“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think” – Margeret Mead Many a youth Football team has a player who gets easily distracted. Just yesterday I had to say the same players’ name at least 10 times as she was looking elsewhere/lying on the floor/speaking to her mate…it’s not an isolated situation […]
4 Ways to Manage Players that Struggle to Focus Read More »
“We can’t improve what we don’t asssess” – Michael Hyatt Self awareness is a skill that few people actively work to develop. As foundation age coaches, it is a skill that we must possess in order to get the best out of the players we work with, the session we deliver and our own performance.
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“I don’t have time for hobbies. At the end of the day, I treat Football as a hobby. It’s something I love doing” – David Beckham Practice should be enjoyable. One of our roles of coaching foundation age players is to make sure that players leave our sessions already looking forward to the next one.
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The skills you must develop at U8 The skills you must develop at U10 The Lofted Pass 2 key things happen when players reach U11…the pitch gets bigger and 4 more players get added to the game. These 2 changes lend themselves to players receiving less time on the ball, as well as coming up
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To look at the skills you must develop at U8, click here Receiving on the Back Foot/Half Turn By U10, players are becoming more naturally inclined to pass the ball as opposed to going alone. This is down to both the social and cognitive natures of the age group. Children also have increased foot-eye coordination
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“The best decisions aren’t made with your mind, but with your instinct. The more familiar with a situation you become, the quicker, the better your decision will be” – Lionel Messi Skill development takes a long time before it comes ‘instinct’. As coaches, one of our roles is to ensure that players are learning the
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“Sport is something that is very inspirational for young people.” – Pelé I recently saw a post on social media where a coach was asking for help in getting 2 of his U11 players to pass the ball. Some of the ‘advice’ given was horrendous. “Everytime they don’t pass, put them on the bench, they’ll
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“It’s not just about training players, it’s about educating players.” – Brendan Rodgers Most coaches can plan and deliver a session. The level will be variable, but drawing up a training plan is achievable for most. Educating our players on the other hand, is far more challenging. I’m comfortable admitting that I have made a
3 Things you MUST do to Help Your Players Reach Their Potential Read More »
“How do I teach my players to spread out?” is a common question from newer, less experienced coaches. It’s a great question. After all, WIDTH is one of the 5 principles of attacking play. Every team in the world, albeit differently, looks to make the field as big as possible when they are in
How to Coach your Players the importance of Width Read More »
The following activities have been taken from the ebook PERFECT POSSESSION. Containing over 40 activities to help build your possession dominant style of play, CLICK HERE to purchase NOW “Everything that goes on in a match, you can do in a rondo. The competitive aspect, fighting to make space, what to do when in possession
Why you should include Rondo’s in your Training Plan and How to make them Directional Read More »
The following article looks at teaching foundation phase players off the ball movement. U8 players learn to move in activities where they see most of the ball, U10 players learn movement through small group activities and U12 players learn to move to create space for themselves and team mates “In most scenarios, it isn’t the
How to Coach Movement in your Players Read More »
The following article looks at teaching foundation phase players awareness on the field of play. U8 players learn awareness on the ball by lifting their head, U10 players learn awareness receiving a ball by checking their shoulders and U12 players learn full field awareness on and off the ball. “Football is played with the head.
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