U12 Boys - "Can I go forward?"

Last night, I was invited by Coach Jim to run a session for the U12 boys.  I know many of these players from past clinics and our fitness sessions, but I’ve never worked with them as a team on the field.

I knew I would be back with them a few times, so I used last night as a sort of diagnostic session for me to see what to do next.  My theme was decisions after asking the question “Can I go forward?”

I started with a dribbling warm up using agility poles. Players were going around the poles with the inside and outside of their feet, both feet.

We then got into turning and passing. My focus wasn’t so much on different styles of turns, but deciding which foot to use on the turn and subsequent pass. We were also stressing the quality of the pass to the next player.

Coaching points were:

• Proper foot on turn and pass
• Head up after the turn
• Speed of the turn
• Ball passed in front of next player so they can easily move forward, dribble and turn

We then moved into a functional game:

• 50x40 area, divided in half lengthwise
• 2 teams , 6v6
• Each half had 4 of one colour and 2 of the other.  So, the 4 players in one half had their 2 teammates in the other half

The goal of the game was to connect with one of the two teammates in the other half and they had to complete a pass between them.  We were looking for the players to decide if they had an open target.  If yes: pass now.  If not: turn and pass to a supporting teammate in your half, exactly how we did it in the previous drill.

Coaching points were:

• Shape of the 4 players in their half, in possession (width, depth)
• Support position of target players in opposite half
• Quick-early-accurate passing
• First look/touch forward
• Pressure on the ball by defending team

The game was starting to work and the players were getting the hang of it.  It definitely merits revisiting during a future session.  To help the boys understand the support aspect across 4 players, I told them the player with the ball had to be the forward most player in that half of the field.  That helped a bit.

When we got into our 7v7 small game, the lesson was to look/touch forward first and look to attack.

Coaching points:

• First look/touch forward
• Ask the question "Can I go forward?"
• Make decision quickly?  Pass/dribble forward?  Pass back to support?
• Attack open space in front of you
• Patience!  If forward play is not there, that's OK.  But you had to look forward to determine that.

I learned quite a bit about this group and I know what I need to know when it comes to delivering a session.  They worked hard for me and I appreciated that.  Some of them got the points and the rest were on their way.  Some went forward no matter what the situation.

My next time with them I will practice moving the ball, back and forth, across 4 players then try the 6v6 exercise again and see if there's improvement.

One of the keys to possession is to be able to decide if you can go forward or not, and play the ball accordingly, with technical proficiency.

U17 Boys - Transition (Part 1)

This morning we had a session with the u17 boys.  It's been a long time since we had 14 boys at training.  School soccer has been busy for most of them, but slightly detrimental to the development of this group.

To be honest, I went without a plan.  :-)  I was feeling silly always having a plan only to watch it get scrapped.  I leaned on my experience, read the numbers and mood and tried to make good use of the time.  I had several ideas in mind and decided what I wanted to do while they had their own thing going.

Our situation was 14 players on a 60x40 mini pitch, 20 balls, blue and yellow pinnies and plenty of cones.  The full field was available but the club is looking to keep people off that until the last possible minute.  Understandable.

The boys had their own shoot-out going and we let them finish that.  I am not a big fan of interfering when the kids show some initiative and get their own juices going.

I decided to take a transition theme to the practice.  But, for transition, I was looking more at the mentality of staying awake during the game and reacting quickly to a change in possession.  We did not specifically work on counter attacking, etc.

We started off with 9v5 keep-away.  Very little coaching.  5 players in yellow, the rest in their grey shirts.  If the yellow team won the ball they had to complete 3 passes to get the 9 to do 5 push-ups.  Coaching points were:

• When the 9 lose the ball, to converge on the yellow to win ball back and prevent push-ups.
• When the 9 win the ball back, to re-establish their shape and use all the space.
• Stay awake.  Transition from attacking->defending and vice-versa

It went well and their hormones made it competitive.  The ball was moving quickly enough and the boys were expressing themselves through their ideas.

We then moved to a game where we set up a field of play 15x40yds, divided into 3 sections, with the middle section the smallest.  We had 3 teams (grey, blue, yellow).  The team in the middle had to prevent passes from making it from one end to the other.  A player from the middle could enter the end areas to pressure the ball.  If the team in the middle intercepted they had to immediately play the ball to the team they did not intercept from and switch places with the team that just lost the ball.  The players who just lost the ball had to move to pressure the ball in the other area and prevent a pass through.  The team that just came out of the middle had to get to their new area and be ready to play.  First team to complete 5 passes across wins.  If a ball lands in your area and you let it go out you were back in the middle and the coaches served a ball to the other end to keep the game moving and maintain the reason for staying alert.

To make the game work, we did some slight coaching for:

• Shape in the end areas to keep possession and be ready to make a pass to the other end
• Defensive shape to make the game more difficult for the passers
• Coach Loris introduced a slight progression to say passes had to be knee-high to force better passing, quicker decisions and more success for the team in the middle and more transitions

I was going to step in and fix a few things but the players were yelling and being demanding with  each other when somebody was not hurrying or alert to their new duties after a change in possession.  That was what I was looking for and we let the boys' collective venom give the game a life of it's own.  This game lasted for quite a while.

We then set them up in a mini-game (7v7).  There was very little coaching for the first part.  To turn up the heat we set up the game, golden goal, losers do 20 push-ups.  The yelling started again when players were not coming back to defend and getting forward on winning the ball back.

To finish, Coach Loris moved them to the full field to get some shooting in with our GK in goal.

On Thursday I have the boys on my own.  I will continue with transition play but apply it directly to game situations.

With this group of boys, I find myself doing very little direct coaching.  I get more success from them when I set the practice up to force my coaching points through the situation and conditions created and allow their own competitiveness to drive the session forward.  The practices must have meaning and be enjoyable because we want them to keep these kinds of numbers.

It's fun listening to them trash-talk each other about school rivalries.  I look forward to the school league play-offs heating things up.

U12 - Keep up the good work Coach Jim!

Coach Jim (Welland U12 Boys) has been doing a great job providing his boys with a multi-faceted, multi-pronged,  multi-media program delivery.  These boys hear different coaches and meet under different circumstances all the time.

Here is his team's website: http://www.wellandwizardsteamtalk.blogspot.ca/

U13 - Three games in Rochester, NY

Today our u13 boys were in Rochester , NY for three friendlies.  Our host was the Rush-Henrietta Soccer Club.  The opposition was good for our boys.  In Canada, U13 boys are born in 1999.  In the US, U13 boys are born Aug 1, 1998 to July 31, 1999, so we played some boys who were physically more mature.  For a boy born in December 1999, we had potential 16 month mismatches.  We had one game against an American U14 team, so we had potential 28 month mismatches on the field.

The age difference is the main attraction for me in going to the USA.  A little bit of hard opposition never killed anybody.  The grass was long and both teams were caught with dying passes, but that’s for a player to adjust to and pass with the proper weight on the ball.

We had a few simple things were were looking for today:

• Stretch the field by getting balls in behind defenders for wingers
• Better restarts
• Shape of midfielders 
• Pressuring the ball while defending

The quantitative results of today’s games were 2 ties (1-1 and 2-2) and a 3-0 loss to the U14s.

Our 11-man on-field organization is moving forward with good results and more confidence.

The team had some great moments on the field.  Plenty of crosses, lots of penetrating passes to wingers, combinations between teammates and more effective restarts.  And we discovered plenty of things to work on.

The main reason our restarts are having more success is Coach Paul's work with our goalkeeper.  He was struggling to hit a sold ball off the ground.  Coach Paul is spending time with him, hitting balls with no pressure and allowing more success and building confidence.

Today was a smash success in that every player had several strong moments, as well as exposed areas to improve, and we also got a chance to assess everybody again to determine the topics of the next few sessions.  We stay demanding on their intensity when pressuring the ball and stay patient in that department.  Being first to the ball and denying forward progress is our biggest weakness.

Our technical weaknesses derail a lot of possibilities (most opponents are the same) but that has also been getting better.  Proper technique allows you to worry about your decisions without worrying if you can execute.   No technique, no tactics, no chance.

But what do we do?  Our league is 11v11, since U11.  But at U11 and U12 I don’t feel a player has the tools to play full field effectively.  So what happens?  Systemically, across Ontario and Canada, we find ways to succeed, foregoing proper and patient development and arrive at the older ages lacking a complete technical package.  That’s why I support LTPD.  Our U13 kids will never feel it’s full effect, but we still work and expose the boys to as much technical work as possible.

Looking forward to our final training sessions leading to our season opener.

From the OSA: Clarifying Some Misconceptions Around LTPD

A well written article by the Chief Technical Officer of the Ontario Soccer Association, Alex Chiet.

Clarifying Some Misconceptions Around
Long-Term Player Development (LTPD)

 
While the LTPD initiative is a directive from Canadian Sport for Life and mandated by the Canadian Soccer Association, it is not something we are doing in Ontario because “we have to”.  It’s time that we change a system that needs to progress and evolve for the benefit of our youngsters in the game.

That said, as we move forward with the phased-in implementation of the Long-Term Player Development (LTPD) initiative across the province, it is important to talk openly about some of the “push-back” that we are receiving around what LTPD means.

I spoke with many of our members at the recent Soccer Conference 2012 and heard first-hand about various perceptions that some people have about LTPD.  I’ve also seen some interesting (and not always accurate) media coverage on this subject.

Let me briefly try to address some of these concerns that I’ve noted.


1) LTPD kills competition

In fact, a major newspaper article in the Globe & Mail recently used that as a headline.  While the article itself was well crafted, the “headline” was misleading from my perspective.  LTPD is not “killing competition”.  Yes, the intent is to move away at the early ages (U4 through U12) from scores and standings.  But there will still be plenty of games and lots of competition.  But before we focus on wins and losses, we first have to teach our boys and girls the basic skills so they will be in a position to compete successfully—when competition and results actually matter. So we need to focus on proper instruction, skill development and positive coaching approaches at those early “golden learning” years of learning.  Importantly, young players who want a future in the game will find there is all kinds of competition awaiting them as they mature in the game—when it makes sense to compete seriously and focus on “winning”.

For those who may not be aware, the new Ontario Player Development League (OPDL) kicks in at U13 starting in 2014.  There will be plenty of opportunity for not only great training but also intense, high-level competition.  So no, we are not “killing competition”—far from it.  But we are only introducing a focus on “winning and losing” in the later years of their development—when it makes sense for the athletes, who are our priority.


2) Young people need to learn to “win” and lose”

While this is true, we’re kidding ourselves if we think this has to be “taught” when children are 7, 8 or 9 years old.  Youngsters who are in our sport purely for fun and fitness don’t need to learn to “win” or “lose” at those young ages.  Those who aspire to play at a more serious and competitive level will need to learn about winning and losing—at some point.  The question is one of timing.  Just as we do in the academic system, for example, our young people learn the basics before we test them on complex formulas.  Kids are not taught algebra before they master arithmetic.

Academically, we have an entire youth development phase where young people are "assessed", yes, but the "system" works to ensure that they are not discouraged from continuing to move ahead with their schooling.  In fact, we consider it a major societal failure when kids drop out of school.   When that happens too much, we study and assess how we can do a better job of motivating youngsters, teaching them better and keeping them focused and in school—so it has real meaning for them.

It's the same thing with youth sports, including in soccer. When kids drop out because of pushy parents or because coaches sit kids “on the bench” in house-league because they need to "win", we lose thousands of kids every year—and we don't have to.

Again, there will be PLENTY of competition when they are ready for it and when it actually matters.  Learning to deal with winning and losing—and rejection—will come soon enough.


3) Parents aren’t happy with no games/scores, no standings

In fact, there will be games at the early ages.  But scores won’t be kept.  (Kids will know the score, of course.  It’s human nature to be competitive.  But the focus from the adults won’t be on if youngsters won or lost a game.)

Yes it will be an adjustment for some parents and coaches who live for trophies at the young ages.  But that approach has got us where we are now:  players dropping out of the sport because of senseless pressure from coaches with misplaced priorities and from parents who too often ruin the sporting experience for their own children.

The majority of youngsters who start out in sport leave because of the pressure they feel and the fact that the experience is no longer fun for them. We have to recognize this and change course.

The focus going forward will not be simply on chronological age but biological age as well.  We have to recognize that children grow and mature at different times.  It’s crucial that we place kids in the best environment for them individually and match up youngsters with others of similar abilities.


4) LTPD is only about finding players for the National team

The reality is the vast majority of youngsters who play soccer in Ontario simply want to have fun.  Those who stop playing, as I mentioned earlier, usually do so (and the research is very clear on this) because it’s no longer fun when parents and coaches criticize and take the fun out of the game. LTPD is primarily about keeping youngsters active, fit and healthy playing the world’s best sport for as long as they can.

At the same time, it will also be a tremendous boost to our overall player development system in Canada.  We have improved our coaching curriculum.  We are over-hauling our training approaches and the way we coach and identify our more elite players under LTPD.  This means we will be developing better players, and more of our aspiring youngsters will have an opportunity to be “identified” and developed if they have the passion to have a future in the game.  This can mean playing at a high level, including scholarship possibilities, international opportunities or representing Canada on our Canadian national team.

So in reality LTPD helps the youngster who primarily wants to have fun and stay active but also is a huge benefit to those who aspire for more.  Neither “stream” is more important than the other.  This is why the Long-Term Player Development document from the Canadian Soccer Association is titled “Wellness to World Cup”.


5) What are the details of the OSA’s Club Development Plan?

We provided an overview of the Club Development Plan at the recent Soccer Conference 2012.  For those who were not on hand, we are developing the non-financial support program and resources needed to help Clubs who are looking to meet the different standard levels under LTPD criteria.

We want to be in a position to enable those Clubs striving to provide the very best training programs at the recreational and competitive levels to be able to reach their goals within the new player development pathway.  Importantly, individual Clubs will have the choice to determine where they fit, and whether or not they want to focus on a grassroots orientation or might also want to offer even more.

Whatever decisions Clubs make, The OSA will work to support you and your goals, and try to ensure that you not only keep youngsters in the sport but also build even more interest in your local community.


6) Why are Clubs being pushed to have more coaches certified?

While volunteer parent coaches can provide a valuable service to soccer, it has become apparent that if we are to really progress as a sport at the Club level, in terms of how we train and develop players, we need to enhance how we coach the game at all stages of the sport.

While there are many fine coaches in the system that do not have their coaching certification, we still need to set a higher bar in terms of what we expect from coaches.  The new Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) coaching curriculum is outstanding.  Any coach, no matter how experienced, will benefit by being exposed to the learning tools available.

Our knowledge of the game is always evolving and we must stay current.  These coaching programs will increase our coaches’ ability to work effectively with boys and girls at all stages in their development, from Active Starts and FUNdamentals to the Soccer for Life and Train to Win stages.

Starting in 2014, coaches who wish to participate in the OPDL must have their Canadian National “B” license.  Coaching courses are being added to help enable our coaches, if necessary, to meet certain standards in order to reach the level of certification they want to.

LTPD is very much about improving how we develop our young players in Ontario.  But is also designed to help our coaches and referees improve and reach the levels they want to reach as well.


7) What if Clubs can’t reach the new standards established under LTPD to gain acceptance into the new Ontario Player Development League?

First, one of the critical elements of LTPD is that we simply had to move away from the notion of promotion and relegation in Ontario.  It is killing the game.  Too many coaches were constantly poaching the biggest, oldest (those born early in the calendar year) and fastest players to play “kick and run” so they could win games and get “promoted” to the next level.  It has not been an effective way to coach and administer soccer and that system lasted far too long in Ontario.

Now, LTPD will have a standards-based focus. That is, Clubs will decide where they “fit” in the new player pathway.  Some Clubs may want to focus on doing a great job at the recreational level, at the young ages.  Others may want to build on that good work and provide programs further along the development pathway.  If so, they can take the required steps to ensure they have, for example, enough qualified coaches, provide the appropriate training environment and practice to games ratio to meet the new standards established under LTPD.

No longer constrained by the promotion and relegation system, the OPDL is open to every Club that meets the standards.  That said, not every Club may choose to go in that direction, and may instead focus on other player development or program priorities


8) How can Clubs afford to join the new Ontario Player Development League?

Just as before, Clubs will need to prioritize how they invest their revenues and resources.  Many Clubs now don’t participate, because of cost and other issues, in the Ontario Youth Soccer League (OYSL).  They prefer to play local competition and focus, for example, on taking their teams to U.S. tournaments.  That is always going to be the Club’s choice.

This, in part, is why we are giving Clubs a two-year window to plan and make decisions accordingly.  A Club may not be “ready” to join the OPDL in 2014, but may be in a position to join in later years.  That can be accommodated.

Final application packages and information regarding the standards will be available for prospective OPDL clubs in early January 2013. OSA will release further information to assist and support clubs in making this transition later this year.


9) Where do Referees fit in LTPD?

Referees have a huge role to play in the new player pathway.  A huge component of our “Respect in Soccer” initiative has to do with ensuring that our referees—at all levels—are treated with the respect they deserve on and off the pitch.

Implementing LTPD is a significant task, and over time, we will be able to respond with more specifics when it comes to referee development.  But we want to assure our referees that we value their efforts tremendously and that referee development is a key component of the LTPD philosophy.


10) Why are we doing this now?

In reality, this is a step that should have been taken long ago.  As I’ve written many times before, this approach to developing players is so common in most of the world there is no “name” for it; it’s just the way things are done.

For those that don’t have the time to review the vast amount of research that is widely available, or the countless articles from high-level international soccer people pleading for us to take this approach, then I invite you to watch the video we just released at the Soccer ’12 Conference .  Listen to what some of the best Canadian players, including Diana Matheson of our Women’s National team and current Major League Soccer MVP and Canadian National player Dwayne De Rosario have to say.  They are imploring Ontario to follow this approach.  They both stress that they wish they had this opportunity when they were young players.

Our current player pathway is so fundamentally flawed that it’s sad—because the players are missing out.  We now know we can do better and we can’t wait any longer to do the right thing.  Yes, it will be an adjustment, but only for a while.  Some Districts and Clubs are already in the early stages of implementing LTPD and the response from the vast majority of parents is overwhelmingly supportive.  Parents are seeing first-hand why this is being done and can better appreciate the values that this approach inspires.  Importantly, the feedback our coaches and Clubs are getting from the children is absolutely positive.

And from a practical perspective, we will be developing much better soccer players—and athletes—down the road.  This is not a short-term fix.  It’s a long-term process.  We have a window between now and 2020 to turn the ship around.  But we can’t delay.

Going forward

In Ontario soccer, our focus will be on skills development at the crucial young ages.  Once our boys and girls have developed the skills they need, then it makes sense to learn how to train properly and then to start competing at a serious level.  At that point scores will be kept.  Players will indeed win and lose while learning all those valuable life skills that come through dealing with success and disappointment.

It is important for everyone to understand that LTPD is based not only on extensive research from the soccer community (research conducted by “real” soccer people, not only “academics”) but on the science around how and why youngsters develop as they do.  We need to understand not just the obvious chronological age of our youngsters, but their biological realities as well.  With science, research—and common sense—as our guide, we need to acknowledge that children mature physically at vastly different rates.  LTPD recognizes this important reality.

Way more important than whether they win or lose a game at the age of 9 or 10, is making sure we give our young players the skills they need to play the game properly, to be creative, to try things on the field of play and to make what adults might consider “mistakes” without fear of criticism.  Because if we put so much unnecessary pressure on our kids, we can kill the love that youngsters have for the game at an early age.  We will make them afraid to try things because they might make a “mistake” and “lose the game”.  It’s simply a bad way to teach our young people.  If we keep failing in this regard, we will be “losing” way more than a game.

People forget that, more than 20 years ago, parents and youth coaches were aghast at the idea of “small-sided” games in our sport.  “This isn’t soccer” was the cry.  Now, small-sided games are universally embraced as natural and a huge element in developing players with vision, foot skills and a sense of the game.  Now, it’s commonplace.

That’s how we will look at LTPD in ten years.

As we receive more questions from you, we will endeavor to respond on the LTPD section of the OSA web site.  Please use the following e-mail to contact us with regard to LTPD: LTPDquestions@soccer.on.ca

Thank you for your continued support.
 
Alex Chiet
OSA Chief Technical Officer