Ultimately, the best players and coaches are in an environment that fosters thinking. Tactics are thinking, and the game without thinking is no game at all. Do yourself and your players a favor, and begin to develop players who are technically competent and comfortable thinking for themselves.

I learnt very early on the value of unopposed practice- followed by interference eg. 7 vs 2  . Followed by a small side game as a session .
 FA Youth module 2 /level 2 & the  Coerver youth diploma all enforced this,  as a perfect coaching session . Great piece below on tactics and giving players ownership of the session, my personal choice is conditioned games (the rules of the game dictate how they play) ie midfield rotation/ playing out from the back / wing play / switching play  .There are endless games out there and most are free online. Great blog below for the interested :)  
















http://thecoachingjourney.org/2015/08/23/no-tactics-until-13-nonsense/

Early specialisation ! Joe Hart talks to the Coaching Manual

England and Manchester City Goalkeeper Joe Hart talks about growing up as a goalkeeper, the training 'keepers enjoy and how outfield players treat their stopper teammates.

Introduction

England and Manchester City Goalkeeper Joe Hart recently sat down with The Coaching Manual to talk about growing up as a Goalkeeper, the training 'keepers enjoy and how outfield players treat their stopper teammates .specialisation and Goalkeeper Coaching

The Coaching Manual : "How much specialist goalkeeper training did you receive growing up?"


Joe Hart : "At my first Sunday league club I got a little bit. Luckily the guy who ran the team was a goalkeeper so he took that part quite seriously, but there's only so much specific goalkeeper training you can do.


"When I was involved at Shrewsbury Town I had [goalie training] once a week but other than that we just played football and played for the love of it rather than trying to be the best."


TCM : "So did you know early on that you wanted to specialise as a goalkeeper?"


JH : "No not at all, I played everywhere!!
"When you're a kid you just want to play football whether you're in goal or you're outfield. I just played for the love of it with no pressure, no nothing, and just tried to enjoy the game wherever I played."


TCM : "When did you specialise and really concentrate solely on playing in goal?"


JH : "I think it was around 14 [years old]. I was always playing but when I was 14 I got involved with my local club at Shrewsbury Town and I was in goal from then on. But even then I still played outfield until I was 16 for my school.


"You know what it's like, when you're young you play for ten different teams so you can mix it up!"
TCM : "Which practices do you particularly enjoy as a goalkeeper?"


JH : "I enjoy it all. As a pro we're lucky enough to have the best coaches and best players around so everything is a challenge day in and day out."
"Obviously goalkeeper training can be a bit repetitive and can get a bit boring but at the same time if you you're always trying to get better you've got to constantly be working on different things."


TCM : "So do goalkeepers have to have a different mindset to outfield players on the training field? Is your routine more structured than theirs?"
JH : "Haha yeah! There's no understanding, you know [outfield players] don't really understand what we do!"
"I think we know more or less what they're trying to do but there's no love for the goalies."
"We don't care though, we know what we're there to do and what our job is and we just have to get on with it. The differences are a big part of football and part of the fun of it."


TCM : "Do you hate any practice where strikers line up and bombard your goal with shots as much as all grassroots goalies do?"


JH : "Yes! When it's just totally unorganised and you're just getting peppered is the worst thing!"
"I can be a bit childish but I've just walked out of those ones in the past. The gloves come off! I'm not interested in that one little bit!"
The Coaching Manual spoke to Joe Hart at the opening of a clubhouse in Manchester that was part-funded by The Football Foundation. Visit here for more information about their vital investment in grassroots football facilities.
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