"Why?" remains the greatest question to ask and answer.

I watched a lot of soccer this weekend. Some at a college showcase event and other at a training session for club athletes.  One particular match at the college showcase event featured two excellent U15 girls teams in a 1-1 draw. The talent level was way above average as were the collective soccer IQ on these two teams. Such a joy to watch really good soccer in a club setting. This was most definitely not direct kick & run soccer. The ball was rarely in the air. Lots of possession and lots of team defending. In my opinion, a beautiful game!  It was quite evident these girls understood the "why?" behind their actions.

Later in the weekend I observed a training session with a group of U14 - U16 boys.  The exercises they were put through were very good to excellent insofar as they went.  The drills were explained and demonstrated so all participants could perform what was being asked of them, but it was never put in context as to "why" they were being asked to learn these skills.  About half way through the session things moved from a focus primarily on individual skills to a focus on combination passing.  One led smoothly into the other with individual skills just practiced being incorporated into the combination passing exercise.

The more astute players, I am sure, recognized the progressions of exercises all tied together. Others, I am equally as sure, were quite clueless about this aspect of the training.  That was part of the issue I had with the guys conducting the session. The other part I took exception to was the instructors allowing for improper touches on the ball throughout the combination passing exercises with no attempt to correct or teach the proper way to execute those drills.  Because a clear picture was not painted of how the exercise applied to in-game situations the players just went through the pattern of the exercise without emphasis on the proper techniques required to execute the pattern successfully.

The net result of an activity allowed to go on in this manner is the reinforcement of a lot of bad habits the can effectively negate any successful completion of the individual skill performed in the warm up portion of the session sans any form of pressure.  And to be clear, there was no active pressure in the combination passing sequences being worked on. Only passive pressure was applied through being asked to successfully coordinate movements with a teammate. The technique of the movements required were never fully explained resulting in the freedom to move very inefficiently thereby allowing the effectiveness of the drill being performed to be compromised.  As I commented to the another coach observing with me, "they are practicing poor habits which someone else (me as the U16 coach) is going to have to break down and correct.

I have wrote of the dangers of coaching courses and clinics before. Too many coaches go to these events and come away enamored of the drills or exercises they witness there. They return to their teams and immediately introduce these new drills to their own teams.  Kind of.  They can get their teams to perform the correct patterns but the exercise never runs as smoothly as it should. The reason for this is found in a lack of understanding of the purpose of the drill in the first place. The details. Why are we asking players to perform this drill? How does it apply to the game. As coaches, we must paint a complete picture for our athletes. This has to include an understanding of why we ask them to do something and an insistence that what we are asking them to do is done a specific way.