Jamie:
Hello and welcome to Coachcast by England Football Learning, the brand-new coaching podcast designed to give you expert insight, session ideas and a platform to discuss your coaching questions and challenges. I'm Jamie…
Louise:
...and I'm Louise.
In each episode of this series, one of our experts will dissect a specific topic and then speak to a grassroots coach, with the aim of helping them and you develop more skilful players.
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Louise:
So today we're going to be talking about the skill of moving with the ball.
Jamie:
And we're delighted to be joined online by not just one but two experts today to take us through this important topic. It’s Suey Smith and Vinny Halsall. Suey, Vinnie, Welcome to the show.
Suey:
Afternoon, and thanks for having us.
Vinny:
Yeah, great to be along to join you guys today.
Louise:
Do you want to tell us a little bit about yourselves and your roles at The FA? We'll go to Suey first.
Suey:
Yes. So I started 13 years ago as FA Skills Coach. So working predominately with five to eleven-year-olds, so out on the grass, sports halls, primary schools. And more recently, I am now FA coach development officer, looking after the women and girls, female coaches in the Northeast.
Louise:
And how about yourself Vinny?
Vinny:
So my role is a very bespoke one. It's within the FA PE team. I've been part of that team for the last six years. Prior to that, I did do a little bit of tutoring part-time for The FA. But yeah, very much specifically around supporting teachers and training teachers.
Louise:
Well, to start, can you explain what do we mean by moving with the ball and how can we help players to do it?
Suey:
Yeah, I guess as time's evolved, moving with the ball can look very differently from ten years ago to now. So again, when we're looking at technical components, moving with the ball could be running with the ball, dribbling and turning. And for us, it's to help our players to become comfortable with the ball. And I guess before they even have the ball, they've got to manoeuvre the body and learn how to shift body weight from left to right and change direction and really have those key fundamentals built-in before we get them involved with a football.
Louise:
Does moving with the ball look different depending on a player's playing position?
Vinny:
Yeah, for sure. It is position-specific, but I think, more importantly, it is very unique to the individual child and the individual player and also the age and stage that the players are at. So moving with the ball for a youngster, seven to eight years of age, is very different to moving the ball when you're 17 or 18 years of age.
And I think it's really important that we recognize when we are developing this topic, that it is the activities that we design have got to be age-appropriate. I think that's really important.
Jamie:
Suey, can you think of any footballers who would showcase some of the techniques well with moving with the ball, that would be a good example for kids to learn from?
Suey: Yeah, I'd actually say Vinny, but they've not got any footage of Vinny playing football!
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But when we look at current players both in the male and female game. So you've got obviously currently Phil Foden and Jack Grealish, who are very comfortable at driving the ball forward and having that ball moving around, interference.
So when we talk about interference with opposition, whether it's one defender or potentially three.
They're very confident at moving and shifting the ball with opposition.
And then in the female game, you might look at someone like Lucy Bronze, who moving with the ball is using bigger touches to get into that space. Predominantly, she plays right-back for club and country. So you're looking at her around moving the ball, well She's actually trying to shift it higher up the pitch to create an attack.
Louise:
And Vinny, is moving with the ball, a key skill, and if so, why would that be?
Vinny:
Yes, Louise, it really is. And most fundamentally, it's around the fact that's when our players have possession of the ball, we want them to actually enjoy being in possession, and they can only do that if they actually feel confident and competent in terms of moving with the ball.
And as Suey’s already referenced, that can look very, very different at different points in the game. So, it might be moving with the ball into big spaces what we call ‘running with the ball’. It might be actually tried to manoeuvre the ball in tighter areas, which might be ‘dribbling’ or ‘turning’.
So, there's so many different technical facets to it. And also later on, we'll touch upon the four corner elements as well. So, yeah, a really massive area of work that we need to get right for all of our coaches, particularly working with our young players
Jamie:
Stereotypically with younger players at the start of their journey, they’re probably more or less likely to be drawn to the ball and have a focus on having it at the feet. So, is moving with the ball a skill that comes naturally or is practised naturally because that's what they want to do? And if so, how can we harness their desire to move with the ball?
Suey:
Yeah, I guess it's the age and stage of that development. So younger children, especially like to be ‘selfish’ as we call them. So it's their ball and only their ball. And that doesn't mean that they're a selfish player. That's just a development stage. And especially when you start coaching five, six, seven-year-olds.
In terms of what we want to get out of them as coaches, is we want to try and keep them to become confident and positive and traveling and moving off the ball. I guess (And I've actually been one of those coaches many years ago, where I've almost told them to pass. And actually I've trained moving with the ball out of them because I want them to pass because I can see an opportunity.
However, we need to really encourage them to take on players and be confident and positive and stop from the side-lines, shouting “pass” when we see as adults. Let them make their own decisions and give them an environment where, if they don't choose to pass, and they do want to move with the ball and travel with it. If they lose possession, still encourage them. And then as they get older, then talk to them about decision making of “Do I move the ball or do I pass it?”
But certainly, try not to coach that out of them because that's within them. As they're learning the game to be selfish and want to have the ball.
Jamie:
So, as you’re doing that and as they’re learning, is it important for them (to be able to do it successfully) to have good physical literacy skills, Vinny?
Vinny:
Yeah, absolutely Jamie. I think even prior to those physical literacy skills, it's actually that ability to make decisions through recognising spaces. So it's actually a perceptual thing in the psychological corner.
And to that end, I talk to a lot of the coaches and the teachers that I work with to encourage the children to play like meerkats. Encouraging the children to play with their head up. To what we call, scan, check shoulders. Whatever terminology you want to use. I think that's really, really important.
And just one final piece around that. Working with our youngest players, as we know they will immediately, (when the ball is at their feet) they will put their head down. And therefore it's important to scaffold our learning by initially working on those physical literacy skills. In terms of that agility, balance, coordination. But then also working with the ball in hand. And that's where they're actually working on their movement skills whilst also starting to master the ball.
Louise:
Just to clarify, is physical literacy. Is that just an awareness of the body and, like you say, the balance and what have you. Or is it something else? How would we define that?
Vinny:
It's exactly as you said, Louise, and I'd also bring in again that psychological element, in terms of the confidence around their own movements.
So when we talk about literacy, generally, it's often children who are confident, to actually read and to write. And physical literacy has that confidence element in that as well. So it's important that when we design our practices, we give the children the young players the opportunity to build up that confidence. Maybe through 1v1, 1v2 type practices.
Suey:
I guess as well, when we talk around that, what Vinny’s spoke about is ‘ABC’. So agility, balance, coordination. And rightly so from Vinny, in terms of, if they can get that right first, at that younger age, the confidence for them to have it with a ball at the feet will be brilliant. So, Tag Games is a really good way to encourage that physical literacy and the ABCs to help them build it.
Louise:
Okay. And then what other skills do players need to be successful at moving with the ball and how can we help develop them?
Suey:
Yeah, I guess I've kind of just answered my own question around the ABCs. But around, to make more skilful players, as we call them, we want them to be confident and positive. And again, dribble with the ball, turning, all the little things of having decision making. When to pass, when to shoot, will help the player. So putting them in environments where… like Vinny alluded to, 1v1, it could be even one against two, dependent on the ability of the players and the confidence. But to work on those away from the technical aspects.
So, we'd look at the psych and the social corners of that four corner model. We want them to be good at decision making as well. And what we mean by that is, not just around when to pass and when to dribble, but if they're coming up against an opponent to work out the weaknesses of the opponent.
So what side are they weaker on? Well, I'll take the left side as the weakest side, and I'll try and look to exploit the right hand side of that defender. Because I know that their weak and their shifting their body and things like that. So not only that, we want players to be confident in themselves. But we want them to make decisions based on the opposition. Am I stronger than him or her? faster than him or her and actually, how can I beat that player? So what part of my foot might I use to shift the ball?
So again, it's a lot more around the four corner than it is just a technical in movement of the ball.
Jamie:
Vinny, you alluded to it a little bit back with meerkat’s being able to look up and scan. How can you help players do that and to be more comfortable on the ball and to be able to look up and have a look at what’s around them, so they know what they can do next?
Vinny:
Yeah, I think for that one Jamie, it's all-around creative practice design. But again, depending on the age and stage of players that you're working with. The practice design might be that you change things up. We talked about the step principle, and it might be that we actually provide enough space for the players to work in, whereby they will feel confident to actually get their head up while manipulating the ball with their feet.
It might be that we actually change the number of players. So, for example, if you're working initially with six players, you might have that as naturally a 3v3. But you might change that up into a 4v2. Because actually two players are forging ahead and they're much more confident already, having the ball at the feet.
So, it's just being creative and really understanding, the step principle is such a simple concept, but it's how you actually apply that in a coaching environment, that's the key.
Jamie:
Suey, at what point in the age range would you be wanting to develop scanning skills? Is it straight away?
Suey:
Yeah. And again, it might something as simple as, ‘Foxes and Hounds’ or ‘Sharks and Fishes’ where they have a bib at the back of their short shorts tucked in, or just something like that, so they can check their shoulder to see where that catcher is and things like that.
So again, make it relevant to their needs. So a five-year-old doesn't need to know how to scan because there's a ball being played. Or something like that. In their world, there's someone trying to catch them and get the bib off them. So, it's as simple as that. It’s just around, think of games where they might have to check the shoulder. And start to drip feed that information.
And as they get older, they'll be able to take in more technical and tactical information.
Jamie:
Vinny in the modern game now there's more of a focus on things like playing out from the back, playing in tight areas and having the ball for much longer times or periods of time.
But of course, the longer you're on the ball, there's more of a risk for the team that's in possession. So how important is it that coaches create an environment where players feel safe and they're encouraged to stay on the ball and move with it while they're under pressure?
Vinny:
Yeah, I think I'll kick that one off, no pun intended!
With the idea of loving the ball, loving the game. I think right from those early years, we've got to encourage our youngsters to do exactly that. And I think, for me, I’ve being coaching now, back in the grassroots game myself. Away from the day job for the last six years. And it's rife in those early ages of the youngsters playing 5v5.
And of course, the game designed, the matchday experience needs to mirror what we did in practice sessions as well. And the beauty of it is, of course, when we're playing mini soccer 5v5 7v7, then the rules for those formats of the game allow the children to have time on the ball. So for example, a goal kicks, there's the retreat line. And therefore that should be an encouraging all Grassroots coaches to say to their young goalkeepers “Pass the ball out from the back.” Yeah, “try and play to somebody in a wide area or somebody in space”.
Of course, once we then move from 7v7 into 9v9, it’s starting to become a bit more like the Adult game and the retreat line disappears. And that, to me, is the real crunch point. That as coaches, we need to keep our behaviours consistent, to say “keep trying to look after the ball”, “keep trying to play out from the back”, not for the sake of just copycatting what the senior players do. But actually, the ball is precious. And if we can look after the ball and if we can move the ball comfortably, we’ll work our way up the pitch and do the bit that we enjoy most, which is scoring goals.
Jamie:
As we move through the age groups, then how can we make sure it's appropriate for different age groups but still being able to progress and maybe getting a little bit more advanced?
Suey:
Yeah. So again, with the younger age groups, you almost want them to have more chance of dribbling, but against more opposition. So could be a ball each but with only one defender in there. So you could have 10 players with a ball each and one or two defenders in a square. That they've got to try and get past. And that kind of helps them because they can use other players to distract them from that defender.
So again, they've got a little bit more breathing space, and that defender doesn't necessarily always have to go against that attacker.
As they get older, you're looking at then changing. So it could be that it's 1v1, So you've got that one attacker with the ball moving with the ball, but is faced up against that one defender. So again, it's quite hard to get past them and they've got to really be confident going, “how do I get the ball past this player?”
As you get older as well, You might be looking at different practices that lends itself to defenders, so you might have one attacker who's moving with the ball against two or three defenders. Now again, you'll know the needs of your players because some players will thrive off that challenge. But given him too early, it might knock their confidence, they might not enjoy it, they might not want to come back.
But when you see, obviously players like Jack Grealish taking on three players, it is in the game. And especially when you're up front, it might be you playing for 4,4,2 and you’re playing against a back four plus the goalkeeper. So in theory, that attacker, if they've got the ball, they’re up against four defenders plus a goalkeeper to try and score a goal. So if we can expose the older players to environments, that lends itself that actually probability of the defenders winning it is higher. Brilliant. But there's also a trade off. If we do that too much or too soon, we'll start to lose a player's confidence. And that belief in themselves. So it’s around the balancing, juggling act of knowing what your players need, at what point. But start to play against the different defenders as they get older.
Louise:
How do you get players used to moving with the ball when equipment and space is limited?
Suey:
Yeah, it’s a really good question. I guess it’s around tight areas. Again. Like Vinny said, encouraging moving the ball. It might be that again, you just build a square, a rectangle, potentially a triangle, because it gives you a different option in terms of areas and spaces within a triangle. It's just around. Look. You don't need a goal, so you might actually play line ball games.
So instead of having a goal to score in, we just have a little pitch could be 3v3, depending on the age of your group, and to score they have to win the ball over the line. So obviously, then your practice your session title, your topic of moving with the ball and they're getting more repetition because that's how they score a goal. So I'd recommend building shapes to practice first off and then again, whether it's at the start or the end. Then it’s just line ball games because you have that repetition of moving with the ball, but scoring a goal at the same time.
Jamie:
Now, with sessions and with younger groups, you know, we don't want to encourage having set goalkeepers, obviously set positions. We want players to be able to experience all the positions on the pitch. But in particular when they're older how important is it that goalkeepers do get involved with sessions and if it is important, how do you do that?
Vinny:
Yeah, absolutely crucial isn’t it? that all goalkeepers are comfortable with the ball at their feet. Again, if we try and take the experiences that we see at the top level, some of our best passes of the ball are our goalkeepers.
I think, going back to just creative practice design, but more importantly, here, I think we need to be as the youngsters move into those teenage years. And in fact, I'd always advocated for younger age groups. Game related practices are so, so important, and it may well be that you actually design a practice whereby you insist we often call it the constraints led approach that your goalkeeper is actually involved in the build-up to actually scoring the goal.
I often talk about going backwards to go forwards, penetration. Playing forward is an important part of the game, a key principle, but sometimes we've got to go backwards to go forwards. So, yeah, incorporating our goalkeeper and everything that we do right from our arrival activities and our warm-ups, but also being creative in our practice design.
And I say shining a light specifically on game-related practices because that brings the realism, whether it be all five-year-olds, our 15-year-olds or our 25-year-olds, if it's a game-related practice that really taught us how to accelerate their learning.
Louise:
OK. Well, to summarise, what would your top tips be for coaches working on moving with the ball?
Suey:
I'll go first in terms of the coach set the right environment because we have to, as coaches understand that if we want to encourage our players to be confident in moving with the ball, expect some mistakes, expect that they might lose possession. So what is your coaching mannerism going to be like if that happens? Because at training, we might actually really encourage moving with the ball. But when it's a game environment, our mannerisms and coaching values may change because of the score or the pressure from potentially the side-line.
So, if we can mirror our coaching mannerisms, training and match day to encourage them to move the ball, but also just confirm with them that it's OK to lose the ball because it's always a risk. So maintain your coaching values and beliefs for both training and matchday to help players gain confidence in moving the ball.
Set the right environment. So understand your players needs.
So again, the age and stage of development, if they're moving with the ball over forty yards and they’re 5 years old, we need to tailor the size. Shortening it up because actually they only need to play in short and small areas.
Vinny:
Our practices should be small-sided, small numbered, especially for our young players.
Decision making. We can't make our youngsters, our teenage players, Our adult players can't make good decisions unless they play with their heads up and develop that awareness. And so earlier, I referenced meerkats. It is my go-to because I think it's such an easy way to explain to people the importance of, playing with your head up. Scanning to see what the options are, checking shoulders, having a good body position. It's all in there. So I think that will hopefully help our coaches to put things out onto the grass in their next coaching session.
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Jamie:
Now this is the part of the show where we're joined by a grassroots coach.
We'll hear about their experiences so far and find out what coaching challenge they're currently facing. Our experts will then hopefully be able to provide them with the guidance they need.
Today. We're delighted to be joined by Lewis from Hull.
Hi, Lewis, welcome to the show.
Lewis:
Hey mate, how are you doing?
Jamie:
Yeah, not too bad. Thank you very much.
Louise:
Hi, Lewis, thanks for joining us. Can you tell us a little bit about your coaching journey so far?
Lewis:
Yeah, I have been doing coaching for around four years now.
I started a girl’s football team. My daughter wanted to get into football. I’m massively passionate, I’ve been playing football my whole life and I wanted to try and bring something back to our local area and to try and bring girls football up.
And just I took over recently, six months ago, a women's team as well.
Louise:
So, can you tell us what coaching challenge you are currently facing?
Lewis:
Yeah, probably the biggest thing for me, for young, for the younger generation so much is and the development gap, especially around where the children are progressing.
Some are progressing at a higher standard a little bit quicker, where we've got other girls who’ve been playing as long as the girls I've got now. But maybe not progressing and developing as quickly as some of the other children I've got. So that's probably one of the key challenges I find on a weekly basis. Keeping them motivated and stimulated is probably the right word to use. in terms of progressing their footballing ability and keeping them motivated to play.
So, Trying to develop drills on a weekly basis that keeps them going, but also doesn't make the players that are maybe not at their level yet. The other girls, keep them motivated and not feel so downhearted that they can't do what other girls do yet.
So that's probably my biggest challenge so far, as they're getting older, there's a bit of a bridge appearing. So yeah, that's probably my key one to be honest.
Suey:
So again, Lewis, nice to have you and hearing some of your challenges that you face, I think when we talk about moving with the ball and especially, you’re right, in grassroots predominately, there are so many differences between boys and girls as the ages because of the age and stages that each individual player, the kind of they're rate in growing and developing, there’s so much differentiation. And that's not just in football. That’s in any walk of life.
And Vinny, you can touch on the teaching aspects and that in schools, which would be great. I think we've got not to be too ourselves in terms of what we plan, but using the step principle and understanding our players as much as we can will help us plan.
So that step principle for anyone that's listening. It's around changing the Space, Task, Equipment and the Players. So when we talk about moving with the ball. There's some great games where they can have a ball each, whether it's tag, skills corridor, the Great Escape and a lot of the games are on the boot room around moving the ball. It is great but the art of coaching is how to differentiate the players. So some tips that might help you, Lewis, as you go back and coach your girls would be around, don't be afraid to make different areas, so you might have a square, a triangle and a rectangle.
And we talk about moving with the ball and having defenders in those zones. Well, we know that a square has equal sides, so the space is pretty equal. Whereas when we look at like a triangle, you might start to think about where the smallest area is. And it’s at the top of the triangle.
So again, you might start to think about instead of always using a square, I’m going to use a triangle. I’m going to challenge my better players to stay at the highest point in the triangle and take on those defenders in those areas.
The players that potentially have got a lesser football age, because that's what we call them. They might be the same age, but the football playing age is different. They might want to stay at the bottom of the triangle because there's more space.
There might be more players to try and distract that one defender as well. And then it’s around the questions and answers to your players. So if you know there's a player that potentially is struggling or coping to keep up with the session, give her an individual challenge.
So whether it's saying to her, do you think you'd be more comfortable at the bottom end of the triangle because there's more space, give you more confidence. Then certainly that one to one advice, and that that kind of intervention of coaching as a game is going on.
And then the flip side of that, you're better. Players will also need support because they'll get bored if they're not challenged. So again, it could be that instead of them putting against one defender, you flip it, so that 1 player who's moving with the ball goes against 2 defenders because we like to challenge.
And if you create the environment right, the players are potentially striving and the players are coping and the players are struggling to keep up. You give them choices. “Well, You start wherever you feel comfortable with this session. So if it’s a game of tag in a triangle if you're, start at the highest.”
But when they start, and as you're the coach, when you start to observe some of the body language and it might feel a lot, or you might be able to see that they are struggling. Well you say “would you be better at the bottom end of the triangle? more space?” it’s around that for me around differentiation, and that STEP principle.
Lewis: Yeah, no. Thanks for that. Appreciate that.
Vinny:
Just picking up on that, just tell me a little bit more Suey’s just referenced about it being age-appropriate. If you jump on the Bootroom, you’ll actually see ‘Top tips for moving with the ball’.
And it’s a piece that I put together. I started with the it's actually an A to F, ABCDEF. And the ‘A’ is age-appropriate.
So what age are your girls??
Lewis:
They are currently under eleven’s.
Vinny:
OK, fabulous. And so typically in a practice session, so under elevens, you’re playing nine a side at the moment?
Lewis:
Nine a side yeah.
Vinny:
So what have you got, a squad of twelve, fourteen?
Lewis:
Yeah, fourteen at the moment yeah.
Vinny:
Brilliant. So, you know, if we just delve into the real world of a practice session on a Tuesday night, I think for me, making sure that you give the girls lots of game time opportunity within practice sessions. We talk about game time on a match day, but actually being creative with your practice design so that they look and feel like games. So I'm thinking there with your numbers, Fourteen and straight away, I'm thinking, You know what? I'm going to have an eight I’m going to have a six.
And we’re going to have a game of 4v4 and 3v3. The game could be as simple as end zones. So if we're talking about the topic of moving with the ball-playing end zones, as you well know, having played for many years, as you've referenced, you need to keep control of the ball.
But more importantly, all of the children, all of the girls will need to play with their heads up so they can pick the right time to run with the ball. Now that 3v3 game, that might be for your girls who are not quite as advanced as the others. And therefore, they've got the smaller numbers.
The 4v4 it might be that even within that context, you've got three girls who really are your high flyers. So change it up using the step principle and turn that into 5v3.
So those three more able players, they're going to get loads more opportunity to move with the ball, but it's going to be a big challenge because they've got five defenders to deal with.
So just some really simple things. I work as a grassroots coach as well when I'm not wearing this badge. And they're the sort of things that I've worked with over the last 3 or 4 years.
Particularly as we enter these difficult months with the weather being poor and obviously conditions being such that we want the girls to have as much game and activity time as possible.
Lewis:
Yeah, no. Thanks for that, Vincent. Appreciate it. Thank you.
Jamie:
Lewis, have you got any of any other questions or any other challenges you want to run by Vinny and Suey while you’re here?
Lewis:
When you're doing dribbling, it's quite a struggle to do various drills with dribbling. That are not all the same kind of thing. Is there any that you've got that you could share or that you can talk me through?
Suey:
So again, with anything, as long as there's an element of fun, motivation and winning and losing and that competition. That’s how you manage that winning and losing, it keeps players engaged.
At the same time, the competition has to be able to meet all the needs of the players. So one that's really good around dribbling and it's almost three levels, so you've got three rectangles that join into each other, but you might have, a level one is two defenders, but the rectangle is a little bit bigger and they have to escape at the top of the rectangle through one of the goals, and there’s two goals at the top. And again, every time you escape a level, you get a point. So your maximum points is three and then you get to go again. But there's a time limit.
Now at the same time. It's a bit like deal or no deal. You can bank your point. So if for example, Lewis and Vinny you were playing in my session. You've got a ball each. You've got to get through the levels in 30 seconds to try and get as many points.
So level one is just two gates and two defenders. For example, level two might be a smaller rectangle and only one gate, but one defender as well. So it's harder, and level three might be one gate and three defenders, so even harder.
So again, they've got a choice of going. Which one? Now, you don't have to get through all three. So what you could do is if you're comfortable at level one, you get a success. You can leave by the side of the rectangle at that point.
So for Vinny, he might be one of my players that potentially is not so confident, but likes level one because it's good for him, builds his confidence. He might get the point, but then escape at the side for level 2. He starts the game again but he's got one point, he’s banked it and that's that decision making and risk and reward are going, the more times Vinny does that, and he starts banking one point, he might eventually go, You know, I've got a bit of confidence now. I might try and get through that level 2 and then bank my points at the end. So, it's giving players decisions to go. If you can get to top, brilliant, you get 3 points or you might even go, you get ten points. It's like multiple points.
But the decision is, if I don't feel confident, I'm not going take on that defender, I'm going to escape at the side, bank my points and go.
So that's a really good game in terms of, its player ownership, where they feel comfortable, also their ability. But for you as a coach, that's where you might start doing some individual coaching with your girls and go ”Actually, I've noticed that you've been banking level one quite a lot. I think you've got the skill and the ability, especially keeping it close to try now to get past Level two, because I've been watching you”
And then start to ask some questions about tactics. So actually, if there's more than one attacker trying to get a through like gate, what's happening to the defender? Well, the been occupied, “Brilliant – well that’s your opportunity to sneak through”. So you've got some coaching points that you can put in.
But again, for that dribbling game, it might be if you get to the end, Instead of getting points, you get to score in a goal because everyone loves to score.
And then you could put them in after 30 seconds. Find a partner. Tell them you score. Brilliant. Can you beat your partner score? Or, more importantly, can you beat your own score the next time?
So they’re playing against themselves, potentially sharing the points of the partner who they've got to try and beat. And if there's some goals at the end of level 3, That’s the ultimate reward. ‘Go score in a goal’ Because kids, adults, it doesn’t matter, how old you are. Love scoring a goal, at the end of it. So again, little things like that, but putting levels in, where players make decisions based on what is in front of them.
Lewis: Thanks. Appreciate it.
Vinny:
Yeah, and picking up on that Lewis, going back to the whole idea of scoring goals. I mentioned earlier that I'm a great believer in games based practice rather than drills. So one of my go-to games is called ‘Width to win’.
So as we know, having width as we attack with the ball is really important. It's a key principle of the game. So essentially it’s your rectangular pitch there are goals at both ends. And again, with your girls, you could add this as a 7v7. So it could be like a bit of a proper, realistic match day environment and then maybe three meters in from each of the touch lines, maybe using your marker spots rather than cones. You can actually create two channels.
And essentially, if a player receives the ball in that channel, going back to the whole idea of moving with the ball. Initially, they might have five seconds of freedom to travel up that channel. Now, of course, for your high flyers, you might only give them three seconds, and after that three seconds, the defender can go in and then it becomes a 1v1. So it goes from moving with the ball in open spaces into actually tighter areas. So that's a really nice activity. That I use. As I say it's called width to win, it's super easy to setup and of course, the girls are getting that game time again.
Playing on that familiar context. It's a rectangular pitch and you can increase the challenges. And as Suey said earlier, you can do that individualised coaching as well because the game will look after itself, and that's where you can do your little drive by coaching.
I'll give one further example, you might have a really advanced player who travels nicely with the ball up that channel and whenever they want to leave that channel, you'll give them the challenge of combining with a 1,2. So they actually lend the ball to a teammate, get high up the pitch, play a little 1,2. Smash it in the top corner, everybody's happy. So width to win. And I'm happy to share a resource showing you an example of how that sets up.
Lewis:
Brilliant thanks, Vinny.
Jamie:
How was everything for you, Lewis? Is that some good advice? You happy with that?
Lewis:
Yes, some really good stuff and thank you both for your time. Really good. Some good insight and some good ideas to take back to the girls to keep progressing them. Thanks again. Really appreciate it.
Jamie:
Well, thank you very much for joining us today, Lewis. So hopefully you'll be able to put that into action at your next session.
<Segment Music>
Jamie:
We're coming up to the end of the episode now, but before we blow the full time whistle, we're going to try a little feature we like to call Swift Session.
This is where we challenge our guests to come up with a session idea that relates to the theme of the episode.
Louise:
We're looking for something that's based on moving with the ball, is fun, engaging and gives players a chance to be skilful.
It can involve any number of activities, but you'll only have 30 seconds to explain your ideas. Are you up to the challenge? Vinny and Suey, I think you're going to try and collaborate Aren't you on this one.
Suey:
Oh yes.
Louise:
All right, let's get the timer ready. OK, so you've got 30 seconds starting from now.
Suey:
Skills Corridor. So it was from the FA Youth Award many years ago.
Vinny:
Really simple to set up, all you need is six cones to mark out a rectangle.
Suey:
So you can have three lanes in that rectangle or just one. Players can start with or without a ball.
Vinny:
If they start without the ball encourage them to play like a MeerKat by moving up the area, and identifying spaces
Suey:
As they can travel through the three lanes. The next challenge would …Oh,
Louise:
That's the 30 seconds!
Suey:
All right, OK.
Louise:
Was there anything left that you feel like you need to add?
Suey:
The next challenge would be get some defenders in, and encourage them to move with the ball.
Louise:
Fabulous, that sounds like a great session for people to try out.
So before we finish the show, do you have any last key messages for coaches to take away?
Suey:
Yeah, I'll give you three. For me it’s keep it simple. Know your players and don't be afraid to put a challenge in as well.
Jamie:
Brilliant. Well, there's some great points there in this episode has been full, and I will say it, it’s been full of gold dust today! It's been brilliant, so thank you very much for joining us today, both of you.
Suey:
Yeah, thanks for having us.
Vinny:
Yeah, thanks both, it’s been great fun.
<Segment Music>
Jamie:
Right that's all we have time for today. But if you want to find out more about what‘ve discussed in this episode, head over to thebootroom.thefa.com to check out Vinny’s article. ‘Top tips for moving with the ball’. You can also head over to our YouTube channel ‘England Football Learning’ to access a playlist called Moving with the Ball.
Louise:
While you're on our YouTube channel, make sure you hit that. Subscribe button. And you can also follow us on Twitter where our handle it @Englandlearning, that way, you can keep in touch with all of our content.
And finally, if you want to chat about today's episode or just want to jump into a coaching conversation, you can do so by swinging over to The FA community.
We'll be back soon with another episode of Coachcast, so keep an eye on our social media channels and wherever you get your podcasts from.
All that's left to say from all of us at English football learning.
Thanks for listening.