TST Bare Bones Session Info - send out at start of term

Best viewed on a computer screen

 

1.10pm session - Pre Fundamental Foot work pattern Development

 

Sessions must be fun and

the coach must be engaged:

Use this process so the session never drags:

  • Introduce it :
  • Practice it :
  • Improve it :
  • Race it :
  • Move on

Link to more detailed look

at the young player model session

Coach Personality Checklist

  • Engaging
  • Encouraging
  • Nurturing
  • Positive
  • Fun
  • High Energy
  • Make every player feel welcome, valued and excited to be at the session

If you get this wrong, the session content has very little value.

General session format

  1. Agility : Can you get players to use their body in a way they may not have used it before?
  2. Ball Moving
  3. Ball moving plus Pass
  4. Ball moving plus pass plus movement to space to receive
  5. 2v1
  6. 2v1

When you introduce something new
use this process:

  • Introduce it :
  • Practice it :
  • Improve it :
  • Race it :
  • Move on

 

  1. 2v1 : Coaching Mantra :
    • Player on the ball :
      • Footwork to find the space to hit the pass :
    • Player off the ball :
      • Find the passing line and find the space

Last 20 minutes

  • 6.2v2 : Coaching Mantra during games :
    • Footwork to find the space to hit the pass
    • Find the passing line (on and off the ball)and find the space

Never do more numbers than 2v2s :
[So no 3v3s at this level]

What to develop technically
 
  • Control with a T-foot shape
  • Pass with a T-foot shape

Footwork is very general

  • Right foot only
  • Left foot Only
  • Inside Only
  • Outside only
  • bottom of the foot
  • Combinations of the above
    • Note : These are not yet the fundamental footwork patterns.

Get the ball moving in following ways

  • A turn
  • A drag back V
  • Can the above be 'explosive/sharp'
  • Can deception be added (fake kick, fake touch, stop start etc)
  • Can the above be accompanied with the head being up, checking and scanning and a game like decision

Off the ball

  • Can they see the ball (open passing line)?
  • Are they in space?
  • Can the see the goal from their position?

 

 

2.15 and 3.45pm sessions - Fundamental Footwork Pattern [FFP] Development

 

In these sessions the first 30 minutes is devoted to FFP development;

It starts off basic - perhaps with the nothing more than basic introduction to the FFPs using ball mastery exercises. [ see below for vids]

But always coming back to:

Introduce: Practice: Improve: Race : Move on

to keep the sessions firing along.

 

As players develop make the footwork practice more and more interesting.

 

When players get to the top group they need to be comfortable with and very familiar with the following patterns.

 

This is the basic ball mastery level

With players new to FFPs, these ball mastery exercises might be the session (although must be presented in a fun way)

For advanced players, FFP ball mastery exercises are often done as a quick warm up to more complicated footwork

 Inside 'Switch' Outside

 Inside Inside

 Inside [step] Outside

 

Not the hop technique !!

 

 

V

 Turn

At this point in time, these 5 patterns must be done in every session in some way or another.

[Vs and turns can be developed as a variety of different techs]

[If you need to add variety incorporate

  • 'Inside step inside step' [Crab variation] or
  • 'outside step outside step' [Pony variation].
  • Or variations of the FFPs; EG: Roll across inside instead of an Inside Inside]

The more advanced players get the more, the more this becomes a quick and intense warm up.

ADD FOOT SPEED AND INTENSITY

 

As players advance:

  • Incorporate sprints in between patterns (so that players learn to fit footwork into their natural stride pattern - the ball doesn't get in the way and slow them down).
  • Get the head up during the a patterns
Why these so important.

Because they are great ways to :

Move Laterally

Move laterally and then change direction

Fake laterally one way

Move back and then change direction

Full change of direction

And when solving problems it is the direction the ball is moved which matters - not the footwork patterns used.

However, the footwork patterns we develop are simply the most efficient ways of moving a ball in a particular direction. And the repetition of these develops the dexterity of touch required to play in increasingly diminished time and space constraints, that players experience as they play at higher and higher levels.

 

These FFPs can be used in a huge number of different ways in games.

There are other FFPs but the ones above will actually incorporate most of them naturally, so are a great base for more advanced techniques (which will develop naturally if the above are instinctive).

You can change the way the ball moves in these directions.

What different ways can the ball be moved in these directions?

  • laterally only
  • Lateral and the forward
  • Fake lateral
  • V
  • Turn

This is another way to add variety to your session.

As players develop - these patterns can be practiced in increasingly interesting ways.

For example:

 
 
 

 

Link to huge array of different cone work ideas

This link will be added soon

Where is all this moving towards:

This is what i want to be able to do with players:

 

 
 

Only the most advanced players should attempt this:

You don't have to do this.  In fact i wouldn't recommend it as it is complicated and takes a long time to build up to: Some players may spend too much time learning the sequence rather the practice the footwork. To do drills like this players need to think a lot. They need to be thinking ahead of the ball.

Can they think about what they will need to do next while doing something else now. This is very close to the game. Players can't think only in the moment. They need to think ahead of the ball, whilst not letting this affect what they are doing right now.

When players get to up to teh top group in a session i don't want to teach them the patterns. I just want them to develop the philosophy of play:

Footwork : Head up : Can i Pass?

We are not developing dribblers; We are not developing players who don't want to pass.

We are developing players who can manipulate time and space to improve the position of the ball

to find a better pass/release.

 

This mentality has to continue throughout the tech games and 3v3s.

And we want to add intensity to their footwork , movement and passing.

 

 Eventually

 

We want players who can go into a complicated rondo and kill it.

 
Advanced Rondo

 

 

 

This when the players start to learn about the real game.