Decompressing in order to change gears.

I will be taking a few days off from posting as I decompress from the spring soccer season. Our U17 Boys team had an extremely successful campaign and this was one of the most enjoyable seasons I have had in some time. Great group of young men who happen to be pretty good soccer players as well. The bonds they formed with one another off the field were instrumental to their success on the field. This spring season was quite simply a wonderful experience for me.

That's not to say we had fair seas and following winds the entire season. No, there were a few issues that arose over the course of the season, but the focus remained good throughout. I made mistakes as a coach / manager and will learn from them. It can be difficult to know what approach to take with individual players as some require and respond to tough love, others require a lot of positive attention to boost self-esteem and confidence, some are seemingly low maintenance, but actually require the most work.

Carrying a roster of 18 players can be a difficult task.  Even with unlimited substitutions playing time issues can arise. Positions played can be a source of controversy and even conflict. We strove hard to establish a TEAM first attitude. Sacrificing for the greater good is a huge part of building a such a culture and we did very well in this regard.

Club soccer in the context of developing players for their high school team presents another interesting set of dynamics to juggle. The idea of purposefully playing "out of position" to strengthen a players overall game and enhance play at their favored positon can be a difficult sell. Yet there can be no doubt of a players need to understand the positions that link to his preferred position. Yes, even at U17 I intentionally and purposefully rotated players through a variety of field positions. Even goalkeepers played the field to develop a better understanding of what their teammates need from them as goalkeepers. Goalkeepers also must have the ability to play the ball with their feet and what better way to gain that experience than by actually playing the field?  By the end of the season we had established an extremely versatile group of players each of whom will be able to fill a variety of roles for their high school teams should they be asked to do so. Their experience this spring in positions that link to their preferred position will be immeasurably valuable this fall. It is important to know not only your role, but that of the positions that surround and link to your position in order to maximize your own play.

I am really looking forward to seeing these young men play for their high school teams this fall.  I firmly believe many will establish themselves as the best players on their respective teams. More importantly I expect them to provide a winning mentality and positive leadership based on their struggles and successes of both a personal and team nature this spring. I firmly believe each is taking a solid foundation for success back to their school team and am anxious to see their progress as players next fall.

Just to be clear, I am not taking a vacation from soccer related activities these next few days. The opposite is actually true as I will use this week to work on daily training sessions for the team camps and goalkeeper / striker camps I will be conducting the rest of the summer. Changing gears from coaching a team to training  a variety of teams and individuals is a more appropriate depiction.  The variety this offers me - team skills camp, to installing zonal defending, to working with goalkeepers and strikers - is a welcome change of pace from the season long process of installing a specific system and developing a consistent and continuous path of improvement on both team and individual levels based upon play within that system.

I am considering posting a weeks worth of camp training sessions this summer to provide an idea of what our camp experiences are like.  I think it might be helpful to see the depth of planning that goes into a successful training session. It might also be helpful to "witness" the flexibility a coach needs when their best laid plans go awry for any number of reasons. And as always, I know I will be learning as much from the players and coaches I work with as they hopefully learn from me.  I look forward to sharing these experiences with you beginning in about a weeks time.  Until then I will re-post some of the most viewed articles from the past.

Thanks for reading the Conceive Believe Achieve Soccer blog. I appreciate your support, kind words and suggestions.