Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Reminders to Self

  1. Bunch ball is good for them - particularly for the little ones. I know, the big kids have to learn to pass. It's a huge part of the game, but with the little ones and to a certain extent the big ones, if you can learn to move the ball out of the bunch, you've just learned a hugely important skill that will help you become a good goal scorer. I'd be willing to bet Messi played a lot of bunch ball as a kid.
  2. Learn to handle 1 v 1 pressure - I think if the kids can learn to maintain possession under pressure from a defender, this will give them the confidence and time to make good decisions. We have to practice games that have players learning to hold the ball. You'll know you've succeeded here when they take a touch or two before kicking the ball in the game.
  3. Teach them to anticipate what will happen next - This is the toughest. The best method I've come up with so far is unbalanced games such as 3 v 2. The short side has to look at the situation on the fly and determine which player on the long side is the least/most dangerous. If they don't learn to anticipate, they'll get beat every time. Learning to anticipate will allow to the become genuinely creative on the field. Ahh...Barcelona....
Now if we could just get the fields around here dried out with some warm, sunny weather, we'd be ready to go.

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