In this IssuePage 1!! Top Tip - Coaching U5s and U6s (1)!Page 2!! The Main Feature - Q: What’s wrong with a good old!

fashioned toe poke? A: Nothing. !Page 3!! The Game - All Up!!Page 4! !Steve’s Coaching Clinic - What should I do about these

lazy players?

Dear Coach,!The World Cup in Brazil has entertained us with great skills (remember Van Persie’s stunning header against the ‘unbeatable’ Spain team?), big shocks and moments of pure drama. It must have inspired countless youngsters to try to become the best they can be at ‘the beautiful game’.!Great goals have been scored - and not just with blistering instep drives. !Seeing Brazil’s Oscar scoring with an old fashioned toe-poke in the opening match reminded me that it doesn’t matter how you score - the only thing that matters is seeing the ball in the back of the net. !Today’s article is about the importance of encouraging our players to do what they think they need to do on the pitch and that we should never say ‘never’. !The game on page 3 is a SSG that will improve your players soccer ‘vision’ and the speed at which they switch from defence to attack. !The Clinic addresses a problem I’m sure we’ve all had at one time or another - lazy, skilful players. Does it matter that some skilful players don’t work hard as their team-mates? My thoughts are on page 4. !Yours in soccer,!

Welcome from Steve Watson

Coaching U5s and U6s (1)Top TipAn 5 or 6 year old player’s first thought in possession should always be “Can I score a goal from here?” !

So make sure the goals in your coaching games are wide and high enough to encourage shots from various distances and angles.!

Coaches should reinforce to players through their practice activities that the objective of the game is to score more goals than the opponents in the time allowed. !

Soccer games and other activities with no ‘winners’ are less motivating than activities that provide a way to win. !

by Tom Turner, Ohio Youth Soccer Association-North

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Issue 38 10th July 2014

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As we all know, very young players run towards the ball like iron filings attracted to a magnet.!

When they get close to the ball (or the ball hits their foot) they instinctively move their leg towards it - more a case of their foot colliding with the ball than a deliberate kick.!

And because they are running straight at the ball the first part of the foot that meets the ball is their toe. !

As players get older they learn that they faster they collide with the ball the further it goes. Great, they think, I can make the ball go a long way!!

And that's when their coach begins to think 'I must stop that player kicking the ball with their toes' and steps in to stop the fun!!

But are we wrong to discourage our players from kicking the ball with their toes?!

Conventional soccer coaching wisdom suggests that kicking the ball with the toe (toe-poking) is a bad habit that we must drill out of our players at

the earliest opportunity. That's because toe-poking is an ugly and 'girly' way to kick the ball (sorry, girls!).!

But there are times in a game when toe-poking is the most effective and perhaps the only way to

strike the ball. In the middle of a crowded penalty area, for example, an attacking player might only have time for a quick prod at the ball with their toe. If he hesitates ('coach said I mustn't kick with my toe') an opportunity to score could be missed. Equally, defenders sometimes need to take quick, decisive action and a well timed kick with the toe could be the only way to clear the ball

away from the danger area.!

Also, a lot of very important goals have been scored with a toe kick.!

Brazil’s poster boy Oscar (above, left) scored a crucial goal for his team in the opening game of the World Cup and many top players - including Torres, Ronaldinho, Aguero and Ronaldo - have

used their toes to score some brilliant goals. If the best strikers the game has ever seen can use their toes to kick the ball surely your players can?!

As youth soccer coaches we should be teaching our players how to kick the ball with all six surfaces of their foot; there's a time and a place for the sole, inside, outside, laces, heels and toes.!

I often warm up my players by asking them to dribble the ball with all six surfaces of both feet for a few minutes before we begin our practice sessions. Dribbling with the toe of your ‘wrong’ foot is challenging! !

Ten minutes of this sort of simple exercise will provide young players with hundreds of useful touches on the ball and helps them develop good all round ball skills.!

Bottom line: there are very few right or wrong ways of doing something in soccer and ways of kicking the ball is no exception; toe pokes can be extremely effective.!

So don't stop your children doing what comes naturally. Instead, make sure they know how to kick the ball with all surfaces of their foot and let them decide which to use in any given situation.

Q: What’s wrong with a good old fashioned toe poke? A: Nothing. !

The Main Feature

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Conventional soccer coaching wisdom suggests that ‘toe-poking’ the ball is a bad habit. But is it?

!Objective: to improve players' peripheral vision, fitness and speed of transition.!

Age group: U9 - U14!

Set up: mark out a 60x40 playing area with goals at each end and a centre line of cones or use a standard small sided soccer pitch. !

Divide your players into two teams of four or five, wearing bibs.!

How to play: play normal soccer with the added condition that for a goal to count, all the attacking team's players must be over the half way line when the ball hits the back of the net.!

If they're not, the goal does not count and a goal-kick is awarded.!

First team to five goals wins.!

All Up!The F4K Game

Progression: when your players are comfortable add a second condition: when a goal is scored the defending team must have all their players in their own half. If not, the goal counts double.!

3

Player movement Ball movement Run with ball ShotKEY:

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Steve’s Coaching Clinic

QUESTION:!Hello Steve,!

I manage an under 12’s team.!

I have two players who do not put in the same effort as the other boys. They are not the fittest in the team and I don’t expect them to be able to run for as long as my fittest players , however when they come off the pitch they are the least worn out indicating they have put in the least effort.!

Both boys understand the game, their positions and what is expected from them. They always seem to have the energy to run with the ball, but not to run into positions or to run back and help out.!

Both boys have been like this since U8’s , but on an 11 a side pitch it is even more obvious. How can I get them to put in the same effort as the rest of the boys do?!

!

ANSWER:!

If these boys have been 'lazy' for the last two or three years, drills and games that encourage players to track back and work hard won't do them any good.!

First of all, you have to ask yourself if their apparent lack of effort is a real problem for your team or not. There have been many professional players whose work rate was relatively poor but their contribution to the game was considerable, either because they could anticipate the flow of the game and stroll to the right position or because they had outstanding ball skills. If your players fall into either of these categories you can choose to live with their slowness.!

If, however, they are not contributing to the team you need to tell them what you have told me. Make sure they know that you don't expect them to run all day but you do expect them to put the effort in and, if they don't, you will have to consider leaving them out of the team.!

The ball, as they say, will then be in their court.!

I would also suggest having a word with their parents before you take any action. It could be that a word from mum or dad will have the desired effect.

What should I do about these lazy players?

You can only ask Steve a question if you subscribe to footy4kids Premium. Send your youth soccer coaching questions to steve@footy4kids.co.uk and Steve will do his best to help. If Steve doesn’t know the answer, he’ll find someone who does.

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