GAME BODY MIND OFF THE PITCH NEWS

Understanding Tactical Soccer Strategy

How well you do you know and study the game?  How well do you understand systems of play?  What do you understand about styles of play, high pressure defense, and playing in specific positions on the the team?  Well, I’ve got news for you - you’ll never know absolutely everything and you’ll always be a student of the game.

What understanding tactical soccer looks like?

If your able to adapt from a 4-3-3 to a 3-5-2 then into other formations with little or no interferance in your performance, then you’re already on the way to understanding key tactical strategies of the game.  However, this only scratches the surface and much is required of you to continually watch, experience through play, read about the game, and learn from others in order to achieve strong tactical awareness.

When you are able to understand your opponents tactical movements and are able to prepare counter actions to defend and attack you will soon have the upperhand.  Obviously a coach will seek to put the best players in the team on the field this includes which usually are the players who have strongest tactical understanding of the game with in the team.  So, how can you strengthen your tactical understanding?  Below are just a few ideas to help you

5 Ideas for Action:

1. Talk with your coach about tactical strategies and ask him or her to tell you what parts of your personal tactical game could be improved.
2. Attend instructional courses, clinics and camps that focus on tactical development to improve your actual knowledge and understanding of the tactical side of football.
3. On TV, watch how the professional players fit into different systems and how they adapt.  Attend games both professional and amateur and takes notes.
4. Try playing different roles in training wherever possible to gain understanding of others roles in the team.
5. Use your resources such as the internet and the local library to research varying opinions and game tactics to strengthen your viewpoints on the game. 

Picking Your Opponents Pocket By Reading The Game

In football you’re either picking pockets or getting your pocket picked. Who are you? Hopefully, you’re a step ahead of your opponent and picking pockets or are the interceptor but, if you’re not you can do something about it. Learning the art of interception is all about timing and reading the game. And, if you watch some of the best footballers in the world, you’ll notice how good they are at this skill.

So, what does intercepting look like?

Intercepting is your ability to consistently be a step ahead of your competitor and being able to dispossess your opponent. To intercept is to stop the ball or arrivarriving at it’s destination. For example, a pass from one player to another player across the field. This can be achieved in many forms, a catch from a goalkeeper, a header from an intended cross cleared by a defender or more commonly the dispossession of an opponent while making or once made a pass.

Alternatively a lack of good ball control can offer a dispossession opportunity. Intercepting differs from tackling as it is considered to be a judgement, an anticipation of an opposing players pass, cross, or shot. Timing is crucial and would be attributed in the past to players who may have lots of experience such as the amazing Bobby Moore, a world cup winner with England in 1966. Also, from Germany the famous Franz Beckenbauer and more recently Lothar Matthaus are two other masters of reading the game and the art of interception. An ideal player to watch today would be Claude Makelele who plays for Paris St. Germain and the French National Team.

Now that you have a basic understanding, the time is now to focus on becoming one of the best interceptors and play makers. You would not believe how many of personal goals are made available now to due to this new system.

5 Ideas for Action:

1. In a small group, a light warm-up without over stretching, would be to form a circle with players in close proximity and have one opposition player in the middle who can only intercept a pass. Thus aiding to the reading of players movements and faints before making a pass.
2. Practice long passes amongst a group of five with emphasis on control and pass (two touch) giving the opposition players (2) an opportunity to put pressure on and eventually win the ball by anticipating the pass.
3. A good way to understand when to intercept is to mark an opposition player and then anticipate his next move therefore arriving before and stealing possession. An excellent practice is 1v1 marking with 4 servers at varying distances and angles. The marker in this case can only win possession by anticipating a pass.
4. Watch different leagues and players . It’s important to see good and bad examples of anticipation and intercepting and evaluate each as so.
5. Develop an intuition in training matches for when is the correct time to intercept and when not to.

Command The Match By Mastering Football Control

On the ball who’s in control? When you juggle do you find yourself directing the movement of the ball or are you reacting to the change in its direction. Masters of ball control demonstrate mastery by controlling the pace of games because these players are frequently touching and guiding play or game speed.

What ball control looks like?

Ball Control is your technical ability to hold, secure, distribute and attack with the ball. Players with exquisite ball control make the game beautiful. Sound ball control is almost artistic but can also be very simplistic. Players with good ball management skills are able to control the flow of the game. With control you are able to create opportunities and diffuse pressure.

Two of the most well know ball control masters are Pele and Maradonna. These ball control idols told the ball what to do, the ball listened. As a player you must master the ability to command control of the ball and not the other way around. Think of the way that you write with a pen or pencil, hopefully you have good penmanship? If not, the point is that you drive the direction of your pen/pencil and you produce the end result pretty or not. How much do you practice this skill? Pretty much every day, right?

Becoming Master Of The Ball

Mastering ball control takes a lot of effort and consistent practice at varying levels of speed, change of direction and with many control touch points i.e. feet, head, chest, thigh, etc. How much time do you spend juggling daily? How much time do you spend practicing new moves dribbling? How much do you practice explosive directional changes? How much time to you spend taking people on 1 v 1?

You need to touch the ball every day if you’re serious about mastering control over it. Experiment with new dribbling moves, cuts and taking the ball out of the air from a friend’s service. There are many ways to master ball control and its really up to your imagination as to how you develop the skill but below are a few ideas to consider.

Ideas For Action:

1. Play lots of 1 v 1 with a friend in a confined space.

2. Practice dribbling and cutting with the ball in an open space. Focus on performing a cut and exploding out of it.

3. Have a friend serve you balls from a distance that you take out of the air and put into play on the ground quickly.

4. Organize small sided games like 2 v 2, 3 v 3 and 4 v 4 and play as much as you can.

5. Grab a small size ball and just juggle to your hearts content.

As part of FFC’s series on, “24 Key Elements To Being A Great Footballer” we are discussing each key element in 24 successive blog posts every Monday, Wednesday & Friday over an 8 week period inside the respective Game, Body and Mind sections. For more information about the 24 Key Elements get our Players Assessment Kit here. Be sure to also subscribe to FFC by email or RSS - just visit the subscribe button in the top right corner of the page.

What ideas, input, experiences or resources can you share?

Why Fluid Intake Is So Important For Soccer Players

Honestly, how much water do you drink in a day? Do you drink more soda water (carbonated drinks)? If you are not drinking at least 96 oz’s or 8 standard glasses of water a day you need to increase your rate of fluid intake.

What fluid intake looks like?

Fluid Intake - is your ability to consume the correct type and quantities of fluids for maximum performance.

Focus On The Right Rehydration

Focusing on what you drink as a player is a very important practice. Generally, you should really make it a point to drink as much water as possible and stay away from carbonated soda waters and drinks that you know are unhealthy for you.

As a player you should carefully consider what fuel you put into your engine. The better the fuel the better your performance. Adequately providing your body the fluids it needs takes a certain measure of responsibility and accountability. A good rule of thumb to keep yourself on track is this, “if not water it’s a waste”. Straight water is the best! So, focus on putting the best fuel in your system.

Performing At The Highest Level

If you expect your body to perform at the highest level you must take care of it by providing yourself sufficient fluids. Remember that about 85% of your body is made up of water and with out sufficient rehydration you run the risk of dehydrating your body which leads to muscle cramps and spasms. Additionally, if you are not hydrating your body correctly you will begin to lose mental focus and thus control of your body.

When you are disciplined to adequately rehydrate your body you will benefit by increasing your mental clarity and body control. With sufficient fluid intake you will also detoxify your body, lubricate your organs and joints, increase your metabolism and improve your overall vitality as a player.

A good and positive habit to get into is training yourself to drink a minimum of 1 gallon of water a day. Water is the absolute best, highest octane fuel you can pump into your engine. Training yourself to drink a gallon of water a day to where it becomes second nature is the practice of a professional.

5 Ideas for Action:

1. Get yourself a gallon water jug, fill it up, drink it and refill it daily.

2. At meals, always drink a glass of water even if you have another drink.

3. Carry a bottle of water with you and see how many times you can drink and refill it in a day.

4. Create a competition with your teammates to see who can drink the most water in a week.

5. Offer your friends water and see how many glasses of water you can get them to drink in a day.

As part of FFC’s series on, “24 Key Elements To Being A Great Footballer” we are discussing each key element in 24 successive blog posts every Monday, Wednesday & Friday over an 8 week period inside the respective Game, Body and Mind sections. For more information about the 24 Key Elements get our Players Assessment Kit here.

What ideas, input, experiences or resources can you share about rehydration?

Amazing Tackles Can Win Major Matches

Is your tackling ability on a world class level? What would it take for you to elevate your skill to the world class level? Do you have what it takes to be a tackling specialist? You very well could and it all starts with you and simple fundamentals.

Tackling Defined

Tackling – is your ability to take the ball directly from your opponent. (pretty simple huh?)

What tackling looks like?

Players with strong tackling skills are excited about stripping the ball from their opponent. They look forward to and are as excited about taking the ball from their opponent as they are about scoring goals. Similar to they way a cat claws at ball of yarn, the tackling specialist knows just when to pounce on the ball.

Tackling should never be timid in nature. If you are going to tackle the ball go for it and get it. Don’t tackle your opponent with any doubt in your mind or you will have lost the battle before you begin it. Furthermore, you stand to risk injury to yourself if you are timid in your ability to tackle strongly.

Fabio Cannavaro, 2006 FIFA Footballer Of The Year, embodies the genius of tackling. With cat like reflexes Cannavaro’s tackling ability and defensive organization was on of the key reasons Italy won the World Cup in 2006.

The Right Action At The Right Time

Smart tackling requires a strong ability to read the game and more importantly the player from whom you must take the ball from. You have study their body posture, movement and the cues they give you. Look to see if they are timid on the ball an test them with your own jab (false step toward the ball) as it may just shake their control.

Picking the right time to tackle may be one of the more important aspects of the skill. Many times players are beaten by their opponent because they were not patient enough to see the right moment or are over aggressively by diving in and find their opponent blowing by them.

Allow your opponent to really show you the ball. For instance, when a striker is barreling down on goal and he exposes the ball out in front of himself more so than he appears comfortable with. This is the time, pounce on that ball like a tiger does on its prey and don’t look back.

Ideas for action:

1. Watch game film and take note of how various defenders tackle in various situations.
2. Record you own play and watch/review your tackling behavior carefully.
3. Challenge a few friends to 1 v 1, 2 v 2, and 3 v 3 games where the number of successful tackles that cause a change of possession earn a point.
4. Run ladder footwork drills to improve foot movement speed for tackling.
5. Count the number of successful tackles you make in your next game. Then work to beat your tackling record every game.

As part of FFC’s series on, “24 Key Elements To Being A Great Footballer” we are discussing each key element in 24 successive blog posts every Monday, Wednesday & Friday over an 8 week period inside the respective Game, Body and Mind sections. For more information about the 24 Key Elements get our Players Assessment Kit here. Be sure to also subscribe to FFC by email or RSS - just visit the subscribe button in the top right corner of the page.

What ideas, input, experiences or resources can you share?

Playing Smart Soccer With Positional Play

When you’re in the heat of a match do you find yourself relaxed and setting the pace of play? Or, do you feel hurried trying find an opportunity to breath? Read more

Marking To Protect Your Net

This kicks off our first post in our focused series, “24 Key Elements To Being A Great Footballer”. Over the next 8 weeks we’ll be taking an in-depth and fundamental look into the key skills that most great footballers possess. Today we are talking about marking.

What marking looks like?

Marking is your ability to track and apply pressure on your opponent or a specific area on the field of play. The two major forms of marking used in modern day football are known as ‘Man marking’ and ‘Zonal marking’.

MAN MARKING

There are a couple of critical factors to consider in this role. First, the distance between the marker and the opponent must remain minimal. Make your presence known by your opponent with contact - if your opponent knows your just a step from them they understand that they must be sharp to handle the ball or work harder to shake you off. Second, a marker’s concentration is to be on the player’s positioning, rather than the ball. Managers will often use ‘man marking’ when defending set pieces. So, don’t get caught ball watching or your opponent will break free and be in a position to score or become a serious threat on your net.

ZONAL MARKING

Zonal marking is based on the position of the ball in regard to the closest opposition player. Markers can increase the distance between the player and themselves if the ball is distant from them. A general guide in this case, would be to allow no more than a 90-degree angle of vision between the ball and the opposing player. Think of a perfect triangle with you at the point. If you’re equidistant between your opponent and the ball then your in position to manage potential offensive threats.

5 Ideas for action:

In order to improve your marking skill consider the following:

1. Watch the best strikers and how they lose their marker, remember the tricks and learn. For example Ruud Van Nistelrooy.
2. Look at how the best markers stay with their man and how they read the game. For example Riccardo Carvalho.
3. Practice with the best strikers available, play against different styles like tall, strong or quick and skillful. Create 1v1 and 2v2 situations with a server to play the ball in to your striker. Make these happen in and around the realistic positions of the pitch
4. Find evidence in the league tables of top scores and best defence and watch both teams (if different)
5. In training try new ways of staying with your man for man marking or reading the game when playing zonal. This will give you more confidence in the game and also give you better knowledge of your own capabilities

As part of FFC’s series on, “24 Key Elements To Being A Great Footballer” we are discussing each key element in 24 successive blog posts every Monday, Wednesday & Friday over an 8 week period inside the respective Game, Body and Mind sections. For more information about the 24 Key Elements get our Players Assessment Kit here. Be sure to also subscribe to FFC by email or RSS - just visit the subscribe button in the top right corner of the page.

What ideas, input, experiences or resources can you share?

What Does Your Game Look Like?

Well, players we are kicking off a focused fundamental study just for you. We want to help you Sharpen Your Game and we’ll be working over the next 8 weeks to discuss the key elements that we have outlined below.

Your Game’s Key Elements

1. Marking – your ability to track and apply pressure on your opponent.
2. Positional Play – your ability to consistently be a step ahead of your competitor.
3. Ball Control – your technical ability to hold, secure, distribute and attack with the ball.
4. Intercepting – your ability to dispossess the opponent and transition play.
5. Tackling – your ability in taking the ball directly from your opponent.
6. Heading – defensively or offensively, your ability to play with your head.
7. Attacking – your ability to penetrate and threaten your opponents goal.
8. Shooting – your ability to hit the target and score!

Get Stuck In & Share Your Thoughts

Now, while we work to lead the discussion we need your participation and open mind. What do you think about these key elements? Where do you think you stack up? If you’d like to find out where you stand click here. Share your thoughts below and make sure to subscribe to the blog so you get everything right in your inbox or RSS feed reader.

Upscale 4 v 2 with 4 Goals

4 v 2 is a common warm-up game for challenging your possession capabilities and control on the ball. It is a great game to get the blood flowing and the mind sharp but, what I love so much about football is how much you can adapt and build upon simple games like 4 v 2.

For instance, what I have diagrammed above is a 4 v 2 game that increases the intensity, forces the orange team to focus on shape, transition, width and making smart attacking and defending decisions. Playing in this situation with 2 wingers, 2 field players and 4 goals presents players options to learn beyond what a simple 4 v 2 game of possession play represents.

As you can see in the diagram above we have illustrated a narrow field of play where you have a 2 v 2 situation and these players are restricted to this area of play. Whereas the wingers are support players to provide shape and quick outlets for transition play. The wingers are to remain outside the lines (or cones could be used) and should stay in this respective area of play. Other restrictions could be placed on these players like 1 or 2 touches or not having the capability to shoot and score.

But enough about restrictions. To play in short man situations and how players are able to cope with and make smart decisions in an intense environment like this make the best use of creating a game related environment. The great thing about a game like this is that all players are involved, active and are able to learn. Typically you might want to play 5 to 10 min short games to keep up the intensity and having the wing players serve as neutral players. The outside support players could easily replace two players in the middle every 5-10 minutes to really shake things up and thus provide mutli-dimensional learning opportunities.

What I think is really great with a game like this is that it forces players to move very quickly, allows for many touches on the ball and creates an opportunity to really test a players mental or tactical thought process. With that I am really interested to what you think about a game like this and what you might add?

Don’t Let your Game scare you!

Many players tend to let the big games scare them. But the best players overcome their fears and perform under pressure. How can they show up for the big games? Read more

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