Fall 2014 Skills Training: Change of Pace

     Watching all of my teams play over the course of the spring I began to notice that one thing that separates the more advanced players from the rest is their ability to change their running pace easily, to be able to stop quickly then burst back into a full stride or to change their pace mid stride with stutter steps and feints.
     I think that all of our Legends players have at least one really good change of direction move that they can rely on and they all, I think, understand in a general way how to use that move in game situations.  For some it's a simple cut to left or right.  For others it's something flashier.  But few of them are comfortable yet using change of pace as a way to deceive an opponent.  Rather they tend to get up to full speed and stay there until they lose the ball, running "down hill" in the same gear all the time.
     This season I want to work with all of my teams to develop each player's ability to use their speed more dynamically, to be able to accelerate fast, to stop quickly and with control and to change pace with ease.   At each practice this season we'll start with a stretching/strengthening routine (about 10 minutes) that I hope will help the kids to develop their running stride, their balance and their feel for how to accelerate explosively.  Then in each practice we'll also work on a deceptive dribbling move that I think specifically emphasizes change of pace with some sort of stop-start component.
     My plan for this season is to not move on from one skill to the next until I'm satisfied that all of my players on the teams are comfortable executing the skill and are ready to try it in a game, and this is where the influence of the parents, of our "supporters section", becomes so important.  My instructions to my teams on game day will be simple:  I'm not interested in the final score, I'm interested in seeing each of you go out there and use the skills we've been practicing.  So when you are watching them play, please be sure to cheer loudest when you see them try to use a deceptive move, when they try to possess the ball and take control of the situation rather than booting it away.  Let them know that you see them taking chances and playing bravely.
     Here are video clips showing the first few moves we'll be working on this season.

The first is the famous Puskas or "V" move. 


Next is the Cruyff turn, an essential move for every player.   And then the Mathews, a great little hesitation and cut move. We'll also work on the mirror version, the Elastico.