SoccerROM Coaching Series: Winning Coaching Methods

SoccerROM Coaching Series:

Winning Coaching Methods

Written by Robert Parr

Illustrated by Robert & Michelle Parr

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2010 by SoccerROM LLC

www.SoccerROM.com

License Notes

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author!

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Table of Contents

About the Author

Introduction

Team Management and Player Psychology

The Many Roles of the Coach

Tryouts and Player Selection

The Preseason Meeting for Youth Teams

Finding the Balance Between Games and Training

Encouraging Players to Train on Their Own

An Introduction to Soccer Psychology

Setting Goals

Reaching the Peak

Training Methods

Setting Priorities for Training

The Importance of Variety

Planning for Success

Six Steps to a More Effective Practice

Using Restrictions to Guide Your Training

Developing Players Within a Group

Economical Training

Pressure Training

Functional Training

Shadow Training and Patterns of Play

Painting the Picture

Managing Odd Numbers in Training

An Overview of Soccer-specific Fitness

Coaching Creativity

Coaching Communication

Reality Check

Game Coaching and Match Analysis

Individual Roles and Systems of Play

Where Should Players Play?

Playing to Your Strengths

Simplifying Team Tactics

Analyzing Your Team's Defensive Play

Analyzing Your Team's Attacking Play

Transition

Staying Connected

When Are Goals Scored?

Pre-game Warm-up Routines

A Pre-game Guide for Goalkeepers

Coaching at Halftime

Emotions and the Game

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About the Author

Robert Parr holds a USSF 'A' license, NSCAA Premier Diploma, and a USSF National Youth Coaching license. He is currently the Director of Coaching for the Arkansas State Soccer Association, and an Associate Instructor for both US Youth Soccer and the NSCAA. Previously, he served as the Director of Coaching and WPSL Head Coach for the Puerto Rico Capitals FC, the first international franchise to compete in the Women's Premier Soccer League. From 2003-2008, he was the Head Women's Soccer Coach at Georgia College & State University and also coached for the Georgia State Soccer Association Olympic Development Program.

From 1995-2002, Robert was the Director of Training for the American Soccer Club Eagles youth program in Austin, Texas (now known as Lonestar SC). He also served as the South Texas Men's State Team Coach from 1996-1998, and a South Texas YSA State Staff Coach for both the Olympic Development Program (1991-1999) and the Coaching Education Program (1991-2002). From 1989 until 1995, Robert was the Head Coach of the University of Texas Men's Soccer Team, where he led the program to a National Collegiate Club Championship in 1990, three other National Tournament appearances, and an overall record of 80-25-16.

Along with his wife, Michelle, Robert is the co-creator of SoccerROM, the world's first internet-based suite of applications designed exclusively for soccer coaches of all levels. SoccerROM has been helping coaches around the world make the most of their training sessions and simplifying team management since 1998, and can be found at www.SoccerROM.com.

Finally, both Robert and Michelle served as Technical Advisors for The Big Green, the feature film about a small-town soccer team released by Disney in 1995.

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Introduction

If you look through most books on how to coach soccer, you'll typically see advice on what to teach—the physical, technical, and tactical components that we hope our players acquire as part of their training. Most coaching books will provide page after page of training activities (or even complete practice plans) designed to improve things like your team's combination play, finishing, or collective defensive shape.

Although books like that can be very useful, this is not that type of book. Instead, this book focuses, quite literally, on how to coach. In addition, this book attempts to explain why specific coaching methods work better than less-structured approaches to player and team development. By examining five main themes—team management, player psychology, training methods, game coaching, and match analysis—the goal is to understand (and master) the many proven instructional methods that differentiate great coaches from the rest.

There is an art to successful coaching that goes far beyond running drills. To understand this point, simply compare the effectiveness of the novice coach with the veteran as they lead their players in similar activities on the training ground. Further, coaching differs greatly from playing. Many great players struggle as coaches, and great coaches often were not the best players. Although knowledge of one aspect of the game certainly helps the other, the skills needed by the coach do not require a high-level playing background. Like any other craft, this art can be learned and refined by coaches of all levels; it just takes an understanding of effective coaching methods and a commitment to learning and practice!

To help illustrate certain points, I have included a number of specific training activities that you can use in your own practices. However, these exercises have been incorporated into this book primarily to bring clarity to the methods used by successful coaches, such as planning economical sessions, adapting activities to benefit players of differing abilities, or using restrictions to emphasize different types of topics.

If you are looking for more guidance on practice plans and training suggestions, note that all the exercises shown in this book (plus over 700 others) are available as part of SoccerROM's online Exercises Database and Practice Planning application. To learn more about how you can use these tools to organize and improve your training, be sure to visit www.SoccerROM.com.

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Team Management and Player Psychology

The Many Roles of the Coach

At first glance, understanding the role of the coach doesn't seem all that complex. We are in charge of running practices, we announce starting lineups, we make substitutions, and we give feedback to our players to let them know how we think they are performing. How hard can it be, right?

Without a doubt, coaches must handle these responsibilities. However, the best coaches realize that the job requires them to do much more than this if they are to get the most from their players. To understand what it means to be a coach more completely, consider the following alternative job titles that could just as easily apply to the position:

- Teacher. One of the more obvious roles of the coach is that of teacher. Specifically, all coaches have the responsibility to help their players improve their ability to meet the physical, technical, tactical, and psychological demands of the game. Like any classroom instructor, coaches must prepare lesson plans prior to each training session, and then use sound educational methods to instill a mastery of (and passion for) the game. To help your players learn, you must create and control an environment that is conducive to learning. Eliminate distractions, make use of demonstrations, and place players in competitive settings that will force them to adapt to succeed.

- Researcher. Beyond general skill development, coaches must prepare their players to handle the unique challenges that each opponent brings. To do this properly, you may need to first scout your opposition, and then incorporate your most vital observations into your training ahead of your next match. You should also be a student of the game yourself, seeking out resources that will help you find new approaches to instruction and understand differing styles of play. Set aside opportunities throughout each season to experiment—try players in new positions, challenge your team to adjust its normal style of play, or test a new training activity to see how each player responds.

- Manager. For many coaches, the job requires that they devote many hours to administrative and organizational tasks. These duties include scheduling games, preparing facilities, completing paperwork, managing budgets, making travel arrangements, communicating with players and opponents, purchasing equipment, and so on. Viewed another way, the manager facilitates players' success by keeping the team organized and removing barriers that would hurt the team's ability to compete. As the saying goes, fail to plan, then plan to fail.

- Motivator. There are those who argue that motivation can only come from within, but even the best players can use a little push from the outside. As coach, you can help motivate your players to succeed by working with them to set individual and team goals, and then providing frequent feedback to let them know how well they are progressing toward these goals. You should also be a primary source of encouragement for your players—help them see the things they do well, and it will be easier for them to tackle their weaknesses with confidence and resolve.

- Role Model. As coach, you provide a very visible reference for your players (and others associated with your team, such as parents or fans). Your character, conduct, attire, and leadership style will have great influence on your team, and will be perceived with far greater importance than the things you say about these attributes. Do you want your team to be properly dressed and on time for practice? If so, then you must set the example by doing the same. Similarly, if you want your players to treat each other with respect and a positive attitude, then your coaching methods must convey this same message.

- Disciplinarian. Soccer is a game of discipline. Your players must have the discipline to stay fit in the off-season, to be patient when defending, to continue running off the ball when tired, to remain composed when other tempers begin to flare, and so on. As coach, you must reinforce this demand of the game by setting and consistently upholding standards of conduct and performance. When players fail to meet these standards, then there must be consequences that result from that failure, and (as coach) you must see that these consequences are enforced.

- Psychologist. Perhaps the most challenging role is that of psychologist. At a minimum, you must spend time away from the field with each player to understand his or her personality, priorities, aspirations, and fears. Although soccer is a team game, you can only truly succeed by coaching to the individual. Some players respond well to pressure; others collapse under it. Some players tend to be risk-takers; others are risk-averse. Some players will easily forget a past failure; others will dwell on errors to the point of distraction. So, to ensure that you are tasking players with roles that fit their personalities, you must first understand how they are likely to react to each role given the many other influences on their psyche.

As you can see, coaching really is much, much more than Xs and Os! Talented coaches must be able to change hats frequently. As each new barrier to success is encountered, they must recognize which particular style the team needs from them the most, and step into that role accordingly.

Tryouts and Player Selection

Selecting players can be one of the most challenging events any coach goes through with his team. Veteran coaches realize that tryouts are more of an art than a science, learned primarily through first-hand experience. Nonetheless, there are some specific things you can do to greatly improve your player selections, even if you are relatively new to the process.

When conducting a tryout, you must evaluate a wide variety of factors as you try to identify the right players to help your team be successful. To create situations that let you observe the most important attributes of each player during your limited time on the field, you must spend some time organizing your thoughts in advance. Not every coach will