Hi,
It's great to see so many players and coaches out at the Dome on
Tuesday evenings. Please remember that this is a great opportunity to get
ideas for your training sessions. Also, the trainers are available (between
sessions) to answer any questions you have.
Also, congratulations to the BU11C3 Rovers coached by Jim Friedel
and Jeff Crepeau who won the fall state championship in their age division!
Barry
1. Congratulations to the AVHS Boys Soccer state champs!
2. Congratulations to the Paul Bronson Coach of the Year nominees!
3. Fall Training
4. MYSA Coach training
5. MYSA Winter Symposium
6. Annual VUSC volunteer appreciation dinner - Sun. 11/15.
7. Unbelievable video!
8. Website of the Month - UEFA Training Ground - http://www.uefa.com/
9. Exercise of the Month - Passing and Receiving by Tony Carr
1. Congratulations to the AVHS Boys Soccer state champs! I saw many VUSC players and parents at the dome for that great championship game. In addition to supporting the team, there are so many things that younger players can learn by watching higher level soccer. Some of the key points from the game:
a. Hustle and desire are key! The AVHS team wanted it more and that was evident. They ran down more balls, and out-jumped Wayzata throughout the game.
b. 1v1 D. It's important for players to learn to become "shut-down" defenders. AVHS was able to win the vast majority of the 1v1 battles when Wayzata had possession.
c. Supporting teammates. In those instances when an AVHS player was not able to make the 1v1 D play, there was another player backing them up. That is a fundamental concept.
d. Passing and ball control. For the first 15-20 min, no one had control of the game. In fact, Wayzata had a couple of scary chances. Then AVHS settled down and connected more passes. That's what led to the first goal. That's why you should spend practice time on ball control and passing!
e. It all starts from the back. The D is the anchor for the team. The first goal was a direct result of the great hustle, ball control and passing out of the defensive third.
f. Attacking and defending as a team. I always tell my teams "we attack as a team and we defend as a team". The AVHS team does that so well. In addition to making some tremendous saves, the keeper even had an assist on the third goal!
g. Fluidity of the game. Soccer is a fluid game and players need to move to where the space is, while covering for each other. The first goal was scored in a sequence by players who were "out of position". While our youngest players need to learn to "play their position", when a player moves to a different area of the field they can create a "numbers-up" situation and unbalance the opposing D. The key is that teammates must recognize this and cover the vacated area.
2. Congratulations to the Paul Bronson Coach of the Year nominees! At the
annual VAA meeting the nominees for Paul Bronson Community and Travel Coach of
the Year were announced and recognized. While the travel coach award
winner was from travel baseball, it was great to see so many VUSC coaches on
the list! Congratulations to nominees Jade Paulseth, Emily Nelson, Jim
Friedel, John Moran/Shawn McGregor, Bob Kincade, Barry Caplin and Mark Swanson!
3. Fall Training. I hope all your players are attending the fall Coerver
training. So far the training has been excellent. This is the type
of technical ball handling, passing and small-sided games that should be
incorporated into your practices on a regular basis. Please encourage all
your players to attend.
4. MYSA Coach training. The Plymouth D license course was canceled,
likely due to lack of enrollment. The Woodbury D course started this
weekend. Those were the only D courses posted so far. There are a
number of upcoming E certificate courses. Please remember that VUSC will
reimburse you for coach training! Please ask me for details.
5. MYSA Winter Symposium. A reminder that the annual MYSA Winter
Symposium is on Sat. Feb. 6 in the Mpls Convention Center. We hope to be
able to purchase a "club pass" which covers the admission for 10
coaches (with lunch) at a greatly discounted price. Please let me know if
you are planning at attend the Winter Symposium. You can find the agenda
and more information about the event here:
http://www.mnyouthsoccer.org/events/symposia.cfm.
6. Annual VUSC volunteer appreciation dinner - Sun. 11/15. I hope that those
of you who coached or volunteered in the Fall '08 - Summer '09 season will be
attending the annual dinner, Sun 11/15 at 5P at Old Chicago for food, fun and
fabulous prizes!
7. Unbelievable video! Check out these "highlights" of the BYU
v UNM women’s soccer game from this past week. It's always good to talk
with our teams about sportsmanship! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNmPybFK2_o
8. Website of the Month - UEFA Training Ground - http://www.uefa.com/
Great video training tips and drills!
Exercise of the Month - Passing and Receiving by Tony Carr
Practice passing and receiving regularly and your team’s attacking capability will be greatly enhanced. This session works on basic passing and the key is to ensure that players are controlling the ball to one side of their body using a single touch.
Receiving
· Move into line with the ball.
· Cushion the ball on impact to the side, but not too far.
Passing
· Body over the ball, non-kicking foot alongside.
· Inside of foot at right angle to the ball.
· Follow through the ball's horizontal mid-line.
· Correct weight of pass and direction so team mate can control easily.
To increase difficulty, encourage players to use their weaker foot only, or get them to receive with one foot and pass with the other. Increase the distance if necessary.
Players stand approximately 5 meters apart with two cones 1 meter apart in the middle, and pass to and from each other through them still using 2 touches.
To progress, Player ‘A’ passes through the cones. Player ‘B’ controls the ball with the outside of their foot, and returns it outside the 2 centre cones. Player ‘A’ then controls and repeats the drill. Switch so both players practice passing through the two middle cones.
Next, use the inside of the foot to control the ball across
the body and pass through the gate in the same way as before.
[This drill and many other great ones are available from the Better Soccer
Coaching newsletter. I highly recommend this newsletter. Sign up
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