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The most common request I've received so far as Technical Director has been for practice drills. Obviously, effective drills are a fundamental component of any well-run soccer practice. But be aware of expecting drills to act as a cure-all solution. The drills give you a good structure to make your coaching points but there's still a lot for you, as coach, to do.
Before you even set up a drill, you need to know its purpose. What element(s) of the game is it trying to help your players with? Do you know what adjusments to the size of the area, the number of touches, the number of players involved, that you might have to make depending on how your players are doing? Will you recognize what you're looking for the drill to achieve and when to stop the drill to emphasize particular points?
Be aware of situations, for example, where a drill requires four people and you have a full team of players out. You may need to set up multiple grids so that as many of your team are active and involved in the drill as possible. Good practices aren't just about the drills but the tempo and communication you bring to them.
The more movement you can introduce to your training sessions, combined with drills that require focus and concentration, the more your players will start to bring movement and smart decisions to their actual games.
These online practice plans, developed by Tony Waiters' Byte Size Coaching, have now been expanded to cover all the age groups that Pt. Grey offers so there's something there for all our coaches. Coaches now have access to twelve full practices, complete with suggested progressions. There's also sessions designed specifically for teams that train in gyms.
Having this material in advance will free you up to concentrate on 'how' the players are doing the drills rather than just 'what' they should be doing.
Gregor Young
PGSC Technical Director
Learn to play... play to learn!
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