The Best Training Game Ever?

Every coach has a favorite training exercise to use in practice.  How are we to know what exercise really is the BEST?  One might find it hard to argue with the opinion of one of the worlds best players.

Xavi Hernandez (see below for his resume and highlight video) of FC Barcelona and World Cup Champion Spain had this to say in an interview last year when asked about Barcelona's world famous youth academy.

Some youth academies worry about winning, we worry about education. You see a kid who lifts his head up, who plays the pass first time, pum, and you think, 'Yep, he'll do.' Bring him in, coach him. Our model was imposed by [Johan] Cruyff; it's an Ajax model. It's all about rondos [piggy in the middle]. Rondo, rondo, rondo. Every. Single. Day. It's the best exercise there is. You learn responsibility and not to lose the ball. If you lose the ball, you go in the middle. Pum-pum-pum-pum, always one touch. If you go in the middle, it's humiliating, the rest applaud and laugh at you.

So Xavi says that the BEST exercise is Rondo or "Piggy in the Middle".  Great!  But what is he talking about?  Did something get lost in translation or is this guy a Celtics fan?  I did a bit of research on this Rondo game and it's basically the game we know as "Monkey in the Middle".  I guess they favor pigs over primates in Spain.  Rondo is a musical term referring to a jig or a lively tune.  Rondo is music that is fast and vivacious.  So the exercise that Xavi says is the BEST is simply "Monkey in the Middle" and the term Rondo is not only used as the exercise's name but it also describes the rhythm in which the ball should move amongst the attacking players.  Perfect!  If this works for Barcelona then I was sure it could be a useful exercise in Brookline.

I put Xavi's exercise to the "Brookline" test last spring with my GU11 team.  We played 5-10 minutes of Rondo at the beginning of every practice.  The attackers made a circle around a single defender and tried to keep the ball in possession (keep-away) with a one touch restriction.  If the defender could gain control of the ball then she would switch positions with the attacker who's pass was intercepted.  It's such a simple game.  No cones or pinnies needed.  Rondo can be played with as few as 5 players and up to 18 (as long as the circle of attackers doesn't get unfairly big).  Rondo turned out to be huge success for this team.  Their passing technique, footwork and tactical awareness improved steadily every week.  By the end of the season they hadn't quite made it to the level of Spain or Barcelona but the team's speed of play was noticeably faster.  The girls were able to execute their passing technique while under greater levels of defensive pressure.

Here are a few videos of the pro's playing Rondo.  They make it look so easy!

Liverpool FC playing a 4v1 Rondo Game

England Playing a 4v2 Rondo Game

Ajax Playing a 7v2 Rondo Game

Here are some tips to customizing a Rondo game for your team.

To make the game easier for the players (for beginners):

1) Increase the size of the circle.
2) Play with a high attacker to defender ratio.
3) Play two touch rather than one touch.

To make the game more challenging (for advanced players):


1) Decrease the size of the circle.
2) Add a second defender.
3) Reduce the attacker to defender ratio.

I encourage coaches to start playing Rondo with their teams as early as U9 (third grade). If they play just 5-10 minutes of Rondo each practice they might end up playing like this (see below) one day.

Xavi Hernandez

Honors and Achievements:

FC Barcelona 

2011/12 European Super Cup 
2011/12 Spanish Super Cup 
2010/11 Champions League 
2010/11 Liga 
2010/11 Spanish Super Cup 
2009/10 Liga 
2009/10 World Club Cup 
2009/10 European Super Cup   2009/10 Spanish Super Cup 
2008/09 Champions League 
2008/09 Liga 
2008/09 Copa del Rey 
2006/07 Spanish Super Cup 
2005/06 Champions League 
2005/06 Liga 
2005/06 Spanish Super Cup 
2004/05 Liga 
1998/99 Liga 

Spanish National Team 

2010 World Cup 
2008 European Championship 
2000 Silver medal. Sydney Olympic Games 
1999 Under 20 World Champion 

Individual Awards  Don Balón Award for Breakthrough Player of the Year: 1999
El Pais Prize for Breakthrough Player of the Year in the Spanish Primera Liga: 1999
Don Balón Award for Spanish Player of the Year in La Liga: 2005
Eurocopa Best Player of the Tournament: 2008
FIFPro World XI: 2007-08, 2008–09
IFFHS World's best playmaker: 2008,2009
UEFA Team of the Year: 2008, 2009
FIFA.com Team of the Year: 2008
La Liga 2008-09 Top assist provider (20)
UEFA Champions League 2008-09 Top assist provider (7)
UEFA Club Best Midfielder: 2008-09
LFP Best Midfielder: 2008-09
Ballon d'Or: 3rd Place 2009
FIFA Club World Cup Bronze Ball: 2009
2009 FIFA World Player of the Year: Third

Team Evaluation Sheets

Coaches have suggested that a Curriculum Evaluation Sheet that has multiple player fields would be helpful when trying to document and track their team's progress.  Below you'll find Team Evaluation Forms for Curriculum Levels 3 through 8.  You'll find separate technical and tactical sheets for each level. (Level 3 only has a Technical Curriculum)

These are Exel Spreadsheets so you'll have the option to print them out or fill them out electronically.

Level 3 Team Eval Form

Level 4 Team Eval Forms

Level 5 Team Eval Forms

Level 6 Team Eval Forms

Level 7 Team Eval Forms

Level 8 Team Eval Forms

Rules for BYS 1st and 2nd Grade 3v3 Program

Here are some basic rules to playing 3v3 (or 4v4) soccer.

#1 Field - 2 Side-by-side fields roughly 35x25 yards. (See link below)

#2 Ball - Size Three

#3  Players - 3v3 but 4v4 can be played if teams are dealing with large roster sizes.  It is appropriate to play 4v3 if this creates a better competitive match.  No Goal Keepers.

#4 Referee - If no official BYS referee is present then a coach or parent can assume this role.  All fouls should be explained to players.

#5 Duration - Two 20 min halves.  If necessary the game can be broken down to four 10 min quarters.

#6 Offside - No offside at this age.

#7 Free Kicks - Defending team should be in their own half or at least 4 yards from the ball when the kick is taken.

#8 Penalty Kicks - No PK's at this age.

#9 Throw-Ins - There are no throw-ins at this age.  The ball shall be placed back into play by a Pass-in if the ball goes out of bounds on the side lines.  The Pass-in will be taken by an opponent of the team that kicked the ball out of bounds.

#10 Goal Kick - If the attacking team kicks the ball over the end line the defending team will be awarded a goal kick.  The ball should be placed within 3 yards of the end line for goal kicks.

#11 Corner Kick - If the defending team kicks the ball over the end line the attacking team will be awarded a corner kick.    Defending players must stand at least 4 yards away from the ball until it is in play.

#12 Score - No score or standings should be kept.

#13 Substitutions - Either team may make substitutions at any stoppage of play.  Players should play at least 50% of every game.

#14 Slide Tackling - Slide tackles are not permitted at this age.

Links to US Youth Soccer's rules for 3v3/4v4 soccer.

Official U8 Rules

U8 Rules Addendum (Rules Explained)

Dual Field Layout

Offside?

Every season U11 coaches ask me the how they should teach the offside rule to their players.  My typical answer was to gradually explain the rule during practices and games after an offside offense occurs.  I certainly would never suggest that coaches carve out any significant time in practice to go over all the details of the rule.  U11 and U12's usually don't possess the attention span or desire for a lecture of this nature.  Offside offenses rarely have any significant impact in 8v8 games so it always seemed appropriate to let the players absorb the details of the rule gradually as they mature through the U11 and U12 age groups.

At this year's coaching meeting, Coach Roxanne Martinez told me how she used online videos to teach her players the offside rule.  I thought that this approach was perfect.  Coaches pass the video links on to the parents who then sit and watch the short video with their son or daughter.  This way everyone learns the correct interpretation of the 11th Law in FIFA's Official Rules of Soccer.

Here is the best Youtube Video that I found on the Offside Rule.  The only part of the rule that it fails to explain is that you can not be offside on a throw-in.

The WHAT and HOW’s of Coaching Soccer

Earlier this fall the BSC introduced its Player Development Curriculum (see post from 9/4).  It outlined WHAT to teach players from U7 to U14.  Now, in this post, I’ll address HOW to teach the curriculum to your players.  

Basic 60 Min. Practice Structure (1-3rd graders)

• Warm Up/Technical Work - 10-15 Minutes

• Fun Games that Challenge Technique (ie. Tag games, sharks and minnows) - 10 min

• 1v0 or 1v1Games - 10 min

• 3v3 or 4v4 Scrimmage - 20 min

Basic 90 Min. Practice Structure (4-8th graders)

• Warm Up/Technical Work - 15 min

• Stretching - 5 min

• Juggling - 5 min

• 1v1, 2v1, 2v2, 3v2 or 4v4 games - 15 min

• Conditioned Games to challenge Technique and/or introduce tactical topics - 20 min

• Scrimmage (5v5 up to 9v9) - 20 min

• Cool Down/Stretch - 5 min

Now that I've outlined the basic structure for your practices, you'll want to fill this structure with some specific games and training exercises to address the topics outlined in the curriculum.  This information can come from a number of resources.

Nothing beats a Coaching License.

Massachusetts Youth Soccer offers their G License on-line for $35.  This on-line course is a great introduction to coaching youth soccer and is perfect for coaches that are working with players U6 through U8 (K through 2nd Grades).

http://www.massyouthcoachingcourse.org/

Coaches working with older players might be interested in taking some of the other Licenses offered by Mass Youth Soccer.  You can search the Mass Youth Soccer website for their F License -U10 Coaches(8 hour course), E License -U12 Coaches(16 hour course) and D License - U14 Coaches (32 hour course).

http://www.mayouthsoccer.org/coaching.aspx

All of these courses are very good but they require a higher level of commitment to complete.  Finding a course that you want to take, in a location close to Brookline, and at a time that is convenient for working parents can be a challenge.

Don’t have the time for a Coaching License Course? Can’t find a Licensing Course locally?

http://www.bettersoccermorefun.com/index.htm

This is basically an online training manual based on the Dutch Youth Development Model.  In my opinion, no one does a better job developing soccer players than the Dutch.  The content is vast but it is broken down into sections that make it easy to absorb.  Diagrams, animations and videos are also included.

Just give me some drills man!

There are hundreds of websites with soccer drills.  Here are two of the sites I like best.  I appreciate these, not only for their content, but also for the way the sites organize the drills into categories (usually by age, skill or tactical concept).

http://www.insidesoccer.com

This used to be the best free site on the planet.  It had great drills from the top youth clubs around the world.  Content is presented through video demonstrations.  They became a pay site a couple of years ago.  If you’re not opposed to paying $9.95/month for the content, then nothing beats insidesoccer.com.  

http://www.soccerxpert.com/

If you don’t want to pay for content then this is a great free site.  It has tons of drills that are well organized into a website that is easy to navigate.  Each drill includes: objectives, setup, instructions, diagrams, coaching points and variations.

Not enough websites presented here to satisfy your coaching appetite?

http://www.losangelessoccer.org/links/

This is the LINKS page on the LA Soccer Academy website.  It has links to just about every soccer site that exists.  Happy hunting!

Lessons Learned

In these posts I'll share lessons I've learned while watching recent live or televised soccer games.  I'll also give a "Game Ball" award to the players and/or coaches that made the greatest impact on the game.


Game #1


On Tuesday (9/6) the USMNT (United States Men's National Team) lost 1-0 to Belgium on a soggy field in Brussels (ESPN2).  This was the same USMNT, with several young and inexperienced players, that lost to Costa Rica 0-1, four days earlier at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA.  Many US fans and media members claim that these games were failures for the Americans and their new coach.  But MNT Coach, Jurgen Klinsmann, when interviewed, seemed quite pleased with what his squad has achieved in these games.  How can any coach be pleased after losing two games?  Maybe it's Coach Klinsmann's German soccer background that allows him to believe that there is more to  games than winning or losing.  Could Klinsmann see games (even international games) as opportunities for testing and experimenting with players and tactics?  I'm sure the focus of the MNT will be on winning games when they begin World Cup Qualifying next summer.  But I believe that Coach Klinsmann sees these last few "friendlies" as a chance for growth within the MNT and its player pool.  This is exactly the approach needed to bring along young, and potentially great, American soccer players such as Brek Shea, Jose Torres and Juan Agudelo.  This is exactly the approach needed when asking a squad of professionals to learn how to play a more modern, sophisticated and attractive style of soccer.  I'm starting to understand why this is the type of coach that the MNT has needed for a long time.  Klinsmann is setting an example for youth soccer coaches by focusing on the development of his players.  If Klinsmann, under a great deal of international media scrutiny, can sacrifice results in the name of development.  Then there is no excuse for the youth coach that is teaching his players how to win rather than how to play the game.  My "Game Ball" award goes to Coach Klinsmann.


Game #2


On Wednesday (9/7) the BHS Boys Varsity Soccer Team defeated Milton 4-0 on a cold and rainy Skyline Field.  The game was closer that the score suggests, as Brookline scored their final 3 goals in the last 10 minutes of the game.  For the better part of first half, it was Milton, and not Brookline, that looked like the perennial playoff team.  The Brookline players seemed disconnected.  They could not possess the ball for any length of time or find any way to sustain pressure on the inexperienced Milton defense.  And to make matters worse, they were also having difficulties sorting out their own defensive assignments.  If it were not for a pair of sensational saves from senior goalkeeper, Miles Rubin, the Warriors could have easily been down 2-0 by the midpoint of the first half.  Warriors Coach Jeff Katz instructed his players to play longer, more aggressive passes to teammates making runs behind the Milton defense.  This tactic payed off when senior midfielder, Eric Buck, blasted the ball between the Milton keeper and the near post with only 2 minutes left in the first half.  The Warriors continued to find themselves in better form as the the second half progressed.  Seniors, Eric Buck and Tomas Curran, took control of the midfield and led their team to a dominating second half performance that included 3 late goals.  Curran ended up with a goal and an assist while Buck had 2 goals and an assist.   


This was a classic example of a game where the better team gets off to a slow start due to a lack of passing rhythm and mobility off of the ball.  Then Coach Katz changed his team's tactics from shorter passes within the midfield, to longer forward passes.  This shifted the pressure off of his midfielders and onto the Milton defenders.  With the Milton defenders backpedaling, Brookline got the breathing room it needed to find it's rhythm and began building successful attacks.  My "Game ball" awards go to: Coach Katz, Miles Rubin, Tomas Curran and Eric Buck.

Player Development Curriculum

I'm pleased to present the Brookline Soccer Club's Player Development Curriculum.  The curriculum is for players U7-U14 (first-eighth grades) and can be used by both Brookline Soccer Club (travel) and Brookline Youth Soccer (rec.) coaches.

The Curriculum outlines WHAT technical and tactical topics need to be covered in practices.  In future posts I'll provide some help in HOW to teach these topics in practice.

Click on the links below to download the various Curriculum documents.

Full U7-U14 Player Development Curriculum document.

U7-U14 Player Development Curriculum

Smaller Curriculum documents that are specific to each age group.

Curriculum Level 1 (U7/First Grade)

Curriculum Level 2 (U8/Second Grade)

Curriculum Level 3 (U9/Third Grade)

Curriculum Level 4 (U10/Fourth Grade)

Curriculum Level 5 (U11/Fifth Grade)

Curriculum Level 6 (U12/Sixth Grade)

Curriculum Level 7 (U13/Seventh Grade)

Curriculum Level 8 (U14/Eighth Grade)

Links to the Technical and Tactical Terminology pages.

Technical Terminology

Tactical Terminology

Welcome!

Welcome Brookline soccer coaches, players and parents to the Brookline Soccer Blog.  I hope to use this blog to share information pertinent to anyone that is involved in soccer in the Brookline community.  In future posts you can expect to find information on coach education, player education and training opportunities, college and high school team reports and tips for parents.  To receive posting updates through your Facebook account please click the "Like" button on this page.