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The Soccer Coach
Marco Bruno
THE SOCCER COACH
From the player’s training
to game plans and theories
The sense of pleasure in wearing the cleats, the smell of freshly cut grass early in the season; the plastic bags at feet to not get in the water during workouts in the pouring rain. Friends not only for one season, but lasting forever. Growing up with a dream and not being able to accomplish it completely and then realizing that the reason was because your vocation was to train. Little ones and big ones. With an unexpected naturalness. Probably the talent I lacked as a player I had as a coach. Or maybe not even here I can say I have it... the way to get what you want is often incredibly winding and you might even get lost in it. Cleats or whistle... the passion is the same. And if passion drives you, you can never get lost.
Table of contents
What is soccer? 4
TRAINING STANDARDS 7
TRAINING AND GROWTH 24
TRAINING OF YOUNG PLAYERS 31
COACH RESPONSIBILITIES 36
PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF TRAINING 45
SOURCES FOR ENERGY PRODUCTION 56
MOTOR SKILLS 65
COORDINATIVE SKILLS 66
CONDITIONAL SKILLS 71
RESISTANCE 73
SPEED 113
FLEXIBILITY 130
THE MASS IN ACTION 144
TRAINING PROGRAMMING 147
THE COACH 156
TEACHING PROGRESSION IN THE YOUTH SECTOR 162
TECHNIQUE 164
TACTICS 170
TRAINING METHODS 178
GAME SYSTEMS 185
BALL POSSESSION 202
HOW TO PREPARE A TRAINING 210
THE MANAGEMENT OF WHO DOES NOT PLAY 216
What is soccer?
Soccer is a simple and easily understandable game in its rules and in its course. Anyone can practice it because it does not require a particular physical structure or certain athletic skills; the athlete has a wide freedom of movement and therefore the possibility to express the best of him.
For this, the game of soccer is called free activity that, starting from a common basic technique, allows everyone to express their own personality and their own style; however, it is an uncertain activity, linked to the law of the case, and which is impossible to foresee.
Philosophically soccer is an ever-new and full-fledged adventure that can become spectacular; it is an activity of the present because the player builds his future during each game, the past does not matter.
People like soccer
Because it’s a simple game
Everyone can play it
It’s a free activity
It’s an uncertain activity
It's an adventure
It’s an activity of the present
I think there are key factors to work on in order to train one player in all his characteristics: technical, tactical, physical, mental and social. Obviously, we must make it clear straight away that training a young soccer player is completely different from training an adult one. For this reason I prefer to talk about the young soccer player’s formation before, and about the adult player’s training then.
In recent years, I’ve seen (and I still do) youth training coaches often making the same mistake: to train youths and kids as if they were adults.
TRAINING STANDARDS
When assuming responsibility for team leadership, each coach must have a clear understanding of the meaning of the word "training”. In an extremely general way, training is a process that produces a physical, motor, cognitive and affective change.
The athlete's sport training is:
- physical training,
- technical-tactical training,
- intellectual, psychic and moral training.
All this is accomplished through physical exercises. We can therefore define the training as “the combination of all the actions aimed at improving the modifiable factors that affect the performance to get the best efficiency."
The factors on which action can be taken are many, we can mention:
- training of physical abilities;
- training of technical abilities;
- training of tactical abilities;
- training of psychic abilities.
It is not possible to intervene on one of them without affecting positively or negatively the others.
If training stimuli are varied and directed at all abilities, the body is confused and does not know what response to such stresses. In training, combining multiple capacities does not cause a sum of adaptations, but instead it causes a subtraction of adaptations. Therefore, the coach does not have to train all the time, because otherwise he will be training bad, little or nothing. Physical exercise physiologists have always been interested in the adaptations of our body to the chronic exposure to physical exercise (training) and in particular:
to the principle of subjectivity, under which the training program should be established taking into account possible variations from subject to subject. Different people respond differently to the same training program.
to the principle of specificity, under which the training should reflect perfectly the type of motor activity that is taking place, in order to optimize its benefits. A weightlifter cannot train with the prolonged run.
to the principle of reversibility, under which the benefits of training are lost when the workout is stopped or decreased. For long breaks it is advisable to always suggest maintenance activities.
to the principle of the sequential overload, under which you need to stimulate the body (muscles, cardiovascular system) with ever increasing loads as the body fits.
to the principle of “hard / easy”, under which intense "hard" training sessions (load or augmentation) should be followed by an "easy" (unload or assimilation) exercise period to allow the body to recover and adapt before tackling the next increase.
to the principle of rescheduling, seen as megacycle, macrocycle, mesocycle and microcicle programming, within which intensity and volume of loads and training types will be varied for continuous search of better physical fitness conditions.
Many athletes are over trained, and when their performance worsens because of overtraining, coaches train them more because it is believed that the more you train the more it improves. (J.H Wilmore–D. L. Costill, 2005).
The more complete and finalized are the interventions on the parts composing the training, the more effective and precise will it be. In soccer game, unfortunately, there are still cases where the training is limited to "a few laps around the field, scrimmages and some goal shootings”. There is nothing that can replace the practice. All theories are abstract if they fail to illuminate the concepts formed in practical experience. The complexity of soccer requires precise, qualified and studied interventions.
The most difficult problem to face is to determine the type, quality and intensity of the work to be offered to the players and to check their degree of fit for training loads (TRAINABILITY).
Coachability is a dynamic parameter depending on internal and external personal factors. It can manifest itself in different ways in the various functional and organic systems of the same subject. In the infancy and adolescence age, the so-called "sensitive phases" (Martin, 1982) play a key role, namely they are those periods of growth that are particularly conducive to the development and formation of decisive skills and abilities for the motor-sport performance. By applying all the principles of training, you must prepare a work program that fits the players who have to perform it and the type of game the coach intends to set. The coach must always keep in mind the question "what should I do and at when".
So let us clarify what they are:
- the principles of learning (how the player learns);
- the principles of teaching (how the coach should teach).
The main aim must be to induce positive changes in behavior and lifestyle habits. Human behavior differs in:
innate actions, which we must not learn and do not require any prior experience;
discovered actions, which we discover by ourselves through a personal process as try-error-try again;
assimilated actions, which we acquire from other individuals with an unconscious emulation process;
actions learned, which must be taught and require a voluntary effort, based on a precise analytical observation.
The principles of learning
The statement that "if a soccer player trains, he improves and perfects his skills" is not true at all, because training determines behaviors and adaptations whether it is conducted in an appropriate way or an inadequate one. Not all adaptations and behaviors are useful for the realization of the different sports activities.
Effective training and equally effective learning in soccer are much related to the formation of proper attitudes, habits and movements.
First, in order of importance, it is the attitude towards learning, both by the coach and by the player. This attitude should be characterized by two qualities:
- open mind;
- very eager mind.
Essential mental attitudes to receive and evaluate new ideas and to apply them, to constantly question yourself; more simply to update continuously.
Not all ideas are good, so it is a mistake to immediately accept a new idea based on the only novelty criterion, as it is a mistake not to give it credit without evaluating it.
Some sports require predominantly the care of the technical aspects, others of the athletic ones: soccer is a sport where judgment predominates.
This conclusion is reached with a simple analysis:
- a soccer match lasts 90 minutes;
- the ball is in play for about 60 minutes;
- within 60 minutes each team is assumed to have possession of the ball for at least 30 minutes;
- during these 30 minutes the ball is often in the air and out of reach of players;
- on average every single player can not have the ball possession for more than 2 or 3 minutes.
After this analysis a question is spontaneous:
What does the player do in the other 57- 58 minutes when the ball is in play?
The answer is:
He applies his judgment skills, makes decisions and makes choices.
We also note that soccer is one of the most varied sports, both because players and the ball can move across the field, and because the rules to be respected are few; we understand that situations change rapidly and require speed of execution and concentration by the players. All this brings us back to the fundamental problem that is not how to train, but rather how a soccer player learns.
To stimulate players successfully, the coach should consider the following factors:
1) the interest: the player who is not interested and motivated dedicates little effort to the proposed activities.
2) enthusiasm: the player who lacks enthusiasm is not useful to himself and to the group.
3) collaboration: working together with the group to achieve common purpose.
4) example: watching playing champions or better watching the right gaming actions; by using video footage you can improve learning, attitudes and habits.
5) training frequency: training quality is more important than frequency. If there is quality, the more time it will be devoted to training the better the improvements will be.
6) awareness of improvements: those who get good improvements are more willing to train. In a well-trained workout, players are aware of the progress they have reached.
7) competitiveness: to develop your skills you need a continuous search for overcoming your skills and limitations. Players will improve if more and more challenging tasks are assigned them, provided that they are not too difficult.
8) trust: coaches should teach the players to have confidence, but above all should encourage them in cultivating achievable hopes and ambitions.
Having determined how the player learns, we need to determine what he needs to learn in soccer training.
The soccer training areas are four:
- technique and tactics (coordination skills);
- physical condition (conditional skills);
- understanding (what to do and what not to do);
- psycho-social condition (behaviors).
1) Technique and tactics: they are the tools of the craft; the better they are the more effective, useful and surprising the achieved results will be.
2) Physical Condition: skills are not achievable unless they are accompanied by a good physical condition. This will be the predominant topic of our lessons.
3) Understanding: it consists in understanding what can be done and what needs to be done and distinguishes the good player from the others under the same physical and tactical condition. Doing something you know you cannot do is as serious as doing something right at the wrong time.
Understanding requires:
- Knowledge of game principles and rules;
- Intuition of what's going to happen;
- Decision of choice on what is best to do;
- Perception of space and time;
- Action, ready and immediate execution of what you chose.
4) The psycho-social condition: Knowing how to stay within a group (team), accepting diversity (skills, behaviors, physical abilities, experiences ...) working together to achieve common purpose is an indispensable condition for completing the others.
Before beginning the treatment of the basic elements for achieving a good physical condition it is necessary to briefly outline how the coach should teach and the principles on which an effective training action is based.
The principles of learning
The principles or rules of sports teaching are used to make optimal the methodical ability of action of coaches and athletes. These principles refer to all aspects and tasks of teaching, which determine contents, methods and organization.
1) Knowing the subject: you need to know soccer from a technical and tactical point of view, the principles of physical preparation, not being influenced by external and environmental factors, generally emotional and prevent the players from being affected.
2) Knowing how to learn: without knowing the principles of learning that we have listed before you cannot make a profitable workout.
3) Knowing the key factors of teaching: the key factors of teaching are:
a) purpose: it concerns objectives that are usually in the medium and long term, for example the improvement of the team's offense game or the improvement of force. Short-term goals emerge from the purpose.
b) objectives: they concern:
- the game with the ball (passages, controls, triangulations, etc.);
- the game without the ball (combined movement, support actions, crossed actions, etc.).
You cannot teach everything at once, but determine an order of priority and a logical sequence of training.
c) order of priority and the logical sequence - you cannot effectively teach different aspects of the game at once;
- between two factors, one will always have a logical precedence over the other. If you do not respect a logical sequence, it becomes all the more difficult. The same happens if you insist on teaching the right things, but at the wrong time. Close attention must be paid to the planning and organization.
d) planning and organization.
the planning involves the best use of the equipment and must be done in advance to give rise to the best possible organization.
The organization of an effective training session includes:
the choice of the area of the field to be used for training;
the right number of players participating;
a realistic training (players must be used in their real positions and during the exercises they should play in a realistic way, the goalies must always be regular because the two essential aspects of soccer are the shoots and the scoring);
an adequate start of the exercise and quality of the steps (many workouts are dragged wearily because little attention is given to the way to start the exercise and the steps are sloppy);
simplicity and clarity (all players must understand what you want to do and get with that kind of training).
e) ability to observe: the observation of a training session must lead the technician to understand if:
- the training takes place in accordance to the organization;
- the attitude of the players is stimulated and interested;
- the action of collective play reaches its goal;
- the specific action of the individual is beneficial to the group work.
If all this is not achieved, ask yourself some questions:
- physically, is the player able to perform that task?
if the answer is "no", there is no reason to continue the exercise.
- does the exercise scare the player?
if the answer is "yes", it is better to start with the simplest exercises and further encouraging the player.
- is it a technical problem?
- what technique is it?
make sure the player understands where he is wrong and explain how to do it correctly and train him in this way.
- is it a tactical problem?
1 lack of understanding (isolate and explain the individual parts);
2 lack of intuition (the player does not see the action that takes place for three reasons:
- too crowded action;
- too fast action;
- plays with his head down.
1 lack of application (the player understands what it’s required from him, but he misses the execution because he tries to make things too difficult).
f) communication: all that has been said so far does not matter if the coach is not able to communicate. A coach can communicate in two ways:
1 by demonstration, highlighting the following qualities:
- correct game actions;
- actions carried out in a simple way;
- clear demonstration, highlighting the main factor;
- set a minimum target;
1 by the word: communication through speech is very important, but it depends on the conviction with which he speaks the coach. Before speaking, the coach must think for a moment about what he has to say to be sure of the meaning of the words; must avoid words or complicated speeches and watch the audience while talking. Finally, he must always speak positively because it is more effective to say “do this” instead of saying “you were wrong doing this”.
Communication in figures
We spend 70% of our lives communicating verbally. This time is as follows:
hearing 45%
talking 30%
reading 15%
writing 10%
Of all this we can remember:
of what we read 10%
of what we hear 20%
of what we observe 30%
of what we hear and observe 50%
of what we say 80%
of what we explain 90%
In a conversation we can:
listen 50% of what is said;
hear and listen 50% of what we listen (only 25%);
understand 50% of what we hear (only 12.5%);
believe 50% of what we understand (only 6.25%);
remember 50% of what we believe (only 3.125%).
How many times have we talked for a long time with our athletes?
What is left of our words?
3.125%!!!!!!!!!!
Everything else is forgotten.
To train means to communicate. Some speak but communicate little and struggle to enter into a relationship, while others speak too much and leave little time to listen.
Every teacher must always keep in mind the importance of the sequence:
I LISTEN = I FORGET
I SEE = I REMEMBER
I EXECUTE = I LEARN
Teaching during the game
The coach must be very skillful and careful in training matches. The training match is the culmination of the session, the final development of a good team action. The techniques and exercises in small groups are like pieces of a mosaic and teaching to put them into practice during the game is like trying to complete the mosaic. It is too optimistic to expect that those pieces go alone in their place. To obtain satisfactory and useful results, it is appropriate to establish:
- what to teach;
- where to teach;
- how to teach.
1) What to teach:
we must focus primarily on objectives aimed at improving teamwork.
Defense: reduce time and space; tackle and cover; mass defense.
Offense: creation and exploitation of spaces; passages and movements; mass offense.
All of this goes independently of a game strategy. Every player must learn to behave effectively in every situation.
Accustom the players to make the right calculation:
- between security and risk;
- the possibilities; know how to choose and perform what is best in a particular situation.(best choice)
2) Where to teach:
players must practice playing game actions in every part of the field. Improvements in offensive team play should come from the defensive three quarters of the field, in the same way the improvement of the defensive system should be achieved starting from three-quarters of offense. I think it is appropriate to carry out situational exercises in the different areas of the field or in the areas where we want these behaviors to be actually performed in the game.
3) How to teach: the methods that underlie the teaching are:
- control of the game (e.g. if a team has to train to create spaces on the central band of the field then the training must be limited to that area);
- game conditions (e.g. if you have to concentrate on the quick passage you have to impose the direct game, where possible, and in any case a continuous movement without a ball in advance on the decision of the partner to be able to give him the passage solution even before he receives the ball. If a shot is requested on the support, it is necessary to impose that the player must overtake the teammate to whom the ball has passed);
- stop the game. It is a method to show the players the advantages and disadvantages of their positions.
In this regard it is necessary that:
a) a signal known to all is fixed to stop the game (e.g. two whistle blows, but on this point I am convinced that the signal must necessarily be visual as the coach cannot use the whistle and therefore the players must visually recognize a situation common to all so that in recognizing it, everyone behaves as established in training);
b) the players stop so as not to alter the game situation you want to correct (it is advisable to stop the game to emphasize the theme, but not to deal with different themes).
- correct and try again: after having stopped the game it is important to try again in the correct way what has been done in the wrong way.
- thinking aloud: it is a method by which the coach thinks out loud in place of the player, anticipating his actions. This method is often used to make corrective repetition more effective.
