and
FineSoccer Drill 164
Here is an activity that works on training the outside backs to get into the attack while also maintaining numbers up situations in back.
This activity is best using half a 1/2 of a full sized field (60 x 72) with the field broken into thirds and a square in the middle. Assuming you play a 4-4-2 have 4 players in the back 1/3, 2 in the middle square and 2 in the attacking 1/3 for each team. See diagram below for set up
The rules in this game are simple. No one other than
the 4 midfielders can go into the middle square. If the X's have the ball,
one of the backs for the X's may attack down the side and one of the backs
for O's can defend down the side. The diagram below shows how the players
will shift in this situation
There will be a tendency for the other outside back to want to go forward also since there is so much space to attack on the opposite side but the first part of this activity works on always making sure there are numbers back on defense (since there are 2 attacking O's there have to be 3 defending X's). If the outside back on the other side decides to attack as well, the X's are left with a 2 v 2 situation in their back 1/3 and that is not acceptable.
This simple game encourages the outside backs to get forward into the attack while always being aware of the numbers in back.
The next step of this would be to allow 2 of the X's to attack out of the back provided either one of the front O's defends or a central midfielder gets back and covers. See diagram below for how this could work
There are numerous other things you could add in to this activity including outside midfielders so that when an outside back goes forward, she is creating a 2 v 1 situation on the outside. You can also allow any player to switch with any other player so that a central midfielder could go forward and front player covers for her in the midfield. These types of games are a great way to work on attacking, defending and team shape.
Any questions, comments or suggestions should be sent to lawrence@finesoccer.com
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Welcome to the Soccer Newsletter. Today's subject deals with the spine of the team.
First a reminder about the two new books offered by FineSoccer.com. SoccerAtEase by Lawrence Fine and Pursuing Personal Perfection by Barry Gorman
deals with how to be successful both in soccer and in life. Here is what one reader has said: "Just wanted to drop a note to you about your wonderful book. It was a joy to read. Great information. I am sharing it with my U13 girl's team. My daughter loves it. Thanks. Tim Dean". To learn more please go to http://finesoccer.com/socceratease.htm
In the same way that a person's spine is what allows us to stand up and be strong, the spine of the team (straight down the middle of the field) is usually what will determine the strength of a team.
One of the most common questions I receive through this web site is "what is the best formation?" or some derivative of that question. What people don't seem to understand is that without looking at a specific team there is no way to answer this
question.
When I look at a team and decide what formation is best for them, the first thing I do is look to see how strong the spine or center of the field is. If there is a dominant center back on the team, I might be confident playing with only three in the
back but even if there are 2 outstanding outside backs, without a dominant central back, I would always go with 4 in back. A dominant center midfielder might let me play with three in the midfield while anything less than a dominant center midfielder would require me having 4 or more in the midfield. There are times when an opponents "spine" is much stronger than my own teams and if I can't change this with a substitution or changing of positions, I can try to change it with a change of formation (if the opponent has 2 very good center midfielders who are controlling play against my 2 center midfielders, I might change my formation so that I have 3 center midfielders to give me a numerical advantage).
To improve a teams performance in a game, one of the quickest ways to do it is to improve the teams spine. This can be done by switching a better player from the outside to the middle or by adding numbers to the middle of the field.
Please understand this is not to imply that good players only play in the middle of the field (Roberto Carlos is an excellent example of how this isn't true) but it's extremely rare for a top team not to have a strong spine.
Any questions, comments or suggestions should be sent to Lawrence@finesoccer.com
To subscribe to any of the FineSoccer Newsletters, please go to http://finesoccer.com/subscrib.htm
Have a great day!
Lawrence
FineSoccer Drill 163
Here is a fun warm up game working on dribbling, turning, fitness and teamwork.
This game works for groups of 8-16 players and requires a 25 x 25 grid and 9 balls. An equal number of players start in each corner and the balls are in the middle (see diagram below for the setup)
The way the game is played is that the first person in each line sprints to the middle, gets a ball and dribbles it back to the corner. Then the second person goes. From the second person on they can take the ball either from the middle or from one of the other corners (players may not shield the ball). Only one person per line can be away from the corner at any one time. Also, a player away from the corner can only have one ball in their possession. The first team to get three balls in their corner wins. While this might seem like a very simple game, you will see right away that there is a lot of touches on the ball, movement and communication (the players who are not running are telling their teammate where to get the ball from in order not to allow another group to get three balls in their corner).
After doing this a couple of times, you can put restrictions in such as left foot only, outside of the foot only, having to touch the ball on every step etc. In a relatively short period of time, the team can get a spirited warm up going with a lot of touches and a lot of communication.
Give this game a try and let me know what you think by sending and email to lawrence@finesoccer.com
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Picking Your Team
by Mike Getman
Welcome to the Soccer Newsletter. A few days ago I was speaking with Mike Getman (a good friend who is the head men's coach at the University of Alabama at Birmingham) about a number of topics including how players should pick their next team (whether a college team, professional team or youth team). Much of what Mike said was so "on the money" that I asked him if he would mind writing it up as a Soccer Newsletter and his agreeing resulted in this newsletter.
First a reminder about the two new books offered by FineSoccer.com. SoccerAtEase by Lawrence Fine and Pursuing Personal Perfection by Barry Gorman
deals with how to be successful both in soccer and in life. Here is what one reader has said: "Just wanted to drop a note to you about your wonderful book. It was a joy to read. Great information. I am sharing it with my U13 girl's team. My daughter loves it. Thanks. Tim Dean". To learn more please go to http://finesoccer.com/socceratease.htm
Also, if you haven't done so already please take a moment to participate in the online survey. To participate, please go to http://finesoccer.com/survey.htm
Here is Mike's
article:
As a college coach, I get asked quite often by
parents of younger players, what they can do to help their child get on a
good college team. Most of the questions revolve around marketing their
child and getting him exposed to college coaches. Often club coaches have
told them how they can get them recruited by the local college or maybe a
scholarship to play on that "National Championship" team. When you ask the
players what they want, most just want to be the best they can be. If that
is a professional or an All-American then great, but most want to learn and
get better.
I tell these players there are four key elements
they must have to improve their play. Number 1, you must have good
players to practice against each day. If you are the best player on your
team, who will challenge you? If day after day you can dribble past all the
defenders, what incentive is there to work on new moves or on doing things
quicker? If you are a midfield player and there is no one working to get
open, how will you work on having better vision?
Second, you must have good opponents to
play against. If you win each game by 5 goals you wont get any better. You
must be challenged where each time you make a mistake you get punished. It
is equally important that you must play well to score or win. If the game is
too easy you don't learn.
Third, you must have good facilities that
allow you to work on your skills or tactics in an efficient manner. This
means a smooth surface that allows the ball to roll with out bouncing. How
can we work on tactics if the players are forced to focus only on the ball
as it bounces around?
In 1999 I took my college team to Argentina. We
played a match against the River Plate Football Club Reserve Team. River
Plate is the largest club in Argentina and one of the most respected in the
world. Our match was at their training facility, which is used by all of
their youth teams up through the reserve team. The field had almost no
grass. Yet it was incredibly smooth and flat. The ball always rolled true
and we had a great match (we actually won 2-0).
If a team has a state of the art stadium but a poor
practice field, it will be difficult to get as much out of practice as you
should. You are going to practice almost every day. You may only play a home
game, once a week. The practice facility will be far more important in your
overall development.
Finally, you must have good coaching. The right
guidance is vital. The coach must be able to point out what you did well and
what areas you need to improve. He must be able to communicate clearly and
simply. His method of motivation must fit you as an individual. If you have
a hard time taking criticism, Bobby Knight might not be the right coach for
you. At the same point if the coach is just a cheerleader, who will point
out your mistakes and devise a plan to correct them?
These same elements hold true at the youth, high
school, college or professional levels. The younger the player the more
important each element is. Young players must have the right environment to
improve. A good coach will help provide motivation and point out success. He
will also provide the practice and game situations that allow each player to
strive for improvement. If any one of these factors is missing, than players
will not reach their fullest potential. Find a place where you can have all
four of these elements and you have a chance to be the player you want to
be. The rest is up to you.
One of the things soccer people seem to forget is that
the game of soccer is actually quite simple and rather than constantly
trying to reinvent the wheel, we should learn from those who have "been
there done that". Mike Getman is one of those people. For those of you who
don't know Mike here is a little bit about him from
Http://uabsoccercamp.com:
Mike Getman has built the UAB Soccer program into
one of the very best in the nation. In 2002 the team was ranked in the top
10 nationally for the fourth straight year. In 2001 the team finished ranked
# 12 in the nation after making it to the "Sweet 16" in the NCAA Tournament.
In 1999 the Blazers finished ranked #8 in the nation, were Conference USA
Champions, and made it to the "Elite Eight" of the NCAA Championships. The
team is 131-60-11 over the last ten seasons. During this time Mike Getman
has been named the Conference "Coach of the Year" three times.
Before coming to UAB Mike Getman led his Harvard
University team to the NCAA "Final Four". A program that had not won the Ivy
League title in 17 years did so in Getman's first season. The team finished
the year undefeated, losing only in the National Semifinal in penalty kicks.
At the age of 28, Mike Getman was the youngest coach in NCAA history to lead
his team to the Division I "Final Four". Coach Getman has coached or played
in four NCAA Division I Final Fours.
Before starting his coaching career, Mike Getman played
professionally as a defender for the Detroit Express. He was named the
team's "Rookie of the Year" in 1982 as he helped the Express win the ASL
Championship. In college he played for Indiana University, twice finishing
as the NCAA runner-up.
If anyone is still looking for a summer soccer
camp for boys, please check out Mike's camp at
http://uabsoccercamp.com
Any questions, comments or suggestions should be sent
to Lawrence@finesoccer.com
To subscribe to any of the FineSoccer Newsletters
please go to
http://finesoccer.com/subscrib.htm
Have a great day!
Lawrence
FineSoccer Drill 162
Here is a progression that works on the first and second defender.
We start with a warm up in groups of 2's. One player has a ball and dribbles from one sideline to the other while the other player works on defensive footwork. The player with the ball starts off going at 50% speed and the defensive player works at full speed. The player with the ball does NOT try to beat the defensive player and the defensive player does NOT try to win the ball. The player with the ball can work on moves (for more on moves, please go to http://finesoccer.com/soccer_edition_56.htm) and the defensive player works on footwork and the occasional feint to put pressure on the player with the ball. When they get to the other sideline, they switch roles and do the same coming back. This should be done a total of 3 times with the first time the player with the ball going at 50% speed, then 75% speed and finally at full speed.
If there are 18 players at the training session, you would have 9 groups going at the same time.
Next the players get into groups of 3's. One player is the attacker and has the ball., the second player is the first defender and the third player will become the second defender. The attacker and first defender start just like before and the second defender starts BEHIND THE ATTACKER. See the setup below
Upon hearing the word go, X starts dribbling toward the other sideline with D1 trying to slow her down and prevent penetration. D2 has to sprint around X and D1 to become the second defender. D2 may NOT go straight towards X to win the ball but rather must go behind D1. See diagram below
Each player will get a turn in each role going 50%, 75% and 100% offensively. The second defenders role is to provide support and to communicate to the first defender. If the attacker beats the first defender, the second defender steps up to become the new first defender and the previous first defenders sprints back to become the second defender.
Once there is a better understanding of the proper footwork and positioning of the two defenders the next step is to go "live" where the attacking player tries to beat the defenders. The big emphasis to the first defenders is to NOT dive in but rather slow down the attacker, prevent penetration, wait for the second defender and then look for the opportunity to tackle the ball away.
Next we can add a counter attack incentive. The attacking player gets a point if she can beat the two defenders and get to the other sideline. If the defenders win the ball, they go 2 v 1 to the first sideline and if they can get there, they get a point. This encourages the players starting off on defense to not just kick the ball away but when they see an opportunity to tackle the ball they should go in, win it and look to counter right away.
Next this can be done to real goals and finally it would be implemented into a real game with an emphasis on always having a second defender and looking to counter attack quickly.
Any questions, comments or suggestions should be sent to lawrence@finesoccer.com
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Welcome to the Soccer Newsletter. Today's subject deals with training defensive compactness.
Many coaches talk about spreading the field offensively but not enough emphasis is on staying compact defensively. If the reason that offensively you want to spread the field is to create space in the defense to attack, wouldn't it make sense to spend just as much time working? The great thing about training defensive compactness is it can be done at the same time as working on spreading the field offensively.
Assuming there are 4 players along the back line playing zonally, the key is for the 4 players to stay close to each other even when the ball is changed from one side of the field to the other. One way teams can work on this (and to put in my disclaimer I have never used this technique) is to have the 4 backs holding one piece of string that
is approximately 35 yards long. If the ball goes to an opponent out wide and one of the defenders goes to defend, the other 3 backs have to shift over in order to be able to stay connected via the string as well as providing proper support for the first defender. When the ball goes back to the middle, the back that first went wide shifts back toward the middle and all 4 players become more central. If the ball goes wide to the other side, the back on that side will have to go wide to defend the ball and the other three players shift to stay within contact of the string.
Another way to work on defensive compactness is to break the field into thirds with a central third, a right third and a left third. When the opposing team has the ball in the middle third of the field, all 4 backs would shift into the middle third to defend. When the ball goes to the right third, the 4 backs shift so that they now can defend the right third and middle third of the field. If the ball goes the left third of the field, the backs shift to defend the left third and center third. The key here is when the ball is in one of the side thirds of the field no one defensively is in the opposite side third of the field. For example, if the ball is in the left third, no defensive player is allowed in the right third. If the ball is in the right third, no defensive player is allowed in the left third of the field. The philosophy is that defensively you have to give up something so challenge the attacking team to play the ball all the way across the field to the other side of the field knowing that if the defensive team shifts properly, even if the attacking team switches the point of attack quickly the defensive team can still apply appropriate defensive coverage. To see an example of how to use the thirds of the field, go to http://finesoccer.com/finesoccer_drill_167.htm
There are a number of other ways to work on defensive compactness but the real key is to take the time to understand the importance of defensive shifting and to work on the proper spacing defensively. Teams and players need to spend as much time working on individual and team defense as they do on individual and team attacking.
Any questions, comments or suggestions should be sent to Lawrence@finesoccer.com or they can be posted on the FineSoccer Forum at
http://finesoccer.net To subscribe to any of the FineSoccer Newsletters
please go to http://finesoccer.com/subscrib.htm
FineSoccer Drill 167
Here is an interesting activity that works on spreading the field offensively while also staying compressed defensively.
Break the field into three sections as shown in the diagram below. The size of the field will depend upon the numbers of players available but the bigger the better.
The basic rule is that the offensive team must have at least one player in all three sections of the field at all times. It's not a case of a designated player staying wide but rather players must be aware at all times to see if there is a player wide on each side and if not, than they must cover the space. At the same time that the offensive team must be spread out, the defensive team must stay compact. The rule for the defense is that when the ball is in the middle zone, all defenders must be in the middle zone. If the ball is in a wide zone, defenders can be in the middle zone and that wide zone. See the two diagrams below for examples (X's have the ball)
There has to be a short period of time for players to shift properly and as an example of a coach wanting the players to play the game rather than do a drill, if an outside player makes a run to get to a cross and in doing so scores a goal BUT leaves the outside zone open, the goal counts because you want them to understand the benefits of doing things the right way.
This game is an excellent way to teach spacing and balance both offensively and defensively.
Give this game a try and let me know what you think on the FineSoccer Forum
Have a great day!
Lawrence
We would like to thank Lawrence Fine and FineSoccer.com for allowing us to publish this article on the NASL website. Please visit http://www.FineSoccer.com and sign up for Lawrence's free coaching newsletters and articles.
Created:
12/20/99
Last Updated:
06/16/04
Since
February 24, 1999
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