PLAYING TIME - EQUAL

IN SEASON - 2 practice & 2 games practice duration 1.25 - 1.5 hrs

TECHNICAL COACHING TO INCLUDE :

COORDINATION & BASIC FOOTWORK.

BALL FAMILIARITY. PLAYERS TO EXPERIMENT WITH BOTH FEET AND ALL PARTS OF FOOT.

DRIBBLING. HOW - NICE AND SLOW TO BEGIN WITH. WAYS TO TURN AND CHANGE DIRECTION.

PASSING. INSIDE & LACES. NO TOES.

SHOOTING. USING LACES. SLOW MOVING BALL TO ENSURE SUCCESS.

DEFENDING. CLOSING DOWN THE OPPONENT. SLOW DOWN IN TIME, SET. GET BODY BETWEEN BALL AND OPPONENT.

TACTICAL COACHING:

VIRTUALLY NONE ! PLAYERS TO BE SPREAD OUT, YET STILL WITHIN PASSING DISTANCE. MIN 5YDS, MAX 15YDS.

TECHNICAL TRAINING IS ALWAYS A PRIORITY AT THE YOUNGER AGES !!

PLAY 3V3 (4V4 max) FOR 15 MINUTES EACH PRACTICE.

GAME SIZE - 8V8 (max 14 on roster)  

PLAYING TIME - C1/maroon - equal over the season C2/gold - at least 50%

IN SEASON - 2 practice & 2 games practice duration 1.25 - 1.5 hrs

TECHNICAL COACHING TO INCLUDE:

COORDINATION/FAST FOOTWORK.

JUGGLING. (1ST TOUCH) & BALL CONTROL

DRIBBLING. WHEN AND WHERE TO DO IT AS WELL AS HOW.

PASSING. SHORT/LONG. DRIVEN/LOFTED. ‘WEIGHT’ OF PASS.

SHOOTING. LACES. BALL MOVING AWAY; TOWARDS AND ACROSS PLAYER. ENCOURAGE ONE TOUCH FINISHING

DEFENDING. 1ST DEFENDER (PRESSURE; BODY BALANCE; CHALLENGE) 2ND DEFENDER (SUPPORT & COMMUNICATION)

When addressing tactics players of this age should be aware of their immediate surroundings without the need for whole field awareness. (They are unable to distribute the ball that far yet anyway).  

Introduce 2nd defender work with positioning and communication.

In attack encourage players to make runs into space. Runs off the ball into any space is good enough at this age.

TECHNICAL TRAINING IS ALWAYS A PRIORITY AT THE YOUNGER AGES !!

PLAY 3V3 (4V4 max) FOR 15 MINUTES EACH PRACTICE.

GAME SIZE - 11V11 (max 18 on roster)  

PLAYING TIME - At least 50% (premier is performance based)

IN SEASON - 2 practice & 2 games practice duration - 1.5 hrs

TECHNICAL COACHING TO INCLUDE :

COORDINATION/FAST FOOTWORK.

JUGGLING. (1ST TOUCH) & BALL CONTROL

DRIBBLING. WHEN AND WHERE TO DO IT AS WELL AS HOW.

PASSING. SHORT/LONG. DRIVEN/LOFTED. ‘WEIGHT’ OF PASS

SHOOTING. LACES. BALL MOVING AWAY; TOWARDS AND ACROSS PLAYER. ENCOURAGE ONE TOUCH FINISHING

DEFENDING. 1ST DEFENDER (PRESSURE; BALANCE; CHALLENGE) 2ND DEFENDER (SUPPORT & COMMUNICATION) 3RD DEFENDER (BALANCE)

OFFENSIVE RUNS OFF THE BALL.

CONDITIONING AND SPEED WORK.

TACTICAL COACHING:

When addressing tactics players of this age should be aware of their immediate surroundings and begin to appreciate the whole field situation. ie time to 'break' or 'keep possession' ?

Introduce 2nd and 3rd defender work with positioning and communication.

In attack encourage players to make runs into space. Runs off the ball into space that would lead to a first time effort on goal.

DEFENSIVE 'SHAPE' AND 'LINES' OF DEFENSE

TECHNICAL TRAINING SHOULD NOT BE NEGLECTED.

PLAY 4V4 FOR 15 MINUTES EACH PRACTICE.

GAME SIZE - 11V11 (max 18 on roster)  

PLAYING TIME - At least 50% (premier is performance based)

IN SEASON - 2 practice & 2 games practice duration - 1.5 hrs

At the high school ages tactical training plays a more significant role than in previous years. The technical demands of the game should NEVER be overlooked as weaker technical abilities result all to often in tactical breakdowns for the team.

TACTICAL TRAINING:

Players should be able to differentiate between, and implement different styles of play.  

Direct vs indirect (attacking)

Low pressure vs high pressure (defending)

Awareness of 'space of oppurtunity'. (area between goalkeeper and last defender)

Be mindful of the possible need to play the whole game. This is turn will improve the teams performance and ability to attack and defend within the ebbs and flows of a match. In turn the players will be forced to 'read' the game better ie, when is a good time to attack, choosing their runs etc.

TECHNICAL TRAINING:

Pure speed - A to B as quickly as possible

Mental speed - how quickly a player processes thoughts and acts upon them. Also the ability to predict and anticipate.

Speed endurance - to enhance the ability to sustain performance through the later stages of a match.

Use a ball as often as possible when focusing on any of these.