U13 - Quick -Early-Accurate passes AGAIN

Tonight the two U13 teams trained together at the Welland SC indoor field.  I enjoy having those joint sessions because Coach John and I get a chance to "over analyze" our boys and sound smart.  :-)

We were aiming again to instill the need for quicker passes.

In reality the bigger numbers generate more energy in the building and I get to see who is showing potential for a call-up opportunity.  The best part of the joint sessions is that most of the boys are friends away from soccer and they get a chance to be together.  The togetherness that makes them happy sometimes makes them restless ... but that's OK.

We started by putting all the boys through dribbling and turns, unstructured in a big area.  We did several sequences that some of the boys have not done before.  Getting their footwork in every session has to stay on every practice plan.

Coaching points:

• Head up after the turn and accelerate
• Quick/deceptive turns
• Keep the ball moving
• Entire body contributes to effectiveness/deceptiveness of the turn

We then got them in 4v4 games across the field.  We stressed the use of turns to help keep possession and challenging for every ball.  Again, setting the stage for faster passing.  We made some progress again with that and got to see again who needs to work on what.

Coaching points for the 4v4 to set the stage:

• Challenge on 1v1 with a purpose
• First to the ball
• Shape on attack

Coaching points for the themes of the practice:

• Move the ball when the pass is on (early)
• Strike the ball firmly and with pace (quick)
• On target (accurate)

When we moved to full field Coach John and I intentionally added a few extra players to reinforce the need to quick passes to avoid being intercepted.

Practice went well tonight.  The boys all got the point of what we were doing and there was some progress.  I worry about big groups and I try to keep the practice simple.  There were three 4v4 games going on and only 2 coaches.  I would have been more comfortable with 4 coaches with me going by every game.  Coach Paul and the other Coach John were tied up today.

I find with this group it doesn't take much to distract them.  They're good kids and decent athletes, but we need to stay on top of them to get the work done to get to our functional and game portions of the sessions.  They love to compete so we try to tailor practice to that.  Like they say with children "feed them what they'll eat".

I still, after three years, find myself getting occasionally frustrated when the intensity drops.   But that's something that needs to be fixed via the coach and the practice plan, not the kids.

Things we saw today:

• Need to review 1v1 defending again 
• Need to review 2v1 attacking again
• Continue to work on quick passing

The team I coach is off until after March break.   Coach John's U13 Wizards are on again Thursday night then they are on break.

Coach John had his U10 boys after our sessions.  I hope to work with them again one day soon.