Problems ASUS Nexus 7 Screen Cracking On Its Own. This is my story of my experience of owning a Nexus 7 tablet made by ASUS. Before I get into my story, here is a link if you have a problem with ASUS and want to file complaints about them at the Better Business Bureau My story
Continue readingBy Keith Scarlett
This activity works on finishing, passing, one-touch play and goalkeeping.
Set-up three cones facing one-goal at the top of the box. One cone each should be placed at the point where the field markings form the intersection of the penalty area and “D,” while the third cone should be placed 10 metres out from the edge of the penalty area in a straight line with the penalty spot forming a triangle; per the diagram.
To start this activity, all of the balls should be placed on the “left” cone and the team should be broken up into three different groups with each group being assigned to
Continue readingBy Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.
Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on distribution and decision making.
There are two parts of distribution that must be practiced on a regular basis, unfortunately, both tend to get ignored.
The first part is the technical side. Rolling balls with proper pace and to the proper spot. Longer throws so that they are easy for the receiving player to handle etc.
The second part is the decision making part. Who should the ball be
Continue readingBy Alex Trukan
This exercise is focused on improving aerobic endurance. Developing this physical component will enable the players to maintain high quantity of actions throughout the whole match. In addition to that, it includes technical content such as passing, receiving, support and transition.
Set up and directions
Organise a square of 15-20x15-20m. Divide the group into two teams of 4. Two players from each team should position themselves behind the opposite sides. Another two players should stay inside the square. The practice is 2v2 possession game with 4 lay-off players. The attacking team’s (black) objective is to transfer the ball from one side to another (opposite). They can also use 2 yellow lay off players positioned sideways. If the defending team (yellow) gains possession, they score in the same principle, but using yellow players as a targets and black players positioned outside as a lay-off players. This exercise can also be done using 10 or 12 players but in that case the area should be bigger. If the ball goes out of play, supply next ball immediately.
Upon receiving the ball from the target player, two players inside should
Continue readingBy Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.
Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on playing the ball out of pressure in order to go forward.
Start with a 20 x 10 grid with two attacking players and one defending player. One of the attacking players starts with the ball in the middle of the grid with his back to the defender. The other attacker is further back from the end line they are attacking.
The attacking players are trying to dribble the ball across the end line behind the defender. In games, players sometimes have a tendency to
Continue readingBy Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.
Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s topic deals with communication.
One of the most common responses when speak with keepers about the need to increase and/or improve their communication is “I am communicating a LOT”. When I first started to get that response I thought it was a defense mechanism OR they were simply lying because I could hear that they weren’t communicating well.
In time, I found they weren’t lying but rather, they didn’t
Continue readingBy Vasco Mota Pereira, PortuGOAL correspondent
Playing football it the highest echelons revolves around much more than simply nutmegs and tackles. Despite what the vox populi may have us thinking, results are more than the mere consequence of wanting the win more than one's opponent or "getting stuck into them".
Even though the motivational aspects of the game are all too important, the proper organisation of a team may help players even more - particularly when they are exhausted, hearts beating at 180 bpm and little oxygen actually getting to their brains, impairing the decision-making process. That is why well-oriented exercises in training sessions are vital to get the team to perform consistently week in, week out, rather than succumb to the players or supporters' moods.
As mentioned in the previous post, zonal marking seems to be all but disappearing in England. With the influx of foreign managers and players towards the Premier League, the English game became more Continental and not as insular - in short, less about individual duels as Sir Bobby Robson liked to emphasize during his stint in Portugal. However, with the advent of 4x2x3x1, teams tend to be a little less packed down the middle and to defend in two banks of four, often opening up huge gaps in between their lines.
After breaking down Manchester United's vulnerabilities, it is now time to take a look at Tottenham - specifically their match against Southampton a couple of weeks ago and the Saints' goal.
Tottenham had lost the ball a few seconds earlier whilst attacking down their left wing. Southampton followed the textbook and immediately
Continue readingBy Alex Trukan
The exercise is focused on improving speed endurance and ball control. Enhancing speed endurance by increasing the capacity of phosphate energy system will enable the players to make explosive actions even in the final parts of the match. This practice can be done with various number of players and modifications. It is also convenient to use half circle as an area to work in.
Set up and directions
The exercise is set up as shown below. Half of the players is positioned outside the grid with one ball each, while the second half is inside the area. Inside players show up to receive the ball, play one-touch back (can be modified) and sprint in the opposite direction over 5 meters. That should be done with maximal effort. Players repeat this action every 10 seconds. After 6-10 repetitions, players should rest actively (juggling/slow pace ball manipulation etc. ) for 4-6 mins. The exercise should contain 2-4 sets. Afterwards, outside players should swap positions with inside players.
Delivery of the ball should be varied. It can be both ground and aerial. Outside players can challenge inside players by
Continue readingBy Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.
Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on 1 v 1 play with an emphasis on the first touch.
Start with a 20 x 10 grid with an attacking player on one end line and a defender on the end line. A server, with balls, is in the corner near the defender.
The server starts by playing a ball, on the ground, to the
Continue readingBy Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.
Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity is a 1 v 1 game working on many aspects of goalkeeping.
When I started training keepers I worked with one keeper at a time. Much of the time was spent on technique, fitness and shot blocking but I struggled trying to figure out how to get them more game related training without bringing in a couple of teams. The solution ended up being quite simple, bring in
Continue readingBy Vasco Mota Pereira, PortuGOAL correspondent
Much has been said and spoken about Manchester United and their faltering form. The transition from Sir Alex Ferguson to David Moyes was bound to include some bumps along the way, but the former Everton manager is bound to be found scratching his head while reviewing some recent results and displays. Moyes was considered to be a reactive, reliable, safety-first manager, but his credentials have left much to be desired so far. And while reading through most of the English football press might lead one to believe that it is all a matter of simply adding a few players to the squad, it is hardly the case.
Case in point, the first goal Swansea scored at Old Trafford last weekend for the FA Cup. Manchester United are picked apart smack down the centre by 4 simple touches from Swansea, starting from their centre-back. Since the match is pretty much in slow motion, it is difficult to accept such bad defensive positioning from the current English champions.
Swansea's centre-back Chico Flores has the ball and already United look out of position. Javier Hernández is contributing nothing defensively and Danny Welbeck is
Continue readingBy Alex Trukan
This exercise is focused on improving Speed and Power in 1v1 situations. Maximum effort up to 10 seconds improves quality (explosiveness) of football actions by enhancing anaerobic energy system. 1v1 duels are present in all areas of the pitch, on every level of the game.
Set up and directions
The exercise is set up as shown below. Coach plays the ball in the middle of two players who run and compete for the ball. First player to touch the ball becomes attacker, second player becomes defender. The aim of the attacking player is to score. When defending player gains possession, his aim is to pass the ball to the coach. Attacker has 5 seconds to score. Make sure there are min. 8-10 players (4-5 pairs) to allow enough rest between repetitions (work to rest ratio 1:5/1:6). Coach should provide variety of passing types (ground/aerial/bouncing/curved). To increase competitiveness, award points for each goal.
As we can see on the following diagram, first player to the ball becomes attacker and his aim is to
Continue readingBy Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.
Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity is a warm up that works on short passing, turning while receiving the ball, dribbling, turning off the dribble and longer passes.
Start with server with a ball and a player 30 yards away (in this example, there is only one server and one player but you would have many going at the same time in a team training session). There should also be a line 15 halfway between the server and player.
The player checks to the ball and the server passes it so
Continue readingBy Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.
Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activities work on receiving the ball with the outside of the foot.
There is a tendency to “kill” the ball when receiving it with the inside of the foot (to kill the ball simply means to stop the ball completely as opposed to receiving the ball and keeping it moving). While it’s certainly possible to keep the ball moving with the inside of the foot, it’s even easier to do with the outside of the foot so these two activities work on receiving the ball with the outside of the foot.
Start with two players 15 yards apart. One of them should have a ball.
The player passes to the other player who must
Continue readingBy Stevie Grieve. The complete article can be found in the February issue of the WORLD CLASS COACHING Magazine in the Member Drills Database.
Jose Mourinho has had unparalleled success since 2004, he has won every possible trophy domestically in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain, while winning the Champions League twice in this period. His teams are always defensively strong, have a very organised system to deal with defensive transitions and are always incredibly dangerous on the counter-attack.
One aspect of Jose Mourinho’s teams that don’t get the praise they deserve, is the fluid attacking play that he gets from his teams, and this Chelsea team have some great players which allow for a fluid and attractive style of play, but the Mourinho defensive transition is always an element to look for, which explains why Juan Mata is being left out of the team in favour of Willian.
Chelsea Movements – Lopsided 4-2-3-1 – higher on the side that Hazard plays in
Blue; Back 4. Black; Mid 2. Yellow; Mid 3. Red; Striker
Left side (3 + 11 controls the movements); When Ashley Cole plays at 3, he will overlap and give Hazard more
Continue readingBy Ioakim Ioakim
This is an amazing exercise to improve the players speed in all of its forms (reaction speed, maximum speed, speed endurance, fast decision making and finishing. It is fun and they will love it.
Set up and instructions
Create a 20x10 meters area and place 8 colourful cones on the side lines every 5 meters (use max 4 colours) next to each cone place a ball. Place two goal posts and the players standing on the side of them, you, as a coach pick a spot that you can monitor the exercise best (Figure 1).
The exercise starts when the coach shouts a colour, then the attacking player runs for the ball that is placed next to that cone. At the same moment the defender
Continue readingBy Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.
Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on shot blocking and adjusting angles.
Start with a keeper in goal and 5 balls lined up toward each of the sides of the 18. A server starts by one of the balls. The balls are approximately 3 yards apart.
The server starts by stepping toward the near ball and the keeper steps out to
Continue readingBy Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.
Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on one touch passing and agility.
Start with the player at a cone and 4 cones in a horizontal line 5 yards in front. There is a server, with a ball, 10 yards from the line of cones.
The player starts by sprinting to the first cone, and as soon as he gets there
Continue readingThis is an excerpt from the chapter "Dueling: 1v1 Play" of our new book by Tony Englund, Competitive Small Group Training
1 vs. 1 to Goal Point of Service - 1/3 field
Here player 1 checks to get service from any of the perimeter players and tries to beat the defender 2 and finish. Encourage the defender to play aggressively and to try to intercept service where possible and if the attacker does receive the ball, to deny the turn and shot. The attacker should be deceptive, showing to one side and then sharply changing directions and demanding service from another point. The middle pairing should be changed after one minute so that players are playing at speed throughout.
Variations
By Keith Scarlett
This exercise is a great way to have your players put in some quality fitness work while also garnering a large number of touches on the ball at the same time. All team members can take part in this activity at the same-time. This is a fast paced and high intensity activity that will put a tremendous amount of strain on your player’s bodies and thus is recommended that it only be done twice a week maximum and also allowing at least 48 hours to elapse between each time this activity is run. This activity will help develop players’ fitness base; ability to change both pace and direction; acceleration and speed while moving forward, backward and lateral both with and without the ball. It will also help develop tight touches, handling the ball in tight spaces, turning with the ball, running with the ball at speed and control of the ball during acceleration and deceleration.
Set-Up and Directions
This exercise is set-up as shown below with all players beginning behind the start cone. There are two rows of cones; one straight in front of the starting cone and a second 10 metres to the right of the first row. Each row should have no more than 10 total cones each (include the start cone in the total count of 10) and each cone should be spaced 10 metres apart from each other. The first cone in the second row should be placed 5 metres in from where the first cone would normally lie so each proceeding cone in that line would form a zig-zag formation, per the diagram, when spaced 10 metres apart from the first.
The first player takes off and accelerates to a full-sprint for the first 10 metres before reaching the first cone where they now must
By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.
Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s topic deals with keeping your head down on low balls.
You would think that low balls right at the keeper would be some of the easiest saves to make. One of the biggest mistakes made on these low balls is the lifting of the head just before the ball arrives.
The thing keepers must keep in mind is when they lift their heads their hands rise as well.
Ideally the keeper wants to have his hands below the ball as it
Continue readingBy Jebreel Bubtana
The exercise below will work on your players’ foot skills and aerobic endurance.
Set up and directions:
Set up the field as shown below with a 20x20 yard square in the middle and a bigger square on the outside. All but two of the players on your team will have a ball (figure 1).
The players with a ball will dribble around the 20x20 square whilst the two players without a ball
Continue readingBy Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible. Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on being aggressive on lofted balls. Recently I have seen too many keepers come out for high balls and be tentative, or even soft, when trying to win the ball. In this activity there is a keeper in
Continue readingBy Michele Tossani
Tim Sherwood has been appointed as André Villas-Boas's permanent successor at Tottenham Hotspur by the chairman Daniel Levy after he signed an 18-month contract. A Premier League victory at Southampton, his ambition and his attitude was enough to be named as permanent manager. It is unclear whether Sherwood will remain effectively the Tottenham manager through the 2014-15 season but the deal make him more sure about it. Sherwood’s coaching staff includes Chris Ramsey, Les Ferdinand and Steffen Freund. Sherwood already tried to put his mark on his side, trying to develop an attacking 4-2-4 featuring two centre-forwards and two attack-minded wide midfielders adding the playmaker Christian Eriksen and Mousa Dembélé as central midfielders.
So an offensive shape made Spurs able to create a high number of goal scoring chances although it left them exposed to oppositions counterattacks. Sherwood seems to rely on
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