All Posts by Mike Saif

0 Throwin’ & Rollin’

By Jason Stockmann -

As most US-based coaches should be aware of by now, the USYS has released some major changes that will be mandated as of the Fall 2017 season*. These changes are US-based, but it’s important for soccer in general because it is meant to further align the US with how the rest of the world plays the beautiful game. And whether you agree with them or not…the changes will happen.

One subtle but key change is the idea of build-out lines for the U9/U10 (7v7) age group (there are no keepers below U9 with these changes). This line is set a bit outside of the penalty box and restricts the opposing team from crossing it until the keeper has put the ball into play, by passing or throwing the ball to their team. Because of this idea, punting will not be allowed at this level.

This can be a major – and possibly painful – change for youth US teams…but the benefits a team can gain both at the youth level and far beyond could be great. Too often youth goalies get the ball and immediately punt the ball. And why do they rely on punting? Because if the ball is closer to the goal, it must be easier to

0 Reaction Game with Dribbling

By Alex Trukan

This practice is focusing on developing reaction time and quick bursts of acceleration over short distances. Its’ design ensures the practice is fun and challenging at the same time what makes it suitable for almost all age groups. Relating to the match context, the exercise will help the players to make quicker decisions, react and accelerate to win possession or make a tackle.

Set up and Directions

Set up four cones, two on one side, and two opposite them. Organise two players, both of them between two cones, opposite

0 Game for Changing the Point of Attack

By Renato Lopez Moreira - 

This 10 v 10 game to work on changing the point of attack.

The game is played in a 50 x 35 yard area for 25 minutes.

Exercise

The field will be divided into three areas. The team who is

0 Four Goal Directional Game

By Renato Lopez Moreira - 

This small-sided game is played with two teams of seven and three neutral players who always assist the team in possession. The game is played in a 30 x 30-yard area with two small goals at each end. Each team defends one end and attacks the other.

The attacking team works to keep possession and move the

0 Defending to Counter-Attack

By Alex Trukan

Football can be divided into three phases: attack, defence and transition (attack – defence, defence – attack). That division simplifies the game and makes it easier to understand and coach, however, any division carries with itself a danger of isolating components from the bigger whole and losing the complexity and realism of the game. Putting all of that into context, the way your team attacks, will affect how it defends. The way your team defends will affect how your team will attack. All of the four phases are linked and interconnected. Modern football has become a game of ‘chess’, where every move will have an influence on other and players have to think couple of steps ahead. For example, if you want to exploit the opponents on the counter attack, the preparation starts when your team is in the defensive phase. The technical details of defending will be then influenced by the next phase which is a transition to

0 1v1 Race Circuit with Finishing

By Alex Trukan

The presented exercise is designed to develop repetitive short sprinting power in a running with the ball scenario with a finishing element. From the physical perspective, it helps the players to be quicker and more explosive when trying to win a race to the ball or be faster than the defender in and around the box. That is linked to technical element of running with the ball and shooting on goal. The organisation of the practice ensures that work to rest ratio is easier to manage as well as players get enough repetitions without long waiting periods.

Set up and Directions

Cone off two channels of approximately 20 yards in length and 4 in width. Place one goal on the opposite ends of the channels. Divide the players into pairs and set half of the pairs at the beginning of one channel (opposite the goal) and the other half at the start of the second channel. Two coaches/players are needed to play the

1 Incorporating Keepers

By Josh Jones-Keen -

Incorporating Keepers in sessions can be tough. Most grassroots coaches have limited Keeper experience or might not have the resources available to provide Keepers separate coaching opportunities. Likewise it is becoming more and more important for Keepers to be comfortable with the ball and their feet and to be able to create attacks with varied passing. Training as a whole team can really help understanding and build great relationships between Keepers and the rest of the

0 Training Two Central Players

By Renato Lopez Moreira -  This is a progression of last week's possession game. You can also think of it as a 4 + 2 v 2 since two of the attackers are playing in a central role in the middle of other four attackers. The game works on a number of important aspects of the game: Minimum of

0 Give-and-Goes and Sprinting

By Alex Trukan

The following practice is aimed at developing an ability to sustain the amount of sprints and high intensity actions throughout the whole game. This physical component is linked into technical content of passing, one-two’s and receiving. The practice can be adapted to suit different numbers as well as physical focus. More players involved, as well as smaller area will mean longer resting periods. Also different passing combinations can be used to increase variety.

Set-Up and Directions

Organise a square of approximately 5x5 yards. Set four players outside the square, one on each side, and one player in the middle of the square, with the ball. Area size and

0 Developing Wing Play

By Alex Trukan

Attacking through the wings requires many unique characteristics of players, including not only technical and tactical side, but also physical and mental aspects. Qualities, such as speed, flair, combination play, patience or simply crossing technique are essential. From the tactical perspective, utilising wide areas can be useful due to the change in the attacking angle, more spaces to exploit or an opportunity to cross the ball into penalty box. Having all of that in mind, it is also crucial to avoid utilising wings just for the sake of doing it. Wing play should be used as a tool when attacking centrally is not available or difficult to execute, remembering that breaking through the centre is a priority.

Preparation Phase

Even before the ball is played out wide, it is important to open up spaces and get into starting positions enabling to attacking through the wings effectively. One way of doing it is to overload central areas of the pitch by the inside movements of wingers, strikers and central midfielders. That will enable the team to exchange a number of passes in the middle to drag the opposition towards the

0 Can You Clear Me Now?

By Jason Stockmann -

An important skill for any keeper is the ability to take a pass from a defender and then clear the ball. This typically comes in the form of a back-pass or trail-pass from a defender in trouble and the keeper blasting the ball as far as they can in whatever direction they’re facing at the time. This is a good play and any keeper should be able to do it.

But a hallmark of a good or experienced keeper goes a step beyond the haphazard clear. As any pro keeper shows, even in trouble, this clearance should be more than just a kick – it needs to be at worst a good pass and at best the start to a tactical play. When Buffon, De Gea or Ter Stegen gets a pass from a defender, they don’t send it into the stands (usually) – they already know exactly where to place the

0 Building Up with a Back Three

By Alex Trukan

Playing with a back three gives huge advantages in midfield and forward units. It also enables the team to attack through the wings more effectively (using wingbacks) as well as create an overload in midfield. However, one of the trade-offs is playing out from the back which might be tricky and challenging. From the attacking point of view, considering that most of the teams play with two strikers, three players might not be enough to break through the first line of the opposition. Also, having transition in mind, the back three often does not provide enough defensive cover in case the ball is lost. That is why, not a back three, but defensive midfielders are crucial players in the build-up play.

Starting Positions

The middle centre back is usually the primary player to initiate build-up play. That enables the team to play three different directions: centre, right and left. Two other centre backs start quite narrow (in case the ball is lost) in the first phase and then get into wider positions as the

0 The V-Wing

By Jason Stockmann -

I’ve mentioned before that I like to design goalie drills that also use field players or a field drill that actively incorporates a goalie. These type of drills work well for any number of players, can be ideal when maybe only 1 or 2 coaches are present and add to team cohesion by increasing the trust between field players and the goalies.

Today we use this field player-goalie formula to train angles. Specifically, we will be concerned with helping our keepers learn to identify where to place themselves when a player is both coming into and shooting from the penalty box. We want to look at things like getting the right distance between the ball, the goal and any other players that may be open as well as when and how much to commit to going after the ball.

The drill I offer up today is one I call “The V-Wing” and it offers the

0 Creating the 'Third Man' Option

By Renato Lopez Moreira - 

This is a progression of last week's 4 v 2 into a 5 v 2. You can also think of it as a 4 + 1 v 2 since the fifth attacker is playing in a central role in the middle of four attackers.

The game works on a number of important aspects of the game:

• Creating Passing Options
• Ball Possession
• Fast Recovery of the ball
• Offensive and Defensive support
• Search for the third man option

In this exercise, the

0 Reverse 1 v 1's

By Alex Trukan

This practice is designed to improve the quality of high intensity actions, developing speed and power to accelerate. It is relevant for all the positions, in particular, defenders (e.g. accelerating towards the ball played in behind) or strikers (e.g. getting away from defender). It has also a technical element of turning as well as shooting. For the players it is highly engaging and fun game that develops them physically, psychologically as well as technically.

Set up and Directions

Position two goals with the back to each other, 5 yards apart. Organise goalkeepers into goals. Divide the team into two groups, and set them next to the

0 Attacking Movements of Central Midfielders

By Alex Trukan

One of the advantages of a 4-3-1-2 system is having an overload in midfield (when playing against 4-4-2) without sacrificing the amount of forward players. Playing with a triangle, whether it’s a point up or down, makes supporting of the striker easier, and at the same time, remaining balanced in defence with one holding player. The profile of the midfielders is evolving into multidimensional role, combining qualities to support building up from the back (movements to receive, support, using blind space, passing and receiving range and quality) as well as attacking on the opposition’s half (playing off striker’s shoulder, combination play, through balls, movements to support wing play or shots from distance). Apart several characteristics that remain the same despite of the team tactics, there are also components that change depending on the formation and system employed.

Team Shape – Understanding Context

In order to understand the attacking profile of the midfielders in a given formation, it is important to be aware of the whole team tactics – understand the

0 Shoot 'n Save

By Jason Stockmann -

Getting players to help each other train while at a practice is an invaluable tool for multiple reasons. First and foremost, from a coaching perspective, it can relieve some of the time-crunch pressures we face by letting some players do their own thing while we focus on other aspects; it also lets us impart a sense of responsibility for personal development on the players themselves. From their perspective, this responsibility looks like a bit of freedom and control over their own soccer destiny…and it is a fun and subtle method to increase team cohesion.

I’m a firm believer that this player-to-player training is especially helpful when it is done with goalkeepers. Whether at a practice or during pre-game warmups, two goalies working with each other not only potentially frees up coaching resources, but

0 Four Zone Game

By Alex Trukan

This game is a perfect option to challenge the players in tight 1v1 situations with the defender from the back. That will develop players’ strength, core stability, balance as well as agility to keep possession of the ball away from the defender and at the same time progress as a team onto opposition’s half and score. It is highly motivating and engaging game for almost all ability levels.

Set-Up and Directions

Set up a pitch of approximately 25x35 yards. Divide the pitch into four smaller areas. Place one goal on each end. Divide the team into two groups of five, organise goalkeepers in goals. Set every player on each team into different area, so in each of the

0 Form and Function of a 4 v 2 Game

By Renato Lopez Moreira - 

Today's small-sided game is called by different names depending on where you're from. It's been called, 'Rounds', 'Rondo' or 'Sily'.

The game works on a number of important aspects of the game:

• Creating Passing Options
• Ball Possession
• Fast Recovery of the ball
• Offensive and Defensive support
• Search for the third man option

In this exercise, the

0 Bayern Munich v Bayer Leverkusen 08-29-15

HOW THE MATCH WAS WON by Keith Scarlett Bundesliga August 29, 2015 Bayern Munich 3 - 0 Bayer Leverkusen Bayern Munich’s first real test of the season was against one of their more serious rivals in Germany, Bayer Leverkusen; a team feared for their pressing. Yet, they were able to get by with their technical quality and

0 Stay on Target

By Jason Stockmann -

Too often it seems that when coaching younger ages and planning practices we forget a major element of the game – goalies. Sure, we send them to goalie-specific training when offered and we have good intentions by not pigeon-holing a kid as only a goalie at that young of an age, but we all still have those couple of kids that tend to be our main goalies. We train the team in defense, offense, set pieces, etc. – so why do we not work more with the keepers as well?

In all honesty, this is most likely due to lack of time, skill and/or extra help at practices. But I refuse to take that as the answer and just let the goalies flounder on their own – they need help from us and they need to work with their teams. Working with the team on drills helps out in two solid ways by letting the keepers show off their own skills (building confidence) and lets the field players see that they can trust their keepers. This keeper-field player trust is a huge aspect of the

0 Breaking Lines of Pressure- Part 3

By Renato Lopez Moreira - 

This is a progression of the game from last week. It is played with three teams of six players. It can be played with fewer players on each team or using a neutral player if number divisible by three are not available.

The difference with this game is that there is one player from each team positioned in the middle zone.

The game area is 45 x 42 yards and the game is played in two 15 minute halves.

This exercise is played by three teams. Two teams work to possess the ball and one team defends.

The field is divided into three small ones: two areas for the

0 Four Corners Game

By Alex Trukan

This practice is designed to develop players’ capacity to sprint with and without the ball over short distances. The ball work is incorporated in order to link it to football specific context as well as to increase players’ motivation. In addition, players change direction and angles of runs to make it even more realistic. The exercise is ideally working with 12 players (work to rest ratio automatically managed), but it can be adapted to suit team needs.

Set Up and Directions

Organise a square of approximately 8-10 yards in length and width. Place additional cone in the middle of the square. Divide the players into four groups. Each groups’ starting position is on the

1 Variation of the 4-2-3-1 Formation

By Alex Trukan

Argentinian coach, Marcelo Bielsa, that has recently led Athletic Bilbao and Chilean national team is known for attacking and dynamic style of play with high energy and pace. His teams can be distinguished by extreme work rate, vertical passes, quick possession as well as attacking through the wings. In the meantime, his ideas are driving the project of bringing Olympique Marseille back to the top football. Despite quite visible and unorthodox style of play, Bielsa has employed numerous formations over the last seasons including: 4-2-3-1, 3-3-3-1, 3-3-1-3 or 4-3-3. One of his major formations working in OM was 4-2-3-1 which was often employed against weaker teams.

Basic Shape in Possession

When in possession of the ball, Bielsa has used four defenders who were usually positioned asymmetrically (one full back forming back three, second one higher up the field), two defensive midfielders (one playing higher, one dropping into defensive midfielder role), number 10 playing off striker’s shoulder and supporting on the flanks, two wingers playing wide and central striker who moves across and