25 Oct 2012
Planning – FA Level 2 Coaching Session – Part 2
In this football coaching article, I will show you how to plan an FA Level 2 football training session on the topic of improving the technique of creating space. The information in this article covers the Start and Progression 1 of the planning process. This is the second article in a series of blogs to help you pass the FA level 2 course. To get all the information, why not follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and watch some of our great videos on YouTube.
Planning The FA Level 2 Session
Grassrootscoaching.com have now made the coaches chalkboard available for FREE. It’s an online design tool that very simply helps you plan your practical FA Level 1 and FA Level 2 football coaching sessions. As you can see from this video, I have used Coaches Chalkboard to design a football training session on the theme of the technique of creating space.
Start – One Team Playing and Establishing the Pattern of Practice
Initially I plan for only one team to play with one football. By doing this I am looking to establish the “pattern of the practice” so that the players understand what the practice is about is and their roles within it. As a coach I would look to take the place of one of the players in the team, so I can make sure through my involvement and through verbal communication, the players understand the pattern of the practice. I might do this slowly at first then build up the pace. I would let this one team play to the target players in this “wave” end to end practice 3 or 4 times to ensure the players understand the pattern of the practice.
Whilst only one team are playing, I would encourage the players to think about creating space as soon as the target player receives the ball, by pulling wide into the channels and by one player stretching the pitch by moving towards the disc furthest away from the target player. Check out an in depth description of this session here.
Progression 1 – Both Teams Playing At The Same Time
As a progression for the FA Level 2 practice I would then introduce a second ball and have the other team playing at the same time. Not only does this ensure that all players are playing, but players will have to play with their heads up and be aware of the space around them and other players, this effectively encourages them to think about and look for space.
It is impossible to coach all of this at once and expect the players to take on board all the information, so plan to coach in a logical, progressive order and to give the players “bite” size pieces of information that they can easily understand and digest.
Once both teams understand the practice and are achieving success, then I would start to assist their performance through some coaching interventions:
- Ensure that when the ball is passed to the target player, the team immediately and quickly create width and length to make the pitch as big as possible as quickly as possible
- Encourage players to think about the timing of their movement to create space. The earlier the better
- As the ball is passed, can the players change positions and create space.
- Can the players communicate, both verbally and with body language as the players move into space.
Check out a more in depth discussion of the progression here.
Remember the KISS formula when coaching, especially for FA Level 1 and FA Level 2 – Keep It Simple Stupid
Shortly we will be posting the third article in this series – the second progression – so check back soon to check it out!
Grassrootscoaching.com have now made the coaches chalkboard available for FREE. It’s an online design tool that very simply helps you plan your practical FA Level 2, FA Level 2, and UEFA B football coaching sessions. To register click here. Or learn more about what the coaches chalkboard can offer you.
