Practice preparation

Thanks to Darryn for running this weeks practice.

Hi Darryn

Hope the marathon went well.

Positives from game - we can score & we can defend

Learnings from the game - we need to focus on positional play & make good passes. Team should be thinking about their role & make sure they're in a space to receive the ball.

At practice:
Let each player know their probable positions:
Utility (anywhere): Andy, Vinnie, Amanda, Vincent, Liam, Josh & Joshua
Forwards: Bosco
Mid field: Aaron, Sam, AJ,
Defence: Caleb, Cody,
Goalie: Cody & Aaron

Please talk through each position.
Forwards - stay on side up the front in space to score goals or set up passes to score goals
Mid field - Stay aware & busy, ready to receive, tackle or pass - take ball up & score goals or drop back to fill holes in defence.
Defence - Slow down attacking player, make tackles, pass ball up field, clear ball out of goal area
Goalie - focus, communicate

- Warm up
- Dribble round cones
- Hold up game - in 3s 1 player passes, 2nd player receives & holds off 3rd player for 10 seconds while 3rd player tries to get ball (but can't kick through legs).
- Passing practice in 3s (accurate).
- As above in 3s, but now with a defender.
- Game 6 vs 6 in grids - only 2 players in each part of the field - 1 attacker, 1 defender - can't go out of their area, so must pass & think about positions.

Any questions, let me know. Feel free to modify/ change.

Best wishes & thanks

Tony

Positional play at practice

Today's practice also involved a lesson on positional play.

I was struggling for the best way to do this, so used an old board game. The kids seemed interested and attentive & a couple couldn't keep their hands off which was fine.

I think it's starting to sink in.

We also played 4 vs 4 (8 players at practice) and practiced ball, tackling and shooting skills.

Game 1 - Jaguars vs Eastbourne

Result - Loss - 6 - 0

Player of the day - Caleb, for great defence and communication

Strengths - Communication, 1 touches

Areas to develop - Positional play

The game

It was a sunny morning in Totara Park and the coach was there early to set up.

The team arrived and warmed up, thinking about their positions and how the game might unfold. The team is made up of a variety of players, some with positional preferences and different skill levels.

The positions were:

Forwards - Joshua - Vincent

Midfield - Andy - Josh - Amanda - Bosco

Defence - Sam - Caleb - Vinnie - Cody

Goalie - AJ

Our goalie, AJ was required to make a save after only 1 minute due to some defensive disorganisation and Eastbourne's first goal was scored after 2 1/2 minutes due to an excellent break down the middle.

Our defence strengthened and became more cohesive with some great work between Vinnie & Caleb in the middle.

We were looking like scoring with Josh and Joshua both having attempts but Eastbourne were able to turn around quickly and score again in the 13th minute. With their tails up, they looked like they were going to score again in the 14th minute, but scrambling defence saved a goal. In the 20th minute Eastbourne came close again but Cody and Caleb combined to clear the danger.

Just before half-time Eastbourne had another shot on goal which AJ saved and cleared to the wing.

The team looked close to exhaustion at half time, but a banana and water re-energised them.

Some half time changes to positions:

Forwards - AJ -Josh- Bosco
Midfield - Amanda- Vincent- Andy- Sam
Defence - Caleb - Vinnie - Cody
Goalie - Joshua

With fewer defenders there was always the risk of more goals, but without strikers we were never going to score goals. With mid-field getting tired there was no surprise that Eastbourne scored 4 more times in the second half at the 35, 38, 44 & 49 minute marks.

Our highlights in the second half were AJ's attacking runs, Cody's strong defence, Sam's relentless energy, Joshua's penalty save and other saves, Bosco's strong boot, Josh's control in midfield, Andy's ball skills, Amanda's passing and Vinnie's powerful tackling.

I felt disappointed about the result but proud of the many examples of good soccer skills that the team displayed. Having seen each player's strengths I have a better idea about which position they are best suited to that will ensure the best coverage on the field.

One idea I have is to take my subbuteo game to the next practice to illustrate some examples of positional play.

I will prepare well for the next practice, focusing on positional play and tackling so we can maximise the opportunity to improve for the next game.

Practice reflection

My goals for today's practice were:

1. To have fun
2. Learn new skills
3. Display team work

The activities (and success rating) were:

1. Ball Rush - Where players dribble the ball from one end of a grid to the other without getting the ball taken off them (8/10)
2. Suicide Dribbling - Where the players dribble the ball to a point and back, extending the point each time (9/10)
3. Goal Practice - Players pass, then shoot at the goal in pairs (9/10)
4. 1 Touch Soccer Game - Players are split in 2 teams with the challenge of only being able to touch the ball once to encourage passing and thinking ahead (2/10)
5. After a few minutes I changed the above game to unlimited touches, but encouraged passing (7/10)

We reviewed the strengths, areas to work on and basic rules before letting them know each players position for Saturdays game. I think this is important so they come to the game ready for the position they will play.

The team are at various skill levels but I think we have a good core and should score some goals on Saturday. I'm a little nervous about their tackling skills, but with strategic player placement we should be able to counter this.