Training - Saturday, March 31

8:15AM - 8:45AM FIT Training

8:45AM - 9:15AM Video Analysis

9:15AM - 10:45AM Field Training

It was clearly evident at the Jefferson Cup event that our girls were uncomfortable with the ball under pressure.  My plan is to spend a lot of the spring time in 1v1 situations to try and build the girls' confidence in their individual technical ability with the ball at their feet. 

It's spring break week so we have a number of girls out of town.  We had 12 today which actually worked out perfectly for what I wanted to do.

I. 1v1 Battles - Head On

Set Up

• 4 teams of 3 girls per team, blue, green, red, and gold
• Two 20x12 yard fields with Pugg goals set up on opposite ends of each field

Procedure

• Decide which team starts off as the defending team
• First player in the defending line passes a ball out to the first player in the attacking line and then goes to play defense
• Attacker tries to score goals
• If the defender wins the ball, the defender can look to attack the attacker's goal
• Make it, take it - teams alternate playing defense and offense each turn, EXCEPT if the attacking team scores a goal.  Then, the attacking team gets a ball played out to them again.

Make It Competitive

• +1 point for the attacking team for a goal
• +2 points for the defending team if the defender wins the ball from the attacker and can score a goal

Coaching Points

• Attack the defender with your first touch
• Quick set up touches (close control) as you approach the defender
• Explosive moves to get by defenders, composure on the finishes

II. 1v1 Battles - From Angles

Set Up

• Same as above, with the addition of two pink starting cones as shown below
• Soccer balls with the player at the pink cones, another player at the attacking cone, the third player waiting in between the cones (as this third player could need to be at either cone depending on what happens on the field)

Procedure

• Same as 1v1 Head On, with the only difference being that the defenders are now closing from angles

Make It Competitive

• Same as 1v1 Head On

Coaching Points

• First touch towards middle of the field to leave more options for attack
• If possible, try and use the defenders momentum and sideways movement against them by taking touches in the opposite direction across the defender - in the illustration above, that would mean that the blue attacker would try and use the green defenders movement towards the defender's right against the defender, looking to take the ball across the defender to the defender's left

III. 1v1 Battles - Back to Goal

Set Up

• Same as 1v1 Head On, but this time both teams are on one end line on opposite sides of the goal

Procedure

• Green attacks first
• First player in blue's line (defender) is sitting on the ground, hands up, feet up (both hands and both feet off the ground)
• The second player in green's line has a ball and passes it out for the first green attacker to sprint to - ball must be played into the opposite half of the field
• Blue defender can get up and sprint to defend as soon as the ball is played out
• Attackers always attack the goal they came from, defenders who win possession always attack the far goal - remember, teams could score on either goal depending on if they are the attacking team or the defending team
• Play make it, take it

Coaching Points

• Attackers need to get to the ball quickly in order to be able to turn and face the defender if possible before they pressure you too much
• Attacker don't need to track the ball (watch the ball) the entire time - get a feel for the speed and direction of the ball then sneak peeks behind you to check where the defender is

IV. 9v9 Scrimmage with White team

Training - Saturday, Mar 3

8:15AM - 8:45AM FIT Training

8:45AM - 9:15AM Video Analysis

Wasn't a very productive session (relative to our other Video Analysis sessions) this morning as I forgot my laser pointer and the remote control for the DVD player that I keep with me.  Without the remote, I can't rewind the player to go over portions of play as the only rewind button on the DVD player we use restarts the entire chapter.  So I basically sat the girls down to watch around 20 minutes of Manchester United's goals.  I tried to point out stuff and we discussed some of the play, but it was not as effective as when I could run a sequence over and over again for them to see.

9:15AM - 10:45AM Field Training

I. Ball Masters Program

• Fake Shot Push
• Fake Shot Cut
• In & Out

II. Attacking the Lead Foot

I wanted to give the girls the 1v1 technique of beating players at speed by attacking their lead foot.  In general, at our level opposing defenders usually get the concept of side on defending (as opposed to defending square).  When presented with this body position, I want the girls to be able to first recognize this, and then second look to exploit it.  They can do this by dribbling the ball across the defenders lead foot.

In the illustration below, the Blue defender is defending side on with their right foot forward.  The Green attacker should look to take the ball across Blue's lead foot to the attacker's left.

I just had the players working in pairs, standing about 20 yards apart.  A would play the ball to B and the close B down, making sure to take a side on position.  B would look to recognize this position and take the ball across the defender's lead foot.  Defenders defended at minimal pressure to begin with.

III. Duelling 1v1s to Goal

We then looked to take this idea to goal in the next exercise. 

Setup

• 2 teams of 7 in a 45x30 yard grid
• 2 goals with GKs
• Defending Disks are about 12 to 15 yards apart at midfield
• Teams split their players between the Attacking Disk and the Defending Disk
• All the team's soccer balls with the players at the Defending Disk

Procedure

• First defenders come out to the Defending Disks with soccer balls
• (1) On the "Go!" signal from the coach, defenders play the ball to the opposite team's attacking player and defend
• Attackers go to goal, if their ball gets knocked out of play or they score a goal, both attacker and defender go and help their respective teammates (playing 2v2 until the second ball is out of play)
• After both balls are out of play, players who were just playing switch lines, and the next two players in each team's defending line come out to the Defending Disk to await the next "Go1" signal for round #2

Make It Competitive

• +3 points for the first goal scored (I want to award attacks at speed!)
• +1 point for the second goal
• +1 point for a successful attack of a defender's lead foot (encourage the players to work on the skill)

Coaching Points

• Attack at speed!
• Don't worry about skill moves until you are slowed down
• Recognize body position of the defenders and exploit it

IV. Volleys

The girls were tired from the 1v1s, so we took a break to get some light shooting working on volleys.

V. 7v7 Small Sided Scrimmage

Training - Tuesday, Feb 13

6:00PM - 6:30PM Ball Masters - Individual Technical Development

• Scissors
• Step Overs
• Fake Shot Cut
• Fake Shot Push
• Fake Shot Stutter

6:30PM - 7:45PM Field Training

I. Ball Masters - Individual Technical Development

• Bounce Killers
• Thigh Control
• Laces Control

II. Receiving/First Touch 1v1s

Setup

• 4 teams of 3 in different color scrimmage vests, each player with a ball
• Two 15x20 yard grids with Pugg goals at each end in the center of a 5 yard coned goal (blue disks in the illustration below)

Procedure

• Green starts out as defenders in one grid, gold as defenders in the other
• Defenders have a ball at their feet and try to play a hard pass past the awaiting attack on the far side of the gird
• If the attacker stops the ball from going past them, they can attack the opposite goal and try to score 1v1
• Play make it, take it, meaning that if the attacking player scores on the 1v1, their team gets to be the attacking team again

Make It Competitive

• +10 points for the defending team if they can strike a ball into the attackers Pugg goal at the start
• +5 points if the defender can strike a ball below the attacker's waist height and between the attacker's 5 yard goal (marked by blue cones)
• +3 points if the attacker scores a goal after controlling the initial pass from the defender

Coaching Points

• Attackers need to be on their toes and ready for the hard initial pass
• Move quickly to get your body in line with the path of the ball
• Cushion the hard pass by "giving" a bit with the part of the body that first contacts the ball
• Get the ball on the ground as soon as possible and attack the defender at speed

Progression

• Defenders throw or volley the ball (to ensure that the ball is bouncing at the attacker
• Attackers summersault first to start the play, disorientating themselves and forcing quick reaction to the incoming ball

III. 7v7 Small Sided Scrimmage