Steve Mclaren

http://www.thesportinmind.com/videos/steve-mcclaren-what-psychological-qualities-are-needed-to-excel-in-elite-football/

NICE LITTLE DOCUMENTARY BY GUILLEM BALAGUE PRESENTER UEFA A LICENCE COACH

http://youtu.be/k2Ap4zKx9w0

PLAYING ON THE SHOULDER / FINISHING

I recently had a conversation with an ex pro in a pub of course,!!!! this pro played hundreds of games as a defender , I had played against this player many times as a  club /district /league rep player . My question to him was "what does a defender not like" ?  meaning the positional area  of an attacker the answer was as I expected " playing on the shoulder , very hard to track a players movement especially when the ball is on one side of the defender and the player is on the other side, it gets another mention here !








http://keeptheball.wordpress.com/2014/12/19/finish-positively-and-accurately-from-all-heights-and-distances/

FA YOUTH AWARD A MUST FOR COACHING 5-11 AGE GROUP

FA 'Boot Room' Editor Peter Glynn On Making Your Practice More Effective

Watch this video on thecoachingmanual.com

Introduction

Peter Glynn is the editor of The FA journal 'The Boot Room' and Editorial Manager at St George's Park. He took a little time out of his hectic schedule to talk to The Coaching Manual Editor Pavl Williams about the FA Youth Award (and how the principles can be applied to your own coaching sessions).


PW : Can you tell me a little bit about the F.A. Youth Award qualifications: Why have they been introduced?
PG : For the longer term development of players at all levels in this country it is crucial that we develop coaches that are skilled, knowledgeable and effective at working with children between the ages of 5-11. If coaches can put in place the ‘right’ things with the younger player we hope they will grow into the players of the future.
In these ‘formative’ years between the ages of 5-11, coaches have a window of opportunity to lay down a solid foundation of FUNdamental movements, skill acquisition and game understanding that can be built upon as the player grows and matures. Through the FA Youth Award Module One we want to help produce skilled coaches who understand how players learn best and who understand how to develop players that are technically efficient and good problem solvers – two key attributes in the modern and future game.
Furthermore we want to develop a coaches understanding of how to can create a supportive, secure and creative learning environment in which they can plant the seeds of a life long love affair with the game for the children they work with.
PW : How does the structure of the new qualifications differ from the traditional Level 1,2 and 3 coaching badges?
PG : The Module 1 award, introduces formative assessment (Assessment for learning) in the way of a practical session at the end of the course. In this format, it is much less of a pass or fail scenario. Instead the coach and the tutor reflect on the session following delivery and outline action points and areas of improvement in order to develop and improve the session.
PW : But there's no high-pressure pass/fail assessment?
PG : No!
PW : The emphasis of Module 1 is very much on 'Coaching The Individual'. Why is this so important?
PG : The tag line of the Module One course is that ‘Before you can teach John football, you need to know John’. Developing an understanding of the various and complex ways children learn, highlights the ineffectiveness of a ‘one size fits all’ approach to coaching players. Through work shops on ‘How players learn’, ‘Managing Mistakes’, ‘Self Esteem’, and ‘Motivation’, we aim to help coaches understand the individuals they work with better and give them some practical examples of how to develop the individuals understanding and enjoyment of the game.
PW : How might a coach use this approach in a real coaching situation?
PG : All the theories and concepts introduced in the workshop elements of the course intertwine with the practical demonstrations on the pitch. In this way the candidates get to see real examples of how the coach can begin to cater for individual needs. For example following the Motivation workshop, candidates get to experience the effect of adding ‘points systems’, ‘team talks’, ‘time limits’ and ‘individual challenges’ into their practices to observe the effect on players motivation.
PW : For me the striking feature of all the exercises in the Youth Award was that they are 'games' first and technical practice second. For coaches looking to develop their own games and session ideas, what are the key features of a 'good' practice for 5-11 year olds?
PG : Personally I feel the key features of an effective practice for 5-11 year olds are;
1) Ensure the practice is realistic to a game situation; for example do the players get an opportunity to pass, receive, dribble, tackle, shoot, make saves and make decisions like they do in a game. The children love to play in games, try and create practices which closely mimic aspects of the game, allow the children to make decisions like they do in the ‘real game’ and tailor your outcome accordingly.
2) Set appropriate challenges that motivate the whole group. For the motivation of all the players within the group, set individual goals to ensure the practice is inclusive and a challenge for all. Give opportunities for the children to solve problems.
3) Let the children think, experiment, be creative and make some of the decisions. They have more ideas than we give them credit for!
4) Inform the children you are working with of their potential. Help them feel good about themselves through building self esteem and confidence. Catch them doing something well and highlight it. Praise effort and team work as much as individual skill.
PW : What is the FA Tesco Skills programme?
PG : The FA Tesco Skills Programme is an initiative which aims to raise technical standards amongst 5-11 year olds. The three-year programme co-ordinated by The FA and funded by Tesco and the National Sports Foundation, aims to give one million children in England top-quality skills coaching by summer 2010.Throughout England, a total of 90, full time Skills coaches will focus on age appropriate football coaching and physical literacy, amongst the 5-11 age group. The FA Skills Programme works with 5-11 children in FA Tesco Skills Centres, Schools and Charter Standard Clubs.
PW : A lot of Club Coaches might be hesitant to send their junior players to a different coach. Won't it be counter-productive for players to have one set of goals at a club session and another set of goals at a Skills session?
PG : In a child’s formative years, I personally feel it is important that the young player is immersed in a variety of positive learning environments in order to help their holistic development. Learning from different coaches, interacting with other children and experiencing new environments will aid this. This is true for experiencing different sports and other learning activities.
If any coaches have comments or further questions stemming from this interview please leave a comment below and I will pass them on to Peter and get a reply for you.
You can find more of Peter's fascinating insights into the art of coaching in his Future Game column on TheFA.com.

WHY SMALL SIDED GAMES

Got told about this site on a youth module course and just discovered it again via twitter,i favour whole part whole as a training preference , start with a game 4 vs 4 (two goal/end zone /back to back goal game etc etc etc . Followed by a technical practice step overs /cuts /ball manipulation /ball control /head tennis / any thing I can find usually Coerver related .Back to another couple of small sided games focus on session topic .Others Leyton Orient academy included  start with ball manipulation at the start then SSG,S. Here's why (above ) SSGS..... IMO and a lot of others use them. My pet hate is ques of players or players standing on cones, great little video below on DIDIER !!
LOVE THIS SITE








http://www.ministry-of-football.com/how-to-set-up-a-small-sided-ga/




https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=s0lOY6ENtL0

Manchester United study - compared 4v4 to 8v8 for under 9s: The 4v4 game increased the number of passes by 135%, the number of scoring attempts by 260%, the number of 1v1 encounters by 225%, the number of dribbling skills by 280%.

Minneapolis study - compared 4v4 to 11v11 for 10 and 11 year olds: On average, each player touched the ball over 12 times more often in the 4v4 game

Bergkamp is not a fan of the way youth football in England is results-orientated. "You have to win these games, so the coach is going to manage to win the game instead of developing the player. In my opinion it should be totally the opposite

Dennis has obviously been reading the coach Blake blog!!!!




http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/oct/18/dennis-bergkamp-arsenal-british-coaching?CMP=share_btn_tw&utm_content=buffer53284&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

FOREWARD FROM A NEW BATCH OF SMALL SIDED GAMES IVE JUST BOUGHT ....LOVE THIS

PREACHING TO THE CONVERTED

There is an ongoing debate on how best to coach the next generation of football players. This manual puts

forward the case for the use of small-sided games.

In recent years, the use of the small-sided games coaching methodology has rapidly increased in popularity

across Europe and North America. However, this approach is certainly not a new one.

It’s widely held that the practice was first adopted as a structured coaching method by the Dutch Football

Association back in the 1970s under the guidance of Rinus Michels, the inspiration behind what became

known as Total Football.

The Dutch recognised the decline in street football and the damaging effect that would have on developing

players in future generations. They formulated the 4v4 method as a response and it became widely known as

“the Dutch way”.

However, in a chat with Tony Carr, Director of the West Ham United Academy (and editor of Soccer

Coach Smart Sessions), he described how when he was a player at West Ham in the 1960s the great Ron

Greenwood used small-sided games at the heart of his coaching philosophy. Greenwood produced players of

the calibre of Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters. Tony is responsible for some of the best players

in the modern English game - Cole, Ferdinand, Carrick, DeFoe, Lampard, Terry etc.

What are the key benefits of small-sided games?

SIMPLIFIES  THE CHOICES IN POCESSION PASS, DRIBBLE, SHOOT .
NO COACHING THE GAME IS THE TEACHER
SIMPLE TO SET UP
MORE PLAYER PARTICIPATION
DIFFERENT GAMES GIVE DIFFERENT PROBLEMS TO SOLVE
MORE TOUCHES OF THE BALL
MORE PASSES
MORE 1 VS 1
MORE GOALS SCORED
WHEN USED MORE GK PARTICIPATION
NO POSITIONS JUST PLAYERS
MORE PLAYER RESPONCIBILITY

For this manual I have designed 64 different small-sided games. The games are tried and tested with both

grassroots beginners and top youth players in professional academies. The games are designed to stimulate

the players and lead them down a path of learning. This manual brings the 4v4 concept into the new era and

will develop your players in a fun, player-led environment.

I really hope that you and your players enjoy these games.

With best wishes to you and your team

PHASE 1 REVIEW. FUTSAL, COACH EDUCATION , CLUB MOVE !! THINK THATS EVERYTING !

Most know but for those who don't ,most leagues operate  2 phases to enable promotion relegation , phase one goes from September to December phase 2 January to April .That allows teams who are struggling to be put down a league whilst teams that's results have been favourable to put up a league ! or that's the plan.
Why I hear you ask did two teams that we beat last year get promoted and not us then whilst we only lost one game , the simple answer is !I don't know "!!
Saying that I don't really see a massive amount of difference in the two leagues and think three or four of the teams we have played this year can do well in the division above cant remember the name of it but in old money it is Div 4 of 7 .!. For me it would be a major boost for the kids /parents and me to see progress in a kind of cosmetic sense I think in real terms progress is clear to see .I'm a great believer in coach education and "growth  mind-set" my CPD hours last year was 75 hours I only need 3 hours to retain my level 1 certificate there  was also 16 hours in there on the  Coerver youth diploma  http://www.coerver.co.uk/youthdiploma     that for some reason the FA don't recognise although Real Madrid , AC Milan , Arsenal ,the Japan football federation , Newcastle United do ! the mind boggles .One of the best ways to increase coaching knowledge is  youtube the drills, sessions on there are endless , whilst following the right coaches on twitter who post up session after session is a must .Most of the drills I use are from pro academy's and I have been lucky enough (the harder I work he luckier I get !!!) to have been invited to shadow an u/9 pro  academy coach this Thursday 5/12/14 , I just do what it says on the tin watch he or she  work see what they  do with the  players how they  talk to them what technical info they  give how much  etc etc . Again everyone wins the pro club educates a coach the coach educates the players the players get better enabling the pro club have a bigger pool of players to pick from , really isn't rocket science !.Hopefully this will continue after xmas for a few more sessions maybe a  a month but I working on that bit !My FA  level 2 coaching badge starts on 6th Feb the level 2 so im told its main focus is 18 year olds  plus, but my main reason for doing it is I can the go on to  finish my youth award 3 then  my advanced youth award UEFA B is my holy grail maybe in a couple of years but who knows I may even go further .
Futsal has been a massive success for us, bearing in mind I only started it as a BHFC BLACK training session we now have up to 30 kids attending over  2 nights Trevor will be doing Fridays with Jake and after xmas Mondays will be me and Jake once we have enough money in the futsal fund I will be looking to buy the samba Futsal goals which will enable us to host our own mini tournaments and friendlies . Adding to that LOASS who come in after us also have up to 30 kids attending there sessions be interesting to see whether  our area will start to produce better technical players over time as a result of Futsal . So its been a progressive year I think the club move was most definitely the way forward we couldn't have been made more welcome by Buckhurst Hill Fc from top to bottom the playing surfaces are superb great facilities and for me inviting us to there end of season presentation when we was banned !  from our last clubs was a real nice gesture .
So we await to see if the open top bus is required ! but I feel  the league will be stronger even if we stay put , but here's hoping .The wife is working hard on our match report books for those new this year they are a binder of reports from matches over phase one , action shots from games with a few things we have added this year , we did it last year and a few asked if we could do it again so hopefully they will be done before xmas if my wife working for 5 demanding  lawyers allows, the big Russian property tycoon will have  to wait eh!