Mike Saif, Author at WORLD CLASS COACHING Training Center

0 Possession to Penetrate

By Eric Clermont - Over the last few years, with the continued success on tiki taka and the possession style game, many youth coaches have taken it upon themselves to develop a syndrome I like to call a possession-itis. While many coaches teach the possession style along with it’s many coaching points, they have given their

0 Teaching Technique Article 2

By Sean Pearson Area Size: 40 x 45 Yards Teams: 6 v 6 Time: 20 Minutes Objectives To understand when and where to run behind the defense When and where to time the through pass into space Use the correct weight of passThe area is split into three zones, two end zones of 5 yards in depth

0 Teaching Technique Article 1

0 Small-Sided Game Article 2

0 Small-Sided Game Article 1

0 Getting Behind the Defense

3 Penalty Box Fitness - Part 1

By Jason Stockmann - Everyone knows fitness is key for a soccer player – very few sports exact the levels of endurance, stamina, speed and dexterity that the beautiful game demands. Though a goalkeeper may not need to reach the same level of endurance or stamina his or her field player counterparts hit, they definitely have

0 Switching the Point of Attack

By Eric Clermont - When developing a possession based style at the youth level (as I have done over the last few years), I believe that the focus on always needing to play short becomes predominant for many teams. While there are clear pros to this, players are often given only the technical tools to play

0 1 v 1 with Four Supporting Players

By Alex Trukan This modification of 1 v 1 scenario involves an option to use a teammate or go individually. It therefore creates more decision making than in a typical 1v1 situation and is more realistic to the game. From the conditioning point of view, it trains anaerobic energy system which is responsible for high

0 Striker's Runs in Behind the Defense

By Alex Trukan The ability of the strikers to effectively use space in behind of the opposition defense can lead to creating a handful of goal scoring opportunities. That key skill can be especially appreciated when the opposition applies high pressing or when it’s disorganised. However, not only counter-attack is a key moment for the

0 Defending Wide Areas

By Alex Trukan Forcing opposition into wide areas is a strategy used by many modern teams when out of possession. First of all, once the ball is wide, the options for the player in possession are reduced as he has possibilities of playing only into three directions. Secondly, the ball is further away from the

1 A Little Off Center

By Jason Stockmann - One of the things that I have found to be challenging for younger keepers is how to position for corner kicks. To be fair, younger field players have a rough go at it as well…they tend to either be milling around aimlessly or almost on the goal line as if the ball

0 Functional Defending Session with Front Three

By Eric Clermont - In the modern game today, the demand of players technically, tactically and physically have increased considerably over the past ten years. Defenders are expected to build out from the back, midfielders are held accountable for defending deep runs into the box and forwards are also told that they must defend from the

0 Numbers Up Numbers Down Game

By Alex Trukan This game is focused on developing aerobic power with high intensity running intervals. It is also very stimulating tactically as the players have to deal with numerous situations including both overload and underload scenarios. That makes the practice realistic to the game and engaging. From the pure technical point of view, it

0 Building Out From The Back

By Eric Clermont - Introduction: After many years of working with different coaches at the youth level at various levels of the game, (including Academy, club and even with school teams) it is still disappointing to me that when asked how they did on the weekend, most ‘youth educators’ will start by giving me the score

1 Four Grid Game

By Alex Trukan This practice is a fun game that can suit all age groups, ability levels and can be adapted in many different ways. From a conditioning point of view, high intensity, short periods of work are designed to develop sprinting power that can be repeated in the game as many times as possible.

0 Dealing with Crosses

By Josh Jones-Keen - Collecting the ball from a cross can fill a Keepers team with confidence as well as give an opportunity to launch a counter attack. Nailing the basics is important; ‘W’ formation Eye on the ball Timing Positioning Footwork Collecting the ball at the highest point the keeper can reach Communication Warm Up

0 Possession to Move the Opposition

By Alex Trukan Since the successes of the teams like FC Barcelona and Spanish national team in the recent years, many teams were trying to adapt ‘possession’ football approach. It has been widely used, however at the same time, widely misunderstood. The ‘tiki-taka’ style started to be played for the sake of it, and not

0 Goalkeepers Footwork

By Josh Jones-Keen - I find a Keepers footwork is often overlooked. I believe it can be the difference between getting across to save a shot and not. What I look for in footwork is: Short, Sharp Sidesteps No heel clipping No crossing over It’s that simple. I find the 3 S’s stay in players’ heads

0 Switching Play Possession Game

By Alex Trukan The Switching Play Possession Game is highly engaging and high intensity game aimed mainly at more advanced players of higher ability. It helps to develop power to recover what helps in producing anaerobic actions more often. The practice strengthens aerobic energy system which generally acts as a platform to all football actions.

0 Functional Rondos

By Eric Clermont - While the use of rondos in youth practices is commonplace, many coaches use the activity merely as a technical exercise to warm players up before starting the major part of their practice. Of course, the activity is a great tool to teach the key aspects of maintaining possession; namely the angle and

2 Defenders Joining the Attack

By Alex Trukan Defenders have been valued not only in defence but also in attack for the last couple of years. Full backs were a major revelation at the World Cup in 2002 and since it became common and obvious when a full backs is utilised on the opposition half. Centre backs’ role in attack

4 Winning the Second Ball

By Eric Clermont -

During the past ten years and beyond, football has seen the rise and fall of Spain and the re-emergence of Germany as the global superpower on the world stage. The world of youth coaching will always attempt to replicate the ‘flavor of the month’s’ style and at this point in time, this revolves around building out from the back, attempting to keep possession at all costs, use combination play, mobility and technical quality to break the lines and score ‘the perfect goal’ with 55 passes from back to front without the opposition touching the ball. The developmental positives for youth players throughout the growing ages are also great, meaning that players can both gain success playing this way (given they are given time to develop in this way) and improve as football players.

While I am a major advocator of this school of thought and the perceived positives, I have also noticed the lack of defensive capability and ability of youth coaches to teach ‘the nasty side’ of the game. While I may seem unfair in my criticism, (and of course, there are exceptions to the rule) I urge you to watch a youth team who is comfortable in possession play against a direct team who looks to lump the ball forward. Many teams will struggle more against these types of team due to the

1 Aerobic Passing Game

By Alex Trukan

This practice have multiple outcomes in the technical corner including passing, receiving as well as movement off the ball. In addition to that, it develops the capacity of the body to recover quickly, what will lead to producing more high intensity actions throughout the game. That happens due to development of aerobic energy system. The practice can be well adapted to different age groups, number of players and ability levels.

Set up and directions

Set a square of approximately 15 x 15 yards, then further divide it into four smaller squares by putting a cone in the middle of it. Organise a group of players inside the

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