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Archive for October, 2017

Farpost Soccer Goals: Preventing Lopsided Soccer Scores (#1)

Friday, October 27th, 2017

Most of preventing lopsided soccer scores comes from good intentions and spur of the moment thinking.  But, better lessons are drawn from preparation. The same objectives from training should be used in games.

There is nothing worse than overt mercy.  The kids bragging after the game are overheard by the losing team that “we could only score with headers” or “we could only shoot after we juggled”.   Watching a clear opportunity be wasted with a precondition is nothing short of ridicule.  Besides, the benchwarmers want the same opportunity as the starters who rang up the goals.

soccer scores

So how does a coach keep clear focus on competitive soccer when trying to be gracious three or more goals up?  Obviously and foremost, give some players playing time.  But, emptying the bench is not the answer.  The players at the bottom of the depth chart develop by playing with the best players.  They also deserve to be given purpose in the game as every other player going in.  Playing a young winger to serve or new backs to possess will slow the game and create objectives to feature new players and slow the game.  Having a new midfielder in charge of changing the point of attack provides both an opportunity for valuable lessons and game slowing.  Training any striker to play as a target and distributor can be both valuable and slowing.  Make the game about the less-featured players and give them a taste of being relied upon.

No coach wants to put mittens on players’ boots.  A sharp eye for the goal must be cultivated in competition and training.  Feature the midfield sharp shooting during a lopsided game by using a two penalty box game in training.  Then, when imposing a condition in a lopsided game, the result is smooth and not ridiculous.  The call “1805” from the sidelines imposes the conditions that after 5 passes, players may shoot from outside the 18 yard box.  The 1805 game in practice keeps midfielders heads-up for their own chances while possessing the ball against strikers looking for theirs.  The field is two penalty boxes facing each other with full sized goals and goalkeepers.  Define the 18 yard line with disc cones.  Each team has 3 or 4 midfielders in the box farther from their goal and 1 or 2 strikers in the box with the goal.  No player may cross the 18 yard midline of disc cones.  Next to each goal is an arsenal of balls.  Only goalkeepers can put balls into play.  Balls out over sidelines or end lines mean the deserving keeper pulls one out and quickly puts a new one into play from inside the 6 yard box.

  • Training elements from 1805 are:
  • Midfielders under pressure looking for the goalkeeper out of position
  • Long shooting, quick decisions
  • Changing the point of attack quickly to create chances
  • Using strikers as targets and distributors, giving off one-touch chances
  • Strikers creating their own chances from loose balls or wins
  • Strikers turning or playing back to goal
  • Goalkeepers playing out balls across receivers’ paths
  • Goalkeepers constantly aware of positioning
  • Possession under pressure
  • High energy training

Evoking 1805 in a lopsided game provides high energy for both teams by pulling the intensity into the midfield.  An opposing goalkeeper can handle realistic chances without the chaos of their own defense breaking down.  Teams on the zero end blend better into the game and can probably dish out pressure on 80% of the field.  The winning coach’s own team maintains discipline and features different players.

Best of all, when it comes to soccer scores no team has to hear “Now you can only score with your head”.

By Diana Boettcher

FUNdamental SOCCER Contributor

Final Notes:

  • Thank you for taking the time to read this article and Sharing it with your soccer community.
  • Please send your Comments on this subject and Questions to me at: koachkarl@fundamentalsoccer.com

Your FUNdamental,

Koach Karl (Karl Dewazien)

 

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Farpost Soccer Goals: MYELINIZING

Wednesday, October 18th, 2017

I have an experiment for you. Take children of different ages who are engaged in an activity they enjoy. It doesn’t have to be scoring soccer goals! inform them that when the activity is over (about 20 minutes later) they must clean up their room or go out and bring in the mail or do something they probably would not ordinarily want to do; then see if they do it:

How many 6,7,8 or 9 year olds will do it?  NONE!

How many older pre teens will do it?  Perhaps a few more.

How many teens will do it?  Even a few more.

And as you get older consistently more and more will do it.

Brain growth and development hinges on environmental experiences (i.e. our upbringing, schooling and friends) and physiological changes.  It is the physiological differences between children and adults that are crucial for us, as coaches, to understand.  Surrounding nerve fiber is a form of insulation called a myelin sheath.  This sheath from insulation which prevents these fibers from “shorting out” thus permitting the transmission of a biophysical nerve impulse.

If a portion of the brain is not myelinized, that portion will not function.  An infant cannot walk until that portion of the motor cortex dealing with walking is myelinized.  No amount of exercise, occupational therapy, coaching, bribery, coercion or rewards will enable that child to move or walk sooner.

soccer goals Vancouver

How does this relate to us as coaches?  Simple.  A common coaching mistake is to consider kids little adults and treat them as such.  Obviously this will not work!

As an adult I will pick something up at a coaching course then immediately try it in my game.  I will keep trying it until I have learned it.  I do not need someone standing over me harping on whatever it is.  I am capable of intellectualizing the information and acting on it.

On my high school team, I will work on a technique or stratagem for four or five practices.  If I am lucky the kids will use it for fifteen minutes during the first half of the game; then 10 minutes (if I remind them at half-time) in the second half.  The coach of an under 10 team would be lucky if his players tried it once.

As coaches we must recognize that physiologically the child is still developing both physically and mentally.  His learning processes are different than an adult’s.  The youngster cannot and will not intellectualize techniques and tactics.  To achieve success we must deal with creating a desire to learn.  If the child has a desire to learn then he will repeatedly do the new technique and eventually create muscle memory; i.e. he will have learned something.

Chalk talks are essentially useless. First, no self-respecting child will listen to an adult for more than fifteen (15) seconds.  Secondly, the child’s auditory processing to memory connections just aren’t there (i.e., they won’t remember).

Until the brain has adequately matured physiologically, verbal data does not compute.

So, how do we coach/teach a child?  Talk briefly; demonstrate (Show & Tell); then have fun games or 1v1 games in which the new technique or tactic will create success.  Be positive and repeat the skill throughout the session creating muscle memory.  To achieve success the players must enjoy being successful. When it comes to scoring soccer goals, kids enjoy seeing and playing, not listening and standing.  Yes, I use the “FUNdamental 9-Steps Practice” because “IT”  works.  The more kids play soccer, the more the muscles will remember. It’s like riding a bike.

Do you remember learning to ride a bike?  Did you have a coach or paid trainer?  Did your parent’s give you bike riding lessons?  Did your parents make you learn to ride?  Were you lectured on techniques?  Were you lectured on bike riding laws?  Or did they provide you with the tools and then give you the opportunity to experiment your way to success?

by Len Marks, Pediatric MD.

FUNdamental SOCCER Staff Member

Final Notes:

  • Thank you for taking the time to read this article and Sharing it with your soccer community.
  • Please send your Comments on this subject and Questions to me at: koachkarl@fundamentalsoccer.com

Your FUNdamental,

Koach Karl (Karl Dewazien)

 

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Soccer Goal Company Advocates The Diagonal System

Thursday, October 12th, 2017

As a soccer goal company, the team at Farpost Goals understands that excessive coaching from the touchlines and a demand for more officials is but one issue facing the sport.  Yelling and screaming from the sidelines which is allowed in some other sports further aggravates the situation.

Advocates of the Dual or Two-Whistle System as an alternative to the traditional three-official Diagonal System of Control often talk about such things as “better game control”, “more field coverage”, and “more enforcement of the Laws of The Game”.  The indication is that the modern game of soccer has evolved beyond the ability or capability of the traditional three officials system to properly manage a match.

Soccer’s uniqueness and enjoyment set it apart from other sports. The demands of physical strength and excessive team discipline, which some other sports require, have a tendency to detract from the finesse, individual initiative and creativity of soccer. Physical contact is expected in soccer.  Fair charging that is not “careless”, “reckless” or “with excessive force” is legal and can be as physical as the officials allow.

Instead of manipulating or changing the refereeing system, understanding the game, having better trained officials and improving coaching are needed to better manage the game. Emphasizing coaching during practice and allowing players to use their skills and intelligence during the games does not sit well with those team leaders who were raised with other sports.For coaches to quietly observe the game, analyze it and look for creative ways to strategically help their team deal with the opponent, as is common throughout the world, is an extremely difficult task for many.

 Law 5 states the role of the referee:

The Laws of the Game are intended that the game should be played with as little interference as possible and in this view it is the duty of the officials to penalize only deliberate breaches of the law.  Constant whistling for trifling and doubtful breaches of the laws produces bad feelings and loss of temper on the part of the players and spoils the pleasure of the spectators.

Referees must use knowledge of the game and the “spirit of the game” to officiate a contest that is fun, fair and safe for the participants and enjoyable for the spectators.  Soccer is a game for the players and the referees are there to orchestrate the match not to control it.

History and tradition have shown that the three-official diagonal system works because it is simple and is designed to assist in the playing of the game.

There are three factors that MUST be present for the system to work: Communication, Positioning and Team Support.

Communication:  A pregame meeting is a valuable way to alert the “other officials” (previously known as assistant referees) to what is expected and be prepared for unusual situations.  The primary accepted position is for the assistant referees to constantly be in line with the second to last defender or the ball (whichever is closer to the goal line).  However there may be game situations when the referee and assistants need to take up a different position in order to be in the best position to make proper calls.  Communication before and during the match is vital to the success of the referee team.

Positioning:  The positioning of the referee and other officials as the match progresses is a critical way to properly control the match. The referee should be located where play can easily be observed and controlled, without interfering, and simultaneously be in a position to make the best use of the assistants.  Eye contact between the officials is very important and the flag should be held in a position of maximum visibility so that signals are not missed or misunderstood.  Keeping play between the referee and the lead assistant continues to be a basic expectation of the three-official system.

Team Support:  While working together as a TEAM the officials can be effective in properly managing a match within the spirit of the laws as enumerated in Law 5.  A well trained referee with qualified and empowered assistants will adequately orchestrate the match and maintain the flow of the game.

The diagonal system with three trained officials, six pairs of eyes and only one whistle has proven to be the most efficient way to control a game while allowing better consistency of calls and maintaining the flow of the game.

Those who promote additional officials with whistles should first look at the violent conduct and the good or bad behavior of the coaching staff and spectators which is in turn mirrored by the players on the field.  Changing the Laws of The Game or having more people on the field with whistles will not eliminate those problems.

Farpost soccer goal company

Still the Best Alternative (The Diagonal System of Control)

 By — Pat Ferre

USSF Referee Grade 15 Emeritus

USSF Referee Instructor

USSF Referee Assessor

USSF Referee Assignor

District-7 Youth Referee Administrator (DYRA)

Final Note:  Farpost Soccer Goal Company thanks you for taking the time to read this article and Sharing it with your soccer community. Clicking Like and Commenting on this subject is very much appreciated

Your FUNdamental,

Koach Karl (Karl Dewazien)

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A Referee’s Perspective on Sideline Coaching by Farpost Soccer Goals

Wednesday, October 4th, 2017

A Referee’s Perspective on Sideline Coaching by Farpost Soccer Goals

 

As a professional Soccer Goals company, the team at Farpost Goals knows it’s important to consider a game from a referee’s perspective, coaches are permitted to provide tactical instructions to their players during the game. Unfortunately in many youth games the most common “tactical” instruction heard from coaches on the field by the players (and referee) is “Go, Go, Go” which doesn’t impart any knowledge, insight or direction for the players. As my Daughter commented about her previous coach, “Does she think I’m going to ‘Stop, Stop, Stop’ if she doesn’t yell ‘Go, Go, Go’ all the time?”

soccer goals by Farpost goals

Referees should step-in and warn (analogous to a player being cautioned), a coach if he or she:

1. Moves more than 10 yards from the halfway line up or down the touchline in either direction; assuming teams are on opposite sides of the field,

2. Threatens to remove a player if said player doesn’t improve his or her play to the coach’s liking,

3. The coach harangues any player, which can be defined as a coach ranting at a player, or

4. Of course cursing by the coach would demand an immediate dismissal (analogous to a player being sent-off).

Referees need to be keenly aware of the potential for verbal abuse by coaches towards their players and deal with it immediately. Invariably the player who incurs the wrath of the coach most often is the coach’s own child! The coach can’t separate his role of coach from that as parent and feels he’s entitled to say anything he or she wants to his child because “I’m his Father!”

The game of soccer is so fluid with dynamic play that by the time most tactical instructions are given by coaches, they are no longer applicable to the current situation at hand. When you have both coaches constantly barking out commands, then it’s just a cacophony of noise emanating from each sideline. Add-in the parents cheering and yelling and no wonder the players just try to tune-out the noise, focus and play otherwise If they don’t, how can they enjoy the game?

As a referee, verbal abuse from coaches “goes with the territory.” However, as a referee our job is to enforce the laws and protect the players. Unfortunately sometimes this means the players need to be protected not from only the opposing players on the field but also from their own coaches’ verbal comments from the touchline. As a soccer goals company, the team at Farpost Goals would like to remind everyone that civility and sportsmanship are important lessons on the field.

David Bragg

National Referee Emeritus (2010 – Present) National Referee 1997-2009 MLS AR 1996-2009 Indoor Referee Futsal Referee State Assessor State Instructor FUNdamental SOCCER Contributor

Final Note: Thank you for taking the time to read this article from Farpost Soccer Goals and for Sharing it with your soccer community. Clicking Like and Commenting on this subject is very much appreciated,

Your FUNdamental,

Koach Karl (Karl Dewazien)

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