After my last post, I had a bunch of
people ask me what the 8 drills are that I use. You missed the point. The
specific 8 drills I use are tailored toward exactly how I want my teams to
play. I would use a different set of drills if I were coaching my teams to play
differently. In short, the drills I use are, and should be, different than the
drills you will use to mold your players to play your specific brand of soccer.
Simply having my set of 8 drills is
useless to you unless you completely understand my philosophy about how I want
the game to be played. You will never get to that level of understanding unless
you coach with me on a daily basis. (pssst, your philosophy should be that
detailed too!)
So, what I decided to do, is to give
you the extremely short and summarized outline of how I want my teams to play.
That should give you enough understanding to grasp why I emphasize specific
areas of focus for skills to learn. That was the basis of choosing the drills I
use. I had to ask myself, "What specific skills do I want my players to
learn?" Then it was a simple process of researching drills I could use to
teach those skills, trying them out in sessions, and eliminating the ones that
weren't effective in teaching the skills I demand of my players.
The following is a document that I
review with and give to my players each season. Without providing any
additional context, it is largely a bunch of buzzwords that are thrown around
by coaches all over and at all levels. This is what I give my players on day 1
and provide the details and context throughout the season.
Key tenets for our style of play
1.
Pass with purpose
a.
Maintaining possession until we can
create a chance is of utmost importance. Simply playing kick-and-run is not
good enough.
b.
We must be decisive with who, where,
why, and how we are passing the ball.
2.
Penetration
a.
We must look to penetrate the
defensive lines by either dribbling or purposeful passing.
b.
When we penetrate a line, recognize
visual cues of offball movement.
3.
Containment/delay
a.
We must not dive in to win the ball
and cause our entire team’s defensive shape to be thrown off balance.
b.
Containing their attackers allows
our teammates to track back and apply additional pressure on the ball.
4.
Communicate
a.
Communicating what runs you’re
making and where you are helps us make the correct decision more often.
b.
Letting your teammates know what to
do when you pass to them helps us play quicker and maintain possession better.
“Send a pass, send a message.”
5.
Off-ball movement to create space
for self
a.
A man standing still is a man easily
marked out of the game.
b.
Dynamic movement (check away/to,
curling run, overlapping runs, etc.) will create space for you to receive the
ball.
6.
Recognize pressing triggers
a.
We press high up the field to win
the ball quickly and in dangerous areas.
b.
If the first defender recognizes a
visual cue to press, everyone must press.
7.
Everyone defends
a.
No matter your position, you have a
job on the defensive side of the ball.
b.
After your line is penetrated, it is
your responsibility to either apply additional pressure or eliminate a passing.
8.
Utilize drops / play the way you
face
a.
This is part of the means to
maintain possession.
b.
Playing the way you face allows for
your teammates to use their better vantage point to pick out the best pass to
move forward.
9.
Off-ball movement to create space
for teammates
a.
Sometimes we are just marked too
closely to receive a pass for ourselves.
b.
Clearing yourself and your defender
out of the space allows for a teammate to move into that space to receive the
ball.
10.
Switch the field of play
a.
Switching the play allows us to
attack with an overload.
b.
It also allows us a good opportunity
to let the game breathe and slow the tempo down.
The broader framework I hammer into
the players is a possession-based style that is heavy on short, quick combination
play. We aim to keep the ball on the ground while utilizing visual cues that
tell my players they're supposed to make specific movements to either open up
space with movement or find space with movement.
pretty good stuff. Thank you. a lot of coaches at the clubs need to learn all these basic simple points and train the players in each session to improve. I have seen some players still clueless after many year's club travel team play. I like the coach to drill the kids to do quick pass under pressure over and over again in the practice. Some coaches talks too much in practice, the kids spend 50% of the time standing or do some simple technical drills in the 90 minutes of the practice. I would like each practice to be similar to this:after 10 minutes warning up, then run the small side possession ball drills for 50 minutes, and the 30 minutes scrimmage game, with interruption explaining some tactical points. practice three times or four times each week, the kids will be a lot better comparing to some slow simple drills. I thinks the kids need touch ball more, play more in each practice session. A lot of practice session, the players only play about 20 to 30 minutes a most, which is not enough to generate good players.
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