Training - Saturday, Feb 24

8:15AM - 8:45AM FIT Training

Igor Figure 8s

Setup
- Players work in pairs with one ball between the two of them
- Each pair has two cones/disks spaced 2 yards apart
- One partner works while the other one serves, server has the ball

Procedure
(1) Server serves to worker who uses one of the specified techniques to get the ball back to the server's hands.

(2) Immediately after sending the ball back to the server, the worker (who always faces forward) backpedals in between the two disks, goes around the back disk, comes back through the middle of the two disks to work on the opposite side of the front disk

(3) Server serves to the worker on the opposite side of the front disk

- Workers work for 45 seconds then partners switch roles

Skills Variations

•  
  •  
    • Inside of the Foot Volleys
    • Instep Volleys
    • Headers
    • Jumping Headers

Make It Competitive
How many successful touches can you get in 45 seconds?  Successful means the server can catch the ball.

Coaching Points
- Small, quick steps around the back disk.  Meaning, probably four or five quick little steps to get around the back disk as opposed to one or two large steps

- Focus on the technique towards the end of the 45 seconds when you're tired

Monkey In The Tree

10 x 30 Yard Sprints

6 x 10 yard Sprints

8:45AM - 9:15AM Video Analysis

We finally got through the Euro 2004 DVD (analyzing all the goals of the Euro 2004 Championships).  I've got to go find another DVD.

9:15AM - 10:45AM Field Training

I. Ball Masters Program

• Fake Pass Slap
• Fake Shot Stutter
• Fake Shot Scissors
• Fake Shot Cut

II. Diagonal Runs - 40 Yards Out

I want to start focusing on being dynamic in our attacking play with the introduction of diagonal runs.  This is a simple drill that I ran the girls through that featured a ton of repetition and fun (as the girls were finishing with shots on goal).

Setup
- Two teams of 8 players each
- 2 wide starting disks 40 yards out from goal.  Each team's soccer balls with the players at these wide starting disks
- 2 other starting disks 15 yards past the wide disks (55 yards out from goal)
- I used two of the dome trash cans as dummy defenders and also marked an 18-yard box with disks

Procedure
(1) Blue 1 passes the ball to Green1 to start Green's sequence

(2) Green 1 controls the ball and looks up to find Green 2

(3) Green 2 makes a diagonal run towards the center of the field to receive a through pass from Green 1

(4) As soon as Green 2 touches the ball, Green 3 passes to Blue 2 to begin Blue's sequence (Blue 1 makes a diagonal run to receive a pass from Blue 2)

Players switch lines with their teammates after each turn

Make It Competitive
+1 point for each goal
+2 points for each goal the the GK does not get a hand to (touch)

Coaching Points
- Firm pass by set up players to passing player, can players recognize where to play the initial pass so that the passer can play quickly?
- Good first touch by passing player and the subsequent through pass should lead the runner (be played into the space in front of the runner)
- Diagonal runner must time their diagonal run in order to sprint for the pass (to lose marking defenders) while not overrunning the play

III. Diagonal Runs - 25 Yards Out

Setup
- Same as above, except wide disks are 25 yards out from goal

Procedure
(1) Blue 1 passes the ball to the space in front of Green1 to start Green's sequence

(2) Green 2, realizing a one touch is "on" (possible) starts their run early and demands the ball from Green 1

(3) Green 1 plays a 1-touch through pass to the space immediately in front of Green 2 

(4) As soon as Green 2 gets their shot off, Green 3 passes to Blue 2 to begin Blue's sequence (Blue 1 makes a diagonal run to receive a 1-touch pass from Blue 2)

Players switch lines with their teammates after each turn

Make It Competitive
+1 point for each goal
+2 points for each goal the the GK does not get a hand to (touch)

Coaching Points
- Recognition from the runner that a 1-touch pass is possible
- A flatter diagonal run, more lateral than forward
- Demanding of the pass both verbally ("Through!") and visually (the run makes the pass)
- Firm through pass more to the runner's feet as space in the box is tight (this is opposed to the pass into space in the first exercise above)
- Possible one time finishes by the runners

IV. 3v2+1 to Goal

Same exercise we did a few days ago (see Journal Training - Tuesday, Feb 20), now with the additional knowledge of diagonal runs.

V. 7v7 Small Sided Scrimmage

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

Jefferson Cup - Brackets Posted

I got an email from a friend of mine, Tim Tickle, this morning letting me know that the brackets have been posted for the Jefferson Cup event in Richmond, VA, in late March.  Tim's daughter Meagan is a very good player who plays with the Blue Valley Stars Ratpack team (Kansas, MO).  Meagan had guest played with our team last summer at the US Club Soccer Regional in Rockford (IL) and Tim and I have kept in contact since then.  We had talked about Meagan joining us as a guest for the Jefferson Cup as I have a player (Hannah) who can't make the trip due to a family conflict.  Not sure in which direction I'll go with this yet as 16 is a good number to travel with.

Anyway, Tim emailed congratulations about getting in the top flight (Yes!!!) and that Group C looked like the Group of Death.  I was obviously ecstatic that the girls were accepted into the top flight, but this feeling was then coupled with a feeling of semi-dread as I thought Tim meant we were in Group C and had the toughest draw.  I clicked at lightspeed over to the website and discovered that indeed Group C had three very solid teams put together.  However, we were not one of the teams in Group C, but rather placed in Group A. 

Here are the teams in the top flight.

Girls U13 Championship

Group A

BANGU TSUNAMI FC 93/94 BLUE (Minnesota)

HIGHLAND DYNAMITES (New Jersey)

HOCKESSIN HOTSPUR (Delaware)

Group B

BETHESDA SC FREEDOM 93 (Maryland)

FREEHOLD SHOOTING STARS (New Jersey)

MCLEAN MPS STRIKERS (Virginia)

Group C

CAROLINA ELITE 93 GIRLS PREMIER (South Carolina)

CHANTILLY BURN (Virginia)

MT. LAUREL UNITED POWER (New Jersey)

Group D

FC PENNSYLVANIA STRIKERS (Pennsylvania East)

SCORPIONS SOCCER U13 ELITE (Massachusetts)

SOUTH CHARLOTTE 93 SCSA GOLD G (North Carolina)

When applying to this event, I thought that we would be a shoe in for the second flight and a bit of a long shot for the top flight.  If rankings are any indicator (which many times they are not), I'm actually a little disappointed as we seem to have the weakest bracket with #1 team from Delaware and the #4 team from New Jersey.  I would have truthfully much preferred it if we had the top two teams in the event in our group as I want the competition and want to see how we match up with the top level teams in other regions/across the nation.  I could very well be wrong about Highland and Hockessin and they both could be very strong teams.  However, I would have rather be seeded in a group with FC Penn, Mt Laurel, or Charlotte.  If our group is indeed weaker than the other groups, we will undoubted run into some of the big dawgs on Sunday morning.  I can't wait!

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.

Training - Saturday, Feb 17

8:15AM - 8:45AM FIT Training

8:45AM - 9:15AM Video Analysis

9:15AM - 10:45AM Field Training

I. Ball Masters - Individual Technical Development

Aerial Ball Control into an Explosive Turn

• Bounce Killer
• Inside/Outside Sweep Traps
• Body Run Through

Turns

• Fake Pass Slap

Beating Players

• Fake Shot Stutter
• Fake Shot Stutter Scissors

II. 5v5 + 2 Possession

Two teams of 5 (Orange and Gray) with two neutral players (Yellow)

Coaching Points

• Spacing and team shape in order to have outlet players available to change (switch) fields
• Moving quickly (or not moving) to find open space
• Support needed in the direction the player with the ball is facing
• Communication

III. 3 Team Winner Stays (with U13 White)

We mixed with the U13 White team, broke the girls into 3 teams of 8, and played 8v8 for the last 25 minutes.  Whichever team scored, stayed on the field.  The team that got scored upon would go out and rest and the resting team would step on the field to play.

The Blue team girls get an attitude whenever we look to mix together with the White team to play.  I have to find a way to address this as I don't want to be fostering a bunch of prima donnas.  I continually tell the girls that great players make players around them better.  This has sunk in with a number of the girls, but not with all of them.

If the girls tried to use a Fake Pass Slap Turn, or one of the Fake Shot Stutter moves, they did not have to do any extra fitness at the end of training.