Three free soccer sessions from James Jordan - educator and a soccer coach. He holds the NSCAA Premier Diploma, USSF National Youth License, and a Doctorate in Education. Using Game-based Soccer techniques developed over the past decade, his teams (boys and girls) have won six high school state championships and…
Category: Football and Soccer Coaching
Soccer Tactics: Back 3 and Back 5 Formations
From the soccer coaching book: * “A man with new ideas is mad – until he succeeds!” (Marcelo Bielsa) If the large-scale presence of 4-2-3-1 was no surprise at the 2014 World Cup, the proliferation of teams playing with three centre-backs was. The 2010 event in South Africa offered very…
Futsal Training Exercises for Soccer Coaches
Futsal Training Session: Decision-Making in Possession - No Rest for the Wicked Recommended Time: 20 minutes Number of Players: 12+ Focus of Session: Passing, movement and feinting to receive. Objectives: For players to understand when to retain the ball under pressure and when to pass forward. Organisation: A full court…
Pressing, Gegenpressing, and Counter Pressing in Soccer
Taken from the book: * “The opposition must be offered no way out. A possession game – Barcelona's game – requires you to win possession in the first place” The Guardian’s Sid Lowe on Pep Guardiola’s defensive pressing philosophy at Barcelona Defensive neglect It is heard at almost all levels…
Developing a Coaching Philosophy and Syllabus in Soccer (Part 1)
From the book: * “Long and medium term planning for your players will allow you to take into account their current abilities and outline what knowledge, skills and understanding you intend your players to acquire over a set time period.” (Mark McClements, FA Skills Coach Team Leader) Like in school,…
Developing a Coaching Philosophy and Syllabus in Soccer (Part 2)
From the outstanding soccer coaching book: * << previous page Dan Wright – Coaching Philosophy “To me a coaching philosophy means how you view the game; your core values and beliefs. I first started writing my philosophy in 2008 when I started my UEFA ‘B’ License. Until then I had…
Developing a Coaching Philosophy and Syllabus in Soccer (Part 3)
* << previous page Sample Session Plan 9 – 11 Year Olds I must stress that the template below only is from Newcastle United. I contributed the session contained within. This template was shared on Twitter and I thought it was a simple yet thorough way to both plan soccer…
Talent Identification in Soccer
From the acclaimed bestseller: * (From Chapter 16) “If you don’t get the recruitment right the rest is a waste of time.” Brian Jones. We just saw the importance of opportunity and a player’s birth date and how these two things could have a major impact on the future of…