Have you ever looked at your team and thought, 'We really need to work on that?' But because you only have so much time per practice session, you'd leave it for next session?
Have you ever been frustrated watching your team run around but make no progress in mastering the drill?
Have you ever had the feeling the drill is just not working and you should can it? But that was probably the practice plan that took the longest to plan wasn't it? So your told yourself you just needed to spend a little more time on it...?
I know the feeling. I saw my guys and it couldn't be more plain. They were scared to head the ball. We needed to work on it, but we didn't have time (that's what I told myself). We had a tournament in 4 days, and I had two sessions. There was so much to work on. So I compromised.
"It's okay to be scared. Let the ball bounce, then attack it. Even if it hits you, after the bounce, it won't be as painful." Those were my words of wisdom.
Come game day, the opposition's strategy, like mine, was to play to their strengths. They were tall. Every ball from their keeper, clearances, corners, throw-ins- all of them were played in the air. My tallest player was my goalie. My shortest players were in the midfield. Not only did they beat us because of their height, but because my boys were scared to head the ball, even those that were of a reasonable height that they could challenge, they didn't. Waiting for the ball to bounce was costing us the game.
What would you have done?
YOU'RE THE WEAKEST LINK
The fact it is, even with the best scouting, the strategies we approach the game with will not always be successful. Partly because they are largely based on everything going well on our end. Sometimes it's a defense minded strategy, at others, attacking too much and leaving gaps at the back. In our case, we would use the one-touch passing we had worked on- make them do the running. But the way they were playing the ball in the air, we didn't have a prayer of being on the ball long enough to get the passing game going. If we were to compete, we needed a new approach. If you cannot admit that you need a new strategy, then YOU are the weakest link.
It is a trap that we have all fallen into as youth coaches- designing beautiful plays that are sure to produce some galactico-like goals when the basics are not intact. The thing that causes these things to fail is not that they are poorly designed. They fall apart because the young guys don't know how to control a ball. They panic when they have to control the ball under pressure. Or as in my case, they are afraid to head the ball. How do you defend corners then? How do you attack corners? You might be thinking that you can't fix control in a single session, and for some kids, not even in a single season. You are right to think so. But think about it-
You will be ruled by your weakest link.
Your strategy is, more often than not, based on attacking your opponent's weaknesses. If you looked honestly, how many weaknesses does your team have collectively? What about your players individually? Now look at your practice sessions. What percentage of each session, and of your season's practice plans, is spent on addressing those weaknesses? It's human nature to gravitate towards those things we are already good at because it makes us feel good to see and feel success when we try anything. Fortify the house all you want- alarms, burglar bars on every window, secret key codes. If you continue to leave the door open, you will always be vulnerable. Those things you add will never make up for that weakness.
What I Did
I stepped up and told the boys I was wrong. It's NOT okay to be scared of the ball. I pointed out that we needed to make an effort. Courage is not born on the battlefield. It is built up gradually, each time against a bigger opponent. The biggest of those being yourself. I appealed to the young people they were. I knew that in saying BMX, skateboarding and hockey, I managed to describe them all. How many times have you fallen or been bashed into the boards? Yet you're still here. I won't lie to you and say it won't hurt. It will, but I need you to get up and keep playing. Make an effort. Jump and see what happens. Even if he beats you to it, make it so awkward that he can't do as he pleases with the ball.
THE SOLUTION
The first and most important step is a screening process. I'm talking about movement screening. This should precede performance testing. If you can't balance on one leg, you will have a hard time developing the speed and explosiveness required to be competitive. A well designed screen (like the FMS) will yield very specific information from which you can individualize warm-ups and homework for each player. How many coaches still have their athletes run laps around the field to warm-up? Drills and exercises that are tailored to your players' needs will give the team the tools they need to improve, not just an elevated heart rate. The good thing about screening a group of players is that in most cases, the majority will have the same needs. So even if you don't have the time or the resources to monitor twenty plus people doing different things, you can give them one or two drills to do. Building them off the screen, you are still sorting out your weaknesses.
Movement screening can explain why players have a hard time producing the power needed to compete for the header and/or develop knee problems when they land. It can tell you why there are recurring injuries. When the screen is clean, then you can do performance testing. Treat the results the same- ID the weaknesses. Address them in the warm-up, give them as homework. Too many coaches are afraid to encroach on their kids' time away from them. They leave themselves too much to do in the sessions they are already complaining are too short when they don't give homework.
Youth coaches are responsible for their charges in the alloted time of practice. That means coaches should arrive for a 5:00 session at 4:30 or sooner and leave only when the last child has been picked up. What are they doing in the time before practice begins and while they are waiting to be picked up after? They are already messing around with the ball anyway. Step in and give them instruction.
Every session after that game began and ended with heading. The drills involved heading. Every throw in was to be headed. I took corners and free kicks myself because my boys were not doing too well in directing their crosses. When the heading became decent, I focused on crosses until accurate crosses were attacked or defended with headers.
The solution is simple- identify your weaknesses and sure them up. Don't put fancy diagrams and drills on top of basics that are not basic. The best strategy is making sure that the basics are done right. Set the foundation. Put the basics on top of the foundation. Decorate the basics with the fancy stuff.
The first and most important step is a screening process. I'm talking about movement screening. This should precede performance testing. If you can't balance on one leg, you will have a hard time developing the speed and explosiveness required to be competitive. A well designed screen (like the FMS) will yield very specific information from which you can individualize warm-ups and homework for each player. How many coaches still have their athletes run laps around the field to warm-up? Drills and exercises that are tailored to your players' needs will give the team the tools they need to improve, not just an elevated heart rate. The good thing about screening a group of players is that in most cases, the majority will have the same needs. So even if you don't have the time or the resources to monitor twenty plus people doing different things, you can give them one or two drills to do. Building them off the screen, you are still sorting out your weaknesses.
Movement screening can explain why players have a hard time producing the power needed to compete for the header and/or develop knee problems when they land. It can tell you why there are recurring injuries. When the screen is clean, then you can do performance testing. Treat the results the same- ID the weaknesses. Address them in the warm-up, give them as homework. Too many coaches are afraid to encroach on their kids' time away from them. They leave themselves too much to do in the sessions they are already complaining are too short when they don't give homework.
Youth coaches are responsible for their charges in the alloted time of practice. That means coaches should arrive for a 5:00 session at 4:30 or sooner and leave only when the last child has been picked up. What are they doing in the time before practice begins and while they are waiting to be picked up after? They are already messing around with the ball anyway. Step in and give them instruction.
Every session after that game began and ended with heading. The drills involved heading. Every throw in was to be headed. I took corners and free kicks myself because my boys were not doing too well in directing their crosses. When the heading became decent, I focused on crosses until accurate crosses were attacked or defended with headers.
The solution is simple- identify your weaknesses and sure them up. Don't put fancy diagrams and drills on top of basics that are not basic. The best strategy is making sure that the basics are done right. Set the foundation. Put the basics on top of the foundation. Decorate the basics with the fancy stuff.
