We always offer first chance to returning teams we conducted camps for the previous year. Several of you have been in contact already. We are in the process of contacting the rest of you now. Also, we have had a couple of new programs express interest in our camps. We are working them into the schedule as well. As of today, it looks like we will have room for 2-3 more teams dependent on specific needs and fitting teams into available dates.
Contact us now!
coachtjbrown@gmail,com
567-204-6083
Showing posts with label Conceive Believe Achieve goalkeeping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Conceive Believe Achieve goalkeeping. Show all posts
Saturday
From college to 5th grade all in one morning.
I began my morning working with college goalkeepers and finished it working with a 5th grade co-ed recreational group. I enjoyed both experiences. All participants were engaged and eager to learn. The standards of learning as widely disparate as were the ages. Measured success of each session was also gauged by different standards.
On a field adjacent to the one I was working with goalkeepers on another team was practicing and I on occasion got a glimpse of their goalkeepers being worked with. At one point they were practicing full blown diving saves - both feet off the ground, laying out for a driven ball 4-5 feet off the ground that was barely within reach when service was good. Matt, one of the goalkeepers I was working with asked why "we" never worked on full diving saves like that. I answered with a question of my own, have you ever had to make a full blown diving save like that?
Matt replied, "Yes."
Were you successful?
"Yes"
"Why were you successful?"
There was a long pause. I could see the Matt considering his answer. He finally ventured that he had been ready / prepared to make the play. I urged Matt to continue on with his answer. " I was properly positioned on the ball line / angle arc. My feet were square to the action with toes towards the ball. I was in the correct ready position, I read the cues the shooter offered for when and how he would strike."
"Your basic fundamentals were excellent?"
"Yes."
"What do we work on in every session?"
"The fundamentals."
"How are the goalkeepers fundamentals on the team down at the other end of the pitch?"
So we watched the other goalkeepers train for a bit. Karl was the first to offer that fundamentals were not as sharp as they could have been. Missteps were causing them to miss plays. They were not getting both hands to the ball at or close to the same time. The ball was getting to their palms. Matt concurred. So, those goalkeepers were unable to make the routine saves on a consistent basis in practice. Yet they were training to make the spectacular save?
We went back to working on the fundamentals.
Later this morning I was working with the co-ed recreational group of 5th graders. There were a fairly wide range of skill levels as is the norm in such situations. In speaking with the gentleman who had worked with age group the previous week he related the need to work on ball control, push passing and basic tactics. The usual fare for this age group and recreational soccer. Being completely new to this particular group I began the session by asking the players names. I memorized them immediately and then asked each by name to demonstrate a basic foot skill. After a player introduced a foot skill the entire group performed the skill. This went on until no one had any more foot skills to share with the group. I did this to 1) connect immediately with the individuals of the group on a first name basis and 2) to bring myself up to speed with where the group was in terms of controlling the ball.
We next worked briefly on the speed dribble or running with the ball. Again I demonstrated the proper technique. With this I provided a few visual cues to look for to be used by the players to coach themselves.
We then moved on to the basic push pass. I demonstrated the proper technique, then set them to working with a partner passing the ball back and forth. We had an odd number of players so I paired them up and then worked with the remaining player myself. Once again, I provided tips on how they could coach themselves by recognizing their own mistakes and how to correct these. I then rotated through working with each player. At a distance of 7-8 yards this went fairly well Next we added passive pressure by having partners face one another at a distance of 3-4 feet. One player passed the ball through the legs of their partner who then turned, retrieved the ball and brought it back using the running with the ball technique. Then roles were reversed. The passive pressure of performing a push pass in close proximity to another player added just enough difficulty to expose flaws in the players technique.
It was about this time, less that 1/2 hour in, that Kyra began asking about scrimmaging. This is a common occurrence as well. Kids want to play! Its what they do.
We proceeded to a basic version on breaking lines while assuring Kyra that we were progressing towards playing a game / scrimmaging. For breaking lines we focused on the push pass with only minor instruction on receiving the ball properly. In this case the added pressure was found in the demand for accuracy of passing. We discussed the necessity of preparing to play the ball in the sense that we had a designated player to receive from and play to. I asked the players to play in the scan, touch, scan, play pattern to begin transitioning them from being ball watchers to becoming game watchers.
Again, Kyra asked about scrimmaging.
Were they ready to play a game? From a skill perspective, no. I knew before we started it would be bumble bee ball with a lot of mindless whacking of the ball. There would be more mistakes than correct plays. That's okay. Each mistake is a learning opportunity, a stepping stone on the way to success.
We progressed on to playing a basic version of the gates game. It was bumble bee ball as anticipated. yet, with in the madness it could be discerned an effort to properly execute the push pass, especially at the start. When the game began to really break down we paused and I asked the players to discuss what was working and what was breaking down the game. They nailed it. They always do. So, we set about putting it right. And they did in a relative sense.
We took a break and discussed the session / drills / game a bit more. The discussion turned to playing fast. When allowed to figure things out on their own kids are amazing problem solvers. We discussed what was required to play fast. Physical speed was mentioned immediately, but Rose pointed to her head, her brain! Soccer is a game played with the brain. We talked about Ronaldo being labeled fat and slow, yet how fast he played and how he is considered one the very best players in the world.
We played the numbers game to impress the need to be game watchers instead of exclusively watching the ball. Slowly but surely they began to get the ideas associated with increasing the pace of their play. By the end of this portion of the session they were actually demonstrating some ability to play one-touch soccer with two ball active in the game. When I stopped the exercise I had the players freeze where they were and look around. We had progressed from clustered bumble bee soccer to being spread out over the pitch.
Still Kyra wanted to scrimmage.
I finally asked her to talk about the session so far. Kyra began describing each exercise we had worked on. I asked her to grade our performance in each of these. The grades she awarded our group got better with each exercise. I stopped her at one point to ask what grade she thought it would be necessary to achieve before we were ready to scrimmage. The lights started to flicker on. When she arrived at evaluating the numbers game she decided we were ready to play. I said, "if..." and Rose spoke up to say if we don't slip back into bad habits. If we don't go back to being ball watchers and playing one decision soccer. Bingo!
Again, in a totally different manner, the importance of technical excellence was brought to the fore.
As we finished the session with a shooting exercise that incorporated everything we had worked on today the pace of play was markedly improved and the kids were noticing this. They were recognizing their mistakes and beginning to correct themselves. Not all the kids, but a majority for sure.
Quite the morning of emphasizing basic fundamentals to bring out spectacular plays and increase pace of play. Soccer is a simple game with spectacular plays. The spectacular plays are based in the simplest of fundamentals. Johann Cryuff said, "The most difficult thing to do is to play simply."
On a field adjacent to the one I was working with goalkeepers on another team was practicing and I on occasion got a glimpse of their goalkeepers being worked with. At one point they were practicing full blown diving saves - both feet off the ground, laying out for a driven ball 4-5 feet off the ground that was barely within reach when service was good. Matt, one of the goalkeepers I was working with asked why "we" never worked on full diving saves like that. I answered with a question of my own, have you ever had to make a full blown diving save like that?
Matt replied, "Yes."
Were you successful?
"Yes"
"Why were you successful?"
There was a long pause. I could see the Matt considering his answer. He finally ventured that he had been ready / prepared to make the play. I urged Matt to continue on with his answer. " I was properly positioned on the ball line / angle arc. My feet were square to the action with toes towards the ball. I was in the correct ready position, I read the cues the shooter offered for when and how he would strike."
"Your basic fundamentals were excellent?"
"Yes."
"What do we work on in every session?"
"The fundamentals."
"How are the goalkeepers fundamentals on the team down at the other end of the pitch?"
So we watched the other goalkeepers train for a bit. Karl was the first to offer that fundamentals were not as sharp as they could have been. Missteps were causing them to miss plays. They were not getting both hands to the ball at or close to the same time. The ball was getting to their palms. Matt concurred. So, those goalkeepers were unable to make the routine saves on a consistent basis in practice. Yet they were training to make the spectacular save?
We went back to working on the fundamentals.
Later this morning I was working with the co-ed recreational group of 5th graders. There were a fairly wide range of skill levels as is the norm in such situations. In speaking with the gentleman who had worked with age group the previous week he related the need to work on ball control, push passing and basic tactics. The usual fare for this age group and recreational soccer. Being completely new to this particular group I began the session by asking the players names. I memorized them immediately and then asked each by name to demonstrate a basic foot skill. After a player introduced a foot skill the entire group performed the skill. This went on until no one had any more foot skills to share with the group. I did this to 1) connect immediately with the individuals of the group on a first name basis and 2) to bring myself up to speed with where the group was in terms of controlling the ball.
We next worked briefly on the speed dribble or running with the ball. Again I demonstrated the proper technique. With this I provided a few visual cues to look for to be used by the players to coach themselves.
We then moved on to the basic push pass. I demonstrated the proper technique, then set them to working with a partner passing the ball back and forth. We had an odd number of players so I paired them up and then worked with the remaining player myself. Once again, I provided tips on how they could coach themselves by recognizing their own mistakes and how to correct these. I then rotated through working with each player. At a distance of 7-8 yards this went fairly well Next we added passive pressure by having partners face one another at a distance of 3-4 feet. One player passed the ball through the legs of their partner who then turned, retrieved the ball and brought it back using the running with the ball technique. Then roles were reversed. The passive pressure of performing a push pass in close proximity to another player added just enough difficulty to expose flaws in the players technique.
It was about this time, less that 1/2 hour in, that Kyra began asking about scrimmaging. This is a common occurrence as well. Kids want to play! Its what they do.
We proceeded to a basic version on breaking lines while assuring Kyra that we were progressing towards playing a game / scrimmaging. For breaking lines we focused on the push pass with only minor instruction on receiving the ball properly. In this case the added pressure was found in the demand for accuracy of passing. We discussed the necessity of preparing to play the ball in the sense that we had a designated player to receive from and play to. I asked the players to play in the scan, touch, scan, play pattern to begin transitioning them from being ball watchers to becoming game watchers.
Again, Kyra asked about scrimmaging.
Were they ready to play a game? From a skill perspective, no. I knew before we started it would be bumble bee ball with a lot of mindless whacking of the ball. There would be more mistakes than correct plays. That's okay. Each mistake is a learning opportunity, a stepping stone on the way to success.
We progressed on to playing a basic version of the gates game. It was bumble bee ball as anticipated. yet, with in the madness it could be discerned an effort to properly execute the push pass, especially at the start. When the game began to really break down we paused and I asked the players to discuss what was working and what was breaking down the game. They nailed it. They always do. So, we set about putting it right. And they did in a relative sense.
We took a break and discussed the session / drills / game a bit more. The discussion turned to playing fast. When allowed to figure things out on their own kids are amazing problem solvers. We discussed what was required to play fast. Physical speed was mentioned immediately, but Rose pointed to her head, her brain! Soccer is a game played with the brain. We talked about Ronaldo being labeled fat and slow, yet how fast he played and how he is considered one the very best players in the world.
We played the numbers game to impress the need to be game watchers instead of exclusively watching the ball. Slowly but surely they began to get the ideas associated with increasing the pace of their play. By the end of this portion of the session they were actually demonstrating some ability to play one-touch soccer with two ball active in the game. When I stopped the exercise I had the players freeze where they were and look around. We had progressed from clustered bumble bee soccer to being spread out over the pitch.
Still Kyra wanted to scrimmage.
I finally asked her to talk about the session so far. Kyra began describing each exercise we had worked on. I asked her to grade our performance in each of these. The grades she awarded our group got better with each exercise. I stopped her at one point to ask what grade she thought it would be necessary to achieve before we were ready to scrimmage. The lights started to flicker on. When she arrived at evaluating the numbers game she decided we were ready to play. I said, "if..." and Rose spoke up to say if we don't slip back into bad habits. If we don't go back to being ball watchers and playing one decision soccer. Bingo!
Again, in a totally different manner, the importance of technical excellence was brought to the fore.
As we finished the session with a shooting exercise that incorporated everything we had worked on today the pace of play was markedly improved and the kids were noticing this. They were recognizing their mistakes and beginning to correct themselves. Not all the kids, but a majority for sure.
Quite the morning of emphasizing basic fundamentals to bring out spectacular plays and increase pace of play. Soccer is a simple game with spectacular plays. The spectacular plays are based in the simplest of fundamentals. Johann Cryuff said, "The most difficult thing to do is to play simply."
Sunday
April 2015 was the best month ever here at CBA Soccer Blog.
Thank you to our readers for making last month the best ever here at the CBA Soccer Blog. While a majority of our readership continues to be from North America and Europe I am constantly amazed by the far reach we have with readership extending to seemingly every corner of the globe. What started off as a way to publicize our camp programs has blossomed into something much larger thanks to you.!
I will be updating the "most read" articles section shortly. Position #6 The Holding or Defensive Midfielder continues to be our most popular article of all time. Surprisingly, three articles from the past found new readership interest in April. It seems the "search function" added to the website has made a significant impact in what you the readers of the blog have been accessing.
I will be moving past articles on the club tryout process to the fore once again. I am debating whether to place these articles collectively on their own page or simply republish them as part of the main blog. Which would you prefer?
Coming this week will be my musings on professional athletes making the same common mistakes found in youth soccer. I was quite perturbed to see the Crew SC allow two goals to DC United on defensive errors one would expect to see in youth soccer. These are professional athletes for crying out loud! And I will touch on how the errors that got the Crew SC beat yesterday can be attributed to the system or style they play. Mental mistakes. Mental toughness. Lack of discipline. Not accepting the responsibilities that come with the freedom the system offers.
For those of you local to me, I am building portable kickback boards. If interested in purchasing one, please contact me. Pictures and specific pricing will follow later this week. These are incredibly sturdy and relatively lightweight. They will fit in the trunk of most cars. I have decided to do this because a ball and a wall remains the best self instructional tool I have found for young soccer players. The portable kick back boards can be used by individuals or small groups. Slam! is one of the games kids love to play and requires nothing more than a ball and a wall.
For one of our camps this summer I have been asked to install "our" system of play. That is a lot to ask for in a one week camp but I believe we can provide the basics. I am putting together supplemental practice plans to be used throughout the season to continue honing and building the system throughout the year. This is my first attempt at laying this all out and trepidation is running amok. I admittedly form a loose seasonal plan when coaching a team myself. I select 3 parts of play I wish to focus on as a general theme for the season and have specific activities in mind to address these, but am largely adaptable as the season progresses. So much of what I do is team specific - get to know the players and how they best learn. This varies from group to group, season to season and sometimes day to day. Maybe there is something article worthy here?
The Book: I have had computer problems the last couple of weeks so the book project was put on hold. I continue to write what I hope will be a manual with basic and fundamental coaching concepts that will be useful for all, but especially those who are embarking on the NSCAA diploma and or USSF licensure routes. Both organizations have worked to restructure their programs to meet the needs of their clientele, but they both still assume a basic understanding of both the game and coaching is present when such is not necessarily the case with many seeking coaching knowledge. We're going to address that and I believe it be done in a manner that will be helpful to novice coaches through seasoned veterans alike.
Finally, I have one and possibly two openings for camps remaining this summer. If interested, please contact me at tbrown@wcoil.com or by texting/calling 567-204-6083
Thanks once again for helping us continue to grow!
Yours in soccer,
Coach Brown
I will be updating the "most read" articles section shortly. Position #6 The Holding or Defensive Midfielder continues to be our most popular article of all time. Surprisingly, three articles from the past found new readership interest in April. It seems the "search function" added to the website has made a significant impact in what you the readers of the blog have been accessing.
I will be moving past articles on the club tryout process to the fore once again. I am debating whether to place these articles collectively on their own page or simply republish them as part of the main blog. Which would you prefer?
Coming this week will be my musings on professional athletes making the same common mistakes found in youth soccer. I was quite perturbed to see the Crew SC allow two goals to DC United on defensive errors one would expect to see in youth soccer. These are professional athletes for crying out loud! And I will touch on how the errors that got the Crew SC beat yesterday can be attributed to the system or style they play. Mental mistakes. Mental toughness. Lack of discipline. Not accepting the responsibilities that come with the freedom the system offers.
For those of you local to me, I am building portable kickback boards. If interested in purchasing one, please contact me. Pictures and specific pricing will follow later this week. These are incredibly sturdy and relatively lightweight. They will fit in the trunk of most cars. I have decided to do this because a ball and a wall remains the best self instructional tool I have found for young soccer players. The portable kick back boards can be used by individuals or small groups. Slam! is one of the games kids love to play and requires nothing more than a ball and a wall.
For one of our camps this summer I have been asked to install "our" system of play. That is a lot to ask for in a one week camp but I believe we can provide the basics. I am putting together supplemental practice plans to be used throughout the season to continue honing and building the system throughout the year. This is my first attempt at laying this all out and trepidation is running amok. I admittedly form a loose seasonal plan when coaching a team myself. I select 3 parts of play I wish to focus on as a general theme for the season and have specific activities in mind to address these, but am largely adaptable as the season progresses. So much of what I do is team specific - get to know the players and how they best learn. This varies from group to group, season to season and sometimes day to day. Maybe there is something article worthy here?
The Book: I have had computer problems the last couple of weeks so the book project was put on hold. I continue to write what I hope will be a manual with basic and fundamental coaching concepts that will be useful for all, but especially those who are embarking on the NSCAA diploma and or USSF licensure routes. Both organizations have worked to restructure their programs to meet the needs of their clientele, but they both still assume a basic understanding of both the game and coaching is present when such is not necessarily the case with many seeking coaching knowledge. We're going to address that and I believe it be done in a manner that will be helpful to novice coaches through seasoned veterans alike.
Finally, I have one and possibly two openings for camps remaining this summer. If interested, please contact me at tbrown@wcoil.com or by texting/calling 567-204-6083
Thanks once again for helping us continue to grow!
Yours in soccer,
Coach Brown
Friday
When you play with a purpose.
When you play with a purpose
you tend to collide with destiny.
When the team plays with a purpose
Championship become destiny.
When the team plays with a purpose
Championship become destiny.
Saturday
Warming Up the Goalkeeper III
Stretching with
the ball should be common sense. We want the goalkeeper to be comfortable
handling the ball is a variety of circumstances and positions. Stretching
provides a great opportunity to continue handling exercises. Continue to stress the toes of both feet being pointed in teh same direction and down the field whenever possible during these stretches. We must develop muscle memory with this.
Three
repetitions.
Hold for a count
of 10
- Toe touches holding the ball in two hands
- Right over left
- Left over right
- Lunges holding ball in two hands
- Right foot forward
- Right foot diagonally
forward
- Right lateral
- Left foot forward
- Left foot diagonally
forward
- Left lateral
- Trunk twists
- can combine bouncing
ball on one side and catching it on other
- Ball over head
- Lean left
- Lean right
- Hurdlers stretch
- hold ball above toes
- On knees
- roll ball forward using both
hands until fully extended then back.
-
Prone position
-
extend arms and raise torso, ball overhead.
-
On knees
-
ball at feet/butt and lean over backwards.
-
Sit ups with partner
-
catch ball on way down
-
toss ball to server on way up.
-
catch with both hands
-
catch with left hand
-
catch with right hand
-
Jog
- The distance
varies depending on time of season, when last game was played and when next
game is.
Warming up the Goalkeeper II
I utilize a
footwork grid to warm the legs up before stretching. Begin at an easy relaxed
pace. The final time through should be at approximately 90% of full speed. The
goal keeper should have broken a sweat by the time we finish with the last
repetition of this exercise.
Warming up the Goalkeeper
Warming up the goalkeeper.
Step 1
Ball familiarity is the first thing to do every practice. Many of
the exercises employed in this phase are taken from my experiences in playing
and coaching basketball as they translate well to goal keeping.
I ask GK'ers to have both feet pointed in the same direction for each of these exercises. In fact, I demand it. This is one of the foundational things we do throughout the warmup. It will be explained in greater depth as we move through the process of warming up the GK'er.
10 repetitions
each
- Figure 8
- Around both legs together in each
direction
- Around the waist in both
directions
- Around the head in both directions
- Speed drill up and down the body
- Machine gun – One hand front, one
hand back between the legs
- Popcorn - 2 hands front to 2 hands
back between the legs
For variety I
sometimes add in
- Walking figure 8
- High ball, lead with each leg with
“KEEPER!”call.
Can be done in pairs with GK's moving towards one another and collecting the ball side by side to add passive pressure
Keeper Calls
C.B.A. Goalkeeping
Keep it simple.
Keep it short.
Be clear, be loud and be forceful.
Every call you make must be a command and must convey
confidence.
AWAY! – This lets everyone know that the GK is not coming for the ball.
WALL! TWO! - GK wants a wall with two defenders in it.
LEFT! – Tells the defenders in the wall to position to their left..
RIGHT!
– Tells the defenders in the wall to position to their right.
DROP! - Demands a defender drop the ball back to the GK to relieve pressure.
GIVE! - Tells defenders to give ground to deny "negative" space behind them and in front of GK.
FORCE
OUT! – Tells the defender to keep the ball carrier outside.
CLEAR! – Tells teammates to clear the ball.
GAME! or GAME ON! – Informs teammates the distribution is being made.
Wednesday
The goal that shouldn't have been a goal
This appears to take place in high school soccer match. It's entertaining as can be and the referee allows the goal, but should not have. The players left the pitch without referee permission. Play should have been stopped before the kick. Players should have been talked to and a caution for each that left the pitch could have been appropriate.
What do you think?
What do you think?
Saturday
Give your best effort.
You will play as you train
If you only ever give 90% in training
Then you will never be able to give 100% in the game.
Value the Ball
Matches are not won quickly.
Matches are not lost quickly.
Matches are 90 minutes long.
Matches are played one possession at a time.
Matches are won one possession at a time.
Matches are lost one possession at a time.
Value the ball.
Friday
Playing Time.
I have met a lot of people through soccer and over the years have become a resource person or sounding board for many of these. There are two main concerns people raise with me; lack of playing time and the position being played. In today's writing I will share my philosophy on playing time and how I arrived at it.
I remember being an assistant coach for my eldest son Grant's U10 club team. The head coach was a local high school coach by the name of Dan. At 11 years of age, Grant was pudgy and did not look the part of a soccer player. Even back then though Grant had a high soccer IQ. Dan didn't play Grant much and at one point even suggested Grant should maybe think about playing football. Well, okay then. To say that Grant did not get a lot of playing time would be an understatement. I never made a big deal over the lack of playing time. I did observe closely how Grant and others who received a disproportionately low amount of playing time responded.
One example remains in my mind to this day for two specific reasons. In a tightly contested match that a lot of importance was placed upon Dan reluctantly sent Grant in to play as the left back. Grant was admonished to "just stay in position and don't let them score against you." Conversely, Grant and I had been discussing the importance of making the most out of every opportunity he did receive. As the attack traveled up the right flank I noticed (and Grant did too) there was a lot of open space on the weak side. Grant began inching forward and "out of position." It was okay though, because Dan was focused solely on the ball. As the action played itself out there was Grant running full tilt toward the back post and when the shot / cross came he was there to make a play. No goal. That would have been too perfect an ending. But the run itself and the subsequent recovery run were brilliant.
Flash forward a few years and Dan is now coaching a different team. I received a call literally the night before his team was to play in a tournament. Dan needed players. He accepted my then U12 son Treg to play for his U14 team. Treg acquitted himself well on a team that played with 9 men. How does one enter a tournament and be so undermanned when it comes time to play?
These two stories are related as we will discover.
My philosophy on playing time is simple; if you attend and participate in training, I will play you in the match. No guarantee of how many minutes, but you will have a defined role in terms of expectations for your play while in the game.
I have seen a lot of coaches get caught up in a singular expectation for winning the match. They will use pursuit of a win as a reason to avoid playing those considered to be weaker players. High school coaches can be especially bad in this regard but so too can club coaches. With unlimited substitutions allowed in both high school and club soccer I find this approach to be reprehensible. If a player is good enough to make your roster, he is good enough to play in matches for you.
Dan and I later crossed paths when I was the head coach for a U12 team and he served as my assistant. We each had a son on this club team. If you know anything about prepubescent boys you appreciate how they can run like a deer one day and stumble around like a new born foal the next as their bodies undergo the change. I was observant of the players and when they looked like deer they got a lot of playing time. When they looked like a new born foal they received less. But everyone played. I spoke with both players and parents alike about the fluctuations in playing time and counseled patience as these prepubescent growth spurts were temporary and in no way indicative of what type of an athlete the player would be when he emerged on the other end of puberty. Most bought into this reality in the moment. Some it took a couple of years to appreciate and understand.
I limited the roles of the foals but not the significance of their contributions. My guiding light is a firm belief that it is the responsibility of the coach to place players in positions and situations from which they enjoy a reasonable expectation for success. If a player was struggling to run due to "growing pains", it simply made no sense to play him on the flank where a lot of running would be necessary, right? Why frustrate the player by placing him in a position where he was likely to struggle?
These lessons I carried with me when I took on the head coaching job at Lima Central Catholic. This program was moribund having never had a winning season and really struggling for enough players to field a team. That first year we had 17 players total. In all honesty, about 6 were of varsity caliber with another handful of junior varsity caliber. It would have been difficult to justify keeping the rest on a high school roster were the numbers in the program better.
I played everyone who was healthy in every game that season.
The next season our numbers in the program jumped to 29 girls and we fielded a junior varsity team for a limited schedule. That set a record for number of players in a season. Playing every girl in every match and placing them in positions / situations from which they had a reasonable expectation to experience success built a chemistry in the program that others wanted to be a part of. That we had the best season in school history while doing so was even more incentive for others to come out for the team.
The curious case of Adam.
The head coach at our local high school was something of a legend having accumulated 330 wins over the course of his career. I got my start in high school soccer as a goalkeeper coach under him and am eternally grateful for having had the opportunity. Dick topped out as a coach the year the team made it to the state semi-finals. It was viewed as a deep and talented roster with as many as 20 players receiving playing time regularly. From that point on getting back to state consumed him and players suffered for it.
The season after having gone to state we had 53 athletes come out for soccer. There were 36 spots available between the varsity and junior varsity teams. Dick told me he lobbied to some extent for a third team, but was denied. He eventually kept 40 players in the program. Fast forward a few years and we find his last season saw 32 players in the entire program and many of those would have been cut in previous years.
Why? What changed? It's more a matter of who changed; Dick had.
Adam played on an elite club team. He started every game and played dang near every minute as a center back on a team that won nearly 90% of its games. Adam rode the bench and often did not play for Dick as a high school senior that final season. Why? Only Dick can answer that but the impact of allowing players to sit the bench with no chance of playing continued to drive numbers down in the program.
There is a direct correlation between playing time and numbers in the program. It extends to the quality of the program as well. By the time Dick finally walked away the high school program was in a shambles having been decimated both of talent and of numbers participating.
By the way, Adam went on to play in college. Yep, he couldn't buy playing time on a mediocre high school team yet found a spot on a college team. That's just difficult to explain.
Now, I am sure both Dan and Dick in defense of their decision making would suggest players need to earn playing time. This is likely a ruse to deflect away from an issue of trust, or lack thereof. Did Dick trust Adam to play for him? Obviously not.
And I think playing time as well as the path of the various programs mentioned here comes down to that one word, trust as was written about in Truth. Trust. Belief. A coach can give these things to players and teams or he can deny them to players and teams.
When players or parents come to me with issues about playing time my response is to work on the player / coach relationship. Come early and stay late. Work hard. If a role is not defined for you, attempt to identify what your team needs and strive to provide that. Talk with the coach about what you need to do to improve and earn their trust to gain more playing time. It's a shame the onus for developing a trusting relationship sometimes falls upon the player, but it is also a reality of sports. In some instances, nothing can be done to change a coaches perception of a player. That's when it is time to change clubs, refrain from playing high school soccer or transfer to a different school if playing high school soccer means that much to you.
I remember being an assistant coach for my eldest son Grant's U10 club team. The head coach was a local high school coach by the name of Dan. At 11 years of age, Grant was pudgy and did not look the part of a soccer player. Even back then though Grant had a high soccer IQ. Dan didn't play Grant much and at one point even suggested Grant should maybe think about playing football. Well, okay then. To say that Grant did not get a lot of playing time would be an understatement. I never made a big deal over the lack of playing time. I did observe closely how Grant and others who received a disproportionately low amount of playing time responded.
One example remains in my mind to this day for two specific reasons. In a tightly contested match that a lot of importance was placed upon Dan reluctantly sent Grant in to play as the left back. Grant was admonished to "just stay in position and don't let them score against you." Conversely, Grant and I had been discussing the importance of making the most out of every opportunity he did receive. As the attack traveled up the right flank I noticed (and Grant did too) there was a lot of open space on the weak side. Grant began inching forward and "out of position." It was okay though, because Dan was focused solely on the ball. As the action played itself out there was Grant running full tilt toward the back post and when the shot / cross came he was there to make a play. No goal. That would have been too perfect an ending. But the run itself and the subsequent recovery run were brilliant.
Flash forward a few years and Dan is now coaching a different team. I received a call literally the night before his team was to play in a tournament. Dan needed players. He accepted my then U12 son Treg to play for his U14 team. Treg acquitted himself well on a team that played with 9 men. How does one enter a tournament and be so undermanned when it comes time to play?
These two stories are related as we will discover.
My philosophy on playing time is simple; if you attend and participate in training, I will play you in the match. No guarantee of how many minutes, but you will have a defined role in terms of expectations for your play while in the game.
I have seen a lot of coaches get caught up in a singular expectation for winning the match. They will use pursuit of a win as a reason to avoid playing those considered to be weaker players. High school coaches can be especially bad in this regard but so too can club coaches. With unlimited substitutions allowed in both high school and club soccer I find this approach to be reprehensible. If a player is good enough to make your roster, he is good enough to play in matches for you.
Dan and I later crossed paths when I was the head coach for a U12 team and he served as my assistant. We each had a son on this club team. If you know anything about prepubescent boys you appreciate how they can run like a deer one day and stumble around like a new born foal the next as their bodies undergo the change. I was observant of the players and when they looked like deer they got a lot of playing time. When they looked like a new born foal they received less. But everyone played. I spoke with both players and parents alike about the fluctuations in playing time and counseled patience as these prepubescent growth spurts were temporary and in no way indicative of what type of an athlete the player would be when he emerged on the other end of puberty. Most bought into this reality in the moment. Some it took a couple of years to appreciate and understand.
I limited the roles of the foals but not the significance of their contributions. My guiding light is a firm belief that it is the responsibility of the coach to place players in positions and situations from which they enjoy a reasonable expectation for success. If a player was struggling to run due to "growing pains", it simply made no sense to play him on the flank where a lot of running would be necessary, right? Why frustrate the player by placing him in a position where he was likely to struggle?
These lessons I carried with me when I took on the head coaching job at Lima Central Catholic. This program was moribund having never had a winning season and really struggling for enough players to field a team. That first year we had 17 players total. In all honesty, about 6 were of varsity caliber with another handful of junior varsity caliber. It would have been difficult to justify keeping the rest on a high school roster were the numbers in the program better.
I played everyone who was healthy in every game that season.
The next season our numbers in the program jumped to 29 girls and we fielded a junior varsity team for a limited schedule. That set a record for number of players in a season. Playing every girl in every match and placing them in positions / situations from which they had a reasonable expectation to experience success built a chemistry in the program that others wanted to be a part of. That we had the best season in school history while doing so was even more incentive for others to come out for the team.
The curious case of Adam.
The head coach at our local high school was something of a legend having accumulated 330 wins over the course of his career. I got my start in high school soccer as a goalkeeper coach under him and am eternally grateful for having had the opportunity. Dick topped out as a coach the year the team made it to the state semi-finals. It was viewed as a deep and talented roster with as many as 20 players receiving playing time regularly. From that point on getting back to state consumed him and players suffered for it.
The season after having gone to state we had 53 athletes come out for soccer. There were 36 spots available between the varsity and junior varsity teams. Dick told me he lobbied to some extent for a third team, but was denied. He eventually kept 40 players in the program. Fast forward a few years and we find his last season saw 32 players in the entire program and many of those would have been cut in previous years.
Why? What changed? It's more a matter of who changed; Dick had.
Adam played on an elite club team. He started every game and played dang near every minute as a center back on a team that won nearly 90% of its games. Adam rode the bench and often did not play for Dick as a high school senior that final season. Why? Only Dick can answer that but the impact of allowing players to sit the bench with no chance of playing continued to drive numbers down in the program.
There is a direct correlation between playing time and numbers in the program. It extends to the quality of the program as well. By the time Dick finally walked away the high school program was in a shambles having been decimated both of talent and of numbers participating.
By the way, Adam went on to play in college. Yep, he couldn't buy playing time on a mediocre high school team yet found a spot on a college team. That's just difficult to explain.
Now, I am sure both Dan and Dick in defense of their decision making would suggest players need to earn playing time. This is likely a ruse to deflect away from an issue of trust, or lack thereof. Did Dick trust Adam to play for him? Obviously not.
And I think playing time as well as the path of the various programs mentioned here comes down to that one word, trust as was written about in Truth. Trust. Belief. A coach can give these things to players and teams or he can deny them to players and teams.
When players or parents come to me with issues about playing time my response is to work on the player / coach relationship. Come early and stay late. Work hard. If a role is not defined for you, attempt to identify what your team needs and strive to provide that. Talk with the coach about what you need to do to improve and earn their trust to gain more playing time. It's a shame the onus for developing a trusting relationship sometimes falls upon the player, but it is also a reality of sports. In some instances, nothing can be done to change a coaches perception of a player. That's when it is time to change clubs, refrain from playing high school soccer or transfer to a different school if playing high school soccer means that much to you.
Thursday
If you want something you have never had,
then you must do something you have never done
Changing the culture of a program or team can be among the most difficult tasks a coaching staff takes on. It can also be the most important task to take on.
"It's amazing what you can get used to."
We all know of programs / teams who endure loss after loss after loss. We think it must be humiliating to everyone in those programs. The sad truth is there is a certain comfort in knowing what to expect from day to day even if those expectations are for continued losing.
I love rebuilding programs / teams and turning them into winners. It is a difficult task but also so very rewarding. Breaking individual players and teams from their established comfort zones is not a smooth process for everyone. Some will embrace change. Some will resist change. Eventually all who remain will accept change.
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