I set up by arranging a set of cones in the pattern below.

This allows me to see everyone from the front of the group and it gives them the space they need to perform the fake. It also gives them a spot to return to after each repetition. In later stages, the players use the cone as a defender.

I have the player each choose a cone to put their ball next to and then have them line up on field line so that I can demonstrate the fake and break it down for them. Each fake can usually be broken down into two or three steps. The steps I use for the Matthew’s are:

• Step forward on a diagonal with the left while cradling the ball with the inside of the right foot.
• Touch the ball forward on a diagonal with the right foot while hopping along the same diagonal with the left foot.
• Play away with the outside of the right foot and accelerate for 5 yards.

As I demonstrate the fake and give the players the three steps, I ask them questions to get them to think about the fake. Here are some of the questions I ask about the Matthew’s:

• What part of my foot touches the ball first? (Inside)
• What does my left foot do while the inside of my right foot is touching the ball? (Hopping forward diagonally)
• Where am I standing after the touch and hop? (Next to the ball)
• What part of my foot plays it away? (Outside of the foot)
• Do I use the same foot or different feet for the two touches? (Same)

Then I send the players back to their ball. They start by standing in front of their cone with the ball at their feet. We go through the steps one-by-one as I say, “Go”. They pause after each step so that I can make sure everyone understand what we’re trying to do. Once everyone has the basics I’ll let them start and stop on their own while I move around the group giving high fives to those doing a great job and helping correct those who are having trouble.

Once all of the players are able to perform the fake comfortably  I have them start behind the cone and perform the move around the cone as a defender. At this stage we talk about moving the ball from one side of the cone (defender) to the other. “Fake one way, go the other.”

The next step is to move farther away from the cone and take one touch to get the ball moving and then perform the fake. This step always brings about technical breakdowns. With the Matthew’s, the players start to leave out the hop which reduces the effectiveness of the fake. It’s important to remind the players of the steps and that each one is important.

The last stage of this progression is to have the players dribble all around the area of cones performing the fake. At first I encourage them to do the move in the spaces between the cones at first. Only after that is easy for them do I ask them to go at the cones like defenders. Again, make sure that the players are performing the moves correctly and not dribbling too fast. I tell them to dribbling in under control, fake the defender and explode away. “The move fakes the defender, the play away beats them.”

When I’m first teaching a move I have the players focus on going through every stage with their, “favorite foot” before I ask them to try it with their other foot. I’ve found that it makes it much easier for them to transfer the steps to the other foot if they first become totally comfortable with their favorite foot.

That’s how I progress the fakes like the ones in our Legendary 1 v 1 DVD. Is there anything that you do differently that works well for you?

Have a great day!

Tom

There are so many different fakes you can teach that an important question becomes which ones to introduce to your players? I also believe that it’s important to decide which fakes to teach first, second and so on. If you teach them in an order that is easy for the players to understand then one can build on another.

The first thing I want the players to understand is that they’re not just doing a, ‘move’ or ‘trick’ (I hate that description!). They’re trying to FAKE the defender into believing they’re going one way but then playing away in the other direction. For this reason I always start with a scissors. Just about every fake has two or three different names that it goes by depending on the coach but this is my post so I’m going to use my names Here’s a video that shows some great examples of the scissors.

The next fake I teach the players is a Matthew’s. I like this one because it is a ball and body fake. A good defender who watches the ball will be taken in by this fake if it’s done well. This video shows a lot of footage of Sir Stanley Matthews who made the fake famous. You can skip to 1:45 and 2:39 to see some great examples of the man in action.

Once the players can do these fakes well with both feet I teach them the Maradonna turn. I wait until the players understand that they’re not just doing, ‘moves’ to teach this one because it can turn into just spinning on the ball if down wrong. It’s also best done as a second move if the defender doesn’t bit on the first one. To be effective with this move you have to get the defender to turn their hips in the direction of the fake so that you can drag the ball back and take it away with the sole of the foot in the direction. The start of this video is a bit annoying. Skip the first 40 seconds and you’ll see some great examples of the fake.

There are obviously many others but these are the first three fakes to beat a player that I teach. There are also a series of change of direction movements that the kids learn first so that they can control the ball well but I’ll cover those in a future post.

Do you feel that teaching fakes is important? Which ones do you focus on and why?

Have a great day,

Tom

After spending a few weeks working on our combination play to score we played very well in our next games. Two of our three goals came from combinations in the middle of the field.

Another area that I’ve wanted to address but didn’t because of lack of time is working with the players on their volleys. I look at this skill as a combination of timing and technique.

The first step has to be to grove the correct technique with the inside of the foot and the laces. I encourage the players to focus on the inside of the foot because of the greater surface area. Most of the time you don’t need to generate much power because the ball usually arrives with enough pace that redirecting it is all that is needed to score.

Once the players understand the technique I try to get them a large number of opportunities to judge balls in the air so that they can practice the necessary timing.

Here is a practice that I’ve used to introduce volleys to my teams.

Two players are inside of a triangle that is three yards on each side. The player at the point is the server and the player at the base volley the ball. Each player volleys the ball the ball 10 times with each foot.

Now the players move to the outside of the triangle. The player at the point serves the ball as the player at the base moves from one corner to the other. It’s not important to move quickly from side-to-side but to shuffle and be balanced for each volley.

Having one group of players on the outside of the circle serving balls to the inside plays starts to work on the timing of the volley. How fast they should approach? Which foot to use? What part of the foot?

Most young players are not able to serve the ball with their feet consistently enough to provide good service so I begin by having the players perform a throw-in for another player to volley or head. The players have to decide whether it’s better to head the ball or volley it. The emphasis remains on timing and technique to finish.

The field is narrowed to the width of the penalty area and a free channel is created on each side. If the attacking team can pass to a player in this area she is allowed to pick it up and perform a throw-in to create a chance to score from a volley. Eventually the players are asked to serve the ball with their feet. You can add a defender to the channel if you’d like to progress the scrimmage further.

What is you’re favorite exercises or small-sided game to teach your players to volley the ball effectively?

Have a great day!

Tom

I began with the defensive phase of the game to give the team a foundation to build on. They now have a good understanding of their responsibilities when we don’t have the ball and that has made us a tough team create chances against. As a part of this we’ve worked a great deal on getting our wing backs involved by pushing them forward when we win the ball. This put emphasis on our wide play and we’ve been able to generate a lot of our offense by attacking the flanks with both our wing backs and wingers.

The area that we have been lacking is our combination play to score through the center of the field. I want the players to feel comfortable and confident that they can create chances by more than getting the ball wide and crossing it. we’ve worked hard over the last two weeks to improve our creativity and combination play to create shots on goal. The final phase is to put the players in game situations where they can use these skills.

In my opinion phase of play exercises and small-sided games are the best way to help the players transfer the concepts from the practice field to match day. A new book that we’ve just released, A Coach’s Guide to the 4-3-3 has given me a number of ideas that I’ve used with my team.

A Coach’s Guide to the 4-3-3 gives you a complete tactical overview of the system. It includes an explanation on how to organize your players, the roles and responsibilities of each position, how it’s used at the highest level of club soccer and how you can coach the 4-3-3, with a comprehensive selection of soccer drills and exercise.

Here are a few of the exercises and games that I’ve used recently with my team:

Some coaches like to add specific drills to reduce the amount of players. In this case, a good one is an 8 vs. 4 drill including two outside backs, three midfielders and three forwards against four defenders.

Another good drill is to play 5 vs. 5 where the interior midfielders and the attackers play against the four player back-line and the holding midfielders. This drill is specific for training the interior midfielders to support the attacking trio and to train the holding midfielder to help the defensive back line.

Another drill is to play 8 vs. 8 with the rule that the players must pass the ball with no backward passes and can only use diagonal passes. The objective is to get to the net as soon as possible.

There are two other drills you can use. In a small pitch, two teams play 7 vs. 7 with the hands but a goal is only valid if scored with a one-touch shot with the feet.

What small-sided games do you use to help your players transition from the practice field to match day?

Have a great day!

Tom

During the spring season I will often run an entire session that revolves around two or three small-sided games to reinforce technical or tactical topics that we have covered a number of times during the fall and winter. As the session continues the players move in and out of the two or three different games. Each one has a slightly different challenge for the players to solve. The players enjoy the change of pace and the games help the players connect the skills we’ve developed to the game itself.

I’m always on the lookout for games that are a bit different. A book that we recently released has given me a number of good games that my players have really enjoyed.  Check it out here.

Developing Creativity Through Small-Sided Games, is written by Brazilian soccer coach, Eduardo Andriatti Paulo. He feels that the Brazilian system has moved away from what has developed the most creative and skillful players in the world. Andriatti Paulo has collected more than 100 small-sided games that can be used to develop every technical and tactical area of the game. These activities use the randomness and unpredictability of the game to constantly present challenges in a different way.

Here are a few of the games that I’ve used in the past.

Global Small Sided Games 9

Organization:  3v3 situation will be developed in 2 small sided games. Roster: 14 to 22 players including 2 or 3 goalies.

Description:  Game 1 – 3v3 situation playing in ABC rule (who passes cannot receive the ball back until a third player receives the ball). Game 2 –In a game with 6 goals will be played a 3v3 game focusing in zone marking and dribbling for speed and take on. Rule: only the player with the ball is allowed to step in the dribbling zone.

Coaching Points:

-3v3 game development

-Inside and outside penetration

-Switch the point of the attack

-Pressure, covering, support

-Zone marking

-Speed of improvisation and adaptation

Equipment: balls, cones, discs, vests, small goals and mobile goals

Global Small Sided Games 10

Organization:  3v3+ 1 (4v3) situation will be developed in 2 small sided games. Roster: 19 to 22 players including 2 or 3 goalies.

Description:  Game 1 – 3v3v3 + 1 in a transition game format. Two teams playing in a half with the offensive team trying to score on goal and the defensive team try to cross the half line with ball possession, if the defenders cross the half line or the attacker score on goal they play as offensive team x the third team on the second half of the field. Game 2 –In a game with goals 6 goals will be played in a 3v3+1 game with a futsal ball. Rule: All 3 players + the neutral player have to touch the ball and keep the possession before finish the ball to goal.

Coaching Points:

-4v3 game development

-Ball possession

-Switch the point of the attack

-Transition

-Zone marking

-Speed of improvisation and adaptation

Equipment: regular balls, futsal ball, cones, discs, vests, small goals and mobile goal.

Global Small Sided Games 11

Organization:  3v3+ 2 (5v3) situation will be developed in 2 small sided games. Roster: 21 to 22 players including 2 or 3 goalies.

Description:  Game 1 – 3v3v3 + 2 neutral players in a transition game format. Two teams playing in a half with the offensive team trying to score on goal and the defensive team trying to cross the half line with ball possession, if the defenders cross the half line or the attackers score on goal, they play as offensive team x the third team on the second half of the field.

Observation: the neutral players follow the transition in both half of the field.  Game 2 –In a game with goals 4 goals will be played in a 3v3+ 2 neutral players (behind the end line) game. Rule: the team with possession has to switch point of the attack to score a goal

Coaching Points:

-5v3 game development

-Ball possession

-Switch the point of the attack

-Transition

-Speed of improvisation and adaptation

Equipment: regular balls, cones, discs, vests, small goals and mobile goal.

Global Small Sided Games 12

Organization:  4v4 situation will be developed in 2 small sided games. Roster: 18 to 22 players including 2 or 3 goalies.

Description:  Game 1 – 4v4 + goalies futsal game. Both teams play in diamond shape (1-2-1). Game 2 –In a game with goals 8 goals will be played in a 4v4 zone marking game. Each player is responsible to defend a goal.

Coaching Points:

-4v4 game development

-Ball possession

-Switch the point of the attack

-Zone marking

-Speed of improvisation and adaptation

Equipment: regular balls, futsal ball, cones, discs, vests, small goals and mobile goal.

When you’re planning to have your players rotating between multiple small-sided games it’s important to decide whether or not the games will be related. Sometimes I use two totally different games and other time they compliment each other.

What are you’re favorite ways to use small-sided games in your training sessions?

Have a Great Day!

Tom

A reader suggested that runs from the midfield was another way to effectively defeat the trap. Here’s what David Williams says about these types of runs in, ‘Offside!‘:

“Tell the loan striker to restrict his runs forward but encourage more runs from midfield. The extra player in that area allows at least one and often two players to run forward from deeper positions every time there is an opportunity to play passes behind your opponents back line. Runs from deep will always  cause the defending team problems where offside is concerned. It is more difficult for the last defender to catch someone breaking from midfield, than it is a striker, already high up the field, trying to get behind the defense.”

In addition to dealing with offside during the run of play you should also work with your team to deal with it on set pieces. Here’s Williams’ approach dealing with offside traps at free kicks:

“Without prior information on your opponents, it will be very difficult to anticipate whether they will try to catch your team out at set pieces. There may be a clue in their style of play– holding a high line, always appealing to the officials for offside decisions, but you won’t really find out for sure until the first free kick or corner. However, it might be an idea for you to plan for the trap to be played and organize your own set pieces accordingly. In this way your players won’t be caught out and you might discover if the intention is there in the future.

So what are the options for beating offside at a set piece?

As before lets deal with free kicks first, and have in mind some of the ideas discussed when trying to catch teams when defending.

Free kicks awarded on the angle, where the delivery will most likely be close to the goal, is shown in the diagram above.  There are two possibilities here. One idea would be for the taker to feint to strike the ball but actually step over it. The defenders, if intending to move forward, will be fooled into doing so. When the taker resumes his position there will be uncertainty among the defenders and they will be less likely to try it a second time. If they do then you might just reap the reward. Remember it only needs one player to misunderstand and any number of attackers could be in on goal.”

As I said in my original post back in December, I don’t think as coaches we should spend a lot of time teaching tactics like the offside trap unless their is a transfer of training that will impact other areas of their play. But a little time spent in practice can lead to a greater understanding and a larger arsenal of weapons on game day.

Have a Great Day!

Tom

Just as importantly, we have to decide what is the best way to progress a given skill or tactical idea. Most coaches will progress technical topics from static to dynamic then to game related and finally to game situations. But there are some big gaps in there that can be filled with any number of different conditions. For example, when you’re teaching passing and you’re moving from dynamic to game related it’s important add enough pressure to challenge the players but still give them plenty of opportunities to succeed.

Each summer I spend some time putting together a plan for my fall sessions. The format I use is very similar to a book that we have recently released call, “The Complete Soccer Coaching Guide – 76 Training Sessions that Develop the Advanced Player“. One of the insights the author, Chris Apple, provides is a month-by-month frame work for his training sessions. The calendars show what topics will be focused on for each training session during the month. Then the individual sessions are explained with detailed diagrams and descriptions within the chapter. This allows you to get inside the mind of the coach and see how he is constructing his team from a broad overview right down to each individual detail. From this you can see how he moves his team from the basic to the complex in each area of the game. The individual sessions are also useful on their own or put together to create your own progression.

I enjoy seeing this type of inside look at a coach’s methods and structure because it’s different from what you normal see. Most of the time a book on coaching just includes session on a given topic or area of the game. Those are useful as well but looking at the coach’s methods and framework for player and team development can be even more useful. I always pull a few ideas from these types of resources to incorporate into my own team planning for the following year.

So how do you approach your planning your sessions and progressing the topics you coach? I think we all agree that making it up in the car on the way to practice isn’t going to give you the out come you or the players are looking for. Does anyone still do that? Come on, you can tell us, your among friends and it’s anonymous

Have a Great Day!

Tom

This spring our club has implemented the SoccerFIT Game Speed Assessment for all of our teams. The test looks at three specific categories – Speed/Agility, Soccer Fitness and Technical Skill. The ideal situation is to see a balance between these unique areas but in most cases players will be stronger in one or two and weaker in the others. Here’s an example of a report that you would receive after entering your data from the tests:

There are 15 different test that the players take. It’s best to take them all within one training session but they can be divided up and completed over the course of two or three sessions.

Here is a list of the specific tests:

Soccer FITness Interval
Toe Taps
Scissors
Step Overs
Inside-Inside
Inside-Outside Right Foot
Inside-Outside Left Foot
Inside-Outside Both Feet
5 Cone Dribbling
Passing-Checking to Backpedal
Passing-4 Cone Looping
Speed-25 yds Down and Back
Agility-Down 10-Back 5 (25 yds)
Agility with a Ball-Down 10-Back 5 (25 yds)
Soccer FITness Interval with a Ball

The testing material includes an explanation of each test how to set up the field to make testing quick and easy even for the youngest players. Most of the tests are done in pairs so that one player is counting while the other one is testing. This also provides recovery time between each test.

Once the testing is completed the scores and times are entered into the Soccer FIT site compares the individual player’s scores to everyone else that has taken the test and assigns a score for each area. The scoring system is similar to the Olympic Decathlon where the best score is assigned 1000 points and the lowest score receives no points. This method of scoring allows a player to track their score over time regardless of their age.

Entering the data for an entire team will give you an overview of the team that can be compared to other teams or compared to their team score from a previous season.

I think this information will be valuable for me, the player, the club and the parents. It will show us the areas that need extra attention and testing again at the end of the spring will show the progress of the individual players and the whole team.Tracking a players scores over several years will also show strengths and weakness in our curriculum that can then be addressed.

There are coaches that would argue that soccer can’t be broken down into statistics; that it is more art than science. There are intangibles that some players possess that make them better than the test might show. I agree that this type of testing should not be used as the final determine factor in any decision making process but as a tool to add to the total picture of player development.

You can receive the testing package for free by clicking on this link. Everything is free including the entering of your data and generation of results.

What do you use to evaluate your players objectively?

Have a great day!

Tom

Remarkably, Newcastle did not complete a single cross in the entire ninety minutes despite twelve attempts. Not only was Ba without the support of Papiss Cisse, his role became that of holding the ball up for Ben Arfa and Obertan rather than rampaging into the box.

Newcastle chose a cautious set up, understandably with Arsenal in search of their fifth win in a row ( three of those after going one nil down.) With four defenders and two deep lying midfielders in Tiote and Cabaye, Obertan was always going to find any linking play difficult with only Ba up front and Ben Arfa playing on the left of midfield to start but moving right to look  in vain for some meaningful possession.

Walcott attacks Whilst Obertan Back Tracks.

Obertan’s isolation and eventual substitution in the sixty first minute contrasted hugely with the performance of Walcott. Not only were six of Obertan’s twelve successful passes completed in his own half, but five of them went backwards. The only completed pass in the opposition penalty area was to pass back out of it and a mere 5 of his successful passes were in the attacking third.

Walcott completed only one of his 29 successful passes in his own half  with 24 of them in the attacking third and his passing patterns showed a huge density in areas designed to stretch the Newcastle defence. His consistently astute decision making ( an area of his game often criticised) made him menacing right up to the 95th minute when his excellent cross was turned in by Vermaelen.

Struggling Santon.Only lasting the fist half, Santon struggled badly to cope with Walcott. Managing only four passes of which only one went forward, one unsuccessful attempt at winning a header and no tackles, he became an increasingly confused figure. His replacement Perch faired a little better, but only three of his 12 completed passes finished in the Arsenal half and he became pinned back into purely defensive duties.

Van Persie Feasts Whilst Ba Lives on Scraps

Van Persie orchestrated moves with long, accurate passes to players attacking striking positions, whilst Ba searched for possession and had to be content with shoveling the ball short whilst being harried by Arsenal defenders. With one (unsuccessful)  attempt on goal, Ba only completed 55% of his 29 passes whilst Van Persie scored with one of his six attempts on goal and completed 74% of his 23 passes. Tellingly, both Van Persie and Ba received 34 passes but 20 of Newcastle’s successful connections with their striker started in their own half, whilst only 6 of Arsenal’s did, illustrating the controlled Arsenal connections compared to the long and hopeful punts adopted by the away side.

By Matt Riley – You can read more of Matt’s articles on his website www.thaileaguefootball.com

Start with a keeper in goal, another keeper on the 6 yard line and a server just outside the 18. Two balls are set around 15 yards out

The server starts by running toward one of the balls. The first keeper reacts and plays it like a breakaway.

If the keeper can get to the ball first, he dives and wins the ball

If he can’t he keeps his feet and waits for an opportunity to pounce.

If the server can beat the first keeper, the second keeper becomes live and tries to make the save

In this activity the first keeper is working on breakaways and the second keeper is working more on shot blocking, dealing with deflections and staying ready.

If you have three keepers in training, they would rotate between being the first keeper, second keeper and third keeper.

Once the server starts toward a ball, they must keep going to that ball. The idea is they should not try to change directions.

Have a great day!

Lawrence