Never Give Up
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This is what they said about Paul Scholes of Manchester United and England as a kid. Think about what some coaches have said about you then come and work with me and we will prove them wrong.
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Welcome to the Soccer Awareness Coaches Corner. Browse through soccer drills, small sided games, tactical thoughts, full sessions and a variety of resources. Posts marked “Training Center Exclusive” are for members only.
A Scientific Basis for Developing Self Thinking Players
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Scientific research proves; Myelin is produced by a person thinking about and analyzing skill situations themselves; and being trained with self-thought as a major part of the process.
Making and correcting errors; constantly generating solutions to ongoing problems; the game is dynamic; and situations change every second, new decisions have to be made every second. This occurs in deep practice: the more you practice; the more decision making situations you find yourself in; the more thought it takes to solve them; the more myelin is grown, the faster the body and brain processes these; the better the decisions made.
Read MoreCompetitive Three Team Game
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Working with three teams (4 v 4 + 4). Teams (1) and (2) work together to keep the ball from team (3). If team (3) regains possession the team who gave it away becomes the defenders. The defenders reward is they keep the ball and link with the other team.
Read MoreWhen to Close in Wide and Central Areas
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This session covers when and when not to close down in wide and then central areas. The practice develops into an 11 v 11 game situation, still working with the defending team. The coach serves to the opponents in different locations on the field and the team needs to try to win the ball back individually and collectively.
Read MoreFour Against Eight with Four Recovering Midfielders
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Make the defensive challenge more difficult by putting the midfield in recovering positions to help the back four. The back four can be patient when the ball is in midfield and keep their shape delaying the opponents until the midfield recover back to help.
Read MoreIntroducing a Defending Midfield Four
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Playing with a midfield four when out of possession is one way of setting up your midfield unit to defend. This session works on the tactical design of this midfield set-up. Once the players get used to the tactical plan allow the defenders to now tackle the opponents and win the ball back as in a game situation.
Read MoreVideo Presentation: 6 Phases of Play for 4-2-3-1
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In this video, Coach Wayne Harrison explains in a simple way the 6 phases of the 4-2-3-1 style of play.
Read MoreTouches on the Ball - A Comparison Between 11 v 11 and 4 v 4
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We compared how many touches on the ball a player has in an eleven a side game as opposed to a four a side game. We recorded touches on the ball of an average player and these are the results we came up with.
Read MoreIndividual Striker Movements Off the Shoulder Part 4 - Exercise to Practice the Opposite Move
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Striker (E) comes short and shows for the ball asking for a pass from (D). Defender (F) follows. Midfielder (D) passes to (C), (D) then passes over the top into (E)’s path as he / she spins. Defender must play passively. To continue the work once player (E) receives the ball they must beat (F) back to the touchline. Players (C) and (D) go to the middle and the next two take their place. As the pass is going from (D) to (C) the striker shouts the code word and spins to receive the pass as player (C) is about to pass it. The shout must be early to (C) to make the pass at the exact same time (E) is spinning to receive it.
Read MoreIndividual Striker Movements Off the Shoulder Part 3
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Striker moves “OFF THE SHOULDER” of the defender. Only a matter of a few yards can open up wonderful space and attacking opportunities.
Read MoreIndividual Striker Movements Off the Shoulder Part 2
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This is the usual position of the strikers, they stand alongside the defender and do not open the angle up to help them receive a pass, and these are the disadvantages to this.
Read MoreIndividual Striker Movements Off the Shoulder Part 1
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Here the striker runs away and invites a ball off or over the shoulder of the defender, in this situation the striker is off the right shoulder of the defender. The ball may be delivered off (outside) the right shoulder of the defender so it goes wider, or (inside) the left shoulder of the defender so the striker cuts inside the defender either in front or behind them, or moves towards the ball and receives to feet.
Read MoreSoccer Awareness Philosophy of Team Play
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#1 - Keep Possession - If players chase for the ball a long time they get frustrated, get tired and commit fouls. So keep possession and force this upon them
Read MoreItalian Pressing and Conditioning Play Part 4: Basic Examples of the One Word Command Calls and When to Use Them
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How to use the following call in pressing and conditioning play: Up and Hold Calls, Out Call, Drop Call and Slide Call
Read MoreItalian Pressing and Conditioning Play Part 3: Identifying When and Where to Drop; Hold the Line, Slide; Press the Ball and Push or Sprint Up
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Add players to the practice. Have the game set up as a normal phase play, attackers against defenders. Attackers have to try to score, defenders try to win the ball back and score in the little goals. The defenders have five passes to score once they win the ball then it goes back to the attacking side.
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Often players position to receive the ball with their back to play. These session plans show some ideas on how to position and instead "Face Forward" or at least Half Turned or three quarters turned rather than positioning square and facing back.