Soccer Philosophy

My Philosophy of Soccer

    Soccer is the worlds most popular sport, and it also has to go down as one of the worlds simplest game. To play at any particular moment all you need is a ball and possibly two makeshift goals. Around the world this is how kids grow up, playing at any opportunity, whether it be during break time at school, on the street when they get home, or even in their house when their parents are busy doing other things. This is how young players around the world develop, not by tedious drills or over
structured practices. Look around the English Premier League, probably the best league in the world, and you will see that the majority of the players came from backgrounds where soccer was their opportunity to get out of where they came from. They played at every opportunity for the pure enjoyment of it. Yes this meant they found there way into academies and centers of excellence's across the world, but the starting point was basic playing for the enjoyment.
    This is my philosophy on the game, the only way to learn is to play! I do not doubt that working on passing back and forth over 20 yards can develop great technique for passing a ball, but I do not believe this transfers into a game situation, where time, space and pressure all have a bearing on the player. Players must learn how to pass a ball over twenty yards in pressure situations, situations where practicing technique goes out of the window. For me each practice should work on developing players in possession based situations. I take on the global method of coaching, meaning there are three things that need to be taken into account, 1) time on the ball, 2) space available to play, and 3) numbers available to play with. If we are to create players that can play under pressure then they must learn to play under pressure. Sessions should also test players decision making skills, allowing them to problem solve. Practice should be a time for players to work on their decision making, and rather than be told by the coach they should be encouraged to work things out for themselves. There is no need to subject players to monotonous drills in order to develop their talent. Enjoyment is a vital factor in development, and if we can allow our players to develop and enjoy it at the same time we are onto a winning formula.
    There is no limit to possession based exercises that you can do with your players. It is all about being creative, aiming to provide an environment that you yourself would like to play in. Every session I coach involves a ball. There is no running laps (besides a basic warm up), or performing suicides, drills that many coaches use when they are out of ideas or simply looking for an easy way out. As stated by Jose Mourinho “a great pianist doesn’t learn to play the piano by doing laps around it, he simply plays!” The great thing about working with possession based exercises is that you can work on any aspect of the game within them. Whether it be attacking or defending, playing in tight space, or working on switching the point of attack, this can all be done within the confines of possession based exercises.
    Practice is an opportunity for players to work on strengths and weaknesses, and failure should be promoted. What I mean by this is you should want your players to fail over and over again in practice aiming to get better. If your players are having only successes then your sessions are too easy and your players are not developing anything new, they are staying at a constant level. For example, if you are working on a simple 3v3 possession in a 20x20 yard area the aim should be to challenge both teams to work and to fail to produce what you want over and over until they finally reach the milestone set by the coach. If it is easy for them to complete 10 passes, then make the goal 15 or 20 passes, or even make the area smaller. If you continue to allow players to work on completing 10 passes then the level will never increase.
    As for match day, this is the day for the players. Everything that can be worked on and influenced should have been done in practice. For me there is no point yelling at players during games. Mistakes will happen, its part of the game, and any major mistake whether tactical or technical has to come back to yourself as the coach. Take responsibility for your team. Everything should be organized and structured for match days allowing myself as the coach to sit back and analyze the game rather than aim to be involved. There is very little you can do to influence a game once it has kicked off, so you might as well get comfy and look at what your players are doing well, and what can be improved upon.
    Overall for myself, organization is vital. Have a plan and implement it. For one, it makes you feel a whole lot more confident about your sessions and yourself as a coach. Always make sure you are the first one out to practice, and aim to have everything set up prior to your players getting out there. Have your teams set up for any possession or games you will play, it saves time and it shows the players you have put time and thought into your session. The final and most important thing for me is care for your players and enjoy what you do. Remember how you felt as a player and treat your players the way you wish to be treated.
    This is a very broad overview of some of my coaching thoughts and philosophies. Over the coming months I aim to expand upon many areas of what has been written above. I hope this has given you at least a small insight into my philosophy, and hope it has enticed you to keep reading.