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Frank, I share your pain. I scream like a maniac during transition, and I constantly have a couple of boys walking. Drives me crazy.
I don’t have the magic bullet, but I sometimes use a 2v2 transition drill to teach them to get their asses moving back to where they’re supposed to be. There are lots of them. Take your pick.
However, one key point is that I focus on rewarding the behavior I want to see instead of screaming at the boy who is walking (during practice at least – in games, I yell). For example “Holy cow guys, look at Patrick hauling back to get that ball! Go Patrick! Who is helping him!?” Then Patrick gets a big high five and I say something like, “That’s the way we play boys!” Positive reinforcement – it seems elementary, but I’m shocked at how well it works – even with older kids (mine are U9s, but I’ve done it with U11s and U12s too).
Develop a mindset with the team that they identify with. Make them own it. “We are the best team out there at transitioning to defense. No one does it better than we do.” Yes, it’s crap. Yes, it’s psychological play. But that’s our job as coaches – train them to exhibit the behavior we want to see.
This weekend, at halftime, I told the boys, “No one in this tournament plays the way we do – possessing the ball, playing from the back, passing around the field, making the other team’s heads spin.” Of course it was not true, but it helped them to own that identity, and in the second half, I saw even better possession play from them. Much better than, “We are passing like garbage, get it together boys.” (Also something I have said at halftime in the past)
Anyway, good luck. Let us know how it goes.
This looks really good Frank. Thanks.
Rene, good luck with your girls. The transition will be tough at first but I’m sure you’ll guide them through smoothly.
I agree regarding shifting the line of attack. Just today we were working on playing back, across and then up. They want to try to force it up the line. Once I stopped the play and put the CBs in the right spots, it seemed to click and they were able to find the space and come across.
However, they did get the ball picked off most times and were a bit discouraged. I simply praised the attempt, pointed out the problem, and off we go again. Ugh, it’s hard, but so worth it when you see that it clicks for them.
I have done 4 20-minute sessions on playing from the back with my U9 boys team so far. My experience is similar to yours. It’s very hard for the younger guys to focus. When they can focus, they do a decent job. One of my biggest problems is the crappy pitch I have to play on until they open the better fields for spring. When I’m demonstrating, I have a hard time receiving the ball properly myself – ball is bouncing all over the bumpy ground!
They are starting to get a lot better with the S-pattern, and that will help technically. Same with 4v0. I don’t let them get away with poor technique. I constantly stop them as a group or individually to make corrections. We also do a lot of simpler passing exercises and emphasize the weak foot.
Something I have noticed is that the movement in the play from the back exercise is not really natural for them. It takes a LOT of repetition to get them to move correctly – backpedal into position, open your body, etc. At yesterday’s practice, I focused on the 2 center backs’ support movement. By the end, they had it down pretty well. Next, I will work with the holding mid, and then the wings. I think that with these younger guys, we have to go WAY more slowly and repeat even more frequently.
Anyway, I’m very glad to hear about other coaches working with younger players on this stuff. It is tough, but I’m convinced that this is the right path. Just need to keep working.
Glad to see this forum topic. I have a U9 boys team currently, but I have been training several of them since U6.
I could write a book about my thoughts on training younger kids, but here are a few initial thoughts:
- You absolutely must lay a foundation of technical skill BEFORE you try to teach ANY tactics. I think individual ball mastery is key to teaching possession soccer and developing a high soccer IQ. If you get a group of 10 year olds who don’t pass properly, don’t start teaching them to play from the back!
- 1/3 to 1/2 of my 90 minute practice is spent with a kid to ball ratio of 1:1. Example: 10 minutes of juggling, 20 minutes of ball mastery (toe-taps, bobbles, side-rolls, Coerver moves, etc), 10 minutes of dribbling through obstacles to finish with a shot on goal. Critical skills for young players.
- Break down the technical parts of passing and receiving and don’t let them get away with bad technique. Spend a ton of time on this and it will pay dividends later.
- Start slowly with easier stuff. Passing around a square (Dana’s example above – I call it a Dutch Square) is WAY easier than 4v0, I think. Start there, build to 3v1, then try 4v0.
- Once you lay the foundation, start layering in tactical aspects – position, spacing, movement, communication.
- I try to limit tactical lessons and set tactical training sessions to 15-20 minutes max. At u9, they are getting an introduction, not a master class. I am patient. When these boys get to U11 and U12, we can start cranking it up. I’m taking the long view.
I am still learning every time I step between the white lines. Younger kids are pretty unpredictable. I had a fantastic practice last Sunday and then the boys kicked my ass on Tuesday – go figure.
Whenever I’m looking for some fresh ideas or new things to try, I go browsing around the content at jeddavies.com. Awesome resource. I get lost there for hours sometimes. Thanks so much Jed!
