This is a post from the Soccer Fit Academy. It is from Missy Geha, SoccerFIT Academy trainer. Her post reflects her thoughts on a recent article from goal.com. Most young soccer players react in the same way as the professionals do in tight games. One would think after playing for so many years that keeping
Continue readingStats don't often tell an accurate picture. In sports like American Football and especially baseball, stats can be more indicative of the true story. I have noticed that over the past 10 years or so, statistics in soccer are becoming more widespread. I think it goes without saying that they are pretty widespread here in
Continue readingOkay, here's a quick quiz. No looking online for the stats. Just give a quick answer within five seconds. The EPL's top four teams in order are, Arsenal, Man U, Chelsea and Man City. Which team has the fewest wins? Which team has fewest losses? Which team has the best goal difference? Which team has
Continue readingBasic passing exercises like the one below are great for focusing on the technical aspects of passing the ball but it's easy to get stuck in a rut of doing the same progressions over and over. I was playing with different ways to add movement as well as force the players to think about where
Continue readingLet me start by saying that I kind of guessed that both England AND USA would not get chosen to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. I just couldn't see FIFA giving consecutive World Cups to predominantly white and English speaking countries. I didn't really know too much about England's bid, but I thought
Continue readingThis weekend is Women's Final Four, College Cup. I take particular interest in Notre Dame, who are making their 5th consecutive Final Four appearance. The reason I take interest in Notre Dame is that three of my former players play there. Lauren Fowlkes is in her senior year there. I coached Lauren from when she
Continue readingUEFA has charged Jose Mourinho with improper conduct following the controversial second yellow cards earned by Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos in Real Madrid's 4-0 victory at Ajax in last weeks Champions League game. Here is the situation. Both players had been yellow carded earlier in the game (Mourinho claims they were "soft" debatable decisions).
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There are a number of high level coaches that use a lot of circle drills in their sessions including Barry Gorman (long time coach at Penn State) and David Williams (Manchester United Academy). I've had the opportunity to watch both of them run sessions at our International Coaching Seminar so I've used some of their
Continue readingI'll keep this short and sweet. Is the experiment in the Champions League games of having the two additional officials on each goal line working? I don't recall seeing them having to make a crucial decision in any of the games I have seen. So no game changing decisions either way. Has anyone seen anything
Continue readingI often think about rule (laws of the game) changes that could be made to improve the game of soccer. For instance, during the World Cup, I posted about changing the red and yellow card system, by maybe having a sin bin or using video replay after the game to catch the cheaters who are
Continue readingThere are times that I'll have a practice on a Thursday when the team has a Friday game. This is a session that comes from our Brazilian Academy Journal that I have used. It provides a relaxed environment where the players can have some fun and express themselves. The small-sided games give the players a
Continue readingThe USA Women's National Team has probably been the number one team over the last 20 years...basically the length of time that women's soccer has had serious worldwide competitions. If not the number one team, then they certainly have been one of the dominant teams along with Norway and China. USA have really had an
Continue readingIn England the climate really didn't make a difference or give one team an advantage over another. Usually if the weather was good or bad in one part of the country it was similar in the other parts. Sure, there were times when it snowed in Birmingham but not in London. But no team had
Continue reading“I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognized wiser than oneself.” Marlene Dietrich This is a great explanation of why I use quotes with my teams. I use them in different ways. Sometimes right before a game or at half time.
Continue readingThe ACC and NCAA slapped fines and a suspension on Florida State Women's Coach, Mark Krikorian on Friday. His crime? He felt the NCAA post season tournament was more important than the regular season ending ACC Tournament so he rested many of his starters. In fact, he left nine of them at home and traveled
Continue readingWhen I make teams in practice how I do it will depend largely on the type of team I’m working with. When the team has a large disparity between the top players and the weaker ones, I try to balance the teams by putting the top players with the weakest ones and then work my
Continue readingLiverpool are only one win away from a European spot (3 points behind 5th place Tottenham). Is all the hoopla about their poor start way overblown? Will this be a different season for Arsenal? Here's what I'm getting at. Arsenal typically start the season playing well. The weather is nice, playing surfaces are pretty good
Continue readingHow much time do you spend on training set pieces (restarts)? The reason I ask is that there are numerous studies that quote anywhere up to 42% of all goals are as a result of a set piece. If that is true, then should we be spending more time training set pieces. I guess we
Continue readingEach weekend I coach five or six games. Because I spend a lot of time on soccer fields, I have an opportunity to see every possible coaching style. I’m always on the look out for different methods that I can add to my ‘tool box’ of coaching ideas. The best things I’ve ever learned from
Continue readingMan U, Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea are likely the four teams with the most money in the EPL and they occupy the top four spots. This suggests that money seems to be the be-all and end-all to being a successful soccer club. With this being the case, other clubs are really playing for consolation
Continue readingWhat the heck was the Wayne Rooney drama all about this week? I've never seen anything like it. First, it surfaces that Rooney isn't happy at Man U, that he doesn't think Man U are going in the right direction to match his ambitions, and that he will not sign a new contract when his
Continue readingThe approach of winter in the midwest means that teams are making plans for what they will do once the colder weather arrives. Traditionally the options have been limited; teams played indoor (arena style) soccer and held their practices at the indoor facilities or in school gymnasiums. In the last 5-10 years more options have
Continue readingThis is something I have thought about for years. I remember talking to a goalkeeper coach a few years ago and he thought I was out of my mind. This only spurred me on even more to thinking I was on to something. After all, sometimes it takes thinking out of the box and going
Continue readingDuring this time of year I like to run a few sessions that incorporate competitive games that test the player’s dribbling, passing and shooting. Making the exercises into competitive games increases the motivation of the players and challenges them to perform the skills under pressure. You can use almost any drill or exercises in this
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