January 24, 2017

A brief presentation on the Tactical systems of play we will teach to offer an all around education for the players on team play during the Tiffiny League Fall season

January 24, 2017/ Wayne Harrison

Over the course of the season we will be trying different ideas on team shape and systems of play. The main ones we have already established are 1-3-3-1-3 and 1-4-2-3-1. With these we have focused on a very offensive approach to the game building from the back every time we can and pressing high up the field.

January 17, 2017

NSCAA Convention Session Recap

January 17, 2017/ Chris Burt

Wayne presented at the 2017 NSCAA Convention in Los Angeles this past weekend. His session was "Soccer is a Thinking Game that Begins in The Head of Each Player. What is The Link Between The Thinking Process and Teaching A One Touch Mentality to players?" Here is a recap of the session including a download of the presentation, what people had to say about it, photos and more.

January 12, 2017

Teaching Changes in Team Shape in a 1-4-3-3 Incorporating Developing Angles and Timing of Support

January 12, 2017/ Wayne Harrison

In this presentation we are working on moving and passing into HALF SPACES between opponents positioning. Players position so they are AT LEAST side-on improving their PERIPHERAL VISION at ALL times on the field of play. This presentation concludes with attacking in the final third opening to 5 corridors.

January 03, 2017

South Coast Soccer Club

January 03, 2017/ Chris Burt

We are wanting you to be aware of our intentions for the future. We are planning for three things here, of which we hope you will be interested in at least one or two of them; but preferably all three. We are sending this out to various age groups and players from 2008 to 2002 boys and girls we already have with the Tiffiny league teams and who have worked in soccer awareness before as a means to get started.

December 06, 2016

11 Principles of Team Play

December 06, 2016/ Wayne Harrison

These are the 11 principles that make up the Soccer Awareness philosophy of team play along with 12 problems that teams must solve.

November 11, 2016

Coaching Points in Crossing and Finishing

November 11, 2016/ Wayne Harrison

Crossing the ball is a skilled technique, often resulting in great results if performed correctly. Here are 8 coaching points on how to train crossing and finishing.

November 03, 2016

Pre-Meditated Patterns of Play: Building from the Back in a 9 v 9

November 03, 2016/ Wayne Harrison

9 v 9 is at the younger ages; and not wanting to baffle them with science too early; we will choose far fewer ways to build out from the back than we do at 11 v 11. But we will establish patterns of play they can learn to do that are very simple; but also very effective when done correctly; and we will change the boot ball mentality many clubs follow; and teach the game correctly without fear of failure.

October 26, 2016

Functional Crossing and Finishing Session

October 26, 2016/ Wayne Harrison

This is a great crossing and finishing routine to practice as it is on going and you can keep a lot of players working. As soon as the three central attackers have made their runs and got back to the start they are ready to go again. Rotate defenders and wide players. You can have fifteen players and more working constantly.

October 21, 2016

Defensive Positioning to Fix in Defensive Team Shape

October 21, 2016/ Wayne Harrison

Teams should have 2 basic shapes, an attacking one and a defensive one; wide and long on offense, short and tight on defense. The differences between each should be significant in terms of spacing between players. A problem that occurs is defensive team shape is not short and tight enough and it allows opponents too much time on the ball.

October 10, 2016

The Conscious and Sub-Conscious Mind and Myelin Production in the Development of Soccer Players

October 10, 2016/ Wayne Harrison

The more you practice, the more you know how to do something better. However, if you believe, for even one second, that a habit cannot be undone, you are right! There is no way of undoing what you have learnt – so you might ask then, how do we get rid of a habit?

The answer is putting in more practice to learn something else than you did into learning the habit you are trying to undo. It's just that simple!

October 04, 2016

Switching Positions to Get a Central Striker Free

October 04, 2016/ Wayne Harrison

Finding vital spaces outside the box across the opponents back four with a channel run

October 02, 2016

Changing Team Shape Depending on the Game Situation

October 02, 2016/ Wayne Harrison

Depending on the game situation we may need to change our team shape. We are winning with 20 minutes to go and the opponents are on top and pressing us hard. We MUST have a contingency plan to stop them.

September 21, 2016

Teaching Team Shapes in 1-4-3-3

September 21, 2016/ Mary Harrison

Teaching Team Shapes

Teaching Inverted Runs from Outside to Inside

August 24, 2016/ Wayne Harrison

Pep Guardiola has introduced INVERTED FULLBACK / WINGBACK movements to the Premier league. It’s a real statement of intent to introduce radical ideas from the norm and we are sure in time it will be an effective change in the game set up.

Here Wayne shows how these inverted runs work having implemented them with his own team over a year ago with great success and hence winning one of the toughest leagues in the country at U14; the Southern California CRL league.

These inverted movements created confusion in the opponents defensive set ups and he also added wingers making the same moves as opposed to the wing backs (which is more common). Defensively now this would mean with (6) dropping back in; the second line of defenders would be (2), (8) and (3) getting compact as a three centrally.

Add this variation to your team, it opens up new attacking and defending challenges for your opponents

August 22, 2016

Watch: Themed Sessions with Specific Conditions

August 22, 2016/ Wayne Harrison

In this coaching clinic session, I'm teaching five themed sessions with specific conditions with the primary focus being teaching Peripheral Vision and Movement OFF and AWAY from the ball.

Training Center

Soccer Awareness Training Center provides unlimited access to Wayne Harrison's Soccer Awareness systems, training sessions, drills and more. Wayne's system helps the development of all levels of soccer players and teams in a systematic and imaginative manner that guarantees performance at the highest level of competition.

Teaching Players to Position Off the Ball to Face Forward to Receive It

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.

Distribution from the Keeper and Playing Out from the Back Using the 3-1-3-3 - Training Center Exclusive

Here are 9 ways to distribute from the keeper and play out from the back. We owe it to the players to teach them this as Young as is possible.

I work on this initially practicing all ways to get out. Have opponents only intercepting passes to begin. Then let it go free. When opponents win it back we work on the defending team condensing and defending correctly.

If three or four ways to develop play are done very frequently then it becomes a subconscious decision to move into position so no decision making required as such.

Subscribe to the Soccer Awareness Training Center to get access to all premium Training Center Exclusive articles.

Soccer Awareness: Basic Principles of Development (One Touch Play)

Linking foot preparation, body position and mental preparation to the technique involved in making a one touch pass leads us to a discussion on one touch play and its benefits.

One touch play teaches the value of being able to take your eye off the ball when keeping your eye on the ball can be a disadvantage.

To make this work, players need to have good teamwork and positional sense and therefore must work hard for each other.

eBook 37: Game Changing Strategies and Different Systems of Play to Teach Your Team for 11 v 11

$7.99

54 Pages

We want to stay with our own game plan as closely as possible; based on what we practice and to keep it simple for us; as we dictate to our opponents; and we impose OUR WAY on them.

But there will be many occasions where we must change the system of play and we may have to adjust to suit the opponents.

Here are some ideas for you to consider for your team starting with the 13313 and 14231 systems of play.

eBook 36: Scanning and Teaching One-Touch Mentality Training Ideas Updated 2022

Teaching players to develop a "one touch mentality" in their game, to train the MIND.

To play in "Anticipation" of the ball; both on and off it by Scanning the field constantly to make earlier, faster and more successful decisions in the game.

How do we do this? Here are some sessions to use to help develop this ability.

eBook 35: How to Develop Play in "No Mans Land" in a 1-3-3-1-3 with Animation

$9.99

45 Pages

Using the 1-3-3-1-3 system of play for this, we show how your players can find free spaces between opponents with inverted runs from outside to in. Including how to create freedom of movement within the team framework.

17 Favorite Practices Tactical Play and Target Games

This 295 page ebook includes 17 game situational clinics focused on tactical play and target games. To achieve the given theme successfully, many of the situational games have set conditions to them to force the theme to happen consistently and to maintain the focus of it. As we will explain, a big part of teaching in ALL these games is developing a One Touch Mentality in each players brain. So the “general” theme around all of them will be establishing this thinking process no matter the “specific” theme being taught.

This book is also available to Elite and Premium Members in the Soccer Awareness Training Center. Access Here.

Soccer Awareness Coaching Curriculums presented by Game Sizes: 4 v 4, 7 v 7, 9 v 9 through to 11 v 11

$30.00

We produced the eBook "Tactical Thoughts on the Development of the 4 v 4, 7 v 7 and 9 v 9 Game Sizes" covering information on team shape and development. We now add this eBook to provide Curriculums in each game size to support the tactical games eBook.

What this eBook offers you:

Its all done here for you, paying attention to the ages of the players and the depth of teaching suitable to them.
As the program moves from 4 v 4 through to 11 v 11 the focus changes from individual teachings at 4 v 4, to small sided situations at 7 v 7, to Phases of play and tactical needs at 9 v 9; through to team tactical development at 11 v 11.
11 v 11 focuses on advanced training ideas to teach the “team”.
This eBook covers up to 14 weeks of training for each game size presented as one session per week.
All sessions have small sided games scrimmage set ups as close as we can get it to finish to reflect the theme of the session.

Tactical Thoughts on the Development of the 4 v 4, 7 v 7 and 9 v 9 Game Sizes

$19.99

This eBook shows how these different size games can be taught and also shows different systems of play that might be useful to you.

The idea I am trying to cultivate is to find a pattern of development that goes from 4 v 4 to 7 v 7 all the way through 9 v 9 to 11 v 11 that educates the players VERY EARLY on how to ultimately play the 11 v 11, a common thread running right through the book.

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