KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID (KISS)
The KISS principle states that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated. The principle most likely finds its origins in similar minimalist concepts, such as Occam’s razor, Leonardo da Vinci‘s “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”, Shakespeare’s “Brevity is the soul of wit”, Mies Van Der Rohe‘s “”Less is More”, Bjarne Stroustrup‘s “Make Simple Tasks Simple!”.
In soccer, the KISS principle was best expressed by Johan Cruyff:
“Playing football is very simple but playing simple football is the hardest thing there is”.
The goal in youth development is to keep things simple – children can only process so much information. Coaches may know a lot, but all that knowledge has to be distilled into simple and easily understood advice.
- Take it step by step – Soccer players are developed over the course of a minimum of 10 years. If a coach tells you that he needs your child to be at a certain level within a fixed time frame, run to the hills.
- To get good results playing attractive football first of all you need a very well organised team with and without the ball.
- Lots of practice & repetition.
- Lots of possession games.
- Simple short passes.
- Work on technique especially controlling and passing the ball.
- It is easier to defend than it is to attack.
- Being creative is much more difficult. Creativity is something that you need to encourager from a very young age.
- Short clear analysis & short clear messages to the players as to what you want them to do.
Use key vocabulary such as:
- You keep possession under pressure.
- If you have the ball the opponent does not have the ball.
- If you control the ball, they will run more than you and you will tire them out
- If you are able to play the ball fast and switch the defense from side to side by moving the ball from side to side, the other side will begin to tire and there will be a key moment when gaps appear in the defense and the attacking team will be able to take advantage of those gaps.
