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by Gary Rue
garyrue@bellsouth.net
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NOTE: Gary did not write these exercises and tips with the
idea that someone would publish them. I subscribe to the
Soccer-Coach-L e-mail list and Gary is one of the coaches that
posts extremely well thought out replies. These are some of
Gary's posts that I collected for use in coaching my own teams.
I approached Gary and he was gracious enough to allow me to
publish them here. If you like what you see or have a
question about one of the exercises you can reach Gary at
garyrue@bellsouth.net
There are
50+ more pages of Gary's posts
categorized at the Home Page of Exercises
of the Day by Gary Rue. Click here and enjoy.
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Teaching
Legal Charges |
QUESTION:
How do you teach young teams to perform legal charges
with precision? Vogelsinger recommends doing a drill where the players are paired up by
size. While bouncing on one foot a player tries to knock their opponent off
balance, all-the-while keeping your arms in. Would this be sufficient?
RESPONSE (from Perrone Ford):
This foot bouncing drill may reinforce jumping in. He may be absolutely correct,
especially for U9.
However, a U9 player is either one that wants to
avoid all contact or a player revels in running over everyone he sees--there is very
little middle ground at this age. We need to get our players to a level where they can
handle and be comfortable with contact, and yet stay within the framework of the laws and
safety. Vogelsinger's activity, in my opinion, provides the opportunity to have contact in
a restricted and safe way.
Chest bumping is another activity a team can do in warm-ups. Players moving around leap at
each other, hitting and bouncing off their chests. This is a nice activity for a jump
header practice, when their will be some opponent presence.
Whether either of these contact activities are appropriate is up to the individual coach
to decide. If we don't allow for contact in our training, our players are not prepared for
it. If we do train for it, then we may push our players into areas we don't want them to
go. That's the dilemma.
Shoulder charging is best done when running parallel with the dribbler. One of the ways we
incorporate charging into our training is to do a 1v1 along the touchline. The defender
allows the dribbler to drive past him along the touch and the defender then tries to ride
him off the ball. Other defensive techniques can be worked on such as near post recovery
if the dribbler beats the defender, etc. as the activity progresses.
Watch carefully for charges from behind or players leaping in from the side. The
defenders should have a focus on the ball when they are charging. This will normally keep
them within the law and the whistle out of the referee's mouth.
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Along the same line as the above question is what do you tell your players to do when the
other team pulls their shirt, etc.
Does anybody have a good response for this? The
particular team I have in mind is U-13 boys, all of them pretty good kids, but competitive
enough so that they really don't want to just stand there and have their shirts pulled
off.
Gary Rue's Reply:
I liked how the offensive guard of the New York
Giants solved this problem--his name was Burt or something--he wore a jersey that was so
tight, the defensive player could never find anything to grab onto.
That won't work for my kids--I had to order mostly XL jerseys and shorts, because they
can't play in restrictive clothing. Anyway the flowing cloth is an easy target to grab.
In my wrestling days (freestyle, not co-ed), one of our break moves was to wrap the arm
around the offending arm and bring your arm up with force. This breaks all grips. This can
only be used on the most persistent of shirt pulls. A quick pop with the palm on the
grabbing hand gets the point across also. It also draws referee attention, usually towards
the grabber.
One of the most common, but worst reactions a player can have to a hold is to grab the
other player's jersey. This invariably get the whistle against you. Most shirt pulls (the
ones the referee usually doesn't see) are more nuisance than effective. I just tell my
players if they want to wear togas, suffer the consequences and move to space where the
other guy can't grab you.
Later! Gary
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Risk
Management for Coaches |
I just completed a nine hour National Federation Interscholastic Coaches Education Program
required of ALL Kentucky high school coaches (head, assistance, or temporary). One of the
key topics was risk management. Listed below are nine of the most well-established duties
required of a coach to fulfill your legal responsibilities:
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Properly plan the activity--teach
skills in their proper or 'reasonable' progression, avoiding teaching advanced skills too quickly.
Develop a season plan
Test players to determine physical capacity and skill level
Develop written practice plans
Adapt your plans to individual needs
Don't deviate from your plans without good cause
Keep all records of your plans and testing
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Provide proper instruction--teach
skills correctly and thoroughly so the athletes are not injured or injure others.
Keep abreast of current instructional standards for your sport and use them
teach skills with customary methods of your sport and the development level of your
athletes
Make your instructions clear, complete, consistent
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Provide a safe physical
environment--you have a duty to notice hazards and to do what you can to reduce
their risk (i.e., place a bright colored cloth over a
protruding rock on a practice field.
Note and remedy hazardous conditions through regular inspections
Develop a facility inspection checklist
Change any dangerous conditions that you can
Give precise rules for using the facility
Monitor the changing environment and make prudent judgments about
continuation if it becomes
hazardous
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Provide adequate and proper
equipment
Buy the best equipment you can afford, considering the age and skill of your
athlete
Teach your athletes how to fit, use and inspect their equipment
Inspect equipment regularly
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Match your athletes - this is
especially pertinent to contact and collision sports, but is also relevant in sports
where balls are thrown, kicked and hit to other players.
Match players in size, maturity, skill and experience as well as age
Enforce eligibility rules
Modify the practice structure when mismatches cannot easily be corrected
Be especially alert to mismatches between sexes, with athletes recovering
from injury and for those with disabilities
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Evaluate athletes for injury or
incapacity
Require evidence that all athletes have received pre-participation physical examinations in the past 2 years.
Keep a medical history of every athlete on file
Use extraordinary judgment in identifying athletes who are injured or ill enough that they should not participate
Get parental and physical approval before permitting seriously ill or injured
athletes to return to participation
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Supervise the activity closely
Always provide general supervision
Provide specific supervision when teaching new skills and when the risk of
injury increases
Know your sport so well that you can anticipate potentially dangerous situations and be positioned to
prevent them from occurring
Use posters, notices and signs to support, but not replace your supervision
Do not condone reckless or overly aggressive behavior that threatens the safety of any athlete
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Warn of inherent risks--you are
responsible to provide instructions regarding the safety of the sport. For example, when a
10 year old boy was injured in soccer because he collided with another player, both
of whom were going for a loose ball, the court ruled the coach was negligent because
he failed to teach what should be done in this foreseeable and potentially dangerous
situation.
Warn your athletes of the inherent risks of the sport
Use written notices, releases, videos, and repeated warnings to make sure your athletes
understand the risks
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Provide appropriate emergency
assistance
Protect the injured athlete from further harm
Provide the proper first aid
Attempt to maintain or restore life using CPR when required
Comfort and reassure the athlete
Activate your emergency plan, transferring the treatment responsibility to trained medical
personnel
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I submit this not to scare, but to inform. Most
all of this is common sense,
however, we just have to have the sense to make it common. Gary Rue
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Block
Tackling |
QUESTION:
Some coaches emphasize hard straight on
tackles (insides of the foot banging away with the ball in the middle and lots of power).
My knees go weak just thinking about what might happen when they get older. Others
recommend using the outside the foot to tackle and quickly shield the ball. I like the
latter approach, because the end result is usually a defender dribbling away looking for a
pass or scoring opportunity instead of a booming clear every time. What are your
preferences and why?
Mark
Morin replied:
A front block
tackle is not a kick. A strong and powerful tackle on a stationary ball, without any
opposition, should result in the ball moving very little. The technique is the *blocking*
of the ball's movement. The momentum of the opponent (with most of the mass up higher than
the tackle) will take him past the point where the ball is stopped, giving the tackler
free reign with the ball. To demonstrate the physics, have two players of equal size stand
about 10 yds. apart. Player 1 has the ball about a step away and player 2 is the other
nine yards away. Have player 2 run to the ball and try to take it straight through with
the inside of the foot while player 1 times his step in to block the ball at the same
time. Player 1 should tackle from "power" (below and just in front of
center-of-mass) and player 2 should not stop before the tackle. The results speak for
themselves. (Don't let player 2 sprint in at full speed--the faster he moves the more the
chance of him injuring himself. See Gary's recent Risk posting above.)
The tackling foot
should stay off the ground for both players, not only because it increases success of the
technique (tackling foot should contact the ball at or just above the middle), but also
because it limits the chance of injury. The plant foot's knee should be bent. (Never have
the foot of a straight leg on the ground.) I'm not sure what you mean by an outside of the
foot tackle, but it does not seem to be that wise a technique to use when in front of an
opponent. Please try to put the outside of the foot up against the ball and have someone
else put the inside of the foot against it and see who will win in a pushing contest. And,
for something really scary, show the outside of the foot to an opponent and let it plant
into the ground. If the opponent keeps on moving, imagine what happens when contact is
made with that forward knee. Straight or bent, the "unhappy triad" of
medial collateral ligament, anterior cruciate ligament and lateral meniscus damage is the
possible result. (The reason why "clipping" or "crack back" blocking
is outlawed in American football.)
My preference is to delay the
opponent with occasional jockeying in the hopes of the attacker making a mistake and
putting the ball a little too far forward. Once this happens, I move my power between the
ball and the (former) attacker's power to win the ball with no risk (tactically). If this
does not work, I shepherd the ball to a less dangerous position while waiting for my
supporting player, then I choose the proper moment for a front block tackle. mark -
"Excellence is a Habit."
From: Gary Rue grue@JOVE.STATE.KY.US
For those of you who coach
tackling, here are a couple of technical points I use when training the block tackle (see
Mark's recent post (above) describing this technique).
The first move of the tackle is to
put the support foot beside the ball. I tell my players if they can't get the support foot
beside the ball BEFORE the tackle, then that is not the time to tackle. A trailing support
foot would require the player to reach the tackling foot for the ball, evoking that
infamous coaching scream, "Don't stab!"
The second point is to lock the tackling
ankle, pulling the toes up towards the shin. This not only gives much needed strength to
the tackling foot, but it puts the greatest surface of the foot on the ball. Later!
Gary
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Proper
Roster Size
U-11 Girls (11v11) |
In response to a question about optimal roster size for a
U11 Girls team playing in 11v11 league Gary wrote:
I
feel that 15, 16 maximum is the optimum size for U14 and below. The players (and parents)
are fairly committed at this age. U15 and U16 are grey areas, but I would recommend 16.
Older than that, put 30 on your roster and maybe you can field 11 at game time.
I understand the desire to "build" the program by keeping those extra three
girls, but dividing 18 players into 660 minutes playing time will cause other problems
that could negate the long term gains.
I am not a girls coach. In general, maybe girls can handle the lack of playing time better
than the boys. I guess they could realize the opportunity they have been given by just
being on the team. I still feel seven U11's sitting on the sideline during a game is a
lot, in my opinion.
Later! Gary
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Layout Position for Goalkeepers |
To add to the recent posts on GK breakaway play, I want to start from the finish. That is,
I will try to describe the shape of the GK after going down on a breakaway dive.
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Situation
Attacker is dribbling hard on goal in a breakaway. The GK gradually comes off the line,
narrowing the shooting angle, moving only when the ball is not being touched by the
dribbler. The ball comes away from the attackers foot, the GK commits to ball and goes in
low, hands first, getting to the ball just prior to the attacker. Now what shape should
the GK be in? From a ground view, ball side, this is what the attacker should see
(or run over).
- Arms
Legs
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v
v
o - - - - * -
- - \
o - - - - - - - - *
- - - \
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Ground
Legend:
o - hands
\ - feet
* - knees
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The forearms are close together and
parallel. Only the top of the shoulder and hip should be touching the ground (definitely
not the bottom forearm). If more of the arm hits the ground, the hands may not be able to
hold the ball from the jolt. The top knee is bent and forward, parallel with the
ground, close to touching the elbow of the top arm. The lower leg is normally straight out
and raised off the ground. This raised leg presents a barrier for the dribbler to get by.
The GK wants to have as much length for as long as possible. Also, by rocking this leg,
this should give the body enough leverage and momentum to roll back up (resetting) without
using the hands to push off the ground (using the hands to reset is a bad habit, as
the hands need to stay free at all times).
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In this position, the naughty bits,
the pretty bits and the vitals are well protected by the shin, and forearms. The head is
tucked in behind the hands and forearms, the upper knee and leg covers the abdomen and
groin. An attacker's foot should not be able do much damage other than a bruised forearm.
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One last note, on the dive the head
and hands should go to the near post side with the legs and feet towards center. There are
at least two reasons.
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First, 90% of the time (some
statistic I heard), the attacker will try to beat the GK to the head side (what person in
their right mind wants to run through legs). If the GK is beaten, the attacker will be
going away from goal, thus narrowing his shooting angle and allowing for a recovering
defender to fill in behind the GK.
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Second, if the ball is played into
the legs and off the legs, the ball should rebound wide based on the direction of the leg
swing. If the dive is with the head towards center, the rebound off the legs probably
would be towards the center (normally not the best place for a loose ball to be in front
of an unattended goal, if your the defensive team).
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It is very important to me to ensure
my keepers are trained from the ground up. I want to make sure they know what shape they
need to get into that provides the most safety. I feel with well trained keepers, the
attackers on a breakaway are in more danger of being injured. Now when your keeper
makes his first breakaway save, don't forget to ask him, "What's a nice kid like you
doing in a dive like this?"
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Later! Gary
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Compressing
the Field |
Two things are required to effectively compress the attack away from the defended goal:
1) the ball is moving away from the
goal and
2) there is pressure on the ball.
Following are some activities and ideas to
reinforce this with your team. First and foremost, your team should get in the habit of
moving up-field anytime the GK or a defender plays it out. Have the backs work on moving up
field while working on GK distributions.
Two marking backs and a sweeper (if that's your system) should be tracking a pair of
attackers moving around the 18. Serve a ball into the GK, who will quickly distribute
(throw or kick) to one of two wide wing halfbacks. The backs should immediately follow the
ball to support the wing half, leaving the attackers to recover to an onside position.
Look for balance of the three backs as one back (B1) should be prime support to the wing,
the second (probably the sweeper) should be support to B1 and the third back would be
supporting the second back on the off-ball side. The runs forward of these backs initially
should be towards the ball. Also the runs forward should be in unison.
The activity can now be altered to make the wing halfbacks attackers. When the GK
distributes, the lead back should try to close down the ball. This is different from the
first situation as the backs were moving up field in order to support the attack. Now,
they must move forward to create as much space between them and the GK (where no attackers
may roam).
All backs (and GK) should recognize the
situation (ball moving up field) and yell "OUT!" The lead back on the push
forward should be the one nearest the ball. This back establishes the speed for the other
backs to push forward. He also sets the initial target line for the other backs. The
sweeper sets, communicates and ensures he is the last line of defense. This line could be
even with the lead back's target line or (in most cases) a little deeper in a support
position. The off-ball back should be in line with the sweeper's position.
The sweeper must decide how far to push towards the target line based on the support
needed by the lead back and the position of the attackers behind the lead back. As the
forward attackers recover even to the last line, the sweeper and off-back may have to drop
back into deeper support positions.
Now change the activity and have the wing play an early ball back towards the attackers.
Now it is important the backs realize they must recover to mark any attacker in their
area. At the point when the ball is played by the wing halfback, the backs should recover
into marking and support positions. Unless the attackers woefully trail the play, the
backs should be goal-side of the attackers by the time ball arrives.
Now, add extra defenders to close down the wing halfbacks on the distribution. The wing
halfback still attempts to play an early ball, but under pressure. The backs must decide
how far and how fast to compress based on the pressure on the ball.
Instead of using the GK to distribute, one of the backs could clear the ball to a wing
halfback.
The above dealt with how to compress after a defensive clear or distribution. In the post
below , I will discuss some ways to train compression during play.
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Training Players How to Compress During Play |
Remember, the time to compress is when the ball is moving away from the goal and the ball
is under pressure. The defense should be constantly alert to these two keys. This session
will deal with compressing the ball during play. The concepts here require more individual
alertness and awareness.
Start with player A1 dribbling towards goal. Player A2 makes a run forward towards a deep
defender D2. As defender D1 closes down the dribbler (no tackling), D2 moves upfield
putting A2 in an offside position. As A2 recovers back to an onside position, D2 drops off
into a goalside position on A2. When A2 goes forward again, D2 steps up--if there is still
pressure on the ball and a pass would not be easily made. As D1's pressure subsides, D2
must not push forward.
Now add a third attacker, A3, in a drop position. When A1 drops the ball to A3, D1 must
follow the pass A3. D2 must step into the line between A2 and A3 and go to the ball. Add a
sweeper who must get forward as quickly as possible, yet be ready for a quick retort from
the drop man to any attacker that is still on-side. In this case, the sweeper reacts to
the responses of his teammates instead of guiding them.
Full speed activities on goal can now be used. Restrict the following activities to NO
tackling.
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2v2 + a drop man (with one-touch
restriction); defenders must compress to the ball by first stepping into the path between
their man and the ball.
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2v3 + a drop man (add a sweeper)
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3v2; 3 attackers, defenders look for
a drop.
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4v3
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6v4
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8v4 (narrow the field a little for
the last two activities)
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11v4 (will develop confidence in
your back four)
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Defensive
Soccer Thoughts |
"Anciently, the skillful warriors first made themselves invincible
and awaited the enemy's moment of vulnerability."
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
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The following notes were taken from the "The Art of Soccer":
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The defender marking the ball must
impede progress toward the goal and not get beaten in the process. Getting the ball back
is not the prime objective.
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The defender must try to match the
attacking player's momentum and use space for a buffer zone. The defender decreases space
when the attacker is
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moving away from the goal.
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Stopping the dribbling game, stops
the passing game.
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Turn the attacker into a ball
watcher by tackling fakes.
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A fast defender may turn and run
with the attacker, a slow defender should tackle.
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To intercept more passes, watch the
eyes of the passer. When the passer's head goes down, decrease the receiver's space.
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Pressure better players when it is
safe, when space is naturally restricted or when numerically superior.
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Decrease an attacker's space any
time the attacker is facing or moving in a direction other than toward goal.
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Later! Gary
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What should be included in a
Soccer First Aid Medical Kit? |
I found an old clipping (1980's).
It suggests the following items be
included in a coach's medical kit:
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U8-U10
Ace Wraps, 3 inch (2)
Hydrogen Peroxide
Spray bottle
Bandaids, box
Butterflies (1)
Raspberry Ointment
Plastic Bags (5)
Instant Cold Pack (1)
Change for Phone ($.50)
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(Additional supplies for competitive
teams)
Pen Light
Under Wrap (3 rolls)
Sports Tape, 1 inch (3)
Betadine Swabs (1 pkg.)
Telfa Pads 3x3 (24)
Steristrips (12)
Tampex--for nose bleeds (2)
Thermometer--oral
Bandage Scissors (2)
Bite Stick
Mirror
Eye Wash Bottle
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Corner Arc Dimensions and
Proper Corner Kick Technique |
How many times has one of your players been unable to properly take a corner kick because
the corner flag gets in their way? Most often this is due to the corner arc is not of the
proper size (e.g. the intersecting lines from the arc are too close to the corner of the
field).
It has been my experience that most players have problems with the corner flags because of
the side of the flag they approach the ball on. It is very difficult to play a ball with
the right foot and the left arm is next to the flag.
Right footed players should approach the ball from the goal-line side when the kick is
being taken from the left (looking at the attacking goal) side. It should be approached
from the touchline side if the kick is to be taken from the right corner.
From a technical standpoint, I would want "in-swinger" (towards goal) kicks
approached from the goal-line side instead of straight on anyway. Straight on runs would
tend to put the ball too close to goal. Hard, low kicks to the near post would be a prime
exception.
"Out-swingers need to be approached from the touchline side to (help) prevent the ball
being played too far out from the target area.
With this approach concept, the size of the arc should not make that much difference.
Later! Gary
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