Friday, February 26, 2016

Foundations

     Back when I first started working with the group of players who would become Girl Power* one of my favorite ways to warm up the team at the start of training or before games was to play keep-away. I'd take off with the ball and challenge the whole team to try and take it away from me.  The kids always loved it and it gave me an opportunity to introduce them to the idea that soccer is a game of dribbling as opposed to "kicking and running".  I would do my best to keep the ball very close to me and to keep possession while never simply running away from the kids.  If one of the players did get the ball from me it was gratifying to see some of them emulate me and try to dribble and control the ball rather than just kick it.  
    Over time I began to introduce my players to fundamental ball control exercises like "toe-taps" and "foundations" (bells) and I regularly noticed that for many players these exercises felt silly and pointless, unrelated to the game.  To convince players that it was worth their effort to apply themselves to becoming competent at toe-taps and foundations I would challenge them to steal the ball from me in a 1v1 game of keep-away.  Before we started I might explain to the whole group "I'll dribble to keep the ball but only using toe-taps" or "only using foundation touches and we'll see if they can get if from me."  By doing that regularly I was able to convince most players that the fundamental skills we were learning from just those two exercises were skills they could use effectively in games, skills that would make them better at the game they loved.
     As we progress through learning different change of direction moves and deceptive techniques those two control skills, controlling the ball with your toes (toe-taps) or with your instep (foundations), turn out to be the fundamental touches that most of our 1v1 moves are built from.   Below are some video clips from a recent Girl Power game in which I've isolated aspects of their game that demonstrate how important those fundamental control touches are, how they just show up everywhere in a game.

Above you see Abby stealing the ball cleanly out of the reach of an opponent by using a little instep chop or "foundation" touch.



This video also shows the value of the "foundation" or bells touch as Hailey deftly makes a little right-left move that completely bamboozles her opponent.  I can remember clearly how frustrated all the girls were with learning "foundations" and yet here it is helping them get to goal.

In this clip you see Ava using a move that we practice until the team is sick of it, the Cruyff turn.  It's a move that builds directly off of that foundation instep touch and here you see Ava using it to escape from a player who is a good head taller than her.  Also note that Ava's confidence in this skill after so much practice allows her to dribble directly at our own goal in order to set her opponent up for the deceptive turn.

I wanted to include one example of some very heads-up passing too as the ability to look up and see opportunities even before the ball comes to you is something that requires the confidence you develop from being comfortable with the ball at your feet.  In this case Ava isn't concerned about the tight spot she's about to be in with the ball.  Rather she's only thinking of the next move, how to get the ball to Hailey. 

Finally, here is that "foundations" based Cruyff turn again, this time from Zoe.  It's as smooth as can be and that's the result of hundreds of repetitions so that now Zoe can execute this skill without thinking about it.



*Girl Power parents should remember that it was originally "Girl Power Plus Micah" and if you haven't noticed Micah lately at Legends you need to be on the lookout for him.  He's become an amazing player.

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Resilience

   Before the Girl Power game this past Saturday I put two "restrictions" in place for the team.  Firstly, any of them playing keeper would only be allowed to throw the ball.  No punts.  Secondly, during the second half I would expect each player at some point to dribble the ball into the other team's final third then take the ball back out past the half line before being allowed to turn back toward goal to find a shot.
    Part of my reasoning for restricting the punting is that I wanted to force them while in as keepers to have to think more about how to get the ball out in a way that would re-start our attack.  Once a player has developed a good punt then it becomes their automatic go-to skill whenever they get their hands on the ball.  And why not?  They know it's impressive and it seems to be what their teammates and the crowd want, right?  But a punt can be just a very long turn over if it's not placed thoughtfully and so by taking that tool away in this game I hoped to force both the keeper and the field players to find other ways to solve the problem of how to get the ball out.
     My thinking in asking players to dribble in then out of the attacking half was similarly based on a need to force players to experience the game in a particular way.  I'd watched a couple of USWNT games and one Premier League game recently where the team with the better skills and attacking tactics was managing to produce a lot of shooting opportunities but no goals for long periods of the game.  It was a game between Everton and West Bromwich Albion of the English Premier League that really got me thinking about this.  Everton had ball possession for an overwhelming 70% of the game and took an astounding 33 shots on goal without scoring even once.  West Brom on the other hand managed one goal on a corner kick early in the game and held that lead to the end.
     What I noticed watching that game was that while Everton had gotten into a beautiful rhythm, attacking West Brom's goal in wave after wave, West Brom had also developed a rhythm in their defense and were stoutly absorbing the Everton attack.  It began to look like a sort of football version of the rope-a-dope.
     Later in the week I saw a USWNT Olympic qualifier vs Mexico in which they seemed to be having the same issue.  They possessed the ball and attacked furiously while the other team simply absorbed the pressure, never trying to mount much of an attack of their own.  The US team finally broke through and it seemed to me that what changed for them was that they altered the tempo of the game just slightly by actually bypassing a few shooting opportunities and bringing the ball back out into midfield to begin their attack again.  By doing this the US Women were able to patiently draw the defending team out just enough to create some space in front of goal.  They managed one goal but it was enough and Mexico were certainly the toughest side they faced before meeting Canada in the final.
     So, what I hoped to achieve by having players double up on their dribbling work by going in then out of the other half wasn't just to force them to increase the number of 1v1s they could face.  Rather my main goal was to get them to realize that they can use their skills and the whole field space to alter the tempo of the game and that one player who moves the ball thoughtfully and with some patience can move the other team's defense around to our advantage.  As good as Girl Power has become at creating opportunities for shots they are still often moving at a break-neck pace as they approach goal.  While I don't want them to cut back on the quantity of shots they take I'd like them to slow down enough to take the extra touches necessary to increase the quality of the shots they take.  By taking 'extra touches' I mean that they often make a great move to win an opening but then rush into that space so fast, even recklessly, that they aren't able to get off a good shot.
     As it turned out our opponent on Saturday gave us exactly the sort of game I was describing.  In the first minute of play Abby threw every move at them she had and I think I could hear the other Coach groaning.  Everyone else on the squad was anxious to show their moves too and I saw some really jaw dropping stuff.  At one point early on Zoe did a pull-and-play-behind at full running stride so smooth and fast that I suspect the opposing player who was on her may have thought Zoe simply evaporated with the ball.  In response to all this ball control skill the other team was mostly kicking at the ball.  To her credit, the other Coach was repeatedly pleading with her team to dribble more but only getting a positive response from one player.  Girl Power managed at least 60% ball possession and took an insane 36 shots with an impressive 19 of those being on frame.  But with 1:29 left to play only 4 of those had found the net and we were down 5-4.
     Late in the second half the other team had managed to equalize and then take a one goal lead thanks to that one committed ball hog they had.  As we took the kick-off after she put in goal number five I was concerned that our girls were a bit shell-shocked.  I could see them all look up at the clock and I was worried they might panic but at the whistle they took a good small touch, one player to another, moving the ball laterally to Ashley.  As she dribbled past our bench I called out to her "there's time, take it easy and find your shot".  Ashley had been having a great game showing some of her best dribbling work this session and she was sure footed this time as she moved into the corner on the keeper's right.  She drove right into the defender on that side then pulled the ball back out and turned toward the center.  One soft touch to set it up and she blasted the ball high and into the top corner, far post.  As cool as you please and with time to spare.
     At about the 1:00 mark the other team took their places around the ball to kick-off.  One player was on the ball but her nearest teammates were three yards or more to either side.  What happened next was truly amazing and shows the way Girl Power are developing not only their ball skills but their game IQ.  With the one opposing player standing over the ball for kick-off and no one else close by to take a short pass I hear Hailey and Olivia both call to their teammates "they're just going to kick it."  I think they both sounded a bit incredulous, like, "wow, they're just going to give us the ball"  which is exactly what they did as their center player tried to toe poke the ball straight through our front line.  I think Hailey ended up making the final run along the wall to the keeper's left and after digging the ball out of the corner she got it across the goal to Ashley who tried to put it right back in.  The keeper deflected it but Olivia was waiting about two yards out and tapped it in for the winner with only seconds left.
     It was a thrilling ending and what impressed me the most was that while the girls were playing energetically in those final moments they were also playing with confidence and self-assurance.  There wasn't enough time left for a lot of chances but there was time left for two or three attempts and Girl Power played like they knew that was enough.
     My plan to get them to dribble in and out of the attacking half didn't work out as the pace of the game in the second half kind of took over but the way the game ended was the right lesson in itself.  It showed them that they can play with urgency without being in a panic, that they can play skillfully even when time is limited.
     The restriction on the keeper punting was a success I think in that it did put a lot of pressure on our keepers and defenders.  The keepers had to assess and think a bit before distributing the ball and the defenders had to be moving to stay available.  I know that seeing our players play the ball at their feet out of our own third of the field can be stressful but we'll probably keep that rule in place the remainder of the session.

Monday, February 8, 2016

Poise

Girl Power faced a familiar opponent Saturday evening, the NKSA Cheeths.  We played them in two friendly matches in the fall and while we won both games I could clearly see the NKSA squad growing in confidence during that second match.  When we ran into them at the fall tournament they were a team transformed, playing with a high energy level and a lot of discipline.  They got the best of us in that tournament match despite the fact that we had so much more ball possession during the game.
     Thinking about that last match later I came to the conclusion that all of that ball possession was a result of the individual skills of our players, which is what we train for.  But in a game situation where a strong team gets a goal up on us early my squad's response is based on that same individual skill.  That is, they each as individuals pick up their intensity while at the same time becoming less coordinated as a group.  Each girl goes out there and does what they've trained so hard to do.  They attack the ball, get possession and then attempt to dribble penetrate.  Against less experienced or less organized squads the Girl Power's level of individual competence leads to wave after wave of patient but relentless attack generating a lot of shooting opportunities.
     In that fall tourney game against the Cheetahs we met an opponent who had learned how to keep a disciplined shape on the field and as a result when one of our players would eventually lose the ball after attempting yet another 1v1 the NKSA players were more often in an advantageous position to capitalize.  As their lead grew our girls' level of intensity increased to becoming nearly frantic and that only added to NKSA's advantage.  Our girls began wandering and then actively chasing toward the ball, leaving more and more empty space around the field so that, again, when one of our players lost the ball on the dribble after valiantly pressing through defenders (and their own teammates) the Cheetah player who picked up that turnover was often looking at an open path to goal.  Their final goal of the game was a dagger, a rocket off the powerful right foot of Cheetah leader Jolie (she's a real player and fun to watch).  She had picked up a lost ball from Anna I think near the center circle then sprinted diagonally toward the corner on her right.  Just as Ava threatened to catch her Jolie let loose a blast from the eighteen cutting back across to the far post.  Frozen at the near post Eileen didn't have a chance of getting to that one.
     Playing indoor on the small field at T&C the conditions can be favorable to a team that plays the ball over the top a lot, that is, with long passing from the back and a "clear it out" defensive mentality.  Saturday evening that proved to be the case as the Cheetas got out to an early lead even as Girl Power were, as usual, putting on a show of individual skills.  This game, I thought, might go the same way that last one did.  But something happened twice in the opening minutes that in retrospect I can see indicated that we would see a new level of confident team play from Girl Power.  In the first run of play after kick-off the Cheetahs managed to boot the ball down into our left corner.  Ava had plenty of time to get to the ball and trap it cleanly and then she did something that was so remarkable and yet so very "Scout" like.  Looking up from the ball and quickly assessing her options Ava turned toward her defensive partner Olivia and made a smart pass right through the box to the other side of the field.  It may have looked risky at the time but in reality Ava made exactly the right choice.  Olivia was wide open and the Cheetahs were all lined up on Ava's side of the field.  Olivia had an open path to the midfield with the ball and most importantly she was ready for the pass.  Ava did that again a few minutes later and this time it was at Olivia's prompting who was calling out "square" to her.  I could hear the groan/moan from the bleachers, the murmurs of "oh no, not that way" but again it worked beautifully.      By that time, despite the energy with which the Cheetahs were pressing, Girl Power started to settle in and started to feel their strength.  Their body language was casual and confident. Suddenly they were not only dribbling brilliantly but they were communicating, mostly in the correct specific terms we've been working on, and we started seeing some beautiful passing to compliment their 1v1 skills.  Suddenly our girls were playing with a disciplined shape, but not a rigid formation as most teams attempt.  Rather they flow about the field now, ever more aware of their shared responsibilities.  As the play of Ava and later Emily and Eileen in defense showed they feel free to find different ways to solve the problems encountered in defense, solutions that keep our defense and attack connected, one leading directly into the other.  The way I've described this style of play that we've been working toward is "rotation" and in Saturday evening's game they were masterful in executing it.
     I say masterful in this instance because of the confidence, the ease with which they rotate and cover for each other now.  And they do so in a way that is actually deceptive to other teams.  At one point in the first half, with the teams tied now on three or four apiece, there was a run of play where Olivia I think trapped a long, aimless, ball that came into her corner and began dribbling out into the open space the other team was giving her.  Her defense mate, Eileen had just made a similar run from the other side and so as Olivia struck up-field our half was empty save for Emily in goal.  I could hear the tone of the other coach's voice change as he pleaded for his girls to challenge Olivia quickly.  He could see the opportunity that had opened up and wanted them to take it.  But before Olivia had even taken on her first 1v1 just past the half line Emily smartly read the situation and called out for someone to get back.  Keep in mind this is while we still have possession.  Eileen shouted back with a supportive "I got ya" and looped back into a central defensive position.  When she did that I could hear the disappointment in the other coach's voice, realizing they'd missed their chance.  Our girls did that the whole game; freely attacking space from the back; smartly rotating to cover.  And they weren't just covering to defend the goal, to simply block the shots.  They were playing to recover the ball and attack again.
     Late in the game Ava made another one of her smart outlet passes having trapped the ball against the wall near our goal.  She saw that a pass to Olivia in goal was not an option and neither was dribbling out across the box which was crowded with Cheetahs.  But she did see Eileen to her right up the wall so she made a quick pass to her.  Eileen then did the Legends thing which is she tried to dribble out of a tight spot despite being double and then triple covered.  Back and forth she played the ball using her pull-and-play-behind, dragging her opponents with her until eventually they just sort of got tired of it and left her an opening so she could split two of them and get headed up field.  Her long pass up for Hailey was a bit strong but eventually that play led to a goal for Abby. That run of play demonstrated the important difference between what Eileen and the other girls had been doing in defense and the way other teams, the Cheetahs included, deal with balls in their own third.  After Eileen got the ball up toward Hailey she chased after her to be there for a drop.  Hailey dug the ball out of the corner, trying to get off a shot or get the ball to Abby who was waiting far post.  The ball ping-ponged around in the Cheetah's third for twenty seconds or so with Eileen moving into the corner as Hailey moved toward the penalty spot.   With Cheetah players frantically trying with each touch to clear the ball out they were only managing to give us the ball back over and over.  Eventually a rebound off of one of their defenders fell to Abby's foot and she calmly chipped it over the keeper's left shoulder high into the corner of the goal to put the game away.
     The difference in the attitudes of the teams toward defending is that when Eileen or Ava or any of them trap the ball and attempt to dribble out or find a smart pass they are defending to create offense.  But a team that clears the ball as their default defensive option is defending only in hopes of regrouping and their players are in a mode where thinking about how to solve the problem the actual moment presents is not required or even encouraged.
     I watch enough pro soccer to know that being able to clear the ball is an essential skill for good defenders and every week I'll see some amazingly acrobatic turn made by a defender who is running full speed toward his own goal and yet manages to spin and boot the ball thirty yards back up field.  But what you also see from good defenders on good teams is that they only clear the ball when they are unsure of their other options.  So those players are expected to be able to assess the situations they are in on the fly and find their best way forward rather than acting in some automatic fashion.  I know that our girls can put themselves in some precarious situations by dribbling out of the back but don't think that I'm encouraging them to do that because I think it's the best strategy for a team.  Rather I think it's the best strategy for a coach who wants to put his players in a situation where they are free to feel the power of their skills and to creatively solve the problems they see in front of them.

     So now some highlights.
     Emily was strong in goal the first quarter including a stop made with one foot as she did the full "splits".   Cat-like!
     Abby was stringing combinations together with really remarkable effect and now she's adding in this new found power on her shooting stroke.  Guess the box soccer thing is working.
     Anna, despite having recently had some serious dental surgery, was gliding through defenders with those silky step-over/scissor combinations she loves.  And in this game she was smartly getting into position on the weak side of the goal when off the ball too.  As a result she had a couple of nice "clean up" goals.
      Ava was playing with her usual stellar field awareness.  Her first touches into space and her passing were brilliant.
     Hailey was hard pressed in this game with the Cheetahs being less susceptible to her subtle feints than other teams.  She seemed to adjust to that going into the second half and began adding more of an irresistible pause to her fakes and lunges and so she started drawing her defenders more off balance.
     Olivia was tentative the first few minutes about dribbling out from the back.  She made some brilliant through-ball passes in that first quarter though and by the second quarter and into the second half she was taking full advantage of the space in front of her to dribble up and take her chances.  She was brilliant in keeper to with some really excellent outlet throws (defense flowing into offense).
     Ashley was having a hard time initially finding the feel for playing effectively away from the ball.  By the second half though she seems to have had an epiphany and began smartly moving quickly to either a central or far-post position when one of her teammates had the ball on a wing.  As a result she got a lot of chances on goal.
     Eileen's new found speed and confidence continues to impress.  She's a firecracker!