Category:

Youth Football Coaching

Sideline Screaming – Is This Helping Your Players/Child?

by Coach Kurtis May 13, 2021

After over 16 years of coaching in grassroots and the community, you would think that I have seen it all and nothing would shock me.

But still after all this time seeing the conduct of some coaches and parents still baffles me to this day.

Just a couple of weeks ago from writing this, I was watching my son’s football match from the sidelines.

At the time it was a close game with both teams competing well and the opposing team had just won a corner kick.

Suddenly, I kept hearing from their coach “push him junior, PUSH HIM” he said loudly!

“Don’t let him get near you push him out the way” he persisted to say!

This wasn’t the last of it, at various other periods of the game I “go in on him hard” and “let him know you there” this is u12 football I should remind you!

As disappointing this was to see I couldn’t help but think how often this was happening up and down the country in grassroots football, coaches and parents letting their emotions get the better of them.

Do you think this is creating a positive environment for young players?

Are we teaching them respect and good ethics when we are encouraging them to potentially ‘harm’ other players to gain an advantage?

I can hear it now “Kurtis you are being too soft” or “we are just teaching them to stand up for themselves in the game, it’s a contact sport”.

Yes, it is true that it is a contact sport but purposely making contact with a player to ‘let him know you are there’ will not help you produce better football players, which is the most important thing at this age.

So why do some coaches and parents feel it is okay to communicate with their players in this way?

What can we do instead to create an environment at games that will allow the players to have a positive experience that will do wonders for their development?

Would You Talk Like That Outside of Football?

This is a question I have asked some people in the past as I was interested in their response.

What I have found Is, on most occasions outside of the game we as parents would try to promote good behaviors and habits because we want our children to not only be good human beings but also realize there are better ways to make progress in life.

This should be no different in youth football!

Have you ever had someone scream instructions at you? My guess is many of you have especially if you have been involved in some type of sport as a child or adult.

How did it make you feel?

Did it make you play better? Or was it more of a distraction for you?

I would be incredibly surprised to hear many say that having instructions such as the ones above constantly shouted at them has a positive influence on their game.

There is a reason why you don’t talk like that outside of the game because A) it’s not teaching your child to make good choices B) by constantly telling them what to do you are taking away opportunities for them to learn independently, which prepares them for real-life situations!

In most situations, it is normally us as parents doing the teaching or we get someone else to teach our kids a new skill.

In every process, there is always a way of assessing what children have learned whether that is in a test or a game of some sort (a real situation).

The game is a key assessment of what was previously taught. Coaches & parents should say less to see if the players can deliver what they have learned!

If you were to contradict the coach or do everything for them when it comes to the real situation, are they really learning?

At times I feel many other of us and I can even include myself in this at times find it hard to just let kids ‘get on with it once we have spent all that time teaching them how to do the right things!

But what we must realize is having this mindset of always stepping in before giving them the chance to solve the problem will more than likely hinder their development then help.

I can already hear some of you now “so how do help them in matches when they are struggling?”.

For me there are two answers depending on what your role is and right now I am refereeing to the coach and parent.

If you are coach in most situations less is more but occasionally reminding players of certain things with quick ‘cues’ to get them thinking and encourage positive play I am not totally against, for example “Can we keep the ball” or “Dan, remember if he goes forward can you…”.

As you can see with the last comment, sometimes I like to question them so they can come to the solution themselves. Even in the game they can still learn.

Remember to use this sporadically as the should be used as an assessment of you have previously taught in training.

Are they trying to deliver the topic you have been working on in the game? Are they showing for ball slightly side on (showing the shoulder not chest) allowing them to turn quicker if they have space and scan the better? Etc.

If you are a parent, then the advice is similar, but your messaging is different such as not giving your child instructions from the sidelines!

I know it can be difficult to watch your child make mistakes and not do nothing but a lot of time with anything it is our biggest failures that become our best lessons!

It is your job as a parent to help them realize this guidance and assurance that they can overcome situations that they find difficult.

The occasional “well done” or ‘thumbs up’ during the game is enough and helps create a positive environment for the child.

There is no need to be a commentator throughout game and pick out every fault with your child.

I can guarantee they are fully aware of the mistakes that they are making and having you point out every single one will only make the situation worst.

Yes, You Are A Role Model!

I think we tend to forget how much we can influence children as coaches and parents.

I remember when my son was about 9, he was playing for his local Sunday team against a side that had a reputation for being a very ‘physical’ team and they didn’t disappoint.

They were making tackles when the ball was nowhere near the player, purposefully trying to intimidate our players and swearing at the referee.

During this game, I looked over to their manager and there was no response, it was almost as if he was happy with how they were conducting themselves.

Bear in mind, this wasn’t the first time that his players were behaving like this as they had already built a reputation for being overly aggressive in their approach.

There was one player that was getting all the attention because of his attitude and conduct during the game.

He was kicking players off the ball, shouting back at the ref, swearing at our players, and several other things.

It probably wasn’t a surprise to you that this team was reported to the football association shortly after.

For me, the coach has the power to stop this situation from ever getting to this stage.

Right from the start, when a player joins a team, he/she and their parents should be informed of what the club’s expectations are.

Don’t just leave them with a document at the start of the season and never mention it again, remind them throughout the season, and when someone slips up make sure you address it!

Parents should also look out for how a club deals with difficult behavior because would you really want your child playing for a team that can’t control their players and parents? I know wouldn’t.

Summary

Never forget the power of your words and actions when it comes to youth development.

Used incorrectly and it can make a player fall out of love with the game, used correctly and you can boost their confidence while accelerating development!

There are reasons why many elite academies around Europe have a ‘silent’ policy for parents during games and encourage their coaches to say less to their players.

Remember ‘development comes first’!

Prepare the right environment and watch them flourish, put them in a toxic one and see how quickly it can go the opposite direction.

How will you choose to behave at your next youth football game?

Ball Mastery: Things You Didn’t Know You Didn’t Know

by Coach Kurtis January 8, 2021

written by Coach Kurtis

A very popular topic area that I see crop up from time to time is ‘how to teach ball mastery’.

Mastering the ball has always been an integral part of developing young players, and this only intensified with the rise in popularity for the Coerver coaching method which has ball mastery at the foundation of their work.

In the modern game, every player now needs to be comfortable when in possession of the ball even the goalkeeper.

Gone are the days where a defender could just get away with being big, strong and able to boot the ball up the pitch whenever in possession.

Defenders are now expected to be comfortable on the ball as they are no longer just expected to ‘defend’ but also cleverly ‘start attacks’ with being able to do the following;

Receive the ball under pressure from attackers.
Use both feet.
break the lines and create overloads in the mid – attacking phases of the pitch.

As mentioned earlier, it doesn’t get much easier for our goalkeepers. keepers are expected to ‘play from the back’ more then ever birthing the new role of the ‘sweeper keeper’.

With all this in mind, it is now easy to see why being able to ‘stay with the ball’ (as I prefer to call it) is the foundation when it comes to player development.

If a player is lacking in this area everything else becomes harder to teach.

The Traditional Way To Teach Ball Mastery!

The internet is probably one of the greatest inventions in recent times. It is allowed coaches, parents & players to access a wealth of content at their finger tips.

Despite all the positives of having so much content available to us there is a downside, as not everything we see on the internet is an effective form of coaching.

What we see on popular social sites such as YouTube, Facebook & Instagram are exercises that contain the following;

Players waiting in cues.
Players waiting for their turn.
Dribbling with a ball in a straight line of cones.
Every call and instruction is coming from the coach, the players or player have little involvement and must do exactly as they are told.

It seems that the most popular videos are the ones with the latest ‘gimmick’ or ‘overly repetitive’ task that they wouldn’t normally see in a game.

Yes I know what some of you are thinking, I have heard a lot of it thrown at me before such as “but if a player first practices the same skill over & over again without focusing on anything else they will master it and become better”.

I have also had “boxers and Olympic runners lift weights but don’t actually use weights in the sport and that helps them, so not everything has to relate to the sport”.

There is some truth in both answers such as if a player practices the skill over and over again they will get better at that skill but once you add other elements such as a player or moments where they have to make ‘decisions’ can they perform the skill as effectively?

Yes lifting weights or running through ladders can help you physically but is this essential for youth players when you only have a short window to truly embed the ‘core skills’ that will make them a standout players?

I prefer to maximise every moment I have with the players by using practices that are ‘game specific’ allowing the child to transfer their skills to the game.

Teach Ball Mastery in Realistic situations!

For me, in order to teach anything there should be an element of ‘realism’ involved.

When you learn to drive, you actually drive a real car on the road which enables you to learn the foundations before moving to more advanced manoeuvres.

You don’t first learn in a simulator and go straight to a car.

When you first cross the road your parent holds your hand and guides you across the road prompting you on occasions when to look left & right.

We tend to learn best by actually learning in that ‘real scenario’ which is why we should try to include the ‘random’ elements of the game of football in all practices, teaching ball mastery should be no different.

What does this lookalike? look to include the following elements;

Some form of decision making.
Interference whether its passive or full pressure. Players have to get used to making choices amongst opposition.
There needs to be an element of chaos – it should be variable with a number of outcomes available to the players or individual (if working one 2 one).

The game is chaotic, so we should try to teach kids to master the ball in ‘random’ situations to prepare appropriately for the game.

Summary

Ball mastery is an integral part of player development and should be included as part of your curriculum.

But this doesn’t mean it should be taught ‘robotically’ leaving no room for the players or individual to express themselves in a ‘game-like situation’.

Notice how I said ‘game-like’. Nobody is suggesting that you should just let them play a game at every moment and hope they pick everything up, far from it.

But, as parent trainers & coaches we should take ‘snippets’ from the game and create situations that encourage them to solve a ‘problem’ with our objective in mind.

There is a saying I here all the time “master the ball, master the game” which is very true but don’t confuse this with ‘only having to master the ball’ when creating your practice.

Multiple outcomes are a ‘must’ if the intention is to create ‘natural’ players!

January 8, 2021 0 comment

Youth Football Coaching Football Player Development

How to Plan Youth Soccer Training Sessions

by Coach Kurtis November 9, 2020

written by Coach Kurtis

There is a common saying in soccer today that it is a “simple game” to play, and that the best players make the game look very simple. Up and down the country you will hear the phrase ‘play it simple’ or ‘pass the ball’ repeatedly throughout the game, instructing our young players not to take risks with the ball and develop a more simple mind-set on the soccer pitch.

Why do we encourage our players to play it simple? Why do we encourage our players to pass the ball, when the better option would be to run with the ball into the gaps or go across the defender? Our young soccer players need to be encouraged to stay with the ball and conjoin with their teammates when it’s necessary, not at every opportunity.

It all begins with the environment we create within our coaching sessions. You should create an environment where the coach and the game are teachers, and the players are forced to become ‘Thinkers’ not mini-robots.

Here are some suggestions that I use whenever I prepare a soccer training session.

Style of play

A coach cannot put together a meaningful and progressive coaching session without having in mind how they want to play the game.

If you were to look at all the great teams in the world such as Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Ajax etc. what you will notice is that they all have a clear style of play which every coach and player at the club adheres too. You cannot coach a young player unless you have a clear vision of how you want them to play when they are an adult.

Having a clear style of play is not about having the right formation. If your soccer players have a clear understanding of how you want them to play, the formation of your side will be more of a guide for the players but not the most important aspect they should think about.

I remember reading an article that involved current Oxford United manager Michael Appleton who spoke about his experience’s when he went to Denmark to work with some coaches. He asked the coaches what formations do they use and their response was “We don`t have a formation, we have a playing style!”. He also said, “You only really set up in a formation when the keeper or the centre back has the ball, the rest of the game there is lots of overloading and rotation going on – having a style of play is more important than an actual formation.” To take a look at this article you can click here.

Recommended reading for developing your style of play/game style, Rinus Michel’s Teambuilding: the road to success and John Cartwright’s Football for the brave.

The above is highly recommended as essential reads for beginner and advanced coaches.

A top soccer coach understands the importance of gradually progressing their sessions throughout the football season

Progressive planning

A top soccer coach understands the importance of gradually progressing their sessions throughout the football season. A coach should never give in to the temptation of producing random coaching sessions, which are influenced by previous and forthcoming soccer matches. The coach should always produce session plans that will help them achieve their end goal, which is their style of play. Each session should be a progression of what was previously taught, only then you will see better results from your coaching sessions. I recommend that a coach should stay on the same topic for at least 3-4 sessions, and if they feel that their players are not ready to move on then they continue until the players are ready. Here is an example of four progressed sessions for 5-7-year-olds:

Topic: Staying with the ball

Session 1	Session 2	Session 3	Session 4
Dribbling the ball with both feet.	Recap last session. Dribbling whilst using tricks.	Recap previous session. Dribbling whilst using turns.	Recap previous session. Dribbling whilst screening the ball.

The session plan

A soccer session plan should also be gradually progressive throughout. A typical session should contain the following 3 phases:

The introduction phase: In this phase, the coach should be introducing the skills that are necessary to make the session work.
The central phase: This phase tends to include some form of opposition or a conditioned aspect that forces the players to make a number of game-related decisions.
The end game: The end game is an opportunity for the coach to assess what was learnt previously in the session. The end game should not be used as a ‘treat’ for the players, as it further embeds what the players have learnt.

Each phase of the session plan should not be neglected, and should all contain an element of realism throughout. You are wasting precious time if your session is heavily reliant on drill-based learning, which consists of the following.

Dribbling in and out of cones in straight lines. (You don’t do this in a game, so why teach it in your session).
Lining up your players in cues, when performing a certain skill.
Continually instructing your players to perform certain actions.
When a particular phase doesn’t resemble ‘real football’.

If you stay clear from those situations and consider the tips I have mentioned earlier, then you are on your way to producing engaging and realistic soccer sessions.

Do you want some extra support with your football sessions? why not download my free youth football coaching guide below!

November 9, 2020 0 comment

Youth Football Coaching

Football For Kids; Helping Kids Handle Failure!

by Coach Kurtis December 7, 2019

written by Coach Kurtis

When coaching football for kids, one thing we all struggle with as adults is letting our kids fail. Throughout our upbringing, we are told what to do which impacts the way we parent.

This is understandable as we all want the best for our children and sometimes this means we want to limit the risks that they take to prevent them from making mistakes.

Many parents & coaches in youth football tend to take this approach, often using the ‘command’ form of coaching to get their point across, forgetting that this football for kids.

What we have to ask ourselves is, what are the benefits of using this approach? In the Game, is this approach helpful or more of a distraction? Does this help players to transfer their skills to the actual game?

In this article, I will discuss the benefits of allowing your players to take risks and learn that behind every mistake there is a lesson.

Why Kids Should Fail A lot

Things have changed dramatically since I was a child just starting out in football. Back then, kids would often play in the streets or playing fields without adult interference.

Parents weren’t worried about there children playing in the streets until dark (often encouraging it for peace and quiet) allowing them to have lots of opportunities to play.

When playing in the streets, young players would try new things and fail often but with there being no adult interference nobody cared.

Try to create an environment where players feel ok to take risks!

If a player made a mistake, they would brush themselves off and get on with it and try again but this time do it better then before.

For me, nothing teaches you better than experience. You could practice a skill in isolation a hundred times and actually become ok at executing it, but as soon as you throw a defender in there it causes a whole new set of problems.

This is why learning in an environment that is realistic to the game is important as it will have an element of chaos.

Young players have to learn how to solve problems within the game. This is how players learn to transfer their skills and techniques to the game because they have experienced what works in a realistic situation.

This is what football for kids should look like and this is what we should strive for.

Do This, Do That (The Drill Sargent)

We still see coaches promote the traditional method of coaching in youth football.

Well, intentioned volunteer coaches, bark their instructions to the players every week, seeking to help ensure that the young players secure a victory over the opposition.

Keen to please, the players do their best to follow instructions but trying to concentrate on the coach and the game, can be overwhelming.

Remember, what is the most important thing for all young players in the formative years? is it to win trophies or for the players to learn and have fun?

Let’s assume it’s the latter and it’s the development that is the most important thing. Using a ‘command’ approach can bring short term success but what happens to the players when you are no longer there to tell them what to do?

Allow your players the opportunity to express themselves in training and on match day. Instead of barking instructions use methods that encourage the players to problem solve and come up with solutions to overcome the situation.

As mentioned earlier, try to remember this is meant to be football for kids, not mini-adults!

Helping Kids Overcome Failure in Football!

When coaching football for kids teach your players that behind every mistake you make, there is a valuable lesson to be learned.

I think many of us (including myself) sometimes forget how much of an influence we have on young players. If they see you as a calming influence that will allow them to try new things, they take more risks.

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If they always see you get on there backs whenever they attempt a dribble or play from the back then guess what, they stop doing trying to do those things and revert to ‘panic football’.

Ultimately, I believe it comes to the environment that the coach creates for their players. If the players come to training feeling they can express themselves without being singled out, then they will take more risks and not worry about failing as much.

As always, for this to really take off, parents have to be involved as we all know (despite being well-intentioned) they can steer your players away from your coaching.

How To Set an Environment For Creativity!

Now it’s all good saying that we need to do this and that to help our players be more accepting of failure, but how do set this up at our clubs?

Here are a few things that I have done in the past that have worked for me. I have found doing it in this order to be the most effective;

Parent Education

In the beginning, lay down the foundations of your philosophy with the player’s parents. This will ensure that they understand what you are about and how you will work with the players.

What I have found, is when you are more transparent with parents the more patience you get from them. I also, find that parents respect you more when you make it clear what you trying to do from start, as it shows you have a plan.

This can be achieved in many ways, just go with what you are most comfortable with. Here are a few things I do to get my message to the parents;

Paper documents – at the start of the season or when a player joins your team, you will have a welcome guide prepared for the parents. It doesn’t have to be too long and I recommend you should try to do no more than a page outlining your expectations, goals & ethos and how you want them to help.
Regular communication – most teams tend to use some form of communication app to inform parents about upcoming fixtures and training but this can also be used to educate your parents on what you want to achieve. Short messages about training and how they can help work with their kids after training are good things to include, I would also use video examples if you are comfortable with video.
In-person talks – after training or matches you can also give the parents a debrief about your thoughts and what they can maybe help the players with in the future.
Football homework – set football homework to players and parents so that parents have the option to support their children with the practice.

Now you don’t have to do all of them, but regularly communicating your message to the parents is something I highly recommend as it builds trust with your parents.

Game-Related Practices!

Use practices that encourage the players to solve problems and make decisions. They will make lots of mistakes and at times it will look messy, but it is best that we see it in this form.

When teaching football for kids, teach in realistic situations so that they can transfer their skills to the game!

The game is chaotic and we have no control over what happens once the players step onto the playing field, so training this way helps the players transfer their skills.

Our job is not to control every aspect of the session and dictate to the players what they can and can’t do, but to guide them to the correct solution.

If you focus on creating practices where the players have to solve a problem then you become the facilitator and every so often you will step in to help them come up with the solution.

Notice how I said help them not tell them, this is important as you want them to become more independent on the field so do your utmost not to always give them the answer straight away.

Try to guide them to the solution first, only if they are really struggling to solve it show them how, but if you can, let them figure it out.

Basically, when teaching football for kids set the task, let them play and step in when necessary.

Re-enforce your Philosophy!

The most important thing for me is to keep regularly reminding players and parents what you want from them and what you are trying to achieve.

You will notice the moment you ease off is when more problems start to occur, which is why I think the most important thing is consistency.

Nobody said coaching was easy and it most definitely isn’t, which is why we should do our utmost to create good relationships with the parents.

Regularly communicating your message can help with this so decide how you want to do it and get on with it.

Summary

Remember young players are like sponges and they soak up what we show them. If we create an environment for them that allows them to express themselves and gives them opportunities to reflect on their mistakes then you have won half the battle.

When you get the parents on board, then your job becomes a lot easier and you can really start to implement change in your player’s development.

Are you a football parent who wants to improve their child’s game?

Are you a coach who is looking for another way to improve their players away from training?

Parent 2 Coach is a unique program where we educate the parents to provide excellent support for their child.

To see how Parent 2 Coach could benefit your child or team click the image below to find out more information.

Football For Kids; Helping Kids Handle Failure! 13 — Football For Kids; Helping Kids Handle Failure! 15

The Author

Kurtis is the Head coach at ‘Let’s Play The Game ’ and has over 15 years of coaching experience. He is also a head coach at a junior school and club level. Kurtis has experience in training and mentoring grassroots coaches in the West Midlands area. He holds a Diploma of Higher Education in Sports Coaching, FA Level 2 Badge Holder and is currently doing the FA youth module level 3. He has the Premier Skills Coach Education Award

December 7, 2019 0 comment

Youth Football Coaching

How to Use Differentiation in Youth Soccer!

by Coach Kurtis January 4, 2018

written by Coach Kurtis

In my 13 years as a grassroots soccer coach, I have watched and worked with many coaches who work at this level. Some have been beginners and others had been coaching youth soccer players for at least 2 years.

A common question I tend to ask grassroots coaches I support is how can use differentiation in your session? the response I tend to get is what is differentiation and how I use it?

Knowing how to differentiate in your sessions is an important skill for a youth soccer coach to learn and when mastered will take their coaching to a new level.

What is differentiation?

Differentiation is when you tailor your coaching to meet the needs of your players who will either find the practice too hard or too easy. I am sure you have all experienced situations where you have planned a coaching session that will be perfect for your players but for some reason 1 or 2 are not grasping the session.

In this situation, a coach has a couple of choices (a) continue with what you originally planned and hope they eventually pick it up or (b) slightly adjust the practice so that the players who were struggling get back on task. You can also have it go the other way where we have some high achievers finding the practice too easy and others seem to be getting along with it ok. Do we again (a) continue with what we originally planned or (b) find a way of pushing the high achievers whilst keeping the others at a level they can cope with?

Quite simply, having the ability to differentiate allows you to have a framework for effective coaching, that will give your players who are either more advanced or less able a different avenue to achieving your session objectives.

Do you use differentiation in your practice?

Why is it Important to differentiate?

When you can effectively differentiate in your sessions, you are better catering to the needs of your players. You won’t have situations where some players who are finding the session too easy are becoming bored or players who are struggling in the session becoming frustrated that they cannot perform the task you have set.

Differentiating allows every player the opportunity to have some success whilst still challenging your players.

How to Use Differentiation in Your Session!

It all begins in the planning process where you will write down how you can adapt the session for certain players if you need to. I believe this is why a lot of coaches fail to implement the method because they have not had an initial thought process on how they can use it.

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When you prepare your plan, think about how you can challenge those who are finding the task quite easy and those who are struggling to keep up with the rest. Here are some suggestions you could use.

In this example, the players are involved in a passing and receiving practice working in pairs (technique). The following challenges for players who find the current task too easy:

“Every time you receive the ball, look to move the ball into space with your first touch (touch move) and accelerate into space if you can. How many times can you do this in 1 minute.”

“Your challenge is every time you pass the ball call out which side you are passing to e.g passing left or passing right.”

“What you are doing is ok but I think you can play quicker, so everything you have just done do it quickly”

The following are for players who find the current task difficult.

“Instead of trying to pass the ball with 1 touch can you now take at least three touches before you pass the ball.”

“I have noticed that when you pass the ball your partner is struggling to control the ball, so can you change the weight of our pass to make it easier for your teammate. Now let’s see how many times your teammate can successfully control your passes in 1 minute.

Expect to be regularly assessing the players after you have set the tasks. The advanced players may pick up the challenge quite quickly and you will have to give out encouragement to better what they did previously because most of the time that is all they need e.g “well done now do it quicker”.

The same will apply to players who are at a lower level compared to the rest of players. Regular praise when they execute the task well will give the players more confidence and keep them on track.

Throughout this process, you need to have the right manner and approach when you deliver information to your players for it to be effective. If your tone is not expressed with enthusiasm you may find it difficult to inspire your players to deliver the outcome you desire. Keep these points in mind and you will find it a lot easier to keep your players on task.

Conclusion

For me, once you begin to regularly implement this into your coaching you will see your players excel a lot quicker. Just think of all those times you may have been pulling your hair out trying to think of a way to keep your star player ‘john’ on the development path or that one player who is always behind the rest of the team a chance to catch up with the others.

Just by effectively adding this method you can take your level of coaching to new heights and you will be able to cater to the needs of every player on your team.

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How to Use Differentiation in Youth Soccer! 17

The Author

January 4, 2018 0 comment

Football Player Development Youth Football Coaching

How To Develop Creative Football Players!

by Coach Kurtis November 23, 2017

written by Coach Kurtis

“Stop thinking your Messi and keep it simple”, ” stop passing the ball around there and get rid of it”, ” when you get the ball just give it to our best player”. Do these statements encourage creative football players?

These are just some of the comments you may hear coaches and parents give to young players, every week around the country.

I remember in my youth football playing days receiving such instructions on a weekly basis and finding it more of a distraction than actually helping me play better football.

Encouraging ‘simplistic’ football is all too common in our game and despite the football association’s best efforts with the introduction of the new FA coaching courses, grassroots football is still suffering from this culture.

Skillful, creative football should be encouraged from the beginning of a young footballers playing career.

Coaches at this level have to be more accepting of failure when it comes winning trophies and focus on creating an environment that encourages players to have individualism and excellent game understanding.

In this article, I would like to share some of the methods I use to encourage creative football players.

Creative Football Players!

Firstly, I believe it’s important to get the players to understand how you like to play and it is their development that comes first not the result of the game.

Players will naturally want to win anyway but must understand if they do win the game it’s by implementing their game style.

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Every player on your team is important regardless of their ability.

It still surprises me to see coaches instruct their ‘less able’ players to only focus on giving the ball to the best player on the team by any means necessary.

Every player on the team deserves your attention. Your focus should be on how you can keep each player involved in the learning process.

The players should learn to trust each other with the football.

This can only happen if the coach has set an environment where the players feel they can trust each other.

whenever they play, give them the confidence to get on the ball and express themselves.

Yes, mistakes will happen but these are the golden moments where the coach can really help the players reflect and make changes for the future.

In training, the coach should see every small-sided game as an assessment of what was previously taught and should never look to waste opportunities by using it as a ‘treat’ to keep the players happy.

As I have stated before, the best coaches come to life in the moments that are most chaotic.

This is why using realistic practices is more beneficial then drills with ‘closed outcomes’.

Practices With Multiple Outcomes!

To encourage creative football players, practices should have multiple outcomes.

To encourage creative football players, practices should have multiple outcomes and not be overly restrictive.

If a session becomes too restrictive then the players will find it difficult to relate what they are learning to the real game.

This means they are less likely to transfer those skills to the game.

A good practice should encourage the players to solve problems and make decisions on time and space.

Good coaching doesn’t include long lines and a coach constantly barking orders to the players.

Many of the best players in world football honed their skills whilst playing in the streets.

In the streets, there is no outside interference and the players are allowed to just get on with it.

The players have to make decisions on time and space due to the limited time on the ball.

Due to constantly having to play in tight situations players are forced to ‘screen’ when they are in possession of the football and learn to be aware of their surroundings whilst on the ball.

Although not perfect, street football laid many foundations for young players in the early stages of their development.

As coaches, we should find ways to bring the good things that street football teaches players into our coaching sessions.

In street football, having good individualism is key.

Without this as a base for young players, everything else becomes harder to teach.

From the beginning look to improve your player’s individualism in-game situations and gradually introduce other aspects when they are ready.

Positive Running With The Ball!

Many think creativity in football is when a player provides a defense-splitting pass or produces some fancy tricks on the ball.

For me, great creative players are also very good when running with the ball.

A young player should be encouraged to have the confidence to run with the ball.

When your players are confident and begin to run with the ball, they can create new advantages for their teammates.

Your players should learn to keep their eyes up when running with the ball.

This will help them to be aware of the opposition and see the gaps that are left open to exploit.

Your players should also be taught when and where to run with the ball.

This can only be taught if the practice is realistic and encourages the player’s decisions on time & space e.g. is there space for me to run with the ball, if there is no space, is there space for me to go in to out wide.

If space is limited in front, can the player change direction and run across the defender whilst screening with the ball.

With this, the player should also learn to keep the ball on the safe side (the foot furthest away from the opposition) whilst running with the ball.

Thinking Ahead!

It still amazes me how so many coaches at the grassroots level don’t teach their players to ‘scan’ or ‘check their shoulder’ with and without the ball. Firstly, they should be taught to keep their eyes up when in possession of the ball.

It’s common for young players to only look at the ball, so we need to help them ‘scan ahead’ to see teammates, opposition and spaces to exploit.

Players should get in the habit of receiving the ball side on (shoulder to the ball) so they can see clearly what is behind them.

This also allows the player to receive the ball on the back foot to turn into space quicker or receive on the front foot to keep it away from the opposition.

Players should receive the ball side on ( shoulders to the ball ).

We want the players to look for opportunities to play forward and if they can’t play forward can they keep the ball until another opportunity to go forward presents itself.

A player can only recognize these moments by constantly scanning the field.

To develop creative football players teaching them to make the right decisions can be difficult for some coaches especially if they are using ‘drills’ that have no relation to the actual game.

For players to learn how to make the right decisions more frequently, they need to face game-related situations constantly.

This will give the coach opportunities to help guide their players to the right solution and help them solve problems that will happen in the game.

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The Coach

Kurtis is the Director of Coaching at coaching company ‘ Let’s Play The Game’ and has over 15 years of coaching experience. He is also a head coach at a junior school and club level. Kurtis has experience in training and mentoring grassroots coaches in the West Midlands area. He holds a Diploma of Higher Education in Sports Coaching (level 5), FA Level 2 Badge Holder, FA Futsal level 1. He has the Premier Skills Coach Education Award.

November 23, 2017 1 comment

Football Player Development Youth Football Coaching

Should We Play One Touch Football?

by Coach Kurtis April 11, 2017

written by Coach Kurtis

Ever since the emergence of ‘tiki-taka’ football (one touch football) which was first introduced by Pep Guardiola’s excellent Barcelona side a few years ago, many youth coaches have been trying to ‘copy’ this style of play.

Now this is not a bad thing, as trying to emulate the best sides in football should be encouraged but unfortunately what we tend to see is them being misinterpreted.

A common practice for youth football coaches today is to install the rule of only allowing their players to play one-touch football in training. This can be seen with age groups young as 6 years old, who have still not developed the basic skills to execute this skill in the game.

When Do We Use One Touch Football?

Young players need to follow a progressive program that will take them through all the ‘critical skills’ at the appropriate stages of their development.

This should teach them when, where, why and how to apply their skills and make good tactical decisions when it’s necessary.

As coaches, we shouldn’t be asking our young players to play the game in an unrealistic fashion.

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If you carefully watch the sides who play a possession style of play you will notice that a lot of the play is not made up of one-touch football.

You will see players penetrating space with the ball, checking & receiving on the half-turn looking for that moment to either play someone in or just keep the ball, intelligent movements to create good support angles for teammates and quick changes of direction to beat players.

Only when it is necessary, will you see the play speed up and the players use fewer touches on the ball, playing quick passes that only require one & two touches.

This often occurs when the players in possession are in tight situations and the game demands that they move the ball quicker.

“young players must have acquired both self-confidence when on the ball and a sound football intellect prior to the introduction of one and two touch practises.” John Cartwright

What Is The Alternative?

Young football players need to experience many real game situations that will ask them to solve football problems which help speed up their decision-making skills and confidence on the ball.

Each practice should feature a gradual reduction of space and the introduction of opposition to re-create actual situations that occur in a real game.

The use of ‘quicker passes’ should still be encouraged as we want the players to understand when to move the ball quickly but we must always keep asking the players to choose the correct action depending on the situation that they are in.

If you force a young player to only use one-touch football in training you have to ask yourself is this real football? would that player really use one-touch when he/she could attack the space with the ball instead? by restricting their touches will I increase their confidence on the ball and encourage individualism?

What makes football such a great game is how ‘chaotic’ it is. There are very few restrictions and situations can change instantly.

This is why I find difficult to see how we can place such restrictions on our players that force them to repeat the same action even if there were better options available to them.

All this will create is a ‘robotic’ style of play that will not bring out the player’s individualism.

Can you imagine someone telling Messi when he was a child to only play one and two touch football? if that was the case I very much doubt we would see the player we see today who will dribble across defenders or show excellent changes of direction and confidence on the ball.

When the game becomes tighter he will play the ball quicker using bounce passes or one and two touch passes but only when it is necessary.

“Footballers from the street are more important than trained coaches.” Johan Cruyff

Try to encourage good decision making when you are coaching instead of restricting your players of their individualism.

If more of us start to place fewer restrictions and create better environments for more skillful and tactically aware young players then we may produce a Messi or Neymar of our own in the near future.

The Coach

April 11, 2017 1 comment

Football Player Development Youth Football Coaching

The Difference Between Theory and Practice in Youth Football.

by Coach Kurtis March 27, 2017

written by Coach Kurtis

I don’t know if you`ve noticed but there are heaps of study papers and articles about the best way to coach and develop youth football players. Many are thought provoking but what stands out is that very few of the writers have had real long-term experience working on the junior side of the game.

The latest favourite is “let the game be the teacher” – let the players play and learn from their own mistakes, a big move away from the tidy drills and organised outcomes mantra that has dominated coach education and resulted in a generation of ordinary players.

Once again be warned it’s not as simple as that!

For example, did your parents when teaching you to walk down the street, say “off you go run down the street if you get run over by a car that’s a valuable learning experience for you?”

No! but if we reference it to ‘let the game be the teacher’ that’s what is being advocated.

What your parents did was to hold your hand during these foundation experiences and guide your learning. I remember my mum holding my hand tight, commanding that I “Walk on the left”, “Move right (or left) to avoid that gentleman”, “Stop! let this lady move through the gap” or

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“No don’t just walk out Roger when crossing the road make sure to check right, left and right again or you could be run over”.

You were being taught to constantly look ahead, take mental pictures and make decisions ahead of time. This teaching included multi decisions and habits in a totally realistic environment and was repeated numerous times until your parents had assessed that you were ready for next stage. They then made you walk by the side of them with decreased input to give you the ability, confidence and understanding to be set free to walk the walk.

Your parents guided your understanding in real life situations.

Football coaching is like life!

Roger educating youth football coaches.

By the way, I’m definitely not saying that youth football coaches should order the decisions like my mum and definitely don’t clip kids round the ear if they get it wrong!

Clever coaches guide the discovery of youth football players with progressive logical tips and coaching points in programmed realistic sessions. They introduce the important coaching points and game challenges gradually and logically to advance the young player’s ability and independent understanding. Importantly, they know the type of player they are striving to produce.

“When working with an 8 yr old player coaches MUST realise they are NOT working with an 8 yr old they are working with a 24 yr in the early part of their playing career.” John Cartwright.

Clever youth football coaches know what makes a great player and the ingredients of the great game style they are coaching towards. Sounds common sense, but very few grassroots coaches work this way.

Clever coaches introduce multiple coaching details alongside the main themes of their session (as well as teaching us to walk down the street mum also re-enforced good manners!).

They also use imagery, demonstrations and encouragement to make the session challenging and enjoyable. They value every minute of practice time to nurture the development of the young player through progressive, realistic practices.

Nurture by making every player a special project with support, empathy, individual positive targets and feedback.

Progressive because each session is part of a programme of work that cements the critical skills the young player needs and constantly pushes their skill and understanding to advance their ability.

Realistic because the practices introduce the learning in a logical, easy to understand sequence that is totally game related.

This coaching experience is a super reference point for the kids when they play their own “pick up” games. They have an individuality and a game style to aspire to, they know what they are trying to do and if they make a mistake they know how to put it right. Great coaches by clever use of guidance also teach the kids how to coach themselves.

The era of street football was a great breeding ground for outstanding players but as one tremendous ex-player said to me “playing in tight areas forced me to make decisions BUT if I‘d also had a great coach on the sideline helping my experience what a difference that would have made “. So even then the coach would have been a crucial factor.

The big challenge in the modern era is that at the grass roots level, from 5 to 14 yrs of age, we need the very best coaches. Unfortunately, the foundation stage is dominated by poor practice, with National bodies often promoting supposed “fun” practices that have no real effect on the development of the real skills of the game.

We need to develop coach educators who have real experience and working knowledge of the needs of this age group and who are totally focused on educating the coaches that have the expertise to develop great players.

“I’d rather be coached by a great coach on the club car park than a poor coach at Lilleshall” Malcolm Allison.

To view the original blog post on the Keep the ball website which is an excellent resource for coaches of all levels click here.

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The Author

Roger has over 35 years football coaching experience around the world. In 2002, Roger co-founded Premier Skills with former Crystal Palace First Team Coach, John Cartwright, with a view to develop coaches and players at all levels of the game. Over the past 10 years Roger has been based in the United Kingdom and has worked for Crystal Palace as an Academy Coach and more recently as the Under 21 Development Coach for West Bromwich Albion. Roger returned to New Zealand permanently in January 2013 and is currently the Youth Academy Director at Fencibles United.

PREMIER SKILLS is a football company dedicated to developing outstanding coaches and highly skilled players. They aim to do this by delivering innovative coach education and player development courses at all levels. If you would like to check their services you can go to the website here.

March 27, 2017 0 comment

Football Player Development Youth Football Coaching

Creating Space For Others (Passing and Support Play Game)

by Coach Kurtis March 22, 2017

written by Coach Kurtis

The main focus for this game is to encourage the movement of your players off the ball. The players are also looking for opportunities to play the ball through the triangle to score points. The defender must defend the triangle and do their best not to go through the area.

The Session Layout

Set up a 15 x 15 area with a triangle in the middle (about 4-5 yards apart for the triangle and I tend to use flat markers for gates within an area). The session above has 5 players in a 4v1 situation (four attackers and 1 defender).

How To Play

The four attackers try to keep possession of the ball while looking for opportunities to play through the triangle. Each time the attackers play the ball through the triangle to another teammate they get a goal. The ball must reach another teammate for it to count as a goal.

The defender must defend the triangle and not go inside to stop the ball. They must work around the triangle trying to stop the attackers from making a penetrative pass.

The coach should encourage the attackers to ‘think ahead’ and not to only make a decision when they have the ball which happens often with young players. Players need to ‘think before’ they receive the ball and decide what their next move will be i.e where is space, where is the defender, can I turn and dribble or do I need to shield the ball etc.

On every pass, the players without the ball should be moving to assist the person with the ball to create better opportunities to keep possession and score goals.

Make sure the defender is rotated every 1-2 minutes so that everyone has an opportunity to defend.

Progression: Make it a 4v2 which will make it harder for the players to score goals.

Coaching Points

Provide quick support angles to receive the ball in space.
Create space for others by moving the defender with your movement.
Can you play passes to others that are soft enough to control and make appropriate decisions for the player receiving the ball?
Take soft directional touches into space away from the defender with your first touch.
Keep the ball.

The Coach

[img_text_aside style=”1″ image=”https://www.letsplaythegame.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Kurtis_Pottinger.png” image_alignment=”right” headline=”” alignment=”center”]Kurtis is the Director of Coaching at coaching company ‘Lets Play The Game Ltd’ and has over 12 years of coaching experience. He is also a lead coach at a junior school and club level. Kurtis has experience in training and mentoring grassroots coaches in the West Midlands area. He holds a Diploma of Higher Education in Sports Coaching, FA Level 2 Badge Holder and is currently doing the FA youth module level 3. He has the Premier Skills Coach Education Award.

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Let’s Play the Game Ltd is a provider of excellent one to one and team football training in Birmingham, Walsall, Dudley and Sandwell. For those who would like to try our services don’t hesitate to contact us. Don’t forget to subscribe below to never miss any of our posts. You can also like our Facebook page or subscribe to our YouTube channel for more football coaching tips.

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March 22, 2017 0 comment

Football Player Development Youth Football Coaching

The Secrets To Successful Dribbling!

by Coach Kurtis March 15, 2017

written by Coach Kurtis

What does Dribbling represent to you? Is it the use of nimble footwork — is it the ‘bogus’ use of feints with various parts of the body – or is it running with the ball followed by changes of direction…….. or is it something else? All of the aforementioned can be described as dribbling but what must be emphasised when discussing this important skill is……..which of those dribbling methods causes most problems to a defender and his supporting players? In my opinion, it is the skill of running with the ball with changes of direction.

Messi dribbling

The Secrets To Successful Dribbling! 23

It is time to delegate the long over-visualized ‘picture’ of the ‘Dribbler’ to the dustbin. The fixation about dribbling that relates to over-complicated and generally unnecessary feints and fancy footwork should be cast aside. Oh yes, there are the occasional times in a season in which a player extricates him/herself from a tight situation that is pleasing on the eye, but these rarities are so inconsequential in general play that time spent learning a multitude of tricks etc. is time misspent.

When I was a youngster playing football in the street or in the school playground where space was limited it taught me the importance of running with the ball ACROSS defenders and not taking the ball AT them………. Lionel Messi is the modern exhibitor of this dribbling skill. When confronted by an opponent an attacking player must attempt to move him in order to go past him. Going directly at an opponent simply sends him backwards amongst additional supporting colleagues thus lessening the possibilities for the attacker. Good defenders have acquired better defensive qualities than their counterparts in years gone by; they have much improved athletic ability and more tactical appreciation of their defensive roles.

Defenders today concentrate more on the ball rather than be distracted by feint plays and in so doing they have acquired the ability to ‘guide’ attackers thus becoming a ‘dictator’ to them. More than any feint play it is the movement of the ball that will move a defender. When an attacker takes the ball ACROSS a defender that defender is forced to move accordingly. The movement ACROSS a defender as opposed to a movement AT a defender produces two immediate problems for the defender; his balance is affected, and he leaves space as he vacates one area and is moved into another area on the field……. the attacker now ‘dictates’ to the defender. The attacking player, now ‘in the driving seat’, must maximise the advantage he/she has achieved. The skill of running with the ball and ‘screening’ it from an opponent must be used to restrict a tackle from being made. Equally important, the attacker must be aware of the space he/she is from the opposing player. This space awareness allows an attacker to make decisions whether to accelerate past the opponent or change direction quickly and turn back before the opponent can recover.

Many playing alternatives become available to an attacker and his team if movements ACROSS defenders are used. As already mentioned, the balance of an opponent is affected and this provides an attacking player with several options to use; a defender can be ‘nut-megged’ far easier as he/she are forced to move across than if attacked in a direct way — space from which a defender is drawn away from can be filled by supporting players of the attacking team — plus there are numerous combination plays such as ‘take-overs’ – ‘wall passes’ – ‘overlaps’ – and ‘set-up passes’ to be used.

‘Wizard of the dribble’

The Secrets To Successful Dribbling! 24

The game has moved on from the days of Sir Stanley Matthews, the original ‘Wizard of the dribble’. Defenders have become better athletes and are more tactically aware. We must continue to consider dribbling as an important part of the game and encourage young players to develop the ability to beat opponents and link other playing alternatives to their dribbling skill. But in order to make this happen, we must change our perception of dribbling and the way it is introduced to future generations.

To view the original blog post on the Keep the ball website which is an excellent resource for coaches of all levels click here.

The Author

[img_text_aside style=”1″ image=”https://www.letsplaythegame.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/John_Cartwright.png” image_alignment=”right” headline=”John%20Cartwright” alignment=”center”]Co-founder of Premier Skills, John has over 40 years experience at the top of the game as both a player and a coach. He played for both West Ham and Crystal Palace. John has been Technical Director for the English Professional Footballers Association and Academy Coach at Crystal Palace where he produced the ‘Team of the Eighties’ and Director of Youth Football at Charlton Athletic. John was the England Youth coach and First Team coach at Arsenal Football Club as well as the Technical Director of the FA National School of Excellence. John has been acknowledged by respected managers and coaches like Terry Venables, Ron Greenwood, Don Howe and Malcolm Allison as an outstanding football coach. John is the author of football coaching book, Football For The Brave.

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March 15, 2017 0 comment

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