Soccer Academy & Camps - Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge - FFTW Development
WINTER PROGRAM - WEEK 4
It was great to be back on the pitch again for Week 4 of the Winter Program. Please review the coaching points & comments by your coaches to get additional feedback.
WEEK 4 TOPIC for 5-7, 8-10, and U13-U15 Age Groups - 1 v 1 Attacking
Coaching Points:
- Sell the skill (make sure you make your skill believable and exaggerate to make the defender feel you are going the way you are faking)
- Attack with speed (take the player on with real game speed)
- First touch forward or towards the direction that will help you execute the skill you are trying to do
- Move towards the ball when it is passed to you (meet the ball - if you wait for it, there is a chance it will get intercepted)
- Accelerate away after you have completed your skill
Advanced Points:
- Distance (don't do your skill too early or too close to the defender as it needs to be done with the right spacing and right time for the skill to be most useful)
- Know what you are going to do before you get the ball (first touch helps set up the skill)
- Protect the ball with your body (when you do the skill, make sure that whenever you take your exit touch, your body is in between the ball and the defender)
COACHES COMMENTS:
5 - 7 Age Group - Coach Mo
Our focus for this week was to familiarize players with a basic introduction to 1 v 1 attacking skills. The main skills that we worked on were the Messi drop your shoulder and the Ronaldo Scissors which are two of the most popular skills we do here at FFTW Development.
At this point, we weren't too focused on speed or going as quick as we could but rather focused just on pure technique. This included players learning how to drop their shoulder, making sure their foot went the right way around the ball when doing the scissors etc.
The key focus for the players at home will be to continue to practice the skills they learned on Saturday to really get more confident with executing them in any game formats when we return into those. Apart from that if any players or parents need a reminder on how to do these skills or if the players would like a revisit, we can show them next week again as we want them to continue practicing these skills at home.
8 - 10 Age Group - Coach Mahan
We were very happy with the group during this Saturday's session. As we have had quite a few players in our programs before and also our new players catching on quickly, they got a quick grasp of the 1 v 1 skills that we mainly focused on. Those included the Messi 'Drop your shoulder' and also the Ronaldo 'Scissors'.
The main areas as noted above in the coaching points was making sure players come and meet the ball when it is played to them and make sure their first touch goes out of their feet so they can attack a defender with speed. This includes players being on their toes, coming to the ball and making sure to take their touch with mainly the inside of the foot to get the right amount of distance out of their feet.
Two advanced points for this group would include figuring out which skill you want to do before you receive the ball when you have the time available and also to do the skills with more speed (actual intense speed of the skill itself).
Apart from that, well done!
U13 - U15 High Performance Group - Coach Ali
The session started slow but once the players got into the motion of going at their full pace and full speed, we saw some real results. The biggest issue we had was translating our 1 v 1 skills with speed and intensity to our progression which included shooting on net. Once we included a shot at the end, the speed and quality of the skills lowered which was a concern and something players need to work on in their spare time. This just shows that players aren't consistently doing these skills at true speed and cannot take the ball where they want it to get their shot away afterwards. This can confirm to any player how hard it is to be doing as kill at full pace and then being able to get a shot away like the pros.
Although we did start slow, when we did the portion of the session which was just focused on the 1 v 1 skills attacking the poles, everybody did an excellent job. The biggest issue with all groups that we coach is that when they do 1 v 1s specifically, it is hard for players to imitate game speed when taking on a player when it is not a real person but something that players need to start to do more regularly. This is because if you don't train with game speed and realism, the speed, ability and quality of the skills won't come off in games.
Lastly, don't be afraid to take on players with speed and also know which skills are the best to do with whatever spacing you have and also where you are on the field. Some skills are better to be done at full speed and other skills are better when you slow down the defender. Start to experiment with both and you will see what works for you and what will help you in matches.
Apart from that, well done and always push yourself 100% in everything you do!
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Great job by all the age groups and we look forward to seeing you this weekend.
Next weekend's topic: Turns
FFTW Development
Forever Moving Forward