USA Men's Soccer

WOW!

Even though we ended up losing 3-2 to Brazil, I couldn't be more proud of the USA Men's Soccer Team. They were pretty much counted out after their losses to Italy and Brazil in the first round. But somehow they got through into the semifinals.

Their game against Spain was just magnificent and their first half against Brazil was totally amazing! Brazil being such a force, was not to be denied and came storming back. Their first goal in the first minute of the 2nd half was a killer. In my opinion that was the goal that had such an impact on the outcome of the game.

When I coach, I have always asked my players to make certain to defend like crazy in the first 5-10 minutes of each half. That goal gave Brazil, confidence and in my opinion put the US Team on their heels. If they could have kept the game 2-0 through the first 10 minutes....who knows what could have been.

A lesson to be learned is to match and exceed the other teams energy as games and 2nd halves start. Doing that often has a major impact on a teams success.

Have a great day!

Gary
www.soccerandspeedcoach.com

Six Inches of Soccer Separation

In several previous posts, I have discussed just how critical creating space or separation is for a soccer player. I have discussed first step quickness, acceleration (first 6 steps), lateral movement skills, shuffling and side running...well all of those topics and techniques will result in a soccer player creating separation.

Sometimes however, as players get older and skills as well as athleticism become more similar...in other words, defenders are now as fast and as agile as strikers, you may need to look for other means.

So what can you do to create even more separation? Well, at this higher level, six inches of separation on the soccer field might be all that you can gain. If this is the case for players or a team that are evenly matched athletically, one skill which doesn't get a ton of fanfare or is considered a beautiful skill to possess, but is highly productive under the right circumstances is the "toe poke"!

The Toe Poke is a quick extension of the leg and foot extending the toe out to knock the ball past a diving goal keeper or a pressuring defender. That quick extension may gain you six inches or so which may be all you need to score that winning goal or to help your team keep possession.

While the toe poke often times unbalances the player and forces them to the ground...it can be the final six inches of separation that you may need.

While Clint Dempsey's huge goal against Spain wasn't a typical toe poke, his extension and laying out to create more length was the difference between scoring and not scoring.

I hope you enjoyed this post, leave me a reply!

Have a great day!

Gary

www.soccerandspeedcoach.com

Are Soccer Players Losing the Art of Shielding?

Either it is not being taught by coaches much anymore or players choose to ignore it, but players seem to shy away from shielding the ball from a defender. Shielding the ball in other words is putting your body between the ball and the defender. Not only does shielding help the team with the ball maintain possession, when used right can actually create opportunity for you.

Case in point was the play Josie Altidore made yesterday in the USA Men's huge win over Spain. The ball was played into Altidore and he was able to shield the ball from the Spanish defender and feel his presence on his back. Not only did he shield him beautifully, but he spun on him as well, creating shooting space for himself. The rest is history. He put a strong shot on goal beating the goalkeeper and giving the USA team a 1-0 lead. This first half lead turned into a 2-0 win....one of the biggest wins in quite awhile for the men's soccer team.

It all started with a perfect job of shielding the ball. My suggestion to soccer coaches is to keep working with your players on shielding the ball...it will earn you more possession and in some instances it will earn you a huge win!

For more free soccer and soccer speed insights check out www.soccerandspeedcoach.com and get excellent soccer and soccer speed tips sent to you weekly.

Have a great day!

Gary
www.soccerandspeedcoach.com

First Touch Critical for Soccer Players

I had a training session last night for a team at one of my local soccer clubs. The session had to do with their first touch. In observing them play over the last several weeks, i noticed that their first touch was either too close to their feet or too far away from them. It also appeared to me that their first touch often times took them right into where pressure was coming from.

My session dealt with working with the players to take their first touch with the outside of the foot and to take it way from pressure. we set up several grids and had the players initially work on that outside of the foot first touch, then we brought some pressure in gradually.

I also wanted them to push the ball with the outside of the foot and keep it on the outside of their foot for as long as possible. In the beginning the players were "punching" the ball versus "pushing" it. Pushing it by keeping it on the foot longer allows for better control of the ball. Punching it does not allow for better control and as result many bad touches are made. The push method also forces the player to make a longer first step too, often times allowing the player to take the ball away from pressure quickly with a controlled first touch.

Working on this first touch with both feet will make any player better and more dangerous on the field.

Have a great day!

Gary
www.soccerandspeedcoach.com

PS To get free information on soccer and speed skills, go to www.soccerandspeedcoach.com and register to receive this information.

When a Possession Game Doesn't Work

In watching the USA Men's team play the Egyptian squad the other day, several things came to mind. One, while possessing the ball is usually a key ingredient to winning a game, it isn't that necessary and the other item I noticed is passion can carry you quite far.

With the planets lining up just perfect for the USA men's team to advance to the semifinals, you couldn't help but notice how the team from Egypt had a lot of possession time on their side, but they never got a ton of dangerous chances. So while possession is great, doing something with some penetrating passes is also important...it just never really happened for them.

Secondly, how about the fight the USA team put up? Talk about desire and passion rolled into one. They clearly wanted the game more and won in my opinion, because of that! Their work rate all game was terrific.

So what I learned from that game is ball control by itself is not enough, you need to mix in some plays and take some chances with the ball. Also, while your skills may not be the best in the world, you can show heart, determination and hustle which will carry you far as well.

Tough day for the Italians and Egyptians, but a great day for the Americans!

Have a great day!

Gary

www.soccerandspeedcoach.com

The Three C's of Soccer

I love this time of year as many teams are playing soccer and it affords me a chance to see a lot of teams play. Over this past weekend, I went to a tournament and enjoyed watching three pretty good matches.

I noticed several things in these matches which prompted me to post them today. In my opinion, what players need to work on are these three things, which I am calling the Three C's of Soccer.

1. The first C is...Conditioning! Coaches and players alike, please make sure you are getting your players in proper conditioning to play the game. This past weekend was actually cool temperature wise (maybe the high of 70 degrees) and yet all the players on the field were gassed.
2. The second C is...Collection! As in collecting the ball. So many times players lost the ball when it was passed to them because their touch was awful. Make sure to work on collecting the ball on the ground with either foot but also balls that are in the air!
3. The third C is...Composure! Once pressure was applied, many players did not handle it well and allowed it to effect their decisions with the ball, which forced bad passes resulting in either giving the ball away or just going out of bounds.

If players can get control of their three C's, that will make them a better soccer player, which in turn will make the team better too.

If you are looking for free cutting edge soccer and speed information sent to you, go on over to www.soccerandspeedcoach.com and register to receive more soccer insights! Thanks!

Have a great day!

Gary

Best Fruits to Eat Before a Soccer Game

Sometimes players are hungry several hours before a game and they reach for a bag of potato chips...below are better options for them. Fruits are easily packed and transported, so if you are in the car driving to a game, they are easy to find and easy to eat. Plus they are packed with great energy for the player to use during the soccer game.

The options below are from part of my survey I did on best foods for soccer players to eat prior to and after a game or practice. I surveyed over 125 sports nutritionists from around the country asking for their top choices. Here are the results for fruits to consume 2-3 hours before a game:

Best fruits to consume 2-3 hours before the game!!!

The Best: Size and Quantity

Banana 1 medium
Apple 1 medium
Grapes (red or green) 20-25 grapes
Oranges 1 medium


Very Good:

Pear 1 medium
Cantaloupe ¼ of a melon
Strawberries 8-12
Blueberries 25-30 blueberries

Good:

Watermelon 8-10 1 inch cubes
Grapefruit ½ of a grapefruit
Kiwi 2 medium
Plum 2 medium


To get the whole report, go to www.soccerandspeedcoach.com and register to receive more of my survey results for free.

Have a great day!

Gary

Soccer agility can be learned

When watching a soccer game, you'll notice that the ball changes direction constantly. This change of direction could be accidental...deflections or miss hit or on purpose like a wall pass or a diagonal pass. It could also be accomplished by an attacking player dribbling and then changing direction with the ball.

In any event, in order to continue to get better as a soccer player and to be able to stay up with the play, soccer players must learn a very important skill. That skill is soccer agility. You might be asking yourself how does a player learn agility? Soccer agility or agility by itself is really the ability of a player to change direction safely, efficiently and explosively. The most dangerous athlete on the field is the athlete who can stop the fastest and then explode in a new direction.

Even if you do not have the ball, you need to be able to change direction effectively and quickly. Many defenders need to be extremely agile as they need to be able to react quickly and explosively to what an attacking player is trying to accomplish with the ball.

Here are three quick pointers to help a soccer player with their soccer agility:

• When stopping quickly, a player must first take a few smaller steps as they approach the spot where they need to stop at.
• As they are taking these smaller steps, they also need to start to lower their hips and bend their knees.
• At the point where they need to stop, they should have their feet about shoulder width apart.

With these smaller steps, bent knees and hips down, the athlete has now effectively slowed themselves down and can now prepare for their next step in a new direction.

Following these moves will help a player become more athletic and more dangerous on the field. It will also help them lessen the chance of suffering a serious knee injury.

For more information on how to learn the secrets of direction change, go to www.soccerandspeedcoach.com and register to learn when our speed and direction change DVD for soccer players is coming out. You can also download our seven secrets to soccer success too for free.

Have a great day!

Gary

www.soccerandspeedcoach.com

Improving a Soccer Players First Step

In order to be a game changer on the soccer field, a soccer player's first step is their most important one. Their 1st step sets them up to either succeed or fail.

A quicker first step sets an offensive player up to score more goals, save or deflect a shot attempt as a defender and make an amazing save as a goalkeeper.

Here is why the first step is so important....since the game of soccer is a combination or series of short explosive 8-15 yard bursts, you need only several steps to cover that distance. When I see players are just a fraction of a second too late in getting to the ball, it is mostly because their first step was not explosive.

A player's first step sets in motion all other steps as well. Here are some of the challenges players incur with getting that explosive first step.

• If their body is too upright, that may force too short of a first step, which in turn will weaken their first step power.
• If their first step is too long, they probably are off balance and landed with their heel first causing them to not be able to push off powerfully from the front part of their foot.
• Players need to learn to use a powerful arm drive also to propel them forward explosively.
• Foot strike must be slightly behind the hips. A slight forward body lean allows this to occur more easily.

Once that first step is correct and explosive, (slight forward lean, landing on the front part of the foot, explosive arm drive , with a foot strike slightly behind the hips) the next 3-8 step will also fall into place allowing a soccer player to accelerate powerfully and explosively on the field at any given moment.

For more soccer and speed insights, please go on over to www.soccerandspeedcoach.com and register to receive excellent cutting edge training techniques sent right to your inbox for free.

Have a great day!

Gary

www.soccerandspeedcoach.com

Is Your Soccer Team Making a Difference in the World?

What I have found in my 20 plus years of coaching soccer players is that they are a very giving group of individuals. This is true about the players, their parents and the coaches.

I think one of the reasons for this generosity trait is soccer is such a team oriented sport. While there might be some "go to" players on the field, for the most part games are won or lost because of team play. So players understand the notion of sharing, whether it is the ball or the spotlight or their time, it is just the right thing to do.

With all that said unfortunately, I don't see as many teams trying to make a difference in the world. I don't know if that is the case because they don't think they can make a difference or what the reasons are, but I want to tell you that you can make a difference and i would hope teams would consider doing something annually to help others.

Just recently one of my teams (high school age girls) took it upon themselves to do a community service project. They decided to raise money for a charity. The team formed committee's under the guidance of some parent assistance and the players decided on what charity we would raise money for (Make-A-Wish) and what needed to get done and who was going to do it.

They ended up dribbling a soccer ball around their schools track and had companies and individuals sponsor them. Each player dribbled one mile and them passed onto a teammate who then did their mile of dribbling and so forth until 50 miles later it ended!

When all of the donations were added up, and donations included sponsors, food sold the day of the event and games that were being played while the dribbling was going on the total amount raised exceeded $14,000!

Needless to say the girls were excited because they had raised enough money to grant the wishes of three very special young people.

As you can imagine, the girls learned many skills outside of soccer that day, and made a difference in the world.

I hope you have a great day!

Gary Christopher
http://www.soccerandspeedcoach.com/

PS. If you are looking for interesting ways of getting new ideas on training your soccer team or yourself as a soccer player, please go over to my website, http://www.soccerandspeedcoach.com/ today and register to receive my soccer and speed insights sent to you each week for free.

Nutrition Questions Answered for Soccer Players

With some soccer tournaments coming up, it is important to know as much as possible about nutrition. Below is a series of several questions soccer coaches have asked us and that we have answered through a panel of sports nutritionists.

Q: Why is nutrition so important to an athlete's performance on the game field or practice field?

A: It is vital that an athlete properly fuel their body. You would not expect a car to work without the right type of gas; similarly you cannot expect your body to run efficiently without the right fuel (foods/fluids) either. Eating the right foods and consuming the right fluids at the right time can help the athlete achieve their peak performance!

Q: Why is proper nutrition important for an athlete prior to a game and some general suggested foods that make sense to consider an hour or two before a game?

A: Fueling properly before practice or game is imperative to an athlete’s performance. An athlete must "top off" their energy stores by consuming a high carbohydrate snack prior to practice or competition. Ensuring that the snack is high in carbohydrates, (not high in protein or fat) is important since carbohydrates are quickly converted to energy that the body can use to fuel sports activity. Examples include, fruit, granola bars, raisins, pretzels and bagels.

Q: Why is proper nutrition important for an athlete after a game and some general suggested foods that make sense to consider within an hour of a game for recovery purposes?

A: Post-workout and/or post-competition, it is crucial for an athlete consume a snack that is high in carbohydrates and moderate in protein within 30 minutes. The 30 minute time window is important to help decrease recovery time. Meaning, an athlete will be able to recover faster from one workout to the next. Examples include flavored low-fat milk, peanut butter & jelly sandwich, cereal & milk, and trail mix.

** It is important for the athlete and coach to understand that even with the right type, amount and timing of your nutrition it will take the body approximately 20-22 hrs to fully recover its energy stores.

Hope this information helps you with your players nutrition for game days and recovery days!

Have a great day!

Gary
www.soccerandspeedcoach.com

Are Small Sided Games the Best for Soccer Practice

My answer to that question is YES! Before I get into the reasons for my answer, let me qualify that answer. What I mean by small sided soccer games are 3v3 and 5v5 games.

Here is my rationale:

• Touches on the ball: In a 5v5 game, there are plenty of touches to go around. The more quality touches a player can accumulate, the better they will become. I hope you caught the word "quality" in that previous sentence. Quality means just that, don't allow your players to have a bad first touch repeatedly, work with them to get a quality first touch in these games.
• Composure with the ball: In a 3v3 game where you put some size restrictions into place, players now must learn to keep possession of the ball while maintaining their composure. Pressure in a small sided, tight space will be plentiful....so they will definitely learn to deal with that pressure in games like this.
• Speed of play: Because of constant pressure, players will also learn how to play quicker with the ball. Enhancing a high quality, quicker pace game can help players and teams alike.
• Athletic performance: If the tempo is high and the play is quick, this will force players to move quickly as well. A players speed and agility is definitely enhanced by small sided games.
• Movement off the ball: players now need to move quickly off the ball and get into supportive positions to a teammate that has the ball.
• Communication is also critical now because of the speed of play, and tighter field constraints. Having teammates working on giving verbal help and cues to their teammates will help make for better play on the big field.

One thing I like to also do before I get into a small sided 5v5 game is have the players work on some technical skill (ie. stepover move). During the small sided games then, I will award a point for any players that execute a proper "stepover" in the game.

In summary, my belief is training your players in a small sided manner (3v3 or 5v5) offers the players many quality touches on the ball, enhancing their speed of play and their overall speed and agility. Composure with the ball and Communication skills are also greatly developed.

If you haven't jumped on my website yet, please go over to http://www.soccerandspeedcoach.com/ and register to get more soccer tips sent to you every week.

Have a great day!

Gary

http://www.soccerandspeedcoach.com/

Master These Three Passes

When I was growing up and playing youth soccer, I had a coach tell me that passing was an art. He said that the beauty to the game was a teams ability to pass well.

Today what I wanted to discuss is, if a soccer player can master these three passes, how much more effective they will be on the soccer field. There is so much we can discuss about passing the ball...but for todays post I want to introduce the three types of passes that once perfected or at least improved upon by players it will make them and their team more successful.

The first pass I'd like to discuss is the "touch pass". You do need to develop a touch or a feel for this pass. It needs to be more perfect than the other two passes. A touch pass is a pass of between five and fifteen yards to a teammate. In developing a touch pass, a player should have several concerns;

• How hard do I hit the ball to make this pass (weight of the pass)? Too hard and I may have challenged my teammate too much in making a effortless collection. Too soft and I may put my teammate in a bad position to receive the pass.
• Do I play it to their feet or into space? If it is played to feet, can I play it with proper pace to the proper foot which will allow my teammate to become more dangerous with this pass?

A complete soccer player should be able to make a touch pass with either foot and with either the outside of the foot or inside of the foot.

The second pass to work on is the "lofted or chipped pass". This pass also requires a feel for it to be effective. A lofted or chipped pass can be anywhere from 15 yards to 50 yards in distance. Ideally you want to hit the ball on the bottom half of the ball and follow through. A lofted pass when struck well will land softly with back spin not allowing the ball to roll away. This a great pass to play over a defenders head or to play more direct to a target player by bypassing other players and defenders.

The third pass is the "driven pass". With a driven pass, you are generally looking to strike the ball hard and straight. It can almost feel like the player is taking a shot on goal. Some specific times that a driven ball may make sense is when a player wants to change point of attack or there is a slight opening and a midfielder is trying to slot a ball behind a defender allowing one of his attacking players to run onto the ball. Again with all of these passes, being able to perfect them with either foot is key.

If coaches incorporate training their players to master these three passes and players work on mastering them, you and they will see more possession and more dangerous plays typically resulting in more goals being scored by your soccer team.

I hope you enjoyed reading about these three passes. Go over to my website www.soccerandspeedcoach.com and register to receive more information about our soon to be released DVD's on soccer and speed skills development.

Have a great day!

Gary

www.soccerandspeedcoach.com

The Most Over Looked and Under Appreciated Secret in Soccer

As a soccer coach for over 20 years, you get a chance to see many games and many exceptional players over that time. Often times I will see coaches work with their team on developing soccer skills with the ball. They will work on developing an unbeatable system of play, where they believe their game tactics will win games for them. They will work on creating grids and small sided games to help their players with passing and dribbling and they will work on fitness, of yes fitness!

But I want to talk about what happens in a game where all of these skills don't mean a whole lot if you aren't addressing this one crucial skill. This skill is what separates good from great, it is key whether you are a defender or a striker and it is rarely worked on at all by coaches. I don't know if coaches don't see it, they don't believe it, or they don't know how to teach it. But with all of that said, if a player lacks BALANCE, they will not be as successful and the team won't either.

Let me explain what I mean when I say balance. I am not referring to a team's shape on the field. While that balance is important, that is not what I want to discuss. A players balance centers around their movements. These movements could be linear or lateral or backwards...any time you are off balance when you move, you leave yourself open to be beaten as a defender or you lose a scoring chance as an attacker or you lose possession as a midfielder.

Most times when you see a defender get beat 1 v 1, the attacking player has unbalanced that defender. He may have made the defender go back on his heels or his first step was either too short or too long, depending on the situation. In order to achieve and maintain proper balance, a soccer player must work at it. Proper balancing will help with a players soccer speed, their change of direction and their over speed and agility on the soccer field.

In order for a soccer player to achieve proper balance, several things need to be addressed and worked on. Let's start with their core. A soccer players core needs to be functionally strong and flexible. In order to address a players core strength, a coach or player needs to realize that there are three components to their core. The players abdominals, their back (upper and lower) and their hips. Focusing on building a stronger core will dramatically help a player with their balance as well as other athletic needs on the soccer field.

Another critical component to achieve proper balance on the field is a player needs to focus on where their foot is striking the ground. If you need to go backwards and you are landing on your heels, then you are totally off balance and will be out of the play very quickly. Conversely, if you are back pedaling and you are landing on the front part of your foot, you will be in a better position of balance allowing you to change direction quickly and show good speed and agility on the field too.

Also important is a soccer players forward lean. If a player is leaning too far forward he is susceptible to a change of speed move that again will unbalance this defensive player.

A drill that I like to do often to help my players develop this balancing skill, is to create a grid of approximately 20 yards long by 10 yards wide with a line of cones down the middle of this grid separating this grid into two 10 X 10 yard grids. I have two players go to the middle of their respective grid (the middle line separates the one large grid into 2 grids now) and face each other. One player is the leader, the other player is the follower. The leader can move in any direction he wishes and the follower must mimic or mirror their movements. Have the follower focus on his footwork (don't cross his feet) and his foot contact (weight is distributed more on the front part of his foot) and creating proper balance. Once they get better at this, then increase the speed and change movements more frequently.

By doing this skill drill, you will dramatically help your players gain more speed and agility on the soccer field and will be able to maintain proper balance too. By working on this, I believe you will see more goals being scored by your team and less goals allowed....obviously a great formula to success!

To get more soccer tips like this one, go on over to my website, www.soccerandspeedcoach.com and register. I'll send you more tips like this one free to your inbox.

Have a great day!

Gary Christopher
www.soccerandspeedcoach.com

Head on a Swivel

I was watching two of the pro soccer teams in the new women's soccer league the other day. While I was bothered by some technical inabilities they all had, one positive note I saw, which many youth teams tend to not do is to keep their head on a swivel.

In other words, constantly survey your surroundings by knowing where your outlets are should you receive a pass, and as importantly where the pressure will be coming from should you receive a pass. By taking a quick peek over their shoulders, they were able to note where all of the moving parts are at that specific moment. By doing that consistently, the players were able to react skillfully and quickly to pressure when it came.

I see many youth players today, receive a ball with their back to the play and then turn right into pressure. If they had stolen a glance or two before they collected the ball, they may have been able to escape from that pressure.

Some things that I like to do in a training session is to incorporate a drill where the player is trying to deal with an uncontrolled environment. What I mean by uncontrolled environment is simply to make it unpredictable.....maybe have 2 defenders run at a player just receiving the ball. Or have defensive pressure come from different areas at the same time. If as a coach, you can design a drill or situation where you can unbalance the player receiving the ball, it will teach them and prepare them to handle that better in a match.

The better we can simulate game situations for our players and put them in challenging positions, the better their game performance will be.

Have a great day!

Gary

For more soccer tips delivered right to your inbox go to www.soccerandspeedcoach.com and register.

Overcommitted Soccer Players

When I played club soccer.....a while ago.....I also played basketball and ran track. But rarely did I have two sports overlap each other by more than a week or two. But today, I see players play 3 different sports competitively over the same weekend.

That was then and this is now....but my belief is this is not a good thing to do over and over again. Yet, it is happening more frequently then I think it should.

I do believe that playing multiple sports as a youth athlete is important and good for a kid. It allows them to continue to to develop in other sports and they also learn strategies in one sport that might carry over into another sport. Again, I believe that this is good!

What isn't good in my opinion, is when parents encourage or even do a degree force their son or daughter into playing three sports all at the same time for many months of the year. Playing multiple sports at the same time all the time doesn't allow for a child to relax and take a breath nor does it really allow for this young athlete to work on his or her athleticism either. Developing better athletic habits at an younger age is just as important if not more important then this young athlete playing games all the time.

I would strongly suggest taking the pulse of your team and find out if you have players that are playing multiple sports at the same time all of the time. If so, please factor in some down time for your players allowing them to get away from the game for a little while. I believe you find them to be very excited and ready to get back into training when they return.

Studies have shown that close to 75% of kids stop playing sports by the time they get to high school. The number one reason for this....they just aren't having any fun!

Playing three sports all year round ends up burning kids out. They don't have any fun and they stop playing!

By forcing some downtime into their schedule, you will be doing your players a favor and you will keep your players playing into their adult hood.

Have a great day!

Gary Christopher
www.soccerandspeedcoach.com