Playing Soccer is very Simple

Playing soccer is very simple, 
but playing simple soccer is the hardest thing there is.

Johan Cruyff

Johan Cruyff is one of my favorite soccer people of all-time.  Today's youth players may well know "the Cruyff" but not many will know anything about him as a player or even as a manager.  And that is a shame for the man was a brilliant soccer player and possesses one of the truly brilliant minds ever in the game.

The quote at the top of this article has long been a favorite of mine. Soccer truly is a simple game complicated by ...  And this is something I have pondered for countless hours over the years.  How do we manage to so complicate such a simple game? Maybe more importantly, why do we insist on complicating such a simple game?

I have spent the last few years defining a vision for playing soccer in its simplest form.  To be honest, I have borrowed and stolen from others as I have formulated these ideas based around certain truths of the game.

For example, we know there are four phases of play:

1) attacking

2) transitioning from attacking to defending

3) defending

4) transitioning from defending to attacking

Each of these four phases of play must be acted upon in as simple a manner as possible.  The actions required to act within each phase of play are the techniques we will employ. The decisions of how to employ these techniques are our tactics. Technique and Tactics can be influenced through physical and psychological aspects of play.  There, we just defined the four pillars of play in soccer: Technical, Tactical, Physical and Psychological.

The game itself has four elements necessary for simple play. These are Penetration, Depth, Width and Mobility.  When any of these are not present or exist in unnecessary duplication clutter and chaos exist. Or we might say we have complicated the game.

Within each of these concepts for the game of soccer are opportunities to complicate the processes involved. And boy do we take full advantage of those opportunities!  

Attacking play is all about establishing rhythm.  

Allow that to sink in for a minute.

Utilization of proper technique helps to establish attacking rhythm.  

Toes up / heel down / strike with the ankle bone is a mantra soccer coaches repeat ad nauseam and one that many likely cry out in their sleep in-season. Why?  Because when improper technique unnecessarily self-inflicts pressure and breaks the teams attacking rhythm possession is commonly lost. 

A defender dives in or stabs instead of adhering to channel first, close down second, use of a bounce step and the cues for when to attempt a tackle unnecessarily complicating the process by self-inflicting pressure.  Why?

The truly good teams have common characteristics beginning with why they have come together to play the game.  The "why" in the case of good teams manifests in a desire and willingness to play for one another.  It is important to the members of such teams not to let teammates down through inattention to details of the process - things like having their toes up / heels down and striking through the ball with their ankle bone or not diving in on defense.  The good teammates hold themselves and their teammates accountable allowing for the collective team to develop, establish and maintain a simplicity to their play that weaker teams cannot begin to ascend to due to self-inflicted pressure.  

AGOGE!

The training all young boys underwent in ancient Sparta was called agoge. It was all-inclusive and took place 24/7/365.  Young boys growing to be Spartan warriors were dedicated to this training to such an extent only the strong survived. The Spartan was one of the best warriors in the ancient world as depicted in the movie 300 where a small band held off thousands for days.

The school I am now coaching at has a Spartan for their mascot. Recently an athlete asked of me, "What do you think I need to do to become a better player just from what we have done the past two weeks?"

First of all, asking this question is a great start. My actual response to him follows.

I believe you must discover the WILL to prepare properly. Agoge was 24/7/365. Failing to prepare properly is preparing to fail. Once the mindset is correct, improvement will come at a more rapid pace. Until then explanations and excuses will continue to rule. The ability to be coached, to be receptive to coaching is improved when the body, mind and spirit are well rested and eager for the opportunity. Most everyone is enthusiastic for game day, but the truly great ones bring the same enthusiasm to training / preparation.  (Last night) you stated you began preparing for today's match "now", but the correct answer should have been "the moment last season ended." What will the bus ride be like today? Will you / we be focused on playing or will there be a lot of messing around and talking about anything other than the game? AGOGE was complete training - physical, technical, tactical, psychological / mental and spiritual.  The bus ride will conclude approximately one hour before match time. Is one hour sufficient to prepare for a match?  Buy a composition notebook at the Dollar Store and begin keeping notes on your preparation -what you drink and eat and when you do so. When you rest and for how long. Detail every practice - mistakes and successes, what you learned. LISTEN to the game, your teammates, opponents, referees, our athletic trainer, your coaches - they all provide information / feedback. Note the information shared. Write it down. Become a student of the game. The moment you move on from playing AT soccer and begin to learn to truly play soccer is when you will really begin seeing improvement,  You have the tools to build a stronger game. We have been and will continue to supply them to you and your team. But the decision to care for the tools and actually use them is YOURS alone to make. No one else can make that decision for you. Anyone can fill their tool belt with shiny new tools, but the carpenter I want is the one whose tools show wear and tear from having been used.  Bet you were expecting a litany of technical and tactical work? That's not what is missing from your game.  See you this afternoon.  AGOGE!

The response received back from the athlete was, "Yes, I was actually like in practice you always say back foot to me. I was expecting that but thank you. I will copy and paste these into a big paragraph and read it every day."

Will this athlete follow through?  I have no idea. More importantly I know I have no control over whether he does or does not.  I do care, but as life teaches us sometimes caring is not enough.  The decision rests solely with this athlete himself.  I am encouraged by the fact he sought help of his own accord. That's a positive first step. He's talking the talk, but will he be dedicated to walking the walk?