Since I didn’t have a podcast last week I have to catch you up on what I’ve been up to. Two weeks ago I had my last outdoor tournament of the fall. Two teams played in the tournament and it was a great way to wrap up the season. I go into all of the details about the weekend in the episode.

We had our first two weeks of futsal training sessions in the last two weeks. Moving indoors changes our focus a bit because we don’t have the space to run the Play – Practice – Play sessions that we’ve been doing all fall. There are also different skills involved in the game that I need to get the players up to speed on so we’ve been combining a couple of different activities together so that we can get off to a good start to the futsal season.

One of my teams is also training outdoors each week whenever the weather is warm enough. Listen to the episode to hear what those sessions look like.

Today’s question comes from Greg. He’s asking about preparing for the transition to 11v11.

”I’m currently helping out with my daughters 08’ U12 travel team. I come from a hockey coaching background so I’m still learning the soccer culture etc..

A big topic of discussion these days is how to prepare for the transition to 11v11 during the Spring season. My coaching instincts say to focus on 9v9 Spring and prepare for the transition after the season. Specifically, are there benefits to playing in 11 v 11 tournaments or begin using size 5 ball during the Spring?

I’ve heard many different ideas from many different coaches so I was interested to hear what you had to say.

Thanks for your question Greg!

This is always an interesting topic. I think we are usually in too much of a hurry to move on to the next step rather than focusing on where we are. That goes for me too!

I moved my 2008’s up to play U13 this fall for several different reasons. We’re going to play U13 again next spring but we’ll play 9v9 tournaments because our Jr. State Cup is played as a 9v9 event.

I’ve talked about this topic on the podcast in the past (#99 Playing Up). There are so many factors involved in deciding if it’s the right thing for your team. Have a listen to that episode and let me know if you have any questions after that.

In this Episode

Attending coaching courses is the best way to stay up to date with the current trends and best practices for coaching youth soccer. Today I’ll share my coaching education journey, what you can expect if you attend a course and tell you why I think now may be the best time ever to start attending courses if you haven’t done so in the past.

Future Episodes

I’ve got an interview lined up with a coach for next week to talk about how he uses technology to compliment his coaching. This is a topic I’ve wanted to cover for a while so I’m looking forward to bringing that conversation to you next week.

With only one game last weekend it left me with a lot of time on my hands. Saturday consisted of work around the house to get it ready for the winter (which seems to have started already!).

My game on Sunday was at 8 am but first I decided to get up early and watch the Rugby World Cup Semi-Final between Wales and South Africa. That started at 4 am my time. I love watching the knockout rounds of just about any sport. The intensity and drama are something that you don’t get anywhere else in life. South Africa came out on top (a pity for my Welsh friends) and then it was time to get ready for my last league game.

It was a really cold morning so the focus was on getting the players warmed up and ready from the start. The girls played great and finished off the season on a very good note.

With the rest of the day in front of me settled in to watch the Liverpool – Tottenham game. As  Tottenham fan I didn’t have high expectations for the game. An very early goal (45 seconds!) made the game more interesting but you could see the momentum shifting going into halftime.

I got a text from my sister that her twin boys were playing in a tournament final at 1 pm so I decided to go to the game since I don’t often get to sit on the parent’s side for a game. Once the game started I remembered why I don’t sit on the parent’s side. I describe the whole experience on the podcast so you’ll have to listen for the details.

The State Cup Finals for high school age girls was on Monday. I decided to go to watch two of our teams that were in the final at the same time. The interesting details are in this episode.

Today’s question comes from Lisa. She’s asking about parents coaching from the sidelines.

Lisa says,

”My 2008 girls team has been playing together for a year now and they are really starting to come together. I want to brag a bit on them and their hard work. The team spent the Spring season winning only one game. They had a great late Spring tournament in regards to playing but still lost. This Fall they have come out playing so much better mentally, technically and tactically.

This past weekend they competed in a tournament that we did last year in which we lost every games by a goal difference of 4 or more goals. This year were they won every game and competed in the Championship game losing 2-1 in the last 30 seconds of the game.

Even though the girls are doing better, the parents….not so much. I received complaints of parents coaching from the sidelines and the girls are asking to not be on the parent side of the field. I had complaints of parents making derogatory comments about other players. I recently had a parent coaching their daughter from the sidelines as an attacker was coming down the field which made my player pay attention to the parent vs the game which allowed the attacker to score. I really need to have a conversation with them but not sure how strong to come across. Another coach recommend that I give the parents a list of things they can’t say (shoot, pass, move, kick it), and make all parents sit together on the sideline to monitor each other. I want to make the point that this behavior is not acceptable or helpful but I don’t want to come across as my way or the highway as other coaches suggested. How would you handle the situation, how forceful would you address it? “

Thanks for your question Lisa!

You should be very proud of the progress the team has made.

How you respond depends somewhat on the expectations you set for the parents before the season. Addressing this issue in the preseason meeting is your first chance to set the tone. If you had that conversation you can address the issue in an email and then call a parent’s only meeting if nothing changes. If you didn’t set the table for this before the season then I would suggest a meeting where you can talk about your expectations going forward.

The guidelines you set are up to you but I suggest that you ask that they support the team by cheering for the players but not trying to direct them. The should praise things that already happened and not tell them what they should do next.

Let them know that when they coach from the sideline it has a negative impact on the players individually and the team as a whole. Going forward you’re going to hold them accountable for staying in their role as a parent and allow you to be the coach.

You may have to have individual conversations as things happen but hopefully the team meeting will get you off to the right start.

SenseBall is the training soccer ball developed by CogiTraining, the revolutionary soccer training method implemented in soccer clubs and Federations around the world.

SenseBall is specifically aimed at young players between 6 and 20 years of age. Practiced individually or in groups, SenseBall improves a players touch and feel for the ball while helping them to become two-footed.

As a coach, encouraging your players to practice with the SenseBall in training or at home will bring them many benefits.

There are special discounted prices for orders of 10 or more! Shipping is FREE.

Get SenseBall now by going to senseball.com and become a better soccer coach!

In this Episode

Not so long ago just about every coach was a mom or a dad of a player on the team. Now, most coaches of competitive teams are paid, professional coaches. That shift has happened to a far greater degree in soccer than in any other sport I’m familiar with.

Today I want to talk about the positives and negatives of coaching your own kids and how you can decide if it’s the best thing for you, your child and the team.

Future Episodes

I won’t have a podcast next week because I’m starting the US Soccer Grassroots Instructor Course on Thursday. I’ll be back the following week with a report on how it went along with details on the start of the indoor season here in the Midwest.

Last weekend was a busy one; I had six games between my four teams. The results were 3-2-1. The interesting thing was that the teams were 1-1-1 on Sunday and I LOVED the performance of my teams in every game. My approach was different with each group but I think it really matched with what they needed on the day a struck a balance between too much direction and not enough. Realizing that the balance needed by each team will be different and that sometimes even different for one team from one game to the next has been an interesting insight that I’ve come to after reflecting on each game.

This weekend I just have one game. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with myself although I’m sure my ‘Honey, do….’ list will fill my extra time.

The following weekend I have two teams playing their last tournament of the fall. That will be fun because one team is playing up that doesn’t usually and the other team usually plays up but isn’t for this tournament.

That will wrap up my fall schedule and then it’s time for FUTSAL!

Today’s question comes from Mike. He’s asking about teams building out of the back.

”My question for you deals with your experience in seeing other teams in your area build out of the back. I know this is something you try to do with your teams, but do you see many other teams in your area doing the same?

So, is my experience here unique, or are you seeing this in your area as well? I was really hoping that most youth teams in the U.S. had evolved past this detrimental practice.

Thanks for sharing your perspective on this.“

Thanks for your question Mike!

I’m glad you enjoy the podcast and find it interesting.

Some teams do build from the back while others continue to just punt it up the field. There are a lot more teams trying to build that there were a couple of years ago so I consider that a good sign. I also see more young teams trying to keep the ball. As those players will have grown playing possession from the back my hope is that it will become the norm.

The older the team, the more likely they are to simply punt it up the field (in general).

In this Episode

Back in episode #144 I discussed starting practice with a small-sided game. At the time, this was my understanding of Play – Practice – Play. Since then I’ve learned much more about it having taken several of the online Grassroots courses. I’ve also been using the methodology with my own teams. Today I’ll review how my understanding of PPP has evolved as well as the strengths and limitations of the method.

Future Episodes

I don’t have a plan for next week. I have a couple of ideas. Let me know if somethings on your mind and I’ll add it to my list.

Thanks to an email from listener Kevin I discovered how to allow iTunes to include up to 300 podcast episodes in the feed. I’ve made that adjustment so we have a couple of years before we have to worry about older episodes dropping off of the feed. Thanks Kevin!

I don’t usually use guest players for my teams unless we’re very short on players. This weekend one of my teams really need a couple of guests because of illnesses but none were available to we had to play a little shorthanded. I talk about this issue in the episode.

I’ve been thinking about the benefits of losing in the last couple of weeks. My teams have taken some difficult losses and I actually see them as long term positive experiences. I share more in the episode.

Today’s question comes from Ivan. He’s asking about the role of the warm-up in Play Practice Play.

Ivan says,

”I’ve recently implemented the Play-Practice-Play model in my training session, but I have a question. I usually do a two phase warm up and then enter the play-practice-play segment, but many of the resources I found online, including US Soccer, state that you should literally start training with small sided games as they players arrive at practice.

So if only four players are there, play 2v2 while the others arrive. My question is, where do we fit in the warm up and how do you have players start playing a game without a warm up without risking injury. Where does the warm up reside in this model?

It’s hard to find any information online, so if you can please shed some light on what you do, that would be greatly appreciated.“

Thanks for your question Ivan!

The focus of the PPP model is on young players. The thought is that the best way for them to warm-up is to move and play. They don’t need a specific warm-up phase to prepare to play or for injury prevention.

The Warm-up, Orientation, Learning, Implementation model or WOLI is geared toward older players. There is a dedicated warm-up phase in that methodology. I haven’t used that method so I wouldn’t have much to offer beyond that.

If you feel that it’s important to add a warm-up then I suggest that you add it once all of your players have arrived. So they would start to play when they arrive and then warm-up when everyone gets there before moving into the rest of the session.

In this Episode

This week I’m talking with Gareth Hughes of Challenge Sports about overseas tours.

Future Episodes

Next week I’ll have an update on my experience with Play-Practice-Play this fall; what’s going well, what needs improvement and what I’ve learned.

I followed up the out of town tournament two weeks ago with an in-town tournament last weekend with two different teams. One team played their own age group and the other was playing up. They both faced some good competition and didn’t end up making the finals but they both had great experiences that will definitely help them continue to develop and build on a great start to the year. I talk more about their experience in the episode.

There’s a Grassroots Instructors Course that’s being conducted and I just found out that I’ve been given a spot. The pre-course webinar was today and I’ve had a look at the curriculum, assignments and course material. It’s going to be a challenging course but I’m convinced that it’ll be a great learning opportunity that will allow me to introduce the US Soccer Grassroots In-Person courses to the coaches in our club and around the area. You’re sure to hear about the course and my experience a lot in the coming months.

Today’s question comes from Matt. He’s asking about the attention and focus of his team.

Matt says,

”My team has difficulty paying attention. I think this is for many reasons: 1) them as kids 2) me asking them over the years for input so they believe they can add in questions/comments at any time, 3) me and my scattered feedback (though I think the activities are really organized) and 4) the play practice play approach. I think 4 and maybe even 1 are copouts and I am doing something else wrong.

I specifically struggle with drills/games/activities that are complex. We are a rec team and despite being together for years they have a lot of other priorities in life and soccer is only one of them. In fact, I have gotten the feedback, “we don’t like to think. I just want to play.” Any advice for a team that may not be the team you optimally talk about? “

Thanks for your question Matt!

If it makes you feel better, my teams have difficulty paying attention at times. If not the whole team, at least certain players. They’re not always the same players.

You didn’t mention the age of the team but you did say that you’ve been coaching them for a number of years. The amount and quality of their attention will be a function of their age and level of play. A recreational team is not going to be (in general) as attentive as a competitive team. Their motivations are different so their level of attention will be different

How do you think the Play Practice Play (PPP) methodology is impacting their ability to pay attention? Do you use PPP at every session?

After your next session reflect on what went well, what could have gone better (specifically, the times that the players were not paying attention) and whether or not you were able to achieve your objectives for the session. You might consider having another coach watch your session and give you feedback on what they see.

It sounds like you’re doing the right things. If you’ve been coaching the girls since U8 or U9 it may be time for them to have another coach. I think a coach can be most effective with a group for two or three years. It’s the same as trying to teach the same group of kids from kindergarten through 3rd or 4th grade. You’d never want a teacher to do that and I think it’s the same for coaching.

SenseBall is the training soccer ball developed by CogiTraining, the revolutionary soccer training method implemented in soccer clubs and Federations around the world.

SenseBall is specifically aimed at young players between 6 and 20 years of age. Practiced individually or in groups, SenseBall improves a players touch and feel for the ball while helping them to become two-footed.

As a coach, encouraging your players to practice with the SenseBall in training or at home will bring them many benefits.

There are special discounted prices for orders of 10 or more! Shipping is FREE.

Get SenseBall now by going to senseball.com and become a better soccer coach!

In this Episode

A common question I hear from both coaches and parents is, “How do I get my daughter or my team to be more aggressive?” Nobody wants their kids out there punching the opponent or dragging them to the ground. What they’re really asking is, “How can I get my players or team to compete?”

Today I’ll discuss the strategies I’ve used the light a competitive fire under my players in order to help them find success in the game and develop to the maximum of their potential.

Future Episodes

I’ve got a couple of things that I’m working on for next week. One is an interview with a soccer tour operator and the other is an update on my experience with Play-Practice-Play this fall. I’ll have to see which one I finish first and that’s what I’ll share with you next week.

I took one team to a tournament in St. Louis last weekend. This was my first trip to St. Louis in many years. In the past they just didn’t have the same quality of fields that we could find by staying closer to home. The teams have always been very competitive but I just never wanted to play those teams on inferior fields. Now there are a number of good turf field complexes in St. Louis so I’m sure to be traveling that direction more in the future.

We had some good games that provided worthwhile learning experiences. I describe how they all went in this episode.

Today’s question comes from Nick. He’s asking how he can train his players to talk more on the field.

Nick says,

”Hi, Tom was wondering what tips and drills you have for helping the girls communicate better on the pitch. Some of my teams games are like a library nobody talking!“

Thanks for your question Nick!

This is such a common issue. There are a couple of things that I’ve done to get the players to talking more. During our game at the end of practice we play for five minutes when no one, including me, is allowed to talk or make any noise. Then we play for 5 minutes where they’re not allowed to receive a pass unless they’ve called for it. These restrictions are designed to point out the importance of communicating on the field. I also encourage the players to talk as a part of any activity we do in training. This is a long term process but I have noticing that this leads to the girls becoming more comfortable talking on the field.

The very best way to get the players to talk on the field is to stop talking while they are playing. I’ve talked about this a couple of times on the podcast recently. The players will talk more if we don’t do it for them. It’s not always easy to do but it’s important to make the players responsible for communicating. I’ve told my players that the only way to help their teammates is to move and talk. One doesn’t help without the other. Now all I have to say is, “How can you help?” and they respond with, “Move and Talk”.

Hopefully these ideas will help you empower your girls to communicate more on the field.

In this Episode

When you’re looking at an activity in training or the play of your team during a game you’re trying to see if the players understand what you want them to do and if they are able to do it effectively. Lastly, you ask yourself if you’re getting the desired outcome from what they’re doing.

When your players are not understanding, performing or achieving the desired outcome there are actions that you can take to help support and guide them. Today I’ll discuss the eight different tools at your disposal to positively impact the development and success of your players and team.

 Future Episodes

I don’t have anything specific planned for next week. If there’s something you’d like me to address feel free to send me an email and I’ll add it to my list of potential topics.

It was a crazy wet weekend. I know this podcast sometimes sounds like a weather report but it has such an impact on the game and my coaching that it’s an important factor. You can listen to the episode for the details.

I’m continuing to experiment with not coaching during running play. I think it’s having a very positive impact on most of my teams. However, one of the teams hasn’t reacted as well to it as the others. I talk about the details more in this episode.

Today’s question comes from Jacob. He’s asking about improving player’s decision making ability.

Jacob says,

”Something I have been thinking about a lot recently with my team is how to develop them into good decision makers and teach them to process the game and make good decisions quickly.

I read somewhere (I can’t seem to find it now) that one of the biggest differences between professional players, say playing in the championship and the premier league, is not necessarily their level of skill but it is how quickly they are able to process the game and make the right decision.

A few ways I have been trying to get my team to work on this is through a game called ‘Dutch’. I’m sure you’ve heard of it but it’s played with 3 teams. Two teams keep the ball away from the other team. Each time the defenders win it the team that lost it is then defending. Aside from getting it started I pretty much let them figure it out from there. This requires them to be constantly scanning and communicating to keep up with what is going on.

Also in any scrimmage or small sided game we do I make them decide what formation they should be in and from there ask guided questions about their formation to force them to think about why they are doing it.

Is this something you try to work on with your teams? If so do you do it with specific drills?“

Thanks for your question Jacob!

I agree that decision making is a huge difference-maker. I try to incorporate some kind of decision into every activity. That’s why the Play – Practice – Play method is so powerful; everything is game related so there’s always a long of choices to be made. I’ve also used that three team possession game with my teams.

You’re doing many of the same things that I am do to encourage the players to think about WHY they’re doing what they’re doing. There’s not one activity that I do focused on decision making. I just try to weave it into everything in training. When you’re looking at any activity you’re doing just be sure that there’s an element of decision making built in.

In this Episode

I’m never quite sure if the dimensions I’ve chosen for an activity are best for the player. I’m often just guessing. Today I’ll look at a method for determining the size of the areas you use for all of your training activities and how to decide when to adjust them.

Future Episodes

Next week I’m going to take an in depth look at the US Soccer ‘Coaching Tool’ kit and how you can use it to improve the development environment for your players.

It was another hot weekend on the soccer fields. I’m hoping that it was the last weekend we’ll have like this before we start to get some relief. I really enjoy the fall season so I’m looking forward to some cooler temps. It also makes it a lot easier on the players.

Three out of my four teams played really well. One just wasn’t up for it on Sunday. I’m not sure if it was the temperature or if they were just a bit off. That’s the great thing about coaching multiple teams, it’s easier to move on after a poor performance. That is, as long as the next team doesn’t pick up where the last one left off. Fortunately, I was able end on a good note.

Today’s question comes from Frank. He’s asking about getting young players to spread out.

Frank says,

”One thing that I constantly see working with youth teams season after season: Pee Wee, U8, etc. is a lot of kids clumping together where the ball is. Do you have any lessons and/or strategies for correcting this behavior that are effective with youth players?“

Thanks for your question Frank!

One of the most common questions I get from coaches is how to get their players to spread out.

This is a video with suggestions for how to introduce this concept to young players that I did for our club’s recreational coaches.

I hope you find this helpful. Let me know if you have any questions.

In this Episode

Today I want to look at the different types of coaches you’re bound to see if you’re around a soccer field long enough.

Future Episodes

Something that has always been difficult for me is deciding how large to make the field for small-sided game. Next week I’m going to discuss different methods for making sure the size of your field fits the goals of your session.

Last weekend I only had one game for each of my teams! It seemed like a weekend off The great part about it is that the games were spread out; one on Friday, one on Saturday and two on Sunday. Even the games on Sunday were spread out by a couple of hours so it gave me some time in between.

I’ve been trying (sometimes unsuccessfully) to only talk to the players on the field when there’s a stoppage in play. My hope is that this leaves the decision making to the players and they feel free to be creative and find their own solutions to the problems of the game. I’d like to say that I’ve always been able to stick to this rule but sometimes I haven’t been able to resist a suggestion or two. I’m going to keep working on this because I know it will help my players feel free to play autonomously and confidently.

Today’s question comes from Gregory. He’s asking about where to play right and left footed players..

Gregory says,

“I am always curious about how coaches approach right or left footed players and their idea on positioning these players. I would love to hear your approach to your players and how you would advance them as they get older.

Example: I see a lot of offensive players on the left wing that need to bring the ball inside because they are unable to cross the ball or get a shot off. Many times making this move they become predictable and often get the ball taken away. In the same context I see right backs who have their pass down the line blocked. They get turned inside and because of only being able to use their right foot they pass the ball into the middle. Just curious how you handle this with your teams.”

Thanks for your question Gregory!

I believe that young players should be exposed to playing on both sides of the field (and in the middle) regardless of which foot is their strong foot. Players will always have a preferred foot but they should be comfortable using both feet in different circumstances.

When you’re talking about placing players to optimize team performance then it becomes more complicated. Flipping the 7 and 11 is very common. You’ll also see the 2 and 3 swapped but that’s not as common.

Personally, I don’t flip my 2’s and 3’s but I do change the 7 and 11 for developmental purposes or based on game conditions.

In this Episode

Today I want to share another coaching conversation. In this episode I speak to a coach from Texas that has taken a somewhat unique approach to the challenges that he faces.

Future Episodes

Next week I’ll talk about the eight different coaches that you will encounter if you spend enough time around soccer fields.

Last weekend I took one team to Omaha for a Labor Day tournament. This is a tournament hosted by Sporting Omaha that is played on a nice complex of grass fields. When we got to our first game we discovered that it was going to be played on a field that just had turf installed. Our players were very pleasantly surprised.

We got off to a good start with a win and then came back in the afternoon to play a very physical team with one outstanding player. We were up 2-0 at halftime but they had hit the bar once and nearly score two other time. They scored two early goals in the second half and then went ahead 2-3. We came back to tie the game and then score a fourth with 8 minutes to go. Their best player got loose again with a minute to go to tie the game at 4-4.

In the morning we needed to win 2-0 to go through to the final automatically. We scored two in the second half to advance to play Sporting Omaha in the final. After a playing well in the first half we conceded a goal from a mistake coming out of the back and couldn’t come back from the deficit.

It was a great weekend, four games, three of which were really challenging and a 2nd place finish.

SenseBall is the training soccer ball developed by CogiTraining, the revolutionary soccer training method implemented in soccer clubs and Federations around the world.

SenseBall is specifically aimed at young players between 6 and 20 years of age. Practiced individually or in groups, SenseBall improves a players touch and feel for the ball while helping them to become two-footed.

As a coach, encouraging your players to practice with the SenseBall in training or at home will bring them many benefits.

There are special discounted prices for orders of 10 or more! Shipping is FREE.

Get SenseBall now by going to senseball.com and become a better soccer coach!

Today’s question comes from Tim. He’s asking about the revision to the Law governing goal kicks.

Tim says,

”Last year we spent a lot of time on Goal Kicks so that we weren’t destroyed by other teams stealing the ball and scoring off of them. In the end we had our two best players alternate playing a hard ball into an overload on one sideline. This “worked’ in that we stopped giving up easy goals, but we rarely made the ball up the field. When we tried playing long it was even worse. In general the other teams in our league are very aggressive about crowding the box during Goal Kicks.

My instinct is to play a short pass from the Goalie to one of the defenders, and try to dribble out. Is this a good idea? Or should we do something different? I am open to all ideas. “

Thanks for your question Tim!

I just did a video for this on the WCC YouTube channel. Here’s a link to it. This is the way I’m organizing goal kicks for my teams. They’re going to make mistakes and give the ball away at times but trying to play out from the back is the only way they’ll ever learn to do it.

In this Episode

We’ve been using the Session Template software to create diagrams for our website, blogs, books and YouTube videos. I thought it would be interesting to find out more about the background of the folks behind the software, how it was developed and what they have planned for the future.

Make sure you check out the Session Template software from Academy Soccer Coach.

Future Episodes

Tomorrow I’m talking with a Director of Coaching that’s doing some innovative things in his club. He sent me an email with an outline of some of the ideas and I thought other coaches might benefit from hearing a different perspective on the role of leagues, tournaments and ‘friendlies’ in player development.