Soccer Coaching 101

A Crash Course

What you really need to know, but

NOBODY TELLS YOU.

Revision 2, January 13th, 2021

Contents (What I Hope You Take Away)

• Mission: to train soccer that is winning, good, and FUN.
• Winning is more fun than losing, and good soccer wins more often.
• “Negative Training” is a Real & Bad Thing. Recognize it. Avoid it.
• Negative training creates bad habits which are hard to unlearn, making players WORSE.
• Faster, better, complementary “OODA Loops” win team games like soccer.
• “OODA Loops” = “Observe, Orient, Decide, & Act.”
• Ball possession wins soccer games. Pass to possess, shoot, & score.
• Only the team with the ball can score. Passing successfully leads to shots & scoring.
• Keeping and recovering the ball should be the focus of almost ALL of your training.
• Players learn by “not forgetting.”
• Repetition is the only way, and “spaced repetition” is the best way.
• Putting all this together is good coaching.
• Repeatedly train ball-possession oriented OODA loops, and your teams will win more often.

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Mission: Train Winning/Good Soccer, & Have FUN

To train winning/good soccer, we must realize:

• “Short term” win-at-all costs is best for your team’s W/L/D record
• E.g., “kick and run”
• “Long term” player development is best for EACH of your players
• DO NOT sacrifice player development on the altar of winning today
• DO tolerate mistakes as players develop difficult “winning soccer” skills
• Because the long term comes sooner than you think (HS Varsity isn’t that far off)

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Mission: (c’t’d)

To have FUN, we must:

• Encourage creativity
• Avoid over-coaching
• Convey our love of the Beautiful Game to the players

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Why isn’t this Yet Another Bucket-of-Drills?

• With the typical bucket of drills sorted by age:
• You are told NEITHER the importance of each drill’s objectives,
• NOR their relationships to any other objectives,
• NOR how any of these objectives fit into any over-arching plan to develop players,
• NOR does the bucket of individual drills support “spaced repetition” learning.
• Yes, kids learn bottom-up (letters, then words, then sentences, etc.)
• These separate bits of info superficially resemble buckets of separate drills...
• But teachers/coaches have to know what mastery/proficiency looks like
• So they can guide students (players) incrementally towards it, in an age-appropriate way
• That calls for top-down teacher (vs student) learning
• We will shortly see videos of proficiency

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Upon What Basis Do I Make these Assertions?

• 45 Years of competitive soccer experience
• MIT engineer’s preference for data over dogma
• Everything I will tell you in this presentation is based upon data &/or science.
• Not opinion, unless specifically noted.
• 20+ Years of tactical team training experience, including DARPA work
• “Having people try to kill you concentrates the mind wonderfully.”
• ~20 Years of coaching experience
• Started as assistant coach in WYSA.
• Parent of 3 kids who have played for both WYSA & 4 different clubs.
• All 3 of my kids have coached professionally (meaning they got paid).
• 13 years professional youth soccer & futsal coaching (at least 2 clubs & 5 different leagues).
• Futsal Level 3 License administered by former US MNT Coach Keith Tozer.
• 1 National Futsal Title, 1 Runner-Up (loss on PKs - ugh), many Regional/League titles.

“Negative Training” is a Real (Bad) Thing

“What you can only play slowly, you can eventually play fast; what you can only play wrong, you can’t play at all.”

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An anonymous cello teacher

What is “Negative Training?”

What it IS:

• Coaching that actually makes players WORSE rather than better.
• It is indeed a Real Thing, a Bad Thing, and far too common.
• E.g., “Boot it!” “Never pass backwards!” “Pass it to so-and-so!”

What it is NOT:

• Coaching that makes players better, but begins with “Do NOT.”
• E.g., “Do NOT give away the ball!”

How to Identify “Negative” vs Positive Training

• “Development”
• Positive Training
• Watch first 2 minutes
• “No Development”
• “Negative Training”
• Yes, “negative training” is real
• See it starting at 2 minutes

Positive is Better than “Negative” in So Many Ways

This is a U15 game!

• PDA ECNL (in blue)
• 2 years unbeaten
• 30 games unbeaten year before
• Scored 216 goals
• Surrendered only 19 goals
• GD about +200!
• See how PDA starts
• First goal at 1:19 of game
• 17 straight passes before shot
• Second goal at 8:10 of game
• Game intelligence on display

Faster, Better, Complementary “OODA Loops” Win Team Games Like Soccer

Individual Players Constantly Run “OODA Loops”

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• Observe
• Orient
• Decide
• Act

Soccer-Specific “OODA Loops” of Individual Players

1. Observe: (e.g., Where are my teammates, the opponents, & the spaces? Which are moving & where?)
2. Orient: (e.g., Am I in a high-risk or low-risk “third” of the field? Is the opposition pressing or sitting back? Do I have support/cover? Where are we “numbers up” and “numbers down?” Where is the most dangerous unmarked attacker? Where are my safest & most threatening passing options if the ball were to arrive?)
3. Decide: (e.g, Of all the myriad things I can do in this situation, what will to help my team retain the ball and move it to either an assist area or directly to a scoring area?)
4. Act: (e.g., Use good technique, pass is first step of run, etc.)

OODA Loops

Xavi Hernandez (3 min 15 sec)

• 1 World Cup
• 4 UEFA CL titles
• 8 La Liga titles
• 32 trophies for Barca

“OODA Loop” (see situation, not the ball)

• “Observe” a.k.a., “Check shoulder”
• “Orient” on space & approaching defender
• “Decide” to draw defender to ensure space
• “Act” offer, turn body, let ball run into space
• OODA Loop #2:
• Draw 7 defenders w/ dribble, & pass

OODA Loops in Action

Xavi: (28 sec)

Continuous OODA Loops

• “Observe” frequently (a.k.a., “scan”)
• “Orient” an inventory spaces & players
• “Decide” to move to free space
• “Decide” to move ball away from pressure
• “Decide” to draw defenders to free up options
• “Act”:
• Proper opening of body to field,
• Good 1st touch, &
• Good pass pace & placement.

Experts Run OODA Loops Faster & Better

Make OODA Loops quick & error-free

Coaches train players:

• To constantly observe
• To quickly orient
• To quickly make good decisions
• To act quickly and skillfully

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Faster, Better OODA Loops Lead to Victory

“Get inside opponent’s decision cycle”

Attack faster than they can react

Teams: Complementary, Concurrent OODA Loops

• Player OODA loops combine:
• Team with ball is wide
• Team losing ball presses to
• Recover quickly/deeply
• Delay counterattack
• Team without ball
• Is compact
• Slides (l/r) as unit
• Advances/retreats as unit
• Team winning ball may
• Exploit quickly
• Be patient
• Team Behavior is “Emergent”
• Watch enough to get a sense

Even Faster OODA (Less Space = Less Time)

Watch enough to see:

• Tempo much higher in this game.
• Same stuff happens faster.
• Less time, less space.

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Ball Possession Wins Soccer Games. Pass Successfully to Possess, Shoot, & Score.

How to Win Soccer Games: Possess the Ball

Possess the ball and win.

Lose the ball & lose pts.

Why? Consider:

• As 2 separate games
• Your offense vs theirs
• Time to transition
• Minimum few seconds
• Sapping opposition
• Chasing ball is tiring

How to Win: Pass Successfully

Pass successfully, & you will succeed.

Pass unsuccessfully, & you will not succeed.

Why?

• Passing into final 3rd more difficult
• If you’re good in other ⅔, you’ll be better there
• Passing “unbalances” defenses
• Creates rips, tears, seams, channels
• Creates scoring opportunities

Pass to Possess, & Possess to Shoot

Pass well to possess ball.

Possess ball to shoot.

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How to Win: Possess to Shoot On-Target & Win

Possession correlated with:

• Shots on target/game
• Points/game (winning)

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Possess Ball By Winning Battle of Time & Space

To be successful:

• Create time & space

To limit opponents’ success:

• Deny time & space

Note: OODA at 1:06-1:20 to run into space

Shoot from the Right Place to Score

Where goals come from.

3 years’ worth of EPL goals.

Closer than you thought, eh?

Get the Ball to that Right Place Despite the Defense

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Where assists come from.

Right Place will be defended.

• 1st get ball to blue spots.
• This sets up the shot.

Q: Why these places?

Get the Ball to that Right Place Despite the Defense

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Why?

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• Back line will be retreating (prone to own-goals) or facing own end-line
• Near post defenders cannot see attackers and/or spaces behind them
• Keeper will likely be at near post, leaving space at far post, and with attackers behind him
• You may have many attackers in path of ball from these dark blue spots to the Right Place (penalty spot)
• You may have many attackers (esp midfielders) making runs into the box, unseen by wrong-facing defenders (and maybe untracked by defensive midfielders)
• Your attackers are oriented towards, and maybe running directly towards, the goal (making shooting easier)

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Players Learn by “Not Forgetting.”

Practice does NOT make perfect.

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Practice makes PERMANENT.

People Learn via “Spaced Repetition”

Coach must:

• Identify desired OODA
• Isolate them
• Repeat them frequently
• Sessions themselves
• Within sessions

OR PLAYERS FORGET

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Fight “Forgetting Curve”: Frequency & Consistency

• One full week between practices causes a long slide down “forgetting curve”
• I try for two largely technical training sessions per week, and
• I use games as a 3rd mostly tactical training session (I don’t care about W/L/D)
• DO NOT decide “this week, we’ll work on shooting” (or corner kicks, etc.)
• Your players will fall too far down the forgetting curve on the much more essential skills, &
• ALSO not climb particularly high on the forgetting curve in a single practice for shooting, &
• ALSO fall way down the forgetting curve for shooting if you don’t repeat it every week
• DO
• Keep the fun of, & don’t make boring, the essential soccer OODA Loops
• Disguise the repetition by offering it up in a different context/activity
• Keep using activities your particular team finds FUN

Fight “Forgetting Curve”: Climb High Each Practice

DO NOT commit the sin of “negative” training by:

• Failing to correct bad habits, as each repetition makes them more permanent.
• You must look for & be able to recognize them.
• E.g.: dribble/pass with toe; pass without purpose; failure to “scan”; “spectating”; etc.
• Using cones to orient players about where they should be/stand during play.
• Team shape, spacing, goals, and/or opponents will be on-field at game time. Cones will not.
• Teaching American football-style “plays.”
• (E.g., “Ball starts here with player 1, player 2 runs here there, player 1 passes to player 2...”).
• Location-independent 2v1s (wall-pass, overlap, & underlap) are not what I am talking about.
• Triggering conditions will never be observed & oriented (recognized) for decision & action.
• Caveat: “trigger” as used here is distinct from, say, “triggers” to start a press.
• Exception: set-piece “plays” (corners, free kicks from certain areas, etc.).

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How to Teach Players to Win Soccer Games

Dogma (Opinion) With Which I Disagree and Why

• “Play/Practice/Play” - the practice philosophy du jour
• Most of us run only one 75-min practice per week.
• 15/45/15 play/practice/play split yields only 45 minutes of practice per week.
• Not even CLOSE to enough to teach, let alone provide sufficient spaced repetitions.
• “The game is the best teacher”
• It may be true under certain circumstances - mixed-age pickup, in which younger players learn from older players (they don’t really “learn from the game”)
• But we don’t do that in the US, and certainly not in organized youth soccer
• And more’s the pity
• But you can model the desired behaviors in your Small-Sided Games! (SSGs)
• “Ignore all but one thing in a practice” (ignore this dogma & fail your license)
• Flies in the face of spaced repetition (flies in the face of cognitive science)
• Failing to correct mistakes is negative training (ditto)

Maximize Number of OODA Runs Within a Practice

Easy to spot and fix TIME WASTING:

• DO NOT have players do fitness/warm-ups without a ball.
• Really. This means you.
• 15 min/wk of fitness work will not increase fitness.
• Know your priorities: your players need 1,000+ touches per practice.
• You can develop fitness AND skill with a ball at the same time.
• DO NOT have players wait in lines.
• Split them into smallest possible groups for maximum parallel repetitions.
• DO NOT have players chase out-of-play balls.
• Have assistant coach (or a sub) “server” play in a new ball ASAP.
• Have somebody (a sub, a CORIed adult) round up & return balls to the “server.”

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Maximize Number of OODA Runs Within a Practice

Much less easy, as it is YOUR behavior that needs to change:

• DO NOT “over coach” or “joystick” players.
• Teaching players to wait for your direction is NEGATIVE TRAINING.
• Your players must run their own OODA loops eventually/ASAP.
• You cannot see what they can from their on-field vantage points.
• There are TOO MANY players for you to do it for all of them simultaneously.
• By the time you see it, tell them, they hear it, & react, it will often be TOO LATE.
• If they are making the wrong decisions, that OODA loop needs to be (re?) trained.

Maximize Number of OODA Runs Within a Practice

Much less easy (c’t’d):

• DO NOT do full-field or full-team scrimmages beyond introducing the system.
• Really. This means you.
• Players not near the ball will be “spectators,” not running OODA loops.
• That is NEGATIVE TRAINING (and more wasted time).
• Grudging exceptions: teaching tactics commensurate with the players’ technical mastery.
• Building out of the back.
• Working the ball in the final third (wait for it later in this presentation).
• Transition play (both ways).

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Maximize Number of OODA Runs Within a Practice

OK, these are comparatively hard:

• DO know what OODA Loops you’re trying to teach.
• Observe your team’s game/scrimmage performances closely to see what needs work.
• Remember to use “The Five Whys” to get to the root cause(s).
• Repeat in practice and each week until the problem is sufficiently “solved.”
• DO strip out every distraction that isn’t part of the given loop.
• “Addition by subtraction.”
• Make it easy to observe and orient successfully (avoid sensory overload).
• DO have a progression in mind for the OODA Loop.
• E.g., rondo with 1 defender, with 2 defenders, and finally 3 defenders.
• Be patient, and don’t be afraid to split progressions across practices.

Adjust Your Approach Based Upon Player Age

• DO use positive reinforcement for younger players.
• Younger players’ challenge is learning what’s possible.
• They can benefit from your modeling those desired skills within exercises & SSGs.
• DO encourage “creative” play.
• For younger players, anywhere on the field, and anytime at all.
• As players mature, vocally encourage it, especially in attacking third.
• ALWAYS, for ALL players, encourage having FUN.
• DO reserve negative reinforcement for older players.
• Older players need to learn, from all they know to be possible, what is appropriate & when.
• Provide negative reinforcement in a positive way - do not take the FUN out of SSGs.
• Couch it as a question to be answered (e.g., “how could we have done better there?”). Help them correct their own OODA Loops.

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All-Purpose (Non-COVID) Practice Structure

• ¼ warm-up “1 player, 1 ball” - technique (the “Act” in OODA)
• Cone dribbling (all surfaces of foot) - do this every week
• Turns (inside cut, outside flick, inside & outside “Xavi turns,” etc)
• 1v1 moves w/o defender (lunge, scissors, scissors-drag, stepover, “croqueta,” etc.)
• ¼ “Small number of players, 1 ball” - (simple if rapid OODA)
• Barcelona rondo (1, then 2, then 3 defenders; “moving rondo,” etc.) - OODA
• “Dutch triangles” passing (no movement, follow pass, wall pass, etc.) - OODA
• ¼ Decision-making (focus on “Decide” in OODA)
• 1v1, 2v1, 2v2, 2v3 (with/without recovery run), 3v3 (with/without recovery run)
• Liverpool “through the lines” group defending
• ¼ Small-Sided Game (using the OODA from above, and new ones)
• Ideally 4v4, using futsal’s 2-2 (box), 1-2-1 (diamond), and maybe 4-0 systems
• Award points for: 1v1 moves; 2v1 moves; or any OODA you want them to learn.
• Longest pass string; pass-to-end-zone game; end-zone with “banked points;” to goal

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What your SSGs Should Aspire To

View as coach, & contrast with 11v11:

• Constant OODA Loops of players
• Individual, &
• Cooperating.
• High tempo of both.
• High level of engagement
• No “spectators”
• Lots of touches/involvement
• Complete soccer mastery
• Under space & time pressure!
• Ideal for soccer practices

Use SSG Progression to Build Up OODA Loops

1. Directionless “keep away” - team with longest pass string wins
• Teaches movement off the ball, importance of space, positional rotation
• Burnishes passing & receiving technique
• How to quickly transition
2. Progress to directional to end-zone (ball must be passed into end-zone)
• Additionally, teaches how to create space in desired areas, exploiting width
• In recommended 2-2 “box” system, teaches “pressure, cover, & balance”
• Teaches modern zonal defending with man-marking
• How to “unlock defense” when defense is compact (drag defenders away via movement)
• How to quickly: attack when winning ball, and reorganize when losing ball
3. Progress to end-zone pass score equal to length of pass string
• Additionally, teaches: patience, switching point of attack, moving defenders by passing, etc
4. Progress to goals, with keepers
• Adds finishing (timing, runs to far post, etc.)

Modifications for COVID

• ¼ warmup “1 player, 1 ball” - technique (the “Act” in OODA)
• Use “Beast Mode” or “Mueller Daily Footwork” in grid squares
• Control ball out of the air (player throws ball up, controls on way down)
• Use “X” or “+” cone configuration for dribbling (note: reduces repetitions)
• ¼ “Small number of players, 1 ball” - (simple if rapid OODA)
• Social distancing precludes rondos
• “Dutch triangles” passing without wall-pass or follow-pass (those require 4 players)
• 1 to 1 volley ONLY if team skilled enough to keep ball between pairs of players
• Work on receiving (angled run, across body) from behind and getting ball forward
• ¼ Decision-making (focus on “Decide” in OODA)
• Difficult with social distancing (can’t apply defensive pressure)
• ¼ Small-Sided Game (using the OODA from above, and new ones)
• Likewise, difficult

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Official MYSA Physical Distancing Sessions

Mass Youth Soccer Physical Distancing Session Plans

Try to pick successive activities that:

• Let you leave the cone grid on the ground, or
• Let you move to another cone grid you don’t have to mess with, or
• (Less desirable) let you pick up selected cones during the session

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For the Skeptics

• If it’s good enough for:
• The “Real Ronaldo”
• Ronaldinho
• Neymar, and (yes)
• Coutinho

What I Hope You Take Away

• Mission: to train soccer that is winning, good, and FUN.
• Winning is more fun than losing, and good soccer wins more often.
• “Negative Training” is a Real & Bad Thing. Recognize it. Avoid it.
• Negative training creates bad habits which are hard to unlearn, making players WORSE.
• Faster, better, complementary “OODA Loops” win team games like soccer.
• “OODA Loops” = “Observe, Orient, Decide, & Act.”
• Ball possession wins soccer games. Pass to possess, shoot, & score.
• Only the team with the ball can score. Passing successfully leads to shots & scoring.
• Keeping and recovering the ball should be the focus of almost ALL of your training.
• Players learn by “not forgetting.”
• Repetition is the only way, and “spaced repetition” is the best way.
• Putting all this together is good coaching.
• Repeatedly train ball-possession oriented OODA loops, and your teams will win more often.

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