Thanks again for taking the time for looking and supporting the Technical Area posts! We touched on juggling last time and I hope you've been upping your juggling numbers and your game! I'm going to continue on with this theme and challenge you a bit more with juggling using your feet. The reason for this is simple: we use our feet the most in soccer. We want to be as comfortable with our feet in soccer, as we are using our hands in everyday life. I love the message coming from the coach in this video - it takes hours of practice to become good at something and juggling and soccer is no exception. Keep pushing yourself and up your numbers, little tasks like these will help your touch on the ball to become second nature, so you can focus on on game around you! Please click on the link below or the video:
Again, there are a lot of Saskatoon organizations offering online training and solo skills sessions, please check them out! If your zone is offering any of these please let us know we'd be happy to give them a shout out! Stay safe, stay ballin'!
Hi everyone, thank again for joining me in another installment of the technical area, albeit not under the conditions we would've hoped for. I can't wait to get out on the pitch and I'm sure you can't either, but it needs to be safe for us to do this!
So what can you do while we play the waiting game? Build and keep your individual skills strong - control, footwork and passing are key areas to build and will help your game exponentially. While there are tons of resources online for these, there are also many organizations in Saskatoon offering video sessions as well as contests - even if you aren't able to enter the contests, the skills and skills challenges are the real prizes, so check them out!
To the task at hand - juggling the soccer ball. The below video outlines some steps for players learning how to juggle. Juggling is fundamentally important to your soccer game as it allows you to be more comfortable when controlling the ball on the ground or in the air. The video highlights really good points for start off slow, using your hands at first and then pushing yourself to get as many touches as you can without using your hands or letting the ball hit the ground. Another great beginner strategy is to use a balloon until you get comfortable with the action of juggling - especially if you are juggling in your own house! Trust me your parents will thank you (and me) for that! Please click on the link for the video:
SYSI has posted other training and solo skills videos from Eastside and Aurora, so be sure to check out our webpage and social media pages so be sure to check those out too! If your zone has posted any videos or skills challenges we would love to see them and give them a shout out as well! Stay safe and stay ballin'!
Welcome to final instalment of The Technical Area for the indoor season! For the past 13 weeks we’ve looked at a number of different technical situations/exercises, this is just one part of an overall session. The most popular session design methodology is what is called the GAG. The GAG (or Game - Analytical - Game) design, incorporates and initial game where constraints/rewards are placed in the design of the game. The analytical portion is usually designed with more technical (but not always!) aspects of your session theme, and the final game is what is generally referred to as a scrimmage. This final game is to see if the theme you have been working on throughout your session has been transferred into the game play. It is real game rules (goal kicks, corner kicks etc.).
The most important take away here is be intentional in your session design. This will bring out the theme you are working on; let the design be the teacher. During my foray into coach education, this is one of the significant pieces of information that has stuck with me, the others are:
Thank you again for checking out The Technical Area whether this is your first time or whether you’ve followed along each week, I appreciate you taking a look. Any and all feedback is welcome at any point. Without all of you our great sport wouldn’t exist! For more session ideas, videos and all things coaching, check out Sask Soccer’s Coaching resource page. It’s a game changer! I hope you’ll continue to check out the The Technical Area with Coach Kelly each week as we look at something new that can be added to your coaching toolkit; and if you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me!
If you’ve been following the past weeks installments they’ve been pretty wordy. I’ll give you a break from my droning and let this week’s video speak for itself. We are still sticking with the Goalkeeper theme and this has progressed past and builds on the prior two GK activities. The three I’ve highlighted are mostly technical components in your session, but to teach and produce a well rounded Goalkeeper they should be incorporated into all aspects of your session plans.
For more session ideas, videos and all things coaching, check out Sask Soccer’s Coaching resource page. It’s a game changer! I hope you’ll continue to check out the The Technical Area with Coach Kelly each week as we look at something new that can be added to your coaching toolkit; and if you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me!
If you’re like me, when you think about how to coach Goalkeeper’s, you find yourself in the weeds. However, this is a vital position to coach and just like all other players Goalkeepers should be actively incorporated in your session plan/design, whether it be in your small sided games or in the activity portion of the session. One caveat, is that Keeper’s while needing to be specialized in their position, should also be proficient with their feet in order to act as another outfield player especially when facing an opposing team who likes to apply high pressure. But like me, when it comes to the specialized training for keepers you don’t know where to begin. The below video has got you covered for a starting point! The video looks at the fundamentals of body and feet positioning and builds a nice progression into game like saves. These fundamentals can be applied to all ages of Keeper training but at the younger ages you would want to teach them the basics of landing without hurting themselves first!
For more session ideas, videos and all things coaching, check out Sask Soccer’s Coaching resource page. It’s a game changer! I hope you’ll continue to check out the The Technical Area with Coach Kelly each week as we look at something new that can be added to your coaching toolkit; and if you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me!
We touched on all ages and stages of Long Term Player Development in the game, as well as, the most of the on field positions. All except for one: the Goalkeeper. This position is vital, as it is literally the last line of defense before the goal! But if you’ve never played the position, how do you coach it? We have to be very careful when it comes to coaching this position, again especially at the introductory stages as one or two bad experiences can put a player off of the position and sometimes the game entirely. This position arguably needs more focus on the psychological pillar of development as the burden of a loss can be felt by one missed save. Like all other positions, a healthy knowledge of how to train a goalkeeper and incrementally increase the challenges in trainings is a must. But with all players you start with the basics. We all love to see the diving one handed/finger-tip save but to expect a 10,11, or 12 year old know how to pull this off instinctively is about as absurd as expecting them to curl a ball in to the top corner of the net from 40 yards out on their first try. Not to mention, there is an increased opportunity for injury by putting your body on the line to make that diving save. Proper form is key to protecting the goalie for their career in the position. Below are a couple of videos which highlight how and where to start training keepers to make the diving saves without hurting themselves.
For more session ideas, videos and all things coaching, check out Sask Soccer’s Coaching resource page. It’s a game changer! I hope you’ll continue to check out the The Technical Area with Coach Kelly each week as we look at something new that can be added to your coaching toolkit; and if you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me!
Like with the King Louis activity, the use of the Rondo activity has seen a resurgence in popularity during training sessions with the rise of Pep Guardiola. I wouldn’t say his meteoric success is entirely a result of his use of the Rondo, but hey, if it’s good enough for Pep, it’s good enough for me. The video below is borrow from Tifo - who do excellent tactical breakdown videos, just as an aside - who show how Pep uses the Rondo in his training sessions and their benefits. To me, the Rondo is one of the most fun ways to teach players passing and receiving! Rather than a line drill between two players and teaching form in monotony, the Rondo can provide areas for coach interventions, and over coaching while the activity carries on in the background. You can really focus on form, awareness and body position when passing, and pressure and balance, and defending an overload while in the middle. Making a target number of passes to hit, creates an air of urgency and competitiveness among the players to complete the task to completion. Again this is an activity that can be used for all ages and skill levels, find what works for your team and you will see positive growth and development in the passing game from your players!
For more session ideas, videos and all things coaching, check out Sask Soccer’s Coaching resource page. It’s a game changer! I hope you’ll continue to check out the The Technical Area with Coach Kelly each week as we look at something new that can be added to your coaching toolkit; and if you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me!
Keep in mind the video highlighted below is how Barcelona will build up their attack from the their back third, but, that’s not to say we can’t have our players start learning this concept early on. Our tendency as coaches is instruct our players to “boot” the ball as soon as it is in our defensive third, or for the keeper to dropkick the ball up the field. Why? Because we might get scored on. However, most balls that are kicked up the field in these situations have no purpose or target other than to just clear out the pressure. 99% of the time this results in lost possession for your team, especially in the older ages when physical maturity starts to even out and you can’t rely on putting the biggest player up front in order to win that desperation ball. As a result, you’re immediately back to defending again. Start work early with your players in their playing to career to get them confident with maintaining possession in this part of the pitch. When working with older age groups who haven’t been exposed to this type of play, start early on in the season.
Work on the relationships that make this type of play in your sessions. How does the keeper interact with the centre backs and your central midfielder? How do these players work with the fullbacks to create another outlet for them to relieve pressure or move the ball up the field with intention. Two key things here is - using your keeper as another field player (Create confident Goalkeepers!) and creating overloads to draw more players toward the ball creating key open spaces to pass the ball or to run into to receive the pass. At the younger ages they will make mistakes, that is a guarantee, be patient this will pay off in the long run. You will be developing more confident, calm, players and more possession based game of soccer.
For more session ideas, videos and all things coaching, check out Sask Soccer’s Coaching resource page. It’s a game changer! I hope you’ll continue to check out the The Technical Area with Coach Kelly each week as we look at something new that can be added to your coaching toolkit; and if you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me!
There are 4 key moments in the game of soccer - attacking, defending, attacking transition, and defending transition. The focus of what we coach/teach our players revolves around the first two moments while the latter two don’t get as much attention, or are entirely neglected. However, these two moments are just as important to the player’s/team’s success on the field, whether the attacking transition turns into a counter or quick attack and whether the defensive transition can successfully prevent this from happening. The questions you want to be asking yourself - does the team have a transition plan both offensively and defensively? Do the players know where they should be during these two key phases? What actions and cues can be taught to recognize when the transition is happening, indicating to the player what their next move is? If you’ve answered no to any of these, the following activity below is for you!In the activity it addresses player decision making, but also addresses what to do in both an attacking and defending transition scenario. As well, it works on direct passing and penetrating lines, key to creating final acts. A note though this activity has a high output rate, so be sure to give your players breaks as needed. The video shows older players, but introducing individual and simpler ideas of these two moments can be done in 1v1 and 2v2 games for the younger players as well. Play around with this and adjust it to make it how it would work for your team!
For more session ideas, videos and all things coaching, check out Sask Soccer’s Coaching resource page. It’s a game changer! I hope you’ll continue to check out the The Technical Area with Coach Kelly each week as we look at something new that can be added to your coaching toolkit; and if you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me!
One of the great things about coaching is you meet so many fantastic people - players, parents and other coaches. Within the coaching community there are so many amazing perspectives, philosophies and practices that people bring to the table. Below is an activity I was recently introduced to and I absolutely love it because it hits on so many levels in the game and works on arguably the greatest asset a player can have: quick decision making. Because the game is so fast paced and no scenario will look or play out the same, adaptability and improvisation are key elements to introduce early on. This video highlights a huge list of decisions - where to go, how to communicate, awareness -- I could go on forever. The progressions are well done, kudos to the coach in this video, he hits the top corner with this activity! This is an activity I’ll be keeping in my toolkit.
For more session ideas, videos and all things coaching, check out Sask Soccer’s Coaching resource page. It’s a game changer! I hope you’ll continue to check out the The Technical Area with Coach Kelly each week as we look at something new that can be added to your coaching toolkit; and if you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me!
Research suggests that brain development is at it’s peak years beginning at 2 and plateauing at age 6. Researchers have suggested, introducing children to a second language at 2 years of age has a higher rate of fluency in that second language. The same goes for exercise and activity. The earlier a child is exposed to the fundamentals of movement the more proficient and likely they are to continue to be active later in life. This is not to be confused with sport specialisation which shouldn’t come until later in their sporting life. These early years in soccer are like learning a new language, it takes time, practice and a safe space to be able to fail while being encouraged rathe than chastised. Dribbling, 1v1, 2v2’s are foundational to learning the skills needed in the game. Please see below for a simple and easy yet engaging way to allow for these skills to come to life while encouraging creativity and improvisation from your players:
For more session ideas, videos and all things coaching, check out Sask Soccer’s Coaching resource page. It’s a game changer! I hope you’ll continue to check out the The Technical Area with Coach Kelly each week as we look at something new that can be added to your coaching toolkit; and if you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me!
Welcome back! After the break, players as well as coaches might be shaking off some cobwebs. As well, they maybe making the trek in some seriously cold weather! Below is an activity I like to do with any team I coach regardless of age but it works particularly well with at the early stages in the game development model. It gets the players thinking, making decisions and communicating right away, as well, it works on the fundamentals of dribbling, taking on a defender, and finding space. One variation is give everyone a chance to dribble and have touches on the ball. Again you know your players and your coaching style, use what works for your team!
For more session ideas, videos and all things coaching, check out Sask Soccer’s Coaching resource page. It’s a game changer! I hope you’ll continue to check out the The Technical Area with Coach Kelly each week as we look at something new that can be added to your coaching toolkit; and if you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me!
Much of what we think of when it comes to sport and defining a team, is what we do on the field. However, what we do off the field is just as in important! Creating a team culture and a strong bond away from the game will have huge impacts on performance on the field. These bonds will create a cohesion among the team making them more likely to play for one another, creating a trust that their teammates will have their backs, and anticipating their teammates next move on field in order to play that top class pass! Movies, team meals, mini golf are just a few examples of simple events that can be planned as team bonding events. For more insights into the importance of creating a team culture I encourage you to listen to the podcast below:
On Field, passing into space, finding the open space and penetrating lines all takes a certain level of trust - the Mind the Gap activity below is a great on field trust and team building exercise, while working on core technical passing and receiving skills, as well as, awareness to break and penetrating lines with a pass. This is a great analytical exercise and a great progression would be to have a point system for the four completed passes, creating a mini competition between the three teams on the field. However, you know your players and you know your coaching style, so do what works for the team!
For more session ideas, videos and all things coaching, check out Sask Soccer’s Coaching resource page. It’s a game changer! I hope you’ll continue to check out the The Technical Area with Coach Kelly each week as we look at something new that can be added to your coaching toolkit; and if you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me!
Christine Sinclair…Carmelina Moscato... Kaylyn Kyle all big names associated with Canada Soccer and all female athletes who have graced our fair city. Despite these great role models, and many other professional and amateur female athletes that could be named, female entry and retention in sport is declining. Not understanding the athletes - what motivates them, what deters them, what pressures they go through, and so on - is part of the reason why we see a decline and dropout. The imposition of the adult game (size, rules, etc.) is taking away from the fun and experience for some at the grassroots level, in tandem, imposing a gendered style of play on to the female athletes can provide the lion’s share of deterrents for females entering and remaining apart of the beautiful game.
If I’ve painted a bleak picture, let me now provide some positivity and encouragement - there are lots of good people researching on how to combat this! Keeping Girls in Sport is an online coach education course, that has been made free by Saskatchewan Soccer for all of 2019. As 2019 is coming to a close I’m highlighting this important course, so that you can take advantage of it while there is no cost attached. This is extremely important for all coaches who coach women and girls but also speaks to the entire community in how we coach all athletes, and how we look at female retention at all levels of our sport. Whether it be playing, coaching, refereeing, governing or any variation, you have an important role in shaping a female athlete’s future. Take the time to do this course, it’s worth the time you invest and will see the rewards in the lives you touch. You can access the
For more session ideas, videos and all things coaching, check out Sask Soccer’s Coaching resource page. It’s a game changer! I hope you’ll continue to check out the The Technical Area with Coach Kelly each week as we look at something new that can be added to your coaching toolkit; and if you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me!
King Louis is a great activity to highlight with the kick off the inaugural Technical Area with Coach Kelly. This activity highlights lots key fundamental skills and decisions that are replicated in real game scenarios, such as quick decision making, finding and utilizing space, prime body positioning on the field for intended outcomes, and creating and executing final acts/shots. This is a great way to incorporate the whole team in a shooting activity, and is more engaging than a shooting line drill. And Let’s be honest who doesn’t like to shoot!
Check out the video below to see the activity in action, and look for key coaching points to bring out with your own teams:
For more session ideas, videos and all things coaching, check out Sask Soccer’s Coaching resource page. It’s a game changer! I hope you’ll continue to check out the The Technical Area with Coach Kelly each week as we look at something new that can be added to your coaching toolkit; and if you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me!