Creativity (Continued)

How do we build creativity in our players?

With the amount of pressure put on kids to reach lofty expectations placed on them, it is not hard to understand why players are scared of doing anything that might make them look like a “bad” player. Expectations are good, but as coaches and parents it is important that we have the PROPER expectations for youth players. Expect the players to make many mistakes and learn from them on the field. Expect the players to try something new everyday at practice and in games without fear of failure. Expect the players to be creative and find solutions on their own with the understanding they will struggle at times.

As Thomas Edison once said about creating the light bulb, “I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that will not work.” As coaches, we need to allow players to find out what works and what does not work. For that to happen, they need to be encouraged to try new skills and find new ways of performing those skills. Remember, like Edison, every time a player fails, they are one step closer to getting it right.

To remove fear from players, coaches must promote kids to be creative and have fun during training sessions. Our expectation needs to be for the players to learn and try new skills at practice and in games without a fear of failure. It is important to teach players to play simple and make good decisions on the field, but it is critical to allow them to take risks by taking on players or trying difficult moves without being scolded if they fail. Players should be applauded at a young age for trying things that are difficult and taking chances. Allowing players to take risks on their own and be creative will permit them to fail or succeed on their own and they will learn over time what works for them and what does not fit their style of play. Alongside proper teaching and mentoring, a player learning in an environment that fosters skill development and gives the freedom to discover their strengths and weaknesses will likely become a dynamic and creative player over time.  

Next time you get the opportunity to watch a youth soccer game in your area, look to see if you can pick out the players who are having fun and the players who are playing scared. I guarantee the players who are exciting to watch and creative, on and off the ball, are the player who are having fun. After you pick out those players, look to see which coaches are encouraging their players to try new things and reinforcing positive play, and which coaches are just barking orders from the sideline and are quick to correct every mistake a player makes. Which teams are the kids on who are having fun and showing signs of creativity?

Playing simple, playing safe, and taking a limited amount of touches are great tactical skills for a player to learn, but without a creative side that breaks these rules at the right time, a player with these tactical qualities will never be better than average. When is the right time to break away from these rules? That is learned by the player through years of playing experience and a coach’s guidance.  

In your respective soccer community, push youth players to be creative, not boring soccer players. Encourage them to try new moves, take risks around the goal, shoot when given the opportunity, and never be afraid to take on a player with the ball. If these values are taught to players from a young age, there will be a significant increase in the caliber of players being developed.

 

Tony Earp

Senior Director, SuperKick Columbus

Creativity for the Soccer Player

Why do players need it? Why do so many lack it?

What is the difference between good players and great players? Good players can make good decisions on the ball if given enough time, space, and options, but great players can make good decisions under tremendous pressure, in very limited space, and create options when none exist. Great players have the skill, but more importantly, the creativity to make something out of nothing and are dangerous every time they touch the ball.  These players play without fear and possess a great passion for the game.

Creative players have an attribute a lot of players lack because of a fear of losing the ball or being criticized by a coach, teammate, or parent. Creative players are not afraid to take on opponents and try to make great things happen on the field. If they fail at first, they will try again and again until they get it right. They play to win and are having fun in the process. Games are fun and are seen as opportunities for them to showcase their newly learned skills and try things that are difficult in the hopes of getting better and helping their team win.

Unfortunately, most players are not placed in an environment that nurtures creativity which is crucial to enjoying the game. Often, players are trained in an atmosphere that has strict rules that must be followed. This is a place where the coach’s word is law and things should only be done the coach’s way. Practices consist of activities that do not require players to think outside the box or problem solve, but rather they are forced to only do things directed by the coach. Compounded by the fact that players rarely play soccer without a coach or parent directing them, players struggle to develop the creative intuition needed to develop into a high level player.

What kind of comments do players often hear from coaches? Maybe something to the tune of:

-          “Stop dribbling!”

-          “Pass the ball!”

-          “Never do that!”

-          “Just kick it out!”

The last one is my favorite (“Just kick it out!”). I never understood the logic behind that comment. A coaching friend once said to me, “In what other sport would a coach yell that to a player? If you are a basketball coach, do you ever tell your point guard to just throw the ball out of bounds when under pressure?” It is a simple point, but I think it hits on something very important. Coaches need to be very careful about what they are encouraging and discouraging young players to do.

The undeniable truth is coaches can create players who play scared and timid. Players who are scared of losing the ball, letting down their teammates, disappointing their coach or disappointing their parents will do only what the coach asks for fear of being lambasted for his or her actions. For many players, a lot of the pressure to perform comes from this fear. It is this fear that hinders players from being creative and often cuts players’ careers short because the game is no longer fun for them.

Coming later this week:  How do we build Creativity?

Passing and Receiving for Soccer

“If you cannot control the ball, you cannot control the game.” 

To be considered a high level player you must be able to receive a ball under pressure, create space with your first touch, and combine with teammates to move the ball forward. These skills are required to play at competitive level and be successful and effective in game situations. As players get older, the speed of play increases significantly due to improved physical qualities of the players and sharper tactical skills that boost each player’s ability to make quick decisions on and off the ball.

With other athletes becoming stronger and quicker, players with technical deficiencies in their passing and receiving skills will find it increasingly difficult to maintain possession of the ball for their team. It is each individual player’s responsibility to continuously work on their ability to receive the ball away from pressure and play an accurate and properly weighted pass. 

To receive the ball, a player must prepare the body to receive the ball by lining themselves up with the ball (if possible), relax the surface they will use to control the ball, and slightly give on contact to counter act the momentum of the ball. BUT, before all that, the player must first consider:

1. (Where is it going?)
2. The speed of the ball. (How fast is it coming?)
3. (How will the ball react of the first surface it strikes?)

 Then, the player needs to consider:

1. Where are the defenders? Or where is the space?
2. Where are my teammates?
3. Where am I on the field? (Attacking 3^rd, Middle 3^rd, Defensive 3^rd)
4. What do I want to do next with the ball?
5. Which part of the body will I use receive the ball?
6. In which direction will I receive the ball towards?

The last two questions cannot be answered until all the other items are considered. Obviously, there are a lot of questions to answer and a load of information to process before receiving the ball. Even so, high level players, consciously and subconsciously, use the information from these questions to receive the ball correctly.

To play a quality ball to a teammate, the ball must be played to your teammate in a way that is easy to control, away from pressure, and in the direction the player is heading. When playing the ball, the player must consider:

1. Do I play the ball on the ground or in the air?
   1. How hard do I need to strike the ball?
   2. What surface should I use to pass the ball?
   3.  Should I hit the ball straight or bend it?

When answering those questions, the player must consider the following:

1. Where is the ball? (on the ground, air, in front, behind, etc..)
2. Where is my teammate compared to where I am facing?
3. How far away is my teammate from me?
4. Where are the defenders? Or where is the space?
5. Is the field fast or slow? (Turf vs. Tall Grass)
6. Where will my teammate try to go next with the ball?
7. Does my teammate want to shoot, pass, or dribble?

Since there are so many things to consider when playing a ball to your teammate, it is important to be able to use different parts of the foot and the rest of the body to pass the ball. Each part of the body requires different technique that takes many years and countless repetitions to perfect.

Here are some easy activities to do at home with the ball to improve your passing and receiving skills:

• Rebound Passing  (view demo) – notice the different surfaces used to receive and pass the ball
• V- Drill- (view demo) – notice the different surfaces used to receive and pass the ball
• ½ Volley Inside of the Foot & Find Target  – Alternating Feet  (view demo)
• ½ Volley Outside of the Foot & Find Target  – Alternating Feet  (view demo)

The Importance of Goalkeeper Specific Training During Your Season

Many parents ask me during the club seasons if Goalkeeper specific sessions are needed during the season. As a professional goalkeeper and as a Director of Goalkeeper Development, the answer to this is very simple: YES!! 

I realize that your weekly schedule of games and practices becomes very full but there is a necessity to keep the basic techniques during the season.  Unfortunately with the addition of games and team practices the importance of proper goalkeeper training is sometimes put on the back burner in regards to development.  There is a need to maintain regular training with a goalkeeper coach even if it is once a week, just to keep your technique sharp.  If you neglect this specific training for a few weeks you will start to see the results during your games and practices.  First your technique and skill set will likely diminish and you won’t feel as sharp.  One of my fears is that without proper coaching from a goalkeeper coach you might start picking up bad habits or even worse an injury from improper technique. 

Think of these sessions as a weekly “tune-up” for a goalkeeper.  You want your goalkeeper running smoothly all season long.  Now depending on when your games are scheduled and when you are having goalkeeper training will provide you how with the answer of how hard your goalkeeper should train during that session.

For example, with the Chicago Fire, if we have a game on a Saturday night, the first few days of the week are hard/intense sessions with our goalkeeper coach.  As we get to the end of the week the workload is lightened up.  This is to allow us to be both physically rested and mentally focused. It is very important for the goalkeepers and the goalkeeper coach to communicate about the workload and how the goalkeeper is feeling.  It has to be a give and take relationship.  Some days are heavy work days and some are lighter days.

Remember a large part of goalkeeping is mental.  If your goalkeeper is confident and feels sharp, they will play better in the game.

Keep making saves!

Jon Busch, Director of Goalkeeper Development

Foot Skills and Confidence with the Ball: Stick to the Basics

 

When putting in the time to train on your own to improve your level of play, I offer this simple advice, “Stick to the Basics!” Work on the simple things (over and over and over again) and perfect your technique with the ball. If you have the commitment and desire to raise your level of play, make the most out of the time when you train with the ball and focus on the fundamental skills in which all other components of your game depend on.

As players age, the competition intensifies and level of play becomes more advanced. This is obvious and should not be a surprise to anyone. If a player has not put the time in to solidify his or her basics skills, that player will find it increasingly difficult to keep pace with other players who have.  

For the same reason a child is taught simple addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication before attempting algebra or calculus, a player must be learn the basic skill sets in order to be successful with more complicated aspects of the game of soccer. Without those skills, the player will eventually reach a point where they will begin to struggle and become frustrated.

Stay ahead of the curve and work with the ball on your own, every day, every other day, or when ever you get the chance. Spend time trying fun moves you saw your favorite professional player do in a game the day before or see if you can do the cool trick you saw on YouTube. There is nothing wrong with that and it is actually a great thing to do. BUT- make sure you are working on the other aspects of the game that will really help you become a better player, the basics.

Here are some easy activities to do at home with the ball to improve your foundational foot skills and confidence with the ball:

Slalom Dribbling Progression: These activities become increasingly difficult. Start with the first couple movements and work your way down.

• Inside/Outside – Single Foot  (view demo)
• Pull Across Body- Alternating Feet  (view demo)
• Inside/Outside  - Alternating Feet  (view demo)
• Roll/Stop/Roll – Alternating Feet  (view demo)
• Lateral In/Outs – Single Foot  (view demo)
• Forward L- Behind – Alternating Feet  (view demo)

Tony Earp, Senior Director

In Season Soccer Training

What do you do to improve as a player while in season? That might seem like an odd question with a very simple answer, but it is a very important question that most players are not able to answer. Think about it… how would you answer that question? In the upcoming blogs—look for the following exercises for inseason training:   

 

• Foot Skills and Confidence on the Ball
• Passing and Receiving
• Striking the Ball

 

A simple response someone might give is they train with their team and work hard at practice everyday to get better. Is that enough?  How much progress do they really make? By training two or three times a week with their team and playing games in between, it would be hard to believe that a player would not show progress throughout the season, and most players do. Normally by the end of the season, players are performing at a higher level than when the season began.

 

Are they playing better because throughout the season they have improved their individual skills by working on aspects of their game that are weak, or do they seem to be playing better because nobody plays at their highest level at the beginning of the season and naturally improve as the season goes on? Unfortunately, more times than not, I believe it is the latter.

 

The simple fact is practicing with your team during the season and playing games is not enough to show long lasting improvement in your individual skills. As I said previously, players tend to play better as the season goes on but it is not due to a noticeable change in their individual ability. It can be attributed largely to the fact players become more fit and get used to the pace of the game throughout the season.

 

Think about your standard team practice. How many touches do you get on the ball throughout a training session? Usually during the warm up and the first part of the practice, players will have a ball at their feet and do some work on their technical skill. The rest of the practice is more or less dedicated to working on tactical aspects of the game, so players do not get a lot of touches on the ball.

 

At practice, players learn how the game should be played and how their team will work together on the field. Combination play, movement off the ball, staying compact on defense, and staying spread out on offense are just a few of many team strategies that coaches try to teach their players. All of which are critical for players to understand if they are going to continue to improve their level of play.

 

The problem is players ALSO need to improve their INDIVIDUAL technical skills at the same time. It is impossible for a coach to address all the individual technical needs of their players during a typical training session. Some players may need to become better passers of the ball, while others need to really improve their first touch, and a few may have no idea how to strike a ball properly.

 

As previously stated, it is extremely difficult for a coach to give all players the attention they require to improve on the specific skills they need to develop. This is why good coaches require their players to train on their own outside of practice to improve their individual technical abilities. The problem is most players do not take their coaches advice and fail to follow through on home training programs. Thus, players become very frustrated when at the end of the season they are no better at certain skills than they were when the season started.

 

Players must work on their own throughout the season to improve areas of their game to ensure they continue to raise their level of play. Team practice is just not enough! If a player wants to improve their ability to score goals, he or she needs to work on striking the ball and improve their shooting technique. A player who wants to develop their foot skills must train everyday to become faster with the ball. A team training session does not spend enough time working on a specific skill for a player to show a lot of improvement in one particular area.

 

In addition, a player who is serious about enhancing their skills and separating themselves from other players cannot do what other players are doing. They must do more. A player who wants to gain playing time over another player cannot show up to practice and work just as hard as their teammate. He or she must work harder and train more than the other player.

 

Most players wait for the off-season to work on parts of their game that need improvement. Yes, this is a good time to work on those skills, but it is a huge mistake to overlook this type of training during the season. In fact, it may be even more beneficial to work on these skills while in season because improvement is easier to see during games and can encourage a player to continue to work hard on their own.

 

This is what I love about soccer and all sports. You are only bound by how hard you are willing to push yourself. Soccer rewards players for working hard and putting the time in to train and improve on their own. You just have to be willing to do it.

 

Make this coming season your best season yet by dedicating the time to improve your skills outside of your team practices. Pick one or two skills you know you need to develop and commit to being better at those skills by the end of the season. Doing this, along with working hard at practice with your team, will help you raise your level of play above the rest.  I will be talking about exercises to help with your in-season training in upcoming blogs.

 

Tony Earp

Director of Soccer Skills

SuperKick/TeamZone

 

Welcome to the SuperKick Blog!!

SuperKick is very excited to start writing for our athletes, parents, coaches, club directors, and any individuals interested in our training information.  Our goal is to provide our readers with valuable information and resources 2 to 3 times per week.  We will also use our blog to keep you up to date on SuperKick events and programs.