ORGANISING AGAINST THE COUNTER

Organising a team against a counter attack is essential if they are not to be caught out. Even as the attacking team are crossing the ball into the opposition penalty area they may only be eight-seconds away from picking the ball up out of their own goal. Back players must be pro-active and ensure they are not compromised in this manner e.g. if their opponents leave two players up-field they should be marked ‘man for man’ and a player posted in front of the markers and their opponents.

The aim of opponents taking part in a counter attack is speed. On gaining possession of the ball they want to cover the middle zone of the pitch as quickly as they can with or without the ball. The reaction to regaining the ball is essential to a successful outcome. Speed of thought; the right decision i.e. to counter or keep the ball, should be made within six-seconds for maximum effect.

If a counter attack is to be effective, decision quality and speed are of the essence. Attackers must split up making the pitch long and wide but keep within passing range. Efficient execution is based around the speed of the players and the ball; the quality of the techniques and skills involved i.e. passing and running with the ball; support play around and away from the ball. A timescale of eight-seconds from beginning to end is critical to maintain the momentum of a counter attack.

The defenders job is to nullify these opportunities.

After denying the attackers as much space as they can, a defender’s aim should be to squeeze and restrict the space forcing the life out of their opponent’s attack. By restricting space, attackers have to work and defenders can eliminate their best options and encourage mistakes and poor decision making by cutting down the time they have to play.

If they find themselves outnumbered the main task for the defenders is to delay and deflect the counter attack, buying time for their team mates to make recovery runs. Recovery runs behind the ball differ according to where the recovering defender is placed on the pitch. Central recovery runs should be towards the penalty spot, while wide recovery runs should be made towards the near post. Not all recovery runs will end up behind the ball, some may be aimed at cutting off the attacking teams support.

Prediction

Prediction is often the product of team arrangements e.g. strikers working together to force back players to pass into central midfield areas where their midfield team mates are awaiting opportunities to intercept and counter attack or full backs knowing team policy about where to begin showing their opponents outside and ‘down the line’ as opposed to inside.

The reason for these team arrangements is to force play in a direction that everybody sees and can react to. They provide a huge opportunity for defenders to be proactive as opposed to reactive.

Making play predictable can greatly enhance a team’s chances of an interception or a tackle to win the ball back and hence create a successful counter attacking opportunity. These will often occur when the opposing team is committed to attack itself and consequently out of defensive position and shape e.g. full backs committed into advanced positions.

HEADING

Heading is a problematic skill for many young players as it involves the unnatural human action of putting your head in danger by moving it towards a flying speeding object whereas the instinctive thing to do would be to duck away.

Young players can often be put off by being exposed to a ‘too much too early’ ‘heading the ball’ policy. For example very little heading goes on in under eleven football; so it should not be a priority for a coach. Also the plates that make up the skull in young children are not fully formed enough to head a football without risk. Therefore if a coach wants to introduce ‘heading’ techniques this fact should be considered and sponge balls or even balloons (with the very youngest) used when practicing heading.

Whether heading in either attack or defence there are basic principles to be taken into consideration for successful outcomes. Players need to adjust to the flight of the ball, attack the ball at an optimum point and use the forehead to make contact with the ball as much as possible (as it is the bony part of the skull that protects the brain).

Power is generated using a combination of neck, back and leg muscles assisted by body weight.

Heading in attack usually involves a degree of accuracy combined with some sort of redirection technique e.g. a striker redirecting the ball towards the goal while moving either across or along the flight of the ball. Attackers may also try to aim their headers towards the most vulnerable parts of the goal or goal area. This ability usually develops with experience and anticipation of where the goalkeeper, defenders and attackers may be in any given situation as there is often little time for assessment.

Defensive heading is often a less subtle affair. A defender’s allies in these situations are height and distance. Players will attack down the line of the ball returning it in the same direction; their line of approach can be hindered by opponents so initial marking positions should be considered e.g. standing too close to and directly behind an opponent may not be helpful, although this does happen.

Defensive heading can also involve an element of redirection although this does not have to be anywhere near as accurate as heading in attack. It usually involves defenders at ‘far post’ areas where the flight of the ball can be altered and headed clear of danger.

Great games for learning how to head include head tennis especially for younger youth players and throw, head, catch for older youth players. Both games emphasise heading skills and involve competition with throw, head, catch having the added complication of dealing with opponents close by as well as the potential for body contact.

Heading is part of football. Learning to head the ball correctly is an important skill and teaching it sympathetically but positively to young players is certainly advantageous as it will send out the right messages to players and parents alike.

DRIBBLING AND TURNING

Dribbling

Some experts would say that dribblers are born not made.

Developing the skill of dribbling is a fantastic weapon in a player’s armoury. Effective dribblers are worth their weight in gold to a team’s attacking strategies as they can regularly remove the foundations of even the most sophisticated and compact defence.

Technique lies at the core of effective dribbling skill, possibly more than any other, as it has to be undertaken without much space in which to operate. Close control and therefore a deft touch on the ball are very useful tools when dribbling. The ability to feint, dummy and vary the tempo and rhythm of body movements as well as change of speed and direction are also good to have in the locker. The ability to ‘lift’ the ball and change it’s height can confound defenders even in the smallest spaces. This is difficult to master although the rewards can be great.

Dribbling skill is unique to each player as there are as many different kinds of dribbling with the ball as there are exponents of the art. However, there are useful tactical tips that can help the dribbler; e.g. stretching the opposition out to develop one v one situations can be helpful but developing potential 2 v 1 situations is also advantageous as two attackers versus one defender gives the dribbler the option to pass the ball if the situation demands it and can put the defender in two minds allowing for dribbling opportunities.

One v one domination

One v one domination can be a key ingredient for attacking success. A one v one situation is tough for the dribbler as a defender can concentrate solely on the attacking player. In all dribbling situations recognising the opportunity exploit an opponents weakness is crucial.

In one v one situations, having space behind the defender to go into is a typical opportunity. In a two v one situation an opportunity may arise after moving the defender who thinks the dribbler may be about to pass the ball instead. In either scenario bravery and a positive attitude and commitment to the techniques are essential as any doubts give the defender the advantage.

Dribbling skills are viewed as risky undertakings and dribblers are often risk takers. Typically dribbling skills are employed nearer the opposition goal or out on the wings where the rewards for success are potentially greater. However they can be employed anywhere on the field if the situation demands it.

When learning dribbling techniques it is always useful to link them closely to receiving techniques e.g. ‘receiving to dribble’ as an excellent and productive ‘first touch’ often sets the dribbler up for success. It can also be wise to allow players to practise recognising the difference between running with the ball and dribbling opportunities and how these may change quite quickly. This can be set up as a technique practice for younger players.

Turning

Turning also falls into this category. Turning is a major link activity i.e. receiving to turn and shoot at goal; as such it is a vital technique to develop and perfect as it helps attacking players to create, maintain and exploit space more effectively.

Turning falls into three basic categories:

Turning with no touches. This occurs when players use the space available and the pace and angle of the pass to allow the ball to run across their body. It is a useful tactic to employ when attacking as it can allow forward momentum to continue. To be successful, players must accurately judge the pace of the pass they are receiving and the space they have to work. Once again any such situation is subject to change.

Turning using one touch on the ball. In this instance a player will use the pace and angle of a pass to advantage by either receiving on the back foot (i.e. the foot furthest from the passer) and turning with the ball and maybe negotiating a defender in the process, or receiving the ball on the front foot (i.e. the foot closest to the passer) if the defender has got too close and turning past them with one touch.

Turning with two or more touches. These turning techniques employ multiple touches of the ball. They are used most effectively when there is little space available for players to work in. They utilise multiple touches to turn and so allow the creation of opportunities to play forward or away from pressuring defenders.

Examples of multiple touch turns are ‘drag backs’ where the ball is dragged away from the defender employing the sole of the foot or ‘hook turns’ where the ball is swept around away from defenders with either the inside or outside of the foot. Over the years many famous players have developed impressive multiple touch turning techniques and used them to great effect. Young players should be encouraged to do the same.

Coaches have tended to view multiple turning techniques as the first option when designing activities to help players learn turning. My view tends to be that the coach should work to the needs of the players. I believe helping players to understand turning and how it can be applied in matches is essential. Another view involves moving from no touch, through one touch, into multiple touch turning as a graduated but integrated process.

Equally the very youngest players may find the spatial concepts involved with no touch turning more difficult to come to terms with, so allowing them to have the number of touches they need to turn, may be more conducive to effective learning. These views are always dependent on the age, ability, maturation and experience of the players involved.

FOOTBALL DNA

Attacking

Basic football techniques can be learned in isolation through quality repetitive practice that pattern body movements committing them to memory and muscle memory leading to automatic execution of the technique itself.

This method of teaching can lead to problems when players want to transfer these techniques into the game. Undoubtedly, quality practice can make these actions smooth and efficient but not necessarily effective within game situations where instant decisions have to be made and defenders and spaces negotiated.

Transfer and application of the skills of the game are therefore more likely to be sharpened through actual play and experimentation and risk taking in game-like practice. Learning how to apply techniques in this way is more likely to lead to their improved transfer during a match than when simply learning them in isolation.

Mechanical Action

The mechanical action of kicking a football has considerable physical and neurological returns. It involves approaching and addressing the ball; having an amount of weight on the supporting leg which supplies balance and strength; striking the ball with the foot on the end of the swinging leg; angling the foot appropriately depending on the passing or shooting technique being used (i.e. side foot or instep), quality and place of contact with the ball and follow through after the ball has been struck. The ball may also be struck along the floor, in the air, on the volley or half volley.

All these mechanical actions need to be practised by young players and the patterns of movement that support their function committed to memory. Moving from consciously incompetent to unconsciously competent.

How to use these skills can be practised most effectively within games.

When passing and shooting the ball at goal in a game, the focus moves away from the mechanics of the action of kicking and more towards an understanding of how and when to use this action. Passing involves accuracy, pace, timing and disguise and for shooting at goal, accuracy in particular needs to be considered. The action becomes unconsciously competent like riding a bicycle.

Passing and support play are closely intertwined. Team mates have to decide how best they can help the player who has the ball. Should they go in advance of their team mate and take up a position nearer the opponent’s goal or should they retreat and take up a position nearer their own goal?

The important question to ask is ‘what is your objective? Only then can you decide what action can help you achieve your objective? It should also be something the player with the ball cannot do and involves angles of support; distance of support and timing of support e.g. a forward may make a perfectly valid forward run; however if the timing of the run is poor, the result may be an offside decision against the attacking team culminating in the loss of possession.

NO THINK

Often thinking too much about things gets in the way of learning, and trying to think them through can hinder players’ ability to perform. Thus breaking down techniques into their component parts and getting players to analyse them may not be as helpful as a coach sometimes thinks.

Think of the all the information available to you as a coach when working with a person who has problems catching a tennis ball. With all that technical information at your finger tips more success can be guaranteed by just drawing a big black spot on the ball and then when you toss the ball towards the person ask them to tell you which way the black spot is spinning (i.e. no technical information about catching). They will catch plenty of tennis balls. Being able to successfully perform techniques in ‘no think’ mode is often advantageous.

Below are some obvious examples of when thinking too hard may affect learning, especially when learning something practical like football:

Most techniques involve a great deal of complex movement which the body copes with remarkably well without thinking (e.g. receiving the ball at varying heights and speeds in order to perform the next technique i.e. turn and shoot). This situation involves too much complexity; too many factors varying too fast or interacting in ways too complicated for the intellect to grasp.

When considering a tactical movement or ploy where the parameters of the situations are fast moving, liable to change or not clearly defined.

When there may be a significant disparity between the extent of players’ know how and their ability to articulate it.

When a significant part of the answer is not easy to put into words.

When players have got stuck and hit a learning wall.

It is important for the coach to remember that there is a far more natural and effective process for learning and development going on within every young player than most of us are aware of. This development is necessarily long term and not readily susceptible to the quick fix approach that typifies most football coaching methods.

LEARNING – THE BUSINESS OF LIFE

‘Youth coaches must be careful not to drown their players’ talent.’ Carlos Queiroz

There is a far more natural and effective process for learning and development going on within every young player than most of us are aware of. This development is necessarily long term and not readily susceptible to the quick fix approach that typifies some coaching and teaching methods.

Learning is diverse, dynamic and distinctive. There are many different things we learn and what we learn changes us. As humans we develop the know how to ride a bike, cope with new gadgets and technology, solve math problems, tell jokes, write a letter or play a guitar.

As we get older we develop new tastes in music, grow to be more aware socially and make new friends that better fit in with our values and the way we want to live our life. As we get older slap stick humour can be less appealing and we become more tolerant of others. We broaden our emotional range and learn new roles in life discovering what it means to be a teenager, a teacher, a soldier, a prisoner, a mother, a person with chronic illness or disability and we respond and manage accordingly.

Footballers are mostly people who need to move to think and learn and professional football clubs are where they feel most at ease because they are surrounded by people who are just like them.

Most footballers learn best in movement while immersed in the ebb and flow of the game. Building their memory bank for future reference. For most of them standing still for long periods is unproductive and they don’t like it. A coach needs to understand this.

Because a coach is principally a learning assistant, coaching young players is a complex process. Like all other learners, footballers develop understanding and learn more effectively when they are involved in solving predicaments and problems for themselves.

It may be useful for coaches who work with advanced youngsters in academies to make special note of the general characteristics outlined below.

The most talented players will produce original ideas and solutions that have value. Display imagination and inventiveness. Have awareness of their performance levels. Generate a large number of ideas and be willing to experiment, take risks when learning new stuff and be prepared to be wrong.

They will also tend to master new information quickly and rise to new personal challenges. Find as well as solve problems and reason things out. They can recall a wide range of knowledge and know how, independently join the dots and discover how and why stuff works.

These youngsters will also be highly motivated and self determined. They will strive for high personal standards and achievement. Set personal goals and targets and tend to be self critical and evaluative. They will ask searching questions and frequently push their coaches and mentors for explanations. They are easily bored with routine and reluctant to practice skills already mastered.

Socially they tend to be prepared to take the initiative and actively seek out a leadership role. They adapt well to new situations, are willing to take responsibility and communicate well with others.

These young players will sometimes display expert skills and understanding but because they are young their performances will also be inconsistent. A coach who fails to understand the gifted player may well hinder their progress and development.

Learning is an extraordinary adventure and is definitely not something we do sometimes, in special places or at certain times in our lives.

Learning is like standing in the shadow of the wind; elusive at times, intangible at others but ever present. Learning is linked to the notion of motivation. The best players want to know more about the game, they want to accomplish a level of mastery over its’ skills so that they can apply them effectively in games and they want to enjoy the holistic experience of the moment; where the joy of know how, mastery and experience come together and time stands still in a moment of pure enjoyment. To achieve this, there must be a balance between the challenge of the task and the skills of the player involved.

SKILFUL NEGLECT

Nature needs nurturing. The co-operative coach constantly faces the complex task of balancing structure and organisation with choice and freedom of expression. The right balance creates an ‘optimal’ environment for that mysterious and elusive process we call learning. If a coach is too judgemental, too authoritarian, too threatening and has unrealistic expectations there is a better than even chance that an individual’s learning environment will be compromised.

A coach must learn to trust players, empathise with their personal needs and encourage independence, but sharing these responsibilities takes courage and a strong mind backed up with a robust and durable coaching philosophy. The co-operative coach practises a learning model of skilful neglect giving support through a variety of media when it’s needed but knowing when to ‘back off’, and let players make decisions and take up more responsibility for their learning. In this way young players will not only learn more effectively but become more innovative and creative footballers.

I believe allowing players to problem solve and make their own decisions through exposure to the right practice, games and match experience supported by coaches’ challenges and questioning approach, allows players to discover, create and generally experiment with the skills, tactics, strategies and off the ball movement of football. This enables players to problem solve and encourages them to get themselves out of the predicaments they come across, and enhances their learning in the long run.

This is the most desirable outcome for player development.

LEARNING IMPLICATIONS FIVE TO TWELVE

Matt, Joe and Billy are all nine years old and born within the same two month period. They play football regularly for a club, training twice a week and playing small sided matches on Sundays. They are all developing perfectly normally but as very young players have different developmental needs. Matt finds judging space, speed and direction quite tricky and sometimes seems to be ‘lost’ in the game. Joe finds it hard to make a decision when a lot of things are happening all at the same time and Billy finds he loses concentration when things go on too long and he is provided with too much information; all of them enjoy things better when a coach uses bright coloured footballs and markers as they can see things more easily.

Below are some issues that impact significantly on the performance of a footballer in the 5 to 12 age range.

Pattern Recognition

Related to experience and expectation – judging space, speed and direction. Young players need time to master these challenges.

Coaching implication – give perceptual cues to players so that they know where to pick up the information e.g. ‘remember when you were working in the red area.’

Perceptual Differences

Dynamic Visual Acuity – the sharpness with which moving objects can be perceived. This develops progressively with age and maturity and is crucial for judging the speed of the ball and other players.

Coaching implication – coaches should aim to control very young players’ speed of movement and thus give them time to take information on board.

Perceptual Integration

The ability to integrate information from different senses – i.e. seeing hearing feeling etcetra. This again develops progressively with age and maturity and is crucial to hearing instructions and seeing the ball.

Coaching implication – try not to overload young players with either too much information or too many decisions to make.

Effective Cue Selection

Develops progressively from 6 to 12 years of age and means very young players will not know what information to select or ignore.

Coaching implication – coaches should give very specific pointers to young players as to where to pick up the information they need.

Attention Span

Develops progressively from 7 minutes or so in 5 year olds and increases to a maximum of 20 minutes in adulthood.

Coaching implication – the younger the players the shorter their tasks must be.

Coaching implication – ensure that foundation techniques are well automated i.e. unconsciously skilled before putting additional attentional demands on young players e.g. 8 – a – side football with under 9 players is a big attentional loading for them.

Decision Making

Children are significantly slower at making decisions than adults and the more options they have available to them the slower the decisions will be. The quality of the decisions they make will also be compromised.

Coaching implication – design activities that allow children to work at a comfortable pace and allow them to function within games that compliment their stage of maturation i.e. the younger the players the less numbers they can deal with for effective decision making.

Summary

There are certain periods in the life of young children that are marked by times of particular sensitivity. A number of other activities are made worse by early practice because of bad skill habits developed or the negative occurrences associated with the learning experience.

The Implication is that starting a specific sporting experience at a very young age is not necessarily advantageous. It would seem that if one was to design development in a sport, the following would be appropriate:

Provide a wide variety of activities so that generalised basic gross skills are developed.
Pay little attention to skill intricacies, instead being satisfied with gross motor movement patterns.

Provide much activity that leads to successful outcomes.

Avoid at all costs, the implementation of adult rules and sport dynamics, instead providing activities appropriate for the social, intellectual, and development stages of the participants.

There are critical periods for learning that vary from sport to sport. For each kind of coordinated muscular activity there is an optimum time for rapid and skilful learning.

TECHNIQUES AND SKILLS

A commonly held model of the learning proposes is that people start with a collection of rather rudimentary techniques and skills and by repeating hours and hours of monotonous mechanical practise miraculously hone and refine them into excellence.

While the hours are necessary they are not in themselves sufficient. Practice needs to be competitive, enjoyable, interesting, varied and challenging rather than mindlessly repetitive. It also needs to be contextual and realistic. The more game like a practice is the more relevance it has to learning the game and how it works. Transfer issues disappear because there are no transfer issues.

Individuals will improve their performance and have a better chance of realising their potential not as an automatic outcome of more experience with an activity, but rather through focussed learning and committed adaptation to interesting and engaging experiences within match like activity.

The implications for the coach are that practices need to be designed that reflect the realities of the game and how it works and young players need to be active participants in their learning and treated as intelligent thinking beings not just performers there simply to be trained.

LESS IS MORE

One common belief that limits successful learning and effective coaching is the idea that players have to understand something to be able to do it.

Many traditional models of coaching take it for granted that the coach operates most effectively in this way. First a coach explains something to the players; the players are then sent off to practise it; the coach observes and checks that the players are doing things correctly and finally he stops and corrects those that are making mistakes and explains the right things to do all over again.

This model is appealing to coaches as it puts them ‘in the expert’ position and at the centre of operations, however it is not an effective model as it does not acknowledge or respect what actually happens as players learn. Players learn through a trial and error process and the intrinsic sensory feedback it produces. It is only much later that a player may need to understand what it is they are doing and why it works.

Richard Master’s work in New Zealand has shown that sports people whose heads are full of explanations and ideas tend to do less well under stress than team mates who have learned more intuitively.

The implication for the coach is, that a model based on explanation, plus practise, plus correction is not the be all and end all of learning football and that coaching strategies that are more subtle, sensitive, and thoughtful are required to develop footballers’ potential more effectively.