by Alan Maher
The fall soccer season has ended for the regular season. We failed to make the play-offs, so that is the end. The uniforms have been turned in and all we have left is a covered dish dinner and wishing the best to the seniors who will push on to other things next year. I say other things because some will play football (kicking) and a number will go to lacrosse, wrestling or basketball. The rest of us are left to recapitulate and set some goals for next year. I will meet with the two other coaches and plan early training. Here are some points that I plan to cover.
1. We need better footwork next season. We need to be quicker with the ball and quicker in turning, feinting and faking. We need to be first to the ball, win it and keep it. This will mean hard pre-season work.
2. We need to do two player pattern running to teach how to pass the ball properly and receive it properly. Then we need to practice basic pass combinations for two players. Pattern-running.
3. We need to learn to do the build-up to control the ball and pace of the game. Most high schools tend to play at breakneck speed which reduces ability to control the ball or the pace of the game.
4. Next we need to vary the pace with quick counter-attacks. The passes need to be quick, short and on the ground until the ball reaches mid-field.
5. Good shooting needs to be practiced. This means getting away from simplistic pass to the coach who squares the ball for a shot. We need complex shooting work and lots of it.
6. We need three player up back thru work. Players must learn the pattern of short, short long passing. That means to draw in the defenders with the short passes and then deliver to somebody far away from them with the long pass.
7. We need to practice with four players against two in an open space to teach support left and right of the ball plus a long axis player open to receive a long axis pass.
8. I like a cluster of four players running to various places near the goal when a player is dribbling the ball on the opposite flank.
9. As early as possible we want to get to five players playing in one quarter of the field. We stress pass combinations and most of all intensity of play. Every practice ends with 5v5. Hard, intense work. This is the game!
10. Finally I have what I call the “where have you gone?” work. This is a short list of things that seem to have vanished from the game here:
11. Throw-ins to an open player. The new trend seems to be to throw into a crowd, regardless of outcome or possession.
12. The same thing is true for dead ball re-starts. The tendency is to kick into a crowd instead of square passing or even back passing to keep control of the ball.
13. Short corner kicks, where have you gone?
14. The offside trap, where have you gone?
15. Working at slowing down the pace to control the ball and the game, where have you gone?
16. Yellow cards are a big problem here. When a player is forced to sit following a yellow card he is returned the next time possible. I would bench him so he cools down and realizes how sitting on the bench is hurting the team.
I wanted all of the above for pre-season work, but it looks like work for a season. If only we could get all of this done!
Dear Lord, I am getting old. Can we get half of it? We need help, lots of it.