The genius of LTPD ... easier and better coaching.

I have a fear.  My fear is that new coaches are nervous, but do not take advantage of the incredible information that's out there to help them calm down and deliver a quality program.

LTPD has proven to be a very rare philosophy that is simultaneously easier to understand and provides better results. In this age of technology, we equate better with more complicated.  Not always true.

I can tell you, with modesty firmly in place, that I am confident that I can design and deliver a session for any team at any level, male or female.  In fact, a lot of my friend are.  But I find LTPD to be a very useful and valuable tool in my planning and delivery.

My main justification for using LTPD?  I have a lot of experience and formal coaching training.   But LTPD was developed by people far more experienced and educated than me.  I would be a fool to not embrace it and appreciate and evaluate it's ability to improve soccer in Canada.  Over time I may develop some opinions of it's effectiveness and contribute to its development, but for now I'm enjoying it.

I've written session plans for some coaches and they literally ask "that's it?"

My inspiration for this stems from the many conversations I have had with coaches who say they are not sure what to do at training, yet ignore the mountain of very focused information that has been printed, mailed, emailed, verbally conveyed and visually demonstrated to/for them.  They want to do it "their way".  That would be OK if they had a "way".  One thing I learned as I progressed through the coaching ranks ... there is no glory in re-inventing the wheel.  My reward comes in my delivery, rapport with players and ability to observe and correct (or cheer). 

What you get from LTPD.

Better knowledge of characteristics of the player.

With the help of LTPD info and info from courses, you have deeper insight into the player you are working with.  Characteristics include physical, tactical, technical, mental, social, and psychological .


Considerations for training session

If we know who we are working with, then we know what would be better and more appealing to them in terms of session content.  LTPD information offers coaches more suggestions for session considerations.

Age appropriate activities

I've seen coaches trying to run U16 level sequences with U8 players, and vice-versa.  Age appropriate doesn't mean dumbing-down a session.  It means establishing a challenge level

that still gives a player a mountain to conquer, but able to see successes along to way to build confidence.

Knowing the LTPD information offered about the development stage you are coaching puts you in the right frame of mind to deliver the session effectively to the athlete you are working with.

Session/season organization.

LTPD information gives coaches guidelines/suggestions for how much time to spend various areas of focus.

You also have guidelines on the type of schedule you should keep  and length of the program.

And now, as the icing on the LTPD cake, Ontario Soccer has just released the Provincial Grassroots Curriculum , a quality document that comes to the aid of the entire soccer community.

Other coaches' experiences

LTPD was developed by very experienced and educated coaches and educators.  Why not put their own growing pains to work for you?

"In this age of technology, we equate better with more complicated.  Not always true."

As an experienced coach:

LTPD reminds you to consider developing a more player-centred session plan and tailor your delivery to maximize the time you spend with your players.  Even if you are an academy coach or club technical director, you need to remember to reset your expectations and delivery from session to session if you work with different groups. The framework has also made it easier to train other coaches by keeping sessions simple and focused.

As a beginner coach:

You're nervous and have the same question as many other new coaches "What do I do during practice?".  OK.  Let's talk ..... you're coaching U8 girls .... you played soccer yourself up till U18 ... you are one girl's father and somebody else's mother is helping you ... she has no soccer experience but is very active ... you and your assistant refer to your LTPD information for "Learn to Train" development stage.  Hmmm .... you now have an idea of what they are capable of, physically, mentally, socially, psychologically, etc ... you know a L2T session suggests 15% warm-up, 50% small sided games, 30% soccer technique and 5% cool down.

OK.

Your assistant leads them through a dynamic warm-up and you transition that into a few warm-up exercises with the ball. 

You get them into a small sided game, after letting them play, you add a condition where they must pass the ball 3x before scoring.

You stop the game and have them play 4v1, 4v2, 5v2, etc keepaway within a grid.  You give them ideas that you are comfortable giving, but let them solve the problem before them.  You and your partner have a group each and you switch so you can both see them all.

You get them back into a game and see if they are able to keep possession a bit better.  Yes?  Great.  No?  Maybe reintroduce your game condition of 3 passes or back into the keep-away for a bit and mix up the groups, then back to the game.

After wrapping that up, your partner leads them through a cool down.

You go home.

"LTPD was developed by people far more experienced and educated than me."

The LTPD info (available at NO CHARGE) laid out the warm-up, game, technique and cool down scenario.  You used the curriculum and Internet to find some ideas for each section.

Your practice is done. Your girls played a lot of soccer, had some problems to solve on the field and maybe even squirted you with their water bottle.  You, my friend, just delivered a very decent session.  More experience will help you offer more information and be more comfortable in your delivery.

Using LTPD's information relieved you of some of the stress surrounding the content of your session.

If I brought my young son to a session and you delivered the content I just presented, I would be happy.  And they got to play so, more importantly, my son was able to play some soccer.

This is the genius of LTPD that some people are not open to seeing.  Your sessions are easier to deliver, yet content of the session will contribute more to your players' development.

I've written session plans for some coaches and they literally ask "that's it?".  Yes.  That's it.  I think they're disappointed because they're expecting a 1000 cones and 40 drills.

Simply put, coaching in accordance with LTPD works.

If you have more questions, consult your club's technical director or any friends that you have who are more experienced coaches. 

U8 Boys Grassroots soccer - Week 2 - Rain stayed away!

This week we continued our club's U8 program.  Last week we had 44 players and today I was expecting 60.  I plan for 10 and am ready for 90.  It rained most of the day here and I guess people assumed we were cancelled.  We ended up with 18 players.  For the record ... it didn't rain at all during the session.

Please know that almost all of my sessions this year have been structured using LTPD as a guideline.  Even as an experienced coach, LTPD's structure makes a session even better and puts you in the right frame of mind.

I arrived early and set up 3 of the stations I had planned.  When I saw the number we had, I just decided to run the entire session as a group.  The plan was to run 4-6 stations depending on numbers.

Before I get into the session I will declare, with great enthusiasm, that I was VERY happy with how our session went.  Helping tonight were Coach Melissa (U8 convenor), Coach Scott and Coach Mirko.

"All were able to execute at 1v1 but not all during 4v4.  Does that not oblige us to show more patience?"

My goal for the session was over-exposure to the ball and manipulating it in different situations.  One ball per 1/2 players at each station was important.

Organization.

• 4 mini fields with 4x8 goals.
• Lots of balls, pinnies and cones

Is there a place for you under LTPD?

With all the new documentation being released and information sessions being delivered across the province, it's plain to see LTPD is here in full force, everywhere.

But where does that leave everybody?  There is a feeling among some people that LTPD is for the "experts" to deliver and everybody else to sit back and enjoy.

Ummmm ....  I don't think that's correct. In fact, I know it's not correct.

The first thing you need to remember is that you don't have to be an experienced athlete to positively contribute to a soccer club.

With LTPD soccer will need even more people.

• Smaller teams = more teams = more grassroots/parent coaches
• More teams = more games/week = more officials/conveners/facilitators/etc
  
• More teams = more sponsors = people for community outreach 
• More GrassRoots soccer = more festivals = you know what .... people
• More information = more communication = more questions = people to understand and answer questions at the club level
• Different size fields and goals = new goals = $$$ = people to locate/arrange/raise funding

"I am a soccer player". All the ID a youth player needs.

During our FIFA Grassroots course, two grade 5 classes came from local schools on the Friday to play in 4 rotating small-sided-games.  There was one child who had some solid skills.  I ask him if he played soccer and he said "yes".  I asked which club and he said "No club, I play at school". I am guessing he meant at recess, lunch, before and after school, gym, etc.

Is he still a soccer player?   He sure is.  He is as much a soccer player as Lionel Messi and Dwayne DeRosario.

Moving forward, what is written here applies to EVERY sport.  I hope you agree.

This weekend I spent my time:

• Delivering my nephew's U11 session.
• Walking the fields (with my dog) watching the U8 boys house league players who come to our Thursday sessions.
• Delivering my son's U18 session.
• Watching my son's U14 friendly.
• Personally delivering a very positive social media comment to our U12 girls team. (thanks @colinscameron)
• Watching a U10 girls session (and stepping in briefly).

At all of kids at all of these stops were soccer players.  Boys, girls, different leagues, ages 

My Utopia: Mass particpation and no cuts before U12. Grassroots sports.

I started writing this article in April 2013.  I kept rewording and reworking it so I didn't sound like a man gone mad.  I even had some honest friends read it over and they liked it, but I was still unsure to hit the "publish " button.

This past week (June 12-15) I attended the FIFA Grassroots course and confirmed that I wasn't crazy after all.

So here it is (as written on April 24, 2013).  I haven't touched it since then other than to add 2 pictures and the notes at the beginning and end.

ARTICLE

Don't call the psych hospital.  I've put a lot of time into formulating my opinion of how sports should/could be handled from U12 and younger.  And not having a team this season gives me more time to observe and refine my thoughts.

"Countless kids playing a lot of games."

I haven't lost my mind in a "Jerry Maguire" sort of way.  Ontario's adoption of LTPD, personal research, recent personal and educational experiences and good old fashioned "listening" moves me in this direction.

The grassroots festival held at the FIFA Grassroots
festival June 15, 2013

On first glance you might think I've lost my desire to compete and win.  This is not about "not winning".  This is ALL ABOUT WINNING.  But winning when it counts.  And the more kids you take on the ride (of all levels), the more that will gain confidence, the more will be able to compete for higher spots at U13 or keep playing and stay active.

It's also about giving as many kids the environment to develop their agility, balance and control and the ability to adopt another sport of their choosing later in life.  Even if they are not "good" at the sport they choose,  the system needs to be a champion for these kids.

Here goes.  :)

Sports for U12 and below, all sports.

• Lower to no cost.  Get in as many kids as possible.
• No tryouts or cuts.
• General athletics/activities for ALL children U3/U4/U5.
• For all young children in Canada, physical literacy on land/water/ice/air (running, swimming, skating, jumping)
• Proper and appropriate training and playing environments for players in the sports of their choice U6-U12.
• Full manuals for ALL coaches, written by the best coaches in co-operation with educators, at every age providing full season, age appropriate program plans.
• For children who play basketball or soccer, a BALL to take home.  :)
• Money or skill level never a barrier for entering the sport of their choice at the grassroots ages.
• All sports are all inclusive.
• In-person exposure to major or minor league professional games.
• Additional exposure for players who show interest, but all participate at set minimum levels.
• Equipment for tether-ball, small sided "street" soccer, lower basketball nets, "foot hockey" nets, game markings all over the play ground and outside of gym walls at ALL elementary schools.
• Daily, full period of phys-ed up to Grade 6 (minimum).
• Schools must be an active part of the community sports system.

The social goals are:

• Financially and organizationally healthier clubs
• Healthier kids with more confidence to make friends
• Children learning to embrace cultural diversity at younger ages
• More facilities and better playgrounds
• Have as many kids as active as possible, confidently heading into puberty and beyond
• More coaches coming out of the volunteer parent groups
• More officials
• More volunteers
• Calmer, more productive environment for development
• Better attendance at schools.
• Potentially better grades in school through physically stimulated bodies.  Read here and the bazillion other reports that back this claim.

The competitive goals are:

• Better and more confident athletes through constant exposure to various movements and sequences.
• Smarter athletes exposed to various activities and problem solving through self/guided-discovery
• Maximizing technical development through Golden Age of Learning (U8-U12)
• Have as many trained players as possible heading into U13 sports, physically and mentally ready to compete for spots on competitive teams or simply wanting to keep playing. (How many kids were at the last U13 tryouts you attended?  What if there were double that amount? Triple?)
• We don't tell a young kid in development that they aren't good enough.  We keep them involved and keep alive the chance of something clicking at some point.  At the very least they'll want to keep playing the sport into adulthood.
• Keep late bloomers in the loop so they don't quit at U9/U10 for being too small, increasing retention for your sport/club and talent pool at 13.
• Better, more confident coaches coming through GrassRoots stages.

Why today's setup is bad for development

• Losing kids too early to low confidence.
• Not enough exposure to athletic movements and problem solving.  On average, young Canadians not active enough.
• Late bloomers being relegated too early to non-participation at high levels.
• Potentially the wrong kids are playing at the U13 high levels because the wrong kids were picked at U8.
• Fewer kids competing for Elite spots at older ages.
• Players are technically proficient but not overall good/smart athletes.
• Possible standouts are excluded because of money issues earlier in life.

Why today's setup is bad for clubs/business

• Fewer kids playing past U13 at clubs = less revenue.
• Fewer families (= Voters) involved means less pressure on local government to maintain/build facilities.
• Fewer children playing now means fewer adults playing in the future.

At the very least we should/could/would end up with healthier, more energetic kids who, on average, might have higher grades. Activities must include situations where even the least athletic kids can achieve some level of success in the use of their bodies.

"Even if they are not "good" at the sport they choose,  the system needs to be a champion for these kids."

Am I looking for more coaching and structure?  No, this idea would have much less control than we have today.  We need some good, old fashioned "play time" and problem solving.  More street hockey, playground baseball and small sided soccer games.  Every physical literacy research paper backs this up.  Putting the environment in front of them and giving them the time to play is the key.

Cost?

Think about it.  There will be a cost, but how much?  How much does it cost to let kids play?  Some schools do need to update their playgrounds for games.  School is where they have no xBox or online games.  We use phys-ed for physical literacy and exposure to games, and recess for free play time.  Sports clubs get them into the habit of structured teams and planned sports outside of school hours.  Parents start to build better networks in less stressful environments.

"Schools must be an active part of the
community sports system"

Sometimes when you talk to people about this you look at you like you've lost your mind.  Maybe I have.  But I am not alone.  If you read various reports on player development, where good players came from and physical development of children, they all point in this general direction.

I'm not crazy.  Well, not 100%.  This thinking has been brewing in me for years. It started during my first coaching course (1988) when our instructor said if it was up to him we would have no travel soccer until U12.  I've watched kids play pickup soccer in Mexico, Switzerland, Holland and Italy, pickup basketball all over and God only knows how many street and frozen pond hockey games.  It picked up speed when my son went to Ridley College for Grade 5 and 6 back in 2005-2006.  All students played something every semester.  If you were not able to stick with a team, you played intramural sports at a level that was suitable for you.  It may have been intense, it may have been casual.  But it was physical, daily and mandatory.  EVERYBODY.  EVERYDAY.  Nobody died as a result.

We need more broken fence boards, more broken windows, more balls ending up on school roofs, more kids stinking from sweating at lunch time, more holes in the knees of their jeans, less adults interfering in their play time, more kids being yelled at because they played too late past sundown ...

The Ontario Soccer Association has seen the importance in this and hired a full time person to specifically lead Grassroots soccer, Manager of Grassroots Development.

Countless kids playing a lot of games.  Some kids will scrape a knee or receive an accidental black eye.  They'll be fine.  And they'll be good.

P.S.  Added June 18, 2013.  During our FIFA Grassroots course we ran 2 mini festival type of sets for kids during their school day.  On Saturday we ran a festival for 280 children on one field (see picture below).  Very little coaching.  Activities and small sided games.  The kids loved it, the parents were ecstatic and it was a lot of fun.  280 kids with a ball on their foot is never a bad thing.

Yours truly at the FIFA Grassroots course

P.P.S Added August 2013. The OSA released a Grassroots Curriculum that can be downloaded and shared.  It's a very good document.