#163 Game Day

10/05/18 • 40 min

Coaching Soccer Weekly: Methods, Trends, Techniques and Tactics from WORLD CLASS COACHING

I only had three games again last weekend; one Friday, one Saturday and one Sunday. The teams all played very well. It doesn’t always work out that way so it’s fun when it does.

We’re at the point in the season where I’m seeing the results of what we’ve worked on in training. It’s great to see them applying concept to games under pressure.

Now it’s time to add on to that. For me, that means spending more time in 1 v 1 and 2 v 2 environments to help the players develop solutions to the problems they face in the game.

They understand the framework that we’ve set up to play now they need to be able to improvise and create. I’ve talked about this in the past. Some coaches start with the skills and then work on the structure. I look at it the other way around. I want the player to understand how music is played before they start to improvise. I don’t think one way or the other is necessarily “Right”. This is just what has worked well for me over the years.

Today’s question comes from Alan. His question is getting forwards to work together.

Alan says, “I’m a girls high school JV coach and I have a senior and a freshmen forward who have never played together. They don’t pass to each other and try to dribble through two or more defenders. Any suggestions on how to fix this. Drills or exercises?”

Thanks for the question Alan!

I would suggest playing 2 v 1 and 2 v 2 games where your two forwards are paired together. Then they’re forced to play together in order to accomplish a common objective. I would also use pattern play to show them how they can work together to break down the defense. Hopeful forcing them to work together will show them how much more effective they can be together.

In This Episode

This week’s topic was suggested by a listener, Ryan. He suggested that I discuss “Game Coaching”. So I’ll share my game day process. I’ll discuss everything from how I prepare for games the night before to how I handle the post-game team talk.

Future Episodes

This week’s episode was inspired by emails that I’ve received from coaches that send in suggestions. If you have a topic that you’d like to hear more about on the show, please let me know.

I only had three games again last weekend; one Friday, one Saturday and one Sunday. The teams all played very well. It doesn’t always work out that way so it’s fun when it does.

We’re at the point in the season where I’m seeing the results of what we’ve worked on in training. It’s great to see them applying concept to games under pressure.

Now it’s time to add on to that. For me, that means spending more time in 1 v 1 and 2 v 2 environments to help the players develop solutions to the problems they face in the game.

Today’s question comes from Alan. His question is getting forwards to work together.

Thanks for the question Alan!

In This Episode

Future Episodes

This week’s episode was inspired by emails that I’ve received from coaches that send in suggestions. If you have a topic that you’d like to hear more about on the show, please let me know.

Previous Episode

#162 It’s Not About You

I took just one team to a tournament last weekend. We had a great schedule; we played at 8 am and noon on Saturday and Sunday and then we headed home. There were only five teams in our group so we played each of them once. Not having to stay around to play a final against a team we had already played was great!

Having only one team allowed me to spend more time with the kids and parents than I’m usually able to so that also made it a fun weekend.

When I travel out of town with my teams we always travel on the Friday before games start so that the kids can get a good night’s sleep before playing the next day. We have a team meeting (parents and kids) on Friday night to go over our schedule for the weekend, my expectations for the team (on and off of the field) and any reminders I want to go over with the players before sending them to bed.

Today’s question comes from John. His question is about commitment.

John says, “I coach a U16 Girls Club team, and this year I am having a hard time getting all the girls to make practice a priority for them. I have 19 girls on the team and have on average 6-7 girls out each practice, last night I was missing 10! The reasons range from sick, to swim meets, to no rides etc. All which seem like normal issues, but its all the time.

How have you dealt with players that want to play but really don’t really commit to practices, where we can get better together? I suppose I could punish them, but that just hurts the team.. Advice?”

Thanks for the question John!

I’m dealing with this issue right now with my U17 girls. They are involved in so many different activities that soccer isn’t usually the priority. The players are supposed to let me know if they aren’t going to attend a training session or game so that I can plan accordingly.

The group I have is the fourth team in our club so they are playing mostly for fun and to prepare for their high school season. They aren’t motivated by playing at the next level or long term development.

I just sent out a message to the team through our group message asking them to make attendance at training a priority for the next two weeks because we have a tournament coming up.

I’m afraid I don’t have any great advice that will get your players to prioritize soccer practice over other activities. I just try to manage it and work with the players that are there.

In This Episode

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be successful, with wanting your team to be successful. Whether this desire is healthy and helpful or destructive and dangerous depends on WHY you want to be successful, WHAT defines success and HOW you go about it.

Here’s a link to the article by Dave Wright that inspired the topic for this episode:

Get Over Yourself – Dave Wright – Player Development Project.com

Future Episodes

I appreciate everyone who has been sending me suggestions for topics. I’m adding them to my list and I look forward to covering them in the coming weeks.

Next Episode

#164 Training Combination Play to Score

Last weekend was another tournament weekend. It was local and it was nice to play a tournament close to home especially because the forecast was for rain all weekend.

I had three teams in the tournament which may seem like a lot but it was manageable because it was spread out over three days.

Friday was perfect, it was a great evening to play. The rain didn’t start until overnight.

Saturday morning was stormy. The earliest games were canceled and recorded as draws. That’s not great if it happened to your team but at least they didn’t make the teams sit around all morning waiting to see if it would clear up. The afternoon was drizzly when my teams were playing but nothing that the kids couldn’t handle. I was done by 6 pm so I wasn’t effected by the stormy evening.

Sunday stormy morning but the afternoon was decent. I got to meet Jacob and the guys from St. Louis Steamers when my U11’s were scheduled to play them. The game was called after 15 minutes because of lightning in the area. That was a shame because they have a good team and I was enjoying the matchup between two good teams that were playing good soccer. Hopefully they’ll bring their team back to town next spring or we find out way to St. Louis.

Today’s question comes from Charles. His question is about playing two games in a day.

Charles says, “I coach a u12 girls club team in Louisville Ky. Knowing that teams at that age play multiple games in a day, I find that the play during the 2nd game is usually at a much lower level(technically and tactically) We have talked about the right nutrition and rest between games, but it seems like a fitness issue. We have talked about focus and decision making when tired. I don’t want to focus on fitness at such a young age.

Any thoughts?

Thanks for the question Charles!

What you’re describing could be a combination of physical and mental fatigue.

My suggestion would be to have the players complete repetitive dribbling, passing or shooting activities that require the players to be in almost constant motion to challenge them physically before putting them in a series of small-sided games. End with a regular game or scrimmage with another team if possible to force the girls to compete when their already tired.

I would see how the girls react to this method of practice and decide if it’s more of a physical or mental issue.

In This Episode

The more closely matched the teams, the harder it is to generate good quality scoring chances. If the defense is solid and not giving much away then your players need to be able to pull the defense apart. There are a number of ways to do this. Today I’m going to describe a practice that I used this week to help teach my players different ways that they can combine to unlock a good defense and create goal scoring opportunities.

Here’s a video that shows how the 5 v 2 to Score activity works:

Future Episodes

Please keep the ideas for future episodes coming. Each week I receive one or two really good ideas that I add to my list.