STICK IT IN THE MIXER- A Coaching Thread

[Max Power]

Great thread.

I do something very similar, but with cricket - and Under 11s. So you lot probably don't really give a fuck. The principles are the same though, try to focus on basics and technique, rather than playing to win at all costs. The hope being that the winning follows on from mastering the basics. It's frustrating though when some big lad on the other side rocks up and smashes it to all parts. 

Make sure you get everything on paper. Do your Level One as an absolute minimum. Get on a First Aid Course and make sure you pass the Safeguarding Assessment.

It's brilliant though really. Most parents are really understanding and are really pleased when something goes right for their kids especially, but also others. It's also nice to see kids you've coached progress and play in men's cricket on a Saturday. 

Good stuff.

[MungoChutney]

My son plays with a local club and it was hinted at that I could join the coaching staff last year but it's not for me. Despite spending 17 years working with kids in a professional capacity I think I'd find it too hard on two fronts.

1) juggling the commitments with work and everything else I have on would be too much.

2) I have a brilliant relationship with my son and I can give him feedback (only when he asks for it) which he listens to. The other coaches are all dads and although they are fantastic with the kids they seem to regularly fall out with their own offspring.

I also spent a couple of years refereeing youth games before moving on to adult football in the amateurs and semi-pro grades. I saw some brilliant coaches and some dreadful ones too. @PunkStep sounds like the former but you can never tell! 

I do appreciate the work it takes and at my son's previous club I headed up the parent committee that dealt with everything except subs (all direct debits) and football-related matters. It meant fundraising and coordinating travel etc. was taken care of and it let the coaches getting on with coaching. 

As an aside, we had a tournament in England recently and it baffles me that you guys have such a good national side. U9s 7 a side and they had throw ins, direct free kicks, keepers allowed to punt the ball etc. None of which really help kids develop their game I don't think. In Scotland its kick ins, which are much faster, all free kicks are indirect and goalies can't punt the ball out until 9 a side. Both reduce the reliance on physicality and the bigger players who can launch or hammer the ball. 

[tiger_rick]

3 minutes ago, MungoChutney said:

As an aside, we had a tournament in England recently and it baffles me that you guys have such a good national side. U9s 7 a side and they had throw ins, direct free kicks, keepers allowed to punt the ball etc. None of which really help kids develop their game I don't think. In Scotland its kick ins, which are much faster, all free kicks are indirect and goalies can't punt the ball out until 9 a side. Both reduce the reliance on physicality and the bigger players who can launch or hammer the ball. 

Tournaments make their own rules. We took some girls to a tournament last week where it was roll outs only. However they let the attackers stand where they wanted (no retreat rule in force) so it was a bit of a farce.

Kick ins are in place in Futsal but are generally not used. For the younger ages though, throw ins aren't enforced so there's no reason not to get on with it.

Futsal is ace by the way. Pity we're only just really catching up with it as a nation despite it being around for at least 15 years.

[PunkStep]

21 minutes ago, tiger_rick said:

Have a look and see if your local FA is running a CPD course for the transistion from 5 to 7 aside. One of the most interesting courses I've been on. I've done it twice because 5 aside and 9 aside didn't exist when I did it the first time.

Cheers Rick. Have you coached U7s/U8s 5-a-side before? Which formation did you favour? Our last coach was told on his Level 1 course that 2-2-1 is best when it comes to coping with the transition to 7-a-side, but I've seen youth teams play 2 at the back before and it looks a bit soul destroying. Perhaps my biggest tactical input last season was suggesting to the coach that we switch from 1-2-1 to 1-3-0. We didn't have a natural striker and 2-3 of our midfielders were very energetic and excellent in transition, therefore I felt it would be best if we had three in midfield. We could control the game better and with a deep-lying playmaker sitting just in front of the defender starting the moves, the other two midfielders can either run through the middle of split of to the flanks, depending on where there was space. It worked a treat- it got the best out of the players whilst giving them more time on the ball and it encouraged them to think about the play. I think I will stick with this next season.

6 minutes ago, Max Power said:

The hope being that the winning follows on from mastering the basics. It's frustrating though when some big lad on the other side rocks up and smashes it to all parts.  

Absolutely, and we started to see it come to fruition at the end of last season- which is earlier than I thought. That big lad I mentioned earlier, he was a bloody giant. At one point from a 5-a-side equivalent of 40 yards out, as he was about to take a free kick, he said to the ref 'top bins'. And he did. 6 years old ffs.

[MungoChutney]

4 minutes ago, tiger_rick said:

Tournaments make their own rules. We took some girls to a tournament last week where it was roll outs only. However they let the attackers stand where they wanted (no retreat rule in force) so it was a bit of a farce.

What's the FA stance on it or does it vary by region? In Scotland its all under the SYFA and roll outs and retreat rule are mandatory.  It was good to see the kids in a competitive tournament. Clubs would get fined for playing in one of those if it was held in Scotland so we end up with loads of 'festivals' with no trophies etc.

Edited June 13, 2019 by MungoChutney

[tiger_rick]

4 minutes ago, PunkStep said:

Cheers Rick. Have you coached U7s/U8s 5-a-side before? Which formation did you favour? Our last coach was told on his Level 1 course that 2-2-1 is best when it comes to coping with the transition to 7-a-side, but I've seen youth teams play 2 at the back before and it looks a bit soul destroying. Perhaps my biggest tactical input last season was suggesting to the coach that we switch from 1-2-1 to 1-3-0. We didn't have a natural striker and 2-3 of our midfielders were very energetic and excellent in transition, therefore I felt it would be best if we had three in midfield. We could control the game better and with a deep-lying playmaker sitting just in front of the defender starting the moves, the other two midfielders can either run through the middle of split of to the flanks, depending on where there was space. It worked a treat- it got the best out of the players whilst giving them more time on the ball and it encouraged them to think about the play. I think I will stick with this next season.

This was my first season doing 5 aside but it was a team of new girls so they played where they want. interesting thing about the transition is to think about how you want to play eventually. So say it's 4-3-3 as is the fashion, play 4-3-1 at 9v9, 2-3-1 at 7v7 and maybe 2-1-1 at 5v5. 1-2-1 makes the most sense to me at 5v5 but that's probably a precursor to playing a back three.

Depends on your ideology too. Do you want to nail down positions or just let them all play where they want and enjoy a go at everything. The latter is a trendy thought but the former more common.

[SuperBacon]

13 minutes ago, tiger_rick said:

Tournaments make their own rules. We took some girls to a tournament last week where it was roll outs only. However they let the attackers stand where they wanted (no retreat rule in force) so it was a bit of a farce.

Kick ins are in place in Futsal but are generally not used. For the younger ages though, throw ins aren't enforced so there's no reason not to get on with it.

Futsal is ace by the way. Pity we're only just really catching up with it as a nation despite it being around for at least 15 years.

I did a one day coaching workshop on it a few years ago and loved it. Really wish it was more widespread. 

[Keith Houchen]

45 minutes ago, SuperBacon said:

Nah I'm alright, I'll stick with my 7k upvotes and the love of the forum, thanks!

[PunkStep]

Is Futsal a right bastard on your knees though, in a similar manner to squash?

25 minutes ago, tiger_rick said:

1-2-1 makes the most sense to me at 5v5 but that's probably a precursor to playing a back three.

Yep 1-2-1 generally makes sense to me too and is by far the most common formation I've come across from opposition sides. There might be some games where I need to adopt that, especially against particularly defensive teams. I do like the idea of giving the players freedom, that's why other than a deep midfielder I'll probably give the midfield free rein.

God knows which formation I'd plan for by the time they get to 11s, who knows what might happen by then. So many variables and contributing factors could see that vision change many times over the coming years.

[SuperBacon]

Don’t worry mate, I’ll film my upcoming game against the vets team, then you can see what a 0-10-0 looks like. 

[Keith Houchen]

10-0-0 sounds like a winning combo for me!

[Lorne Malvo]

21 hours ago, PunkStep said:

 he said to the ref 'top bins'.

Fuck him off.

[PunkStep]

I wish I could, he played for our opponents and he scored 4 past us!

[SuperBacon]

Fucked it @PunkStep I’ve got 17 players for my 11 a side game and am now pulling my hair out about how to fairly fit them all in.

I have to look these fuckers in the eye at the school run. I’m not cut out for this game.

[PunkStep]

Rolling subs yeah? Switch 6 after 20-odd minutes into the first half, again at half time and once more halfway through the second half. They'll all probably die after half hour on a full sized pitch anyway. I'm a young dad compared to most of the parents at my kids' school and I know I'd get knackered during 11 a side, but they'd blow up first.

That said, I played competitive 5 a side for the first time in 2 years earlier this week, was absolutely fine. Could've played another game.

Update on the coaching front- one of the dads contacted me yesterday offering his services as assistant coach, in the same manner as I was last season. Definitely going to take him up on that, there's only so much one coach can see during every training session and match.