A team talk will vary considerably depending upon the team that you are coaching, the age group, the level of competition, what you’ve worked on in training etc. For this example, we are to assume we are working with a senior competitive team. I’d first say that the the vast majority of the “hard work” should already have been done. Over the days, weeks and/or months... »
Football is all about goals, you need to score more goals than your opponent to win the game. Likewise, if you want to improve, you will want to score your own personal goals. Goals don’t just have to be the big white posts at the end of the football pitch, they can be anything which leads you on the pathway to success. How do we set our goals and what should we do when we figure them out? F... »
The reason we come to football training is to play football, to learn and to have fun. This needs to be in a controlled environment by the coach and finding a perfect balance between learning and having fun is a delicate skill and an act. The first thing you must always remind yourself before any lesson is “Who am I coaching?” Are you coaching 6 year old players? Are you coaching 18 ye... »
Discipline is the suppression of base desires, and is usually understood to be synonymous with restraint and control. Self-discipline is to some extent a substitute for motivation. To be able to be successful with anything we need to be clear about our goals and with this knowledge, set the rules for the discipline we expect during our football training. I like to start most of my sessions to remi... »
In Hong Kong we have just been spoilt with what I would describe as one of the most exciting weekend football tournaments events in the world. The Hong Kong Soccer Sevens is an annual event that invites some of the best young talent from around the world, to play against each other and along side some of the greatest stars of days gone by. In the main tournament this year we saw, Aston Villa, Celt... »
When I went to meet Michel Bruyninckx in Belgium and discuss academy training methods, I was presented with incredible enthusiasm of something that I saw years ago which had seemed to pass the world by as a fad. The “SoccerPal” is an “individual training tool for the beginner and advanced player which allows multiple touches without a partner or having to continually chase the ba... »
Some 5 years back, I came across a business management book that would change the way I would approach football team management on a personal level. There are plenty of resources for actual coaching of tactics, principles of play etc, but there is very little out there that will help you to get your players to gel, to get on with one another and find that little bit of magic that turns a ... »
I coach 7 years old to adults and I like to keep the intensity high. I watch my players as they train and I like to make sure that they are pushing themselves and not just “going through the motions”. At the end of a segment of the coaching session, after I have given the players some feedback on their activity, I usually shout “go and get a drink”. Too often I hear from so... »
