Fast Soccer - think about it.

EDIT: Many links to previous articles in today's writing. Still more links in the linked articles. All are related yet each presents the general theme differently. Don't just blow the links off. Take a few minutes to read each. You will not regret that choice!

Have you ever see a coach have a player race a predetermined distance against a kicked soccer ball? This is a fairly well known demonstration to drive home the idea of allowing the ball to do the work whenever possible.  Simply put, the ball can be moved faster via passing than it can be by dribbling. The late great Johan Cruyff puts a slightly different take on it placing emphasis on the brain, or thinking the game.

Ballwatchingitis is a term I learned from Graham Ramsay. The idea is very much the same. If the focus is on the ball, the game becomes small and slow. If the players vision are on the game, it allows for the  pace of play to become much faster. Playing quickly is all about allowing the ball to do the work for you.  Universally recognized as one of the the games all-time greats Cruyff also stated Soccer is a game played with the brain! 

As you can see, I have written much on the idea of pace of play being more about brain power than physical speed. I believe the winner of of most games is the team that best thinks the game.  Many problems encountered in a match are self-inflicted by players upon their teams due to a lack of thought behind an action ... or inaction. Decision making is the key factor in many games. It is usually the difference maker between teams.  Therefore, practicing decision making skills should be a major emphasis in training, correct?

Failing to Prepare Properly is Preparing to Fail is another of my favorite quotes. Proper preparation is a key to increasing the pace of play. Properly preparing to play the ball is simply another way to emphasize using the brain to increase pace of play. This too can be practiced and trained for.

These ideas are all part of what we seek to present in our team camps, clinics and symposiums. I would suggest these do not only apply to players - coaches need to think the game as well.  We need to properly prepare training sessions so they bring about the results, the style of play, we envision for our team. Selecting the correct activities to bring out the desired play is a talent we must learn, develop and grow if we expect our players to continue their own progress in the process. It can be good for coaches to review their own process now and again.

Obviously, I have linked to many articles today.  I wished to emphasize the importance I place on today's topics.  After watching the US U23's struggle and ultimately fail to qualify for the Olympics yet again it is clear we must change our developmental model in this country. We must find a way to recognize the value of the brain in the game being greater than pure physical gifts.  Direct play kick and run soccer cannot be the main staple of play at the upper levels of the game, It simply cannot be and this has been proven time and again. We need to teach our players to THINK the GAME!

Increasing Speed of Thought

is how to increase

Speed of Play

  

I am writing a book.

Those who have played for me or whose children have played for me in recent years appreciate I do not coach the game in a conventional manner. Is that unconventionality the key to our success?  I believe it is and know for a fact it will work with players from U12 and up.  I do not know if it will work on the collegiate, national team or professional level as I have no experience coaching on those levels, but strongly suspect it will. I see elements of what I advocate in evidence in games on higher levels of play. I would be shocked to learn I have actually invented a new coaching methodology or philosophy.  In fact, much of what I now do has been learned from other coaches and my own analysis of soccer matches on all levels of competition.

It has been suggested more than once that I write a book to share my ideas on or vision for the game.

I've decided to do just that. 

May the Good Lord help us all!

The working title is, Soccer: A Game Played with the Brain.

Stay tuned....

Tim

Adjusting to the Speed of the Game

No matter the level of play, what distinguishes the best players from all others is their anticipatory skills. Over the years here at the CBA Soccer Blog we have devoted much time discussing the ideas of the game being played with the brain and the importance of being a game watcher. As a coach I spend a lot of time teaching players visual cues for various facets of play.  This spring our club team will use the mantra of Space and Pace as we pursue a style of play that allows us to play as fast as possible.

Space Equals Time is an age old soccer adage whose meanings are both overt and subtle at once. Obviously the time element concerns having enough space to perform a required skill successfully. Acquiring the space required to perform successfully in is a skill often overlooked.

When talking to my teams about possessing the soccer ball I used to ask them to think of the soccer ball as a golden egg. I wanted them to appreciate how precious possession of the soccer ball is in the game. Ideas behind this included reduction of 50 / 50 balls and expending our energy in maintaining possession of the ball.  Flash forward to the present and I stress the concept of Space to my teams as being of equal importance to possession of the soccer ball.  If the soccer ball represents the crown jewel of the game, then space represents the Tower of London.  The Tower of London is where the Crown Jewels of England are kept safe from those who would steal them.  Space is where teams in possession play in order to keep the ball away from opponents until a shot on goal is generated.

When we wrote of the malaise associated with Ballwatchingitis the idea was to encourage players to see more of the game than the 10 yard square around the location of the ball.  A broadening of a players field of vision is one means of improving in-game anticipatory skills.  With some of the cues we teach the focus is much narrower - the potential shooter's head going down to the ball, the soccer hop and the back swing of his leg are cues to be read indicating the goalkeeper needs to become set in his ready position, for example.

The point of today's writing is to impress upon you the fact adjusting to the speed of the game is a mental process even more so than a physical process.  Players need to gather and assimilate as much game related information as possible in pursuit of increasing the speed at which they are capable of playing the game.  Recognizing, creating and utilizing SPACE is a king consideration in this process and within this idea the identification of various cues that indicate specific play is crucial.

When training goalkeepers my mantra is The feet get the hands to the ball and while this is true, it is the brain that tells the feet the movements required to get the hands to the ball and the eyes that provide the information the brain requires to put the feet and hands in action.

Field players must take a similar approach in using their eyes (and all senses) to provide the brain with information that can be used to anticipate the flow or run of play.  It is the brain that puts the body in motion to make the play.  So it stands to reason training the brain is at least equally important as training they body in preparing to play the game.

Players, ask yourself when was the last time a coach devoted practice time specifically to training the brain?   Coaches, ask yourself if you are finding a proper balance between training the body and training the brain.  If you need help with this concept, contact us and we will be glad to help you out,

The only way

 

to maximize potential for performance

 

 is to be calm in the mind.

 

 

Striking a more proper balance between physical effort and mental effort is the biggest challenge facing United States Soccer.  We need to develop players who are both poised on the ball and creative problem solvers. This will require a greater an emphasis on training the brain.

 

 

Secret to Playing Fast

 

 

 

The secret to playing fast is

 

 

 

being a game watcher

 

 

 

instead of being a ball watcher.