U13 - Quick-Early-Accurate Passing

Monday night we trained at Niagara College.  The college has 2 real mini goals and the gym is a nice rectangle, perfect for soccer.

One of my concerns is the pace of our passes and this year slow passes will be intercepted every time.

Tonight I worked to set the stage of everything else so the quick-early-accurate pass was the only option.

We started with a short run (12 laps around gym, last guy sprinting to front the whole time).  We then used the agility ladders for 10 minutes going through various exercises.

For 20 minutes we worked on turns in a group, one ball per player.

I set the boys in to play 4v4+GK on the gym floor.  I let them play for about 5 minutes, letting get the feel of the field size.  They quickly adapted and their turns came into play in full force as they tried to keep possession.

A few minutes later we  spoke of the importance of entering a 1v1 challenge to win.  With the ball, you look to beat the player or turn and keep possession.  As a defender you are looking to get on the player quickly, look to intercept and be FIRST to the ball.

So, the floor was setup, 4v4, players were adapting to space and using their turns and I turned up the heat for 1v1 play.

Now, we quickly reviewed what I wanted to see for Quick-Early-Accurate passing:

• Pace on the ball to avoid interception (quick)
• Pass when the pass it on (early)
• Pass on target to teammate has time on the ball (accurate)
• Turning on the first touch after a turn (no dribbling backward)
• Support play of teammates

From a technical point of view:

• Ankle locked
• Hitting the right part of the ball with the right part of the foot
• See the target then look at the ball when striking
• Pace/direction of the pass
• Balance so you can run after the pass

I felt the game went very well and there was a new appreciation for the quicker pass.  The boys are faster so intercepted passes are more evident on slow passes.

I've been meaning to get 2v1 play back on the table for a few weeks but something always came up.

I came to practice in a good mood (coming directly from U8-U10 clinic) with a clear plan on paper.  The setting was good for the boys as it wasn't a 5:00 or 8:30 pm session, so they were not rushed from school or tired at night.  The facility was perfect for what we wanted to do.

I got a bit short with a few boys who were speaking while I was giving direction but for the the players were there to work and play. 

Coach Paul was unavailable tonight so I was by myself.  That was not good from an organizational point of view.  One of the brother gathered balls for us but that left me to coach the entire group the entire time.  With another adult coach we could throw different voices at them with the same message.  Next time I will have to make use of one of our parents.

Our next session is Tuesday together with the other U13 group, so we will probably do a large group individual skills session of some kind then get them playing.  I will have to speak to Coach John before training.