U13 Homework

Soccer In Cold Weather

Homework Assignment:

Since the weather appears to be anti-LMSC this week, here's the mental training aspect for my teams.  It may take a little while, but if we can't train I'm sure the three hours (plus travel) that soccer would have taken up can be somewhat re-purposed for watching a little film.

The Task:

Watch a professional match (preferably in whole!) and jot down the build up to the goal from the initial assumption of possession to the final strike (if the goal is from a set piece, treat the whistle awarding the free kick or what have you as the final strike and trace the play back from the awarding of the dead ball).  

This is tough because you can't be sure when a goal will come, and replays won't take you back far enough to see the genesis of the possession, most times.  I suggest watching one team in particular rather than trying to analyze both teams (pick the team more likely to win! If Arsenal are playing Sunderland, analyze Arsenal...) and trying to develop the habit of recalling in real time the entirety of each possession.

See below for my own effort at this, and the screen grabs illustrating the process...for their part, the players need only do the notes portion...though I'll be hugely impressed (and any player would be concurrently enriched) if they want to print or email me screen grabs of the play of their choosing.  

Obviously, while I watch more soccer than anyone I know, it's unlikely I'll see every game/goal.  Academic honesty rests completely on the kid's shoulders here.  They don't have to be exact, but I'd like to see notes with a good faith effort to recreate the genesis of the possession, and the general path/number of passes and players involved.  Names aren't necessary, nor is accuracy of position.  I won't distinguish between a winger and an outside back - "flank" or "wide" player will suffice.

Anyone looking for a gold star may make note of any defensive errors that help create the goal, should any be present.

Today there are more than 38 games on tv on channels generally available in the USA.  ESPN3.com always has soccer matches on demand, and the EPL picks up again tomorrow following a weekend off for FA Cup play. Check this link for virtually every game broadcast live and on replay on TV in the US.

NBC and Fox both have highlight shows (for those not inclined to watch a full match) that show more than just 5 second clips of goals which might help expedite the assignment.  Their websites and apps would be the places to look for those, though there's no guarantee that the video will be sufficiently complete to for the assignment.

SAMPLE:

I watched the Arsenal/Coventy match, keeping a close eye on the heavily favored Arsenal side.  Happily for this exercise, within 15 minutes Arsenal delivered.  Even more happily, several events echo topics covered with my U13 teams.  

My notes of the play are simple (image on left) and that's about all I need from the players doing the assignment.  This isn't to be a massive time-consuming effort.

Below, I've added some screen grabs to show the steps I documented in my notes.  It'll help to refer to these for the defensive error I'd offer for my "gold star" status.  

The setting is simple.  Arsenal are holding a high back line, with the four defenders establishing a line 5 yards or so deep in their own half (the danger of such an approach being the huge space between their back line and their goal - the defenders must be very capable of anticipating long passes into that space and the GK must play very high as well to cover some of the space).

The forwards are pressing the ball when Coventry come within 20 yards of midfield or so, so the Arsenal team is 25 yards from front to back, a bit tighter than the classic dimension in team defending (35 yards).

Coventry wisely tried to keep the ball and advance it carefully, going touchline to touchline twice before the fateful forward pass from the center back:

 Here we see the holding midfielder (HM) for Arsenal just as he intercepts the pass...and in one touch he's taken possession and played the ball to his teammate, the attacking center mid (ACM).  LMSC players will recognize this as a fine example of winning the ball and moving it very quickly, something harped on frequently at training.  The ACM is close to the play, another point of emphasis; a team needs wide options, high options to spread the field but also must have a player or players very close to enable quick escapes.

Here we see the ACM turning and running toward the back 4.  Crucially, the striker is both onside - note in the above picture there is a defender very deep - and out of the field of vision of the central defender of Coventry.  When the ACM turns, he can see the striker, but the central defender can't.










Here the striker receives the ball and is able to turn because he's already behind the central defender.  The other defender (who held him onside in the first place) is too deep to prevent the striker from turning.  The right back for Coventry has been caught, either by his own laziness or inability to read the turnover as it occurred, on the outside of the Arsenal left winger.  The striker opts to play the ball wide into the space ahead of the left winger...







Clearly the winger has the drop on the Coventry right back, and only the GK has a chance to make a play.

 The GK makes a good go of it, but doesn't get it quite right, and the Arsenal winger does a wonderful job of going wide of the GK to an incredibly acute shooting angle and still finishing.











DEFENSIVE ERROR(S):

1. No turnovers in our half.  Even I'm tired of saying it; the LMSC kids must be sick of hearing it.  Coventry committed this cardinal sin.
2. The time it took Coventry to shift from their attacking shape to their defensive one was too slow.  A few years ago coaches talked about the 4 moments of the game...Offense, Defense, Transition to Offense and Transition to Defense.  Modern coaches are talking these days about the game being so fast (as Arsenal proved here) that there is no transitional moment...you're either one or the other, instantly.  Or you lose.
3. Not a part of this play, but the second goal Coventry conceded was from a set piece; a corner they didn't defend well enough.  Tim Lenahan, the men's coach at Northwestern University shared a great insight into his success...prevent SPEC goals: Set Pieces, Errors, Counter attacks.  Coventry put two of those on display and paid the price.

Goal Scoring

Unique And Universal Attacking Methods

There Are A Lot Of Roads, But There's Only One Destination

After sharing this great video of Aron Johansson (USMNT/AZ Alkmar Wunderkind) in this space a while back, I had a request to revisit the movement Johannsson displays inside the penalty area.  He's hardly unique in this aspect; all goalscorers are live wires inside 18 yards.  They move and recycle, constantly adjusting to the ball's location and the angles created by the play on the ball.  Perhaps most importantly, goalscorers understand that the staggeringly vast majority of goals are last touched inside 9 or so yards from the goalmouth.  Be active, and be close to the frame.  Using Fulham/Norwich video, we can see a good example of movement and industriousness inside the penalty area below.  The other concept regarding movement discussed below is that of attackers' starting positions when their team is in possession.  Marco Di Vaio, Landon Donovan and Fulham's Kasami offer some thoughts on how an attacker might go about getting the ball in the first place.

Crossing

Crossing Is Stupid

Here's a graphic for you...in the EPL crosses are accurate just a shade under 19% of the time!  Which still doesn't take into account the quality of the touch taken by the receiving player, the ability of the defenders to block the subsequent touch, or the GK's ability to save a shot created by a cross.  For all the gasping and drama created by crossing the ball, it really doesn't result in anything.  A simple bit of hard work by the defense pretty much nullifies any danger:

Goal Scoring

Shades Of Gray

Connecting The Connecting To The Goals

Not all shots are created equal.  Somewhat paradoxically, the difference between a high-probability shot and a lost cause is often indicated by a team's ability to connect passes in the attacking zone of the field.  Passing certainly doesn't score goals; many, many goals are scored from counter attacks, and the set pieces which result from counter attacks, to say nothing of defensive blunders and other errors by the opponent.  But passing does indicate a degree of control of the proceedings, a thoughtfulness and determination to fashion chances with a high probability of scoring.

From the QB's final match of the indoor league, as compared to City and Swansea (revisit that comparison here) in their EPL match:

76% final third passing Swansea V. Man City
71% final third passing Man City V. Swansea
71% opponent's half passing QBs V whoever that was on January 11th.

For the game, the QB's completed 81% of their passes (190 out of 235); 71% in the attacking 1/2 (78 out of 110) and 89% in our half (112 out of 125).  Interesting shooting numbers at the bottom of the post.

At least in that indoor game, the QBs put up numbers that compare favorably with the pros...and more importantly, with pros that play a style we'd like to emulate: short passing, dominance of possession.

Winter Targets

Anything Worth Doing 

Is Worth Doing The Hard Way

Winter is tough on soccer players.  Quite clearly the "off" sesason, a lack of meaningful matches, school vacations and bad weather breaking up the routine.  But, there is a lot to be gained this time of year, especially when considering the application of the indoor versions of the game to the development of a player.

Here's a quick statistic-based look at my two U13 team's past games...basic stuff, but one rather suspects that the average observer isn't watching through even this fundamental, mostly-objective lens!

Case study:

Quick Boys passing by location of receiving player (or intended receiver); 40 minute indoor game (6 and a GK).

110 passes to a player inside our half.
120 passes to a player in the opponent's half.

Springboks passing attempts; 40 minute futsal game (4 and a GK).

Team 1: 222 passing attempts;
Team 2: 164 passing attempts.

By contrast, two of the Prem's top passing sides played a few days ago- Swansea and Man City.  They attempted 486 and 453 passses respectively for an average of 5.4 and 5 passes per minute.  The QBs averaged 5.75 passes per minute, the Springboks averaged 5.5 PPM (Team 1) and 4.1 PPM (Team 2)...the main difference being that the two pro clubs scored 5 goals between them, as City won 3-2 over the Swans.