Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Technical Development Tools: Continuous Passing Grid

We start this training with the players setting up the Grid for 1) Dynamic Warmup, and then 2) the Agility Ladder.  The Under 12/13 Team Captains set the field and arrange the Team.  They begin training without coach, who steps in to adjust technique or mental focus.


Trusting in the Captains is part of the method aimed at engendering leadership skills in the young athletes.  When the team can function at a high level without direct coach supervision, the team assumes a mental framework conducive to instruction and progress.

In fact, as more responsibility has been placed on the shoulders of the team, the athletes themselves begin to gain the skills of setting the proper psychological tone for athletic progress.





This is the tail end of that warmup exercise; then the players are allowed to touch a ball at fifteen/twenty minutes into the session.  This decision, too, is aimed at preparing for the training realities at the coming levels.

Warmup


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Continuous Passing Grid

This group has mix of technical abilities, and the most basic passes are breaking down.  These players need to gain a sense of the pace at which the ball must move, so the aim in this grid is to make quality contact on the first touch, and to direct the ball to the teammate using one or to touches.

The players are instructed to use the side of the foot, to use one or two touches, and to keep the ball moving.

The Grid is a rectangular box with players in a line two-three players deep--not too many, the goal is to keep everyone moving, if you find a lag between a player arriving at one end of the Grid and that player getting a touch on the ball, either create a second Grid or expand the dimensions of the existing Grid.

The Player is instructed to play a low, straight ball to the teammate at the opposite end of the Grid and to then move along the length of the rectangle-- the outside edge--to the right or left, but keep it consistent.  The player should arrive at that opposite end just as the player before him or her strokes the next pass to that end from where the first ball came.

The outside edges are used to coordinate the player's lateral footwork.  By timing the passing so as to engage the player who has just arrived at that end of the Grid, we train the setup footwork or continuous passing.

Continuous Passing Grid




Players need to be moving in a dynamic fashion.  Coach them to approach the ball, and to use their momentum to redirect the pass to the next teammate.

This exercise can quickly degenerate into a kick and run opportunity, so the coach needs to be present and vigilant.  As the quality breaks down, the coach, or the Captain, needs to step in and reset the quality.   Constant attention must be dedicated to keeping the quality at a high level.

Once the quality is established, the coach can recess to the hillside and allow the Captains a chance to manage the team.







But the Coach cannot wander too far away.  These players want to use the outside of the foot, though it has little applicability to this essentially square pass.  They will find moments to stop moving, they will play balls without squaring their hips to the target.  These are the adjustments the coach is looking to correct.





After playing the ball, the player accelerates through a cone course along the perimeter of the Grid, and aligns centrally to be in position for the next ball.

Coaches, Good luck with the Continuous Passing Tool.  Send your feedback to How To Soccer, and thank you for working with the youth of today.  Our job is to create healthy, stable young citizens, and to equip these players to succeed at whatever is to become their next level.

The Leadership and Passing exercises outlined in this post are tools we can use to engender the skills these young people will need to succeed on the many fields they will find themselves on in life.

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