This topic contains 19 replies, has 12 voices, and was last updated by 
-
Posts
-
Nuno, I agree, I really liked all of Livu’s write ups from the convention and the insight it provided from interviewing coaches of different backgrounds. It was interesting to see some common themes emerge from all of them.
Jed-
Intelligent list of reads you’ve posted. I’ve read and been rewarded by most of the books you have mentioned over a number of years, but the psychology of learned helplessness & priming are new to me. Thanks for sharing!
Just finished :The Gold Mine Effect” by Rasmus Ankersen. I found it intensely interesting and well written. It speaks against many of the more common philosophies, especially here in the US, on rearing world class athletes. Its speaks of the 10,000 hr rule from time to time, but takes it a bit further and goes through what similarities each of about 7 sport factories have in common. Brazil for soccer, Russia for tennis, S Korea for golf, Jamaica for sprinters etc etc all these places where they just churn out world class athletes have certain traits in common. He is really continually trying to debunk the thought that genetics is a key factor in obtaining world class status, basically the premise is that certain genetic traits may prohibit you from attaining this high level but they are relatively few and generally extreme and almost none are a predictor of superiority in sport. The best compliment I can give the author is: It has made me rethink the how and why I do things with my own children and those under my care as a coach.
Steve
Csanadi book – wow this sales for $134 on Amazon. Curious if others have recommendations on books addressing biomechanics in soccer. I’ve been playing for 30+ years, coaching for almost 25, but am coaching young children and find myself constantly searching for a good explanations of the bio-mechanics of the game.
For example, on the technical side my daughters (8-yrs old) have picked-up quite a number of Coerver-based skills, are reasonable juggliers, and have repeatedly been instructed in the technique of shooting and passing. I am proud of where they are in terms of handling the ball (they look very comfortable with the ball at their feet for their age), but they are not great ball strikers (yet); I have a number of girls on my team with similar tendencies, and another group (ost of whom have older siblings that play) who are strong ball-strikers for their age. I see a number of fundamental deficiencies in the weaker ball-striker group (no, it is not always the smaller girls, although some correlation), such as plant foot not facing target, hitting the wrong part of the ball, poor follow-through, sometimes no real back-swing . . . any way always looking at ways to break down simply.
In the same category is good/efficient lateral and backwards movement (w/ and w/out the ball) as well as running with the ball with speed – sprinters spend a great deal of time on technique, yet running with the soccer ball at speed is a more complicated motion and have found little that really addresses it. Again not just talking about the basic technique you would get in a coaching soccer for dummies book, but rather good break-downs of the biomechanics (ideally tying to training that supports go0d technique).
@ Nuno Ferreira: Re “Ajax, Barcelona, Cruyff: The ABC of an Obstinate Maestro”, I used to watch Barend & Van Dorp’s show when living in the Netherlands. Very similar style to Gary & Brian’s – provocative, irreverent. (lol)
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.