The strangely strange case of Thoughtful Soccer.

It was on the old and-again soccer forum that I encountered Russ Carrington. As I recall, he appeared on the forum one day with the intent of publicizing a book he was authoring.  Self promotion in Internet forums is probably second only to trolling to set a forum's regulars against you. And Carrington did take a fair amount of flak on and-again for promoting himself and his book.  I was one of the regulars who took the time to engage with Carrington and in January of 2003 he sent me a free copy of Thoughtful Soccer to read and review.

Thoughtful Soccer is written as a children's book with a target audience of new soccer coaches. There are fables, hisa's, thoughtscrims, comos, tries and cutesy names such as alligator river and one layer - two layer for long established exercises.  Generally, an experienced coach will take a brief look at this book and label it utter nonsense or rubbish. I would like to think I saw through that and appreciated the presentation to be ingenious in the context of targeting first time parent coaches of U6 - U8 players. The children's book approach melded with diagrams clearly targeted for adults reaches out to parents of K - 3rd or 4th grade children. This assessment proved to be a stumbling block for in discussions on the and-again forum Carrington would insist the book was targeted for and would work for coaches of all ages and all levels in youth soccer. This in spite of the introduction to the book being titled "Great News for New Coaches"  After all, how many new coaches begin their coaching careers as head coaches of high school teams? None that I am aware of.  They tend to at least of come up through the recreational youth ranks before being handed the reigns of a high schol team. Anyway, as those discussions on and-again would (d)evolve over the years,  Carrington would insist the book provided excellent methodology to prepare high school aged student athletes to play in college.

Coaches steal from one another all-the-time.  It's why most attend clinics and coaching courses or buy books and videos  - to find the latest best way to train a team. People who conduct clinics / coaching courses or publish books / videos do so to share their ideas ... and to make money, of course. I believe Carrington's motives were at least pseudo altruistic in the beginning,

What's the newest hot drill or exercise to train individuals or a team?  Carrington tapped into this with incredible energy through the presentation style incorporated in his book.  Still, aside from presentation, there are no truly new or revolutionary ideas in the book. And Carrington manages to get some of the ideas he does present wrong - his ideas on zonal defending for example.  The windshield wiper player is another. Misinterpretations of long established concepts that Carrington would argue are actually new ideas.  They are not.

Carrington's inability or unwillingness to accept constructive criticism in regards to anything Thoughtful Soccer related eventually led any discussion of the book and its contents to devolve into very ugly exchanges on and-again.  These "Russ centered" discussions eventually led to the down fall of a once great on line coaching community and resource center.

Russ Carrington not only sabotaged his own work so thoroughly that it is now widely ridiculed and mocked, but he helped bring about the downfall of the and-again site and forums as well. His staunch and steadfast defense of Thoughtful Soccer in the face of constructive criticism from some of the brightest minds in the game soon relegated the book to discount bargain bins and clearance areas. That's a bit of a shame for the book is not completely worthless. It's value was degraded by an egotistical stubborn author who took exception to any offer of help to improve his product. Carrington was a know-it-all and completely unafraid to proclaim himself as one to anyone who dared challenge his beloved Thoughtful Soccer.  And so he destroyed his own work and subjected himself to ridicule. A strangely strange tale indeed.

Looking for recommendations and an offer to help you.

So, I injured my knee at work a couple of weeks ago and am under doctors orders to stay off of it until all the testing on it is complete and a course of action is settled upon.  With little else to do I have been reading. Not strictly on soccer or even sports. I just finished up A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American Constitution by Carol Berkin.  Friend of the CBA Blog, Graham Ramsay has also kept me busy searching for out of publication soccer / football books from around the globe.  I am happy to announce I have been successful for him with one exception - a book titled Making Teams by Tom O'Neil. This book was self published in 1994 with a print run "possibly" following a couple of years later. The publisher is long since out of business.

Long ago when I first started coaching soccer I recognized the need to become a student of the game. At this point in my coaching career I have a decent library of books / videos and other sources of soccer knowledge. I continue to seek out information on the game anywhere I can find it.

Anyway, what I want to do is to solicit book recommendations from you, the readers of this blog. Soccer, or as the world knows the game, football related books are the priority although I will entertain recommendations of books on other subjects as well.

In return I am going to publish a listing of soccer / football related books I have in my own library.  I can make recommendations, provide reviews and or help you track down copies to add to your own library.  Sharing knowledge of the game is the best way I know to grow the game.

Contact me at coachtjbrown@gmail.com



Listed Alphabetically

101 Teambuilding Activities	Dale & Conant
2 v  1 Attacking Drills and Exercises	David Goladstein
248 Drills for Attacking Soccer	Del Freo
300 Innovative Soccer Drills for Total Development	Wilkinson & Critchell
Attacking Down the Center	Henk Mariman
Attacking Down the Flank	Henk Mariman
Attacking Drills	Edited by Mike Saif
Attacking Soccer: A Tactical Analysis	Lucchesi
Attacking Soccer: A Tactical Analysis	Luxbacher
Build-Up Play	Henk Mariman
Captain for Life	Harkes
Catch them being good	Tony DiCicco
Championship Team Building	Jeff Janssen
Coaching & Motivation	Warren
Coaching Soccer	Bert van Lingen
Coaching Soccer (2) NSCAA	Edited by Tim Schum
Coaching Team Shape	Cecchini
Coaching the 4-2-3-1	Steve Grieve
Coaching the 4-2-3-1	Harrison
Coaching the 4-2-3-1  Advanced Tactics	Harrison
Coaching the Dutch 4-3-3	Robert Podeyn
Coaching the Goalkeeper	Tony Waiters
Cobi Jones Soccer Games
Complete Conditioning for Soccer	Sigi Schmid & Bob Alejo
Conditioning for Soccer	Joe Luxbacher
Defending & Goalkeeping Drills	Edited by Mike Saif
Design of a Soccer Training Session Based Upon the Physiological Match Demands of Competitive Soccer	Coyle
Developing Game Intelligence	Horst Wein
Don Howe - Super Soccer Skills
Dutch Soccer Drills: Game Action Drills	Kentwell
Dutch Soccer Drills: Individual Skills	Kentwell
Dutch Soccer Drills: Practice Drills for Attacking	Kormelink
English Premier League Academy Training Sessions Vol. I
English Premier League Academy Training Sessions Vol. II
Feeding the Young Athlete	Lair
Flat Back Four: The Tactical Game	Andy Gray
Focused for Soccer	Beswick
Full Season Training Program	Lawrence Fine
Games Girls Play	Caroline Silby with Shelly Smith
Game Situation Training for Soccer	Wayne Harrison
Gender and Competition: How Men and Women Approach Work and Play Differently	Kathleen DeBoer
Goalkeeper Medicine Ball Training	Dicicco & Caruso
Goalkeeper Soccer Training Manual	Dicicco
Goalkeeping Drills	Thissen & Rollgen
Goalkeeping Drills: Volume II	Thissen & Rollgen
Hotshots #1 Workbook for 9, 10 & 11 year olds
Hotshots #2 Workbook for 9, 10 & 11 year olds
Hotshots #3 Workbook for 9, 10 & 11 year olds
How to Play and Beat the 3-5-2	David Platt
How to Play and Beat the 4-3-3	David Platt
How to Play and Beat the 4-5-1	David Platt
Improve Your Soccer Skills	Pavla
Indoor Soccer	Sterling
Inverting the Pyramid	Jonathon Wilson
KNVB Coaching Course
Learning & Teaching Soccer Skills	Eric Worthington
Making Mistakes	Brown
Making Teams  (photo copy)	Tom O'Neil
Modern Tactical Development	Allen Wade
NSCAA Regional / Advanced Regional Course Book	Ken White
NSCAA Match Analysis Notebook
NSCAA Goalkeeping Level I Course Book	Tippin, Waiters & Murphy
NSCAA State Goalkeeping Course Book	Ken White
NSCAA Goalkeeping II Adavanced Course Book	Mike Coles
NSCAA National Goalkeeping Level III National Course Book	George Parry
NSCAA High School Coaches Course Book	Doug Williamson, Jeff Vennell, Matt BillMan, Mike Barr
NSCAA State Course Book	Ken White
NSCAA Regional & Advanced Regional Course Book	Ken White
Nutrition for Soccer Players	Enrico Arcelli
Organizing Successful Tournaments	John Byl
Passing & Possession Drills	Edited by Mike Saif
Peak Performance Playbook	Jeff Janssen
Playing as One	Tom O'Neil and Alex Saltonstall
Positional Play: Back Defenders	Wade
Positional Play: Goalkeeping
Positional Play: Midfield
Positional Play: Strikers
Practice Games for Winning Soccer
Practices & Training Sessions of Worlds Top…
Principles of Play	Allen Wade
Principles of Teaching Soccer	Allen Wade
Pro Coach - Coaching Pad	Simon & Reeves
QuikSkills Folder	Edited by Mike Saif
Recognizing the Moment to Play	Wayne Harrison
Secrets of Soccer: Practices & Secrets
So Now you are a Goalkeeper	Machnik & Hoek
Soccer Attacking Schemes & Training Exercises	Fascetti & Scaia
Soccer for Girls	Graham Ramsay
Soccer for Thinkers	Malcolm Allison
Soccer Guide to Training and Coachin	Allen Wade
Soccer - How to play the Game	USSF - Edited by Bobby Howe
Soccer is Fun - 1 Workbook for 6, 7 & 8 year olds
Soccer is Fun - 2 Workbook for 6, 7 & 8 year olds
Soccer is Fun - 3 Workbook for 6, 7 & 8 year olds
Soccer Offense For Winning
Soccer Referee	Clive Thomas & Tom Hudson
Soccer Restart Plays	Simon & Reeves
Soccer Rules - OK	Geoff Hales
Soccer Skills & Tactics	Moore
Soccer Star
Soccer Strategies: Defensive & Attacking Tactics	Jones & Turner
Soccer Tactics Made Simple	David Clark
Soccer Techniques and Tactics	Jolex
Soccer Systems and Strategies	Bangsbo and Peitersen
Soccer's Dynamic Shortsided Games	Andrew Caruso
Sports Psychology Basics	Andrew Caruso
Success in Football	Mike Smith
Systems of Play	Allen Wade
Team Defense is a Dance	Brown
Team Training for the Goalkeeper	John Murphy
Technique & Skill Drills	Edited by Mike Saif
The Best of  Soccer Journal	Jay Martin
The Brazilian Box Midfield	Dos Santos & Reis
The Champion Within	Gregg
The Complete Book of Coaching Youth Soccer
The Complete Book of Soccer Conditioning
The Complete Keeper	Greiber & Freis
The Full Season Goalkeeper Training Program	Murphy
The Great Book of Inspiring Quotations	Jeff Janssen
The Handbook of Soccer	Don Howe & Brian Scovell
The Scottish FA - Goalkeeper
The Seven Secrets of Successful Coaching
The Soccer Games Book	Simon & Reeves
The Soccer Coaching Bible	NSCAA
The Soccer Goalkeeper	Puxel & Lawniczak
The Soccer Goalkeeping Handbook	Welsh
The Spanish Goalkeeping Bible	Ruiz
The Team Captain's Leadership Manual (5)	Jeff Janssen
The Ultimate Dictionary Of Sports Quotations
The Ultimate Guide to Weight Training for Soccer	Robert G Price
Thoughtful Soccer	Russ Carrington
Training Sessions of Europes Top teams
Training to Win Football	Wolfe
Triangle Midfield	Robert Podeyn
Umbro Conditioning for Football
United States Youth Soccer Association Handbook for Small Sided Games
USSF D Manual
USSF E Manual
Usborne Superskills: Improve your Soccer Skills	Ian St. John
Warm Up Drills for Soccer	Chris James
Warm Ups for Soccer: A Dynamic Approach	Critchell
Winning Soccer	Yeagley
World Class Coaching: Training Sessions…	Edited by Mike Saif
Zonal Defending: Flat Back Four … (2)	Jack Detchon
Zone Play: A technical & Tactical Handbook	Pereni & Di Cesare

"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.

Coaches' Clinics vs Coaching Courses

When I first turned my coaching attention towards soccer over 20 years ago I knew I needed help to do justice to the young players placed in my charge. Although I had coached various sports for a number of years I possessed a rudimentary knowledge of soccer in general. So, I set about educating myself about soccer.

One of the first things I did was to attend a "clinic" presented by the local high school coach. This clinic was part of a coaches meeting for the local recreational league and lasted all of about 30 minutes. Thus armed, I began my career as a soccer coach. We won the league championship that year with a 6-0-1 record!  This had little to do with my coaching acumen and much to do with the fact the biggest, fastest, strongest player in the league played for our team. As a coach, I knew to get the ball to the kid who couldn't be stopped.

What I did not know was how to teach technique. So I went looking for that information. I looked at the local library for books on soccer - there weren't many. So I went to local books stores to look for books only to discover there were none. Not a single book on soccer. I searched out stores that specialized in soccer and found The Soccer House in Ft. Wayne Indiana. It was, at that time, a mom and pop store offering all things soccer. They didn't have many books or videos but what they did have was a gold mine to me!  From there I learned some of the large national chain book stores carried soccer books and videos, As the Internet was just becoming a thing, I learned about sites like Reed Swain, Championship Productions and Kwik Goal which all had educational offerings, As I have reported before, today I have an extensive library of soccer books and videos.

I also learned of coaching courses which I was greatly excited about. I thought, what a great way to learn how to (coach) teach soccer! The first caching course I attended was the State Goalkeeping Course offered by the NSCAA. It was to this date the best soccer coaching course I have ever taken. Tony Waiters, Tony DiCicco and John Murphy were the clinicians. Murphy remains my favorite clinician of all time.  I learned so much from their presentations.   My next venture into the realm of coaching courses was a USSF course which I still view as the greatest waste of money ever spent on soccer education. The USSF course tested what I already knew.  I was not a novice coach, so had an understanding of how to coach. What I needed to learn about soccer was what techniques to coach and how to teach the properly. I was almost completely out of luck in this regard with the USSF course.

I understand today's NSCAA and USSF offerings, at least at the entry levels, do a much better job of teaching coaching fundamentals before testing your knowledge. They also do a better job of instructing how to teach the fundamentals of the game. They have listened to complaints and suggestions from the grass roots of the game. Kudos to both organizations.

Knowing what I do now, I wish I had availed myself of the coaching clinics that were available to me. Quite frankly, I confused the pursuit of knowledge with the pursuit of Diplomas and Licenses.  I have numerous of both and ... well, so what?

I have not attended a coaching course in five years. The last being the NSCAA High School Diploma Course in Georgia which was quite good. Probably second only to the State Goal Keeping course referenced earlier in this article. I did help host an NSCAA Level III coaching course last summer as the DOC for a local club. Our coaches needed diplomas / licenses to meet league coaching requirements so it had to be done.  It was a decent course focused more on how to prepare a practice plan and what to present in that practice plan. Good information for the level of coach targeted.

I have continued to attend (and conduct) coaching clinics.  Yesterday I attend a small and short but sweet clinic at Ohio Northern University. It was a one day clinic consisting of 3 sessions.  I came away with perhaps a dozen different things I will be trying out in the camps I conduct and with the team I will coach next fall. There is some different nomenclature that I believe will benefit the players I work with to better understand the input I am providing them.  Despite specializing inn goalkeeping instruction for two decades I saw a different exercise I think is practical and functional that I will give a try. And  I rediscovered a tactical consideration that I believe the teams I work with might benefit form.  It was a productive use of 4.5 hours on a wintry day.

Today, I view the NSCAA and USSF as necessary evils in the sense most leagues are demanding coaches be "licensed" before they are permitted to coach. Real education in the game remains in the purview of coaching clinics.

At coaching clinics many coaches become engrossed in the drill or exercise being presented. Excitement builds and they want to rush right out to try out the new drill on their own teams. I do not have a problem with this as long as the coach understands the reasons for having the team perform the exercise - the coaching points involved.  The good clinicians explain these things before, during and after their presentations. It is important to grasp these things otherwise we turn it into an effort to train monkeys, so to speak.

The elite clinics, in my opinion, will follow a day's practice plan.  The warm up, individual, small group and eventual full-team or game phase of practice will be presented by a variety of clinicians. There is a flow and structure based around the theme of the sessions. A picture is painted for the coaches in attendance of what a well thought out and organized training session should look like. The exercises and accompanying coaching points are icing on the cake.  The different ways of organizing a team and the nomenclature used are bonuses.

At yesterday's clinic they provided us with a nicely done written synopsis of the what was to be presented, I still ended up with 7 pages of my own notes.  Most of my notes are of ideas the clinicians and or the exercises they presented prompted in my own mind. I diagrammed some variations of the exercises they present that popped into my mind while watching theirs presentations. I jotted down terms and phrases I think may convey my own ideas to teams better than what I have been using. And as noted above, I will be borrowing an exercise or two to use with my teams, if not in there entirety then certainly in there general intent.  Hey, it's what coaches do!

So, my message to you is to know he difference between a coaching course and a coaching clinic. My personal experience has been coaching clinics are far more valuable learning experiences. They have met and continue to meet my needs better that coaching courses that award diplomas or licenses based on what you already know.