by Chris Hayes
I don’t suppose there are too many people, who, if asked what they did during their summer vacation, replied “I coached soccer in North Korea”, but that was my lot during August while visiting the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, as it is officially known. Koryo Tours, my Beijing-based travel company, pride themselves on meeting a challenge, and I think they surpassed themselves by working a coaching session into my itinerary.
Schools are closed for vacation during August in Korea, and in Pyongyang many of the students are involved in performing at the Arirang Mass Games, a sort of combination rhythmic gymnastics and flip card show, an annual event that involves in excess of 50,000 performers, but when I arrived at the June 9th Middle School, I found sixteen willing boys, aged between 14 and 16, eager to see what this Western coach had for them.
With my Korean being non-existent and the boys’ natural shyness not helping their somewhat rudimentary English, clearly the success of the endeavor would depend on my trusty guide and translator, doubling up as Assistant-for-the-day. Unfortunately, he was an academic and terms such as “overlap” and “flanks” were a bit of a stretch for him in the context of soccer, but the boys’ school coach was quick to grasp the essentials and explain the dynamics of the various elements being laid out.
Koach Karl would have been proud of me, as I mapped out a modified form of the ‘9-Step Practice Routine’ to introduce the boys to the concept of overlapping moves, then put them into effect by exploiting the wide open spaces of the wings—something that seemed to be quite a change from what appeared to be their normal straight-down-the-middle approach.
We started with some warm-up routines—not that ‘warming up’ was strictly necessary, with temperatures of mid-90s and humidity levels close to matching—but they served to build repartee and focus, and give the students plenty of touches on the ball. We moved into demonstrating and practicing the overlap, applying it cooperatively two against one, then competitively and finally two versus two, before graduating into small-sided games of three versus three to two goals.
Our half-time break was welcomed by all, as although the boys’ standard of play was variable, and they were good athletes and hard workers, they found the combination of heat, humidity and intensity a challenging proposition! It was clear that the boys favored dribbling and the long ball, thus the introduction of overlapping down outside channels, with crosses to delayed three versus two, opened their eyes to different possibilities and routes of attack. It also formed a good foundation for the 8v8 scrimmage, with special rules to encourage use of what they had learned, initially with coaching stoppages but finishing with a full-blooded contest.
Cool down was scrapped for the mandatory team pictures, and a presentation of uniforms, balls and coaching equipment to the school Principal. PDRK is a poor country and what with the regular flooding (while in the country, floods swept away roads, railways and—more importantly—crops, as well as accounting for the loss of more than 300 lives) and the ongoing reconstruction of their country, little money is available for luxuries such as soccer gear, so the donation was heartily appreciated.
As a thank-you, I was treated to a performance by the school’s nine-piece electric band, an eclectic combination of Western and traditional Korean instruments, accompanied by outstanding singing with performers being dressed in handbooks (national costume) for the girls, or red, white and blue school uniforms. After the singing, I was led to the dance floor to participate in an interwoven conga-like dance, with Yours Truly getting hopelessly lost but for the expert guidance by my young and beautiful charges. Fortunately, there is no photographic evidence of my inept efforts, as the camera had been packed away, but the children certainly seemed to find it entertaining!
While this group of players may not quite be N. Korea’s entry for World Cup 2014, if ever synchronized flip cards and gymnastics get integrated with The Game, they will surely have a lock!
Chris Hayes is a club and high school coach residing in San Ramon, California, and holds USSF National D and NSCAA Advanced Regional coaching licenses.