Our trouble is we fake the words development & education under the cloak of results. If we are winning therefore we are learning school of thought is promoted. Then the proof is in the pudding when they get to their mid-teens the "learning journey" is almost done. Go out and watch 16 year olds play and they are the fruits of a 6 to 10 years of soccer education. If equated with regular school the majority would be remedial or drop-outs. Just go to a game and note how many players can't pass or control a ball smoothly. Then equate it to basketball - How long are you going to be on a team if you can't pass it? How long are you going to be on a team if you can't catch the ball? We have a long, long way to go............

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I’m trying to suggest that there is a definitive pattern of behavior that you must cultivate to help you to success; enthusiasm to play football in any conditions, and as often as you can; an imagination that will help you think of endless hours of practice as pleasant rather than monotonous.

Screaming instructions at the last moment is no way to win anything. It will probably reverse your strategy of getting ahead of the play and coaching your teammates to win. You have to develop the art of reading the play early and preparing your teammates for the next action.

Here is a man who has been an integral part of the national program that took over a decade to bear fruit. The youth development part was probably the key to the successes of FRANCE '98 and EURO 2000. We found gold but did not know it and we treated him as though he's just another foreign coach passing through. Here was a very special man with extra-special knowledge to share

Winning proves everything we are told. It identifies perfection and the highest ideal so sport so we are led to believe and yet we have all these awards and winners but far fewer real players and coaches. The problem is compounded by the Al Davis’s of this world who trumpet out, “win baby, win” everyday in the media.

Goalkeepers today need to come to terms with dealing with breakaways, be they the breakout dribbler, exploding from the pack of stranded defenders to the through ball delivered into no-man’s land between the “keeper and their back line. Too often the goalies reaction is one of panic and blind aggression.

At present, many games are being marred by petty abuse of the game and it’s Laws, e.g. dissent, time wasting with an abundance of back passing to the goalkeeper, defenders not retreating 10 yards at free kicks, cheap fouls of obstruction, etc. Unfortunately, many of these shady tactics have assumed an aura of legitimacy as we accept them as part of the game. The so-called “professional foul” is now considerable reasonable ploy at many levels of the sport.

How can youngsters develop a savvy about the game or flowing skills if the ball is continually out of reach? If a player doesn’t touch the ball, how can they become skillful?

Before you can initiate your coaching program in soccer, you have to prepare the ground. The keys to such preparation may be described as the two O’s – Organized and Observation.

From watching CUFC 89 Black vs. opponents this season, these skills were often lacking or players were not aware of the tactical potential.

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