Blog

COACHS CORNER: On Being “Coach” and “Mom”


For the past five years, I have had the opportunity and privilege of coaching both of my young boys on the soccer field. I started with each at the recreational level and continued as they moved through to the first few years of competitive. This has been a different experience compared to my previous 20 years coaching other people’s children in communities outside of my own.

The benefits are many. And while the challenges are few, they can be part of the balancing act when you are playing the role of coach and parent at the same time. READ MORE

MOTI Tip: Drill Controls – Part 3 of 3

Welcome back to the 3-part series on MOTI Soccer drill controls. In this article the Drill Effects will be reviewed and explained. Utilizing these features, viewing and tracking the motion in the play is improved by the use of on-field annotation.

To recap, the review of the drill controls are divided into 3 parts. Topics for the 3 parts are:

  1. Animation Controls and Overview – Part 1 introduced the main
    control panel, the animation controls and the menu/control-panel buttons.
  2. Zoom Controls and Camera Views Menu– Part 2 covered both the
    zoom controls and the camera view menu that help with viewing the drill in different ways.
  3. 3) Drill Effects (this article) – Part 3 covers the drill effects
    that are available to help visualize the workings of the drill.

Review

The first article introduced layout of the drill controls in the panel and described the functionality of each of the buttons and controls. The content of the this article will be used as a basis of this article. Read the first article if these concepts are unfamiliar or a refresher is needed. READ MORE

Keeping your Eye on the Ball – Keeper “Threat Assessment” Training

Keeping your eye on the ball as the Keeper also means understanding the capabilities of yourself and your opponent.

Opponent:
As the Keeper is watching play develop and what amounts to be the “invasion” of the mid-field, and the defensive half, it also means the need to understanding the opponents passing successes & capabilities, their ability to change the point of attack, their control play to maintain possession. .

Watching and understanding their player positioning as they approach is critical to understanding where the Keeper needs to position to defend appropriately.

In the scenario below the White Forward on the left of the screen, just successfully did an overlap on your left defender, so the logical move is to defend against the immediate threat and protect the near post.


(Goal Follow View)
(Keeper View)

In the blink of an eye – the attacker can transition the threat from the left side of the pitch to the right with the proper strike on the ball, leaving the defender out of position to defend. Note the very fast service and ball movement from the left to the right side of the field below.


(Goal Follow View)
(Keeper View)

The time needed for a foot moving shift toward the threat and defending of the keeper needs to happen in a fractions of seconds, or the result is the Goalkeeper being out of position to defend the crossed ball.

One of the reasons Goalkeepers tend to take more time to mature into the game is that visual coaching clues and learning could only be obtained on the pitch through repetition, but now they can improve their game knowledge through 3D simulation. Watching, learning and understanding the keys to “Threat Assessment” over and over again is what makes visualizing with MOTI’s Soccer Training Platform Mobile App invaluable to fast tracking the learning curve of Goalkeepers.

Click the image above to watch the Keeper’s Perspective

Learning to Play and Becoming a Player


Some reflection on ‘learning to play the game’ and ‘becoming a player’.

Learning the Game

If we could provide only high level coaches to the younger age groups the development game would be literally turned on its head. So many more players would develop their appropriate skills sets providing them the foundation to go forward and play at the highest of levels. I have seen and been involved in camps where players are coached like an assembly line plant, good staff coaches give expert instruction for a week. The players respond well in the conveyer belt stations where skills are demonstrated, broken down and coaching points are attached for clarity and comprehension. Players do get a respectable skill set installed in that environment, but it is quickly dissolved once the camp is complete and that classroom is removed, only a few, a very few retain the required knowledge as their connection to the coach resource is gone.

One of my favorite mantras is ‘Practice makes Permanent’ NOT ‘Perfect’. These initial practices that young players are involved with can often burden them to do remedial sessions to correct or erase their exposure and absorption of counterproductive incorrect soccer instruction.

Young players need much time to grasp the complexities of ball control and mastery mainly because they tend to take five steps forward and three backward or vice versa which completely throws development for a loop! In the early stages of development players find themselves with invariably inexperienced volunteer parent coaches. While these coaches are the lifeblood of soccer growth in the USA these recreational coaches are cajoled into coaching with the threat that if a coach does not come forward in the next few days the Club will have to disband this team. These coaches get one hour of instruction at the start of the season and thrown into the volunteer soccer cauldron. While they do a great job of giving players a positive experience with high fives and postgame treats they invariably know little or nothing about the technical needs and tactical spectrum of the full game.

Learning to play requires correct learning environments that nurture a players love, respect and comprehension of the makeup of the game. The informative years of ‘learning to play the game’ need the crucial four pillars of the game. 1) All ball control and ball mastery. 2) All ball striking techniques. 3) All physical attributes. 4) All aspects of mental fortitude, these make up my pillars of the complete player. Mental preparedness for every element of a practice session and ultimately a season should be one of the keys for individuals, the squad and the coaching staff.

Learning to play the game entails producing good habits and layers of self-discipline so players can survive at the next level, age or standard of play.

In the early stages of the game young players are just looking for fun, comradery, group acceptance. As the skill sets get developed other focus centers arise. Players look for satisfaction from performance and results. The player starts to take the game seriously and the layers of game understanding start to support the next level of play. When players start to take practice and the game to heart and devote themselves to it, the foundation becomes sturdier and stable.

Becoming a Player

In small sided games players can get a concentrated dose of experiences that prepares them for success and failure, it allows young players to educate themselves on how to win and also losses. There are often fine lines of difference between the two, so getting an education on wins and loses prepares and rounds out players for the trials and tribulations of later years of soccer experiences.

At this stage they add more disciplines like self-reflection on performance, they start to understand the difference of always giving perfect performance and not athletic effort during a game. The game revolves around what a group of players can do at the level they encounter and play at it at any given time in the season. Soccer players need to live with the adage ‘Results reflection what you can do with what you know – it has no interest in how you learned it or experience it!’ You have to play in the present and produce your best play, think that you are only as good as your last game, your last pass, your last run and your last decision.

Learning to win is a player characteristic, almost a skill, which comes from competitive practice. Players who can be placed on a small sided team game and learn how to compete and find a way to win are the game changers that rise to the top. Player character is developed in these small sided games where the score does matter. Players need to be accountable and have the ‘metal’, ‘the backbone’, ‘the desire’ to get the job done, always maintaining that winning mentality. The better players are mentally prepared for every event that transpires in any game or in any session. The most successful players I encounter have always been the hardest workers the ones who run the extra yard, the hustling player. ‘Work Rate’ is an element that any player can develop it is not in ‘Genes’ it is not a God given talent it is a mindset. A developed talent from sheer self-will and effort. Simply put if you want to be lucky, work hard with your skill set from an early age, continue to refine your ball control and ball mastery it is the ultimate foundation for any ‘Player’ always maintain your focus.

MOTI Tip: Drill Controls – Part 2 of 3

MOTI Soccer Tip: Drill Controls – Part 2 of 3

Welcome back to the 3-part series on MOTI Soccer drill controls. In this
article the Zoom Controls and Camera View Menu
will be reviewed and explained. Utilizing these features, reviewing the
play from a multitude of angles and levels of detail is possible.

To recap, the review of the drill controls are divided into 3 parts. Topics
for the 3 parts are:

  1.  Animation Controls and Overview – Part 1 introduced the main
    control panel, the animation controls and the menu/control-panel buttons.
  2. Zoom Controls and Camera Views Menu (this article) – Part 2
    covers both the zoom controls and the camera view menu that help with
    viewing the drill in different ways.
  3.  Drill Effects – Part 3 will cover the drill effects that are
    available to help visualize the workings of the drill.

Review

The first article introduced layout of the drill controls in the panel and
described the functionality of each of the buttons and controls. The
content of the previous article will be used as a basis of this article.
Read the first article if these concepts are unfamiliar or a refresher is
needed. READ MORE

Through the Players Eyes


Interview young players and ask them what they like about soccer and I guarantee nearly 99% of them will say quite simply, “it’s fun!”

Why do they play? “To hang out with friends.”

How do they learn the game? “By playing,” “from watching it on TV and going to (MLS) games” and “seeing older players at tournaments or in high school matches.”

Who inspires them? “The professionals and (their) coach.”

Young players love to love the game – to score goals and play in drills and games where they get to express themselves. They often show up time after time because their friends are teammates and their teammates become lifelong friends. They look up to professionals but the professionals are “out there” but their coach, who is right in front of them day after day, is usually their most immediate and consistent role model.

With this type of adoration from young players it is imperative that their coaches up their own game – show up prepared and ready to inspire.

Technique / Skills Mastery – “I am watching you”


Recently, I was observing a coach providing some coaching points to a player, reminding them of the proper move or form to strike the ball. The player appreciated the attention and direction. The player kept working at the move without the coach’s feedback for a while. The player became less rigid in their form over time. The coach simply turned and remarked “I am watching you” and the player’s form or technique improved instantly.

Coaches often obtain knowledge of the game and how to work with players thru course work at the sports local club, state or national organizations. This knowledge transfer is gained thru “education”.

Coaches also learn thru direct visual observation of methods and experiencing and employing various methods with players to attempt to obtain the desired behavior. This knowledge transfer is gained thru “experience”.

In a similar manner, MOTI Sports offers through its MOTI Soccer App, 3D Foot Skills / Techniques, the ability for coaches and players to watch, understand and observe the proper foot technique. Auditory and visual references are provided so that the knowledge transfer of how each technique can and should be performed is provided to the coach or player in the form of “education”.

The role of the Coach is to observe and guide the player thru the process of learning how to do the Foot Skills / Technique and gain knowledge thru “experience”. Players can easily observe and begin performing the Foot Skill / Technique in a “See it, Do it” basis. The Coaches role is then to observe and guide the player’s performance of the movement providing observation and feedback to the player to enhance their knowledge and learning “experience”.

Coaches or parents need to employ various methods of verbal reinforcement (how do I get the player to do what I am telling them they should do) which are continued until success is achieved.

Learning the correct skill / technique is critical to mastery. Once accomplished th skill / technique needs to be performed hundreds of times until it comes naturally.

Operant Conditioning has two methods of behavior reinforcement that we are seeking to use as coaches. Positive reinforcement, we anticipate that a behavior will be continued. Positive reinforcement works by presenting a motivating/reinforcing stimulus to the Player. Negative reinforcement should not be thought of as a punishment, but as a method of decreasing an undesired behavior so a behavior will stop. A simple example is providing a positive reinforcement like “nice push thru the equator of the ball” to the player will reinforce that behavior. A sample negative reinforcement would be saying something like “now let’s try that again, with…whatever movement you did not observe in the player’s technique”.

As coaches we need to be continuously verbalizing and providing both positive and negative reinforcements to the players until they succeed in the behavior we desire to see happen. Then we need to see that behavior in the form of practice continue time and time again. Whether in the backyard, or at the field watching your players practicing their technique, providing proper verbal coaching is critical to reinforcing behavior. Being “the strong silent type” in coaching is the wrong approach. Players not receiving any reinforcement either positive or negative on a continual basis are less likely to listen to you as a coach when you need them to.

Remember, coaching needs you to be involved with continuous verbal feedback to the player to make a difference. Remember, “I am watching you”, gets and reinforces results.

MOTI Tip: Drill Controls – Part 1 of 3

MOTI Soccer drill controls give the user control over the playback of the
drill, options for viewing the drill from different locations and
management of the special effects available. The drill controls are
positioned at the bottom of the screen.

This series of articles will be divided into 3 parts. Topics for the 3
parts are:

  1.  Animation Controls and Overview (this article) – Part 1
    introduces the main control panel, the animation controls and the
    menu/control-panel buttons.
  2.  Zoom and Camera Views – Part 2 covers both the zoom control and
    the camera view menu that help with viewing the drill in different ways.
  3.  Drill Effects – Part 3 will covers the drill effects that are
    available to help visualize the workings of the drill.

Controls Overview

The drill controls are located at the bottom of the screen and are always
on-screen. The follow sections will refer to the image below using both the
icon and the numbers for identification. READ MORE