Joseph Luxbacher - Teaching and Coaching Youth Soccer

Coaching Soccer

The Fundamentals

Joseph A. Luxbacher, PhD

T able of Contents

Coaching Soccer

Joseph A. Luxbacher, PhD

Preface

CHAPTER 1

The Game of Soccer

HISTORY

SOCCER IN THE USA

CHAPTER 2

Tools of the Trade

SHOES

SOCCER BALL

UNIFORMS

GOALKEEPER EQUIPMENT

COACHING AIDS

CONES

SCRIMMAGE VESTS

PORTABLE FULL-SIZE GOALS

MINI-GOALS

PENDULUM BALL

AUDIO VISUAL EQUIPMENT

CHAPTER 3

FOUNDATIONS OF COACHING

Fitness

Flexibility

Points to consider

Agility & Mobility

Endurance

Speed

Muscular Strength and Power

Skills

* Foundation Stage

* Game-Related Stage

* Game-Condition Stage

Tactics

* Individual Tactics

* Group Tactics

Summary Points

CHAPTER 4

TEAM MANAGEMENT

CREATE A POSITIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

CONSIDER THE PLAYERS SOCCER AGE

NO LINES, NO LECTURES

The more times a player can pass, receive, shoot, and dribble the ball the more likely he or she will enjoy the practice and improve skill performance. Conversely, standing in long lines while waiting for an infrequent opportunity to pass or shoot the ball doesnt make for a good practice. It is important that an ample supply of balls, ideally one for each player, is available. The easiest way to guarantee a sufficient number of balls is to require each player to bring a ball to practice. Just as baseball players bring their glove to the field, soccer players should bring a ball. An ample supply of balls provides you with many more options for drills and training games

KEEP THE SESSION SIMPLE

Much of soccer's inherent beauty rests with the fact that it is basically a simple game. Keep it that way! Complicated drills or highly intricate training exercises will serve only to confuse and frustrate, rather than motivate, players. When planning practices always take into consideration the "K.I.S.S." principle of coaching KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID! This principle applies to coaching all ages and ability levels

DEVELOP A THEME

TEACH IN A PROGRESSION

Planning an effective practice requires more thought than simply selecting several unrelated exercises and haphazardly inserting them into a training session. Each drill or exercise should lay the groundwork for those that follow. Introduce the session with fundamental activities and gradually progress to more match-like situations. For example, the practice could begin with simple passing drills involving minimal player movement and gradually progress to situations where players must pass and receive the ball while moving at game speed under the pressure of challenging opponents. Where to start in the progression depends upon the ability and experience of the players. Higher-level players will naturally begin with more demanding exercises than novice players. In both cases, however, organize the sequence of drills so that each exercise serves as a natural lead-in for the next. Each should relate to the central theme of the practice session.

KEEP PRACTICE PLAYER CENTERED

SAFE PRACTICE ENVIRONMENT

Soccer is a contact sport and as such involves a certain amount of physical risk. Accidental collisions, bumps, and bruises will sometimes occur. To minimize the likelihood of injury make every effort to provide players with a safe practice and playing environment. This includes adequate supervision, sound planning, and appropriate matching of players with others of similar size and ability.

ECONOMICAL TRAINING METHODS

END WITH A GAME

EVALUATE THE SESSION

SAMPLE PRACTICE FORMAT

PRACTICE THEME

Fitness Training (10 minutes

PRE-PRACTICE CHECKLIST

SOCCER SAFETY

RISK MANAGEMENT: AVOIDING PITFALLS

CHAPTER 5

PASSING and RECEIVING SKILLS

GROUND PASSES

INSIDE-OF-THE-FOOT PASS

ERROR:

ERROR

SOLUTION:

OUTSIDE OF THE FOOT PASS

INSTEP PASS

LOFTED PASSES

SHORT CHIP PASS

LOFTED INSTEP PASS

SUMMARY POINTS

TRAINING EXERCISES

RECEIVING GROUND BALLS

INSIDE-OF-THE-FOOT TECHNIQUE

OUTSIDE-OF-THE-FOOT TECHNIQUE

ERROR: The ball bounces out of range of control.

RECEIVING LOFTED BALLS

RECEIVING ON INSTEP

RECEIVING ON THIGH

RECEIVING ON CHEST

Controlling a ball with the chest

RECEIVING WITH THE HEAD

SUMMARY POINTS

TRAINING EXERCISES

CHAPTER 6

DRIBBLING SKILLS

DRIBBLING SKILLS

Dribble for Close Control

Dribble for Speed

SHIELDING THE BALL

SUMMARY POINTS

Training Exercises

CHAPTER 7

TACKLING SKILLS

Table of Contents

Joseph A. Luxbacher, PhD

Preface

Soccer! The mere word evokes an outpouring of passion and emotion unequaled within the realm of competitive sport. Known as "football" throughout most of the world, soccer is the major sport of nearly every country in Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America. According to FIFA (Fdration Internationale de Football Association), the international governing body of soccer, there are approximately 265 million male and female players in addition to 5 million referees and officials that make a grand total of 270 million people, or 4% of the world's population who are actively involved in the game of international football. Soccer remains the only football-type game played at the Olympics and millions more people follow the mens World Cup, soccer's international championship, than the NFL Super Bowl and Baseball World Series. The 2014 FIFA World Cup broke several TV audience records in key international markets, including the United States and Germany. The final between Argentina and eventual champions Germany attracted an in-home audience of 695 million viewers. The total audience for the final, including in-home and out-of-home figures for viewers, hit 1.013 billion. As I write this page the 2018 World Cup has just ended with France securing the title, and I assume viewership of the tournament was of a similar magnitude. Soccer is without question the world's most popular game.

CHAPTER 1

The Game of Soccer

A soccer match is played between two teams comprised of eleven players each on a field area that is longer and wider than the traditional American football field. A regulation game consists of two 45-minute periods. One player on each team is designated as a goalkeeper and assigned the responsibility of protecting the team's goal. The goalkeeper is the only player permitted use of the hands to control the ball and can do so only within the team's penalty area. Field players must control the ball with feet, legs, body, or head, but not the hands or arms. The objective for each team is to score more goals than opponents. Goals are scored by kicking or heading the ball over the goal line into the opponent's goal. Each goal scored counts one point.

HISTORY

Historical accounts indicate that soccer-type kickball games have their origins in ancient times. An early forerunner of soccer called "tsu chu" was played in China as early as 2000 B.C. Tsu chu involved kicking a stuffed ball made of animal skin and was usually played during festivals and holiday celebrations. Kickball-type games evolved in other areas of the ancient world as well. The Greek's played "episkyres" as early as 600 B.C. At about the same time the Romans were playing a similar game called "harpustum". Matches were played between rival villages with the town squares designated as goals. The ball was the inflated bladder of a cow or goat, and the games often lasted several days. Both episkyres and harpustum contained elements of soccer and rugby. They were ball-carrying games that lacked uniform rules of play, and only vaguely resembled soccer as we know it today.