Playing with no training

[EJDad]

I am coaching a U11 girls select team. We are playing in a preseason tournament and will have had 0 training oportunities before the tournament starts. It is the first time many of the girls will be playing 11 v11 and with the offide rule.

I am not concerned at all about game results but am using the tournament to get them some time together and get them adjusted to 11 a side.

My question is- what one or two things should I have them focus on in the first game that will a) help them come together as a team b)be a foundation for things in the future. The second game? Third?

We will train twice a week and play on Sundays starting the week after the tournament.

Any advice would be helpful

Thanks

[Ray Luca]

I am coaching a U11 girls select team. We are playing in a preseason tournament and will have had 0 training oportunities before the tournament starts. It is the first time many of the girls will be playing 11 v11 and with the offide rule.

I am not concerned at all about game results but am using the tournament to get them some time together and get them adjusted to 11 a side.

My question is- what one or two things should I have them focus on in the first game that will a) help them come together as a team b)be a foundation for things in the future. The second game? Third?

We will train twice a week and play on Sundays starting the week after the tournament.

Any advice would be helpful

Thanks

Question why couldn't you start training at least a few weeks before the first tournament that way you would have had 6 practices in before the tournament. Having a tournament before the start of any practices is totally nuts you put them in unprepared to play.

It make no sense it's dumb.

[EJDad]

Thanks for your help. If we could train we would. I didn't set the schedule. Given the situation, anyone have any helpful advice?

[Ray Luca]

Thanks for your help. If we could train we would. I didn't set the schedule. Given the situation, anyone have any helpful advice?

That was helpful advice for next time. You can not expect to do anything without trainiong first. If they could why would they need you?

[IASocFan]

That was helpful advice for next time. You can not expect to do anything without trainiong first. If they could why would they need you?

Sometimes you don't get the opportunities. I'm assuming that the tournament is this weekend or you/they are unavailable until the tournament.

Try to call/talk to the girls or parents either beforehand or first thing when they get to the tournament site.
- QUICKLY LEARN to put names with faces if you don't know them yet.
- Ask them individually if they like to play forward, defense, mid or keeper.
- Do warm ups so you and they learn each others names.
- Decide on a formation for the first game 433 or 442. (Keep it simple!)
- Pick 11 starters and do a walk through of where they'll play and what their responsibilities will be for that position. Have the subs wear a penny or second shirt to distinguish sides. Talk through offside both from the forwards' and defenders' point of view. About 5-10 minutes for this discussion.
- As they play, take notes on what they (individually and as a team) do well and need to work on. Give everyone at least two positions to play. And give everyone about the same playing time.

After the first game, talk to girls. Tell them the good things they did, the things the team will have to work on, and the things they did well. Adjust accordingly for subsequent games and the rest of the season. You'll know more after the first game and the tournament than any of us here can speculate! :) If you want to keep us posted, we can give you more advice!

No matter what level I coach. I start out with a game plan. Sometimes I follow it to a T, but usually, I make significant adjustments.

[uniteo]

That was helpful advice for next time. You can not expect to do anything without trainiong first. If they could why would they need you?

Well that's just absurd. They've all played before. They know the game. We coaches need to get over ourselves a bit.

I would just take some time with the players to go over the formation, how you want them to try and play together, their offensive and defensive responsibilities. Explain the offside rule to them if they don't know it.

Oh, and I would tell them that they should look at the tournament as a long practice session...the goal is to improve how they play together and not necessarily worry about the result.

[pasoccerdave]

The biggest issue I recall when my teams moved to 11 v 11 is where everyone needs to be on the field. There are more people to keep track of and more space to cover.

Probably the idea above of setting them up relative to each other is the best. I wouldn't worry about offside much at first. A quick explanation is probably best - there are other issues that need more time.

[Katowice]

If you can somehow squeeze a session prior to the game and have the space available, try shadow play, 11v0, 11v1, 11v2, to get them used to their positions and space. We're also U11, 11v11 this fall, and it seems most coaches are using 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 as the system until they figure out all their players.

Next time you really ought to set a schedule weeks in advance (warn your team parents a while in advance). We started training the first week in August and even with rainouts and vacations had the whole team together at least four times. My thought would also be to can the preseason tournament and scrimmage other similar teams 3-4 times instead. It's much lower pressure and more worthwhile, IMHO. From a player development standpoint, a preseason tournament is a waste of time and money.

[Ray Luca]

Well that's just absurd. They've all played before. They know the game. We coaches need to get over ourselves a bit."

I would just take some time with the players to go over the formation, how you want them to try and play together, their offensive and defensive responsibilities. Explain the offside rule to them if they don't know it.

Oh, and I would tell them that they should look at the tournament as a long practice session...the goal is to improve how they play together and not necessarily worry about the result.

So 11 yr olds know the game better then we do?

You can coach the team just by talking your way throught it :-) Then you can expect to see improvement in their game without going to the practice field.

They know the game again I say why do they need any of us.

If I thought they know the game and can train themselves and push themselves. I would not bother to coach anymore. They can improve their game themselves without anybodies help .

[DerbyRam54]

Well that's just absurd. They've all played before. They know the game. We coaches need to get over ourselves a bit.

I would just take some time with the players to go over the formation, how you want them to try and play together, their offensive and defensive responsibilities. Explain the offside rule to them if they don't know it.

Oh, and I would tell them that they should look at the tournament as a long practice session...the goal is to improve how they play together and not necessarily worry about the result.
In this context, that's not bad advice. If you've never seen these kids playing together, I'd take it as an opportunity to let them be themselves, and observe them to see who the natural players are, who are the on-field leaders and so on. Keep your coaching between games to a minimum, maybe look for one thing they could do differently that would improve the team's performance, praise them when you catch them being good and make lots of mental notes that will guide your training sessions when the time comes.
I've done this kind of thing a couple of times this summer with makeshift O-30 women's teams, and it is a good test of your coaching abilities.

[spartanpele]

Since you can't train before the tourney, go in with the attitude of making the tournament a chance to see what the players know and don't know, teaching them as you go along, to learn names and what positions they seem to drift to, and to have fun. Typically you go to tourneys to win, but, it sounds like this tourney is being used as a training opportunity instead.

Have the parents get to the field early, at least an hour early, handout team rules, talk about responsibilites to the parents and kids. Ask the kids what positions they prefer to play, but let them know they will be moved around based on what you see during the games. Prewarn the parents and players that since you haven't been able to practice before this tourney, this tourney is being used as a training situation, and to have fun.

For your warmups, play shadow scrimms as mentioned before (11 v 0, 11v1, 11v2), etc, and basically walk through where you want the kids to be offensively and defensively. Briefly talk about offsides and keep it simple...Ex: can't be behind the last defender unless you have the ball... Don't get into it too deeply or they'll spend more time worrying about it vs simply playing. If they get called offside during the game, use it as a chance to teach them, if they bunch up, instruct them to spread out...by observing and noting the problems, you can teach them as you go along.

Its not a great scenario to throw a new team into a tourney setting, but it can be productive if you take the initiative to teach the players. And in the future, schedule some practices...even if for only an hour a night before heading to the tourneys.

Best of luck...