-week block. Did I cover everything I wanted to? Are there areas where the players need more reinforcement?

Keep to the cycle
I coach to improve my players. To improve them I need to improve myself. This is why I keep to the cycle of “plan, do, observe, review” and I keep detailed plans on which I also write my reflections.

David Clarke

A cup game involving one of my Under-10s teams this week ended up giving me plenty to think about. Knockout matches can see your team coming up against all manner of sides, offering different challenges both in terms of technique and tactics. We’ve played some great teams in this cup run and learnt a lot from our opponents.

The weekend match saw us take on a side who were top of the league above us – in other words the top dogs in our age group. But watching the first 10 minutes of the game, you wouldn’t have known it. We out-passed our opponents and it was only due to some fabulous saves from their goalkeeper that the scores remained level.

That said, they had a very strong striker and a big midfielder – neither were overweight, just big for their age. Between them, the pair seemed to have the ball all of the time. They were effective with it and slowly got on top.

While they presented a formidable obstacle, if we were playing this team every week we would win more often than not, because as a unit we pride ourselves on the ability to change tactics as the game develops. And over time in the opponents’ team, the two larger players would gradually lose their advantage as other players catch them up in size.

Anyway, as the game progressed, we found that when the big midfielder ran at our defence each defender would turn sideways fearful that a powerful shot was going to hit him. The result was an easy goal against us. At the end of the game the backline all agreed that had they tried to tackle him they would have been able to win the ball, because his skill level was less than theirs.

This is a situation they will eventually get used to and big players will hold no fear for them. When we looked back at the game and analysed each half (both of which were relinquished 2-1), it seems a conclusive defeat, but it was a match we felt we could – and probably should – have won. I suppose, in a sense, we were the winners because, as a team, we learned a lot more about ourselves than our opponents did. One of the dads came up to me at the end and told me he thought the performance was encouraging considering we were playing the ‘best’ team in our age group.

And in many ways he was right, we had passed well and our tactical planning was, for the most part, thorough. And next time we play a team with bigger players, we will put our latest lesson in place, namely to stand up and not be intimidated.

Watch this video of Roberto Carlos 5ft 6in v Jan Koller 6ft 7.5in below and see who heads the ball:

Benefits of games

Kids become so absorbed in the game they don’t realise how much running they are doing. And because they are practising technical attributes at the same time, this also allows you to focus on developing other football skills under pressure so you are not wasting precious training time on fitness. For the best fitness results from games follow these guidelines:

• Use small-sided games – players have nowhere to hide and have to be involved all the time. Four- or five-a-side is ideal.

• Take a break – have rest periods in between intense periods of work. Two teams play for three minutes while another team rests. By swapping the teams round, each team works for six of every nine minutes.

• A change is as good as a break – keep football fresh by changing the game or adding new rules. This means players constantly have to adjust mentally whilst still working hard physically.

• Use games like the one below to give players a change from normal exercises and really take their minds off exercise.

SPACE INVADERS

Main Objectives

Dribbling and close control, passing accuracy and pace, and one touch passing.

Set Up

Create a 30 yards by 10 yards playing area with cones spread 5 yards apart along the length. Use 16 players split in to four teams of four, with 10 footballs.

Progression

Introduce timing so the quickest team to reach the safety zone wins, or stipulate a maximum amount of time. Alternatively, allow the passers an extra touch so they can be more accurate when firing the “laser”.

Hint

Keep an eye out for cheating in this game. If an invader’s ball is touched, they’re out. Make sure the passers are only using one touch to begin with.

How to play it

In pairs, players from three of the teams stand on either side of the channel. On your call, they play one touch passing back and forth. This represents the laser to shoot down invaders.

The fourth team – the invaders – has to dribble through the channel, one player per zone at a time, avoiding having their ball hit by the lasers. If an invader’s ball is hit by a laser, they have been destroyed and leave the channel in that zone.

The invaders must aim to reach the safety zone at the end of the channel. The team with the most invaders reaching the safety zone wins.

If no team reaches the safety zone, the team that progress the farthest along the channel wins.

Get 24 more games like this in  Fun Soccer Games for 5 to 8 Year Olds. But don’t be put off by the title. I used the game above with players as old as 16.

David Clarke

Carles Puyol is the type of player every team would like. He is the classic old-fashioned captain. Quick and powerful, committed almost to the point of comedy, he is an inspiration to team-mates and an idol for the fans.

His intense commitment to Barcelona runs deep – he often stays behind to train and reportedly comes in on his days off to put in some extra work.

He makes a good roll model for youth players because he has made himself great even though he does not have the reputation of some of his team mates. Puyol has played for Barcelona since 1999 and been club captain since 2004. In his early years as captain before Iniesta, Messi and Xavi came on the scene he said of his team mates: “I don’t have Romário’s technique, [Marc] Overmars’ pace or [Patrick] Kluivert’s strength. But I work harder than the others. I’m like the student who is not as clever, but revises for his exams and does OK in the end.”

“Puyol is the key,” says Xavi, the Barcelona midfielder, “not just because he is one of the best defenders in the world but because of his character. He never lets up. If he sees you relax at all, he’s suddenly at your side demanding more.”

He has starred in more than 500 official games for the team, winning 18 major titles, notably five La Liga and three UEFA Champions League championships. At international level he has won the Euro 2008and the 2010 World Cup tournaments with Spain.

Team mate at Barcelona Gerard Piqu&eacute said: “He’s someone who, even if you’re winning 3–0 and there’s a few seconds left in the game will shout at the top of his voice at you if he thinks your concentration is going.”

More recently said, “Even four goals down he thinks we can still win.”

“The fans appreciate that I work my hardest all the time,” Puyol explains. “I need no encouragement because I’ve always been a cule – I’ve never hidden that fact. I am living the dream playing football for Barça and it is my dream to retire playing here. I know someday that I will have to leave and I am not looking forward to that day. I will work hard to realise my dream but if I can’t then I would like to play in another country. I wouldn’t want to play in Spain. I would go to England or Italy.”