Soccer Coaching Made Simple


CONTENTS

INTRO ................................................................................................................. 6

CHAPTER 1 – THE GAME OF SOCCER ................................................................... 8

1.1 - The evolution of soccer ..................................................................................................................... 8

“Which formation should I use?” ........................................................................................................ 10

1.2 - Player positions on the field ........................................................................................................... 10

1.3 - Distance between players ............................................................................................................... 13

Players ages 4 to 10 tend to bunch up: ............................................................................................... 13

Players ages 12 & up tend to spread out too thin: ............................................................................. 14

1.4 - Direct vs. possession soccer ............................................................................................................ 16

Direct soccer ....................................................................................................................................... 16

Possession soccer ................................................................................................................................ 18

CHAPTER 2 SOCCER TECHNIQUE ........................................................................ 20

2.1 - Balance and coordination ............................................................................................................... 20

Agility ladders ...................................................................................................................................... 20

Imaginary ball ...................................................................................................................................... 21

2.2 - Parts of the foot .............................................................................................................................. 22

Top of the foot .................................................................................................................................... 22

Instep .................................................................................................................................................. 23

Bottom ................................................................................................................................................ 24

2.3 - Shooting .......................................................................................................................................... 25

Driving the ball (power shot) .............................................................................................................. 25

Placing the ball .................................................................................................................................... 26

CHAPTER 3 PRACTICE TIME ............................................................................... 27

3.1 - Make it fun! .................................................................................................................................... 27

Relay races .......................................................................................................................................... 28

3.2 - Keep your players moving............................................................................................................... 29


3.3 - Use your practice time wisely ......................................................................................................... 30

3.4 - Reward the right things .................................................................................................................. 31

CHAPTER 4 – TACTICAL DRILLS .......................................................................... 32

4.1 – Positioning for goal kicks ................................................................................................................ 32

4.2 – Attacking waves – 2v2 .................................................................................................................... 34

4.3 – Attacking waves – 3v3 .................................................................................................................... 35

4.4 – Monkey in the middle .................................................................................................................... 36

4.5 – Keep-away ...................................................................................................................................... 38

Turn it into a scrimmage ..................................................................................................................... 39

4.6 – Scrimmage on divided field ............................................................................................................ 40

CHAPTER 5 TECHNICAL DRILLS .......................................................................... 41

5.1 - Footwork: relay races (with soccer ball) ......................................................................................... 42

5.2 – Fun games for ball control ............................................................................................................. 43

5.3 – Passing: relay races ........................................................................................................................ 44

5.4 – Wall passing ................................................................................................................................... 45

5.5 – 1v1 & 2v2 runs ............................................................................................................................... 46

5.6 – Shooting drills ................................................................................................................................. 47

CHAPTER 6 – YOU, THE COACH ......................................................................... 48

6.1 – Recognize your weaknesses ........................................................................................................... 48

6.2 - Be flexible ........................................................................................................................................ 50

6.3 - Be positive ....................................................................................................................................... 51

6.4 – Walk the walk ................................................................................................................................. 52

CHAPTER 7 COMMUNICATION .......................................................................... 54

7.1 - Get team parents on your side ....................................................................................................... 54

7.2 - Set up an upfront contract with your players ................................................................................. 55

7.3 - Watch your nonverbal communication .......................................................................................... 56

7.4 - Make corrections at practice .......................................................................................................... 56

7.5 - KISS (keep it short and simple) ....................................................................................................... 58

7.6 - Make it stick .................................................................................................................................... 59

BONUS – TRAINING PROGRAM FOR YOUR TEAM .............................................. 61

SEASONAL PROGRAM (BEGINNERS) 60 minute practice sessions - 16 weeks ....................................... 62


SEASONAL PROGRAM (INTERMEDIATE) 90 minute practice sessions - 24 weeks ................................. 63

COACHING SUPPORT & FINAL WORDS .............................................................. 64


INTRO

I’ll be the first one to admit it: when I first started coaching soccer

players I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I prepared boring

training sessions, I lacked authority on the field, I couldn’t figure out

how to motivate my players or get them to behave, etc. I approached

every coaching session with mixed feelings--I was excited for my

opportunity to work with these kids, but I knew I was not as prepared

as I should have been.

I often come across coaches that feel the same way I did-- they enjoy

coaching, but their lack of preparation makes the experience less

enjoyable for them. This is especially true for coaches that have little

experience in soccer—or none at all!

Fortunately, over time, people learn. And you will too! A great deal of

your development will come from experience--by making mistakes and

adjusting, by interacting with your players, by training and competing.

But you don’t have to stop there. There’s not need to limit yourself to

the school of hard knocks. There’s a plethora of useful material out

there (like this coaching manual!) that can really accelerate your

learning and improve your coaching experience.

This book will teach you plenty about coaching

youth soccer. It gathers most of what I’ve learned after working

with over 500 players and 60 local coaches from teams of all ages and

skill levels, and presents you with clear, concise and very useful

information that you’ll be able to apply to your team right away.


I am confident that by applying the advice I present to you in this

book you will immediately see a difference in your coaching

experience. You will be a more effective teacher and will turn your

players into better students. You will improve your relationship with

team parents and may even improve their relationship with their kids.

You will have a much better understanding of the game of soccer and

of particular components that are crucial to the success of your team.

You will also be able to design better training programs and practice

sessions, resulting in a richer learning experience for your players.

Last but certainly not least, you will be better equipped to

communicate effectively and efficiently with your players to ensure

they pay more attention to you and retain more of what you say.

You will be a better teacher, a better tactician, a better leader and a

better communicator. In other words, you will be a better coach. Let’s

get started.


CHAPTER 1 – THE

GAME OF SOCCER

This chapter will give you the fundamentals of the game of soccer

starting with a brief history of the sport that will show you how the

sport got to where it’s at today. You will also learn important tactical

concepts regarding formations, positioning, spacing and styles of

playing.

1.1 - The evolution of soccer

Soccer has undergone a huge transformation since its British origins to

present times. Up until the end of the 1800s there was no such thing

as formations. Soccer was chaos! Eventually the idea of organizing

teams with formations became popularized, and the 2-3-5 became

widely popular (―2-3-5‖ stands for 1 goalkeeper, 2 defenders, 3

midfielders and 5 attackers)


This 2-3-5 formation produced lots of goals but left the goalkeeper

very unprotected (there were only two defenders!) Over time coaches

became more defensive minded and the 2-3-5 evolved into formations

like the 3-4-3, then 4-3-3, then 4-4-2. These days we see many

national teams using one form or another of the 4-3-3, 4-4-2 or

4-5-1 (widely used at the South Africa 2010 World Cup.)

The transformation of soccer has also involved a shift in values

regarding the sport. As crazy as it now may sound, history tells us that

when soccer first started, passing was seen as a cowardly thing to do!

Most praise went to tough players that pushed their way through the

opposition to shoot and score.

Such isn't the case anymore. The initial emphasis on brute force was

later on replaced by a preference for technique, and players focused

on becoming masters in ball handling. Nowadays many coaches and

players place a huge importance on tactics and strategy, and they

agree that a team that can play as an effective unit can, through

tactics and strategy, overcome a technically superior team. This

isn’t to downplay the importance of speed, stamina or technical ability.


These truly are important! But soccer is more than the fast and strong

pushing a ball forward. It’s a team effort to move the ball around the

field with speed, accuracy and intelligence.

“Which formation should I use?” When choosing a formation for your team I highly recommend you

follow the professionals’ example and build from the back (assign

more defenders and midfielders than attackers) For coaches whose

teams compete with 8 players (7 plus a goalie) I recommend a 3-3-1

or 3-2-2 formation. For those playing with 11 players, a 4-4-2 or a 4-

3-3 formation is a good place to start.

1.2 - Player positions on the field

Soccer players can be categorized as goalkeepers, defenders,

midfielders and attackers, based on where they stand on the field. The

following image looks at team with 8 players that use a 3-3-1

formation (3 defenders, 3 midfielders, 1 attacker) Notice the colored

lines; they indicate how far up or down the field each line of players

will cover:


GK is the goalkeeper. Then we have the left back (LB), center back

(CB) and right back (RB). In front of them stand the left, center and

right midfielders. Lastly we have one forward (F)

We will now describe how far up (―up‖ means towards our opponents’

goal) and how far back each of your lines of players should go:

● Your goalie will move from his end line (under his goal posts) to the

top of the arch above the penalty box.

● Your defenders will play in your team’s half, pushing up to the half-line

when your team is attacking and dropping all the way back when your

team is defending.

● Your midfielders are your true workhorses. They will cover the area

between the edge of your penalty box and the opponents’ goal.

● Finally, your attacker(s) will play on your opponents’ half, and may

drop to the halfway line when your team is defending.


The entire team should move as a unit. When the team is

attacking all players must push up, including the defenders and even

the goalie! Same is true for when the team is defending–even the

attackers must drop and come closer to the play. Same is true

laterally: a player you place on the far left shouldn’t stay all the way to

the left when everyone else is on the right. He must come closer to his

teammates to close the gap between him and them.


1.3 - Distance between players

Players ages 4 to 10 tend to bunch up:

Many young soccer players (ages 10 and younger) have little sense of

positioning and will bunch up behind the ball like bees to honey. At

any given moment the team may be covering anywhere from 10% to

30% of the field, which isn’t nearly enough.

How to get your players to spread out:

Getting your players to spread out isn’t an easy task, but it can be

done by showing them just how bunched up they are. Set up a small

sided game like monkey in the middle, keep-away or a scrimmage and

watch as your players start bunching up; as soon as they do, freeze


them. Ask them to look around and see for themselves how

bunched up they are. Give them a couple of seconds to see the

situation and have them spread out again before you continue the

game. Give them about a minute of playing time and, as soon as they

bunch up again, freeze the game and repeat the same process.

Do so as many times as necessary and be consistent, and your players

will finally spread out!

Note: Consistency is key when teaching tactical concepts.

Repeat the information you provided several times throughout the

training session and about once a week until your players can execute

well, and then a couple times a month as a refresher.

Players ages 12 & up tend to spread out too thin:

After years of hearing their coaches scream ―Stop bunching up! Spread

out!‖ players finally get the idea. Interesting part is, they overdo

it! I’ve found that many teams of ages 12 and up spread out too


much–so much that once a player receives a ball he may have only

one or two teammates within a twenty-yard radius, which is not

enough.

We want our players to come closer to each other and be spread over

no more than 50% or 60% of the field. Playing closer together has 3

important advantages:

1. it gives players more passing options when they receive the ball

2. it gives us a numeric advantage over the opponents when we need to

steal the ball

3. it reduces ―hospital passes‖ (passes that don’t make it to destination

because of lack of power)

You can get players to come closer together by giving instructions

during small sided games. Freeze the game whenever you see players

that are too far away from the action—if they’re too far away, they

aren’t doing anything. Call their attention out loud and ask each of

them “How are you helping your team right now?”

The response will probably be a blank stare and a shrug of the

shoulders. Explain the importance of moving as a unit–when ball’s on

the right, everyone moves a bit to the right; when ball’s on the left,

everyone holds formation and moves to the left; when our team has

the ball we all push up; when we lose it we all drop and defend.

Be patient and teach with consistency and eventually, they will get it

right, as did the team in the following image:


1.4 - Direct vs. possession soccer

Once we get the ball, we attack. There are two main styles of doing

so: direct soccer and possession soccer.

Direct soccer Direct soccer involves players (often the goalkeeper or defenders)

sending long balls over the opponent’s defense for our strikers to run,

control and score. This style is often played with a very defensive

formation, like a 4-5-1 or a 5-3-2, since the attack is only lead by one

or two strikers. An exponent of direct ball is British team Chelsea FC.

Up until not long ago, Chelsea players would execute many attacks by

standing deep (close to their own goal) and booting a long pass to

their striker Drogba as soon as they gained possession of the ball. This

often worked because of the quality of player Drogba is: he’s got the


strength, intelligence, speed and control required to get rid of one or

two defenders and score.

Playing direct soccer has a few important advantages: it produces

the quickest counter-attacks and is a great way of surprising

our opponent; it relies on just one or two passes and less passes

usually means opportunities for mistakes; it allows the team to stand

close to its goal (preventing counter-attacks when we lose the ball);

finally, it’s very easy to teach our players (―just get the ball and send

it long over their defense‖)

This style of play does have some important disadvantages, though.

The most obvious is that when playing direct soccer we rely

heavily on our striker. This makes our game more predictable and

allows for the opposing team to have two or even three defenders

marking him. In addition, we may lack the players required to send

the long, accurate passes which are so vital to play direct soccer.


Possession soccer Possession soccer, in contrast, relies on short, low-risk passes to

approach our opponents' goal. It involves a lot more sideways and

even backwards passes and values maintaining possession of the ball

over moving forward. The clearest proponent of this style of soccer is

Spanish team F.C. Barcelona. It isn't uncommon for Barcelona to

accumulate over ten or twenty passes in a row as they approach the

goal, which delights fans and drives their opponents crazy.

Like direct soccer, possession soccer has advantages and

disadvantages. A main advantage is that as we keep possession of the

ball we become able to control the game—its tempo, where on the

field we play, etc. Another advantage is that as we make our

opponents chase the ball we physically exhaust them and mentally

frustrate them.

The main disadvantage of possession soccer is that it lacks the

surprise factor that direct soccer has. As we’re more careful with the


ball we choose to give up high-risk opportunities (like very long

passes) that could’ve produced goals if done correctly.

It’s worth noticing that unlike direct soccer, possession soccer requires

every one of our players to have sound fundamentals. Each of our

players must all be able to trap, turn, and pass a ball with speed and

accuracy. This style of play won’t be a good fit if your team

unless all of your players have good basic technique.


CHAPTER 2

SOCCER TECHNIQUE

2.1 - Balance and coordination

Controlling a ball really means controlling our feet, legs and entire

body, and we can’t do so without proper balance and coordination.

Every time we kick a ball we’re balancing on one foot. No wonder why

balance is so important! This is highly overlooked by most youth

coaches, who are sometimes too eager to have their players get

touches on the ball, when there are lots of activities your players can

do without a ball that will be of great benefit to their motor skills.

Agility ladders Following we offer a few exercises your players can do but there are

literally dozens of footwork combinations that will be very useful to

your players.


You can set these up at practice and divide your team in groups to do

relay races. Make sure you have at least one agility ladder for every 4

players.

Imaginary ball Practicing without a ball is great for developing passing and shooting

technique and it has one big advantage: it produces lots of repetitions,

since your players won’t waste time shagging stray balls!

To practice passing, have your players pretend there’s a ball in front of

them and ask them to make a small run (or walk, at the beginning)

and pass the imaginary ball, after which they take 3-4 steps back and

repeat the process.

You will immediately see mistakes you can start correcting before even

throwing a ball in the equation. Make sure they practice kicking with

both feet before you pair them up and give them a ball.


2.2 - Parts of the foot

Top of the foot The top of the foot (aka shoelaces) should be used for dribbling in a

straight line (carrying the ball) and for taking power shots. When

making contact with this part of the foot players must ensure they

stretch their foot to the full extent to have their toes pointing towards

the ground (aka lock the ankle.)

NOTE: with very few exceptions, shoelaces should never be used for

trapping or passing.


Instep The inside of the foot (aka instep) is the area of the foot which allows

for most control and produces the least amount of mistakes. It's

important to make sure the player is hitting the ball with the center of

the inside of the foot.

The instep should be used for:

● Trapping and passing: players must use the instep to trap and pass

balls on the ground and in the air.


● Changing direction: when a player is dribbling the ball and wants to

turn right, he can use the inside of the left foot. When he wants to

turn left, he can use the inside of the right.

● Moves that involve sharp turns: the principle described above

applies to cuts (very sharp turns) and all moves that involve a sudden

change of direction.

● Placing the ball on goal: When a player is close enough to goal,

placing a hard ball against a post with the inside of the foot is often

more effective than blasting it with the shoelaces.

Bottom The bottom of the foot isn't used too often. Players should only use it

for trapping balls coming straight down, and for shielding.

When shielding the ball the player will use his body to keep an

opponent from stealing the ball away from him. This is done by leaning

his body against his opponent and holding the ball far away from him.

The player will keep his foot on the ball while he looks around and

decides what to do.


2.3 - Shooting

There are two types of shooting: driving the ball (aka power shot) and

placing the ball.

Driving the ball (power shot)

● Set up the ball away from you and slightly to the side of your target (if

you’re right footed, slightly to the right)

● Approach the ball with a sprint. Do not skip or hop at any point.

● (Image 3) Your last step before your shot will involve your foundation

foot (the one not hitting the ball) stepping about 2-4 inches to the side

of the ball and pointing towards the goal.

● (Image 4) Lift your kicking foot back, lock your ankle (extend your

foot so that your shin and top of your foot form one straight line) and

curl your leg so your foot comes closer to your butt.

● (Image 5) Keep your upper body upright, leaning slightly forward so

that your weight is on the front of the foundation foot.

● (Image 6) As you swing your leg make sure your ankle continues to be

locked. At the moment of contact your toes need to be pointing


straight down and the top of your foot needs to impact the ball on its

center.

● (Image 7) Allow the momentum of your leg to bring it all the way up.

● (Image 9) As you swing your leg forward the force of your kick will get

you completely in the air. You should land on your kicking foot before

the foundation foot touches the ground.

Placing the ball

When placing the ball on goal, the approach will be the same: ball

slightly to the side, foundation foot next to the ball pointing towards

the goal. The difference involves our kicking foot: Instead of locking

the ankle to shoot with your laces (top of the foot), we'll turn it

sideways as if to send a pass. As when sending a pass, we'll strike the

ball with the instep (inside of the foot.) We can strike the ball on its

center to keep it low or at a lower point to have it lift.


CHAPTER 3

PRACTICE TIME

3.1 - Make it fun!

Regardless of skill level, most kids play sports to have fun. They are

happy to come to practice and compete simply because it’s fun for

them, and it's our responsibility to balance (or, even better, match)

our desires of victory and development with their desire to have a

good time.

Making things fun doesn't mean turning our practice sessions into a

trip to Disneyland. By preparing ahead of time we can design fun,

engaging practice sessions without sacrificing development. It’s just a

matter of finding ways to teach them what we want in a way they

enjoy it.


Using games & competitions is the best way to make practice fun while

we push our players to work even harder than they normally would.

Here are some great activities you can start using right away:

Relay races Relay races are great for developing our players’ technique. They’re

highly efficient—you can switch from one activity to the next by

moving just a few cones, as we can see in this image:


You have all your players do activity 1 before moving to the next one.

In activity 1 they will simply pass the ball and run behind the player

they passed to. Every team will do it a few times and then you’ll have

them race against each other—when you yell ―GO‖ everyone starts and

the first team to complete 8 runs wins and gets 1 point. Then

everyone races again. Repeat this 2-4 more times before moving on to

the next activity.

Tips to have great relay races:

● Each team should have 3-4 players maximum.

● Even out the teams to make the competition more exciting.

● Be a cheerleader! Be loud during the race, asking teams and specific

players for more and more speed.

● Don't let them throw technique out the window. Give individualized or

general directions during the round without stopping your players; as

soon as the round ends call for everyone's attention and make one or

two corrections based on mistakes you saw on the last round.

3.2 - Keep your players moving

I cringe when I walk by a team in training and see only one or two

players in action and the rest waiting in line. Making players wait so

much leads to nothing but boredom, distractions and bad behavior.

Players learn by training and playing, not by standing in lines.

To have a productive practice session we must use activities in which

various players (if not all of them) get to participate at the same time.

Relay races are great for this. So are games like monkey in the

middle, keep-away, mini-scrimmages (you can form 4 teams and have

2 consecutive scrimmages going on simultaneously) or full

scrimmages.


3.3 - Use your practice time wisely

As coaches we are always constrained by time. Many teams practice

only twice a week for about 90 minutes. In most cases, that is not

enough, so it’s important to get the most out of those 3 weekly hours

you get with your players.

Here’s a few things you can start doing right away:

● Prepare your practice session in advance and be on the field 10

minutes before official practice time so you can set up the necessary

equipment (cones, flags, etc) and get started as soon as your players

show up.

● Talk to parents before the season starts to stress the importance of

being early–not right on time, but early–to practice.

● Utilize efficient set-ups: Design your practice in such a way that

there are minimal changes to your field setup between one activity and

the next.

● Keep your water breaks short so your players don’t get cold and

distracted. It’s also important that your players keep their water

bottles at a designated spot from all possible distractions, including

parents--players should not talk to their parents until practice is

over.

NOTE: When training under very hot weather, allow your players to

have several, quick water breaks.


3.4 - Reward the right things

Regardless of the situation–whether it’s a tournament final or a

friendly scrimmage with a local team–we must give rewards and

praises based on correct behaviors, technique, tactics, etc, instead of

outcome. The right behaviors, tactics and technique will lead to

the results you want, not the other way around, so focus on

teaching the right things and the results will naturally follow.

Let’s say one of your strikers scores an amazing goal by dribbling

around 3 defenders and shooting. All of the while, his teammate was

standing in front of the goal, completely clear of defenders and asking

for the ball.

What do you say to the goal scorer? Should you even bring up the fact

that he should have passed to his teammate? Shouldn’t you just join

the crowd and congratulate him and forget about the details? If you

ask me I’d say: absolutely not—being ball-hog is never good.

Being selfish with the ball (also known as ball-hogging) is a negative

behavior and should never be rewarded–in the long run, rewarding

negative behavior will bring negative results.

Just as we want to discourage negative behavior–even when it

resulted in positive results–we always want to encourage and

praise players when they make sound decisions—even when a

poor execution leads to a negative outcome.


CHAPTER 4 –

TACTICAL DRILLS

4.1 – Positioning for goal kicks

Goal kicks tend to be an issue for many young teams, simply because

the goalie (or whoever takes the goal kick) often lacks the power to

clear the ball far enough. Unless our defenders and midfielders come

really close to support, we’ll immediately lose the ball:


In the image above we can see a mistake many youth teams make:

they fail to adjust to the power of their players. We can see that the

blue team is standing way too far from the goalie. He won’t be able to

get the ball to them—it will probably land somewhere in the red area,

right in front of the two attackers the opposing coach cleverly placed

there.

As in all other situations we want to position our players according to

their strength and abilities. Let’s look at the right way of positioning

for the goal kick:

Our players have now gotten much closer to the goalie and we are

crowding the area where the ball will probably land to improve our

odds of keeping possession. Goalie may choose to (A) send a short

pass wide to the side (a good idea only if that player is completely

open and has no opponents nearby) or (B) send a longer pass into a

crowd where we outnumber our opponents.


4.2 – Attacking waves – 2v2

Line up cones with the edges of goalie box. Blue defends & red

attacks. Game starts when coach (in yellow) sends ball in. Attackers

try to score while defenders try to steal ball and take it out of pressure

past the cones.

Attacker that receives the ball will have 3 options: wall pass, through

ball, or dribble on his own and shoot. What he should do depends on

how the defenders approach the attackers (review section 1.6 – using

teammates to beat opponents)

Defenders will want to put enough pressure to block the shot but

without getting too close—doing so would make it easier for the

attacker to get around them and score.


4.3 – Attacking waves – 3v3

Same idea as the 2v2, but now we make it more realistic by adding

extra players. Line up cones with edge of the penalty box. Ideally you

want 5 or 6 defenders and the same number of attackers. If you have

6 or more attackers, make 3 lines of two or three players. If you have

just 5 or 4, have 1 or 2 players wait out and rotate in every 2 or 3

runs.

Again, defenders want to put enough pressure to block the shot

without overcommitting to the ball. Attackers want to quickly form a

triangle so the player in possession always has 2 passing options.


4.4 – Monkey in the middle

This is an excellent activity that we should do at least once a week. It’s

easy to set up, fun for our players and extremely helpful in teaching

various aspects of the sport.

The monkeys (in red) try to steal ball away from the blue team. When

a blue player loses the ball to a monkey or kicks it out of bounds he

will trade places with one of the monkeys. Monkeys will be identifiable

by their training vests, which they will hold in hand so they can switch

out quickly. Add or remove monkeys to make it harder or easier on the

passing (blue) team.


Monkey in the middle is great for teaching our players to open up for

their teammates. Being ―open‖ means ensuring there’s no players

standing in the way between the passer and the receiver. The

following image shows the best case scenario: the player in possession

has several passing options (3) and only one (1) player that isn’t open.

Other coaching points we can make through this activity:

―Ask for the ball and help your player with directions‖

(communication);

―Look around all the time‖ (field awareness);

―Try to anticipate passes to intercept balls‖ (defense);

―Stay close enough to the ball without bunching up‖ (spacing &

positioning)


4.5 – Keep-away

After a few minutes of monkey in the middle you can even out the

teams to play a 4v4, 5v5 or 6v6 keep-away (e.g: if you had 6 players

in blue and 2 in red, hand out 2 red training vests to make it a 4v4)

(use discs to mark area, setting one down every 4-5 steps)

The main objective of keep-away is keeping possession of the ball. A

team gets one point by completing a certain number of consecutive

passes (choose a number that’s challenging without being impossible,

like 3, 4 or 5) without losing the ball or kicking it out of bounds. Every

time a team gets the ball it starts counting passes from zero.

When playing keep-away we’ll reinforce the same coaching points we

delivered when playing monkey in the middle. The only notable

difference is that playing keep-away will allow us to work transitioning

(switching from defense to offense and vice versa) Your message

should be: ―When our team has the ball we all open up and help the

player with the ball; but when our team loses the ball we all mark a

player to get the ball back‖


Turn it into a scrimmage We can very easily transition into a scrimmage by simply adding goals

on the sides. During the scrimmage we’ll keep the same message we

delivered during monkey in the middle and the keep-away, to show

our players that this message is valid not only for drills but for game

time as well.

In the image below we added a neutral player in yellow who will

always help the team in possession. This is optional.


4.6 – Scrimmage on divided field

The following is a modified scrimmage where we will divide the field in

4 sections. To divide the field we can use tall cones on the sidelines or

we may use the edge of the penalty boxes:

We will assign specific defenders, midfielders and attackers to each

team, and we’ll reward teams where most players stay in position.

Rules of the scrimmage: defenders must stay in their team’s half,

midfielders must play between penalty boxes (in the areas numbers 2

& 3) and strikers must play in the opponent’s half.

During the scrimmage you will ―freeze!‖ everyone about every 90

seconds (choose moments when the game is in play) and you will take

notice of where everyone is standing. The team that has the least

amount of players out of position gets a point (example: if I freeze the

game and the red team has two players out of position and the blue

team has only one player out of position, the blue team gets one

point)


CHAPTER 5

TECHNICAL DRILLS


5.1 - Footwork: relay races (with soccer ball)

Straight cones (left) - Set cones 2 to 3 steps apart (the less distance

between cones, the more challenging for players) Players will weave through

cones using both feet, striking the ball with the inside of the foot. Variations:

allow players to use the right foot only, and then the left foot only.

Sharp cones (center) - Move every other cone one big step to the side to

force your players to make sharper turns. Variations: have players use right

foot only, then left foot only.

Cut-n-go (right) - Three sets of two cones. Allow 2 steps in between cones

in each set, and 8-10 steps between sets. Players will use big touches to

sprint to the first set of cones, slow down with small touches to go between

them and speed up again with big touches to the next set.


5.2 – Fun games for ball control

Gauntlet - start out with one or two red

players. On your call, blue players will try

to dribble the ball to the other side of the

grid, while red players try to kick the ball

away from them.

Those blue players that get the ball kicked

out will leave the ball out and will join the

red team and will try to get the remaining

blue players in the next round.

Do a few runs until there’s only 2 or 3 blue players remaining, who are the

winners.

Sharks and minnows - minnows

(blue players) dribble the ball freely

inside grid, while sharks (red

players) try to kick the ball out of

bounds.

When a minnow gets the ball kicked

out, he immediately becomes a

shark and will try to get other

minnows. Last 2 or 3 minnows

standing are the winners.

Variation: start out with two sharks at a time and keep the same

sharks for the entire round. When they kick a ball out, the minnow will

run to bring it back in and keep playing. Make it a competition

between the sharks to see who can kick more balls out of the grid and

between the minnows to see who got the ball kicked out the least

amount of times.


5.3 – Passing: relay races

Diamond passing (left) - Player will run to the outside of the cone,

pass to teammate, and take his place. Receiving player will push the

ball towards the next cone using the instep. If players are moving

counterclockwise, all passes are done with the right foot. Switch

direction after 5-10 minutes so players pass with left foot.

Wall passing (right) - Players pass ball back and forth running

towards their teammates. They must get at least one pass between

each pair of cones. They can trap and pass or pass in one touch,

depending on where they stand when they receive the ball. When they

reach the end they simply leave the ball for the next pair to start

passing. Ensure players use the left foot when ball comes from the

right, and vice versa.


5.4 – Wall passing

Left - First player dribbles straight towards cones and does a wall pass

(aka one-two pass) with his teammate to get around the cones. When

he receives the ball back he passes it to the player in front of him and

takes his place. New player repeats the process.

Right - Player 1 sends ball to Player 2 and runs to him to put

pressure. Player 2 will use a wall pass to get around Player 1 and will

pass to Player 3. Same process now repeats: Player 3 will pass and

pressure Player 1, who will use wall to get around him and pass to

Player 2.

Note: Players must dribble and pass with their right foot when passing

toward their left, and vice versa. Switch wall player ever couple of

minutes.


5.5 – 1v1 & 2v2 runs

Activity 1 (on left) - 1v1 runs. Area width of 9 steps. Player with the

ball will pass ball and start defending. Receiving player will trap ball

and immediately start attacking. He will try to get around defender

and dribble ball in between cones where defender started. Attacker will

not shoot, but will try to control the ball and dribble it all the way in.

The player that defended will next be an attacker, and the one that

attacked will go to the back of the line.

Activity 2 (on the right) - 2v2 runs. Allow width of about 15 steps.

We’ll now have 2 players attacking and 2 defending. Attackers will use

individual runs, through balls and wall passes to get around the

defense and dribble the ball in the space between the cones.


5.6 – Shooting drills

Left - Set discs 3 long steps apart, and big cone 5 steps after the last

cone and a step off to the side. Players will take power shots (will drive

the ball) with the top of the foot (aka laces) These should be hard

shots without any spin on the ball. Players on the left will shoot with

the left, and vice versa. As soon as the player on the left line goes past

the last of the 3 discs, the first player of the right line will start going.

Right - Players will run up, cut towards the center and shoot once

they pass the tall cone. Players on the left line will shoot with right

foot, and vice versa.

Notes for both activities: Alternate lines. One player goes at a time.

Have players switch lines every 2 or 3 shots. Get players going as soon

as possible—no need for the shot to be complete before the next

person goes.


CHAPTER 6 – YOU,

THE COACH

The coach is an extremely important part of the team and will have a

huge influence in the players’ experience in the team. A knowledgeable

and positive coach is more likely to produce a better experience for his

players. Conversely, an unprepared, negative coach can make players

fall out of love with the sport and can even get them to the point of

dropping out altogether.

6.1 – Recognize your weaknesses

An important part of your development as a coach is to constantly

scan for and recognize your weaknesses. Self-evaluation is not

something most of us enjoy--especially when we start noticing less-

than-superb qualities--but it must be done if we are to improve. Here

are some of the weaknesses I often find in youth soccer coaches:

● Poor self-control: this translates into negative behavior when the team

is losing or when practice isn’t going as the coach wanted. The coach


―loses it‖ and it may take him anywhere from 2 to 20 minutes to get a

hold of himself and start helping his team again.

● Lack of preparation: there’s nothing more stressful than having a

bunch of eight-year-olds yelling ―What do we do next!?‖ all at once

while you try to come up with something on the spot. Do yourself a

favor and prepare in advance.

● Being too nice: there’s nothing wrong with being nice, but a coach

should never come down to the level of his players, nor should he

jump through hoops to gain their love or acceptance.

● Tyranny: "Because I say so" isn't a valid reason for anything. All of

your actions should support the coaching philosophy you uphold and

should be for the benefit of your players.

Note: the rules and policies you create must support your coaching

philosophy and must apply equally to everyone: from the bench

warmer, to the star player, to yourself.

● Failure to adapt: dealing with kids will always involve some

uncertainty, so you must be able to make adjustments on the spot.

Monitor the team at all times during games and practice and be ready

to modify your plans (or throw them out the window altogether) when

things aren't working.


6.2 - Be flexible

What kind of coach would you rather be: the cool coach that all kids

like, or the strict coach that prides himself in how obedient his players

are?

Reality is, neither of these coaches would be effective at all times. To

be most effective you need to turn your attention away from yourself

and towards your team, which includes your players' behavior, their

intensity at practice and during games, their rate of development, etc.

Once your focus is on your team, you can start acting more effectively,

choosing your next words and actions based on what is required rather

than what comes most natural to you.

Unlike your personality, which is relatively fixed, the situations you will

encounter as a coach will be highly diverse and dynamic, and will

require great flexibility from you. One moment you might be talking to

a self-motivated and well behaved player. With him you will be more

relaxed--pointing out what to do is enough. But don't get too

comfortable--two minutes later you may be dealing with a defiant little

trouble-maker. With him you might need to exert your power position

and remind him that you are the coach and that he must follow your

directions.


6.3 - Be positive

Being a positive coach creates a certain bond with your players that

you won’t get by screaming and punishing. This bond will bring your

players closer to you and will make it easier to push your team that

little extra when needed. Being positive means you can keep your

composure; you’re in control of yourself, which also adds to your

credibility as a coach and leader. It will also make the experience for

your players much more pleasant--no-one enjoys being yelled at--

which is important because their enjoyment is the reason they signed

up for soccer in the first place!

A major benefit of being positive is that it builds our players’

confidence. At any given moment during a game, our players are

presented with various possible courses of action to choose from. They

need to be able to make sound decisions at lightning fast speed and

under pressure from the opposition. This requires a lot of confidence

and we can inspire that confidence in them by being positive.

We can mold our athletes into confident, independent risk-takers by

using positive rewards and encouragement. We must reward athletes

when they do make decisions and take risks, regardless of the

outcome. We should never scold a player for a bad decision or a bad

execution, for doing so teaches the player to avoid making decisions

altogether. I've seen it over and over again: strikers terrified of taking

shots, and defenders terrified of stepping up to mark an opponent.

Why this fear?—because their coach will chew them out as soon as

they mess up… I can't stress this enough: scolding a player for

taking a bad shot won't lead to better shots--it will lead to no

shots at all. Make sure your players feel encouraged–not afraid–to

take risks and make decisions on their own.


6.4 – Walk the walk

Having a coaching philosophy is not enough—we must stay true to it

and let it guide our words and actions. This is obvious enough, but it

isn’t easy to do—especially when doing so comes at a heavy cost.

My coaching philosophy was put to the test very early on in my

coaching career. It was the first day of high school tryouts and I was

encouraged by a great turnout but a bit disappointed by the skill level

of many of the players. I could point out to just a few players with

good or great skill. One of them was Thomas, a sophomore with very

good technique, great tactical sense and superb speed. Just a few

minutes into the tryouts it was obvious he was one of the strongest

players out there. I definitely needed to take him in the team.

Or did I?

I ended the session with a scrimmage. Five minutes in, Thomas

attempted a wall pass with one of my weaker players who, though he

tried, wasn’t able to pass the ball back. ―What’s wrong with you!?

C’mon man, just pass it back!‖ Thomas yelled. The other player, a

much smaller and less skilled freshman, put his head down in shame.

I immediately stopped the game and announced that this was going to

be a positive experience for everyone and that reprimanding

teammates would never be tolerated. Thomas apologized in private

and promised never to do it again. Not even 15 minutes later, he

yelled at a different player and just a few minutes later, he committed

a third offense.


At the end of the scrimmage I thanked Thomas for his time and told

him I was sorry but we wouldn’t have a spot for him this year. He

shook his head and went home.

In a team of already limited talent, I had just let go who would have

been my team’s strongest player—but it was OK. Even though I had

lost one player, I had gained an entire team of happy, positive players

that supported each other and cheered each other on during victories

and defeats.


CHAPTER 7

COMMUNICATION

7.1 - Get team parents on your side

Start a dialogue with your team parents as early as possible. Meet with

them and explain your coaching philosophy and how it will lead to a

successful season. Telling them is not enough; aim to convince them.

Having parents fully committed to your philosophy will save you plenty

of headaches down the road–committed parents are less likely to

contradict the things you say and, conversely, more likely to enforce

them, resulting in a more coherent message for the players.

Players will be very confused if you’re saying one thing and parents

are saying another. For example, you might be stressing the

importance of team play while Mr. Proud Dad keeps urging Junior to

dribble and score all the goals on his own. This can be avoided by

having an honest, two-way communication with parents throughout

the season to ensure everyone’s on the same page.


On that first meeting with parents you will want to stress:

● Your coaching philosophy and the reason for each of its points

● Your goals for the season and how you plan to get there

● Responsibilities of each player and the consequences for not meeting

those expectations

7.2 - Set up an upfront contract with your

players

Just as a professor will hand out a syllabus the first day of class, it is

important that you establish a contract (verbal and/or written) with

your players on the first day of practice. Make very clear what you

expect from them and what they can expect from you. In my case, I

like establishing that my responsibility is to help them develop as

soccer players and as a team; theirs, in turn, is to give me their full

attention, their best behavior, and 100% of their effort at all times–

every single practice and every single game.

Make your expectations clear and make sure these are things your

players are in full control of. You cannot demand trophies or victories

from your team because winning games will depend on several factors,

some of which lay outside the players’ control. However, players do

have absolute power over their behavior and work ethics, so you

should make them fully accountable for these areas.

You should also establish the consequences a player will face when he

shows lack of effort, is late to practice or games, becomes disruptive

during practice, is rude to a teammate, etc. Deciding on these and

communicating them early on will make the problem much easier to


deal with and will give you credibility as a coach, for it will show your

players that you'll hold each of them to the same standard.

7.3 - Watch your nonverbal communication

The verbal portion of the messages we convey represents just a small

fraction of our overall message. Most of what we communicate is

determined not by the words we say, but by our nonverbal

communication. There are eight types of nonverbal communication &

we should always be mindful of each of them:

1. Facial expressions

2. Gestures

3. Paralinguistics (tone of voice, loudness, inflection and pitch)

4. Body language and postures

5. Proxemics (how close you stand to the individual)

6. Eye gaze (looking, staring, blinking)

7. Haptics (physical touch)

8. Appearance (clothing, hairstyle, etc.)

7.4 - Make corrections at practice

Let’s say your players are participating in a game of monkey in the

middle. You notice many mistakes: players toe-poking the ball,

passing aimlessly, bunching up, etc. You might feel tempted to stop

the game and give them a list of the things they’re doing wrong. I am


strongly convinced you should not. By the time you’re done talking

they will have forgotten most of the points you made!

So how do we approach a situation where so many mistakes are being

made at the same time? Make a mental list of the mistakes you see,

and correct one at a time. Repeating a coaching point over and

over again is much more effective than spilling out a list of

corrections.

Following is a very effective way to make general corrections during an

activity.

The first step will always be to watch them–in other words, to Let

Them Play—paying attention not only to the player in possession of

the ball, but also those around him. We then Spot a Mistake and

immediately Freeze Them. After we Freeze Them we must wait a few

seconds to ensure we have their full attention. Only then will we Make

the Correction by delivering our coaching point (just one.) We then

ensure we’re all clear and we Let Them Play again. We will repeat this

process as often as necessary before focusing on another coaching

point or moving to a different activity.


7.5 - KISS (keep it short and simple)

We’ll now focus on delivering our coaching point. We want it to be a

short and strong message that can be easily remembered by our

players. Examples: ―Go to the ball‖, ―Shoot with your laces‖, ―Trap

with the inside‖, ―Look around you all the time‖

Here are a few important things to consider when delivering our

coaching points:

● Prepare the message. Know what you’re gonna say before you start

talking.

● Give your players a few seconds to catch their breath and shift their

attention from the activity to you before you deliver the message.

● Use positive sentences. We must show and tell our players what to do,

rather than what not to do. The human brain tends to remember the

main part of a sentence, and ―no‖ or ―don’t‖ isn’t part of that main

component (so, if you tell your players ―don’t toe-poke the ball‖, over

time, they will just remember you talking about toe-poking the ball)

● Make your point briefly and without rambling.

● Repeat yourself. The more your players hear it, the faster they

remember it. Example: ―Remember guys: shoot with your laces…

shoot with your laces… shoot with your what?... (players respond)

laces!‖

Since we’ve mentioned repetition, let us repeat ourselves: you should

always convey one idea at a time. If you give your players five

corrections at a time they’ll forget them all… give them one or

two and repeat them several times during practice and they’ll

actually remember them!


7.6 - Make it stick

We can deliver the most helpful messages in the world and little will it

count if they don’t stick. These 9 tips will help you deliver messages in

a way that your players remember them for a long time!

1. Get their attention: We remember only the things we pay

attention to. If you want to have your players remember what you

say, ensure you get their full attention before you start talking.

2. Ask them questions: most players know they’re supposed to pass

with the inside of their foot—they’ve heard it plenty of times before!

So instead of hearing a coach say it for the millionth time, a player will

internalize the idea better by hearing himself and his teammates say

it. Ask them ―What part of the foot do we pass with?‖ and let them

answer.

3. Keep it short: ―coaches lecture too much.‖ I’ve heard this a million

times and I feel I sometimes make this mistake myself. Think what

you’ll say before you start talking and keep it short so your players

don’t tune you out.

4. Know when to shut it: It happens to the best of us--we gather

the troops to deliver a strong, quick message, and somehow we get

caught up in a tangent and end up delivering a lecture. When this

happens to you, stop. In one sentence remind them the initial point

you intended to make, and dissolve the meeting as soon as possible.


5. Show them and make them do it: telling them isn't enough.

Most kids learn by watching and trying things themselves rather than

by listening to you talk. Don’t waste time trying to paint a picture with

words. Instead, show your players what you mean! Keep in mind that

there are 3 types of learners and chances are that, among your

players, all 3 types will be represented.

● Visual learners: these individuals learn best by watching someone

perform a physical act and then imitating.

● Auditory learners: these individuals learn best through auditory

instruction--voice commands.

● Kinesthetic learners: these individuals learn best by carrying out the

actual activity rather than listening or watching.

6. Connect new ideas to what they already know: we remember

things better when they’re related to things we already know. If you

need to start talking about new concepts, start off with what they

know and make the connection to new material.

7. Use positive messages: Tell them (even better… show them!)

what to do instead of what not to do.

8. Repeat, repeat, repeat: After you introduce a concept be ready to

revisit it over the following weeks. For example, you might work on

opening up for a teammate on week 1, and come back to the same

concept on weeks 2 and 4, and then on weeks 7 and 10.

9. Have your players be the teachers: people remember things

much more accurately when they rearrange information in their own

way to explain it to others. Ask your players ―What did you learn

today?‖ while stretching after every practice session and have your

team parents ask the same in the car ride going home.


BONUS – TRAINING

PROGRAM FOR

YOUR TEAM


SEASONAL PROGRAM (BEGINNERS)

60 minute practice sessions - 16 weeks

WEEK TRAINING AREAS WEEK TRAINING AREAS

1 20” A - 20” C 9 10” A - 20” C - 10” E

2 10” B - 15” A - 15” D 10 10” A - 20” C - 10” D

3 15” A - 15” C - 10” D 11 10” C - 20” D - 10” E

4 10” B - 15” A - 15” E 12 10” C - 20” D - 10” E

5 15” A - 15” C - 10” E 13 10” B - 10” C - 20” E

6 10” B - 15” A - 15” D 14 10” B - 15” D - 15” E

7 10” B - 20” C - 10” E 15 10” C - 15” D - 15” E

8 10” B - 15” A - 15” D 16 10” C - 10” D - 20” E

(all practice sessions end with a 15” scrimmage)

A = Agility... B = Physical training... C = Technique... D = Tactical concepts... E = Game

situations

This program will first focus on individual skills (agility, physical strength and technique.)

Towards the end of the season the focus will be on group dynamics, where we’ll go over

different tactical concepts and game situations.


SEASONAL PROGRAM (INTERMEDIATE)

90 minute practice sessions - 24 weeks WEEK TRAINING AREAS WEEK TRAINING AREAS

1 A - B 13 D – E

2 A - B 14 D – E

3 C - D 15 B – D

4 B - C 16 B – E

5 C - E 17 C – D

6 D - E 18 C – E

7 C - E 19 D – E

8 C - D 20 C – E

9 C - D 21 D – E

10 A - D 22 C – E

11 B - E 23 D – E

12 D - E 24 D – E

(all practice sessions end with a 20” scrimmage)

For teams that already have the basics of soccer the coach will have to spend less time

on technical abilities and more on tactical understanding of the game and its

components. Our main focus will be making sure our players know where to stand and

what to do in different situations.


COACHING SUPPORT

& FINAL WORDS

Congrats! You’re done! You can add an important notch to

your knowledge belt.

I hope you enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. I’m confident that by applying the things you’ve read here you will be

more effective at leading your players and you will have a more

meaningful and positive impact in their lives. Let me remind you that

the things you say and do today will have an effect on your players for

years to come. What an opportunity, then, to be the very best coach,

teacher and mentor you can be!

I wish you the best of luck with your team, and a very successful

season!

Best regards,

Diego Arrieta

Headway Sports.

(916) 585-4625

[email protected]

Soccer Coaching Made Simple

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