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.

Analyzing the Game

Contrary to what some people may think I do not have multiple personality disorder.

Bet that opening statement got your attention, didn’t it? People do sometimes see very different sides of me at soccer matches. While I am usually pretty laidback there are times I get a “little”excitable. There is a rational and simple explanation for this. Watching a soccer match and analyzing a soccer match are two very different things. Most times when I watch a match I am analyzing it. I cannot help myself. This is the laidback person people most often see. However, there are times when the fan inside of me emerges and I do become a “little”more animated and vociferous. It is the analytical mode that I wish to write about today.

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.

Little Things Make a Big Difference

If you have been around sports for any length of time at all you have undoubtedly heard a coach state that it is the little things that make the difference between winning and losing, between being good and being great.  I mention The Details of the Process on a regular basis.  That coaches constantly speak about the "little things" is testimony to their importance, but how often do you find the "little things" identified?

Toes up / Heel down / Strike with the ankle bone ... these are little technical things that make a difference.

Here is a small tactical detail to remember that can make a significant difference in a teams ability to defend.

Great defensive teams move on the movement of the ball.

 

Poor defensive teams move on the completed pass.

 

 

Think of the times you have seen a team chasing the ball around the field as the opposing team strings pass after pass together. Perhaps you have even been on a team that has chased the ball around the field?  Not much fun is it?  And it is physically, mentally and emotionally exhausting. In a word, it can be demoralizing.  To prevent this from happening TEAMS must defend as if they have one heartbeat shared by 11 players.  Great defensive teams know everytime the ball moves they must collectively move with it.

 

What about great offensive teams?

 

 

Great offensive teams move before the ball moves.

  

Poor offensive teams move when or after the ball moves.

 

 

Small but subtle differences between defending and attacking.  "Little things"  that make profound differences in the quality of play. Good teams pay attention to the details of the process. Great teams never allow themselves to become bored with the details of the process.  It's a matter of choice.  Choose wisely for the quality of your game depends upon it.

 

 





Ballwatchingitis

The following is adapted from a handout I received from Graham Ramsay years ago.  If you do not know who Graham is, google search his name.  In short, he is an internationally known coach / clinician. Not to mention a good friend.

BALLWATCHINGITIS

“Ball Watching” is another phrase for losing. The more you “Ball Watch” the more likely you are to lose the game. When you watch the ball, the BALL gets bigger and the GAME becomes smaller.

 

On the other hand, “Game Watching” is very much about winning and thinking faster than your opponents. The faster we think the game the faster we can play the game.

 

REACT & RID - Poor First Touch

I am resurrecting a feature focusing on coaching yourself in the game.  Each day we will look at a frequently encountered mistake in the U13-19 game and how the individual player can analyze and correct these mistakes in real time, in the immediate moments after the mistake or delayed after the game which we will refer to as RID.   We’ll call the feature itself, Recognition And Corrective Training or REACT for short.  The hope is to instill accountability for your play and provide you a means to accept responsibility for mistakes you make.  In the end, it's still up to you.


REACT moment.

Ball bounces too far away when attempting to receive the ball

Real Time:
Did I have a plan beyond being first to the ball?
Was I properly prepared to play the ball?
Did I extended the receiving foot to greet the ball and then draw it back to welcome the ball to me?

Immediate:
Remind yourself to take and release a breath as the ball approaches.
Remind yourself to welcome the ball and not confront it.
Extend your foot and draw it back a couple of times during the next dead ball situation. Do this on the half turn as well.

Delayed:
Practice receiving passes with pace against a kick back board or with a partner. Incorporate changing the path of the ball and your direction.  Focus on preparing to play before receiving. Know what you want to do with the ball before you receive it. I particularly like to place a player inside a small grid with benches laid on their sides along each side of the grid.  Pass the ball against, turn the ball on the reception and play it immediately against another bench.  Even better, of course, is to work this in a group of five players!

Key Considerations for Alignment and System of Play

Key Considerations for Formational Alignment and System of Play

 

1) If the other team cannot score, they cannot win.

 

·        We need to be secure defensively

·        The alignment of players within the defensive system of play must consider the attacking abilities of each player as well

·        Line of confrontation – where do we wish to win the ball?

 

·        Where do we want to funnel the opponent / where do we wish opponent’s shots to originate from?

·        What is the strength of our goalkeeper? What type of shots does he handle best? How can we best funnel the opponents attack to our goalkeepers strengths?

·        How can we best funnel the opponents attack to best create the space we want to use in transition and attack? Can we play 3 to 4 steps ahead defensively to set up our transition to the attack?

2)  If we cannot score, we cannot win.

·        Identify the players with the best attacking skills and finishing ability

·        Identify the players that form the best attacking combinations

·        What space must we open up for the best attackers / combinations of attackers to play in?

·        How do we best position the best attackers / combinations of attackers defensively to move them as quickly as possible into the space from which they can best utilize their attacking abilities?

·        We must recognize that variety of attack comes from not establishing a single pattern of play – that how we attack down the left flank might differ significantly from how we attack down the right flank and that how we attack through the middle should be a constant variable both player based and availability dictated.

3) Rate each player on the team based on individual strength and weakness.

 

·         Determine overall strength of the team and overall weakness of the team.

·         How can we best play to our strengths?

·         How can we best limit the opponent’s ability to expose our weakness?

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!

The point of possession is to create

numerical advantage so as to attack the

opposition in a fashion that will lead

to a GOAL for your team.

12 Games in 7 Days

By the end of this evening I will have watched 12 high school soccer matches in the last 7 days.  The reasons vary from making follow up calls with teams I have conducted camp for, to watching players from my spring team play, to advanced scouting, to scouting for a recruiting service to watching my son and his cousins play.  My wife, in true "Soccer Mom" spirit often accompanies me to these games.

The experience is generally an enjoyable one, but I do admit to becoming frustrated now and again as I watch a disorganized team sabotage its own efforts through disconcerted play.  I watch as a team consistently gets strung out over 50 - 60 yards and is unable to support one another on attack or when defending. Great individual effort on teams like this, but very little collective team effort.  Frustration sits in amongst players and coaches alike... and rightfully so.

I watched a recent high school match where the back line never advanced beyond 25 yards from their own goal. Not because they were bunkered in defending either. The rest of their team could often be found in the teams attacking third 50+ yards away yet here sat the backs in their defending third? 

Another team never allowed their center backs closer than 10 yards from the center line.  Wing defenders pushed up to the center line and a defensive mid was stationed centrally about the center line. The "attackers" often played 5 v 9 while the opponent kept one forward slightly withdrawn in front of the wing defenders / DM to patrol the 20-25 yard "hole" which she had to herself.

Then there is the ever popular "kick and run" method of attack that sees a speedy forward "played through" only to find herself 1 v 4 + GK and expected to score for her team.  I am quite serious about this.  Talk about playing on hope and a prayer or trying to catch lightning in a bottle!

It is discouraging and frustrating for me to watch this type of soccer at the high school level. I find myself attempting to discern the reasoning behind deploying resources in such a manner.  Apparently wishing to be secure in the back is a motivating factor?  Then I find myself wondering why increase the work load of the midfielders so significantly? Some of these teams are asking midfielders to control 50-60 yards without adequate support?  Or the poor forward played through who finds her advance stopped by multiple defenders and has no one available to pass to to relieve pressure?

Trust

I sometimes think a reliance on the super star forward to quite literally do all the work sends the message that others are not trusted to play all facets of the game.  Or that a defense held deep on its own side of the  field is because the midfielders cannot be trusted to pressure the ball in front of them?  Regardless of actual reason it seems trust, or lack thereof, is an over riding factor in the rather odd deployment of resources I am witnessing. Somewhere along the line these teams have forgotten:

Together
Everyone
Achieves
More!

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