Spartans FC Youth Section Skills Program
Introduction This skills program is designed to give the children the maximum ball contact with a view to becoming its master and with this, to become confident players, sure of their own ability. The warm up is not neglected as all the initial exercises are done at a pace which represents good physical preparation, having a ball at their feet also prepares the children for the second aspect of a warm up, the mental aspect of the challenges of the game ahead. Note that all the exercises progress through no pressure, where the children get lots of touches and lots of opportunities to work on technique, to full pressure, where the technique is applied as a skill, something which works in a 1v1 game or in a game like situation. This last point addresses the question often asked, Our children are too easily pushed off the ball or seem to lack desire, how can this be addressed? In a 1v 1 competitive situation the children can problem solve for themselves and if a can do mentality is encouraged, they will be better equipped to win their on field battles. Make it a matter of pride to not be second best in a 1v1. All the exercises can be adapted for any number of players, and the rotations work for numbers not shown in the illustrations. They are applicable to children from the ages of 5 to 50 as for the majority of the time, the players are on the ball, working individually on technique. Happy coaching. Carlo
Skill program; Day 1 Dribbling in Square Players have a ball each and dribble freely in the square. Even at this early stage they are encourage to use both their left and right feet Too close, hold hands encouraging the correct distances and looking for space. Quicken into spaces. If you see a space, your first touch much be out of your feet towards that space so you can accelerate. Point toe; use laces to move the ball, because that is the way that you run. If someone is in your space quick change of direction, check out and go to a different space (head up). Look over your shoulder before you turn. Phase two involved some simple ball manipulations, Toe taps, Drags backs, Sole toe, sole behind (active rest). Drilll: Zig Zag
The Zig Zag is an excellent structured set up for working on dribbling. If one turn only is worked at any one time then at each marker it has to be done with both left and right feet. The players work in a zig zag with turns at 90 degrees. Inside foot cut Outside foot cut Check out with the inside of foot protecting ball Check out with outside of ball protecting ball Stepover Drag across body with sole of foot, take away with the other foot (Michael Mols turn). 1v1: Playing against full pressure. The red player plays the ball up to the blue player who attacks either goal, using the turns and skills worked on in the Zig Zag. Encourage attacker to be positive. Take the ball high and early accelerate once the defender is beaten. Change direction. Exaggerate turns. The red player joins the end of the attacker s queue and the blue player becomes a defender in turn.
Skills Program: Day 2 Working in lines between 2 cones the children work on a variety of turns at the cones. The players always face forward so if the turn is repeated at each cone it is has to automatically be done on the left and right foot. Inside foot cut. Outside foot cut. Step across take with outside of same foot. Step across take with inside of opposite foot. Hook across body with outside foot (foot nearest marker) take with outside of other foot. The players then pair up and the player at the back applies passive pressure on the player with the ball. He mixes up to the techniques trying to protect the ball whilst moving from marker to marker trying to lose the passive defender.
The set up shown is now used to encourage attacking play using cuts and turns worked on in week 1. Player 4 passes to player 3 who controls the ball and attacks player 2, who defends between 2 (yellow) markers. Player 2 holds a ball in his hands and must use his ball to try and touch the ball of the attacker; he cannot throw his ball at the attacker s ball. The markers can be made wider or narrower depending on the amount of success the attacker has. If the defender wins the ball he becomes an attacker joining the queue and the attacker takes a turn at defending. At all times encourage the attacker to be positive. During transitions ie when the defender has won with a touch on the attacker s ball and the players are exchanging roles if the next attacker is quick he can get a free shot a chance to dribble with no defender to beat- this happens in games. This encourages awareness, quick thought and quick play. Finally we work a 2v1 where the players have the option of not only dribbling past opponents but also to pass the ball to a team mate. Working in a channel, a pass is exchanged between 2 attackers and they drive at the first defender who can come forward to meet the attack but cannot retreat past the line on which he starts. If the attackers beat the first defender they play 2v1 against a second defender to a finish on goal. The offside rule can apply. You are looking for opportunities for player to beat defenders with the skills worked beforehand using where possible the second attacker as a decoy.
Skills Program: Day 3 Coerver Square A simple Coerver Square is used The children dribble in towards the mannequins from their home bases (yellow markers). They execute turns at the markers at 90 degrees and dribble on to the next yellow marker. They work in 4s so they have awareness of other players. As previously, turns include: Inside foot cut. Outside foot cut. Drag across body with sole of foot. Step over. Twist out both inside and outside foot. Variation: If after dribbling to the mannequins the players dribble to the blue markers they can execute 2 turns one at 45 degrees at the mannequins and one at 90 degrees at the blue marker. If the direction is reversed the turns are worked with the other foot.
Passive Pressure. Working in a channel, the ball is played to the top of the channel. The receiver collects the ball and attacks left against the first defender who defends passively then attacks right against the second defender. The players rotate one space on. Full Pressure. The central attacker (in red) receives a pass from the player on his right hand side. That player overlaps and they play a 2v1 against the defender (in blue) who presses from the byline. Everyone rotates around one space. Can include a goalkeeper.
Skills Program: Day 4 Working in a 10x20 channel the children dribble with the ball to the half way mark before passing off to the receiver at the other end. They follow their pass. The exercise repeats from the other end. The children work a variety of cuts as they zig zag across. Inside foot cut. Outside foot cut. Twist off. Pull back push forward. Stepover. Sols of the foot move (Michael Mols). Moving onto a pitch set up with goals and mannequins. Starting in a line, the children attack a mannequin in turns working on attacking moves. The first move is the step over. Children are encouraged to be positive. To attack at pace and not to stop. To exaggerate the movement. To accelerate after beating the mannequin. Finish with a shot on goal.
If the step over is reversed from right foot take left to left foot take right the attackers drive inside the mannequin and finish with a right for shot. The pattern is repeated working a Michael Mols the pull back across the body with the sole of the foot then take with opposite foot. Again both sides are worked. 1v1 2v2 Full pressure Finally a simple 1v1 is worked with the players split either side of the goal with two players on markers 15 yards in front of the goal. The ball is played either on the diagonal (illustrated) or straight and the passer defends against the defender who is encouraged to attack, be positive and try the skill worked on previously, working an opportunity to shoot on goal. Alternate sides. This can be progressed to a 2v2.
Skills program: Day 5 Protecting the ball Working in 3s, the player in red protects the ball from the player in blue. He turns at both markers before playing the ball to yellow and pressing yellow, who repeats protecting the ball from red. He turns at the marker before passing to blue who repeats. If the player in does the same turn as he turns left and right, he will have to use both his left and right foot. Players must move at least once left and at least once right so they can turn on each foot but need not pass the ball on until they have comfortable possession. Moving on we worked a one-touch turn, still protecting the ball. In the next illustration the ball is passed by the player in blue to the striker (also in blue) who turns on his first touch inside or outside to shot on goal. The passer follows his pass and the next ball is served from the other side.
Note that the ball is played in from an angle not in a straight line. Football is not played in straight lines! Next we do a Kanu Kanu did this exact skill in the 2008 FA cup final. He came very close to opening the scoring. He turned on one touch as the ball was played in from the left at an angle. He then turned towards goal and cut the ball with inside of his right, past the second defender (the Goalkeeper) before hitting the post on his next touch, the inside of his left. The illustration shows the combination from both sides.
Finally turning with the ball and attacking a defender are combined. The ball is played up to the striker who shields it from the mannequin. He turns on his first touch as previously. As soon as he touches the ball an active defender situated on the byline comes forward. The striker tires to beat him to score on goal. Depending on which side the attackers turns to the blue or red defender becomes active. Everyone rotates round 1 position and the initial pass come in from the opposite side.
Skills program: Day 6 Working in 4s in a square the players dribble in turn along the side of the square then across the diagonal executing the turns learned in the previous weeks. Both turns are done at 45 degrees. The football is exchanged at the corner and the next player starts. The players have the choice of going left or right to start. Still working in 4s with two footballs, Red players standing on opposite corners dribble half way down the side of the square before checking out under passive pressure from a defender (in blue). We then work keepy uppies for 10 minutes demonstrating a series of lifts and skills to get the ball into the air. At this point the week foot is emphasised. Keepy uppies are an excellent way of developing ball mastery and therefore confidence.
To finish we ask which of the of exercises the children would like to repeat. I have included here the exercise done on day 1 which was extremely dynamic with lots of opportunity to dribble, change direction, attack and score goals.
The Small Sided Game Never be suckered into the idea that because on match days the children play soccer 7s, or 11- a-side that these units make up the basis for training. Four against four is better when learning to play football: Football is best learned by playing football. Obviously there is only a small chance of mastering the game and developing skills in games involving teams of 11 against 11. The situation is too complex for beginners, there is little opportunity for playing a full role in such games, and the average number of ball contacts is too low. A player needs 4 11-a-side games to get as many touches as he would get in one 7- a-side. The more players, the less opportunities for participating in the game. Games of 4 v 4 are competitive, each player has a lot of ball contacts and lots of goals can be scored. Although children want to win when playing the small sided game, coaches can still view the game as a means to an end. The small number of players encourages the use of the length, depth and width of the playing area. These principles are highlighted and easily coached. 4 v 4 is the smallest game resembling a real match. So many situations occur in a short period of time and players learn to solve problems very flexibly. No two situations are identical (time, timing, speed, direction, etc are always different). The structure and the aim remain the same. Flexibility is an important aspect of football training. Great importance therefore is attached to being able to read football situations. It is important to recognise that constantly recurring situations are part of the game. "Reading" the game is an important precondition for taking the correct action and applying the required technical skill (ball control, ball speed, and direction of pass, challenging for the ball at the right moment). Small sided games other than 4 v 4 are useful. A game of 4 v 4 (and all similar and derived games) generates lots of situations, involves all the players and guarantees lots of repetition. Above all it is a game and youngsters love games, don t they? The following games should be fundamental to your coaching book and I will highlight the principles involved
In the basic 4 v 4, the game is set up as a 4v4 keep ball exercise or with goals. The diamond shape is used to emphasise the principles of width, depth and length If using goals, you can play with or without goalkeepers. Basic 4v4 The key features include depth, there should always be a player behind the ball carrier. The players on the left and right of the diamond (wingers) should be as wide as possible to create the maximum amount of attacking space. Preferably they should be facing inwards so that they can see the whole pitch. Lastly, length is needed, a player ahead of the ball giving attacking options, stretching the game. Players playing deep, wide or long are interchangeable and players should be actively encouraged to swap roles during open play. During open play inevitably the diamond will break down but this can be quickly reestablished with good, quick, thinking and communication. Whilst defending, the effort is made to be compact always positioning goal side of attackers. Reversed goals If the goals are reversed and place slightly infield, you have a game in which players have to play forward to an attacker high up the pitch in order to score.
Endline/ game A simple extension of 4v4 is to introduce the idea of stopping the ball on the end lines to score, the goals are moved off the pitch. This encourages attacking play. As the goal is large, goals can be scored in wide area as well as central areas. This game also includes attacking flair as beating an opponent will result in a goal. Another variation includes using 4 minigoals, or footballs sitting on markers as targets. In all these cases the targets can be set side by side or on the diagonal from each other. These games form a nice set which should keep your children interested. Games with multiple goals are good for encouraging switches of play and "heads up" football. If the route to one target is blocked, can we go to the other target? Double goals The following games can be based around 4v4 but can be expanded to serve larger numbers. If an odd number of players is present, one can be designated as the floater ie he plays for the team in possession.
Wingers game In the Wingers game, a player from each side is placed in a narrow zone on the wing. All play has to go through the winger and a goal can only be scored from his cross. The player who passed the ball to the winger can take his place to ensure all players rotate roles. Remember to remind the children that a cross is only a pass, albeit from a specific position so should still have accuracy, timing and the correct pace. It should not just be a "lump into the middle". A variation of the wingers game involves the support players standing on the bye line. A goal can only be scored off a pass from them. This game encourages penetration, a quick accurate pass to a forward player who sets up a goal scoring opportunity with a pass into the field of play. It is very different from again, a big lump up the park.
A third game working on the principle of support is illustrated in the box game. A box is place at each corner of the area and a target man both wide and deep is place within. Again the object is to get the ball forward and wide and to finish off of this player's supply. In all of these three games the support player can be rotated after a short time, or the passer can take the place of the support player who joins his teammates infield on rotation. In the endzone game, still on a 4 v4 theme, the point of Box this Game game is to "release" players situated in the end zones of a defined area. The player who passes the ball to the endzone player takes his place and the endzone player joins his teammates infield. The play is then switched and the teammate at the other end becomes the target for release. Once the ball has crossed the centre line however players at either end can be targeted. The constant switching back and forth encourages players to be involved at the beginning and at the end of moves (defenders and attackers). The end zone players are encouraged to make themselves available to receive passes. Players can only be released from passes by their own team and opposite team end zone players cannot tackle. The transition of play from one end to the other is a useful idea that will be touched upon further. End Zones
A keep ball game for 6 players automatically encourages width, length and depth. Three teams of 2 are established and a 4 v 2 is set up with the yellows fixed on the sidelines of the grid but the reds able to move freely. Watch as the reds quickly realise that filling in the adjacent sides (forming a diamond) gives them most chance of success whilst playing a 4v2 keep ball with the yellows against the blues. If the blues win the ball they replace the yellows and play a 4v2 with the reds against the yellows. 4v2 Keep ball The transitions game is set up for 4v2 using 8 players, but can be adapted to include larger numbers or odd numbers if a floating player is used. The blues play 4v2 keep ball against the reds in the left hand panel of the figure. When the reds win the ball they cross the centre neutral zone and join the other 2 reds where they play 4v2 keep ball against 2 blues who also step across. Finally one of the simplest small sided games is also one that any middle aged man has played in the park a hundred times when a child. If an odd number of players turned up, as children we used to play 2 teams into 1 goal with a goalie. Why not? This has all the elements
of real football, dribbling, passing and shooting and quick transitions from attack into defence and vice versa. The games illustrated are not the only ones based around the 4v4 or small sided games principle but represent a good starting point. Be patient with young children if you try any of these variations and do not be discouraged if at first you don t see wonderful switches of play, terrific vision and fantastic combinations. These games are worth persisting with.