By Tony Englund Question - Our club doesn't have a goalkeeper coach, so the goalkeepers are included in all of our training sessions and it's my job to train them along with the rest of the team. I know lots of GK drills, but I have difficulty trying to fit them in while training the rest
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING Club Curriculum Building a Better Goalkeeper By Tony Englund TABLE OF CONTENTS Part One INTRODUCTION TRAINING SESSIONS Part Two TRAINING SESSIONS Part Three TRAINING SESSIONS Part Four TRAINING SESSIONS ABOUT THE AUTHOR INTRODUCTION “Who wants to play goalie today?” How many younger teams’ pre-game discussions begin with this question? The goalkeeper position
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING Club Curriculum Building a Better Goalkeeper By Tony Englund TABLE OF CONTENTS Part Two TRAINING SESSIONS One –Hand Catching in Pairs - 6x4 yard space Players work in pairs with one ball. The goalkeepers stand four yards from one-another and play catch. Instruct players to throw and catch with one hand and
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING Club Curriculum Building a Better Goalkeeper By Tony Englund TABLE OF CONTENTS Part Three TRAINING SESSIONS Training Session#6: Diving: Collapse, Extension and Blocking. Introduction: After young players are introduced to basic, safe, technical diving, it is useful to teach them that there are multiple types of diving saves, each designed to deal with
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING Club Curriculum Building a Better Goalkeeper By Tony Englund TABLE OF CONTENTS Part Four TRAINING SESSIONS ABOUT THE AUTHOR Training Session#9: Reaction Saves Introduction: Goalkeepers tend to like to work on reaction saves in part because the training can be very lively and challenging and in part because these saves often end up
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING Club Curriculum Fun Training Games By Tony Englund TABLE OF CONTENTS Part One INTRODUCTION DRIBBLING GAMES Part Two DRIBBLING GAMES Part Three PASSING & BALL STRIKING GAMES Part Four PASSING & BALL STRIKING GAMES ABOUT THE AUTHOR Introduction: Coaching young children The starting point for any adult planning to mentor young children is
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING Club Curriculum Fun Training Games By Tony Englund TABLE OF CONTENTS Part Two DRIBBLING GAMES Grid tag with ball - 2 15x15 yard grids Each player has a ball. Divide the team into two groups, putting one group into each grid. At a signal from the coach, one player on each team leaves her
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING Club Curriculum Fun Training Games By Tony Englund TABLE OF CONTENTS Part Three PASSING & BALL STRIKING GAMES Part II: Games teaching passing and striking the ball Coaching Points Passing • Plant the non-striking foot so that the toes point in the direction of the pass. • Lock the ankle and all points below
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING Club Curriculum Fun Training Games By Tony Englund TABLE OF CONTENTS Part Four PASSING & BALL STRIKING GAMES ABOUT THE AUTHOR Pineapple Drop - 10x15 yard areas Divide the group into teams of 3-4. One player puts her ball atop the group’s cone and then steps behind to monitor and retrieve errant shots.
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING Club Curriculum U13/14 Season By Tony Englund TABLE OF CONTENTS Part One INTRODUCTION SYSTEMS OF PLAY PASSING AND POSSESSION SESSIONS Part Two DEFENDING SESSIONS Part Three TECHNICAL SESSIONS Part Four ATTACKING SESSIONS ABOUT THE AUTHOR Introduction: U13/U14 – Competitive Soccer The starting point for any adult planning to mentor children is to be
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING Club Curriculum U13/14 Season By Tony Englund TABLE OF CONTENTS Part Two DEFENDING SESSIONS Training Session #9: Defending Footwork Introduction: Much of good defending is in the approach and ability to control the attacker’s speed, options and movement. This session utilizes environments borrowed from national and high-level club team training to train defenders
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING Club Curriculum U13/14 Season By Tony Englund TABLE OF CONTENTS Part Three TECHNICAL SESSIONS Training Session #14: Playing in the air Introduction: As the size of the field and the abilities of the players to drive balls over distance increase, the capability and willingness of players to deal with a ball played at
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING Club Curriculum U13/14 Season By Tony Englund TABLE OF CONTENTS Part Four ATTACKING SESSIONS ABOUT THE AUTHOR Training Session #18: Cross and finish 1. Introduction: With the bigger field and increasing complexity of opposing defenses, many goal-scoring opportunities will come through stretching the opposing back line and serving the ball for on-running
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING Club Curriculum U11/12 Season By Tony Englund TABLE OF CONTENTS Part One INTRODUCTION SYSTEMS OF PLAY INDIVIDUAL TRAINING SESSIONS Part Two PASSING AND POSSESSION SESSIONS Part Three TECHNICAL SESSIONS Part Four ATTACKING SESSIONS ABOUT THE AUTHOR Introduction: The Golden Age of Soccer Learning The starting point for any adult planning to mentor young
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING Club Curriculum U11/12 Season By Tony Englund TABLE OF CONTENTS Part Two PASSING AND POSSESSION SESSIONS Training Session #6: Passing and Receiving. Introduction This session reviews technical passing in high-repetition environments and then adds a tactical element to encourage players to make good choices as they pass. Cue ball - 25x12 yard area
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING Club Curriculum U11/12 Season By Tony Englund TABLE OF CONTENTS Part Three TECHNICAL SESSIONS Training Session #14: Long Passing. Introduction The U11/U12 years are critical to the development of sound ball striking and the ability to play over distance through long passing. This session features a progression from basic passing through technical long
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING Club Curriculum U11/12 Season By Tony Englund TABLE OF CONTENTS Part Four ATTACKING SESSIONS ABOUT THE AUTHOR Training Session#18: Finishing Introduction This collection of finishing exercises does not represent a free standing session. These training environments are proven to be effective and fun means of improving finishing. Pressure shooting - 1/3 field Two
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING Club Curriculum U9/10 Season By Tony Englund TABLE OF CONTENTS Part One INTRODUCTION SYSTEMS OF PLAY RESTARTS Part Two TECHNICAL SESSIONS Part Three TECHNICAL SESSIONS Part Four TECHNICAL SESSIONS ABOUT THE AUTHOR Introduction: The Golden Age of Soccer Learning The starting point for any adult planning to mentor young children is to be
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING Club Curriculum U9/10 Season By Tony Englund TABLE OF CONTENTS Part Two TECHNICAL SESSIONS Training Session #1: Comfort on the ball. Introduction: The first two training sessions in the U9-U10 curriculum focus on maximizing touches on the ball for players while also creating a fun environment in which to gain more confidence on
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING Club Curriculum U9/10 Season By Tony Englund TABLE OF CONTENTS Part Three TECHNICAL SESSIONS Training Session #8: Striking the Ball Introduction: This session helps the players differentiate between the simple passing surface (the long inside surface of the foot) and the striking surface along the top of the foot (laces). Once again, the
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING Club Curriculum U9/10 Season By Tony Englund TABLE OF CONTENTS Part Four TECHNICAL SESSIONS ABOUT THE AUTHOR Training Session #14: Passing and Receiving. Introduction: Session#14 revisits the skills of passing and receiving through fun games designed to apply time and opponent pressure, and emphasize accuracy, to the attacker’s efforts. Pac man -
Continue readingGoalkeepers have often been overlooked and under appreciated. In recent years, a competition that focuses on the special skills of goalkeepers has become increasingly popular. Goalie Wars tournaments started as a part of Goalkeeper camps but have started to be held as stand-alone events.
The rules are simple, two goalies are positioned 20-30 yards apart and they shoot, dropkick, throw or punt the ball to try to score on the other goalkeeper. They play two halves of three to five minutes.
Here's a example
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