Invite Them to Learn

It's so easy for us as adults to want to see instant results by asking our kids to be little robots that do exactly what we want them to do. I'm told by those who know, that kids don't learn under this kind of pressure. You have to invite them to learn. An invitation can be declined; it's not an order. As a coach, am I making my sessions an invitation to learn or a chance to drill a lesson into their head? In the attempt to get better results, I know I've leaned more toward the drilling side of things. This will have short-term benefits, but long-term consequences. It takes more effort and preparation on my part to have a session that is an invitation which is so attractive it won't be turned down. As a coach, I need to do my preparatory work as much as the players.

Win the Ball and then Protect It

Today we'll practice practice getting to the ball first. Then once you have it, don't let the defenders take it. Of course, it has to be fun.

One really good game which let's everyone work on dribbling at the same time is ball tag. On a small field, let the entire team go after one person and try to tag his ball with their ball. The target player has their hands full just dribbling around the square avoiding all the shots at his ball. Whoever gets his ball with their ball becomes the new target. The kids love it and really learn to keep it close and still keep their head up.

Next we play the Get it First game. In this one, we'll have two lines of players on either side of the coach. The coach will toss the ball up so it gets some good bounces. The first player in each line will try to be the first player to get the ball. Once they win the ball, they try to score at the opposite end of the field with the other player defending. While those two are busy, the coach can toss another ball and let the next two go at it. Emphasis here is on running through the ball while it's bouncing; it won't work if they stop and try and settle it. After that, they need to dribble and shoot under strong pressure from the other player.

After that, we may play the Star Wars game where you set up a couple of smaller boxes with a shared edge and set a defender in each box. The other players try to dribble through each box (going from one end of the rectangle to the other) without letting the defender kick the ball out. If the defender does get it, they retrieve their ball and try again immediately. If they make it, they count a goal and try again immediately.

I'm thinking we can't get enough of these games.

Positions vs. Positionless Soccer

I want the U11 forwards/mids moving, overlapping, crossing over, confusing the defense, understanding and anticipating the action. They want positions, a "safe" place, organization, to simply wait for the ball.

Do I give in and allow them to play with these fixed positions and clear instructions on what to do in the most common situations? Or do I allow them to struggle with the chaos and let their minds begin to really understand the patterns? Or is it just too much to ask?

I see a good response in some players. This gives me hope that letting them sort through the chaos is potentially a good idea.

I've learned a lot over the last several years and continue to learn. I have to admit that my U7 team playing 4 v 4 with no positions, always has someone in the cover position even though its often not the same person. They actually connected on some passes this week. They even maintained separation when their teammate had the ball. Yet they still dribbled aggressively and pressured aggressively. I think I may have done a better job with them and they are handling the chaos even though they're much younger.

I'm still not sure.

Passing in the Fast Lane

No, I'm not talking about driving. We played a new game yesterday that really seemed effective.

I like simple, self-correcting games that I can explain once and then let them play. In this one, I setup a "lane" 10 yards wide and 40 yards long. 3 girls started at one end and 2 girls we set to stop them. The object was for the 3 girls to dribble or pass their way to the other end without letting the ball get out of the "lane". Even though it was 3 v 2, they really struggled at first. However, with some tips on shielding the ball under extreme pressure and supporting your teammates, they got better. Then we pointed out that passes need to be to the side of your teammates away from the pressure. Then we talked about first touches away from pressure and even up the lane. We saw some quicker passes in a give-and-go situation. To top it off, we enforced offsides which made it really tough and certainly reinforced this tricky topic.

I really think they learned a lot. They had to be more precise and think quicker than normal. Hopefully, it will make the wide open space of the field seem slow and easy.

First Touch and Getting it First

I expect the girls' off the ball movement to improve slowly with our current plan. However, their first touch is still a problem. Also, while we still need a lot of work on seeing all the possible passes, we get miscommunications; one player will be looking for a through-ball and the passer will send it toward her feet. The result is the defender steps up and wins the ball. We're going to have to learn how to read the defense so we are all on the same page.

Even more importantly, our first touch still needs work. The ball is bouncing all over the place. To address this, I'm thinking of a game where players will have to keep it close and keep it safe from a defender. Perhaps a game where we have small boxes setup around the field and a player from each team in each box. The blue team will have to receive the ball without letting it rebound out of the box and at the same time shielding it from the opponent in her box. Then she needs to pass it to a teammate in another box. With these constraints, I think we'll be able to make the lack of first touch obvious to the players. However, I'm a little concerned that this drill may encourage them to wait for the ball rather than coming back to it. Hmmm.

Passing the Point

We have been working on "passing the point" and I like what I see. The girls started off real shaky, but got better quickly. It takes a lot of concentration to be working on setting up a contract to get the ball from one teammate and give it to another all while the ball is bouncing around you. They just want to watch the ball. It's hypnotic. We have to break that spell with a disciplined effort.

We simplified things by first just passing the point, no ball movement at all. After a few rounds of making sure everyone had both of their contracts, they got better at just this step. Then we had them pass the point and when everyone had their contracts, they passed the ball to complete the contracts. It took several rounds of this to get them in the habit of remembering who to expect to get the from and who they would give the ball to (pardon the poor grammar). After that, we tried getting the ball moving before all the contracts were complete. We still have a way to go. However, we now have a common understanding and a common language to describe this fairly complex topic.

Passing the Soccer Ball - Make a Contract

Passing the soccer ball effectively requires that you have a plan before you get the ball. While the technical skills to receive and pass the ball are certainly prerequisites, teaching the girls to stop ball watching and start thinking isn't easy. I tried out a new idea and it looked like it was working.

I first explained to the girls what a contract was - in our case, an agreement between players to pass and receive the ball. Each player needed to first get a contract from a teammate to pass the ball to them. Next to get a contract with a different player to whom they would pass the ball. That doesn't sound very simple, does it. A simple means of communicating this contract is the key.

Here's what we did:

• If you don't have a contract, raise your hand.
• A player who has a contract to receive the ball looks for a player with their hand in the air and points to that player. If a player points at you, you have your first contract.
• Now you lower your hand and point to another player that needs a contract. When that deal is done, you're ready to receive the ball.

In essence what happens is you "pass the point". The players will be pointed at and then do the pointing all before the ball arrives. Now you have player anticipating the action, watching off the ball movement, and ready to move the ball quickly to another player after receiving it. After the pass is made, she raises her hand again and tries to get a new contract.

This gets them thinking the right way, then you make sure they're moving to get open so the first pass is an easy one for their teammate. Just standing with your hand in the air is not the idea.

We'll keep working on this and see if it translates to the game.