DVD Review: SoccerU

Re: DVD Review - soccerU ????

I can completely understand why you think you have to break down skills, I used to coach that way and still occassionally do it that way if I think it is right for the child in question. I will say that questioning or using sounds with the athlete in a way that makes them think about their actions works better. Take a chip pass, the way that you guys would coach that would be to tell them to put their standing foot and have their kicking foot under the ball, lean back etc. Now what you tell them is not wrong, but for many it is too much too think about and can throw them off.
TRY THIS NEXT TIME WITH SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT PLAY FOOTBALL, SUCH AS A MUM.
1. Roll the ball to them and ask them to kick it back to your chest, do it 5 times.
2. Now ask them to say whooosh as they kick it, do it 5 times.
3. Now do it the way you would normally coach it.

I have done this numerous times and the majority of times either 1 or 2 have been the most sucessfull.
Peter Beardsley was once asked to break down the dribble technique that he used to devastating effect, he could`nt, he just did it.

 

Re: DVD Review - soccerU ????

You are making a false assumption based on nothing I said. It would be reasonable to infer from what I said that I believe coaches need to understand proper technique well enough to spot errors, but I didn't say that I teach novices to strike the ball by developing competence in small pieces of the complete technique one piece at a time.

As for your example: I have never taught a novice how to chip the ball, although I do teach novices in general terms how to bend a ball when initially teaching how to strike the ball. (I use the "smiley face" analogy and talk about the point of contact). I think most of us coaches plan practices so that technique is developed in the context of the game, rather than in isolation. That has been a recommended practice for over thirty years that I know of. We introduce technique in an initial technical phase and then move to group play with various degrees of pressure for the majority of the practice time. The exception would be for very young children, whom you don't teach technique.

If you are basing your assumption on what Twenty26 posted, I happen to know from previous discussions that Twenty26 uses a game context to develop skills as well.

Finally its well accepted that learning is enhanced by involving as many senses as possible in the process. That for soccer translates into a verbal explanation, a visual demonstration, and then performance of the task.

 

Re: DVD Review - soccerU ????

I was not aiming that at 1 individual.

It was ussoccercoach who said "The answer is pretty simple.
If YOU, the teacher, can't demostrate the skills to the players by breaking them down STEP BY STEP, they will never learn them."

I find the above comments silly, but it seems to be a wide spread view amongst coaches.

Thousands of kids never had any real training throughout their youth, but they were more than capable of playing the game to a good standard, because they played the game and learnt that way. Before anyone says they would have been even better with coaching, I would agree as long as it was coaching that allowed them to play a lot of football.

 

Re: DVD Review - soccerU ????

Perhaps he wasn't clear. How can a coach correct a technical deficiency if he cannot spot the error and then demonstrate the correct technique? To coach effectively the coach must conciously understand the various components of the technique and be able to demonstrate the various components. While for a normal group demonstrating the techique without breaking down the components may be effective for an initial introduction to a technique, a gestalt type of approach is much less effective for correcting individual errors.

 

Re: DVD Review - soccerU ????

Here is an example. I helped a 14-year old player with taking goal kicks. He was trying to use leg strength and running speed instead of proper technique to kick for distance. First I worked with him on his approach run, then striking the ball, and last his hip movement transfering his weight. In less than 30 minutes he went from struggling to accurate 40-50 yard kicks.

 

Re: DVD Review - soccerU ????

First, it is not "a DVD", it is a full set of 6 disks. I think it is about 10 hours of so.
Second, if you haven't watched them, then calling them a waste of money is a bit silly.
Like I said, I own them, know several upper level coaches that also own them and the response is the same...
They are the best tools a coach or parent can have to teach the "technical skills" needed in the game.
Flair, creativity, experimentation????
Yes, those come while playing the game, the street, and neighborhood pickup games, etc. However, core skills must be taught and learned.
If you can't break them down step by step and know how to correct each and every problem, then you need to learn how. It is the only resource I have seen that does this.
By the way, one of the biggest mistakes people make is thinking that the "greats of the time", never practiced or learned their skills. They just "played the game" and magically their skills appeared.
Not so. The academies they went through focused HEAVILY on teaching core skills during the development years.
Here is an example...
Throw an air ball to your players.
Ask them to perform a "cup trap" with both their left and right foot.
Most don't even know what that is. (Nor do their coaches.)
Yet you will see it performed 100's of times in every pro match.
If you can't teach it, they won't learn it.
There are VERY few DVDs that are REALLY worth it, this set is one of them.

 

Re: DVD Review - soccerU ????

1- Yes, I own it and also now have the version 2 which is the latest version.
2- Yes, I know several other coaches and parents that also own it.
3- Yes, the series is DEAD ON, if you want to train a player on ALL aspects of core technical skills, or learn the correct way to teach them to others.

I think it is important to understand that many people think you will get the series, pop it in, and in a couple of hours be a great trainer. Not so. It is VERY long, covers a huge amount of training and you'll have to dedicate time to it.
However they did a great job of making sure that each skill was broken down step by step and shown in training as well. Most of the other dvds I watched just showed players doing "drills".
I think the most valuable thing a coach can realize is that "coaching clinics", training and certifications, DON'T teach you skill training. (Even up to the very top.) They teach you how to "coach".
Most people that make the statement "they become great just by playing" simply don't know how to teach skills.
Humility is a very important aspect of becoming a great teacher / trainer. Understanding that you don't know it all, and must learn it to pass it on.
This series humbled me even with 20+ years of coaching and 10 years of playing the game. I think that is pretty clear. Good luck.

 

Re: DVD Review - soccerU ????

Yep... What we learned is that most coaches are taught "how to coach" but very little "coach training" is devoted to actually understanding skills. Even the "C" course which is a week long residential course, does not devote time to teaching "skills". That's not what it's for.
We also learned that that you must take a separate portion of you training time and devote it to "learning sessions". Trust me, it will take years, not days, to teach and develop all the skills. It's REALLY helpful if you are running any camps where you have more time.
Again, if a club wants to ensure that ALL their coaches are fundamentally strong in skill training it's a great club wide program to implement.
The funny part is now many of our younger age players are more "core skill exposed" than our older players.
If I where you I would start by implementing the 1000 touches at the beginning of each practice. It's a great way to warm up players with a ball at their feet, no lines, and really no way for them to "act up" with social interchanges (horseplay).
By the time they're done they are literally exhausted and more willing to listen and less likely to be horsing around. (We had an issue with one team and this changed that behavior asap.)
Good luck.

 

Re: DVD Review - soccerU ????

Actually it is the coaches that need to understand the breakdown so that they can spot errors and correct. Players learn the techniques as one movement. Only beginners first learning a technique are going to think of a technique as independent steps. If advanced players "think" too much about what they are doing, it just throws them off because their brain has actually learned the technique as one movement.

As a result of this thread, I bought the CDs and found them even better than I expected from reading the reviews here.

 

Re: DVD Review - soccerU ????

FWIW, I own the set (and about 70 other coaching DVDs). As far as this one goes, it is one of the ones I go to first every year to refresh for myself and to start with each team. The steps described are relatively simple and easy to teach and I've found that the techniques work well for both boys and girls, although I fnid that girls take to the instruction a little better. Doesn't matter about the age group - this is a refesher that I do with every team I coach.

As far as "teaching the coach" goes, I've also structured sessions with half decent technical coaches (most at an A license level) and invite other coaches from the club I'm with and other clubs in the area to speak, less about technique and more about their experiences in coaching - sort of a "learn from another coach" sessions. They've usually been successul, but are attended by a relatively small group of individuals. About 20 in all. But all 20 are enthusiastic about learning more about the game any way they can.

 

I've also found the Blast the Ball techniques to be the hardest to teach.

 

I think that striking technique is going to be somewhat limited by age. With teens I find it pretty easy to correct striking technique, but they have fairly mature control over their body. When you strike correctly, it feels really good, so its self reinforcing. I think it also requires a fair bit of general athletic skill to do correctly.

When you move from dead balls to moving balls, striking becomes very difficult for U-Littles.

One trick I learned (from training myself) is to have players strike rapidly in a situation where they don't have time to think about it. I want to induce a natural movement from the planting foot to the striking foot. I have done it with young kids by having them run up and strike the ball. With myself, I did it by striking a series of balls spread line a breast as quickly as possible. I quickly fell into a rhythm: plant, strike, follow through, step back, slide sideways and then plant, strike and follow through... Once you get this rhythm going you feel the added power come from the lower back and the hip shift. Needless to say you have to develop the rhythm striking with both feet.

 

Another thing I learned about striking technique is that it is highly dependent on being able to balance on your plant foot.

If you can get kids to balance on their plant foot better while moving their leg through the kicking motion and bending their plant leg, they will strike bettwe overall.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4WXCLOQH2E"]Biomechanics of Power Kicking - YouTube[/ame]

 

I bought the DVDs this fall and am working through them. I played college ball but either didn't have or don't remember coaches teaching technique. The series helps me commmunicate things I might 'know' but not be able to explain. Some of the catch phrases seem cheesy, but my GU11s are already repeating them ("the ball can't lie".

I sprinkle in some of the basics in my practices and find it useful to see the step by step demonstrations in the videos. I'm glad I purchased the set and I keep learning from it.

 

I bought it and love it.

 

I'll just add my two cents. I didn't play soccer growing up but have watched it religiously for several years now. Consequently I have little to no idea how to performs skills let alone teach them. I've found as others have said the USSF coaching courses really don't teach how to teach skills at all, but how to be a coach. It was pretty easy to read and figure out what to do with young kids when I was coaching them, but now that my kids are getting to the age where they need to learn skills beyond simply allowing the game to be the teacher, I've found this series to be highly valuable.

 

I'm not sure how those of you who spent money on the DVDs will feel about this, but the SoccerU videos are now online.

I'm trying to teach my 8-yr-old stuff in the backyard. These videos might help a bit with that.