in Blog, Tips and advice
Watching the Under 14s pass and move their way to a really pleasing victory this week I went home and decided I needed to see what I had worked on with this team when they were much younger and what had been the foundation for the way they were now playing. MORE
in Blog, Psychology
For a small minority of coaches embracing the unknown is something they like to do – it gives young players the added excitement of something new to test them and even though it is unchartered territory the rewards are much greater MORE
in Blog, Tips and advice
I’ve got 14 things to think about in the new year – consider these points and see if you can work some of the principles into your everyday coaching. If you can, you’ll be a better coach because of it, I promise you. 1. Listen to your players Your players will always tell you if... MORE
in Blog, Team Management
A couple of seasons ago I was asked to take over an Under 16s team that the club said were underachieving – they wanted the team to get more success than they were having. So I went along to watch them.... MORE
in Blog, Team Management
I have two players who recently came through our development squad who feel they are ready to join my team 6 months ahead of plan. It is a tricky decision as it adds to the pressure on match days when the number of subs would obviously increase. MORE
in Blog, Tips and advice
I had a problem this week at training – not only was the pitch waterlogged and we were playing indoors but I had three sessions to choose from and I was scratching my head trying to decide which one we should use. MORE
I spent a lot of time on the receiving moment in a match this week. There are two challenges for young players as they receive the ball. Where is the space? Where is the danger? MORE
in Blog, Team Management
I really like the idea of the respect line that the English Football Association has recommended clubs use to keep parents and supporters at bay during youth matches. It is a line that gives parents a clear and visual guide as to where they should be standing when a match is being played. MORE
in Blog, Tips and advice
I watched an interesting coaching session recently at a Premier League academy. It was based on the principles that Chinese super league club Dalian Yifang manager Rafa Benitez learnt when he was coaching in Spain. It is about position for possession and works on the defensive nature of possession, as well as the attacking angle. MORE
in Blog, Tips and advice
Sometimes my young players make more sense than I do – and that makes me well aware that I shouldn’t always put a tactical side of the argument as a rule that cannot be broken, so I try not to. MORE
in Blog, Psychology
Small players do not have to sit on the bench! Often on match day I will see the opposition substitutes and they will be the ones who are not as big as the others. MORE
in Blog, Team Management
I like to think I have educated the parents of my players so that they only shout encouraging things and respect the opposition players and parents. But sometimes they too shout things that are not helpful to the team on match days. MORE
in Blog, Team Management, Tips and advice
A massive change in the weather during the last month made me think of that old Boy Scout saying: be prepared! MORE
in Blog, Tips and advice
One of the first things we must do as coaches is to make sure the environment we work in allows young players to be creative and not to worry about making mistakes if they try to do something different. MORE
in Blog, Psychology
It’s a big question. But one that I am often asked “what do I do when he/she wont play or hides on the pitch?” MORE
in Blog, Tips and advice
I had a very interesting chat with a group of coaches last week, discussing risk taking in the final third of the pitch and how to get young players to try different skills, taking risks that can open up defences. MORE
in Blog, Team Management
It is often in the first few weeks of a season that coaches realise they have put their team into the right level of competition. MORE
in Blog, Soccer dribbling drills, Tips and advice
When I first started coaching I looked at the list of divisions in the league we had been put in and realised with mounting horror that it was possible we could get relegated every season and the team could sink without a trace. MORE
in Blog, Set pieces, Tips and advice
Your first game in youth soccer can be terrifying with the weight of parents’ expectations hanging over you, but my tips can help you cope with that and give you the strength to make it a great experience for you and your players MORE
in Ball Control and Footwork, Blog
One thing I find useful about working indoors is the development of a player’s 1v1 skills. I had interesting conversation about the use of 1v1s this week and it caused me to stop and think about how and why I was coaching this skill. MORE
in Blog, Team Management, Tips and advice
One of the toughest things about the start of any new season is all of the shenanigans that accompany it: the endless organisation and the paperwork that piles higher and higher if no one deals with it. MORE
in Blog, Team Management
I’ve been out and about this pre-season watching teams getting back into the swing of the new season. The weather has been excellent and some of the work by coaches up and down the country is a testament to how committed everyone is, from mums and dads right up to the head coach. MORE
in Ball Control and Footwork, Blog
Imagine what his coaching report must have said: can’t run, can’t tackle, poor in the air. Enough to have pushed him away from a career at the top of our sport MORE
in Blog, Team Management
I’ve lost count of the number of times last season that I saw the opposition had players on the bench for the whole match without getting them on the pitch at all. I hate to see this and my heart goes out to those unlucky benched souls who have been so keen all week to come along to a game and play in it, only to find that they “aren’t going to play this week”. MORE
