One of the ways to improve your team in 2021 is to get them communicating on the pitch. Players do this by verbal and non verbal actions, like pointing where they want a ball to be passed or calling for the ball when overlapping from behind like a fullback running outside a winger.
I often get asked about how to get players to communicate on the pitch because it is something you have to encourage during your coaching sessions. It is very important to develop communication within your squad especially when they have played together in a team for over half a season. So I use sessions with different age groups that encourage them to use verbal and non verbal communication.
You can see in the sessions below that players can call for the ball when they have created space encouraging switching play or when they pass to their team mates how to put information on the pass.
Players will communicate with a bit of help from you – simple instructions to make the game easier.
Here are four ways to help your players communicate better.
Start by giving your players the chance to shout out moves they want their team mates to make. In The Conductor if the communication is poor or the defenders don’t listen to the player making all the calls, the attackers will breakthrough.
You can then play this great game that is fun and needs players to communicate to win the game. Tic tac toe is all about using soccer brains to solve the game then getting a ball and score in the goal. Lots of coaching points but it is the efforts of the players to win the game that works best.
When your players are passing the ball they need to communicate to the receiver where the danger lies behind them. “Put information on the pass” is a term you can use to encourage your players to communicate when passing the ball – try usingInfo on the Passit will help encourage players to be constructive in their play.
Finally, I find small-sided games are excellent for communication on the pitch. Switching play – creating space is a session that improves a player’s awareness of when and where they can turn with the ball, and helps them hunt out space in tight areas in order to switch the play.
This session is all about using soccer brains to solve the tic tac toe game then getting a ball and score in the goal. Lots of coaching points but it is the efforts of the players to win the game that works best MORE
This is a fun session with players using a range of techniques for long and short passing. It improves their awareness of when and where they can turn with the ball, to switch the play. MORE
Players can get great experience by analysing a game as it is being played. This is a simple defence game - if players can work out the best positions for defenders to be in to stop attacks, it will help them when they are in that situation in matches MORE
It is a very difficult time to be coaching our players around the world. So to help you I have created the Coaching Classroom where you can download lessons to give to your players online. Here I have focused on Compactness and Penetration MORE
Anticipate the ball being played through the lines and intercept passes by blocking passing routes. Players will also need to be able to tackle and win the ball MORE
I was out walking on the local golf course where I live this week and in the distance I saw a child running from what seemed miles away at top speed. As the child got closer I realised that it was someone dribbling a ball. Of course on the fairways it was like being at Wembley on a well cared for football pitch! It was great to see a child enjoying dribbling a ball, chipping over the bunkers and swerving around the patches of heather that catch out an unwary golfer. MORE
At the United Soccer Coaches Digital Convention yesterday I was in the presentation by Dan Abrahams on performance of your team with well being in mind. He explored three environmental approaches and combines them to help you establish a healthy and safe coaching environment for players of all ages and levels. MORE
I'm usually high up in the sky on my way to the United Soccer Coaches convention in America at this time of the year – last year I was at the convention in Baltimore and there was loads of coaching education on offer. Yet it is still exciting to be entering the United Soccer Coaches Digital Convention 2021 on my computer in the home office. MORE