If all your teammates ...

If all your teammates …

… Communicated as you do

… Sacrificed as you do

… Encouraged as you do

… Cared as you do

… Worked as you do

… Had the same attitude as you do

… Treated others as you do,

Would your team be better or worse?

All great teams play for one another.

Each new season starts anew the process of becoming a team.  A group of individuals gathers, some familiar and others new, to share a path for awhile.  Will they travel that path as individuals, in small groups or cliques, or will they learn to travel the path together as a band of brothers?

Some of my earliest memories of participating in sports revolve around the idea of "team".   In fact my first two experiences in sports were defining moments for me.  One was a basketball team and the other a baseball team. The basketball team was ultra successful.  I suppose we had the best talent, but what I remember most about that group was how we all got along.  It showed in how we played the game.  In contrast, that baseball team was not very good and to be quite truthful although we were in elementary school, we just didn't like one another. Teamwork was always secondary to personal agenda.  In elementary school?

Yes.

Now, the personal agendas on that baseball team were fostered by the coaches who were fathers of players on the team. Their kids played the "key positions" and batted lead off or cleanup whether deserving of doing so or not. And trust me, even at a young age players detect favoritism.

The basketball team was coached by a former major college player who enjoyed working with kids. He did not have a son on the team. Everyone earned their spot and had to work to keep it.  Certainly a pecking order was established in terms of best to worst players, but also a recognition that each player was important to the team in their own right.

I grew to love basketball and became largely disinterested in baseball. 

As a 10 year old I did not appreciate these things even though I did recognize on a certain level what was happening. It really wasn't until my family moved to a new location that some of these lessons began to be driven home to me.  At the new school I had a terrible experience with basketball. Despite being a talented group, wins were few and far between. This became the norm for my experiences with team sports throughout my school years.  Talented individuals, but poor teams.

Two different other teams from my teenage years really standout in my memories.  One was a basketball team that to this day was as talented a group of individuals as I have ever seen at the high school level. They had good skill sets and the physical attributes required for success, yet they struggled to reach a .500 record. Height, size, speed, athleticism... they had it all in abundance. Ball handling, shooting, passing, game intelligence... it was all present.  They could never move past their disdain for and jealousy of one another. Instead of competing against other teams that were constantly in competition with one another. To say they underachieved would be an understatement and I really struggled with this.

The other team was a men's softball team.  Now, softball was huge in the area during those years. I began playing with a church team in an church league. We won and won a lot. We moved on from church competition to playing any and all comers... and still we won, a lot.  We did not even have all the best softball players from the congregation playing on this team. Some played for their work based teams or on teams with friends they socialized with.  What was the key to our success?  We liked playing the game together. 

That is far different from liking one another.

In all honesty, there were some people on that team that forced me to struggle upholding my Christian beliefs at times. I just did not care for them as individuals, but I certainly appreciated their abilities as ball players.  As individual players some of us were quite talented and others not so much, but everyone was valued as equals for what they brought to the team. Appreciation of and for one another was our most valuable trait.

Now some 30+ years later as I coach teams I find myself putting a lot of effort into recreating the team atmosphere of those successful teams from my youth.  There is an understanding of  team building being a process and team bonding a critical part of that process. 

It's been a few years now that I have participated in email groups with other coaches.  A couple of these groups have had profound impact on how I approach team bonding. I found that some coaches have made a science of team bonding. They have studied it, defined it and developed methodology to develop and nurture it.  I have learned from them.

I am not about to tell you that I can take any group and mold them into a successful team. No, that remains largely dependent on the players that comprise the team. What a coach can do is make the individual players and collective group aware of the necessity of sacrificing individual agendas for the common good of the collective team. 

"Buy in" is the term I hear used often these days.  Coaches speak to the importance of players buying into the philosophy or system.  Just another way of stating the need to put personal agendas aside for the good of the team.  I refer to this as the need to play for one another. In soccer, we ask players to make a run for a teammate.  I implore ball carriers to pass the ball to the second runner - the first runner manipulates defenders away from an area allowing a teammate to run into the space just vacated to receive the pass.  That's an example of playing for one another.

It goes beyond simply making runs for one another. Another aspect of becoming a team is the defining and accepting of roles on a team.  Coaches often speak of starting the 11 best instead of the best 11.  This is an acknowledgement that the 11 most talented are not always the 11 who work best together.  Sometimes a more talented player is passed over for a player who recognizes, accepts and fills a role on the team. This might be a player who sacrifices his favored position to play where needed.  Sometimes the motivation to do so may well be selfish in the sense the individual just wants to play, but the sacrifice is still very real and tangible to and appreciated by teammates.

It's the attitude of gratitude.

Whether consciously recognized or not players on great teams consistently ask of themselves "what can I do for my team?" instead of approaching things with an attitude of "what can this team do for me?"

In this sense, the decision to be a great team is a choice made by each of its individual players. Buy in or team chemistry is a product of those choices, those decisions. In you are not for your team, for your teammates, then you are surely against them. Even one dissenter can hold a team back from achieving to its full potential.  So, what is your decision?  Are you for yourself or are you for your team?

How does one go about changing a culture of losing?

Over the years I have developed a loose set of guidelines I follow each time I take over a team. This is what I want to share with you today. I cannot claim it is foolproof, but I have had success with this method. Take it for what it is worth. Adapt it to fit your own personality and the needs of the program.

1) Identify the problem.

If you have experience in a successful program and have now taken on a struggling program you will be able to identify some areas that need to be addressed, but do not go it alone.  Ask people who have been around the program for their input and in doing so, remember not to shoot the messenger. You need their honesty to fully understand and appreciate the depth of the issues preventing the program from being successful. You may well need them to buy into the changes you will eventually decide to implement. Most especially, listen to the athletes who have been / are in the program.

2) Accept the situation you find yourself in.

The issues you face may not be of your making but they are yours now. Own them. In doing so you are accepting the responsibility to change it and will hold yourself accountable for doing so.

3) Seek solutions.

If all we've ever done is all we ever do then all we'll ever be is what we have always been.  In order to change the culture we will need to learn to approach things differently, expand our realm of thought.  It can help to have players and coaches self-evaluate the program by asking members to individually write their answers to 3 simple questions.

Note: there will be no wrong answers.

1) Describe the current status of the program.
2) Where do you want to help take the program?
3) What needs to change to get the program moving in the right direction?

What we are looking for is commonality. What can be agreed upon? Themes.

4) Begin to implement the necessary changes.

To be completely honest, this is where the stress begins.  You need to have buy-in and not everyone will. There will be resistance from some quarters. Typically resistance comes from those who have been dominant personalities in the old culture. They have enjoyed success. They now feel threatened by the changes you are about to institute.

Changes in approach.

I often bring a new "break" or team cheer to a program. Something geared to improve attitude by changing the way members see themselves and their teammates.

Prepare like ...........  Champions!
Play like ................  Champions!
Become .................  Champions!

Sometimes it is necessary to institute a standard for appearances to help facilitate an atmosphere of "team".  Everyone is required to wear the same color of t-shirt for practice. Maybe even have a team t-shirt for practice.  All shirts must be properly tucked it.  The idea here is, in order to act like a team we must look the part. If we want to be champions, we need to look like champions.

Attire is often one of the first places rebelling against change can be seen.  Purposely wearing inappropriate attire either to draw attention to themselves or to simply thumb their nose at proposed changes ... and the people instituting them.

Changes in the way a team practices / trains / prepares can also be instituted. Many times these are more readily accepted. Compromises sometimes must be made as we bridge the gap from old to new. I do not like static stretching at the beginning of practice. My teams use dynamic stretching. However, I am willing to compromise on stretching routines.

Change is about taking individuals and a team out of its established comfort zones and challenging them to learn new things, expand their way of thinking and playing. Sometimes we need to allow them to maintain part of their old comfort zone while we establish the foundations of a new one. Stretching is a rather easy area to compromise on.

5) Establish high (er) expectations and mutual responsibility and accountability.  All teams condition and train. It is the standards that they set and are held to in conditioning and training that separates the great teams from all others. People and teams tend to underachieve when no one asks them to do more than "just enough to get by".  Standards for dress, code of behavior, core values of the program we want to be - all of these can be used to raise expectations. Hold one another accountable - positive peer pressure enforcing individual responsibility to self and team. Establish the belief that we can be and will become more than we have been.

6) Troubled programs with a culture of losing are often overwhelmed by feelings of hopelessness and negativity.  Immediately begin a transition towards establishing a nurturing and positive atmosphere.  One of the first things I implement with new teams is the abolishment of saying "my bad" after a mistake is made.  Instead we say, "Next play!".

Mistakes are negatives. "My bad" reinforces the idea that a negative has occurred. Now we have two negatives in a row and a trend beginning.  Break the chain of negativity at the earliest opportunity to do so. You make a mistake on the pitch and chances are everyone knows it anyway. No need to own up to it. It is not the first nor the last you will make. What is important is to stay focused on the task at hand, the game. "Next play!" tells us to move on. To play in the present instead of dwelling on the past.

Encourage one another.
Help one another.
Coach one another.

Any criticism must be constructive in nature.  A lesson must be received and accepted when criticism is given. The tone of voice and wording of the message must not be harsh, critical, negative.

7) Changing personnel may be necessary.

In (1) above I discussed the necessity of learning from those that have been in the program in order to discover what issues are present that have prevented the program from achieving to potential. In (3) above I discussed how some individuals may be resistant and reluctant to change. It may become necessary to dismiss staff or even cut players in order to move forward.

When people who do not buy in cannot be removed from the program or at the very least be pushed to the background, progress will stall until they are lost to attrition or retirement. In today's instant gratification environment the "problem people" can and unfortunately do at times outlast the coach / change of culture.

*** Changing a culture is a process with buy-in as a critical ingredient. Those involved must recognize change is needed and be willing to embrace change. Sometimes, as bad as a culture might be, those in and around the program just are not ready to change it.  You must attempt to make this determination as part of (1) above. 

What position do you play?

I often think about "Greg" who came to us as a varsity ready athlete as a freshman. It just so happened the varsity had an opening for a wing defender that year. Greg was physically gifted enough to man that spot. Through summer workouts and team camps Greg was worked with to prepare him for the role. He played as our left back during scrimmages and acquitted himself well.  If I recall correctly it was after our first regular season match that Greg came to the coaching staff and proclaimed "I'm a forward. That's all I have ever played and that's where I want to play in high school." Greg spent the next 3 seasons toiling away as a forward on the JV squad. As a senior he played forward for the varsity.I guess he was happy with his decision even as his coaching staff and teammates were not.

One might think "Greg" is an exception, but that really isn't the case.  I see this attitude on a regular basis.  In recent years I have had a goalkeeper who believed she was a center midfielder until it became clear to her that she was the teams 4th or 5th best option as a center midfielder.  I have had a defensive midfielder who insisted he was a forward. I have had a center defender who insisted he was a attacking midfielder. The commonality between all these players and others like them is a "me first" attitude.

Other players are more than happy to fill any role asked of them. Perhaps they have a different type of "me-first" attitude, one that serves the team. These are the kids that sacrifice the position they want in order to play and help their team by doing so.  In exchange they have almost always expanded their game and become better all round players. If one looks at the youth playing expeience of our national team players you will discover almost all have changed positions as they advanced through the ranks. I have to wonder about those who refused to change positions or stubbornly proclaimed they were "a forward" as Greg did all those years ago.

To paraphrase John F Kennedy, "Ask not what your team can do for you, ask what you can do for your team." 

It's such a great quote.  It speaks to sacrificing for the greater good. I think it is an indicator of the quality of "team chemistry" that is present in the individual and by extension the collective team. I believe it speaks to embracing opportunities instead of blaming obstacles. It speaks to an open mindedness instead of a closed mind. 

As a coach, give me the kid that wants to play. Period.  One of my favorite players of all time was a starting defender / center midfielder who when the need arose to train an emergency goalkeeper volunteered without hesitation to fill that role too. "Kevin" worked with the goalkeepers every day in addition to working as a center defender and center midfielder. His goalkeeping abilities improved to a degree that he would have sufficed in a pinch. Thankfully the need never arose, but I love, love, love the attitude and spirit!

My advice to players is this, if a coach asks what position you play, your response should be "I prefer _____, but am more than willing to play wherever you and the team need me to play"  and mean what you say.

Sacrifice

Individuals on great teams

understand they must make personal sacrifice 

 

for the greater good of the team.

 

Therefore sacrifice is a choice.

 

This means sacrifice is actually a blessing,

 

a gift you bestow upon one another

 

as you pursue a common goal.

 

What have you given your team today?

 

 

Match Hazards: Wind

Coaches and players will encounter "match hazards" or conditions that can impact the quality of play. It is good to have a plan prepared before match time to deal with these. We will look at some of these hazards, possible coaching instructions and team management or tactical solutions that could enhance results. We will address common match hazards and progress to others of the course of the series. 

Wind

Strong winds can present very real tactical difficulties to consider. If given the choice, take the wind in the first half of the match. There exists the chance the wind could die down for the second half.  This can be especially true for twilight games.  However, it's always good to check hour to hour weather forecast on a smart phone during pregame.  Take every advantage you can, even technological ones brought to you by smart phones.

Committed people view training as an important investment.

 

Resistant people see training as a dreaded sacrifice.

 

Jeff Janssen

 

Ask for help.

One thing I have learned from coaching is the necessity and benefit of asking for help. The more perspectives on a matter, the better in many cases.  I value assistants who will speak up and offer input even when... perhaps especially when... their opinion differs from my own. That has never been more true than this spring.

In coaching two teams I am sometimes spread pretty thin. Admittedly this accentuates the tunnel vision I am prone to during a season anyway.  In recent matches I asked assistants to manage the game for me, give the half time talk and generally assume the responsibilities of a head coach in the game.  I learned a lot through how they interpreted the games they managed.  Their substitution rotations and patterns differed from my own.  The positions they played some in differed as well. Not only did I take notice of all this, but I embraced some of the things the assistants did and incorporated them into my own management of games.

Another thing I do is to seek input from players on a wide range of matters. I will ask players to suggest starting line ups.  I seek their input on positions.  I encourage their input during matches, at half time and in post game evaluations. I have found a players perspective can be among the most enlightening.

I will also ask coaching peers for their input. Sometimes I ask someone to come observe a match. Other times I will send video of a game to colleagues and ask for their impressions.  I did this very thing recently as I struggled to find the 11 best to start games and the substitution rotations that would keep us well balanced throughout the game. I went so far to seek input on who the 10 best field players were on the team and how they might fit into a lineup.

One observation from a group of colleagues was that opponents seemed to pick on our left back position.  I knew this was happening, but assumed it was because most teams are right foot dominant.  My peers thought that was not necessarily the case and suggested I move the left back(s) to the right back spot to see what happened. It did not take long to discover teams were "picking on" players more so than the left back position.  One player really struggles with first touch and opponents seem to sense they can pressure him into mistakes.  The other was very offensive minded and slight of build. Opponents seem to think they can out-muscle him and take advantage of his aggressiveness in attack.

An associated observation was that we were wasting the talent of the player manning the right back position. It was suggested he needs to get a lot more touches on the ball.  That was one I had wrestled with quite a bit as it was my son manning the right back position.  We were told he is the best right back in the state by ODP coaches. So, right back seemed to make sense, but it appears it really doesn't in this case.  We were probably wasting his talent at right back when he could use it as a center mid.

Fitting a formation to the talent on hand can also be a difficult.  In terms of center midfielders the talent we have suggests playing 3 of them.  We tried this early in the season and it was a disaster. I perhaps abandoned the 4-5-1 formation to quickly, but the team settled in pretty well in a 4-4-2 before opponents began exploiting our aggressive attacking mentalities at the position by counter attacking directly down the middle of the pitch.

To say the team was underachieving and that my inability to uncover the 11 who would play best together was a root cause would be a significant understatement.  So, as I have already stated, I asked for help.  I spoke with coaching colleagues and peers. I shared match video with them. I spoke with players. I asked referees I know and who had officiated our matches for their input.

Position and personnel changes have followed.  We now play a 4-1-4-1 having inserted my son in as the one holding midfielder. We had one very accomplished forward and playing him as a lone forwarded opened space for him to play in.  We have strengthened the back line and improved the defensive presence in the midfield. And tonight the final piece may have fallen in place for us - thanks to input from an assistant coach we found a second player more than capable of playing the target forward position.  The team is beginning to play closer to their potential. Possession and ball movement has improved. Varied attacks and multiple goal scorers are becoming the norm.

Some feathers have been ruffled. With every decision there are consequences and as I alluded to earlier some players have lost starting positions leading to dissatisfaction with my decision-making. I have had to speak with some individuals about accepting new roles for the good of the team. Some embrace this idea while others are more selfish in pouting about the change in their role perceiving it as a demotion or a reduction of their importance to the team which isn't the case at all. It's nothing other than a change - no more and no less.

However, there have been rewards as well.  The former left back who struggled with first touch has had much better touch as a midfielder and forward.  I am not yet quite sure how to interpret this.  He had several "whiffs' in the games before the position switch and not a one since?  He has played as defender for a couple of seasons and I wonder if he became bored with the position or perhaps merely wanted to play a different position? It might be that I rarely substitute backs and he has been fresher physically and mentally in playing fewer minutes thereby reducing mistakes caused by fatigue.  He is now playing in 12-15 min shifts with short breaks between them and making far fewer mistakes. 

The new right back has a tremendous leg he is using to switch fields and explosive speed he is using in combination play with midfielders to get himself into the attack.  The new left back has given us a physical presence, improved and increased distributions in starting the attack.  Our new holding mid is protecting the center backs, providing the pivot in transition, switching play and distributing the ball extremely well. A former forward is being allowed to play to his strengths as a midfield wing.

Overall the team is beginning to click. I take the blame for it taking this long, but also accept the credit in the sense that I am the one who ultimately makes the decision. However the real credit goes to Steve, Marc, Phil, Bruce, Randy, Keith, Mac, Billy, Kyle, Dave, Greg, et al. and our players who have provided input and insight. Without contributions from our coaches, colleagues, peers, players and officials I fear my tunnel vision would still be inhibiting the teams ability to play closer to their potential.  So it is, that on behalf of our team, I thank each and every one of you who have shared thoughts and suggestions with me to date. Please, please, please keep up the good work!

Every time you step onto the pitch is a tryout.

This is a point I drive home to our young athletes every opportunity I have.  You never know who is watching you. It might be a future employer.  It might be your future spouse. It might be a rival coach seeking a guest player.  Such has been the case this spring. Being undefeated in our league makes our roster a prime target for league coaches seeking guest players.

The simple truth is when a coach seeks a guest player they almost always ask for a specific player either by name or number. Such has been the case this spring.  Each coach who has contacted me did so with a "list" of specific players he was intersted in having join his team as a league or tournament guest player.  Sometimes the request is based on need and other times it is based on the coaches perception of "best player available."  Perception is the key word here - the impression the athlete made on the coach.  The athlete might have had a career day on the pitch the one day the coach observed him play, but that is the lasting impression of the athlete the coach has.

When a need arises for me to go outside of our club for a guest player I do the very same thing.  I maintain a list of players we have played against in league, at college showcases, at ODP that I would ask to guest play if a need arose. Within the league I know the goalkeeper, defender, wing mid, center mid and forward I would ask to play for us if the need arises. I also have contacts for a couple of ODP individuals we might ask.  These players are the ones that made favorable impressions on me with their play and their deportment in limited exposure.

By extension, every waking moment of every day of your life is a tryout.  You just never know who is watching you.  Opportunities are gained... and lost... based on your deportment and demonstrated abilities.

Have you ever wondered why geese fly in a "V" formation?

When next you see geese flying overhead in a "V" formation take a moment to appreciate what you are actually seeing. 

Teamwork.

Scientists have discovered that as each goose flaps its wings, it creates an updraft for the next bird behind it in the formation. By flying in a "V" formation the whole flock increases it flying range by more than 70% than if each goose flew on its own.

A soccer team sharing a common direction gets to where they are going quicker and easier, They lift one another along the way by understanding and believing in the trust present in each individual and in the collective whole.

I am a member of a team,

 

and I rely on the team,

 

I defer to it

 

and sacrifice for it,

 

Because the team,

 

not the individual,

 

is the ultimate Champion.

 

Mia Hamm

The Team

 

"I am a member of a team,

 

and I rely on the team,

 

I defer to it and sacrifice for it,

 

because the team, not the individual,

 

is the ultimate champion."
Mia Hamm

 

Plain and Simple, it is Leadership that makes the Difference.

I am at a high school soccer match nearly every day and if it is a Saturday I will often take in multiple matches. I have seen some very good teams and some not so good teams over the course of my travels. Teams that clearly overachieve and others that just as clearly underachieve.  It occurs to me that one thing makes more difference than all others in determining whether a team succeeds or not -Leadership.

A coach can often make the difference in a program by setting a wise course and having a firm, steady hand upon the rudder, but it still takes player leadership for a team to be successful. Senior leadership is especially important on high school and collegiate teams. This is why even the best of coaches can suffer a down year now and again. Sometimes the leadership from amongst players just isn't up to par.

It has become clear to me that coaches need to make a very real and concerted effort to train leaders on their teams. It is every bit as important as training technical and tactical aspects of play. Sometimes more so.

What prompted this great revelation?  As is usually the case it is personal experience that provided the catalyst.  During my last stint as a high school coach the athletic director forbid me from conducting leadership training with the senior class. I had wanted to use Jeff Janssen's The Team Captain's Leadership Manual as a guide with the senior class. It seemed to be a matter of economics that blocked this proposal although the fact I had grown the program from 17 players to 29 in a single year seemed to be perceived as a threat to other sports at the small school as well.

I knew there was enough talent on that team to win a league title and make a deep, very deep, run in the state tournament. I also knew there were "strong personalities" in the senior class who could derail everything if they did not put the team first.

Great Leaders are Mission-focused

Poor Leaders are Me-focused.

I recognized we had two strong willed individuals in that senior class who were poor leaders. Not allowed to work with them on training to become good, effective leaders as I had planned it was necessary to become creative in doing so.  I did not reach those individuals with the message of mission-focused leadership.  More precisely, I could not find a way to override their me-focused attitudes in favor of a mission-focused attitude. As a result, the team had its best season ever, but still underachieved.

In the last 10 days I have seen two teams that are underachieving, in my opinion.  In both cases a lack of proper leadership amongst the student athletes is a primary reason.  In one case, it is good kids with no idea how to lead and probably receiving little training on how to do so.  In the other case it is more than likely me-focused vision amongst key senior players. To watch either of these teams it becomes apparent they have talent and play some great stretches of soccer, but just cannot put it all together consistently enough.When faced with adversity, they struggle to overcome it despite having the technical and tactical ability to do so. Something is missing. Something is preventing them from playing to their full potential. I am convinced that something is a lack of proper leadership from amongst the players.

As a fan of University of Michigan athletics I am familiar with Bo Schembechler's The team, the team, the team! speech. It is one of the legendary motivational speeches in the history of sports.  That team went on to greatness because they bought in, they believed in something greater than just themselves as individuals. Personal agendas were put aside. They played for one another. This is what great teams do.  I feel that environment can be taught and nurtured or in the very least enhanced through proper leadership training especially of key individuals.

The quality of leadership is the difference.

Make it work for your team.

2013 Grand Lake United U17 TEAM

 

 

 

The 2013 U17 Grand Lake United Boys TEAM.

 

Undefeated MVYSA League Champions

 

Creek Classic Champions

 

Pacesetters Division Champions

 

 

 

 

 

 

Decompressing in order to change gears.

I will be taking a few days off from posting as I decompress from the spring soccer season. Our U17 Boys team had an extremely successful campaign and this was one of the most enjoyable seasons I have had in some time. Great group of young men who happen to be pretty good soccer players as well. The bonds they formed with one another off the field were instrumental to their success on the field. This spring season was quite simply a wonderful experience for me.

That's not to say we had fair seas and following winds the entire season. No, there were a few issues that arose over the course of the season, but the focus remained good throughout. I made mistakes as a coach / manager and will learn from them. It can be difficult to know what approach to take with individual players as some require and respond to tough love, others require a lot of positive attention to boost self-esteem and confidence, some are seemingly low maintenance, but actually require the most work.

Carrying a roster of 18 players can be a difficult task.  Even with unlimited substitutions playing time issues can arise. Positions played can be a source of controversy and even conflict. We strove hard to establish a TEAM first attitude. Sacrificing for the greater good is a huge part of building a such a culture and we did very well in this regard.

Club soccer in the context of developing players for their high school team presents another interesting set of dynamics to juggle. The idea of purposefully playing "out of position" to strengthen a players overall game and enhance play at their favored positon can be a difficult sell. Yet there can be no doubt of a players need to understand the positions that link to his preferred position. Yes, even at U17 I intentionally and purposefully rotated players through a variety of field positions. Even goalkeepers played the field to develop a better understanding of what their teammates need from them as goalkeepers. Goalkeepers also must have the ability to play the ball with their feet and what better way to gain that experience than by actually playing the field?  By the end of the season we had established an extremely versatile group of players each of whom will be able to fill a variety of roles for their high school teams should they be asked to do so. Their experience this spring in positions that link to their preferred position will be immeasurably valuable this fall. It is important to know not only your role, but that of the positions that surround and link to your position in order to maximize your own play.

I am really looking forward to seeing these young men play for their high school teams this fall.  I firmly believe many will establish themselves as the best players on their respective teams. More importantly I expect them to provide a winning mentality and positive leadership based on their struggles and successes of both a personal and team nature this spring. I firmly believe each is taking a solid foundation for success back to their school team and am anxious to see their progress as players next fall.

Just to be clear, I am not taking a vacation from soccer related activities these next few days. The opposite is actually true as I will use this week to work on daily training sessions for the team camps and goalkeeper / striker camps I will be conducting the rest of the summer. Changing gears from coaching a team to training  a variety of teams and individuals is a more appropriate depiction.  The variety this offers me - team skills camp, to installing zonal defending, to working with goalkeepers and strikers - is a welcome change of pace from the season long process of installing a specific system and developing a consistent and continuous path of improvement on both team and individual levels based upon play within that system.

I am considering posting a weeks worth of camp training sessions this summer to provide an idea of what our camp experiences are like.  I think it might be helpful to see the depth of planning that goes into a successful training session. It might also be helpful to "witness" the flexibility a coach needs when their best laid plans go awry for any number of reasons. And as always, I know I will be learning as much from the players and coaches I work with as they hopefully learn from me.  I look forward to sharing these experiences with you beginning in about a weeks time.  Until then I will re-post some of the most viewed articles from the past.

Thanks for reading the Conceive Believe Achieve Soccer blog. I appreciate your support, kind words and suggestions.

I need to work harder... and smarter.

Our U17 team got thumped 1-6 on Sunday.  The match was both closer than the score indicates and worse than the score indicates. How can that be?  Well, there were periods where we passed the ball well, built attacks and were dangerous. There were also times our defensive alignment was the best its been all year.  So, consistency was obviously a problem.

With a talented and deep roster "buy in" becomes a critical consideration and unfortunately not everyone has bought into the team style of play we are attempting to implement.  As a coach, little is as frustrating as having to correct the same mistake repeatedly. This is unfortunately the position I find myself in these past two weeks. Old habits can be difficult to break, but I expect effort in attempting to establish new, better habits.  That "buy in" to improve individual play for the benefit of the team has been lacking. It's my job to do a better job of selling sacrificing self for team.

As an experienced coach I know that sometimes team chemistry never does develop to an extent that allows collective achievement to rise to potential.  Some of the most talented teams I have ever been associated with have under achieved because some key players never came to appreciate and understand what it means to play for their teammates.  I'm not sure we are that point with this team, but we have a need for greater buy-in to a team first approach.

To date, I have started the best individual players with the belief that as they learned to play together they would develop a team approach to the game. Our practices are team oriented to re-inforce this. We don't do a lot of individual work. Almost everything we do is based in playing together as a team.  Support on offense and defense.  Sharing the ball ... or allowing the ball to do the work for us. 

Johan Cruyff once stated that "the most difficult thing is to play simply" and this is a message we need to heed. Too many lost possessions caused by taking on multiple defenders or by attempting fancy passes instead of a simple push pass.  Trying to be spectacular rarely works. The "Play of the Day" plays arise from making the simple play on a routine basis, then when extraordinary is called for it is based in simple fundamental play.

For the next match I will start the 11 that play best together instead of the 11 best players. A subtle difference at times, but success is found in the smallest details of the process.  The small details is where our process has faltered in recent days.  As a coach I must encourage paying attention to the details of the process. I must help this group of players develop individual and collective discipline where it concerns the details of the process. Once we re-establish that base I am confident we will regain momentum and finish the season strong.

Lots of work to do. 

Time to get started on it.

It's a process.

We took our team to a college showcase tournament recently.  I admit to trepidation in taking a new team to such an event for their first games. I believe we have the makings of a very good team, but one just never knows how a new team will respond until they step onto the pitch against good opposition.  The weekend brought a package of mixed results - some good, some bad, some ugly. The bottom line is, the event was a learning experience as much for me as it was for the players. Probably more so for me.

In assembling the team I evaluated individual members and attempted to place them in formational positions and a system of play that seemed likely to fit skill sets and personalities. As coaches, sometimes we get it right and sometimes we need to take a step back, re-evaluate and reformulate plans. A review of the teams performance is in essence a review of my own performance. Did I have the pieces assembled properly? Had I chosen formation and systems of play wisely?

Observing and analyzing in-the-game play is essential to improving individual and team performance. I give players tremendous on-field freedom emphasizing maintaining team shape over strict holding of positions and using formational guidelines to determine what shape we will have when attacking or defending. I not only allow but rely on the athletes to make in-game adjustments based on the problems they encounter when playing. Our success is predicated largely on the players ability to solve the problems they encounter. Training provides us with the necessary tools to solve problems, aka pressure, on both an individual and collective basis.

There was a moment during our second match that encapsulates the current status of our team and has me pondering the course to chart from this point forward. We came out strong against a good opponent leading 2-1 at halftime. I knew from watching the opponents in an earlier match their coach was very good at making halftime adjustments. The opponent made a single tactical adjustment that changed the flow of the game. An adjustment on our part should not have been necessary. All that was required was a recommitment to positional integrity and team shape within our systems of play when defending.  Unfortunately those are the biggest areas of concern with this group. As a group, they do not possess a broad range of soccer experience and some have played one position for their entire soccer career. In short, our soccer IQ appears to be too limited to play as I have asked them to play.

From a coaching standpoint I must decide if more time will lead to the improvements we need to make in these areas or if a change in formation and system of play will better suit the personnel of this team. It is important to listen to the players when making this decision. I had discussions initiated by five different players concerning their roles. I initiated discussions with a few more.  Some sought clarification, some offered suggestions, others expressed concerns. Through these discussions a picture began to emerge.

For our third match we made a subtle change to formation and team shape.  These changes addressed defensive concerns but might have hampered our ability to attack. Nonetheless, as I have continued to analyze our individual and collective play I find my initial thoughts on formation for this group requires additional consideration and thought. The system of play less so, but with formational change there will be tweaks required here as well. I believe we may be able to better utilize existing skill as we strive to broaden their soccer perspective and raise their overall game intelligence.

And so the process for this team is now better defined. We will regroup, make a few adjustments and prepare for the opening of league play in a couple of weeks. I really like the potential of this group and feel better about how to fit the individual pieces together to form a cohesive picture.  Time will tell, but I think really good things are ahead for this team.

A Son's Story.

The link is to a story about a Brasilian basketball player who overcame to become a professional player.  It is an inspiring story and also a humbling one.  Please take the time to read it.

Leandro Barbosa