Mike Trusson – FA Coach Educator
Defending
Soccer Coaching – 8 v 8 small sided games
May 9th
Football coaching a team in a small sided game, with the coaching topic of defend as a team.
We try to get the football coaches to understand the basic principle of defending. Once possession is lost, the team look to get behind the ball, get a defensive shape, which is narrow and compact and allows players to adopt positions in relation to where the ball is.
Defending in team play starts from the front. So when the ball was in possession of the opposition defence, we worked with our two strikers, to get them to understand how to react quickly when the ball was lost, to recover behind the ball and to work and defend as a pair. They needed to recognise if the player on the ball had good possession, then there was no point in trying to pressure the ball as they would easily be passed by. Their roles were to try and stop the ball behind passed forward into key attacking areas and to try and force play across the pitch and to keep the ball in front of them. They had to work as a pair communicate and react together as the ball was passed across them.
Once the strikers More >
Developing Good Football Training Practices
Jun 30th
One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to football training practices. Each individual player is of different ability, size, and physicality and has different needs. Fabio Capello talks about how a good football coach tailors practice sessions to suit players with varying abilities and skill. The Football Association Youth coaching Award helps football coaches to understand these needs and meet them.
THE NEED FOR PROGRESSIONS AND CHALLENGES WHEN COACHING SOCCER – PART FIVE
May 27th
This is the fifth part of the topic that I presented at the recent Soccer Coaching in Porto, Portugal. This involves progressions and challenges when coaching players.
In these examples, again taken from www.grassrootscoaching.com, the coach has organised a rotating close range shooting game. The objective is to provide the players with lots of opportunities to have realistic, match like scenarios to practice close range shooting and finishing opportunities.
Diamonds Progression 3 – Introduce defenders
THE PROGRESSION
- Introduce a defender to create a 2 v 1 situation
- Strikers to be aware of defender and create realistic shooting opportunities that by pass the defender, through movement and support for the player on the ball
- After shot 2 strikers rotate with 2 fielders
- Further progression – introduce two defenders
THE CHALLENGE
- The winning team are the first to score 4 goals. If a defender wins the ball, one goal is deducted from the score
FINAL PROGRESSION / CHALLENGE – The players play a 4 v 4 game with goalkeepers on a small pitch. The small pitch promotes lots of shooting and finishing opportunities. Encourage the players to adopt a formation of say 2 – 1 – 1 or 2 – 2 and let the players play a game and see if they More >
The use of simplified small sided games in training.
Apr 1st
Players love playing football. Take any group of players, the first thing they will do is make two goals, select sides and have a game. Football is fun, the concept of using simplified small sided games as an integral aspect of training is to provide players with an opportunity to do what they enjoy doing the most, playing a game.
During the process of playing a game players are constantly faced with observing, analysing and solving a succession of quick moving problems. As the game ebbs and flows, their ability to react and deal with constantly changing situations is always being tested.
Whilst technical and skill practices have their role to play in training players, with an emphasis on their “how things are done” repetitive mantra, they don’t always take into account the “when to” and “why” of playing football. Simplified small sided games challenge players to make decisions on the “when to” and “why”. The decisions players are forced to make in simplified small sided games develop improved technical performance in all aspects of the game, players having lots more touches of the ball and greater participation in the game, a better understanding of working and co – operating in units More >
MAN TO MAN POSSESSION GAME
Mar 19th
PURPOSE
To improve players football fitness and to develop the players ability to create space for themselves, for team mates, to improve turning, dribbling and passing skills as well as to enhance communication skills. This practice will also help improve player’s ability to man mark, to pressure the ball, to prevent turning and to track runners defensively.
ORGANISATION
- Mark out an area of 30 x 30 yards, on each side of the area mark out 4 x target areas of 15 x 10 yards.
- Supply of footballs near the coach. Each time a ball goes out of play a ball should immediately be passed back onto the pitch so the practice continues without interruption
- 4 x teams of 4 players. Play two teams of 4 v 4 in the main area and 4 target players in each of the four target areas. One team of 4 are resting.
- Target players play with whatever team are in possession of the ball.
- The players of each of the active teams are designated a player to man mark.
- This is a very intensive practice for both teams and the players should only be actively involved for designated periods, between 1 – 4 minutes, before being rotated to become the resting or More >
The importance of full backs in the modern game
Jun 8th
The full backs are vitally important players in the modern game. Not only do they have their main defensive responsibility to stop the opposition attacking in wide areas and to support and cover the central defenders in general play. But, because of the lack of space on the pitch, many attacks start with the full backs. Goalkeepers will always have the chance to distribute quickly to full backs, particularly to the opposite full back when successfully claiming crosses. Centre halves can work the ball across the pitch quickly and get out on quick, keen fullbacks in wide areas.
The “out” or safe pass from central midfield players, is always the full back, particularly switching play from one side of the pitch to the other.
The team defending will try and make sure they have a defensive shape that is compact, ensuring that the dangerous central areas of the pitch are covered. They will bring their players in tighter, giving up the least dangerous areas that are deep and wide. Therefore, the full backs will generally be the players that are most available and will often be the starting point for most attacks.
The key to the full backs being real threats as More >
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