Coaching Portfolio - Forceful Run's with the Ball

Calum Daley
Jan 27, 2016
6 min read

Topic

Football – Attacking principles of play

Team/Athlete – St. Bart’s School, under 12 boy’s football team, mixed abilities

About The Team

At St Bart’s we have players whom are technically well trained, who have gone through parts of the “football system”. Some understand the technical terms very well whereas others knowledge of the rules and concepts of the game are quite shallow. They all posses certain skills that make them suited for particular positions. We have players with good concentration of the ball and keen tacklers. But whose understanding of the rules can let them down with their positioning on the pitch. Or players with high technical skill and good ball control but tend to play with their head down.

Attacking principles of play

The skill I am going to coach to all players is attacking principles of play using forceful runs with the ball. I feel this will benefit the whole team and every player because it will develop their knowledge of when to pass and when to travel with the ball. It will help increase their game perception as, when there is space to run into, they will find themselves in a better position to attack and more options will open up for them.

It will develop many important aspects, as each position requires periods of ball carrying. Whether it be: to relieve pressure in defense, to attack in a one on one situation or when through on goal. Each individual aspect of attacking principles of play can lead to other skills. Ball control is paramount in any position and most situations, receiving priorities will take place anywhere on the pitch. Turning will help get players out of tricky situations; running with the ball exposes defenses and relieves pressure. Finally decision-making, what to do when faced with a problem.

Attacking principles of play was identified because I noticed that in training when practicing a game related drill the players would rarely carry the ball into space and would always look for a pass. While I applaud them for looking to pass to a teammate, I wanted the players to understand the need to exploit space and to take responsibility onto themselves and how they can affect the game. This I feel will build their self-efficacy when in possession of the ball and help build confidence and trust in others. Knowing when and when not to do something athletes will have a greater understanding of the rules of the game and better tactical skills (Martens, 2004).

The five sessions will progress as follows:

Ball control
Receiving priorities
Turning
Running with the ball
Decision-making

Session 1 – Ball Control

Before forcing play a player must be in control of the ball and his/her surroundings. As mentioned in Sport Psychology for Coaches (2008), the differences in attentional demands on a beginner are quite high (Cox, 2007). Ball handling/control takes up a lot of concentration for a beginner, whereas an expert is concentrating on what to do next before even being in possession of the ball. The goal for this session was for the players to be in control of the ball as quickly as possible whenever the ball can be won.

Figure 1.1. Differences in the attentional demands of novice and skilled athletes.

Reprinted from Cox, R. H. and Richard, C. (2006) Sport psychology: concepts and applications. (6th ed.). Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education.

I found the players progressed in the session not just through improving technique but also through their awareness on the pitch. I found the players responsive early in the session but got bored quickly as the more skilled players could perform the skill with ease and the less skilled players tired of not getting the ball. When coaching this again in future sessions I intend to overload the skilled players and put them under greater pressure. For the lesser skilled player I intend to adopt the four steps of teaching technical skills by Martens, (2004).

Figure 1.2. Four steps of teaching technical skills.

Reprinted from Martens, R. (2012) Successful Coaching, 4E. (4th ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishers. P-167.

What I have learned from this experience is to progress the practice quicker once the players have adapted the skill. I persisted with the skill when I should have moved on to a more demanding and quicker drill. Having a back up drill if the players progressed rather than just trying to make the drill harder would be beneficial. Putting them in a different situation progresses the reading of situations (Martens, 2004).

Session 2 – Receiving Priorities

For this practice I decided to adopt the guided discovery approach. I told the players what the aim of the sessions was, set the players up and told them the rules of the drill and allowed them to play. I encouraged movement and for the players to seek and discover new ways of finding a pass. I found this session progressed very well, with the players staying disciplined but motivated to make their own decisions. With this in mind I intend to use the same method with a similar session, however guided discovery is useful in many cases but not in every situation.

Session 3 - Turning

This session was one I was very much looking forward to however it proved to be one the most difficult sessions to coach. I asked open questions, as I wanted the players involved in the design of the drill. I adopted the guided discovery approach again, which did work, but ultimately and why the session did not work was because I had designed it as if it were for an older group. Players were getting bored and therefore, being ten years old they started messing around. I had not considered the players age when outlining the session details and used a session I was coached with. For future reference, having more team based challenges and competitions between players would suit their age group.

Session 4 – Running with the Ball

Having looked back and evaluated previous sessions I decided more organization and structured games was going to be used on this session. This suited the players immensely, both skilled and less skilled, the skilled players were able to help the less skilled players through vicarious experience. The less skilled players watched on as the more skilled performers first demonstrated then assisted the less skilled. I stepped in when I felt a player could perform better in a particular situation, I asked questions of the player and if he didn’t know what to do I encouraged the group to answer on his behalf. The feedback I received was non-verbal they were breathing heavily, indicating hard work and enjoyment as each player had tried their best.

Session 5 – Decision-making

Using the “whole-part-whole” method I decided to set the players up with their skill levels mixed so everyone could see what the correct decisions were from the skilled players and what was relevant to themselves (Martens, 2004). Providing them with the big picture and when struggling to decide what to do I would step in ask questions such as “What can you see and where is it?” The defenders tried preventing the attacks and when they succeeded then play out where possible using a forceful run. This was well received from the defenders as they got to do what they enjoy. The coaching style adopted was inquisitive and thought provoking for the players and my communication was clear and concise.

Conclusion

Overall I feel the goal of attacking principles of play was achieved judging by progress made from session to session. The final session allowed the players to prove to themselves what they have learned. If I were to coach these sessions again I feel I should change my organization of the sessions and ensure that they are age appropriate. Coaching older players with more knowledge and experience would allow me to focus on technique and tactical approaches in a more in-depth manner with more verbal feedback and instructions.

Future directions, for myself would be coaching varied ages and abilities. Knowing what to do with other ages and experiencing other environments would benefit me greatly. For the team, progressing the goalkeepers positional awareness and skills would be of benefit for the team. The outfield players would gain confidence in their goalkeepers and allow the defenders to defend and attackers to attack.