LMSC Opening Post

Quick Boys And Springboks Open 2012-13

A few training sessions in to the new season, and things are beginning to settle in nicely.

Key points have been to introduce the expectations for the players, mainly in terms of their conduct at training, and to establish a degree of comfort around the training ground for the players.  Uncertainty does not bring out the best in a kid, so the goal is mainly to be very clear about what is expected in terms of effort and behavior, what is meant by certain language, and the general pattern of training sessions.


Of course, it is expected that the players will be attentive (most of the pushups done in training are quick reminders of this) which is to say, making eye contact with the coach, remaining quiet while the coach is speaking, and interacting fully- answering questions, asking questions, and generally participating.  It is expected that water breaks are accomplished speedily- a large gulp of water and back to the training space. No sitting, chatting about non-soccer topics, or otherwise taking attention off the training session.  But other less-obvious expectations are in play.

When using a space for a possession game or small-sided scrimmage, the sidelines and endlines are suggestions.  Play should continue over the hard and fast adherence to the laws of out of bounds.  Players are asked to play the close stuff, and only play the restart if the distance out of the playing space grows excessively large.  Fouls fall into the same category.  In training, as we expect that players will never deliberately foul a teammate, fouls are seen as part of the challenge, and only in rare occurrences will I call a free kick.  Many times, it will be a fine teachable moment: if players don't hang on to the ball for too long, it's tough to be fouled.

Most training sessions, if not all, will feature some competition in which the losing side will face a penalty.  It will never be fitness (hints of anti-conventional wisdom beginning to seep in...) but things like picking up the gear and other little tasks.  Just enough of a penalty for losing that accountability is a tangible thing, but not so embarrassing that the players play "safe" in training.

Players are expected to be encouraging of their teammates.  As we try new moves and techniques, and their bodies learn to move in soccer-specific ways, people will trip, fall, stumble and make the simplest game look quite clumsy.  I point out frequently that in demos I'll make mistakes even after all these years.  The pros will stumble over the ball now and again too!  The main thing is to understand that there is a process that we all go through, some quicker than others, and that everyone will get through it.

The language factor is a big one as well.  Certainly in an area like the Main Line, and greater Philly in general, ask ten people what a particular move is called and you're likely to get ten different answers.  So, as I teach the moves I select, I use the Coever Coaching names.  While the Matthews, Ronaldo Chop, Maradona, Blanco and so on all have their niches, the Coever outfit has done a comprehensive job of breaking things down and creating a simple language with which to build player's skill sets.  No need to reinvent the wheel.  But in teaching technical skills, words like "front," "negative," and "weight" carry different definitions than in the rest of our lives, and when I use them, it is crucial that the players understand what I mean in a football setting.  This process will continue on throughout the year, but it is especially important at this early stage of the year.

The pattern of the training sessions does, and should, vary.  However, broadly speaking, the players can expect certain facets to pop up continuously.  5 v. 2 is widely in favor these days as a result of the Barcelona phenomenon, and I like it as much as anyone.  Each session will begin with some form of keep-away like this, and stress one-time passing in small areas.  We'll nearly always do some form of agility work, usually involving a shot, other times other technical skills, and then technical games/possession and scrimmages to finish things up.

The goal is that the players have a comfort level with the sessions, and can anticipate (hopefully in a positive sense) the flow of a session.  This allows them to work very hard in fairly short bursts (efficiency is a catch-word) knowing that segments won't drag out for 30 or 40 minutes, and that if they enjoy something to make the most of it, and if it something they aren't enjoying, that it is for a tolerable amount of time!