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ZenFooty Blog Why don't players use their moves Published on Sat 01/23/2010 | 8 total comments So your son or daughter have learned tons of skills and you see them doing them in the back yard or basement all the time (or at least once in a while). But you never see it in a game!! Why is that? How can we get the children to apply all of that invested time and money in match play? Well, the first thing to realize is that there is a difference between technique, skill and real talent. Technique is the ability to properly perform a specific soccer move in isolation. Skill is the ability to perform a specific soccer move at game pace and under the pressure of match play. Talent is the ability to make the right choices of skills to be applied in the correct situation and in the right location of the field to create a competitive advantage. Skill is born out of good technique and talent is born out of skill. The key to achieving skill and talent is being in situational play where you are free and ENCOURAGED to use your techniques in various applications. If there is a fear of failure, the player will never try these skills or will only use the ones they know best. If there is a reward for growth and experimentation, the players will blossom like flowers and begin to show incredible color and variety in their game. It is ever so critical that they engage in a package of training which includes technical instruction, individual practice, small sided play, creative skill games, and full match play. At a minimum, they should get into the small sided pick-up games and try their moves out. Practicing their moves daily and developing a relationship with the ball is key. They must learn to be creative, play against the dog or siblings and create, create, create. Before you know it, they will be doing things you never thought possible. What say you? « comments » Attacking Skills: Where have they gone? Published on Fri 12/25/2009 | 11 total comments So we are great receivers and passers of the ball. Wonderful....that's good. And we have learned how to defend individually and, at some level, collectively. That's good too! But what about attacking skills? Do we really know how to dribble and break pressure? Can we take players on? Where are the American versions of Allen Iverson on the soccer pitch? What are we creating..... Robots? And when we do develop a player that can dribble, we automatically tell her to pass the ball - get others involved. Worse yet, as opposing coaches, we instruct our players to foul or to put extral physical pressure on the skillful attacker. As the coaches of these potentially skillful players, we tell them that there is a time and place for all dribbling and atacking technial skills (which means stop dribbling except for in the final third of the field). I say nonsense, especially at the youth level. Do I love the beautiful game when players are passing, absolutely!! I love to watch Arsenal!! However, individuality is finding its way out of the beautiful game and, in the end, it is an individual that has the ball at any time during the game and, more times than not, they must be able to break the pressure of the immediate defender by taking him on!! My argument against American soccer is that I don't see the technical training and creative facilitation of these skills among our players and I worry that the findamental building block of soccer (individual talent) is being pushed out for some vanilla version of the game. Long live the creative dribbler? As long as she is creating something for herself and others, she is fine with me? What say you? « comments » Getting Your Daily Touches Published on Sun 11/22/2009 | 6 total comments Hey Folks, Yes ZenMaster is back with another blog!! Sorry for the dark period. The season got the best of me!! So how many touches are you getting on the ball each day now that the season is over? Are you juggling, working on your turns, shooting, practicing your sole rolls, or working on step-overs? I hope all of the above.....and more. How about one-footed tic-tocs, slap-cuts, cross-overs, and back 90s? Are you practicing these moves? I really think you should be! If I could estimate how many touches on the ball each player should get each day, it would be about 5,000 touches. As Americans, we like to count stuff (like money, cars, fantasy football points, and so on). So there you have it. You should be touching the ball 5,000 times every day. What touches should they be? Pick a skill area and go from there. You can select from: Passing, receiving, dribbling, shooting, heading, and goalkeeping. If you choose passing for example, simply find a wall or the side of a school building and start by using all surfaces of the foot to strike a ball to a specific spot on the wall. Then move farther away to test your accuracy from longer distances. You can move closer and play at higher speeds to test your reactions. Move left and right to practice passing and receiving on the run. Before you know it, you will have touched the ball hundreds of times. Switch feet, do some behind the leg, alternate feet, use the outside of one foot and the inside of the other, juggle off the wall playing one and two-touch juggling without letting the ball hit the ground when it comes off the wall. Do this on the run to build aerial passing and receiving skills. There are hundreds of variations. Above all, pick a few goals for yourself this winter, set your mind on improving in these areas, and put the time in to working on your skills. Remember, your body is getting bigger and stronger and your skills must keep pace so that your overall game gets better. Also remember that you are racing against time and the other opponent. How much better can you get before the next try-out? Will you be ready to play at the next level when the call comes? If you have any questions about skill building activities, just put them out here on the blog and I will give you some things you can do!! Are you going to make the commitment? What say you? « comments » Calling All Parents - Get Your Kid Practicing Published on Sat 10/03/2009 | 6 total comments I'm tellin' ya right now folks, whatever we are doing its not enough!! I have surveyed at least 20 kids this past week at training and asked them if they are practicing on their own in between training sessions. The answer is a tentative...."Yes, a little." When I ask them if they are really telling me the truth, they say...."Not Really." If you are looking to develop real skill, players need to practice relentlessly; 10,000 hours through their youth development years. And we MUST understand that practice is DIFFERENT than training. Training is where you learn how to play the game, practice is done away from the training pitch and it is where you PERFECT YOUR GAME. There are little cues that tell me whether players are practicing on their own or with a friend in between training sessions. The cues include: Is their ball showing more wear, are their shoes showing more wear, are they excited about showing me a new move they made up, do they know the skills from the last few lessons perfectly, do they have soccer stories to tell me from practicing with others, and so on. We can NOT expect the miracle to happen on the training pitch....it needs to happen on the practice pitch when nobody else is looking. I can remember training alone for 4 and 5 hours at a time in the rain, driving a wet soccer ball against the wall from 10 yards away trying to spell my name on the wall with the wet circular impressions the ball would make. The lonely practice pitch is where champions are built!! What say you? « comments » Indoor Training - Does it help? Published on Mon 09/28/2009 | 6 total comments Well, what is YOUR favorite method of indoor training? After all, we are in the middle of the Fall season and the Winter leagues are already selling out. Are you the type that needs to play games or are you the type that builds your skills? Do you need both? ZenMaster says that the winter months are about building technical skills and keeping your game from going stale. So what is the recipe for good skills development? How about a combination of indoor technical skills training in the racquetball courts, one-v-one and two-v-two in tight spaces, and Futsal? How about a little strength and speed work on the side to increase your playing radius? This is the kind of program that will build your technique as well as your quickness, strength, and confidence on the ball. I have seen many players go from good to "very good" through this type of regimen. It offers variety, fun, and a view into how some of the Brazilian players build their skills. After all, players like Robinho, Kaka, and Ronaldinho are not half bad. What say you? What do you do in the Winter to build your skills? « comments » |
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