Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Fitness, Soccer News, Soccer Refereeing, Soccer Skills, Soccer Team Management, Soccer Training | Tags: 4v4, defending, play out from back, small-sided game
One of the things that is important in playing out from the back is the pass from the goalkeeper out to a defender in space. This is an important part of the tactic. A pass that puts the defender under pressure will usually end up in disaster.
A good first pass and the defenders are on their toes ready for the ball.
Play this game which keeps the defenders on their toes but gives them a target to aim at.
Pitch size: 30 x 20 yards (minimum) up to 40 x 25 yards (maximum)
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One full-sized goal
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One keeper
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Two teams of four players
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Three mini target goals
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One team starts the game as the attacking team.
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One team starts the game as the defending team.
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The keeper starts the practice with the ball in his hands.
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The defending team must attempt to pass out of defence and into one of the mini goals in order to score a goal.
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The attacking team must try to win the ball and shoot into the net to score a goal.
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The game is played for 10 consecutive balls.
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The two teams then reverse roles for a further 10 balls.
Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Fitness, Soccer News, Soccer Refereeing, Soccer Skills, Soccer Team Management, Soccer Training | Tags: defending, force play, predictable, pressing, Switch play, tactics
An important characteristic of modern teams is their ability to control the game even when they haven’t got the ball. The whole team plays a part in this tactic with the intention of forcing the opposition into awkward situations.
The formation succeeds by covering all avenues of opposition attack, meaning that play is stifled. It relies on pressing as soon as the opposition has the ball. The defending team always keeps the action in front of them and tries to stop any balls through the centre or in behind.
This tactic requires good fitness from players because it is hard work. And for pressing to work, the team must prevent any switches of play as this will give overload initiatives to attackers. But performed well, the game rewards are significant.
How to set it up:
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Set up an area measuring 30×20 yards. Make three 10-yard zones across the width of the pitch.
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You will need bibs, cones, balls and goals.
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The players in the middle zone must prevent other teams passing through them.
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This featured session uses nine players split into groups of three (one group in each area), but it will work with any equal denominations.
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No balls are allowed over head height.
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Players are restricted to two touches.
Getting started:
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Play starts with either end zone team. Players pass among themselves before threading a ball through to the team in the opposite end zone.
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For the first two minutes, the middle team is not allowed to move any player out of its zone.
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After two minutes, allow one player from the middle zone to go forward into an end zone to press the ball. Play this for three minutes.
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If the ball is intercepted, play restarts at the other end.
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Rotate play so that each team fulfils defensive duties in the middle.
Now try this:
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Remove the zones and add two goals, with a keeper in each. Also add a halfway line.
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Keep the teams in threes but this time the middle team attacks one end, then turns and attacks the other.
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The outer two teams must defend the area and clear the ball using the pressing technique.
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If a goal is scored, play restarts with the middle group and they attack in the opposite direction. If a tackle is made, the defenders’ reward is to now switch places with the middle group, thus becoming the attackers.
Why this works:
Pressing the ball is a great tactic for winning back possession. This activity shows the value in doing that, compared to standing off waiting to intercept. Pressing means opposition players rarely settle on the ball and mistakes can be forced, either through poor control or a rushed pass.
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Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Fitness, Soccer News, Soccer Refereeing, Soccer Skills, Soccer Team Management, Soccer Training | Tags: Ajax, analyse players, analysis, Arsenal, tips, trial days, trials, Wenger
I gave a talk last year about analysing players during the season – essentially when I do it and how I do it.
A lot of coaches were asking me about the system I use and wanted to try something similar themselves. They were keen to know how appropriate it was for assessing new players during pre-season or on trial days.
I use a system I call TIPS, which was introduced to me by a couple of youth coaches who worked at Dutch club Ajax.
Here’s what TIPS stands for:
T = Technique.
Can the player control the ball? What about his first touch, passing, shooting and tackling ability?
I = Intelligence.
Does the player make the right decisions? Can he think ahead?
P = Personality.
How does he communicate with others? What about leadership, creativity, receptivity to team mates and discipline?
S = Speed.
Is he quick off the mark, mobile, and can he maintain pace over long distance?I use it for players during the season to assess how they are progressing, but when I look at new players for my team it’s the IPS bit that I find most interesting.
That’s because if I feel a player is short on the ‘T = Technique’ part it is up to me to bring him up to a good level. It may not be his fault that his technique is not up to scratch so I look at the other things in which he may or may not excel.
Arsène Wenger said recently that when he assesses young players it is speed he looks for first and technique second which, coming from a coach who utlises a system where player technique is vital, it just goes to show that technique can be taught.
When you think about it, the level of technique for 99% of players in grass roots football can be taught – it is only that tiny percentage who go on to play in the academies and the professional game who need something extra. You can coach technique to your players so they are of a sufficient standard to play at grass roots level.
So on trial days I will give players marks out of 10 after observing them, and get my helpers and fellow coaches to do the same. This gives us a way of fairly analysing which players we feel would be a good fit with our teams.Why not apply this criteria to your players?
If it works for Ajax, it will hopefully work for you too!
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Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Fitness, Soccer News, Soccer Refereeing, Soccer Skills, Soccer Team Management, Soccer Training | Tags: passing, shooting, control, movement, first touch, overloads
It can be difficult at times to find a good workout for your players that replicates the vital first touch, good movement and quick passing of typical match day situations.
Players are generally relaxed in training – sometimes overly so – and there’s certainly less pressure on them performing a move well.
But with the right set-up, and providing you can instil the notion that a player’s team mates are depending on him (and him only) to perform a specific task, you can get your team working at a high tempo.
This activity, Touch And Go, ensures players remain physically and mentally alert at all times, always aware of the concept of using available space in order to make maximum use of the ball.
It is a fast session that rehearses overloads, shooting, passing and movement in the same manner that your players will encounter in a match – indeed, a shortened version of this is perfect as a pre-match practice, so ensure every player is getting the ball and thinking about moving to the pass.
How to set it up:
- Alter the size of the playing area depending on the ages of your players. For U9s, use the centre circle of an adult (11-a-side) pitch, or a circle 20 yards in diameter. For U10s and older, mark out a 30-yard circle as a playing area.
- You will need to create three small goals using cones at equal points around the playing area. These will each be two yards wide. There are six players on one team and three on the other, though you can alter the number of players and the size of the playing area depending on your squad size, providing one team has twice as many players as the other.
GETTING STARTED
The warm-up
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One player on the team of six starts with the ball at his feet.
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He must release the ball to a team mate. His team aims to complete six consecutive passes.
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The team with three players must attempt to overturn possession. If it does, it tries to score in one of the small goals.
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Play this for 10 minutes.
The main move
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Now they have warmed up, prepare your players to restart with the same 6v3 set-up.
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This time though, the team of six must arrange themselves so that three players begin inside the circle and three outside.
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The three inside must keep possession, always attempting to switch with players on the outside of the circle by passing the ball to them. When they do this, they swap places with their team mate.
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They gain a point for each successful pass out and player switch.
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As before, the team of three gain a point by winning the ball and scoring in one of the three goals.
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Play for 10 minutes then rotate players.
Why this works:
This is a great overload game that never allows players to relax. Because it is performed in a playing area that most aren’t accustomed to, they should be constantly aware of situations developing around them.
In the second exercise, the playing numbers are still 6v3, but the overload is not as obvious with players inside the circle feeling as though they are involved in a 3v3 small-sided game.
On each occasion, look for players to adapt their style of play to the way in which they can score points. The team of six should be looking to play a controlled passing game, while the team of three must be bold and ambitious in their attacking play.
Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Fitness, Soccer News, Soccer Refereeing, Soccer Skills, Soccer Team Management, Soccer Training | Tags: Barcelona, Bayern Munich, control, drills, exercises, pass, passing
This advanced passing and moving exercise gets players thinking about where they are moving as they control and pass the ball. It helps young players perfect the weight and accuracy of the pass while they are on the move and looking around them for the player to pass to.
How to set it up
- Set up an area 30 yards long by 20 yards, with a cone at each corner. Have a queue of players at the first cone and one player on the next three cones.
- The game is continuous but because there is a lot of passing and movement, it relies on your players to listen and then perform the tasks using good technique, running and passing skills.
What you want to see in your players
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Follow the steps in the diagram. Your players will have to concentrate as you talk them through the steps. Read the diagram carefully so you can see how the ball is moving around the cones.
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Make sure your players are concentrating on all the aspects of the exercise – passing, controlling, awareness and moving with ease around the cones. Explain to them that the weight of the pass and accuracy of the pass are vital to the exercise.
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When you have run the exercise for 10 minutes (or less if you are only using a few players) have a drinks break then tell your players you want to see them do it again at full speed for five minutes. They will either be brilliant at it or have a great deal of fun and laugher trying to be brilliant at it!
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End with a small-sided game where you want to see some of the aspects the players have learned in the session.
Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Fitness, Soccer News, Soccer Refereeing, Soccer Skills, Soccer Team Management, Soccer Training | Tags: atmosphere, behaviour, club rules, coaching style, communicate, control, listen
I work at a number of clubs coaching kids of all ages, as well as running my own team. One of the interesting things that I notice is the differing attitudes shown by head coaches towards the way the players behave. I’m not talking about disruptive behaviour here, it’s more the receptive behaviour.
As an example, let me tell you about an incident last week when I was coaching a team of talented Under-12s for the first time. The head coach and parents were interested to see what I was going to do with the players – I’m sure you’ve experienced the same scrutiny. I ran a session on passing and movement, calling the players over at regular intervals to talk to them about what we were doing and why.
The boys were very on the ball, answered the questions well and really got into the spirit, even if there was a certain ‘we know what we’re doing’ bravado towards what they saw as the new coach. In essence, they were out to impress.
At the end of the session we wrapped up and I went over to talk to the head coach. He was suitably pleased with how things had gone but he raised a couple of objections.
“Why didn’t you get the players to sit up straight and focus on you when you gave the talks throughout the session,” he asked? “There was a point when they were all shouting out their ideas – how could that work?” Well I’m not one for enforcing that style of receptive behaviour from my players. I want them to be comfortable; and as I had just run a fairly fast session I allowed them to lay on the grass rather than sit up straight. After all, this wasn’t a maths lesson!
And if players shout out ideas, great. I want them to express themselves; I want them to feel they can say what they want, when they want. I prefer this more casual style of sitting around and discussing the session rather than me being the teacher and them the obedient pupils. I want a relaxed atmosphere where every single player feels comfortable in that situation and wants to speak up about what we are doing.
I have no problem if the head coach would rather see players sitting neatly in rows all cross legged with straight backs – that’s how he gets his ideas across to his players and if that works for him that’s fine. But always remember, if you start with rules about sitting up straight and only speaking when spoken to, you may not get out of your players what they really want to say.
Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Fitness, Soccer News, Soccer Refereeing, Soccer Skills, Soccer Team Management, Soccer Training | Tags: coerver, drills, futsal, sessions, skills, technique, turning
Great way to coach turning with this simple session you can use to coach your players – it also makes a good warm up.
How to play it
• Set up an area measuring 20×5 yards, as shown, with two cones marking the midway length point.
• The player in the middle receives a pass from the front player in the top line – this man then follows his pass.
• The middle player must make a turn, pass out, then follow his pass to join the group at the bottom.
• The player who originally passed from the top line now becomes the new middle player.
• For the next part, a pass is fed in from the bottom line.
• The process continues with the player in the middle receiving the pass, but his ‘turn and move’ must be different to the one used by the player before him.
• There are many ‘turn and move’ choices, including:
- An open body turn
- Opening legs and flicking the ball in between
- Open legs and dummying Making a Cruyff turn
• The practice continues until all players are suitably warmed up in passing, controlling, turning and moving on.
Technique and tactics
• Players must be on their toes at all times.
• You’re looking for imagination in terms of how they turn.
• The quality of passing to and from the middle man is essential if this warm-up is to maintain its momentum.
Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Fitness, Soccer News, Soccer Refereeing, Soccer Skills, Soccer Team Management, Soccer Training | Tags: awareness, look up, passing, see, shooting, vision, visual
This session from Kevin McGreskin is aimed at developing a player’s visual awareness by making them look up and know what their team mates are doing around them. In the session, players have to carry out a specific action in response to a visual cue which forces them to look before they pass or receive a pass.
How it works
In the picture above. Player 2 must only use three touches in the centre – one to control the ball, one to move it and one to pass.
Encourage players to call out the colour of the visual cue during the exercise. This is an important secondary task that increases the challenge for the players and gets them used to talking during play.
How to play it
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You need three players, two balls and six markers.
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Player 2 stands between two markers (one black, one white) approximately three yards apart.
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Players 1 and 3 each have one black and one white marker.
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Player 1 passes to player 2.
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Player 2 must look around to "spot" the visual cue, held up by player 3.
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Player 2 must then shift the ball around the same coloured marker as the visual cue.
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Player 2 follows the ball and makes a return pass to player 1.
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Player 2 turns and repeats with player 3. This time, player 1 will hold up the visual cue.
How to progress it
- Continue as above but player 2 must now "spot" a second visual cue, held up by player 3 in the picture, and call out the colour before making the return pass.
- Rotate players after they have had two turns.
Key coaching tips
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Make sure players look over their shoulder before receiving a pass.
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Players need a good touch to shift the ball out of their feet and beyond the cone.
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Ensure players look up and correctly identify the second visual cue before making the return pass.
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Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Fitness, Soccer News, Soccer Refereeing, Soccer Skills, Soccer Team Management, Soccer Training | Tags: aguero, attack, communication, heroes, manchester city, midfield, shoot, team bonding, team spirit
Isn’t it great when you hear players shouting the names of their heroes in the professional game? Twice this week I heard a pro’s name shouted by one of my players when they were bearing down on goal, as I’ll go on to explain…
To put it into context, my Under-11s were playing a really important end-of-season match last week. I was nervous for them, as were the cluster of parents gathered on the touchline, but how refreshing to see the kids just playing the game with so much relaxed spirit. It was a tight first period with relatively few chances, and with the scores level in the second half, a series of passes led the ball to my midfielder Marcus through on goal at an angle.
Before he shot, he shouted “AGUERO!” and tried to emulate the player he had seen in his living room score that fantastic title-winning goal for Manchester City . Needless to say the shot went high and wide – oh well! Even so, that didn’t stop his team mates appreciating at least the fact he had put himself in the right place as we drove forward looking for a goal.
“I heard you shout that!” one of his team mates said with a smile on his face. “That was brilliant!”
Another came over laughing and told him he too had thought of Aguero as the move developed. I find it heartening when I see my players inspired by great and memorable events on the pitch that they want to emulate.
Kids learn by watching and there is no better league for them to learn from than the English Premier League. Their appreciation for the game is a far cry from some people’s perception that kids are sometimes only taken in by some of the more unsavoury aspects of the modern game. I disagree with that notion. At the end of the day they take the positives, and this season has been full of them – great players, great skills, great goals, but also great stories.
And not always on the pitch – look at the reaction to Fabrice Muamba recovering from his heart attack and the draw of affection from the football family, for instance. I have started to realise there’s a lot in football to inspire those of us in the grass roots game. And if ever, as coaches, we’re unsure which of those influences are having an effect, just watch the kids!
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Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Fitness, Soccer News, Soccer Refereeing, Soccer Skills, Soccer Team Management, Soccer Training | Tags: 1v1s, beat a player, Belgium, brazil, Chelsea, drills, exercises, hazard, oscar, skill
When Oscar or Eden Hazard are running with the ball watch how often they do a skill which fools the chasing player. They change direction or pace with simple movements like this reverse pass.
It is the speed of the initial reaction which makes all the difference when players lose the ball and the opposition counter-attacks. Running in counter attacking situations often means players are being chased by defenders. I get my players to prepare by playing this game. Not only does it get players to react quickly to a change in possession but it also involves a skill and a technique.
The skill is a reverse pass, followed by pressing the player on the ball – and the technique is both with and without pressure.
How to play it
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Put down two cones 20 yards apart – further/closer depending on the physical fitness of your players.
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You need players at each end of the exercise.
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Play starts at one end with a player running with the ball.
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When he reaches the far end, he passes to the player at that end with a reverse pass – he runs past the first player in the queue and use a backheel pass across the standing leg.
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The receiving player starts running to the opposite end, the player who has made the reverse pass must turn and give chase.
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When players get to the far end, the player with the ball reverse passes to a player at that end then turns and gives chase.
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The original chasing player joins the back of the queue.
Key coaching points
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When running with the ball, players should use the laces for each touch, making sure they run in a straight line.
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Players run as fast as they can, complete the skill and turn to give chase.
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Make sure your players put maximum effort into this exercise so they get all the benefits of fitness and skills.
Change the pass
- If your players are having trouble with the reverse pass across the front of the standing leg get them to try a normal backheel (without crossing the legs). Even this may be hard with some young players, but keep pushing this skill – they will get it with practice.
