Issue 17Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer

Coaching Newsletter

May & June 2014THE EVOLVING GAMEU.S. Soccer conducted an “A” Renewal coaching course from April 2-6 in partnership with the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer. U.S. Soccer will host similar “A” Renewal courses this summer in collaboration with F.C. Dallas and the NWSL’s Boston Breakers. U.S. Soccer recently concluded a renewal coaching course for current “A” licensed coaches in Portland, Ore. Held in conjunction with the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer, the course offered coaches an exclusive inside look at the club’s organization from the first team all the way down to the youth level. The course aimed to provide coaches with perspective on how a professional club is run and how they create a unique culture from the top down.“The coaches got to see the Timbers’ identity from both a macro and a micro perspective. They were informed about the club philosophy and got to see how that was implemented through s t ra teg ic p lann ing, c lub communication channels and organizational structure, as well as the vertically integrated Club Performance Plan,” said the Timbers’ Youth Sporting Director Mike Smith.The Timbers provided course participants with access to staff members of all levels within the club to give coaches a strong overview of the culture within the entire organization. The course kicked off with a presentation by Timbers’ General Manager Gavin Wilkinson. It continued with talks by head coach Caleb Porter, first team assistant coach Sean McAuley as well as Youth Sport Director Mike Smith. Candidates were able to attend several Academy practice sessions and had the chance to observe the first team train. The course peaked when participants attended the Timbers’ thrilling match against Seattle Sounders FC on April 5 and observed four goals per side. “The Timbers and their staff were outstanding in every aspect, making this renewal a great success. They granted us full access to training sessions, practice and training facilities and their staff, who was very professional and accommodating to our educational needs,” said National Staff Instructor Jay Hoffman.“The Timbers aim to be leaders and pioneers in the development of soccer across the territory.  The Timbers believe that coaching education is a key pillar of that development and have partnered with Oregon Youth Soccer to promote those aims. Having hosted National ‘C’ Licenses in the past, we want to support higher and continuing education in our community and across the region,” said Smith.

U.S. Soccer held a simi lar ly structured renewal course in conjunction with the New England Revolution in September, 2013. Following the successful events in Portland and Foxborough, U.S. Soccer will host additional “A” Renewal courses in this format in August and September to offer coaches a look a t two new professional clubs. From Aug. 1-5, U.S. Soccer will host a renewal with the Boston Breakers of the National Women’s Soccer League. Targeted at coaches of female players, course participants will have an inside look at a professional club on the women’s side. The following month “A” licensed coaches can attend a similar renewal in collaboration with F.C. Dallas from Sept. 21-25. Registration for these two courses will open on ussoccer.com on Thursday, April 24.   “These types of partnerships for renewal courses offer unique benefits for U.S. Soccer, the  candidates and the club. The candidate gets an in depth look into a professional club that otherwise might not be open to them. They are exposed to a professional club structure, which as a technical leader they can take back to their respective environments. The club also builds its culture and fan base, and for U.S. Soccer, the game continues to improve,” said Hoffman.

U.S. Soccer Partners with Portland Timbers for Rewarding “A” License Renewal

Coach Hoffman was the lead instructor with Ralph Perez for a USSF National ’A’ License Renewal Course held in Portland

as guests of the Portland Timbers. On the course was Dawson Driscoll - Maywood College, Seamus Donnelly - ODP & educational staff coach, Penn Legacy DoC, Penn

State Harrisburg head coach and Gary Stephenson - Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer, Assistant Director of Coaching.

COACHING EDUCATION HONOR ROLLState F certifiedLNUSCNational E LicenseLNUSC

• BRIAN BARRY• CHRISTOPHER

MUNDEN• LESLIE MAXWELL• MATTHEW HOOD

• STEPHANIE THOMAS• JOHN BUCZEK• HARRY SKIRLIS• REZA MOHSENI• CHRISTOPHER

CAPONE• MARIANA HERRERA• JENNIFER ROBINSON• DEAN COSTALAS• JONATHAN MASEL• LAUREN BOESS

• FRANK JAMESON• JERRY SAVAGE• JONATHAN LETTIERI• DIEGO FERNANDEZ• CRAIG HITCHEN• MICHAIL DIAMOND• TRENT ZOOK

UPCOMING COACHING COURSES

National E LicenseWhitpain RA

Blue Bell13 - 15 Jun. 2014

National D LicensePenn Legacy

Landisville8 - 10 Aug. 2014

National E LicenseAmity ACBirdsboro

8 - 10 Aug. 2014

National E LicenseValley Youth SA

Sayre25 - 27 Jul. 2014

National E LicenseAmity ACBirdsboro

8 - 10 Aug. 2014

National E LicenseHamburg Area SA

Hamburg15 - 17 Aug. 2014

National D LicenseUkrainian Nat. SC

Horsham1- 3 Aug. 2014

National E LicensePenn Legacy

Landisville8 - 10 Aug. 2014

US MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM US WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM INTERNATIONAL GAMES MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER

Jun. 01, 2:00PMUSA v Turkey

Jun. 07, 6:00PMUSA v Nigeria

Jun. 14, 7:00PMUSA v France

Jun. 16, 7:00PMUSA v France

May 30, 3:00PMEngland v Peru

Jun. 6, 8:30PMMexico v Portugal

May 25, 8:00PMGalaxy v Union

Jun. 07, 7:00PMUnion v Whitecaps

For more information, details and registration, please visit EPYSA.org

Game Watcher

APRIL & MAY, 2014Coaching Licenses Awarded

Frank Olszewski, Director of Soccer Operations & ODP StaffFrank Olszewski is from the Lehigh Valley (Catasauqua, Pennsylvania) and possesses a USSF B License and an NSCAA Level II Goalkeeping Diploma. He was named the Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Girls Coach of The Year in 1999 and was fortunate enough to have been the coach of three EPA State Championships, two EPA Indoor Cups and even a National Futsal Championship. An ODP Staff Coach with Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer since 1995, He am currently the Head Coach of the U12 Boys Delco Age Group.Where did you play HS and College soccer? – I am a Lehigh Valley Guy. I played High School soccer at Moravian Academy, (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) under Dr. Ron Quinn. Dr. Quinn was a coauthor of the current National Youth License along with Dr. Tom Fleck. As a collegiate soccer athlete, I played under Head Coach, Jeff Tipping, at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Jeff Tipping is the former Director of Coaching for the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).What was your favorite part of playing? I remember playing High School soccer and every single day was a gift! I looked forward to every single training session. My coach was outstanding and everyone on my team was motivated and upbeat. Nothing beats playing in front of your friends, classmates, girlfriends, parents, teachers and the media. Representing your High School and wearing your school colors was always thrilling. It was also exciting when the local newspapers/television stations would bring a photographer/cameraman to a league “showdown” game and interview the coaches and a few players afterward. I think it's a shame that ‘Academy’ players will never experience the fun of High School soccer. I can only hope that those players reach the goals the Academy seems to promise because I can attest to the fact that High School Soccer delivered what it ‘advertised’. Playing soccer back when I played also ‘allowed’ us to play other sports. I played baseball, basketball, lacrosse and I was also an avid skier. What coach(s) influenced you to become a coach? I count myself extremely fortunate to have had the best three (actually four) coaches I could have had as a youth player – Ron Quinn, Jeff Tipping and My Dad. The current USSF Youth Coaching License works….I know it works, because I lived it through Ron Quinn’s High School training for 4 years. He was always supportive and his teams during his tenure were always competitive. Like Dr. Quinn, my College Coach, Jeff Tipping, is known throughout the country. The former NSCAA Director of Coaching used to say “Frank Olszewski is the fastest player he has ever seen…..dragging an anchor”. Yeah, that may be true but somewhere in the archives at Muhlenberg College you will find that I still scored around 7 goals with that glacial “Speed”. Lastly, My Dad coached me and instilled the Love of The Game that I still carry with me to this day. He never played the sport growing up when he did but he and I learned the game together and he helped me eventually make the ODP team where I played for ANOTHER great Coach – Shelly Chamberlain, the former Head Coach of the Villanova Women’s Program and 2014 High School State Finalist Spring Ford. It is simply not surprising why I love the sport of soccer today. Ron Quinn, Jeff Tipping, Shelly Chamberlain and my Dad live on through all of the countless children that I have coached and continue to train today.How would you describe your role with Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer? As Director of Operations for Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer, I wear a lot of soccer scarves (hats). I act as the Competition Director for all of our State Cups – Indoor Cups, The National Championships

Series (NCS), Presidents Cup and the Challenge Cup. Besides our Cup competitions, we can run various Indoor/3v3/Recreational Tournaments and Kohl’s Cups too. The scheduling and operation of the event including The finals are under my direction. Referee assignment for the Cups, disciplinary issues as well as general complaints also fall under Operations. Tournament Sanctioning (providing insurance and promotion to the events) is also an Operations responsibility that I am part of on a regular basis. I assist with Arbitration Board Hearings and provide guidance and advice to clubs, affiliates and commercial facilities.You have had a lot of success at the Youth Level (State Championships/ 1999 Coach of the Year etc.) – How do you develop a strong relationship with your players? I coach boys and girls. Particularly for the girls, I find that Soccer is not the most important thing to all of these kids… “Connection” is the most important thing. The players want to feel like they are all part of the team and their personal relationships with each other are even more important than the game or the training. If they have a story or some Prom pictures to share at the beginning of training, I will give them some latitude as they are warming up. They will discuss school matters or music/television. My experience is that boys tend to want you to challenge them – they want to prove that they can do what someone else cannot do. Halftime coaching is much different for my boys and girls teams. If I singled out a young man in front of the team that the player he is marking is dominating the game, for example, I find that player will play harder in the second half of the game to prove my statement wrong. He will want to completely shut down the opponent in the second half to show prove himself. I do not single out the girls at halftime because I find that it affects them much differently. Usually a player will think that my criticism displays a lack of confidence in them and their ability.It's funny, I find that when addressing the team at halftime, if I tell my girls team that as a whole, our team is ‘not closing down space fast enough defensively’ or ‘we are not staying disciplined when defending individually and we tend to overcommit when deciding when to tackle/delay’ – I am willing to bet that virtually each girl is thinking that I am talking about THEM individually (without using their specific name). However, if I tell the boys the same thing, again, I believe that each of those boys are thinking to themselves – “well, Coach, is talking about Brandon, because I know that I am closing down space quickly” or “My tackling is superb….its Gary that has to start tackling better”.I try not to overcoach the players. They should have an open forum to ask questions and learn without fear of judgment. Make the exercises fun – sell yourself and don’t be afraid to enjoy the moment. The players will probably remember the groundhog or skunk that cut across your field to run into the woods more than any exercise you ran with them and that’s ok. I want them to associate fun with the soccer training. I think any coach would appreciate running into a former player 10-15 years from now at a supermarket and the player – now an adult – comes up to you and tells you how much fun they had as one of your players and how lucky they were to have a coach like you.

MEET THE COACH

ESPN Films’ “Inside: U.S. Soccer’s March to Brazil” resumes with its second episode on Wednesday, May 21. The program airs at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN. Re-airing Saturday May 24, 2:00pm on ABC.Produced by Jonathan Hock and Roger Bennett, the group behind the award-winning 30 for 30 series, this six-part documentary provides a unique perspective of the USA’s preparation camp for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The series premiere ran on Tuesday, May 13.

The remaining schedule will air as follows (all times ET):

May 29, Thursday, 7:30-8 p.m.: Episode 3June 3, Tuesday, 7:30-8 p.m.: Episode 4June 10, Tuesday, 8:30-9:30 p.m.: Episode 5June 11, Wednesday, 9:30-10 p.m.: LIVE series finale – Epilogue

Episodes will shadow the coaches and players as they undergo a demanding preparation camp at Stanford University. Subsequent episodes will follow the team as it plays three Send-Off Series matches, beginning with U.S. vs. Azerbaijan, powered by Yingli Solar, on May 27 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.The series will spotlight the announcement of the final 23-man roster and behind-the-scenes footage of the USA’s final two Send-Off Series matches against Turkey at Red Bulls Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, on June 1, and Nigeria at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida, on June 7. The series culminates in a live finale, featuring analysis and discussion of the 2014 U.S. Men’s National Team World Cup squad.

BE PART OF THE US MNT TEAM’S MARCH TO BRAZIL..

US MNT CAMP

U.S. MNT Google+ Hangout The U.S. Men’s National Team is hosting Google+ Hangouts on Air with Major League Soccer players from its training camp at Stanford University in preparation for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In addition to fielding questions in the Google+ Hangout, the moderator will also ask questions that have been submitted through social media and with the #ForClubAndCountry hashtag.

MNT workout at Stanford

University on camp

Initial thoughts about the 30-man roster and excitement heading into training camp: Jurgen Klinsmann : “Obviously it’s getting more and more exciting. With naming the 30-man roster we enter another big step toward the World Cup. The clock is ticking and that is good on our end because we can make decisions and move forward. It’s been quite a process over the last two-and-a-half or three years leading the team toward the World Cup in Brazil and a lot of players were a part of that process. By naming our 30 players, it’s not that easy because you have to leave quite a few players out that were part of this important process that took us to Brazil. Making those phone calls and telling them that they are not part of the 30-man

roster now was unpleasant because you give those players a message they don’t want to hear. It hurts you because you know it hurts the player in that moment, but it’s something that a coach has to do. Now, we are obviously excited about the 30-man list and moving forward and moving into a camp at Stanford for the next two-and-a-half weeks with the game against Azerbaijan on May 27, then moving from there to New York and facing Turkey before we actually have to name the 23-man roster. It’s exciting because we can get to work and we can see the players now, day-in and day-out, training and scrimmaging and doing a lot of work and getting a much more detailed picture from every one of them over the next three weeks.”

Licensed to Thrill: How I earned my national “E” level coaching certificationI’ve always been interested in coaching some day.

I’m not sure when that day will be.

I’ve played soccer since junior high, and thankfully my 29-year-old legs are still good enough to get me through 90 minutes in the Casa Soccer League on Saturday afternoons. I’m also privileged enough to write about soccer, but I’d love to be able to teach the game when I finally retire from local rec. leagues and pickup games.

Now, if you want to go out and coach your six-year-old daughter’s youth team, you probably don’t need a license.

But other organizations do require a license, and if you’re serious about it, you can take courses that give you full instruction from already-established coaches.

Complete the course, and you get your certification.

The program is run by U.S. Soccer, but it begins at the state level. So, if you live in Philadelphia, like myself, the courses are administered by Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer, which you probably know as EPYSA. There are different levels of licensing, beginning at “E” and going all the way up to “A”.

My story begins at the “E” level.

KEVIN KINKEAD

USSF NATIONAL ‘E’

LICENSE

Our instruction room inside the Southampton Community Center

Proof I was there...

Rafael explains his “stage 3″ exercise to the class. Antonio

jots down notes that will go into Rafael’s evaluation.

By

Instructor Don Brady takes us through the “E” license guidebook inside the Southampton Community Center. Don has an “A” level license and 33 years of coaching experience.

Friday, April 4This course spans three days and 18 hours. There’s a Friday evening session, followed by two full days of instruction on Saturday and Sunday. Finding a weekend to dedicate to the class is a pretty significant commitment, especially if you’re already working full-time or weekend hours.

My class is in Bucks County at the community center just off of Street Road in Southampton. It’s a nice little joint. There’s a lobby with a welcome desk and a few vending machines adjacent to an indoor basketball court on my left. We’re meeting in a smaller room to the right.

The first class starts at 6 p.m., and I show up at 6:02 p.m. It takes me an hour to drive from Port Richmond to Southampton, in the rain, in rush hour traffic.

There are five folding tables to accommodate the 14 people in our class. Our instructor is Don Brady, and he’s been coaching for longer than I’ve been alive. Don is an A-licensed coach with a master’s degree and 33 years of experience. He’s spent the last 18 coaching high school boys at Central Bucks South, and he also coaches girls in the “Olympic Development Program”, which is tied to U.S. Soccer and serves to identify select players for inclusion at various national team levels.

Long story short, Don has done pretty much everything over the last three decades.

He’s got a laptop computer projecting the E-license guidebook onto a pull-down screen at the front of the room. But before we get into the slides, our first assignment is to

partner up with another classmate, learn about them, and then tell their story to the rest of the group.

I’m sitting next to a young woman named Ashley. She’s probably in her mid-twenties, a former college player at Seton Hall University and a north Jersey native. She played semi-pro soccer in England, but she wants to take the E-license course because she’s found an assistant coaching job with Clayton State University, a small college about 15 miles south of Atlanta, Georgia.

It’s a diverse group inside the community center. Raphael is 23 years old, and he’s from Greece. Like myself, he’s on the younger side of the group, with no coaching experience whatsoever.

On the other hand, Pat Casey has been coaching at Fox Chase Soccer Club for the last 10 years. Another classmate, Brett, coaches U9 girls for Parkwood, which is just outside of Northeast Philadelphia. There are a number of classmates who already have coaching experience at the youth level, but they’re here to earn the E-license and learn how they can improve as instructors.

“It’s for my boys, you know?” Pat told me.

He explained that he was here to better his coaching and learn more about the game.

I’d find out later that he’s already pretty good.

But let me backtrack for a moment.

I had to prepare a few different things before the class even started. First, there are three online programs to complete. Two involve

basic rules of the game, and the third is a course about concussion protocol. You finish these exercises, print out the certificates of completion, and bring them to class.

The other prerequisite material is a pair of essays. Piece of cake for a writer, yeah? I whipped up two pages on my “personal coaching philosophy” and answered a separate series of basic questions.

Back to the classroom –

Don takes us through the slides, and we talk about the four components of long-term athletic development: technical, physical, tactical, and psychosocial. The discussion is engaging and bright. The experienced coaches are dropping knowledge left and right, and I invoke my experience with the Philadelphia Union to mask the fact that I’ve never worked with a nine-year-old kid.

We spend a good bit of time talking about the U9 to U12 curriculum and how training sessions generally progress through four “stages”.

This is a theme reiterated throughout the weekend.

Stage 1 is a warm-up exercise: Get the blood flowing, get your players going. Stage 2 is a small-sided activity, with emphasis mostly on technical skill. Stage 3 expands that activity, and Stage 4 is a full-fledged training game or scrimmage.

Throughout the weekend, we will be learning activities to fit these various stages, which we’ll then present to the rest of the class.

My topic for teaching is “redirecting serves to go forward.”

Saturday, April 5We’re back in the classroom at 8:30 on Saturday morning.

This is difficult for me.

I’m a second-shift worker, and I usually don’t even wake up until 9 a.m. on most days. One of the other guys in our class is up by 3 a.m. Monday through Friday and prefers to start at 6 a.m. He actually lobbies us for a crack-of-dawn starting time, which is pretty easily shot down by the rest of the group.

We finish up another set of slides before heading outside to Veterans Field, which is right off Street Road about three minutes away. It’s cold, windy, wet, and overall pretty miserable outside. On a normal Saturday morning, I’d just be waking up, pouring a bowl of cereal, and sitting down on my (roommate’s) couch to watch English Premier League.

We’re joined today by the charismatic and engaging Antonio Bayon. Antonio is also an A-licensed coach and a native of Valladolid, Spain, which is about an hour north of Madrid. He actually played for Valladolid’s youth team and dropped out of high school during his playing days. Eventually, he met his wife, moved to the United States, and got a master’s degree in engineering.

“Land of opportunity, for sure!” he exclaims.

We split into two groups, and Antonio and Don introduce some very basic drills that we can teach our players. Antonio takes us through offensive movements, going over a variety of 1-v-1 situations that emphasize beating a defender and dribbling beyond the play. We add to the drill incrementally, telling the defenders

to up their pressure, expanding the playing field, and introducing passing elements.

Don is working on defense on the other side of the field. He takes us through similar 1-v-1 drills, where we shield the ball from an opponent and attempt to win and keep possession in various situations. You get the sense that he’s a more defensive-minded guy while Antonio brings some of that Spanish attacking flair to his lessons.

We return to the classroom to finish up our guidebook part of the course, but not before going through some goalkeeper activities. I have to say, it’s a little weird watching 50-year-old men crawling around on the ground, but the goalie exercises are both practical and entertaining at the same time.

It’s a short lunch break and we’re going back outside to Veterans Field. Don tells us that we have to fold up the tables and chairs inside the community center because there’s a “Zumba” dancing class coming in shortly.

The second part of Saturday is when we become the teachers.

Again we’re split into two groups, half of us with Antonio, and the other half with Don. I’m in Antonio’s group, and my job is to take the rest of my classmates through a stage two exercise on my “redirecting serves to go forward” topic. Antonio will watch and take notes.

I section off an area and create a 3-v-2 situation with yellow-clad attackers outnumbering orange defenders. There is a sixth player, wearing a blue jersey, who functions as our “target.” The idea of the game, I explain, is that you must pass it to the person in blue before you can move into his area

and get forward. He’s our attacking pivot, and I want them to play to him for a layoff or redirection forward.

We spend about 10 minutes running the drill, and it goes pretty well. We regroup to talk about it, and Antonio seems pleased with the concept. He suggests that I can expand the drill and get the “target” more involved by allowing them to drop into the zone and look for the ball. This way, the child I’m coaching is a little less “static,” and more involved in the drill.

Mind you, there are no kids out here, so we’re the guinea pigs in these demonstrations. I’m still in my twenties, so I feel comfortable running all the drills. Some of the older guys in our group are a bit more “labored” as they go through the exercises, but you have to give them a lot of credit for putting in the physical work in addition to learning and observing at the same time.

“Now you have an appreciation of what your players have to go through,” Don says. “Obviously if you don’t have the playing background, it’s a little more difficult, more challenging. All of us are getting older and you need that fitness level to play. But it’s not that overwhelming, I don’t think.”

Everyone finishes up their stage two drills, and we’re done for the day.

Well, most of us are.

I’ve got a Casa League game at 5:45, so I hop on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and drive over to Wayne to play a full game on the turf. I’ve got the Union and Fire game on the DVR for later viewing.

Between the coaching course, my own game, and the Union game, I probably spent 15 hours dealing with soccer on Saturday.

Sunday, April 6We spend the entirety of our final day outside. It’s not as cold as it was yesterday, but after those 90 minutes at center back (we won 3-2), my legs are pretty much done.

Sunday belongs to us aspiring coaches. My job for the day is to teach the rest of the class the stage three version of the topic I’ve spent the weekend working on.

Don takes us through warm-up drills that we can do with our youth players. We go over the basics, like quad and hamstring stretches, hip flexor and lunge exercises, and things like that. Most of our stretching and warming-up is done in a “mobile” fashion. We aren’t static when we stretch, and Don explains that the modern trend is incorporating movement and activity into stretching.

Now that the blood is flowing, it’s our turn to teach.

Ashley expands on her topic, which is “aerial service into the box,” by adding more players to the field. She’s got a 4v4 in the middle of the area, with extra people running in the channels. The purpose here is to play to your wide teammates, who will then cross the ball back into the area.

Pat has a drill that combines passing, vision, and movement. He sets up several “gates” throughout the area and you score points by passing to a teammate through the gates. He’s pretty vocal, and even scolds me for trying to take on three defenders at once.

My exercise starts with a 3-v-3 in the middle of the field, with each team working off a pivot player and two goalkeepers at opposite ends. I’m serving in 50/50 balls that the players must win and play to the pivot. I explain to them that they can’t enter the final third until they get the ball to their target man, and only then can they shoot on goal.

Again, the drill goes over pretty well.

The rest of the class goes to another exercise, and I stay behind to discuss with Antonio. He asks me if I’m happy with it, and I explain that I would have preferred to play 4-v-4 inside the box instead of 3-v-3. He suggests removing the goalkeepers and allowing the target players free movement around the field.

This makes sense to me.

I’ve been focusing the drill on the “target” player, sort of treating that person like a hold-up striker or a big-bodied center forward. But Antonio explains to me that I can use that person in any fashion. Maybe the target is an attacking midfielder. If so, we can get the ball to his feet in deeper positions.

It’s all about keeping your players involved in the drills, especially if you’re coaching nine to 12-year-old kids.

One thing I notice about both Antonio and Don is that they spend quality individual time with their “students.” When I ask them about their involvement with the course, they both start their answer with the same three words: “I love it.” Antonio Bayon (right) and

Don (left) giving instructions to the group

FIELD TIME

We had some good laughs when the older guys in the

group demonstrated goalkeeper drills

Don explains the importance of keeping your players

active and involved during drills. It was cold, wet, and windy on Saturday morning

A complete warm-up program The 11+

The complete FIFA “The 11+” cards are available on EPYSA.org

Available on EPYSA.org

“I coach at many levels, but coaching the coaches is one of the most rewarding (things) and some of the most fun I’ve had in this career,” Antonio explains. “The fact that the candidates give us 18 hours of their weekend to be with us, we know that they’re coming here to learn, and we expect them to learn, but there’s also a lot of quality. We get college players, who are very good. We also get the typical mom and dad, where they just want to get involved. It’s a huge, diverse spectrum.”

“This isn’t just coaching from the seat of your pants,” Don adds. “We’re all here to develop as coaches, to help the players develop. Sure, we can all go out and do drills, but do we know

why we’re doing it? I appreciate the person who’s willing to research and to find those exercises, but also to know why they’re doing it, and how they’re implementing it, and whether or not they are really helping players to get better.”

We take a team picture, say our goodbyes, and hit the road as newly licensed youth soccer coaches.

Kevin Kinkead is an Emmy award winning news and sports producer for CBS 3 Eyewitness News.

The future soccer coaches of America

CHALK TALK PHILADELPHIA UNIONEastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer and the Philadelphia Union joined forces in a partnership To bring coaching education topics to the fans and coaches who are supporters of the Union. This partnership is unique to most state associations but both parties in Eastern Pennsylvania see numerous benefits to working together. These "Chalk Talks" willbring the latest methodology from US Soccer's Coaching Education Department and provide correlating information from a Union's professional perspective. In our first "Chalk Talk" over forty coaches attended the first offering with coaches Gary Stephenson and Mike Barr providing match analysis information and Jim Curtain of the Union providing a scouting report, use of software in scouting and a typical training week for the Union. Both the Union and Eastern Pennsylvania plan to provide more sessions in the future.

Union v New England Game

5:15" " Introduction and explanation • on game analysis as used by the US Soccer Education department -

showing the last games breakdown…20mins Barr/ Stephenson

5:35" " Jim Curtin - line up, treads/strength of New England…15mins

5:50" " Final thoughts before - Kick Off Barr/Stephenson…10mins

6:00 " " Wrap up \ Gates Open

7:00 PM " GAME

*coaches have the opportunity to submit their analysis to the state office - for feedback

Last 1-2 footwork steps are executed & the shot delivered. Each GK completes 9 reps.1. Volley and half volley2. Ground strikesRepeat sets over increased distanceCoaching PointsPHYSICAL: 9 reps of short, but intense footworkTECHNICAL: No wasted movement to be successfulTACTICAL: Real game situation--use imagination to create tactical situationsMENTAL/EMOTIONAL: Create intensity similar to game. GKs have to cope with the goals will be scored

2v1 Patterns: Pattern 3

3: Center-back to opposite Center-mid to Center-back/Defensive Mid to winger who checks.

Ball is played over into the space.

Dynamic warm up w/ball (10mins)

Pattern Play""

2v1 Patterns Wide: Patterns 1 & 2

1: Center-back to Center-Mid to Wingback to Winger (Quality pass,spacing and timing of the run behind)

1B: Wingers feet - Winger penetrates to find Center-forward or shot

2: Center-back to Winger to Center-Mid to overlapping Wingback (timing of overlap).

7v4 +GK (adding starting wing-backs to attackers)

Half field

Choreographed switch to create 2v1 wide right winger and right back

5 quality movements each side (other starting wide back goes to create 2v1 on the other side.

Exploiting Overload (2v1) Wide - U16 -U18Portland Timbers Academy Staff observed by Gary Stephenson

TECHNICAL WARM-UP

EXPANDED SMALL-SIDED ACTIVITY

Game

SMALL-SIDED ACTIVITY

8v8 +2 Neutral wingers + GK

Laws of the game apply

Last 1-2 footwork steps are executed & the shot delivered. Each GK completes 9 reps.1. Volley and half volley2. Ground strikesRepeat sets over increased distanceCoaching PointsPHYSICAL: 9 reps of short, but intense footworkTECHNICAL: No wasted movement to be successfulTACTICAL: Real game situation--use imagination to create tactical situationsMENTAL/EMOTIONAL: Create intensity similar to game. GKs have to cope with the goals will be scored

Gauntlet Set up as shown - 2 players (defenders) are placed in the grid as shown. The team has a ball each and must try and dribble  through the grid without the ball being touched by the defenders. It they dribble completely through to the end they score a point and must dribble back to the start again(outside the grid) and try to dribble through again - to score as many points as possible. The game is one minute in length. The defenders are changed with the dribbles every new game.

Progression - add 2 defenders in the defensive grid.

Coaching points - head up , moving into space, change of speed. and center back netting. Rotation same as above.

Each player has a ball and moves around the 20yd by 20yd gridOn commands from the coach they toe tap, change balls, use the sole of the foot, speed up, slow down, turn left, turn right and stop the ball.

Coaching points" correct surface of the foot" head up" using both feet

Two end zones are added to the 20 yds x 20 yds grid. Players are split into 2 teams of 3. A team scores by dribbling the ball into the end zone and stopping the ball. Nobody without a ball is allowed into the end zone. If felt needed, add extra balls to increase touches on the ball.

Dribbling for Penetration - U6 -U9 playersGary Stephenson, Assistant Director of Coaching, Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer

TECHNICAL WARM-UP

EXPANDED SMALL-SIDED ACTIVITY

Game

SMALL-SIDED ACTIVITY

4v4 no GK 1-2-1Laws of the game apply