The 10 Commandments for Attacking Soccer

1) Thou shall not spectate when thou should be playing. It is impossible to support your teammates on attack or when defending if you are watching play instead of adjusting your positioning each and every time the ball moves. A coaching phrase I use to remind players to do this is “When the ball travels, we travel!” It can be called, ‘When the ball travels” by a coach or player and answered “We travel” by the remaining team members

2) Thou shall check to the ball when winning loose balls and receiving passes. Waiting for a ball to come to you is inviting an opponent to win the ball. Perhaps even worse is running away from a ball thinking you are played through and allowing an opponent to step in behind you to win the ball. Inexcusable. We should never lose a possession due to not checking to the ball. Never.

3) Thou shall position yourself so your hips are open to as much of the field as is possible. If your hips are closed to the direction the ball is coming from, your play is predictable. Open hips to as much of the field as possible is a secret to successful possession. In this manner thou shall receive the ball across your body whenever possible. We call this being a back footed player. Receiving in this manner allows the player to stay in compliance with Commandment #3. Failure to comply with this commandment makes you a predictable player and one easily defended and dispossessed of the ball.

4) Thou shall make a safe pass upon winning possession of the ball. It is senseless to win the ball and attempt to advance into pressure. Make a safe pass and allow that receiver to establish the rhythm of the attack.

5) Thou shall not stop the ball between thy feet when receiving it. The path of the ball must be changed away from pressure when receiving it. This forces any defender in pursuit of the ball to change course thus buying the receiver space and time to play the ball. Failure to do so changes the pressure to make the play away from the defender and onto the receiver.

6) Thou shall support your teammates at proper angles. It is extremely difficult to make a straight pass, especially if the teammate is running away. This type of “vertical” support can devastate an attack. It is just as critical not to support the 1st defender in a vertical line as you offer virtually no support in doing so. The rule of thumb is 45 degree angles when defending and 45 degree angles or bigger when on the attack.

7) Thou shall not pass square in your defensive third nor in the middle portion of the field. Square passes are the easiest passes to cleanly intercept and immediately transition to attack on. Square passes tend to happen when there is a lack of diagonal support for the passer.

8) Thou shall play the way you face. This is a rule of thumb so there are exceptions. It holds especially true when you are under pressure. Drop or back passes are okay to relieve that pressure. Maintaining possession is what we want to do.

9) Thou shall not shoot from impossible angles. Intelligent defenses seek to deny shots in general and especially those from in front of the goal. Many defenses seek to limit shots against them to coming from a line that extends from the goal post to the corner of the 6 to the corner of the 18 or wider. Shots from those angles leave the goalkeeper with a greatly reduced goal to defend. You must seek to cross the ball when in this deep or take the ball to and along the end line for a cut back cross. Thou shall go to goal each and every time you get your inside shoulder in front of the opponent defending you. When you are breaking free and have the opportunity to eliminate the closest opponent to you, do so. It is not an option. It is mandatory.

10) Thou shall shoot the ball whenever in position to take a quality shot. When in front of the goal and from 25 yards in there should be no hesitation. No extra touch to set the ball up just right. No extra passes. Just put the ball on net. Toe pokes are fine. Knees are fine. Love headers for goals. Strike at the midpoint or higher on the ball to keep it low. Whatever it takes to get the ball on net. Just do it and do it at the first available moment.

Fundamentals of Team Attacking Play

There are 4 cornerstones needed in order to attain a consistently high level of team play - quality of first touch, purposeful passing,  intelligent support and communication. The four components are inter-related and as such the quality of your team's play is dependent on the ability to execute effectively in each area.

Quality first touch refers to a players ability to gain and maintain possession of the ball with his first touch of the ball. Although usually used in association with receiving a pass we also need to include the ability to gain possession of a loose ball or a contested ball in our definition. Therefore we can say a player executing a quality first touch will receive the ball under control and away from pressure utilizing his first touch to facilitate his next touch(es)on the ball.

Preparation is the Key to Increasing Pace of Play

It is better to look ahead & prepare than to look back & regret. -Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Soccer is a game that’s played with the brain. - Johan Cruyff

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. - Benjamin Franklin

Everybody has a will to win. What's far more important is having the will to prepare to win. - Bobby Knight

What the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve and those who stay will be champions. - Bo Schembechler

A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be - Wayne Gretzky

There are no secrets to sucess. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure. - Colin Powell

 

PREPARATION

 

Breaking lines is one our favorite warm up activities.

(See Emma Hayes of Arsenal's Ladies Academy demonstrate Breaking Lines here)

 

Why breaking lines? 

My analysis of our recent play revealed slippage in our quality of first touch and execution of the basic push pass. We were beginning to struggle possessing the ball despite improved tactical recognition. The intent was to sharpen our technique and by extension take fuller advantage of the improved tactical recognition I was observing. In short, I planned a practice to solve a problem we were encountering on the field as we prepare to play again this weekend.

The coaching points for breaking lines are centered around preparing to play and proper technical execution in receiving and the push pass.  I worry a bit when addressing fundamentals with teenage players as they often approach such activities with an attitude of having progressed beyond the need to work on basics.  Silly boys. 

As I watched the players participate in this exercise many of the quotes listed above began to come to mind. With a small group and by utilizing only one ball I was able to concentrate on individual players. Technical assesments ranged from very good to fair to below average. At times I brought forth the coaching points associated with breaking lines to both individual players and the collective group.

Coaching points, especially in this case, serve the purpose of helping players to solve the problem of self-inflicting pressure. There were fascinating dynamics at work within this group activity. Some players paid particular attention to the minutest details in an effort to hone their skills. Other players continued to make the same mistakes over and over again with little apparent interest in improving.  What I was actually seeing is varying degrees of problem recognition and problem solving skills being demonstrated by the players as well as varying commitment levels to the team and teh game itself. Some were taking to my suggestions, others were tweaking and adapting aspects of their play on their own accord. A couple just went through the motions of the exercise largely unconcerned with the fact the exercise broke down on their watch more than anyone else's.

As I watched the players who continued to struggle with the exercise it occurred to me that in at least one case the player would have been classified among the "biggest, fastest, strongest" players coming through the youth ranks. I make this point because he largely relied upon physcal dominance to be successful. He did not "need" technique at the younger ages because he could cover for lack of technical excellence by outworking almost everyone else. He put forth great physical effort and was handsomely rewarded with praise and results. Now in his teen years he is slipping down the depth chart despite continuing to give huge effort and doesn't understand why. He has been unable to solve this problem and until or unless he does he will continue to struggle.

I blame his struggles on lazy coaching during his younger years. No one held him accountable for learning proper technique. His youth coaches played to his strengths - size, speed, strength - without addressing his weaknesses - technical skill and tactical understanding.  They failed to prepare him for more advanced play. A result is this player does not understand or appreciate the value of preparation. By extension the huge effort he gives on the field is now far less productive than it once was in youth leagues.  In his case, it really isn't a matter of working harder, but a matter of learning to work smarter.

At one point during the training session driven, or at least lofted, service was required in order to work on directing balls taken off the chest. One player who is quite good with his foot skills struggled mightily in attempting to chest the ball let alone direct it where he wanted it to go. I am quite certain he is capable of doing so, but lack of quality service was a problem at least in his mind.  I watched time and again as the service to him went over his head. Granted he is one of our shortest players, but he never got to the point of adjusting and adapting his preparation to play the ball. If the ball was not perfectly delivered to where he awaited it, he would expend energy jumping or lunging  in an attempt to make the play as asked in the exercise. He never progressed to expending the same amount of energy in preparing himself better to receive the ball. For instance, he could have checked away as his partner was preparing to serve him the ball thereby allowing him more time and space to adjust.  Instead he chose to remain stationary and demand perfect service from his teammates. 

The season plan has been to extend our on-field thinking from one decision soccer to playing multiple decision soccer - a wordy way of stating increasing our speed of play. 

Preparation is the key consideration in playing fast soccer.  Before your first touch you need a plan for what you will do with the ball on your first touch and any succeeding touches.  Even before that you must anicipate the flow of play and "get in the vision" of the teammate who has yet to execute his first touch on the ball.  Why?  Because once the teammate looks down to execute his first touch he becomes blind to 99% of the pitch - he needs to know his options for play before he ever touches the ball just as you will.

In contrast, "one decision soccer" involves gaining possession of the ball and then figuring out what you want to do with it.  This is a serious means of self-inflicting pressure and slowing the pace of play for your team.  The thought process becomes "See ball. Win ball. Dribble Ball or Whack Ball." and results in a lot of 50 / 50 balls won but nearly as many created or given away. The ratio of physical effort expended to mental effort expended is completely out of whack.

As Johan Cruyff stated,  "Soccer is a game that is played with the brain."  Playing fast is about problem solving. It is about preparing to play in advance of touching the ball both in terms of receiving it and setting yourself up to execute a quality first touch as your play or leading into your next play.  Preparation to play is about expending mental energy moreso than expending physical energy although the physical component is equally as important in its own right.

Breaking lines... a simple, basic, perhaps remedial exercise incorporates all this and more. The emphasis cannot be on successfully moving the ball around the grid. That is just part of the process in improving the various techniques involved. The tweaks I make to the exercise to include checking away and checking back to the pass helps simulate the rhythm of the game just as the prescribed route of the ball helps to re-inforce the idea of having a plan for what to do with the ball before your first touch on it.  It is a little static in nature, but just as muscle memory is important in establishing proper technique so too is developing the proper pattern of play important to increasing the pace of play.  Scan, touch, look, play is much more effect than touch, scan, look, play.

Failing to prepare properly is preparing to fail.

Lack of proper preparation leads to slowed pace of play that results in lost possession which leads to expenditure of energy in regaining possession. It's a vicious cycle that requires huge amounts of physical energy especially in relation to the amount of mental energy being expended.  The one thing I seek to impart to the players is that soccer is a game that is played with the brain.

Soccer is a game that is played with the brain.

Soccer is a game that is played with the brain.

Soccer is a game that is played with the brain.

The Circle Game

I have had a request to share one of the exercises we use in camps settings.  I have never given it a proper name usually referring to it simply as The Circle Game.  This is an intensely demanding game on every level.  With this in mind a proper Introduction is in order.
 

The genesis of this exercise grew from a need to increase the pace or speed of play. I noticed that many of the players we work with play “one decision soccer”.  That is, the focus is on gaining possession of the ball either by receiving it from a teammate, intercepting a pass or winning what we call a 50/50 ball.  My observation was little thought being given towards what to do with the ball until after possession was secured. I wanted a training game that would force players to plan ahead what they would do with the ball before they received it.

As coaches are want to do, I poached the general idea behind this game from something I saw presented at a coaching clinic.  The premise of the clinic presentation was increasing the speed of play by forcing players out of their comfort zone.  The clinician speeded up the physical aspects of play under the assumption the mental, psychological, technical and tactical facets of play would follow along.

Dennis Mueller's Daily Footwork Exercies.

Dennis Mueller had an Internet link to his Daily Footwork Exercises at one time.  The link I had is no longer working. If I find an active one I will post it here.

Daily Footwork Drill

FAST FOOTWORK

1. Inside Roll -- Roll the ball across your body from outside to inside with the inside and sole of the foot and stop the ball with the inside of the other foot.
2. Outside Roll -- Roll the ball across your body from inside to outside with the outside and sole of the foot and stop the ball with the inside of the same foot.
3. Side to Side Push-Pull -- Tap ball back and forth with inside of feet, push ball forward with one foot and pull it back the sole of the opposite foot.
4. Side to Side Step-On -- Roll ball to outside with the sole by stepping lightly on the ball, then tap ball back to the inside with the inside of the foot.
5. Side to Side Front Roll --Tap ball back and forth with inside of feet, push ball slightly forward then pull the ball across your body with the front part of the sole.
6. Pull Instep Push -- Push ball forward and pull it back with the sole, then tap ball forward with the instep of the same foot.
7. Pull a Vee -- Push the ball forward and pull it back the sole of the foot while turning and then take the ball with the inside of the same foot.
8. Pull & Take with Outside of Foot -- Push the ball forward and pull the ball back with the sole then push the ball diagonally forward with the outside of the foot.
9. Pull & Roll Behind -- Push the ball forward and pull the ball back with the sole of the foot then pass the ball behind the standing leg with the inside of the foot. Control the ball with the sole of the other foot. feet.
10. Pull turn --Push ball forward with one foot and pull it back with the other while turning toward ball and take the ball in the opposite direction with the inside of the first foot.
11. Inside of foot turn -- Push ball forward, move past ball and turn toward ball and take it with the inside of the foot in the opposite direction.
12. Outside of foot turn -- Push ball forward, move past ball and turn toward ball while taking it with the outside of the foot in the opposite direction.
13. Cruyff -- Push the ball forward, fake kick with inside of foot, but instead pull ball behind the standing leg and change directions.
14. Stepover Turn -- Push ball forward, step over ball with one foot, turn toward ball and take it in the opposite direction.
15. Full Sole Roll -- Roll the sole of one foot forward over the ball and to the outside so the ball stops against your heel. Turn and take the ball with the sole of the other foot with a Step-On.
16. Scissors -- Starting with the ball to one side, step over or in front of ball so that the ball ends up on the other side of you. Take theball in the opposite direction with the outside of the other foot and then stop ball with the sole of the first foot.
17. 360 -- Push ball forward, stop it with the sole of one foot while stepping past it, turn and drag ball back with sole of other foot, continue turning all the way around and take the ball with the inside of the first foot.
18. Kick Over ball -- Kick over ball with inside of foot then pull it back with the sole of the same foot.

I'm a Rambling Man.

I suppose it is due to a wave of nostalgia that swept over me when our youngest son completed his last season of high school soccer?  My thoughts have been wandering back to the days when our sons, hardly more than toddlers, began playing the beautiful game and back again to these last days of our youngest sons high school career.  Those thoughts have not taken a direct path, but have strayed here to there and from child to child.  This article will likely ramble about just as much as I attempt to formulate some of these thoughts into cohesive ideas about this game the world refers to as football or futbol and that we know as soccer.

Having the analytical mind that I do the general premise behind this "typing out loud"  is to consider a better development model for soccer here in the United States. Not only am I considering how my sons learned the game and I along with them, but I am also attempting a bit of reverse engineering in studying foreign exchange students and foreign players in the MLS. It's an ambitious undertaking, for sure. Purely unscientific as well.  I am using my powers of observation, deduction and analysis in an attempt to find a better way.

Calm and poised are adjectives often used to describe how my sons play the game.  Grant came to this in spite of my coaching.  I think Grant would credit Graham Ramsay with helping him learn to think the game differently than many of his peers did and perhaps still do.  Treg benefited from my increased awareness of the similarities between my first love of basketball and my new love of soccer but Ken White had a huge influence on his play as well. Lance is the best of the lot in how he sees and interprets the game and his play reflects this.

Over the years we have had several foreign exchange students play for our club and with the high school team. Some of them have been quite good while others have been average at best. Still, all these young men, every single one of them, stand apart from their American counterparts in their ideas about the game.  I have long believed the foreign exchange students think the game differently than our own players do. Only recently have I began to consider the reason for this being their seeing the game differently than we do.  Therein lies what I will call the subtleties of the game. These subtleties of the game might be difficult for me to articulate to you in no small part because my vision of them is still evolving. Please bear with me as I try my best.

Simon was a JV player at Shawnee. Why he never played varsity is a mystery to me although I suspect it was because he was a cerebral player more so than an energetic whirlwind of physical activity. Simon had great ideas on how to play this game we call soccer. Decision making and quality of first touch are what set him apart from most of those around him.

The decision making aspect was indicative of Simon's vision or game intelligence. He was most definitely a game watcher as opposed to a ball watcher. His play was rarely frenetic. He was a player, who by US standards, might have been considered lazy.  This is one of the subtleties I am writing about - if you are a game watcher you don't have to have a constantly high physical work rate to be effective.

In high school soccer it seems high physical work rate is valued more than high mental work rate. It's a work harder, think less approach to the game. This is the issue at the heart of the overly direct play that dominates high school soccer. With our foreign players mental work rate dictates physical work rate. That is one of the subtleties of the game I am writing about.

Quality of first touch is one of the areas where mental work rate dictating physical work rate manifests itself most and in the clearest fashion. Our exchange students have been very adept with their first touch on the ball.  However, their first touches on the ball have often been of an unconventional nature. One might describe many of these first touches as being executed with improper technique. 

This might be best illustrated by describing how another of our exchange students, Goncalo, executed in a warm up exercise known as breaking lines.  The basic concept of breaking lines is to pass the ball around the outside of a grid using proper sequences of touches. It is all done two-touch utilizing inside of the foot "reception" and the push pass in the following combinations:

Right foot first touch leading into a push pass with the right foot.  Right / Right
Right / Left
Left / Left
Left / Right

I need to backtrack to another idiom characteristic in foreign players. They tend to arrive to training and games in street clothes with their kit on underneath. 'Calo was one of the "worst" of the lot at this. He would even take the field for warm ups dressed in jeans and a polo.  Yes, I allowed this to happen and I will relate why a little further along in my ramblings.

I explained breaking lines in specific terms to the group and set them off on performing it. It wasn't long before my attention was drawn to Calo's touches.  It seemed he would use the inside of his foot when convenient but was quite content to use the outside of his foot or any other part of his body for both receiving and passing the ball. I watched intently for  awhile thinking I would stop the exercise and make a coaching point from one of Calo's touches.  I never did though.

Breaking lines is a warm up activity that I was using to reinforce proper technique with the players. Toes up, heel down, change the path of the ball when receiving. Toes up, heel down, strike with the ankle bone when passing. 

Calo viewed breaking lines for what it was - a warm up exercise. He utilized it as preparation to train or play with a focus on moving the ball around the outside of the grid in as efficient of a manner as he could. If that entailed using other techniques than the inside of the foot first touch or push pass, did it really matter?  This was Calo's thinking.  Effectiveness was preferred to adhering strictly to "proper" technique or technical excellence.  Another subtlety of the game.

As Americans we marvel at the creativeness foreign players often exhibit in their play.  We lament the lack of creativity to be found in American players.  The difference might lie in the difference between how we viewed breaking lines and how Calo viewed breaking lines.

When my sons play, they put on their uniforms at home before heading to the pitch. If it is cold outside they will wear warm ups over their uniforms. About the only article of clothing they put on at the pitch is their cleats or boots.  Foreign players often arrive in street clothes. Sometimes they have their kits on underneath. Sometimes they go to a restroom to change into their kits. As a general rule, they are always late arriving on the pitch to warm up.  I generally like a 30 minute warm up before a match. Our foreign exchange students seem to prefer about 15 minutes and more than once they have warmed up in street clothes.

I think, in part, it is a marvelous way to keep everything in perspective. These exchange students love the game of soccer as much or more than their American counterparts, but are not consumed with soccer. The game has its place in their lives, a big place in their lives, but it is not who they are. Soccer is something that they do, then it's back to their regularly scheduled lives. Perhaps another subtlety in the game?

Most American team sports are coach driven games. That is, a preponderance of the decision making that occurs in-game is scripted by coaches.  Football huddles up for the quarterback to call plays sent in from the sideline by a coach.  In basketball coaches often call out plays and defensive sets from the sidelines.  Even in baseball the "hit and run" or steal of a base is called from the dugout. Sometimes every pitch is called from the dugout. 

Soccer is a player driven sport.  There are limited opportunities for set plays. There are only general patterns of play to be used as a template.  No timeouts. The playing surface is usually 120 yards long by 70 yards wide with players spread over a good portion of it making in-game verbal communication from the sidelines a sketchy proposition at best.  In-game problem solving in soccer lies squarely in the realm of the player.

And here is yet another subtlety of the game.  For most American players soccer is a ball driven game. For our exchange student athletes football is a space driven game. It's as if Americans see one ball to be shared by 22 players while our exchange students see 120 yards x 70 yards of space for 22 players to play with a ball in.  That is probably about as clear as mud to many of you, so let me try again in another way.

Something I noticed with many of the foreign players we have had on our teams is the idea of moving without the ball against the grain of the defense.  American players tend to stand waiting for the ball to be played through the defense to them or they are found moving in the same direction as the defense is while looking to receive a pass.  Instead of running full speed into the attack, many of our foreign players have moved more slowly looking for and watching space develop before moving strategically into that space when it is most advantageous to do so.  They realize there is only one ball for 22 players and the best way to have a teammate share the ball with you is to find open space (time) for you to play with the ball in.  Another subtlety of the game.

And this particular subtlety is one I have based our entire attacking system of play upon.  The general coaching phrases I have taken up are ball movement is predicated on player movement  and the purpose of possession is not to move the ball, but to move the opposition so it is easier to move the ball.  

In my mind, these subtleties of the game are what need to be introduced much earlier in the development of young players. The place to start is with coaches recognizing soccer is a player driven game. And for players to experience and explore the game from a perspective that soccer is game played with the brain. 

How to Become a Student of the Game

I remember as a kid watching sports on TV and then going out to the yard or the drive way to imitate what I had just seen. Loved the sweet swing of Roberto Clemente, the bank shots of John Havlicek, and the scrambling of John Tarkenton and every once in awhile I got a glimpse of some guy named Pele doing incredible things with a soccer ball.  Emulating the sports heroes of the day was a natural thing for us to do.. Little did I realize it also held the key to developing an ability to play the games.

I have at times mentioned Graham Ramsay, a friend of mine, in my writings. When I first met Graham back in the late 1990’s he was always referencing great soccer players and spectacular plays he watched on TV.  Quite frankly, most of it went right over our heads as we did not have Fox Soccer Channel and soccer in general was not shown on TV much outside of the Olympic or World Cup games. I think I became somewhat immune to his constant references of players and plays that I hadn’t any means of seeing.  It wasn’t until much later that it dawned on me that Graham was reminding me of how important it is for young players to watch older players and professional players play the game.

 

Player Development: What it does and doesn't look like.

Here are a couple of videos that demonstrate what player development should and should not look like.

Kick and run may generate wins at first,but development is needed to play good soccer and sustain results.

 

There is no real development without the ability to possess the ball.

What goes round comes round.

They say, what goes round comes round.

Some years ago during a conversation with Steve Burns, then head men's coach at the University of Michigan I asked, "In what one area of the game would you like to see club and high school coaches do a better job of preparing players to play in college?"   Coach Burns' immediate response was "First touch."

This morning I was asked, "Given all the high school soccer you watch, what do you believe is the weakest part of the high school game?"  My immediate reply was, "Lack of intelligent attacking play."

As I reconsider both the question and my response several hours later I find I remain comfortable with my answer. No doubt Coach Burns was spot on with his reply and the quality of first touch remains an area in need of improvement in high school soccer.  In some ways that contributes to the lack of intelligent attack in the high school game. There are also many other factors between first touch and the finished product of intelligent attacking play. Still, when I consider the general state of the high school game in our area I find the style of play to be the biggest impediment to improved attacking play.

If you go out to watch nearly any youth soccer game it's all about the biggest, fastest, strongest (bfs) kids. It does not take a lot of skill to whack the ball up the field for that bfs kid to run on to. The vast majority of freshmen entering high school soccer are sorely lacking in basic soccer skills in part because of the kick and run style they have played through the youth ranks.

The first high school staff I was on recognized the weak skill sets kids coming into the program had and would spend their contact days in the summer trying to address this issue. The high school staff would conduct a week long mini-camp consisting of two 2 hour sessions M - F.  A couple of weeks later we hosted a team camp conducted by Graham Ramsay. Graham would hold 3 sessions a day M-Th with anywhere from 1 - 3 more sessions on Friday dependent on his travel plans.  By the time actual practices began, the kids had a huge head start on almost every other squad in the area. The team played a possession style that was instrumental in establishing a winning tradition and took the team to its only State-semi appearance.

Now it is some years later and the program does some fundamental skill work during the summer months but has also been participating in a team camp at a local college. This team camp involves a session or two of technical work but is largely based around playing two games a day against other teams attending the camp.  The high school program has been able to maintain its success but now plays a very direct game reminiscent of youth league bsf kick and run games.

On the one hand, it's easier just to work with the skill sets kids come to the program with. They play kick and run coming up through the youth ranks so instead of expending a lot of time and energy to improve or simply teach them sound fundamentals, why not just go with what they already know how to do? Less work on the part of coaching staffs and probably a lot less stress too.

When a kid does enter high school with a good skill set, they are often promoted directly to the varsity level.  Certainly not always, but often enough to consider it the norm. One of the oddest aspects of high school soccer is watching coaches try to turn skilled athletes into kick and run players. More often than not these days the skilled player is found at a forward position waiting to run onto "through balls" or "dump and runs" regardless of if their individual style, physical build or mental make up is suited to a forward position or not.

Where do the rare skilled players come from these days?  Club soccer teams where coaches take time to teach techniques, tactics and develop soccer IQ. Our local club has long defined its purpose as preparing kids to play high school soccer. The path we have followed has had strong emphasis on teaching fundamental technique, tactics and developing soccer IQ.  As I listen to feedback from players and parents this fall I get the sense many of the local high school coaches do not appreciate our efforts.  In general the high school coaches wish to restrict, restrain and simplify the players individual games. Thoughtful and intuitive play is largely eschewed for simple "pass the ball here" and "whack it forward" play devoid of thought or the freedom to take advantage of what an opponent leaves open. It amounts to taking the on-field decision making process away from players which in turn stifles creativity.

On the surface this is a risk aversion approach to attacking play, but upon closer inspection it is not. If a team attacks in the same manner every time it has possession, the attack becomes very predictable and easily game planned for.  It actually becomes a higher risk proposition as the attack goes against a defense prepared to defend against it. Then the reliance really does become on having the bsf players or better athletes.  This weaves us back around to the lack of intelligent attacking play that I cited earlier. If a team can vary its attack, be unpredictable, they become much more efficient on the attack. 

So, Coach Burns was definitely spot on regarding quality of first touch and by extension other fundamental techniques of the game. My answer is also spot on for what I address is how the lack of foundational skills has served to perpetuate the dump and run freeway soccer reliant on big, strong fast kids found in the youth ranks.

I'm not sure of the answer to this situation.  I have a suspicion if the high schools do not address some of the issues raised in this article the truly good players of high school age will drift away from playing for their school and choose to play for their club or academy teams year round.  That will hurt the high school game even more. 

What goes into increasing pace of play?

Anyone following this blog has likely realized I have been studying ways to improve pace of play for high school players. In order to do so I have watched countless professional matches paying particular attention to individual players and teams who play with great pace in an attempt to identify and define what it is that allows them to do so. I think I finally have ideas sorted well enough to put them down in writing. At least I hope so for that is what I am going to attempt to do in this article.

I begin with a vision of what optimal pace of play might look like. This is not a realistic vision for the game for it fails to account for many things, defenders and changing the pace of play as examples. What if an entire team were to be successful using one touch play? That is, the team could maintain possession of the ball until it is scored with players only requiring one touch to move the ball about the pitch and into the goal.  

I think the pattern or sequence of play should look like this.

Vision
Communication
Preparation
Technique
Execution
Mobility

Vision is assessing all options before your first touch on the ball. Being a game watcher instead of being a ball watcher. Seeing the big picture of the game instead of the smaller picture around the ball. The player must know where the opponents are, where his teammates are and where available space is before he receives the ball.

Communication between teammates is essential. The player passing the ball, the player receiving the ball and all supporting players must vocalize what they see, their vision of the game about them. Non-verbal communication in the form of body positioning, eye-to-eye contact between players and hand signals are not only appropriate but required as well.

Preparation to make a play with the before actually receiving it is essential. This involves having active feet, establishing proper angles to receive the ball while keeping hips open to as much of the field as possible, checking to the ball, making a run into space ahead of the pass.

Technique refers to the action of the player receiving the ball. It can include one touch or multiple touches, shooting, passing, volleying, heading or dribbling. In this case, a one touch play where the technique is the first and only touch on the ball.

Execution refers to the decision-making process used to determine the appropriate technique to use and the success or lack thereof in applying that technique to the situation at hand. Together the Technical and Execution elements of play are referred to as skill, the ability to select and implement an appropriate and effective response from a range of possibilities.

Mobility is off-the-ball player movement. Once the ball is played away to a teammate, the passer must re-engage with the remaining nine teammates to provide intelligent support to the new receiver. It is important to be in the receiver’s vision before the receivers head goes down to play the ball. In most instances, the passer will need to anticipate where the receiver will next play the ball and move to support that action or perhaps one even further advanced. It is important to recognize that ball movement is predicated on player movement - players must move if they wish the ball to be passed to them. Check to the ball, make runs and so forth.

If we add an element of control to the process, we then have two-touch play.

Vision
Communication
Preparation
Control
Technique
Execution
Mobility

Control is simply a term I use to identify taking more than one touch on the ball. This does not necessarily mean the quality of first touch was poor only that more than one touch was required for the Technique and Execution to be fulfilled. The “extra” touches naturally slow the pace of play. This is not necessarily a bad thing. It is a possibility for play that exists – nothing more, nothing less.

Two touch play comes in four basic varieties. Right foot / Right foot combination. Right foot / left foot combination. Left foot / left foot combination or left foot / right foot combinations. These are actions of the receiver (first touch) transitioning to ball carrier / shooter / passer (second and succeeding touches).

These first two descriptions of play describe a fast paced brand of possession soccer that can be difficult to attain with great consistency in youth or high school soccer. Let’s be honest, it can be difficult to attain and sustain at any level of play, but that should not preclude us from striving to do so. 

What set me on this journey was the process of play I found existing in most youth soccer and high school matches. The sequence is out of order and because it is the pace of play is considerably slower. This is what I have found to be the norm:

Poor Preparation
Efforts to Control
Technique
Vision
Communication
Execution
Mobility.

Instead of being the first priority, Vision is found in the middle of the process after possession has been secured. Equally remiss is finding Communication in the latter part of the process. A fourth order of play leaving communication out entirely is about as slow as soccer can be played..

In identifying these four progressions of play, it is easy to discern great players play at levels 1 and 2 while lesser players are at levels 3 and 4. Think of it in terms of video games. One must complete the levels in order to progress through and ultimately win the game. It is my goal to put together a development curriculum that will by-pass or at least minimize the time spent on levels 4 and 3 and progress young players to the second and ultimately the first level in quicker fashion. Cheats for Proper Play if we wish to look at it in video game terms.

Part of my thought process involves reduction and minimization of the transition phase of the game and the number of times a team must regained possession of the ball in a match. In my mind, those are negative aspects of play. It is similar to the idea a team does not have to be great at playing balls out of the air, if they keep the ball on the ground. If we minimize the number of turnovers and resultant need to regain possession of the ball our quality of play should rise dramatically, yes?

More on Decision Making in Soccer

Much of yesterdays focus was on the decisions that need to be made when an individual is in possession of the ball.  As I re-read that article I decided the next natural progression is to take a look at how to make those decisions. Training players in the art of decision making is perhaps most overlooked facet of the game here in the United States.  I would like to change that even it it is one camp at a time.

A significant part of the problem is the emphasis placed on winning youth soccer matches. In recreational leagues winning is often fueled by the coaches need to win to prove his worth as a coach. Parents certainly get caught up with winning as this seems to somehow validate their child's rank at the head of his class? I am not against winning, per se.  No, I am against winning at the expense of proper development. What does this have to do with decision making in the game of soccer?

Glad you asked!

At the youngest and most basic levels of the game it is often the biggest, strongest, fastest kids that dominate through natural ability. Even as the players grow older and the level of play advances play often remains pretty much the same. Teams look to "play through" fast forwards in pursuit of goals. It is dump and run soccer. It also limits the decision making process by all but eliminating other choices or options. The method of attack when in possession of the ball becomes very predictable thereby actually increasing the risk factor with every successive through ball played.

I refer to the thought process behind this style of soccer as "See ball. Win ball. Whack ball."

Okay, at the better levels of club and high school soccer it is more than that, but often times not much more. When conducting speed or pace of play camps for teams I attempt to redefine the way most players think the game. Even though see ball, win ball, whack ball has three parts it is basically one decision soccer. What I mean by this is the decision for what to do with the ball is made when the ball has been won. I believe the key is to make the decision on how to play the ball before your first touch.

Once again, I am going to leave you the reader hanging as I want you to ponder the significance of timing in the decision making process.  Until tomorrow.....

Summer 2013 Soccer Camps

Three of the approximately eight weeks of 2013 summer camps are already spoken for. If you are interested in hosting one, please contact us soon! We do team camps, small group clinics, GKer training and will for the first time be conducting a "How to" clinic in conjunction with a recreational league for new or novice coaches!  Contact us at 567-204-6083

REACT & RID for November 15, 2012

REACT moment for November 15, 2012

This one will look at returning the oars in the row the boat motion.

Have trouble controlling chest traps

Real Time:
Did I have my arms pulled back before contact with the ball?
Did I return the oars (extend the arms) as the ball made impact?
Were my arms extended too soon?

Immediate:
At the next dead ball practice returning the oars.  Row the boat and then return the oars.  Feel the extended chest concave as the arms are extended.

Delayed
Toss the ball in the air and receive it off your chest usingthe  proper motion of returning the oars.  Practice this with a partner serving a thrown ball.  Progress to fielding a punted ball from a short distance.