Coaching Info
COACHES CORNER
Coaches Corner has been established to provide any interested coach with a brief overview of a specific topic.
Coaches Corner will change from time to time so any interested coach should remember to check the site on a regular basis.
INFO FOR COACHES:
RECENT ARTICLES AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD:
- to download: right click on file & choose 'Save Target As'
SIS - Winning Combinations - 2007
Improving your offense with running and passing patterns
by Thomas Voggenreiter, German 'B' license holder
It's enough to drive any coach crazy: You practice shooting combinations over and over again, but when game day rolls around, your players don't use them! When you do score, it's more often be-cause of your opponents' mistakes - or a lucky coincidence - than because of the combinations you've practiced.
In this article, Thomas Voggenreiter explains why it really is a good idea to use practiced combinations in match play, and he gives us a set of sample exercises for low-level amateurs.
Something that may be of some interest in breaking down the block outside the top of the box. Something England could have done with against Israel? - Bruce Wallace
SIS - Winning Combinations - 2007
(Acrobat Reader pdf file, 956kb)
Canadian website
This site has some very good articles, refer 'Featured Articles' and just click on any of the four that are featured. You can also join, at no cost, should you choose.
Link: www.sirc.ca
The Technician
Below is the link to download a copy of the April edition of The Technician (16 pages). There are a heap of great interviews as well as a nice little small-sided game activity (p15), not dissimilar to one that I use.
Hmm, maybe I should be providing info for The Technician? - Bruce Wallace
UEFA Newsletter - Apr06
(Acrobat Reader pdf file, 720kb)
Australian Junior Clubs Report
- Report and Recommendations for Australian Junior Clubs, 'Developing Australian Footballers, Bridging the Technical Divide'. Report by Craig Foster.
pdf file (Acrobat Reader req'd), 793kb
UEFA Newsletter - Jan06
- various articles for coaches: 'Which Way to the Top', an interview with Frank Rijkaard, 'Keeping Your Balance' + others.
pdf file (Acrobat Reader req'd), 650kb
Previous topics & articles can be found at the bottom of this page.
CURRENT TOPIC:
"Planning a Soccer Conditioning Program"
- extract courtesy of:
Planning a Soccer Conditioning Program
To run better conditioning programs for soccer, you must first
understand the metabolic (conditioning) demands of the sport,
and how different types of conditioning will affect the three
energy systems, and therefore, the individual player's
conditioning level.
Below in Figure 1, I have used a graphic to
illustrate how the body makes the switchover from the Short Term
(ATP-PC) Energy System to the Intermediate (Non-Oxidative
Glycolysis or "Anaerobic") Energy System, and finally to Long
Term (Oxidative Glycolysis or "Aerobic") Energy System.
Here is an easy way to understand this concept: If you ran as
hard as you could for 120 seconds you would start off fast using
your Short Term Energy System (STES) for about 6-10 seconds,
after about 6 seconds you would start to slow down (fatigue of
the STES) and your body would make a slow transition to the
Intermediate Energy System (IES), and finally at about 60-70
seconds (fatigue of the IES) your body would slow down
considerably and start to utilize the Long Term Energy System (LTES)
as shown in Figure 1 below.
Figure 1: The contribution of the different energy systems to
maximal exercise of increasing duration - Siff (adapted from van
Handel & Puhl Clinics in Sports Medicine 1983, 2: 19-30)
Using this information, compare the demands of soccer to this
chart.
As shown in Figure 2, you can see that 75% of a soccer
game is "recovery based" or standing, walking or jogging.
During this time you are not "challenging" your LTES (Aerobic
System), and therefore it should not be considered an essential
training component. This would be similar to telling golfers
that most of the match is spent walking so they should spend
more time training their aerobic system.
Roughly 25% of the game is spent running (run, strong run and
sprint) which is where the fatigue sets in, thus should be
considered an essential training component for soccer
conditioning.
Figure 2: Averages for Forwards, Midfielders and Defenders
compiled from various sources. (1) (2) (6)
Based on this information, we can therefore draw the conclusion
that soccer, although perceived to be more of an "endurance"
sport, is actually more of a "speed endurance" sport which we
will define as repeated bouts of maximal and sub maximal sprints
with inconsistent periods of rest.
When we start to compare the
play of Midfielders and Forwards and Defenders to various
training strategies utilized by coaches (Figure 3) we can get a
good idea of how to condition soccer players more efficiently.
Figure 3: Adapted from Siff, Mel. Supertraining 2004 (2)
Looking at Figure 3, we notice that the Full Sprints with a walk
back to the start more closely mimics the game of soccer. But
before we can make an absolute comparison and negate the
effectiveness of some interval based training we need to look at
the intangibles of the game.
Soccer, as stated before is made
up of "repeated" bouts of maximal and sub maximal sprints with
inconsistent periods of "rest", thus indicating that there is
somewhat of a need for developing the IES and LTES for the more
intense parts of the game as well as for more efficient recovery
between sprints.
So to plan a more efficient conditioning program for soccer, we
as coaches must coordinate days of maximal sprints with periods
of partial and full recover with days of Fartlek (Interval)
training.
Coaches might also add some longer distance 1-3K runs
for midfielders 1x per week to further enhance the oxygen uptake
for recovery between periods of strong runs and jogging.
The most effective strategy would be to train one energy system
per day. For instance, focus on the LTES (Aerobic) on the first
training day after a game (recovery based), then focus on the
STES (Sprint Work) on day 2, and then train the IES (Interval
Runs) on day 3 assuming a 3 training day per week split.
This
should allow for adequate Energy System recovery, as well as
train the areas of emphasis.
One idea not to be lost in this discussion is that soccer is a
power and speed based sport and the conditioning approach should
mimic that. Too much endurance (LTES) work will only slow the
players down making them less efficient on the field.
We will
expand on this topic in weeks to come with specific conditioning
programs for soccer.
The last topic was:
The current topics below are some articles provided by:
David Smith, Football Manager, Northern NSW Soccer Federation:
Billy Davies
Preston Manager
Is it true that after being sacked by Motherwell in 2001 you decided to train yourself up as a coach?
Yes. I spent £10,000 of my own money on courses and club visits to get as much experience as possible. I went to Old Trafford and Tottenham and to a few foreign clubs, all off my own back. I visited Real Madrid in Spain and Borussia Dortmund in Germany. It is very important to your personal development as a coach to see how these kind of clubs operate. I have a keen interest in all the latest coaching techniques and attend all the conferences. You have to keep adding to your knowledge.
What new techniques have you put in place this season?
The change that has had the most impact has been a technical one. I bought an editing suite, which I have set up at home. It allows me to cut my own footage for the players. Being able to edit my own games in-house has been a big help and it is a great coaching tool.
And on the pitch?
There is nothing specific. I think as a manager you have to be proactive. You have to be flexible and ready to change, especially middle to front. You cannot have just one system: you must give players the freedom to play.
What innovation have you planned next?
I am always looking to improve. Next up this summer is a management course at Warwick University. It lasts two years and I think it is a really important thing to do. I also want to learn French and Spanish within the next three years. With the way the game is, I think learning languages will be a big help. I always want to move forward and have a five-year plan of what I want to achieve. If any of this improves me one per cent as a coach then it is worth it. I am very ambitious as a manager and want to manage at the highest level.
World Cup Watch
Archie Thompson (Australia)
Position: Striker
Date of Birth: 23/10/1978
Club: PSV Eindhoven
Archie Thompson is in the Guinness Book of Records. He is the proud owner of the record for the most goals scored in an international match, with 13 against American Samoa. The game finished 31-0.
However, Thompson hasn't always had it so easy. His father was an electrician who worked down the mines in rural Australia, moving around to get work. Despite his early promise as a player, Thompson gave up football in his late teens, preferring the beer and banter of his friends, knocking a ball about in the park. But then one day he saw Harry Kewell on television. He had played with Kewell as a kid and suddenly thought that he might be missing out. He resolved to give it his best shot.
Now he is on the cusp of a World Cup with his adopted Australia (his father is actually a New Zealander and his mother from Papua New Guinea) and his national coach, Guus Hiddink, was so impressed that he brought the nippy little striker to PSV Eindhoven from Australian football.
Not bad, to go from kicking around in the park to playing against Brazil and lining up in the Champions League.
"A year ago I wouldn't have even dreamed of facing a team like Brazil or going to a World Cup," he says.
"I don't think it's even sunk in yet. I think when we're in camp preparing for the World Cup, I'll suddenly go 'Oh my God! I'm about to play against Ronaldinho!' He's one of my favourite players in the world and it is crazy to think I could be lining up against him."
Teenage Rampage
Craig Gardner (Aston Villa)
Date of birth: 25/11/1986
Position: Centre-midfield
Nationality: English
David O'Leary is not shy when it comes to giving youth its head - when at Leeds he oversaw the development of future internationals such as Alan Smith, Jonathan Woodgate, Ian Harte and Paul Robinson.
There are encouraging signs that he is ushering in a crop of comparable talent at Villa. Northern Irishman Steven Davis is proving an outstanding midfielder, while striker Luke Moore is starting to find goals.
The latest on the scene is Gardner who has, perhaps hyperbolically, been likened to Bryan Robson. He certainly gets stuck in but does have refinement to his game, including the knack of arriving late in the box to score.
The boy from Solihull whips in an excellent ball from set-pieces and set up Moore for a goal in the 2-1 defeat by Newcastle with one of those dangerous in-swingers.
That was his full debut and the first game played under a new contract that ties him to the club until 2009. It has not all been good news though, and he was forced off with a jarred knee. When he recovers he hopes to establish a home-grown partnership with Davis that O'Leary can build a team around.
"He's shown a bit of potential in the reserve team and I'm not afraid to chuck young kids in,"
O'Leary says. "I love having home-grown kids in there - the more the better for me. I think it provides a backbone to the club."
