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Back to issue 3 of Student Of The Game.

Since Issue 2 we have launched our new official

studentofthegame.co.uk website, which we hope you have enjoyed.

We are always looking to make improvements and we have some great things in the pipeline.

However, during this time of change we may

experience some technical issues, but we think this is worthwhile as the end product of Student

Of The Game Magazine will be much better.

Anyway we hope you enjoy the magazine.

Dan Slaughter (Editor)

FEATURES

Embracing Change In Development Pg 4

Paul Temple

Donkey Tag & Plink Pg 6

Steve Ostrovsky

9v9 Is The Answer Pg 8

Paul Kennedy

SSG - Breaking Out Pg 9

Paddy Hartnett

Is there a place for Futsal? Pg 10

Matt Reveley

Book Review: Transforming Play Pg 13

Steve Phythian

Book Review: The Italian Job Pg 14

Danny Lee

Small Sided Games Pg 16

Lee Fielden

Importance Of Recovery Runs Pg 18

Dan Slaughter

Defending When Organised Pg 19

Dan Slaughter

Preventing Forward Play Pg 20

Dan Slaughter

Olympic Panna Challenge Pg 21

Dan Slaughter

Lit Review: Relative Age Effect Pg 22

Dan Slaughter

Fundamental Movements Pg 26

Dmitri Halajko

Playing the Lone Striker Role Pg 28

Dmitri Halajko

Playing in the Hole Effectively Pg 29

Dmitri Halajko

A Coaches Report Pg 30

Jim Totczyk

EXCELLENCE Pg 33

Goal Keeping Coach Pg 34

@Simmsy76

Sport Therapist Pg 36

@GlennMorriss

Coach: Paul Temple

Twitter: @paultemplecoach

Bob Proctor once said, “It doesn’t matter where you are, you are nowhere compared to where you can go”. England as a footballing nation is looking to the future with fresh plans to inspire a new generation of coaches and players, while down at the bottom of the world the little islands of New Zealand has taken the bull by the horns and embraced it’s own award winning ‘Whole of Football Plan’.

English born but working as a coach in New Zealand gives me perspective on ‘the future game’ because I’ve been part of serious change in an emerging football nation; I share the passion to develop the game back in England and will shout from the rooftops to anyone who wants to listen; a simple message. Change is good, change is essential and change is needed.

At the start of 2011 New Zealand Football adopted it’s ‘Whole of Football Plan’ (WOFP). In essence it standardized the game across the country, strived to give coaches, volunteers and players a better junior or grassroots football experience and developed a common philosophy for creating the next generation of kiwi players. Now coming towards the end of it’s second year the differences are staggering. The New Zealand government is fully behind the program, sponsors are on board and more importantly kids are falling in love with football.

There are a lot of similarities between the two nations when it comes to grassroots football. We too have parents who scream, shout and holler at small children trying to live their dreams through them. We too have egotistic autocratic coaches who because they played a bit 20 odd years ago are the fountain of all knowledge and we too have thousands of young footballers not given the adequate technical development to succeed at the highest level of the modern game. The biggest difference is that England has more off them than New Zealand because of the population base.

There are a lot of barriers in the way when it comes to making radical change to the game so many people love and feel passionate about. Especially when tradition, contentment and culture are thrown into the mix.

Everyone looks at Spain and dreams of emulating their system, their success and style. Unfortunately not everyone is Spain and by the time nations actually catch up and spend millions of pounds copying the formula the game would have moved on again and you’ll be no better off than when you started.

So change has to fit your culture, suit your philosophy and this in turn helps get everyone’s buy in. Where New Zealand Football has been extremely smart is they conducted worldwide research and saw all the best practice, brought it back and converted it into the ‘kiwi style’. Kiwi’s are relaxed people who don’t take well to lack of flexibility, the culture dictates there must be flexibility to add your own flavor to things, to make it your own and unique so you can feel proud of it. One of the key aspects of player centred coaching is empowerment, empowerment encourages people to have an

opinion and take ownership. So what’s the sense in building a plan to create a player centred coaching philosophy if you’re not going to adopt the same mentality within your plan?

Flexibility is crucial for the future changes in the game to succeed. Providing the philosophy behind everything is aligned then flexibility will enable people to make it their own and feel proud they are engaging and helping change the game and the future. After all there are a lot of people out there who do a fantastic job and they need to be em-braced.

The success stories from grassroots clubs across New Zealand are inspiring, rural villages whose coaches were kicking around in welly’s, overalls and mullets are now kitted out in club tracksuits, with their sponsors tear drop banners providing the backdrop to organized kids football. You can’t help but get excited by the change in New Zealand. I have been part of changing an U6, U7 & U8 regional competition from big pitches, 7v7 and near on parental warfare on the sidelines to standardized organized 3v3, 4v4 games, with rotation pods, no results and no parents invading the pitch. These changes have happened quickly and effectively. Don’t get me wrong there have been challenges but when you have a vision and passion you just have to stick to it and work with the end in mind. There are enough allies in the football community to out number the doubters.

Coaching mentality has changed because the reaction of the children has changed. The kids absolutely love small-sided matches, more games and fun enjoyable training sessions. When the volunteer coaches see the effect the WOFP is having on the kids they too accept it’s time to change their coach approach. It’s a work in progress but adopting a development philosophy is key to the technical development of players we so desperately need and crave.

Accepting that winning the U8 league really doesn’t matter, strangely enough can be hard to accept for some adults. Talk of ‘tournaments’ for U6 players needs to be eradicated from football vocabulary.

If you care about the human development of the kids you coach then take your moral obligation seriously and create a fun, positive learning environment where winning doesn’t matter and mistakes are accepted as freely as new ideas and opinion. All the research and expertise only backs this up, there are no journals, academic studies or world-class coaches saying the opposite and that tells you everything you need to know. It is the future and the bus is on its way. You need to decide if you’re getting on for the journey or you’ll be left behind looking into the past.

I’m positive the majority of coaches’ hopes are for a brighter future but rather than just hope, do more than that. Believe and make it happen, you are responsible for your own future and if you do your job and the rest of the coaching community do their job then like Jose Mourinho’s well-oiled Real Madrid team success is just around the corner.

The whole of football project will continue to grow in New Zealand and those who can make a difference will keep pushing change, good luck and enjoy the journey coming up. After all the journey is the fun and exciting part

www.powerpointcoaching.wordpress.com

Coach: Steve Ostrovsky Twitter: @SoccerSDO

Club: LCSC Girls 98 Elite

Setup: In a grid large enough for movement with a ball at speed, but not so big kids run too much, give each player a pinnie (training vest) and have them stuff it down the back of their shorts like a tail (proper butt smell jokes should be handled appropriated and laugh-ingly - this is fun). Select 2 players as tail pullers to run around without a ball. The rest must dribble with a ball and try not to get their tail pulled. If their tail gets pulled, have them re-stuff it and continue. Allow game to run 1-2 minutes. Count number of tails pulled. Then change tail pullers and challenge them to do better. Variations: Start without a ball, then add a ball. Don't allow them to put tail back in and see how fast tail pullers can get them all out Topics covered as the kids have fun: -Speed dribbling -Heads up dribbling -Shielding Another variation is without pinnies. Make players hold ball over their head with legs spread if they get tagged as they dribble - other teammates must nutmeg them to release them back to play. I call this Statue Tag

Coach: Steve Ostrovsky Twitter: @SoccerSDO

Club: LCSC Girls 98 Elite

Set Up: - 15x20 yard grid - Scatter cones throughout the grid. - Make two gates to dribble through at opposite end of players.

Players form two lines at opposite corners of gates. Have them dribble through cone field

without touching a cone.

Progression:

- Simple dribble to other side.

- Dribble to gate diagonal from line - dribble around back to line.

- Dribble to gate diagonal then back up through middle (creates lots of congestion).

- Speed dribble down outside, turn into gate, then back through cone field.

- Have race between two lines - touch a cone, must start over or take a knee for 3

seconds.

Topics covered:

- Small, quick touches.

- Good warm up with dynamic stretching between progressions.

Coach: Paul Kennedy

Twitter: @tom_catbiscuit

9v9 is the answer, why it will take league chairmen

& parents so long to realise?

Were on a new path to creating England's next

footballing generation. With the recent vote going

the right way at the FA mainly thanks to the FA's Nick Levett (@nlevett) and his team's

hard work. The new transition from 5v5, 7v7, 9v9 & finally 11v11 has been rubber

stamped.

One of the big decisions was the option to play 9v9 till u16/u17. For me its a massive

step in the right

direction. My son’s team have been playing at 9v9 last season and will be playing it this

coming season at u12's, they've benefited from it massively. It’s the right jump from 7v7

to 9v9 rather than going straight to 11v11 from 7v7. Players are allowed to develop at

the right pace and GK are given a chance to grow with the nets they use.

Also I don't know how many times I've heard teams fold because they can't get 11 or

more players

together but can get 9 or 10 players. This would help maintain the retention for the older

players, which the FA are actively trying to do.

The place where it starts to fall apart is at league level and parent education. The

league I'm in is a very forward thinking league and I would like to think they'd extend the

9v9 through to u16 possibly running 9v9 divisions as well as 11v11 ones for a transition-

al period bit I can't see it. Parents need educating that what they see on the telly and at

adult level, isn't the only type of football that kids can play. That ball falls back in the

FA's court and is probably one of the biggest reasons we've never progressed as a foot-

balling nation.

Like I said before we ARE on a new path as a footballing nation, whether or not it's a

bumpy journey only time will tell.

Coach: Paddy Hartnett

Twitter: @PaddyHartnett77

Club: Coerver Coaching Ireland & LImerick FC

Players Required: 14-16 Game Outline: The game is 7v7 using half a field. Each team needs to complete 5 connecting passes, then play through into an attacking run (use the off-side rule). Progression - take away the passing condition.

Coaching Points: - Find seams, constant movement looking to unbalance defending team. - Body position when receiving the ball. - Quality/Type of pass.

Coach: Matt Reveley

Twitter: @Matty_Reveley

Everyone has their own opinion on how football should be played – do we follow the art

and creativity and possession-focused game that the top Spanish players have mas-

tered? Or do we adopt the German approach and ensure that our club’s academies are

all coached with the same philosophy? Either way, I’d hope that Futsal continues to grow

at youth level in this country.

The number of touches that a player receives in a 4v4 small-sided game was highlighted

by Manchester United’s 4v4 Pilot Scheme and thankfully Nick Levett has developed a

platform for such formats of the game to be played at grassroots level, including Futsal.

After training for 9 months in a small hall where time on the ball is extremely limited, our

U11 & U12 teams recently trained outside on a bigger (astroturf) “pitch” to assess

development. Futsal naturally encourages players to think and play fast and the ball itself

promotes safe control and quick feet. We were also aware that the speed of the game

was providing significant touches of the ball for each player, as well as developing quick

decision-making skills off the ball. Indeed, it is the movement off the ball that has been

the focal point of our development process and (as in 4v4), in Futsal, when in offensive

mode, supporting positions are often needed from every player thus enhancing quick

intelligent movement and clever combination play.

Interestingly however it was when the players were given the opportunity to play Futsal

on a bigger “pitch” that we noticed the extent of their development in game intelligence.

We knew they were confident on the ball, we knew they now “took care” of the ball, we

knew they understood the principles of movement; but what surprised us was the speed

at which it was executed and the game intelligence that was shown in doing so. Asking

for the ball back at speed and executing the move with precision takes practice. In my

opinion, Futsal is one way of doing that; “purposeful practice” perhaps.

Is it the answer to 46 years of hurt? I encourage you to let your players decide. I coach

Futsal because I believe it makes a difference technically. I also coach Futsal because of

the positive implications on the other three corners of the FA’s well-constructed

four-corner model. The speed of the game provides continuous practice in decision

making skills and any Futsal YouTube video will give you a good idea of the physical

benefits.

Socially however is where we develop individuals and in Futsal we have a game that

promotes creativity and imagination and an opportunity to practice skills in an

environment where both expression and creativity is applauded. Players enjoy the

fast-paced nature of the game and enjoy the rewards that come from playing. For many,

it is now their preferred version of football. Forget the comparison in ball touches;

compare the smiles on their faces.

Coach: Steve Phythian

Twitter: @CoachA95

Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) is a non-traditional method of teaching, espe-

cially children and young people, games.

Although I describe the approach as ‘non-traditional’ TGfU is not a new concept and in

fact has been around for two decades or so. It is also sometimes referred to as “Game

Sense”.

Children tend to prefer to play games, not perform linear ‘technical’ drills. TGfU grew out

of the formal educational environment with a desire to engage children in playing modi-

fied games, to teach them aspects (attack and defence, for example) of games without it

necessarily being “the game” itself. This approach allows novice players to participate in

and enjoy the playing of a game as much as someone with more experience.

Some books about this enlightened approach can be quite academic and a little dry.

Transforming Play, by Dennis Slade, is not one of those books.

This is an accessible, well presented book with an introduction to the TGfU approach, a

little of its history and why it works.

For coaches new to this approach or who have heard about it but wish to understand

more, there are practical examples of games with clear diagrams, looking at fundamental

movements, the tactics of attack and defence and the specific application of TGfU to a

variety of games, including football.

There is also a chapter on how the ‘teacher’ (or coach) can use observation and analysis

to achieve an authentic assessment of player performance, in order to enhance player

understanding, using this method of games teaching.

Assessment does not interfere with the playing of games; in fact it depends on the play-

ing of games and not the rather false measurements that can be taken by observing play-

ers perform repetitive drills, the learning of which does not generally transfer to the game

well, in any event.

This is a very practical and engaging book about the Teaching Games for Understanding

philosophy with lots of practical help for coaches on how to implement it in their teaching.

Dennis Slade is a Senior Lecturer at Massey University in New Zealand and has played

national and international sport and has authored several other books on the topic.

By Steve Phythian (15/07/2012) http://afanwithabadge.blogspot.co.uk/

Coach: Danny Lee

Twitter: @DannyTHFC98

"I looked at 3 English cities (London, Birmingham and Manchester) and 3 Italian cities (Milan,

Turin and Rome) and evaluated data on average temperature, wind speed, rainfall and average

hours of sunshine per month. More than two thirds of the population of each country lives

within 150 miles of one of these cities, so they seemed like good samples.

The average annual temperature in the 3 English cities was 10C, compared to 13.7C in Italy. Not

a enormous difference but a noteworthy one right? Not really! If you discount the summer months,

which in footballing terms are largely irrelevant as it's the off season, the gap narrows

considerably. From September to May, the average temp in London was 9C, which is marginally

lower than Milan 9.9C) or Turin (9.7C). In fact in the 3 English cities, the mean for the non

summer

months, 8.2C is only a few degrees lower than in the 3 Italian ones, 10.8C. And in January and

February are not merely colder than London, but colder than Manchester and Birmingham too, So

that's the temperature argument debunked!

What about rainfall? its always raining in England, isn’t it? Well your wrong. The 3 English cities

receive an average of 671 mm of rain. The 3 Italian cities had-wait for it- 867mm! That’s right! It

rains more in Italy-or at least, in our sample cities. In fact according to the data, London and

Birmingham both had less rain than Rome, and Milan was far wetter than Manchester. Go figure.

I guess the British Tourist board will want access to my research.

Still when i was going through the data i did get frustrated. The research showed clearly that there

was no substantial difference in temperature and it rained more in Turin than in London. so why

did it feel colder in London? The answer came when I looked at wind speeds. the average

monthly wind sped in the 3 English cities was 15.3 km per hour compared to 10.3 km per hour in

Italy. That meant it blew some 50 per cent harder in England than it did in Italy. If we discount the

summer months the gap increases. The average in Manchester, Birmingham and London is 15.6

km per hour while in Milan, Turin and Rome its just 10.1 km per hour.

When I uncovered this data I felt vindicated: it supports what i had suspected for a long time -

that wind, more than any other climatic factor, influences the development of a footballer.

It seems basic, it seems simplistic, but it is an absolutely huge factor. It’s not just something that

affects young players: it has a impact on how a team trains and therefore, how it plays, even at

professional level.

Arsene Wenger shares my views on this: "one of the first things i had to get accustomed to as

soon as I arrived in England was the weather" says the Arsenal boss "And I don’t mean the

temperature or the rain but, most of all, the wind. The wind ruins everything. It forces you to do

only one type of exercise. It forces you to work on either speed or continuous movement. It’s very

rare that you get the chance to sit calmly and work on technique or on tactics. You have to keep

the players moving otherwise they get cold. And this is something which begins way back when

they are children"

The wind effects everything. You can be the most technical footballer in the world- you can be

Zidane and Maradona rolled into one-but if a fierce wind is blowing you won’t be able to do any

meaningful work with the ball in the air, whether its volleying practice, heading or keepy-uppy.

Even any kind of passing over 10 or 20 feet becomes pointless when its windy. And it’s not just

down to the way the wind affects the flight of the ball. No, as Wenger points out, the wind makes

everything feel colder. You don't want to do a shooting drill or individual ball work in which players

spend lots of time standing around. You want to keep them moving so that their muscles stay

loose and their warm, which means doing drills at pace or running scrimmages. That isn't a bad

thing, but it does mean it’s harder to work on individual technique.

"If you want to work on technique, you need to have the right conditions to do so," says Ray Wil-

kins. "Almost all my memories of training I did as a boy are associated with intense cold and a

fierce wind. I don’t know why, but I don’t remember any sunny training sessions, though obvious-

ly, there would have been some. It’s something I see now as a coach. When it’s windy everything

changes. If you want to coach, you need to communicate, and to communicate something to a

player, you need to calculate where the wind is coming from and make sure it’s behind you, other-

wise he won't hear a thing. It’s obvious that, in those conditions, it a lot easier and maybe more

logical too, hand out bibs, stick two cones on the pitch and play an 8 a side".

"The Italian Job" by Gianluca Vialli

Coach: Lee Fielden

Twitter: @Fieldsey77

Topic: Various Theme: Various Age Group: U8-U10

Coach: Dan Slaughter Twitter: @DanSlaughter12 Club: Whetstone Wanderers YFC

Topic: Recovery Runs Theme: Olympic Rings

Age Group: U8-U10

Coach: Dan Slaughter Twitter: @DanSlaughter12 Club: Whetstone Wanderers YFC

Topic: Recovery Runs Theme: Olympic Rings

Age Group: U8-U10

Coach: Dan Slaughter Twitter: @DanSlaughter12 Club: Whetstone Wanderers YFC

Topic: Recovery Runs Theme: Olympic Rings

Age Group: U8-U10

Coach: Dan Slaughter Twitter: @DanSlaughter12 Club: Whetstone Wanderers YFC

Topic: Recovery Runs Theme: Olympic Rings

Age Group: U8-U10

This literature review looks into the studies related to relative age effect in youth sport. The subject that I

propose to relate these studies towards is the Football Associations Four Corner Long Term Player

Development Model illustrated in Bate, D. et al (2010 p.70-71) The Future Game.

The Future Game is a blueprint document that has been outline by the National FA as the guidelines to

youth development in football.

This review will look at studies of relative age effect and relate them towards the Four Corner Long

Term Player Development Model.

The Four Corner Long Term Player Development Model, outlines areas that need to be considered to

enable the growth and development of a young player in football, each corner of the model is connected

and relies on support from the other three areas.

Key Words: relative age effect, birth dates, selection bias, age grouping, selection process,

chronological age, maturation, talent identification, social, physical, psychological and technical.

After finding several pieces of work, I started to filter through relating each journal to a specific area of

the FA Four Corners Model, (Bate, D. et al, 2010). Reading was then completed and comparisons and

differences were noted on the studies and how they related to the theme of the literature review a result

of this process is the following literature review.

After researching the work of Campo, D. et al. (2010) who gathered information on relative age effect

within the Spanish youth football system, where data was collected by working closely with 20 clubs

who form the Spanish Professional Football League.

I looked at drawing comparisons from similar studies, some whom focused their work in other sports.

For example Nolan, J. & Howell, G. (2010) gathered birthdates from players who were part of the Na-

tional, Western and Ontario Hockey Leagues the authors also collected data from the Quebec Major

Junior Hockey League. This data was then categorised into months of birth and used to assess the pro-

portion of relative age effect in Canadian Hockey.

Although Nolan, J. & Howell, G. (2010) replicated their studies based on work carried out by Barnsley et

al. (1985), and Grondin et al. (1984).

They found just like Campo, D. et al (2010, p.190) did in their study that there was “an over-

representation of players born in the first months of the selection year”, highlighting the scale of relative

age effect in youth football from Spain and youth hockey from Canada.

Helsen, W. et al (2005) focus their study around international youth football tournaments across Europe.

The purpose of their study was used to identify an over representation of footballers born between Jan-

uary and March. Results recorded that all national youth selections in age groups under 15 to under 18

were regarded as ‘talented’ if they were born within the first quarter of the competition year.

Delorme, N. et al (2010, p.91) observed a biased reflection of birth dates within elite sports. Their study

was based around professional footballers in France. Delorme, N. et al (2010) conclude that the bias

“could in turn lead to the false conclusion of systemic discrimination in the recruitment of professional

players.”

Barnsley, R. et al (1992, p.77) also indicates how in a number of sports that the month of birth is related

towards achievement. They continue to discuss how “those born later in the year are underrepresented”

in elite football due to relative age effect.

Gil, S. et al (2007) look at non elite footballers and how physiological profiles can affect the selection

process. The study also relates relative age effect towards positions on a football pitch. The study con-

cludes to discuss how positions can often be relative to stereotypes of physiological profiles.

Gil, S. et al (2007) provide an interesting look into the way coaches stereotype players into specific foot-

ball positions, this highlights just how unfair the selection process is, especially if we were to look at the

Spanish World Cup Winning team of 2010, who were a relatively smaller but technical team.

Malina, R. et al (2005, p.1044) “wanted to estimate the biological maturity status of youth football play-

ers” aged 9-14. Methods used were noninvasive to study the contrasts between body sizes in groups of

players from two football teams from Michigan.

Malina, R. et al (2005, p1047) found that the “percentage of predicted mature height attained at a given

age appears to be a reasonable indicator of maturity status.” However they felt that validation was re-

quired for the method by using other more direct indicators.

Simmons, C. (2001) echoes the thoughts of other studies when he looks at the external influences that

affect recruitment in football. He goes onto discuss how factors such as chronological age, season cut

off dates, inheritance of genetics and the environment can affect how a player is or is not recruited with-

in football. Simmons, C. (2001, p.3) concludes by highlighting how “selection for age defined sport with

seasonal start dates is based on adult convenience” he continues to state how the “situation will have to

be either redefined, or allowances made for recruitment and selection criteria.” As he feels that “this

approach will allow younger or smaller as well as older or bigger children to participate equally in the

selection or assessment process.”

Musch, J. & Grondin, S. (2001) share similar views to Simmons, C. (2001) as they focus their study on

the cut off dates in sport competitions and how keeping the same cut off date year on year can encour-

age unequal competition to individual athletes.

Helsen, W. et al (2005) share good practice by suggesting that a “yearly rotation in cut-off date might

work” as a solution to relative age effect in sports with age defined rules.

With all this said Delorme, N. et al (2010, p.91) continue their study to state how their “findings question

the accuracy of previous research on the existence of this in elite soccer.”

Schorer, J. et al (2009, p.45) also provide controversial views in discussing how it is normally under-

stood that relative age effect benefits those who are a year older in their age group. The research goes

on to suggest how younger members may not be at a disadvantage and concludes with how differences

in relative age effect do not seem to be down to technical skill and/or body size.

However, Ashworth, J. & Heyndels, B. (2007) analyse how relative age effect in youth competition and

football education programs, may or may not affect “wage formation” in the professional game, there-

fore causing unequal opportunities later in a player’s career.

Simmons, C. (2001) also looks into the possibilities of family planning to increase selection chances in

youth football. He studies how older players in an age group are potentially at an advantage to those

that are younger and how parents may see fit to plan births around these cut-off dates.

Having looked at all of the research provided there are still questions that need to be answered.

Simmons, C. (2001) raises the question “are the excluded younger players perhaps later maturing, who

may have the ability to develop into elite performers but who are not identified for enriched coaching

and competition in their early years of sport?”

Simmons, C. (2001) provide a good challenge here towards coaching attitudes and the effect of winning

at all cost mentality.

The big question that still needs answering is, just how much impact does relative age effect have and

is it preventable through an ‘adults’ actions and views?

Reference List

Delorme, N. Et al (2010) Relative age effect in elite sports: Methodological bias or real discrimination?

European Journal of Sport Science. 10, (2), p.91-96.

Campo, D. Et al (2010) The relative age effect in youth soccer players from Spain. Journal of Sports

Science and Medicine. 9, p. 190-198.

Nolan, J.E & Howell, G. (2010) Hockey success and birth date: The relative age effect revisited. Interna-

tional Review for the Sociology of Sport. 45, (4), p.507-512.

Schorer, J. Et al (2009) Relative age, talent identification and youth skill development: Do relatively

younger athletes have superior technical skills? Talent Development & Excellence Vol.1, No. 1 p.45-56.

Gil, S.M. Et al (2007) Physiological and Anthropometric Characteristics of Young Soccer Players Ac-

cording to their Playing Position: Relevance for the Selection Process. Journal of Strength and Condi-

tioning Research. 21, (2), p.438-445.

Ashworth, J. & Heyndels, B. (2007) Selection Bias and Peer Effects in Team Sports: the Effect of Age

Grouping on Earnings of German Soccer Players. Journal of Sports Economics. p.01-26.

Malina, R.M. et al (2005) Maturity Status of Youth Football Players: A Noninvasive Estimate.

Helsen, W.F. (2005) The relative age effect in youth soccer across Europe. Journal of Sports Sciences;

23, (6), p.629-636

Musch, J. & Gronding, S. (2001) Unequal Competition as an Impediment to Personal Development: A

Review of the Relative Age Effect in Sport. Developmental Review. 21, p.147-167.

Simmons, C. (2001) External Influences in Football Recruitment.

Simmons, C. (2001) Can family planning increase your selection chances?

Barnsley, R.H. et al (1992) Family Planning: Football Style. The Relative Age Effect in Football. Int.

Rev. For Soc. of Sport. 27, (1), p.77-86.

Bate, D. et al (2010) The Future Game: The Football Association Technical Guide for Young Player De-

velopment.

http://slavieboy.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/relative-age-effect-spotted-in.html

Coach: Dmitri Halajko Twitter: @DmitriHalajko Club: Norwich City Academy U12’s-U16’s

Topic: Fundamental Movement Theme: Various

Age Group: Various

Coach: Dmitri Halajko Twitter: @DmitriHalajko Club: Norwich City Academy U12’s-U16’s

Topic: Fundamental Movement Theme: Various

Age Group: Various

Coach: Dmitri Halajko Twitter: @DmitriHalajko Club: Norwich City Academy U12’s-U16’s

Topic: Receiving Theme: Lone Striker

Age Group: Various

Coach: Dmitri Halajko Twitter: @DmitriHalajko Club: Norwich City Academy U12’s-U16’s

Topic: Using the hole Theme: Playing through the thirds

Age Group: Various

Coach: Jim Totczyk Twitter: @jimtotczyk

Club: Christchurch FC

Game: Christchurch FC v Chichester FC (senior football) level 4 of the FA pyramid

Date: 26/07/12

Result: Christchurch 5-0 Chichester

Overview

The significance of this game was in the fact for the past season Christchurch GC who

play in the Wessex Premier league, have adopted and always worked with a formation of

4-5-1, which whilst strong defensively, the attacking aspect is reduced if the ball is not

played forward quickly and supported by the mid field players. For the past 3 weeks of pre

-season training we have been working on various new options for the season of which

one is playing 4-3-3.

During the so called summer we have all witnessed the way that the Spanish and the

Dutch play this system, it is especially effective where you have a small team but one that

is good at the art of passing and requiring minimal touches.

In the pre-season I have insisted that every session we use the ball as much as possible,

even in sprint work. A lot of players initially were intrigues as to how we would be able to

get the usual intense workout of a pre-season if we were to use a ball all the time, need-

less to say that at the end of several sessions this fear was put to rest, as many tweeted

and texted asking where their legs had gone!

I have structured the sessions so that any sprint work is done at the start when players

are feeling sharp, progressed into the small keep ball/ no directional work (3v3 and 4v4),

shape specific work, larger games 8v8 and then at the end put in some endurance work

such as HISP runs (18/42 protocol). This has seen the players enter into pre-season

games with a superb high level of fitness and great touches of the ball.

On the shape side of things, I have had them in the early part of pre-season doing some

very repetitive passing work which can be best described as a “saw tooth” shape. As we

progressed through pre-season and started on game work, as the goal keeper played the

ball out to the centre backs, the players suddenly recognised the repetitive saw tooth

shape / movement and with little coaching applied they could move the ball in tight trian-

gle from one side of the pitch to the other, with great control and a high tempo.

We have since worked hard on understanding the basic principles of the 4-3-3 shape and

what each player is required to do, when either, we have possession, the ball is in transi-

tion or the opponent has the ball. The results have been staggering.

Playing against southern league opposition it has been so refreshing to watch the players

play with an increased level of confidence, full backs over lapping, people covering other

positions with limited communications and to hear the opposition manager shouting at his

players why are they playing a long ball, only to hear the player reply “there is no space

and we are being overrun in midfield”. This is the result of the forwards working back in

the loss of possession supporting the midfield, who now are not jumping into tackles but

delaying play, allowing the forwards to recover and steal the ball from the blind side of the

player in possession. When we are attacking we now have 6 to 7 players committed to

supporting forward play and we have seen defences of higher opposition struggle to deal

with this rampage of numbers. One of the teams we played recently this week played a

professional League 1 team and beat them and did not concede yet that same team con-

ceded against us within 2 minutes and went on to concede 2 more goals from us in the

new formation. In three games against teams of a high standard (level 3 of the pyramid)

we have managed to score some 11 goals which is a fair return against the start of last

year’s pre-season where we played teams of the same or lower standard and managed 5

goals in 4 games.

The formation can be adopted and changed to two other formations by the movement of

one to two players.

Seeing players of good experience playing with young players who have come through

our youth development scheme adapting to new ideas and assisting the younger players

ins refreshing to say the least, I think that it challenges the old saying that you can’t teach

an old dog a new trick, I think that football in the UK needs to adapt to new systems and

ideas or risk being left on the shelf in world football.

At Christchurch FC, we do not pay any of the players and support staff and we bring most

of the first team up through our youth system. We are seeing results and success of a

club being built on the ability to adapt, ensuring that players are playing for the joy of play-

ing football and not because they pick up a wage packet. We feel that by showing the

ability or open mindness towards playing new systems we will be able to stay in touch

with the rest of football.

Contact: Studentofthegame@live.com

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Coach: Paul Simms

Twitter: @simmsy76

Club: Cardiff City Advanced development Centre - New-

port

Topic: Goalkeeping

Theme: Dealing with Crosses

Age Group: U7 - U16

Set Up:

- Half Pitch

- Ball Ratio of 1:1

Warm-up:

Conduct 14 minute warm up consisting of running, cone

work, stretching before moving into warm up drills.

Warm-up drill 1 (8 mins)

Black throw high balls to green while moving backwards

across the pitch. Once at the end of the pitch alternate

servers so Black are now moving

backwards taking high balls

Warm-up drill 2: (8 mins)

Play 6v4 of 7v5 keep away but all high throws. Players re-

ceiving must aim for correct technique of jumping off 1 leg

using arms and following leg to thrust into the air and take

the ball at the

highest point using a ‘W’ catch. On

landing bring ball in tight to chest.

Technical Development:

- Keeper starts in centre of goal

- Players will serve deep crosses into the box for keeper to

work.

- Use players (spare keepers) as distraction to start drill

- Keeper start in open body position, focus on ball, assess

the flight of the ball and adjust position using correct

footwork to be able to attack and catch the ball at the

highest point using the ‘W’ catch

- Aim to take off on leg closest to direction of cross

- Keeper to call ‘Keeper’ just before attacking ball or ‘Away’

if ball too far out

Progression

- Play crosses from both sides and allow constant flow

- Use players to challenge keeper

- Rotate keepers

Small Sided Game:

- Equal sides with normal match rules

- Teams must aim to play to one of their own players in

wide area box

- Player in box must cross into box for keeper to attack,

players can kick off the ground or pick up and volley

practicing distribution as well as working within the session

topic.

- Players in wide area boxes are unopposed

- Crosses are played to teams own keeper who will score a

point for his team by catching the cross in the air at the

highest point and using correct technique

- Players should look to intercept crosses

- When a point is scored the opposition team re start from

the centre and play looking to find their wide player and

cross to their own keeper

Progression

- Limit passes outfield before ball played wide.

Cool down:

- 10 minutes of light jogging, skipping, walking and

stretching to finish session.

Coach: Glenn Morriss

Twitter: @GlennMorriss

Medical services, the Olympics Games and how this affects

grass root sport

With the Olympic Games fast approaching I think it’s important to

consider what sort of medical services will be available and who

will benefit from the these facilities in the long term. We should

also look at how this medical assistance can influence grass root

sport for athletes around London and the whole country.

The Olympic Games will have a big effect on all us whether we

want it to or not. The Olympics has money invested in many are-

as such as marketing to increase the awareness of the event.

Considerable investment would also have been required for the

medical services to ensure these meet the appropriate standards.

The medical facilities put in place will mainly be for the athletes

although medical intervention should be available for spectators

ranging from first aiders to the Ambulance services. With an influx

of people in London this will ultimately put strain on local hospitals

and amenities, although this would have been carefully consid-

ered with a plan produced.

How will this effect grass root sport? Well this will help demon-

strate that London can hold a major event whilst the influx in

trained and experienced medical staff will cascade down to grass

root sport. With medical personnel developing their experience in

a major sporting event, they can then apply this knowledge that

they have acquired to local sporting clubs. Also with the Olympics

being so accessible to everyone this will continue to encourage

people of all backgrounds to take an active interest in participating

and helping local clubs move forward.

All topics discussed in this article are for information purposes on-

ly. If you have specific enquiry or concern please visit a trained

registered practitioner for a consultation or assistance.

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