Soccercoachw310

YOU BET WHAT TO DO IF YOUR PLAYERS ARE GAMBLING ON GAMES

WEEKLY

SOCCER COACH Learn • Train • Develop • Enjoy

BEAT THE

April 3, 2013 Issue 310 • $4.99/£2.99

SOCCER SURGERY

KEEPER

COACHING PROBLEMS SOLVED BY EXPERTS

BETTER SET-PIECE DEFENDING

COACH OF THE MONTH

GO ONE-ON-ONE AND WIN

MAKE YOUR TEAM ROCK SOLID AT THE BACK

CHALLENGING PLAYERS GIVE YOUR TEAM PROBLEMS TO SOLVE CRISTIANO RONALDO > REAL MADRID’S DEADLY FINISHER

5

FANTASTIC TRAINING ACTIVITIES

NOMINATE A COACH FROM YOUR CLUB

THE BEST SOCCER DRILLS EVERY WEEK!

COACHING DILEMMA WOULD YOU SUB A PLAYER ON A HAT-TRICK?

Contents

Challenge Your Players SOCCER COACH

Challenge your players to score

WEEKLY

Learn • Train • Develop • Enjoy

April 3, 2013 Issue 310 • $4.99/£2.99

BEAT THE

SOCCER SURGERY

KEEPER

COACHING PROBLEMS SOLVED BY EXPERTS

BETTER SET-PIECE DEFENDING

COACH OF THE MONTH

GO ONE-ON-ONE AND WIN

MAKE YOUR TEAM ROCK SOLID AT THE BACK

CHALLENGING PLAYERS GIVE YOUR TEAM PROBLEMS TO SOLVE CRISTIANO RONALDO > REAL MADRID’S DEADLY FINISHER

5

FANTASTIC TRAINING ACTIVITIES

NOMINATE A COACH FROM YOUR CLUB

THE BEST SOCCER DRILLS EVERY WEEK!

COACHING DILEMMA WOULD YOU SUB A PLAYER ON A HAT-TRICK?

Soccer Coach Weekly Issue 310

Soccer Coach Weekly is published by Green Star Media Ltd, Meadow View, Tannery Lane, Bramley, Guildford GU5 0AB, UK.

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Picture: WoodleyWonderWorks

YOU BET WHAT TO DO IF YOUR PLAYERS ARE GAMBLING ON GAMES

Giving players problems to solve during training is a great way to get them to do it in matches. I ran one of my sessions from Soccer Coach Weekly recently, to give my players a real situation that I wanted them to exploit. In the session, the players are split into pairs and have three chances to score in a situation where they have a 3v1 overload.

When I first ran the session it was with a team I don’t coach very often and I was surprised at their response to being given the freedom to score goals. When I told them they had three goes to use their overload and score, their first reaction was: “How do we do that?”

I told them they could do whatever they wanted within the laws of the game but they had to exploit the situation. At first they were very pensive about being given this much freedom and shrugged their shoulders at each other, as if to say: “This coach is crazy! What should we do?”

In the first round of attacks the most any of them scored was one goal from the three goes, but they were beginning to get more excited by the challenge as they realized they could be as creative or as direct as they wanted.

This is an excellent challenge for the final third of the pitch where creativity and direct play

In this issue...

3

ONE-ON-ONE

Cristiano Ronaldo is deadly when he has just the keeper to beat

4

DOUBLE JEOPARDY

5

NEAR POST WINNERS

Help your players decide whether to go around the keeper or shoot Encourage attackers to use their speed to take the keeper by surprise

6 COACH OF THE MONTH

Celebrating grassroots coaches with our April Coach Of The Month

7

KEEP BALL, SWITCH PLAY

We asked our Coach Of The Month to share his favourite session

“Challenges stretch players, and by stretching them you develop their soccer brains” are both correct ways to attack the goal. As the session wore on they finally began to hit the net more consistently but still none of them could get the full quota of three from three. This meant we ended the session with the players demanding that I let them play it again the following week, so they could show me they were more than capable of scoring three from three.

I like to give challenges of this type to my players because not only does it give them ownership of the session but it also helps them to make the kind of decisions they would be faced with in a match.

My players will encounter lots of

8 DEFENDING SET PIECES

Bayern Munich rarely concede a goal, so model your defence on them

decisions during their training, like the ones that came out of the session discussed here. You should always try to ask questions of your players and set them challenges, even if the tasks are something as simple as “try to play forward whenever you get the ball”.

Challenges stretch players, and by stretching them you are developing their soccer brains and giving them the answers to the questions they get asked every time they play in a match.

David Clarke

TIP OF THE WEEK

9 CORNER REBELS

An end-to-end game that trains your players to defend corners

10 GREAT WALL

Drill players to form a wall capable of withstanding free-kicks

11 SOCCER SURGERY

Your queries answered, including advice for a coach whose players are betting on games

12 THE BIG DEBATE

Two coaches debate whether they would substitute a player on the verge of scoring a hat-trick?

Be Ready To Warm Up To get the best from your players at training, be ready with a warm-up they can join in with as soon as they arrive.

You don’t want your players standing around doing nothing – you want them tuned in mentally and physically, right from the beginning of the session.

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ONE-ON-ONE It’s that simple.

Ronaldo shows how it’s done

Beat The Keeper An expert finisher of every kind of goal imaginable, Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo is particularly deadly in one-on-one situations with the keeper

C

ristiano Ronaldo scores every type of goal – and lots of them. Gone are the endless flicks, tricks and lollypops that were the trademarks in his early years at Manchester United. These days, the Real Madrid forward is quite simply an ultra-efficient scoring machine, with over 40 goals to his name already this season.

He scores with his left foot, his right foot, he blasts them from long range, taps them in from up close, heads them home and is an expert with free-kicks and penalties. He is also one of the most deadly finishers in one-on-one situations with the keeper.

He really is “the all-round complete footballer,” according to both Gareth Bale and the world’s other great player, Lionel Messi. “He not from Madeira, he’s from Mars,” says his manager at Real Madrid, José Mourinho. And the secret to Ronaldo’s success in front of goal? “There’s no secret,” said Sir Alex Ferguson when he was in charge of the player at Old Trafford. “The important

thing is practice. The boy practises every day, that’s the reason he’s so good.”

It is this extra training that has helped give Ronaldo the ability to score such a variety of goals, including the most clinical of his one-on-ones with the keeper. But what’s the key when you’re clean through on goal? “You’ve got to be confident and stay calm,” says Spurs striker Jermain Defoe, another expert in one-on-one situations.

Two Ronaldo goals against Barcelona illustrate this perfectly. The first, at the Nou Camp in last year’s Copa del Rey, he feints to shoot before shifting the ball away from the keeper and calmly slotting it in from an angle. The second, in this season’s Spanish Super Cup, Ronaldo is clean through but the ball is bouncing. Instead of panicking and rushing his shot, Ronaldo gets the ball under control and even with one defender narrowing his shooting angle and another on the goal line, he calmly slots the ball under Victor Valdes.

The key to Ronaldo’s success in front

of goal is his awareness, as well as his ability. Watch him carefully and you can see that he always looks up when he receives the ball and again just before he shoots, so he knows exactly what’s going on around him, giving him that extra split second to choose the right kind of finish.

Whether you want to dribble around the keeper, place the ball or go for power, your players can learn to finish like Ronaldo in one-on-one-situations by practising the following drills.

Words by:

Louis Massarella Activities by:

David Clarke

“Ronaldo is spectacular. He can shoot at any time from any distance, so you always have to be ready. It’s incredible, the way he strikes the ball so cleanly and so hard” – Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes in praise of Cristiano Ronaldo

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ONE-ON-ONE

Double Jeopardy If your players struggle to cope when going one-on-one with the keeper, this attacking drill will give them plenty of practice at deciding whether to go around the keeper or shoot

WHY USE IT

When players are through on goal, they must decide whether to shoot or take it around the keeper. To be able to make this decision players must practise both methods so they have the techniques required when the situation arises in matches.

Player 1 dribbles and tries to get around the goalkeeper 1

2

3

SET UP

Set up an area of 40x30 yards, and split your players into groups of three. Place three cones at the end opposite the goal just inside the boundary of the playing area – one central to the goal and the other two on each side about 12 yards away. You will need cones, balls and a goal with a goalkeeper.

If the goalkeeper is dragged wide the attacker can try to chip over him

After going one-on-one with the keeper, player 1 turns and must combine with player 2. Here the players use a one-two movement 1

2

3

HOW TO PLAY

In groups of three the players attack the goalkeeper. The first attack is a dribble where the player must try and go around the goalkeeper and the second is a through ball and firsttime shot. Once one group has gone through the twogoal session, another group goes. Rotate players in the groups every go: player 1 to 2, 2 to 3 and 3 to 1.

Player 2 puts a through ball down the line for player 3 to run on to

1

2

3

TECHNIQUE

This session gives every player the chance to dribble and hit a first-time shot 1v1 against the goalkeeper.

They must practise their technique so they can do it during a match.

Player movement

Player 3 must make a first-time shot to try and beat the goalkeeper

Ball movement

Shot

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ONE-ON-ONE

Near Post Winners A fast and furious game to encourage your attackers to use their speed to beat defenders and take the keeper by surprise

WHY USE IT

By getting across the defender and reaching the ball first, the attacker will have a good opportunity to score at the near post in a 1v1, taking the keeper by surprise using speed of movement.

Start the session with a simple serve and shoot warm-up

SET UP

Use the penalty area of your pitch. You will need balls, bibs and a goal with a goalkeeper.

HOW TO PLAY

Start with a simple warm-up by splitting players into two groups. One group serves for the opposite group to shoot at the near post.

Advance the session using three groups of players: one group are wingers crossing the ball in, one group are near post attackers and a third group must try and get across to defend the near post shot. Rotate the players after each run through, with player A joining group C, C joining B, and B joining A.

TECHNIQUE

In this session attackers must time their runs well and accelerate quickly so the defender cannot get across. This puts pressure on attackers to win the 1v1 with the keeper, exactly as they would in a match. All three groups must play quickly and time their movements.

Defenders must try to make up ground quickly to stop the attacker getting to the ball first

C

B A

Attackers must keep ahead of the defender to create a 1v1 with the keeper and shoot at the corner of the net

Change the side the winger runs from and get attackers using their left foot B

A

C

The attackers first movement should be towards the defender and then cut away with a near post run

Player movement

Ball movement

Shot

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COACH OF THE MONTH

Coach Of The Month Rob Davies issues instructions

Coach Of The Month Each month Soccer Coach Weekly recognises a grassroots coach who has given more to the game than he has taken out. This month we celebrate Rob Davies of Surrey Name: Rob Davies Age: 23 Coaches: Knaphill Athletic (men’s first team, reserves, A and B teams), Knaphill Athletic Catalans Under 10s, Knaphill Athletic youth goalkeepers Qualifications: FA Level 1 Rob was nominated by his club for the outstanding work he does encouraging passing football.

“Rob sums up everything good about coaching,” says club secretary Des Clark. “His principles of playing football on the floor gives our young players a great grounding for their future in the game.”

> WHY I COACH: “As a keeper I had a short playing career at top youth levels in the AFC Wimbledon youth system. I was just starting to get paid to play in my adult career when I broke the bone in my thumb in three places and lost movement in it.

Not being able to play at the same level was devastating but I got the football bug back after becoming involved in coaching.” > THE BEST THING ABOUT COACHING: “I get a great deal of satisfaction from coaching

the goalkeepers. I think they are neglected at youth level and I wanted to run a session focusing on the young keepers to give them specific training.” > MY COACHING PHILOSOPHY: “I believe in playing football the right way. It frustrates me when teams are only motivated by winning, hoofing the ball up field with coaches screaming, ‘Just get rid of it’. I will always coach teams to pass and move, to keep the ball on the floor and not to be afraid to take on a player.

Every member of my team is able to move with the ball and is comfortable under pressure.” > COACHING AMBITIONS: “To see every player reach maximum potential and do better than I could have dreamed of. I do not want to be coaching the same boys in five years’ time, I want them to have moved on to bigger and better things.” > FUNNIEST COACHING MOMENT: “The funniest thing happened when I was driving to Liverpool to watch a Spurs game and left my assistant with instructions to give me updates. At half-time he reported the game was 0-0 and could go either way. I told him to pull his finger out. I don’t know what he said but they scored eight goals in 20 minutes.”

> A WORD OF ADVICE: “Play the game the right way. Also, make sure your team is playing at the right level. My team started in Division Five and were beating teams too easily. I fought with the league to move us up to Division Two and the boys now play in a competitive division. Every game is close and we win a few and lose a few, but teams need to learn to lose and they need to play against better teams in order to aspire to be better themselves.” > COACHING HERO: “Former Spurs manager Bill Nicholson said: ‘It is better to fail aiming high than to succeed aiming low. And we of Spurs have set our sights very high, so high that even failure will have in it an echo of glory’.

You have the strive to reach your maximum potential, so aim high!”

If you know someone who deserves to be SCW’s Coach Of The Month, or if you want to nominate yourself, let us know why.

Send your nominations to editor@soccercoachweekly.net

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COACH OF THE MONTH

Keep Ball, Switch Play We asked Coach Of The Month Rob Davies to share one of his favourite sessions with us. He choose this simple but fun activity that is perfect for developing team play

WHY USE IT

s 10yd

s 10yd

SET UP

Set up an area of 25x10 yards that is split into three zones: the outer zones are 10 yards and the middle zone is 5 yards.

We’ve used 12 players for this session. You will need balls, bibs and cones.

5yds

s yd 10

This session is a good example of a fun activity that works on a number of levels. You can use it for possession and switching play practice, while it also works the defenders who must move quickly between zones when the ball is passed.

The team must make four passes and then try and get the ball to the opposite outer zone

The four red defenders start in the centre zone but two can try to win the ball from the team in the outer zone, while the other two try and block passes through their zone

With a successful pass to the opposite zone the defenders must get back into their zone and the other two must try to win the ball

HOW TO PLAY

Split the group into three teams of four players, with one group in each zone.

The red defenders start in the middle zone. Begin the game with one of the teams in the outer zones. You can advance the session by having one or two touches.

Because the defenders have to get in and out of their zone, if the passing teams are quick they can get a couple of passes in before the defenders get close enough to win the ball

TECHNIQUE

It is great game for possession and passing/ receiving skills and good for getting players used to switching play away from danger. You can also coach players in defending when outnumbered and support play. Tell one defender to go and press the ball and the other defender to cover the space.

Player movement

If the defending team win the ball and are able to play it back into their zone, they swap with the team they won the ball from

Ball movement

Shot

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DEFENDING SET PIECES Bayern have built a solid defensive wall at the back

Rock Solid At The Back Bayern Munich’s success this season has been built on a miserly defence. If you want to improve your team’s results, follow the their lead and tighten up at the back

I

f you’re looking for defensive solidity, you’d be hard pressed to find a more cohesive backline in world football today than the impenetrable defence of Bayern Munich. The German club’s stats this season have been unrivalled and include an eight-game winning run in the Bundesliga that saw them concede only twice. They have let in just 11 goals in the first 26 league games of the season, which is 19 fewer than have been conceded by the mighty Barcelona in the same amount of matches in La Liga.

What makes Bayern’s record even more remarkable is that it has been achieved despite the side’s everchanging defensive partnerships, most notably in the centre of defence. While Philipp Lahm (right-back) has been a constant presence in the side, coach Jupp Heynckes has toyed with Jerome Boateng, Dante, Holger Badstuber and the ageing Daniel van Buyten in the centre-back positions.

Badstuber even filled in at left-back earlier this campaign, but with David Alaba back from a broken foot, the youngster has resumed duties out wide,

leaving Heynckes changing his centreback pairings on an almost weekly basis.

Yet the changes have been seamless and this all stems from a well drilled back four, marshalled by the coaching skills of Heynckes.

What the Bayern coach always insists on is an athletic centre-back; so step forward Dante or Boateng, who are both combative defenders but also pacey to boot. If van Buyten or Badstuber play, they will rise for the aerial ball, leaving Dante or Boateng dropping off behind them, basically to sweep up and cover.

Rarely do you see the Bayern back four pushing up and playing a ‘high line’ either, particularly when the slower van Buyten or Badstuber are in the side.

But when they do get caught out by an opposing player making a run from deep, Dante and Boateng, again, have the pace to recover.

Fullbacks Lahm and Alaba give balance to the defence and, like Ashley Cole at Chelsea, they like to link up in attack when possible. The reason they can do this is that Heynckes will often play two holding midfielders – the most

notable being Bastian Schweinsteiger – who will sit in and cover when the fullbacks move forward. According to the side’s keeper Manuel Neuer, Bayern defend as a team and defend well all over the pitch, pressing opponents into making mistakes.

Defending as a unit takes practice. The drills on the following pages are aimed at defending from corners and free-kicks, so follow our lead and you too could have a defence as solid as Bayern Munich’s.

Words by:

Luke Nicoli Activities by:

David Clarke

“After some games this season I haven’t needed to have a shower.

I guess sometimes it is boring being in goal. The key for Bayern Munich is that the whole team defends well and covers spaces well; when we lose the ball we go and win it back” – Keeper Manuel Neuer boasts about how little action he sees behind the Bayern defence

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DEFENDING SET PIECES

Corner Rebels An end-to-end game that trains your players to successfully defend corners and to counterattack straight out of defence while your opponents are still upfield

WHY USE IT

s yd 30

Winning the ball when defending a corner is not only important defensively, it can also spark your team into a fast counterattacking move that catches opponents still upfield. To achieve this, your team must organise and capitalise on clever positioning of players.

A player should cover the area directly in front of the corner kick taker and one player should stand on the penalty spot

s 40yd

SET UP

Set up an area of 40x30 yards split in two with a goal at each end. We’re playing 4v4 plus goalkeepers using 10 players. You need cones, bibs, balls and goals.

HOW TO PLAY

Every time the ball goes out of play it should be played back in with a corner. When the corner is taken, all players must be in the half the corner is taken in but can move out on the first touch of the ball from a player other than the corner taker.

TECHNIQUE

Getting a player to stand forward of the near post is an excellent way of winning the ball at corners, giving them a clear run out of defence to start a counterattack. With four players on a team the key defensive areas can be covered – one on each post to make the goal smaller, one covering the front of the goal and one covering the direction the ball is coming from.

Player movement

There should be a player on each post to make the goal as small as possible

If the defending team win the ball they should move quickly and combine to try and score on the counterattack

The defensive set-up should be the same for both teams. If the ball clears the most forward defender, the other players are in key positions to defend the goal

Ball movement

Here the ball is turned away for a corner so all players must get into this half of the pitch

Shot

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DEFENDING SET PIECES

Great Wall If you want your team more resistant to set pieces, this useful exercise will encourage them to form a wall capable of withstanding direct free-kicks

WHY USE IT

We’ve all seen direct freekicks win matches in both professional and youth games, but a well placed wall will cut out a very high percentage of goals from free-kicks at youth level.

That is what you should aim to achieve with this session.

When a free-kick is given, a player stands in front of the ball to prevent a quick free-kick

Left!

SET UP

Use the penalty area of your pitch. We have used six players plus the goalkeeper for this session. You will need balls and a goal.

HOW TO PLAY

You need to use players who are not afraid to be in a wall and try to select the tallest. Use between two and four players for the wall. Number them one to four in the order they should stand in the wall.

Use one of your free-kick takers. Players should stand on the goal line and on your call run to get into position.

Play six free-kicks, three on each side of the area.

TECHNIQUE

By following this session teams are less likely to get punished from quick free-kicks or from direct shots at the goal. The positioning of the wall and the keeper are key to successfully defending free-kick set pieces.

Player movement

The goalkeeper communicates with the first player in the wall to position it correctly

The first player in the wall should position himself eight paces from the ball in a direct line with the near post

The wall and the goalkeeper should cover the whole of the goal between them

Young free-kick takers will find it hard to get the ball over the wall and dipping into the goal.

Any low shots will hit the legs of players in the wall

Ball movement

Shot

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Soccer Surgery

Your Problems Solved THIS WEEK: Advice for a coach with the unusual ‘problem’ of having too many volunteers, and an expert opinion on how friendly bets could spiral out of control

Q “ After a rousing

appeal for volunteers I now have too many parents wanting to be involved with the team. What should I do with them all?

A

”

It’s difficult bringing volunteers into a team, but it seems you’ve really sold them the team ethos, and it’s clear their sons must be enjoying their football too if parents want to help.

I really wouldn’t worry about it, but you’re right to want to manage it properly, since you don’t want parents to feel they’re not part of something they obviously want to invest time in.

The best way to accommodate multiple parents would be to alternate the weeks in which they help out. This could do great things for your players too – they won’t become lazy or too familiar in front of the same two or three coaches, and in theory you should always have new ideas being put to them because the expertise is coming from different parents.

Maybe there are volunteering roles that aren’t coaching-based too? A parent could help keep the club’s website updated, or could assist in the planning for upcoming tournaments. As you know, running a football team goes way beyond what happens on the training pitch, and if you split time and responsibilities carefully, you have the opportunity here for a really well-oiled machine.

Answered by Scott Logan, an FA Level 3 coach who oversees sides in three different age groups

Stop your players betting or this could be their future

Q “ A couple of my players have been making bets with opponents before matches. It started as a bit of fun but should I nip it in the bud?

A

Under no circumstances should minors be encouraged to bet, so yes, I do think this is something you should aim to call a halt to as soon as possible.

The notion of staking some sweet money on a game isn’t in itself outrageous, but there are clear links between the formation and acceptance of these habits as children and the potential extension of those habits into later life, where they can escalate into bigger problems.

I’m almost certain too that if your league committee heard that this sort of betting was going on, you’d be called before them rather quickly and would possibly be prevented from playing further matches until they were sure the betting had stopped.

”

And without going over the top, parents might suspect that players were manufacturing situations in matches so as to win bets – and those actions could be to the detriment of their team-mates, for instance when choosing to take on a difficult shot rather than setting up another player for a simple tap-in.

At the end of the day it’s only natural for players to want to spice up their football in any way they can, but good old banter will have to suffice on this occasion. I’d recommend you banned any future betting as a matter of urgency.

Answered by Tom Smith, a lecturer in psychology at Keele University

GET YOUR SOCCER PROBLEMS SOLVED If you have a coaching problem or a training dilemma that you want the experts at Soccer Surgery to cure, send your queries to Soccer Coach Weekly…

editor@soccercoachweekly.net

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THE BIG DEBATE

Would You Substitute A Player On A Hat-trick?

THIS WEEK’S DEBATE: Your team is leading late in a tight game and one of your strikers has scored twice. He appears tired and your subs are keen to come on, but should you deny him his chance of a hat-trick by making a change?

NO, LEAVE THE PLAYER ON

YES, TAKE THE PLAYER OFF

Geoff Moss Edinburgh

“If a player is tired and subs are available, he should be withdrawn. Tired players contribute less and are more likely to suffer or inflict injuries”

“

Shouldn’t the principle be to give every player a chance to compete. That way everyone enjoys the experience of the game, rather than just concentrating on one player’s personal goal? Remember, it’s a team game and the ambitions should be teambased and not player-based.

If a player is tired and there are replacements available, he should be withdrawn anyway, whether he’s on a hat-trick or not.

Tired players contribute far less to the team and are more likely to suffer or inflict injuries, so they should be replaced straight away.

So often in the professional game you see a striker being replaced before he has the chance to grab a hat-trick. Why do you think that is? Well, it’s good psychology on the part of the

coach. It keeps the player fresh and eager to achieve his ‘hattrick goal’ the next time he plays.

You wouldn’t want a player to bag a hat-trick and switch off for the following matches because he’s become complacent.

If, as described, this is a really tight game, tactically wouldn’t it be smart to withdraw a tired striker anyway and replace him with a fresh defender or a tackling midfielder?

Aside from the good sense of replacing a tired player, I find making a substitution offers a nice opportunity for a player to receive his own round of applause as he leaves the pitch – that’s not a privilege afforded to other players at the final whistle. If he’s already scored two goals, he deserves the praise!

HAVE YOUR SAY

”

Would You Sub A Player On A Hat-trick?

Visit our Facebook page and log your vote at www.facebook.com/SoccerCoachWeekly or email your thoughts to editor@soccercoachweekly.net

“

Anthony Steerman Newport, Isle of Wight

“When I’ve witnessed a player being taken off with two goals to his name, it’s always left a sour taste. For goodness sake, let him have his moment!”

“

If tiredness always demands a player is substituted, then in my experience half the team would be ready to be withdrawn. In fact, if my players aren’t feeling tired late in the game I’m likely to think they haven’t been putting the effort in that they should have been!

I don’t feel tiredness should be regarded as such a bad thing, more a reflection of a game in which players have fought hard.

I also don’t buy into the complacency argument at all.

Simply put, when any player of mine has grabbed a hattrick, he knows he cannot rest on his laurels because he’ll quickly be reminded that he’s only halfway through the real challenge that I’ve set him… of scoring hat-tricks in consecutive matches!

I understand the idea of keeping a player striving for a special target or milestone, but at some point you have to let him fulfil his ambition. When I’ve witnessed a player being taken off like this with two goals to his name, it’s always left a sour taste.

It’s a bit like telling a child to peer through a sweet shop window without letting him go inside. For goodness sake, let him have his moment!

A player on a hat-trick will always give that extra 10 per cent at the split second when he is required to. Okay, he may not be too keen to tackle back, but wait until a ball from out wide gets played across the edge of the six-yard box, and I suspect he’ll be as quick as any other striker.

HOW YOU VOTED

”

Here are the results of a poll we ran in a previous issue of Soccer Coach Weekly, when we asked the question: Should you complain if your rivals have cheated?

75% said yes 25% said no Issue 310

SOCCER COACH WEEKLY

12

smart coaches use…

e Click her da a o l n w o to d e m a g e e fr

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COACH YOUR PLAYERS THE DUTCH WAY

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