Training - Thursday, Feb 23

5:00PM - 6:30PM Field Training

I. 2v2 Long Ball Rally

Setup
- 40x12 yard grid with a 20 yard No Man's Land in the middle
- teams of 2 players at each end of the grid

Procedure
- Teammates interpass, then attempt to serve a ball in the air so that it bounces in their opponent's grid (12x10 yard box)
- Ball must not die (come to a dead stop) in any grid or it is a point for the other team

Make It Competitive
+1 point for the serving team for a successful long ball over No Man's Land and into (must bounce in) their opponent's grid
+1 point for the receiving team if they can control the ball before it goes out of their grid
+1 bonus point for the serving team if they ace their opponents (like in tennis, the serving team plays a successful long ball that bounces into their opponent's grid but then bounces out prior to an opponents touching the ball

Coaching Points
- Positive prep touch prior to serving the ball
- Get your body into a good position
- Use proper long ball technique

Variations
- Two touch ball all players
- One touch services (players must serve the ball without controlling it first)
- Everything one touch
- Bonus points if the server can call the name of the opponent she is passing to and the ball goes where she aims it

II. 4v2 to 6v4 to Goal

Today I wanted to work on direct attacking play from midfield.  Specifically, springing our wide players into dangerous space down the flanks.  I came up with this drill in a coffee shop yesterday and wanted to give it a try with the girls.

Setup
- 6 attacking players (Blue), 6 defending players (Green), and 1 GK
- Attackers have two wide players LW and RW starting at designated positions marked with disks
- The other 4 Blue attackers are in the midfield playing area (30x15 yards)
- Two Green defenders representing central defenders wait by their assigned starting disks just outside and goal side of the midfield playing area
- Two Green defenders play in the midfield playing area as midfield defenders
- Two Green defenders rest as target players at midfield
- Coach has all the ball at the top of the midfield playing area

Procedure
- Coach plays a ball into one of the four Blue midfield players
- After a certain restriction is met, Blue mids try to spring either of the two wide players with a through ball and join in with the weak side wide player to attack with 6 players
- Two Green central defenders are live when the ball passes them and join the two Green midfield defenders who are recovering to defend effectively defending with 4 total
- Play until a shot is taken or the ball is played out of bounds

Make It Competitive
+1 point for the attacking team for a shot on goal
+3 points for a goal
+1 point for the defending team if at anytime they can win the ball and play to either one of their two resting targets at midfield 

III. 7v7 Small Sided Scrimmage

Training - Tuesday, Feb 20

With the last 5 or 6 weeks mainly devoted to defending sessions, my idea for the next month or so leading up to our first real test in Richmond (VA) at the end of March is to focus on attacking play.  We've had shooting and finishing sessions intermixed with our defending sessions, and I've used these finishing sessions to hammer home technique.  What I'd like to try and focus on now is attacking build up play, specifically numbers up situations and creativity in the attacking third and around the box. 

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

I. Shuttle Skills

Setup

• Two players to a ball
• Two disks, 5 yards apart
• The Worker works in between the disks, the Server has the ball about 5 yards away (see diagram below)

Ex #1 - Inside of the foot pass

Ex #2 - Outside of the foot stab pass

Ex #3 - Inside of the foot volley

Ex #4 - Outside of the foot volley

Workers work for 45 seconds, then partners switch roles. 

6:30PM - 7:45PM Field Training

II. 3v2 to Goal

Setup

• Two teams of 7 or 8 players per team
• 55x30 yard grid with a goal at one end and 4 Starting Disks (orange) and 2 Target/Recovery Disks (pink) at the opposite end (see diagram)
• One team is designated as the defending team first (Blue) and has all the soccer balls by the goal, with two of their players acting as targets at the Target/Recovery Disks
• The other team (Green) is the attacking team first, stands at the opposite end of the gird from the goal, and has three players take up starting positions at any three of the four Starting Disks

Procedure

• (1) A defender plays a long ball out to one of the three attacking players and runs out to defend with another defending teammate
• (2) Play 3v2 to goal with the emphasis on players getting across the dribbler
• After the ball is dead, the two defenders become target players, the two target players return to the goal to wait their turn to defend
• Teams switch roles after 5 minutes

Make It Competitive

• +1 point for the attacking team for a goal
• +1 point for the defending team for winning the ball and playing to a target player

Coaching Points

• Attackers should be creative with movement off the ball (overlaps, diagonal runs, etc)
• 2 attackers without the ball need to 1) see the ball, 2) see each other and what the other runner is doing, and 3)"read" the player on the ball to see what she is able to do

III. 3v2 + Recovery Run to Goal

Same as above with the addition of a (3) recovery defender.  After the 3 attackers begin their attack, the coach can yell the name of one of the two defending team target players waiting at the Target/Recovery Disks, and that player can sprint to help her two defenders.  If the attackers do not play quickly, their numbers up 3v2 opportunity becomes 3v3 (more difficult).

IV. 7v7 Small Sided Scrimmage

This was one of the best training sessions we've had this year.  The girls were focused during the technical warm-up, and then did some great stuff in the 3v2.  Though I wasn't focused on the defending, it was good to see some of the girls using some of the techniques we've covered in the last month or so; "I go ball!" communication, closing attackers at speed and at correct angles, forcing attackers one way, covering for the 1st defenders, etc. 

I stopped the exercise frequently early on to paint picture on the field about diagonal and blind side runs (relatively new subject for them), fake give and go's, overlap runs, and more.  The girls picked up on the diagonal runs quickly and this opened up a whole new world of attacking creativity. 

Moreover, I really began to notice that our new players to the team this year are getting more comfortable in our training environment, and this is leading to better performance.  Of all our new players, Getch and Scratch have probably fit in socially the best.  Both are outgoing and both are clowns.  Their ability to make the other girls laugh allows them to both feel more at home.  Brownie and Sting come from the same club (Lakeville) and have known each other for years.  They are both relatively shy and quiet (as far as I can tell thus far), but their friendship has helped them both feel somewhat comfortable with the new group.  Becs and Jill are the two other new field players.  I saw some real potential in Jill 3 years ago.  She has always done fairly well for us, but she is now just starting to play the way I know she can play.  I saw something in Becs at tryouts and I know she can be a force on this team.  This fall though, she was in the pool group until October, then hockey has kept her away from at least half our training sessions this winter, working against her ability to break into the social group on this team.  I've seen this changing in the last few weeks, and tonight she played better than I've ever seen her play before. 

I continually talk to the girls, specifically the core group of girls who have been with me on this team for a number of years, about making the new girls to the team this year feel comfortable.  Yet still to this day, I can see the girls breaking up into their little groups to juggle before practice, during breaks, etc.  Its getting better for sure, but they all still need reminding of this issue.  So, I closed training by commenting on how well I thought the "new" girls were playing and how we all needed to continue to find ways to bring the team closer together.  Some girls talked about bowling, snowboarding, and movei night.  We'll see if anything comes up.