25 May 2010

Level 3 UEFA B Day

Started a UEFA B course at Kent FA today. There is a group of 24 coaches, many who I have taken on previous Level 2 courses.

The UEFA B course is a very intense course, with a lot demanded of the coaches, both from a learning point of view and from a physical point of view, because the coaches have to also play. Over a 6 day period the coaches have to play in over 40 x 30 minute sessions. Today was also very hot, but the course must go on.

Alan Walker and I started the day with a series of coaching demonstrations focussing on 8 v 8 games. The size of the pitch is 70 x 50 yards, with full size goals and off sides marked into thirds of the pitch.

We encourage the coaches to try and manage the game so that both teams play a recognised formation, mainly 3 – 2 – 2 formation.

The first topic we coached was “Create space as a team” in a small sided game.

After a period of free play, we coached one team, but managed both teams in the game so that the game was played in a realistic fashion.

With the first coaching intervention, we made sure the team we were coaching understood the basic principle of attacking play, that when in possession of the ball, the team create space as a team by providing width, support behind the ball and penetration from the forwards, looking to make the pitch as big as they can by pushing the opposition back.

To start with we get the back three and the goalkeeper to work on playing out from the back, by switching play quickly and getting width to try and get one of the wide defenders into a midfield position, or to get the central defender breaking out with the ball.

Once we have achieved this, the session moves onto the midfield two, looking to create space for themselves or to create space for other so that the temporary overload in the midfield can be exploited, by making the pitch as big as possible in midfield and exploiting a 3 v 2 situation.

The session then moved onto the forwards, working with them on clever movement, maybe one short, one long, offering opportunities for passes to feet or to space behind the opposition defence, by crossovers, by both forwards pulling wide to create space down the centre or by pulling centrally together, to create space wide.

Finally we let the game flow to see if the team we were coaching could understand and try and deliver what we had coached.