All Posts by Mike Saif

0 Should We All Try to Play Like Spain?

At the end of every major World Cup or European Championship those involved with youth development look at the results, what conclusions can be drawn and how they relate to the youth level of the game. In the case of Euro 2012, many coaches and commentators are asking, "How can we get our players to play like Spain does?"

A loud and consistent voice advocating move toward a more player-centered, creative game has been Soccer America's Paul Gardner. He has often bemoaned the direct, 'kick-ball' game and asked coaches to set aside their selfish desire to

0 FC Dallas Woes

By Rees Linn

As I type this you’d be hard pressed to find an MLS team struggling more than FC Dallas. The North Texans are on a 12 game winless run, much of which can be attributed to the fact that they’ve only scored 4 goals from the run of play during the same stretch. Normally, I spend my time analyzing good attacking football, but since I attend every FC Dallas home match I felt the need to offer a critique of the team in my own backyard.

A lot has been made of injuries to first team players, but Dallas’ attacking troubles really stem from two main deficiencies: poor off the ball movement and poor space recognition/anticipation. To demonstrate, I’ll walk you through three examples that occurred in the first 15 minutes of their draw with Chivas USA from last weekend. In this match, Dallas began in a 4-4-2 with Scott Sealy and Brek Shea at striker, Fabian Castillo at left mid, and

0 Functional Training for Strikers and Attacking Midfielders: Short Sprints, Quick Turns and Finishing on Goal

By Justin Cresser

As mentioned several weeks back in our article entitled ‘Functional Training of The Centre Midfielder’, every so often we will present position-specific conditioning exercises. Today’s article focuses on strikers and attacking midfielders.

One of the most difficult tasks for any team is breaking down defenses in the attacking third of the field. In this area, defenses tend to be very compact and defending players more often than not will outnumber their attacking opponents. Strikers are marked very closely, and are immediately closed down as soon as they receive balls. As such, players in this position have to be very

0 Applying Pressure on Crosses

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter.  Today’s topic addresses the issue of applying pressure on crosses.

One of the general rules I use with keepers is the sure rule.  If a keeper is sure he can get his body behind the ball, he doesn’t have to dive.  If he isn’t sure, he needs to dive to get behind the ball.  If a keeper is sure he can catch a low shot to the corner, he should catch it.  If he isn’t sure, he should parry the ball away.  If a keeper is sure

2 Using Space and Moving Without the Ball

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on using space, moving without the ball, finding the runner, communication and defending.

Start with a 40 x 40 grid with a 10 x 10 area in the middle

This is a simple possession game.  In this example we will

0 A Variation of the 4-3-3

No formation will fit every group of players. A coach that plays the exact same formation with every team will be frustrated by certain players inability to, 'fit the formation'. For years my teams always played 4-4-2. There are some variations you can used depending on how you play your forwards and your central midfielders but that's pretty much it. Sure, you could play sweeper/stopper with the center backs but very few teams play with a sweeper in the modern game. You can change every
formation to a small degree but I feel that the 4-3-3 is the most customizable of all of the popular formations.

There are so many ways to vary the 4-3-3. You can play with the midfielders spread across the field with a right, left and center. They can be in a

3 Do Spain Play With a 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 or Both?

By Stevie Grieve, author of Modern Soccer Tactics

Spain’s formation is a source of great debate and intrigue. Is it a 4-3-3? Is it a 4-3-3-0? Is it a 4-6-0? Is it a 4-2-3-1? Is it a 4-2-4-0? Is it a 4-2-2-2?

I think it’s a combination of the above. Some matches they will ensure they have a central striker, generally Cesc Fabregas, who will rotate this role with David Silva, with Xavi and Iniesta floating around the space between midfield and defense. They play with a narrow attacking 4-2-3-1 or a narrow 4-3-3 as Alba and Arbeloa do a great job or providing width very high up the field and allowing Spain to regularly outnumber teams between defense and midfield, allowing them to play between the lines frequently.

In the final where Spain played undoubtedly their best football of the tournament, they played a combination of 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1, and Xavi’s position dictated the shape. In some attacking phases with the ball in the opposition half, he would drop deep and 2 of the 3 of Silva, Iniesta and Cesc would play in between the defense and midfield with Alba and Arbeloa the full backs on the outside, with the other of the front 3 staying as a central striker. In some defensive transition phases, Spain would revert to a 4-2-3-1 with Alonso and Busquets screening the defense, with Xavi, Iniesta and Silva pressing in front, with Cesc as the main striker. When they win the ball back, they would stay in this formation and confuse the opposition as players positions and the marking responsibilities have changed again.

Xavi and Iniesta switch positions – 4-3-3 inside opposition half

Xavi drops into a 4-3-3 as Silva and Iniesta drop off from the front to offer passes from midfield. Xavi passes wide to Alba and

5 Soccer Science: In-Season Plyometric Training Improves Power-Related Performance Parameters

By Justin Cresser

Today’s article is a first of a series entitled ‘Soccer Science’, in which we present the latest findings from Sports Science research in soccer, and discuss how these findings may influence the way we train we our players.

ARTICLE TITLE:
The title of the article we will discuss today is: ‘Effects of in-season short-term plyometric training program on leg power, jump- and sprint performance of soccer players.’ It was published in the October 2010 issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. The article can be accessed by clicking on the link below:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20844458

MAIN FINDINGS:
The main findings from this article are that- in comparison to players who partake in a normal training program, youth soccer players that complete plyometric training twice per week, in addition to their normal training routine, performed significantly better on power-related assessments such as the squat jump, the countermovement jump and the first 5 meters of a 40 meter-sprint. As such, these exercises are highly recommended as part of both pre- and in-season training programs.

APPLICATION TO TRAINING:
Explosive power is critical to successfully performing many movements and actions required in soccer such as accelerating past a defender, vertical jumps, and shooting from distance. Training for power can be done with Olympic-style weight training, medicine ball training or plyometric training. However, plyometric training, which involves doing jump-related exercises that focus on training the muscles to produce the maximum amount of force in the shortest amount of time, is probably the most convenient. Many coaches do not incorporate this type of training during the competitive period either due to a lack of time or the belief that the high-intensity nature of these exercises may be counter-productive to on-field performance. However, the results of the article presented above suggest that it may be beneficial for coaches to include them in training sessions during the in-season as well. An important consideration is the volume of plyometric exercises. Doing 1 to 2 sets of two exercises should be adequate. High volume workouts are not recommended for in-season training.
The following are two plyometric exercises that can be incorporated into training once per week during the competitive period to improve the explosive power in your players:

SAMPLE ACTIVITY 1:
This exercise uses the space just outside the penalty box for the playing area. Set up a row of five hurdles, in a horizontal line, so that the row is approximately 10 yards from the top of the 18-yard box. Each hurdle should be approximately 1 yard apart. Have your players stand 5 yards behind the first hurdle in the row. Place a small cone 7 yards away from the last hurdle in the row so that it is also 10 yards from the top of the penalty box (Figure 1).

When ready, have the player at the front of the line run towards

0 Drill to Improve Footwork and Catching

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity works on footwork, fitness and catching.

Start with two cones making up a goal (8 yards apart).  A series of cones are set up starting 5 yards behind the goal.  A server has a few balls 15 yards in front of the goal

The keeper starts by slaloming through each of the cones.  Instead of just

0 Dribbling and Flair

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity works on dribbling, shielding and flair.

Start with a 25 yard in diameter circle.  Groups of 2’s are in the circle with one being on offense and the other being on defense.  There are players on the outside of the circle with balls.

The offensive players (in this case the black jerseys) check to

0 Game Speed Testing – Testing with a Purpose

Today's post is from Scott Moody, our Soccer Conditioning Expert at the Soccer FIT Academy. This blog post got my attention because I've had many conversations with parents and other coaches on this subject. There are an ever-increasing number of, 'Speed and Agility' trainers, camps and businesses. But all to often they are not soccer

4 Developing Eccentric Leg Strength With Squats and a Ball

By Justin Cresser

When we think of improving strength with resistance training, thoughts of pushing heavy weights on the bench press, or squatting bars with many plates, comes to mind. That is, we generally think of developing concentric strength. Our muscles can produce three types of muscle contractions or actions: concentric muscle contractions (when the muscle shortens); eccentric contractions (when the muscles lengthens); and isometric muscle actions (there is no change in muscle length).

Let’s take the standard push-up for example: as you flex the elbows to lower yourself to the floor, the chest muscles are working eccentrically. If you hold for a few seconds at the bottom of the movement, then these muscles are working isometrically to keep the body in a stable position. As you extend the elbows to return to the top of the movement, the chest muscles are now concentrically contracting.

Most coaches focus on the concentric component when doing strength training. However, developing eccentric strength is just as important and can be done by using slow and controlled movements during the eccentric phase of an exercise. Developing this component of strength is especially important for successfully performing movements involving quick deceleration or stopping, which occur when players rapidly change direction, and in the prevention of injuries that frequently occur during these movements.

The following is a simple exercise that can be done during practice to develop eccentric leg strength in your players:

Squats with 2-Touch passing

Divide your players in groups of two and give each pair a ball. Have the players stand approximately 7 to 10 yards apart. When ready, have both players perform 10 to 12 repetitions of squats (1 set). However, have them slowly lower themselves (approximately 5 seconds) until their thighs are parallel to the floor. Have them hold this position for one second, and then return to the starting position.

As soon as both players are finished, have them pass back and forth for 90 seconds, using two touches (Figure 1), and then instruct them to perform another set of squats. Repeat this process for a total of 3 sets.

Coaching Points: