IMO unless we follow the Germans with their youth directive i.e. 2 or 3 a side at under 6\7\8 I believe that we shall fall behind them as well as all other nations who do not do the same . To focus on the individual at a young age and their 1 v 1s is a no brainer . 2 v 2 you are either attacking or defending . It is impossible to coach "ball watching" with 2 v 2 which can happen at 5 v 5 . FTR I can remember not so long ago under 11s playing 11 a side on a full size pitch . Looking back with perfect hindsight this was madness . No doubt . At those very young ages and IMO all mini soccer ages "how many goals did YOU score ?" Is more important than "what was the score?"
The last time Germany tore it up and started again they brought through eventual World Cup winners. For me it’s important kids at a young age are touching the ball as much as possible and this format they’re doing will promote that. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
https://trainingground.guru/articles/germany-revolutionises-foundation-age-formats Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
So so true. Only yesterday at the side of an U16 match I was talking with another parent about how good these kids could have been if they'd been coached to develop them all the way through instead of coaching them to win. This was a team that at under 10s was tearing up all the other teams but by U16 was just a shadow of that. The coach was a disgrace to these boys and to my shame I did nothing about it. 2 v 2 at u6/7/8 is a great idea but needs mixing up with bigger numbers up to 6 v 6 otherwise it will become very boring very quickly.
That's the thing the FA can't (or won't) get. You need coaches who are fully trained in 'the system'. If that system isn't producing the desired results you scrap it - you don't tweak it, you don't add loads of assistant coaches you start again.
I don’t think so as it’s fast paced so the kids are constantly involved. But even so upping the numbers wouldn’t be hard and if successful implementing it is easy. Trial and error this is what I like about coaching, tweaking session plans some things work some don’t some work with some and not with others Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I read the document linked since I posted and the setup is very well thought out so that the kids always end up playing similarly matched quality opponents with quick changes. The boredom doesn't happen so my comment is redundant.
It’s a great idea. Football associations have done various different approach’s over recent years. Probably the biggest one was under 12’s not playing for points so the team coaches stopped making it about them and picking the best players to win games and focus on player development. I still see coaches leaving players with little playing time and not rotating positions. This German format puts an end to that at least. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The beauty of it is that at a young age children are developing their 1 v 1 skills and not being pigeon holed as a deep lying defensive mid at 6 y.o. Eventually most children will gravitate to their preferred or best position . 2 v 2 3 v 3 means that there can be no standing around ball watching so transition is learned early and organically. In my experience , parents are the worst regarding developing their offspring to ball watch , "you are a striker\winger , you stand on that white line and wait for someone to pass the ball to you "
When my son attended a Gooner Filth School the coaches did everything possible to not have parents anywhere near the touchlines during sessions...
That is exactly how it should be, and I'd advocate the same for matches as well. When I ran a team with another coach this is the sort of thing we regularly received: I was disappointed and frustrated that ***** was only given 22 mins in our last game of the season and that was the third consecutive match where **** had less than half the match. In the other cup final, despite playing well in the first half, **** was replaced at half time so that **** could have their turn. *** wasn’t given a chance to play any of the extra time. So in this match, I assumed the reverse would happen. Changing strikers would not have changed the balance or dynamic of the team and who knows, **** may have been able to score a second goal. You'll note the words "other cup final", showing how successful our methods were, yet still this sh*t came in every week. When I win the Euromillions I'm opening up my own youth academy with German methods forefront and NO PARENTS.
Don't get me started on the FA's coaching pathway. I was told I needed to do my FA level 2 goalkeeping course to stand a chance of getting on the UEFA B course. So I did it. Was coaching an 11-a side grassroots mens team at the time. Couldn't get on the course. Was told they favour coaches who are coaching a youth team, so I gave up my very successful mens team to coach a bunch of snotty 13 year olds who couldn't care less and ran riot despite lots of letters and complaints to their parents, still couldn't get on - despite the fact I was also working with Millwalls first team at the time. Gave up trying and they moan that we don't have as many qualified coaches as Spain/Germany etc.
You are correct . At pro clubs the parents are kept well away usually. It is grassroots where a lot of the problems lie
