Training - Thursday, April 19

In prep for our first State Cup game on April 30th, I wanted out next 3 sessions to be fairly intensive.  We'd then taper down next week a bit heading into the game the following Monday.

We had the field tonight from 8:00PM - 9:00PM.  I had the girls arrive at 7:30PM to tally up their Individual Player Goals from last weekend, as well as do some fun technical warm-ups prior to a good, hard workout.

As I called each girl over to talk about their past weekend's goals, I had the girls work on their individual juggling.  About halfway through the player meetings I called out for the girls to switch to feet juggling only.  I heard a voice pipe up from the pack "Do we have to switch to feet only if we're on a record?!?!"  It was Lily who asked the questions, and I shouted back that if people were on records that they could continue to use any part of their body to juggle, and then didn't think more of it as I continued on with the player meetings. 

A few minutes later, I looked down and my list and saw that I was missing info from three girls.  Bidi was sick and Jilly got home too late from a track meet to attend, that left Lily.  I scanned the group of girls and saw her off at one end juggling.  She looked pretty intense, so I walked over to her and asked her about her Individual Player Goals.  She said she got all three in the first game (good for her!) and that she was still on a juggling record.  I let her continue and asked the other girls to give her space as to not interfere with her progress. 

With no more meetings to do, I began our 3-Man Juggling Challenges.

I. 3-Man Juggling Challenges

Set Up

• Players work in groups of three with one ball, lined up as shown below

Procedure

• Coach calls out a specific Juggling Challenge for the groups to work on
• Groups practice the challenge for a few minutes, then have a race to see which team can get to 10 successful attempts first
• Teams count out loud to 10 as they go so that other groups know where they are at
• First team to 10 yells out "Whoo hoo!" and sits down
• Other teams take 10 minus their score (times 2 if you want) and do that many fun/fitness punishments (Flying Austrians, Donkey Kicks, Push Ups, Sit Ups, etc)
• Coach give the groups a new challenge to work on and then race, with the team that won the previous race to 10 having to wait until they hear another group get to 1 (or 2) before starting

Make It Competitive

• It is

Coaching Points

• Technical coaching

Challenge #1

• A tosses the ball to B
• B heads to A
• A heads over B to C
• Rotation: A to B, B to C, C to A

Challenge #2

• A volleys to B
• B heads back to A
• A heads over B to C
• Rotation: A to B, B to C, C to A

Challenge #3

• A volleys to B
• B skip heads it backwards to C
• C heads over B to A
• Rotation: A to B, B to C, C to A (note ball must be passed from A to C during this switch)

Challenge #4

• A volleys to C
• C heads to B
• B skip heads it backwards to A
• Rotation: A to B, B to C, C to A (note ball must be passed from A to C during this switch)

With two girls missing, we had perfect numbers for this exercise... except for the fact that Lily was still juggling.  The other girls got going on this exercise with the leftover group of two (that Lily would eventually join) practicing what they could. 

Lily finally came over, out of breath but with a HUGE smile on her face.  1,154!  Wow.

II. 3-Team Challenge

Set Up

• 3 teams of 5, each team in different color vests
• One 50x40 grid with two goals on the endlines and two Pugg goals on each sideline (as shown below)
• Another area set up with a goal for shooting
• Two teams (blue and gold) start in the 50x40 grid, the third team (green) starts in the shooting area

Procedure

• There are three stages to this activity, and each stage consists of 3 x 4 minute rounds - round #1 blue v gold in the 50x40 area with green in the shooting area, round #2 green v gold in the 50x40 area with blue in the shooting area, round #3 green v blue in the 50x40 area with gold in the shooting area

Stage 1

50x40 grid - 5v5 Possession

Set Up

• Grid is already be set up
• One ball in the middle to start play with, with an extra soccer ball on each touchline to use in the event the ball in play gets kicked far off

Procedure

• Teams play possession soccer, trying to keep the ball away from their opponents
• If the ball goes out of play, play kick ins (passes in to teammates) or dribble ins

Make It Competitive

• +5 points for a team if they complete 5 consecutive passes without the defending team touching the ball

Shooting area - Summersault Volleys

Set Up

• Players line up 25 yards from goal with all the soccer balls
• Disk line 15 yards from goal

Procedure

• First player in line does a summersault, second player in line serves a ball underhand in front of the summersaulter
• summersaulter has to get to the ball before the third bounce and shoot on goal
• Ball cannot cross the 15 yard line marked with disks, so serves must be good (not too far forward)
• summersaulter retrieves their soccer ball after the shot, server becomes the next summersaulter

Make It Competitive

• +1 point for all goals
• +3 points if the ball hits the back of the net in the air

Coaching Points

• Toe pointed down, ankle tight and locked through impact
• Wait for the ball to drop low, contact should be made below knee height
• Upper body over the ball
• Looking for top spin on all shots

Comments

• The point of the summersault is not only to make it fun and physically demanding, but also to disorient the players and force them to find the bouncing ball quickly (remember, only 2 bounces allowed), then compose themselves for a finish

Stage 2

50x40 grid - Two Goal Game

Set Up

• Grid is already set up
• One ball in the middle to start play with, with an extra soccer ball on each touchline to use in the event the ball in play gets kicked far off

Procedure

• Teams try to score goals in either of two Pugg goals

Make It Competitive

• +5 points for each goal

Coaching Points

• Don't force the attack on one goal
• Look to draw defenders in to one side of the field with short possession passes, then change the point of the attack and look to go to the other goal

Shooting area - Lay Backs

Set Up

• 2 players line up 25 yards from goal in the shooting line
• 3 players are about 10 yards closer to the goal off to the side in the passing line with all the soccer balls

Procedure

• First player in the passing line plays a back pass to the first player in the shooting line and then follows their pass to wait their turn in the shooting line
• Shooter must shoot first time
• Shooter then retrieves their soccer ball and gets in the passing line

Make It Competitive

• +1 point for all goals
• +3 points for all goals below the midpoint of the goal (encouraging low strikes on goal)

Coaching Points

• Toe pointed down, ankle tight and locked through impact
• Upper body over the ball
• Think about striking the top half of the ball

Stage 3

50x40 grid - 5v5 to Goal

Set Up

• Grid is already set up
• 1 GK, 4 field players
• One ball in the middle to start play with, with extra soccer balls in each goal

 

Procedure

• Teams try to score goals

Make It Competitive

• +5 points for each goal

Coaching Points

• Not many, let them play

Shooting area - Near Post Finishing

Set Up

• 2 players line up at the top of the 18 yard box in the shooting line
• 3 players are on the end line about 15 yards from the goal post in the passing line with all the soccer balls

Procedure

• Shooter starts a run towards the far post, then sprints to the near post area
• Passer drives a low, hard ball in for the shooter to try and finish first time
• Passer then moves to the shooting line
• Shooter then retrieves their soccer ball and gets in the passing line

Make It Competitive

• +3 point for all goals

Coaching Points

• No big, long leg swings here as the ball is coming in fast
• Looking for simply redirects while running at speed

III. 5v5 Winner Stays

Set Up

• 3 teams of 5
• 50x40 yard field

Procedure

• Blue vs green with orange sitting out
• First team to score stays on the field, losing team exists and the team waiting jumps in
• The team that scores can immediately grab the ball and attack the opposite goal
• Waiting team must enter and organize quickly

Make It Competitive

• It is

Coaching Points

• Not many, let them play

This was a tough session for the girls.  I had to shorten the last stage to 3 minute games as the girls were tiring.  It was a very competitive and lively session though and the girls loved it!

Training - Tuesday, April 17

Had a possession session planned for today, but then Umut (our U13G Green team coach) called me around 5:45PM and notified me that his team was going to jump on a field outside somewhere and that I could have a full 1/2 of the dome (as opposed to a 1/4).  Wanting to make use of the space available, I hastily scribbled up a new session in the parking lot.

I. Finding the Link Players

Set Up

• 2 teams of 9 players (we only had 17, but I used our assistant coach Megan as a GK for one of the teams)
• 65x45 yard field with goals at each end
• Divide the field into three zones as shown below
• Each team has 3 players in each of the two endzones, and 2 players in the middle zone
• One player from each team in the two endzones has a ball (so two balls per team)
• One GK in each endzone as well

Procedure

• Teams pass and move, keeping two balls per team in play
• Players may pass to other teammates in their own endzones, but the object is for each team to get the ball to their two players (link players) in the middle zone as much as possible
• Link players must play as quickly as possible, passing to an open teammate in the opposite endzone to the endzone from which they received the pass

 

Make It Competitive

• Challenge the players to play as quickly as possible, stressing quality of passes throughout the entire exercise

Coaching Points

• Angle of approach by link players - side on, checking back at an angle
• Link players need to know what their options are prior to receiving the ball - head on a swivel, peeks over your shoulder
• Constant movement ball all players, yet keep your team shape

Progression

Same as above, but now the link players can play the way they are facing using a one-touch pass.  This pass can go back to the player who played them the ball, or to another player in that endzone

II. Play Through Situational Starts - GK Outlet Pass

By Play Through I mean that two teams are going to goal, no pressure/no defenders, with the only obstacles being the other team who is going to goal at the same time in the opposite direction.  Though no opposition can dispossess the team with the ball, there are still opposition players who need to be seen and avoided.

Situational Starts means that each time a sequence to goal is begun, it is started by a specific situation.  This could be any restart that you think your team needs work on (throw ins, corner kicks, free kicks, balls played in behind the defense, etc).

Set Up

• Same as above, this time directional (gold attacks one goal, green attacks the other)
• This means that each team now has designated defenders, mids, and forwards
• Defenders clear their zone to the dividing line, as do the attackers in the same zone

Procedure

• Central defenders have the ball for each team and begin each team's sequence by playing the ball back to their GK - this is not a pass back, just simulating a ball rolling back to the GK that the GK can pick up
• Wide defenders recover to the middle of the field, and once the GK has the ball in their hand, break out wide for an outlet pass from the GK
• Teams play to goal

Make It Competitive

• Challenge the players to play as quickly as possible, stressing quality of passes throughout the entire exercise - which team does it better?

Coaching Points

• Wide defenders recover to the middle of the field, simulating recovery runs on a through ball
• Once the GK has the ball, wide defenders spring wide (not forward!) and adjust their body to face up field in preparation of a hand pass from the GK
• Outlet pass from GK should be low and hard, rolled if possible, to make it as easy for the wide defenders to control as possible - never play the ball out to a defender who is not facing up field
• Whichever defender does not receive the pass from the GK should move to the middle of the field to cover
• GKs can fake to one side and play to the other
• Once the wide players receive the ball, that team can go to goal
• Though no opposition, teams don't always have to be direct to goal at 100mph - be creative but play quick

Note the following progressions are only shown using the green team.  Gold is doing the same thing at the same time, attacking the opposite goal (Play Though)

Progression #1 - Find your link player

Wide defender who receives the ball must play to a link player, then the team is free to go to goal

Progression #2 - Change the point of attack (link to link)

Wide defender who receives the ball must play to a link player.  This link player must find the other link player with a pass, then the team is free to go to goal

Progression #3 - Change the point of attack (link to opposite defender)

Wide defender who receives the ball must play to a link player.  This link player must play the opposite side defender in, then the team is free to go to goal

Progression #4 - Bypass the midfield

Wide defender who receives the ball must  bypass their midfield players and find a target forward with a longer pass, then the team is free to go to goal

Progression #5 - Bypass the midfield, play the way you're facing

Wide defender who receives the ball must  bypass their midfield players and find a target forward with a longer pass.  The target player must then find a midfield player, then the team is free to go to goal

III. 3-Zone Game - Follow Your Pass

Set Up

• Same teams and field as above

Procedure

• Teams play 9v9 to goal
• Ball always starts with the GK - 2 out of the 3 forward in each defending zone kneel down and are out of the play, leaving 1 forward to defend against the three defenders + GK
• Players cannot leave their assigned zone unless they pass the ball forward into the next zone and follow in support
• Once the ball enters the attacking team's attacking zone, all attacking mids and forwards as live and may leave their respective zones
• If the ball is turned over and the player who wins the ball can complete a negative pass (a back pass), the game is reset with the ball beginning in the other GK's hands (the hands of the GK who was just on the defending team

Coaching Points

• Composure building out of the back (4v1)
• Don't force passes forward as you will always have numbers up in your defending and midfield zones
• Movement by link players in the middle zone to create space for passes from their defenders - lateral movement as well as checking away from the defenders to create space in which to check back to receive a pass

IV. 9v9 Free Play

Remove the zone restrictions and play 9v9 to goal

OK, I know.  Lots of stuff for one session.  However, my goal was to introduce this type of activity to the girls and give them an idea of what can be done with it.  We played 3-zone games like this with the Thunder all the time.  You can tweak the game to suit many different coaching topics as there is a ton of stuff that can be addressed here.

My space tonight was a little short.  When we get outside, I'd probably use 75 to 80 yards of length.  Regardless, the girls had fun and worked hard.  I love yelling "Time!" at the end of practice and getting a bunch of surprised looks from the girls... "Is practice over already?!?!"

Training - Thursday, April 12

I was not happy with our final session prior to taking the trip out to Virginia a few weeks ago.  I think I tried to pack too much information into a too short an amount of time, and I think the girls left that session a little bamboozled.  I have to continually remind myself to minimize the pressure and stress on the girls leading up to events like this if I can, for I know they perform better when relaxed and confident.  So, I came into last night's session wanting it to be active and competitive for the girls.  They know that we focus on finishing at Bielenberg on Thursdays, so I didn't change that (when I usually would have been going over our attacking and defending set pieces). 

I. Synchronized Ball Dancing

Set Up

• Ball per player, each player working with a partner

Procedure

• Partners go off on their own for 8 to 10 minutes and work on developing a synchronized ball dancing sequence that then will then perform in front of the rest of the team

Comments

Same as last week, but instead of giving the pairs assigned sequences, I let the pairs come up with their own routine to do in front of the group. 

The idea was to have the girls work on their ball familiarity in a fun and competitive setting by trying to have them work with their partner to master the sequence, then challenge the pair to execute the moves as a unit at speed. 

II. Ball Masters - Individual Skills Development

Fast Feet

• Taps
• Zig Zag Zaps
• Stop Taps
• Step On Taps
• Triangle Taps
• "U" Taps
• Cut Behind Taps

III. Double 1-2s

Set Up

• Players work in pairs
• 50x35 yard field with goals and GKs at each end
• Passing and Target disks on each side of the field (see below)

I had 16 girls at training.  With the two GKs, that left 7 groups of 2.  3 groups started at one end and 4 groups at the other as in the diagram below.

Procedure

• When it is a pair's turn, one girl jogs out to the Target disk, the other girl has the ball at the Passing disk
• (1) Blue 1 passes to blue 2 and holds their run (at the same time, green starts their sequence up the other side of the field)
• (2) Blue 2 lays a ball off to blue 1 then spins away
• (3) Blue 1 gets to the ball and (4) passes a through ball to blue 2 for blue 2 to go to goal
• Blue 1 chases as a defender
• After blue is done with their sequence, they retrieve their ball and wait at the other end to come up the other side of the field

Make It Competitive

• +1 point for each goal
• +3 points for goals scored on the ground

Coaching Points

• Talk about speed of play.  It's quicker if the passer plays a laid back pass first time through to a forward, so the forward needs to lay back a pass that will allow the passes to play first time - this means a softer lay back pass to the space in front of the passer, not a firm pass back to the passer's feet that may force a control touch prior to the pass
• Target spins AWAY from the lay back pass to force a marking defender to choose to see the ball or the target
• Target also spins away laterally, not forward, in order to not risk running into an offsides position
• As target spins, find the ball quickly and be ready to run forward onto a ball
• Communicate verbally ("Through!") and visually (hand out extended in the direction where you want the pass)

Comments

My college coach, John Leaney, used to tell the men's team that one of the downfalls of coaching women was that female players usually did what the coach told them to a fault.  Stereotypical?  Maybe.  But I see the same thing at the younger female ages.

I demonstrated the Target peel away move for the girls using the words "spin away".  Most girls processed the spin part of it, and for the first few minutes I watched in amusement as the Target would most definitely spin; sometimes to the inside, sometimes while running forward, sometimes twice.  It was a funny few minutes but I like to have the girls fight through things prior to coaching right away.  There were a lot of other teams in the dome and we were looking a bit silly, so I stopped it earlier than I would have though.

I brought them in to break this movement down and explain why I was asking the girls to spin away from the laid back pass (see coaching points).  It got better fast.  I then let them work a bit more then brought them in again to talk about a lateral run after the lay back to stay onsides, as well as about the Target's body position and communication. 

IV. Reverse Passes

Set Up

• Same as above

Procedure

• (1) Blue 1 passes to blue 2 and makes a run forward down the line
• (2) Blue 2 touches the ball inside the field (away from the runner), then (3) plays a reverse pass to the space in front of blue 1
• Blue 1 goes to goal and blue 2 trails the play to be a passing option for their teammate

Make It Competitive

• +1 point for each goal
• +3 points for a goal scored on the ground

Coaching Points

• In this setup, Target should touch the ball inside the field (towards the middle of the field away from the runner) with the outside of their right foot if possible
• Pass should be made with the left foot or outside of the right foot
• Runner continues their run forward even when their teammate goes in another direction, trusting that their teammate saw the run made and may still opt to play the runner into goal

V. Reaction to Runners

Set Up

• Same as above

Procedure

• Blue 1 passes to blue 2 and does 1 of 3 things
• (1) Blue 1 holds their run which then triggers a lay back pass and double 1-2 (see above)
• (2) Blue 1 makes a run down the line which triggers a touch by the Target inside the field for a reverse pass (see above)
• (3) Blue 1 makes a run inside the field which triggers a touch by the Target to the outside (away from the runner) and then a reverse pass up the middle of the field (see below)
• Whichever partner does not go to goal trails the play to offer a passing option to their teammate

Make It Competitive

• +1 point for each goal
• +3 points for a goal scored on the ground

Coaching Points

• As the ball is being played to the Target, the Target must realize what the passer is doing and react to it
• Looking for sharp, crisp passes and good pace throughout the sequence

Though some coaches may see all this as providing too much structure for the girls in an unstructured game, I see this as giving the girls ideas of what can be done with two-player combinations.  There are a ton of individual technical coaching opportunities in exercises like this, as well as a lot of activity and shooting.  The girls also see some marked improvement in a short time which helps increase their willingness to put the work in.  It was a very good session for them.

VI. 5v5 Winner Stays

Set Up

• 3 teams of 5
• 50x40 yard field

Procedure

• Blue vs green with orange sitting out
• First team to score stays on the field, losing team exists and the team waiting jumps in
• The team that scores can immediately grab the ball and attack the opposite goal
• Waiting team must enter and organize quickly

Make It Competitive

• It is

Coaching Points

• Not many, let them play

Overall I was MUCH happier with this final session in prep for the upcoming tournament weekend.  The girls look sharp and are excited to perform better than a few weeks ago.

I also handed out Individual Player Goals for the weekend.  I will be tracking who reaches their goals during this event and who does not.

Training - Tuesday, April 10

7:15PM - 7:45PM Ball Masters - Individual Skills Development

I. Active Touches Warm Up

This is an activity that I first saw the Eclipse Select team at our age go through at an event a few years back.  I use it sometimes as part of a pre game warm-up at tournaments when we might not have lots of space/time on the field prior to kickoff.  It gets the girls touches in a more active setting than simply working with a partner in a static setting. 

Set Up

• Ball per two players, with the players in lines as indicated below

Procedure

• On the coach's go signal, players with the ball serve to the player across from them
• Players receiving the ball work on a specific skill to get the ball back to the server, then shift one player to the left (or right if the coach so chooses to move in that direction)
• Player at the end runs back down the line to work with the first server
• Work for a set period of time then switch roles

Make It Competitive

• My girls yell out "Hoot hoot!" if they make it through a complete cycle (working with every server) without having had any errant touches - meaning that every server they worked with was able to catch the return ball back to them without the ball touching the ground

Coaching Points

• Technical coaching depending on the skill being worked on

Variations

• Inside of the foot volleys
• Instep (laces) volleys
• Headers
• Jumping headers
• Thigh control + volley
• Chest control + volley

II. Technical Relay Races

More skills work in the small space we had to warm up in prior to taking the field

Set Up

• 4 teams of 4 players, one ball per team
• Teams lined up as shown below

Procedure

• A serves to B who executes a specific skill to get the ball back to A's hands
• A then tosses the ball to B, B takes A's place and serves to C
• A goes to the back of the line

Make It Competitive

• Each successful execution of the specified skill followed by a catch by the server is a point
• First team to 15 yells "Whoo hoo!" and sits down
• All other teams take 15 minus their score and do that many push ups, sit ups, or another fun/fitness penalty

Coaching Points

• Technical coaching depending on the skill being worked on

Variations

• You can get as creative as you would like hear depending on the skill level of your players.

Comments

This is a very enjoyable and competitive activity for the girls.  No one wants to be on the losing team and you'll see the players tense up when they know their close to their end goal or they hear other teams nearing the 15 point mark.  Have fun with it... your players will!

7:45PM - 9:00PM Field Training

I wanted to build off of our last session and once again focus on wide play.  My thoughts here are that we may likely face teams in State Cup who choose to bunker in and defend.  One of the best ways for us to break down this type of defense is by stretching the defense out across the field by playing wide.  Some of the stuff I did today was fairly complex.  I demanded a lot from the girls in terms of focus to pick things up, and by the end of practice we were humming right along.

III. Battle in the Box - Early Cross

Same basic set up and procedure as we worked on last Saturday, except that I had to make adjustments for 17 players instead of for 12.  I also varied the angle of the incoming pass today as well to give the wide players a different look.

Set Up

• 4 teams of 4 players in different color vests
• 35x60 yard field set up as in the illustration below (with a penalty box, goal, GK, and starting disks for attackers/defenders and wide players)

Procedure

• Blue team attacks, green defends, gray team on deck, gold team serving
• Gold 1 passes to gold 2 who takes a short prep touch and serves in a cross from the right for blue to finish
• Green tries to clear the ball from the box
• When the ball is dead (in the goal, out of bounds, or out of the penalty box), defending team exits the area and is on deck waiting, attacking team (blue) becomes the defending team, and the team on deck (gray) attacks a cross that will be played in from the other (left) side
• Gold pairs alternate positions after each cross

Make It Competitive

• +2 points for the first team that makes contact with the ball in the box (looking for aggressive movement towards the ball by both the attacking and defending teams)
• +4 points if the defenders clear the box in the air directly from a cross (so +6 total if they get to the ball first and clear the box in the air)
• +2 point if the attackers get a shot off
• +4 points for a goal

Coaching Points for the Crossers

• Good first prep touch, under control but away from your feet to set up the early cross
• Find a target for your cross instead of just kicking the ball (far post, near post, or a player's feet)
• Look up as the ball is being passes to you to see what you are going to do when you get it

Coaching Points for the Attackers

• Initial movement should be away from the ball to force your defender to work hard to see both the attacker and the ball
• Be creative and careful on your runs (careful about offsides) - lose your defender with quick changes of direction, starts and stops, or bursts of acceleration
• Don't get all 4 runners flat in the box, someone has to stay at the top of the box in the event of a poorly cleared ball from the defenders or to offer a lay back pass option
• Work hard to keep the ball in the box if the defending team gets to it first
• Wanting the ball is about attitude

Coaching Points for the Defenders

• Transition quickly from attack to defense and organize
• Communicate with each other and sort out who is marking who
• Don't lose your mark!
• Attack the ball, don't let it drop in our box
• Clearances should be high and wide
• Kamikaze to block shots in our box

IV. Battle in the Box - Varied Service

Same set up as above with the variation that the crosser can now take a short touch for an early service or a longer first touch down the line to play in a more endline cross.  Also, initial passer can now play a pass directly into the space in front of the crosser for the wide player to run onto.

Now attackers see three different types of crosses and must react accordingly.

V. 3v3+2 to Battle in the Box

Progressing from a more structured exercise, I now wanted to add a bit more free play to the mix while still looking to finish from crosses.

Set Up

• Two teams of 5 players (blue and gold), 2 neutral players (gray), four defenders (green), and a GK in goal
• 60x36 yard field with a 44x18 yard 3v3+2 area marked with cones, extending from the top of the penalty box outward
• Blue and gold wide players outside the main grid at the wide starting disks, with the three remaining players from each team and the two neutral players in the middle grid
• Defenders waiting at the top of the box
• Soccer balls with the coach outside the area

Procedure

• Coach plays in a ball to the middle grid
• Teams play 3v3+2 with the neutral players playing with the team in possessions (making it 5v3)
• As soon as a team completes 5 consecutive passes, the players in the middle grid can play the ball wide to either side of the field
• Once the ball leaves the middle grid, the game is live to goal
• The only people not involved from that point on are 1) the three players in the middle grid on the team that did not complete the 5 passes and spring their wide play, and 2) the wide players from that team.  All 5 of those players take a knee and wait until the ball in play is dead
• Thus, the players attacking the four green defenders are 1) the 3 players who completed the 5 passes and sprung their wide player, 2) the wide player with the ball, 3) the weak side wide player, and 4) the 2 neutral players - this means 7v4 to goal.

Make It Competitive

• +1 point per team for each shot on goal
• +3 points for a goal

Coaching Points

• Good possession in the middle of the field
• After springing the wide players, get organized numbers into the box - meaning see what your teammates are doing instead of blindly running into the box watching the ball the whole time
• Read the crosser to anticipate when the cross is coming

Comments

This would be one of the more complex activities I've run with the girls.  But they worked hard and picked it up, and some real good soccer came from it.

I also talked to the girls today about position specific training for State Cup.  So in the exercises, girls who would likely see time on the wings were the ones who took most of the crosses and girls who would likely see defense practiced in that position more than others.  We still rotated around in training, but not as much as I normally would have.

Training - Saturday, April 7

8:15AM - 8:45AM FIT Training

8:45 - 9:15AM Video Analysis

9:15AM - 10:45AM Field Training

I. Sequence Passing Warm-Up

Same that we've done the pass couple sessions.  I had the girls work through this as I set up the field for the main part of the training session.

II. Battle in the Box - Early Cross

The idea today was to continue to address some of our individual and team breakdowns highlighted in Virginia. 

Set Up

• 3 teams of 4 players in different color vests
• 35x60 yard field set up as in the illustration below (with a penalty box, goal, GK, and starting disks for attackers/defenders and wide players)

Procedure

• Blue and green teams attack and defender first and both teams start at the attacking/defending start disks
• Gold team crosses and has two players on each side of the field with all the soccer balls split between the two starting disks with gold 1 and gold 3
• Gold 1 passes to gold 2 who takes a short prep touch and serves in a cross from the right for blue to finish
• Green tries to clear the ball from the box
• When the ball is dead (in the goal, out of bounds, or out of the penalty box), both blue and green teams "reset" back to their starting disks and gold 3 passes to gold 4 to start the crossing sequence from the left
• After the cross from the left, blue and green switch roles and green now attacks 2 crosses, one from the right and one from the left
• Gold pairs alternate positions after each cross and each player get 5 chances to cross
• This means that the blue and green teams in the middle are dealing with 20 crosses in total
• Rotate team positions after the 20 crosses; blue sends two girls to the each side of the field to cross, and green and gold battle in the box

Make It Competitive

• +1 point for the first team that makes contact with the ball in the box (looking for aggressive movement towards the ball by both the attacking and defending teams)
• +1 point if the defenders clear the box
• +1 point if the attackers get a shot off
• +4 if the defenders get to the ball in the air (before it bounces) and clear the box in the air with a header or volley
• +4 points for a goal
• +2 points (1/2) for the crossing team for each assist on a goal

Coaching Points for the Crossers

• Good first prep touch, under control but away from your feet to set up the early cross
• Find a target for your cross instead of just kicking the ball (far post, near post, or a player's feet)
• Look up as the ball is being passes to you to see what you are going to do when you get it

Coaching Points for the Attackers

• Realize that the crosser has time and space and will likely serve the ball, so get into danger areas
• Be creative and careful on your runs (careful about offsides)
• Don't get all 4 runners flat in the box, someone has to stay at the top of the box in the event of a poorly cleared ball from the defenders or to offer a lay back pass option
• Work hard to keep the ball in the box if the defending team gets to it first
• Wanting the ball is about attitude

Coaching Points for the Defenders

• Communicate with each other and sort out who is marking who
• Attack the ball, don't let it drop in our box
• Clearances should be high and wide
• Kamikaze to block shots in our box

III. Battle in the Box - Support and Serve

Set Up

• Same as above, except for the start positions for the wide players

Procedure

• Gold 1 passes down the line for gold 2 and follows in a good supporting distance
• Gold 2 turns out of trouble and lays a ball back for Gold 1 to cross in first time
• The rest is the same as above

Make It Competitive

• Same as above

Coaching Points for the Crossers

• Follow the pass down the line at a good distance - too close to your teammate will allow a defender pressuring your teammate to pressure you immediately after the back pass, too far away and other defenders may intercept the back pass and the "surprise" of the cross will be lost
• Verbal communication - "Set it!"
• Visual communication - point with your hand to the side of your body where you want the back pass laid off

Coaching Points for the Attackers

• Make runs as if gold 2 was going to cross the ball
• Hold up and check back when the ball is played backwards in support to gold 1 in the event the defense pushes up
• Read the pace of the support pass to anticipate a first time cross

Comments

This was a very fun and useful drill for the girls!  I will likely build off of this for our next session. 

For right footed players crossing from the left side, they worked on their weak foot as well as cut the ball backwards (away from goal) and served in with their stronger right foot.

IV. Possess to Score

Set Up

• Two teams
• 35x50 yard field with one goal and GK set up as shown below
• All the players' soccer balls with the coach on the endline opposite the goal

Procedure

• Rock, paper, scissors to see which team attacks goal first
• Coach plays a ball in to the attacking team (blue) and the attackers go to goal
• If the defenders (green) with the ball and complete 5 consecutive passes without the attackers touching the ball, the defending team now becomes the attacking team and goes to goal
• The team that was attacking now plays defense and must win the ball and complete 5 passes in order to go to goal again
• If the ball goes out of play, the coach plays in another ball to a random player on the team who would have been awarded possession

Note: Coaches can also use Situational Restarts in this activity.  For example, if you wanted to concentrate on throw ins, every restart, no matter where/how the ball went out of play, would be started by a throw in.

Make It Competitive

• +1 point for each shot on goal
• +3 points for a goal

Coaching Points

• It's more fun to go to goal, right?  So attackers must transition to defense quickly and try and win the ball back from the defenders to keep attacking the goal
• Defenders need to work together to win the ball then make the field big by spreading out to keep possession