Today, there is so much information that we can become easily overwhelmed before we have even started. So, let’s start with the simple premise that boys and girls want to play sport. And in particular, these boys and girls have chosen to play soccer. And you are a coach. Where do you begin coaching these boys and girls?

There are many factors to take into consideration as follows:

1. Age of the participants.
2. Ability of the participants.
3. Desire of the participants.
4. Location of the games/coaching/practices.
5. Available resources, balls, fields, etc.
6. Quantity and quality of coaches.
7. Administration requirements.

The list could go on but already these are a lot to consider. And from the parents’ perspective, they are coming to a club looking for the best opportunity for their children to play the game. In fact, it is a question of managing expectations, the expectations of the child/player, the expectations of the parents and the expectations of the club.

A clear vision of what the club wants to be and to offer is required and I deal with that in the next section, whereas here, I want to give a general overview from a coaching perspective and see if that can benefit the reader.

Let me begin with a little bit of background information.

5 STAGES OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

INTRODCUTORY STAGE:  AGES: 1– 6

This first stage is often overlooked but Tom Byers, an American soccer coach living in Japan is a huge proponent for kids being introduced to soccer at home, and I would agree as kids just need to be encouraged to interact with a ball. Check out his website, YouTube videos and he has published a book on this topic.

https://tomsan.com/en/

COORDINATION STAGE:  AGES: 6 – 12

The objective of this second stage is to identify what the player does well in a natural manner. It is very important that the player plays freely. In this stage, the footballer builds an identity, i.e., by what will he/she be known or portrayed as a player (dribbling, feints, aerial skills, etc.). This stage is fundamental to their development because it identifies the talent and creativity unique to each individual player.

https://www.icoachkids.eu/dribbling-football-how-a-children-centred-approach-led-belgian-youth-football-from-11v-1-into-2v2.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B21bBH2ZEA&app=desktop

COGNITIVE STAGE:  AGES: 12 – 16

The third stage is called the cognitive stage and it represents all players from 12 to 16 years of age.

In this stage, the coach has a very important role since this is the period of assimilation of concepts for the player. The coach in this stage teaches the game to the player through concepts and fundamentals in order for the player to make good decisions during the game.

To dominate the ball and that the ball does not dominate you is key to the formation of a soccer player. The more information I have as a player, the better a soccer player I will be. The more details a player has of the game, the more coaches correct a player, the better the coach teaches a player, the better the soccer player he or she will become. If I understand the game, I make better decisions, and if I make better decisions, I am a better player. The coach at this stage needs to understand these concepts and fundamentals.

• Between the ages of 12-16, the focus must purely be upon technical development.
• The players all have the physical attributes to play football such as, height, strength, speed & intelligence.
• The only thing that can hold them back is technical development.
• My responsibility as their coach is to improve their technical skill to the highest level possible.
• Creativity, you cannot teach that – it is talent. Those who have it, let them express it. The tricks, let them go out and do it.

COMPETITIVE STAGE:  AGES: 16 – 18

When the child has developed a player identity (what kind of player I am) in the coordination Stage and understands the game, the concepts, and fundamentals of soccer in the cognitive Stage, then the player is ready to express everything in a competitive environment. Sadly, most kids never learn these concepts.

Do you know what these concepts are? If you do not, then how can you coach the players. This stage consists of competing with and against different styles of games through all the universal fundamentals of games that the player has learned.

PROFESSIONAL STAGE:  AGES: 18+

In Europe, after this stage, at the age of 18, the player either becomes a professional or not. There is no confusion.

In the USA, the kids and parents think about going to college to play soccer on a scholarship. Once they take this route, they are falling behind their European counterparts even further and cannot compete with them at the adult level. Unlike the United States, in Europe, the degree of competitiveness is very high.

Unfortunately, in the USA the environment where the child is exposed to a real level of competitiveness between the ages of 16-18 is limited and going to college to play soccer does not aid development. Many of the players drafted from the MLS College draft even at the relatively early age of 20 are simply not good enough. Perhaps good enough to make up the rosters of MLS secondary teams but never good enough to play in Europe.

You need talent to reach the top but ironically 80% of professional players have cognitive talent and they lacked coordination talent. In other words, these 80% who are professionals do not have any kind of coordination talent, but through hard work every day, and at the same time receiving information to develop as a player, they were able to develop their cognitive skills which overcame their lack of coordination.

Only the absolute best professional players possess cognitive talent and coordination talent. They represent 20% of the professional playing population. They have the whole package. The other 80% that are professional because they learned to dominate the game with knowledge of the game rather than allow the game to dominate them.

The reason is because, 80% of all actions in a game require a very simple technical action, which once learned is easily repeatable. Most of the actions in a match do not have any difficulty to be performed. Why do we complicate our lives so much by wanting to teach soccer? Remember we are coaching children, and the key is to explain the complexity of soccer through simplicity.

In the USA, there are children with a better physique and who are more disciplined. How is it possible that countries with as little a population as Belgium, Croatia or regions like Catalonia produce so many high-level players? The key is in the assimilation of concepts and game habits with and without the ball and not in the repetition of technical actions. In the USA, a lot of emphases is placed on training soccer through repetition and repetition of movements. Children in the USA are taught to have a love for the ball rather than a love for the game itself. This is the consequence of the repetition of movements where the ball is the protagonist and the only reference.

Exercises without decision making have no impact on the development of a soccer player. Soccer is a global game where each action is different and never repeated between them, so the decision of the soccer player is everything. This is only possible through the practice of global exercises where the variables include the ball, the opponent, space, and the teammates. Once the fundamental skills have been learned (80% of professional players), it is all about decision making. You are a bad player if you make bad decisions, and you are a great player if you make great decision.

There are no bad students but only bad teachers. The USA has intelligent and disciplined children. It is time for the coaches to focus on coaching the cognitive talent of the players.

COACH THE COACHES

“Coach the coaches” is something I constantly say, and I have no doubt that the better they understand youth development and the better they can communicate with the children, then the better it is for the players.

I believe it is important that the coaches receive expert coaching themselves and support. Having a vision with a well-defined coaching methodology helps because it provides a blueprint or a roadmap for the players, parents, coaches and club administrators.

But what do we coach the coaches?

Well, here is where I believe most clubs fail. They may have a vision and an aspiration, but they lack a clear coaching methodology that applies at every age group throughout the club.

Soccer is an invasion sport, just like basketball, hockey etc. What do I mean by this? One team has the ball, and the team is seeking to invade the opponent’s space to score a goal. They are trying to invade the opposition half, get in behind them, outplay them, outsmart them and score a goal.

Since the whole purpose of soccer is to score a goal, you need to develop players who can manipulate a ball with their feet. Ball control is a fundamental building block. The player must be able to control the ball rather than the ball controlling the player. But as the player gets older, the game changes. Players go from playing small sided games such as 5v5,  7v7 or 9v9 to eventually playing in a 11v11 game on the full size field. Every game throws up endless opportunities to express oneself but also endless decision making opportunities.

The top players possess the technical skills, understand the tactical requirements of the game but crucially make the best decisions under pressure.

The methodology I believe that is best suited to developing youth soccer players is based upon the teaching of simple concepts and principles that enable the players to make better decisions and also encourages creativity.

Youth players are developed when they understand the concepts of soccer, are able to make good decisions during the game and play the game creatively with superior coordination and technical ability.

It takes a long time to develop these players, an average of 10 years from ages 8 to 18. Coaches need to be patient and clubs need to understand the path of youth development and need a sound training structure. My training structure is not original. It is taken from studying other clubs and countries. Belgium & Croatia are examples of what can be achieved with a proper coaching methodology and training structure in place. Belgium as of 2021 is ranked #1 in the FIFA world rankings and has a population of 11.5 million. Croatia reached the World Cup final and have a population of 4 million.

My training structure is based upon:

1. Rondos
2. Positional Games
3. SSPs &
4. Small sided games.

I talk about all of these separately in the next sections. One last thing; do not encourage the players to specialize at an early age. Let them play as many sports as possible up until approximately the age of 14/15/16 because at that age, the players will naturally choose the sport they wish to focus on.

Finally, here is an interesting view from Stuart Lancaster on the SPECIALIZATION -v- GENERALIZATION argument in underage sport – He is a world renowned rugby coach, and he simply states: “the more sports you can play from a younger age, the better”.

• The more sports you can play from a younger age, the better.
• The players become more rounded.
• The best players are the ones who had the broadest experiences in different sports.
• The best decision makers are the ones who played the most sports.
• Playing to space, identifying space in different sports, the more you play the better you get that feel for it.
• U16s internationals were stopped as only 10% made it to the U20s. It creates false hope & impressions on players.
• You can only identify talent at around 20 years.
• Rocky Road Study: Athletes who had setbacks, not selected, injuries = better achievements rates, resilience, determination.