Did anyone else go to this? I went and got a lot out of most of the sessions that I attended. From this, I think that coaches in this country are be instructed on how to properly develop players. For some reason, I don't a lot of coaches taking the information and using it. Some of the better training sessions that I went to were from the coach from Messiah, Dorance and a women's & academy coach from Arsenal. What were some highlights for others?
I went and thought it was very good. I did not get to see the extra stuff as i was working in a booth
No offense, but there seem to be some words missing from your sentences, so I don't know what you are trying to say, and I am interested in the topic.
Sorry, I posted the other message earlier in the morning before I had any coffee. Here's another effort at posting. I'll try bullets points this time, maybe that will help. 1. I went to the conventino this year and got a lot out of it. 2. From attending an event like this, I think there is an effort to improve coaching and player development in this country. However, for some reason it seems like most coaches ignore this information. To me, one of the underlying themes of the convention was technique and the improtance teaching this. 3. Some of the better sessions that I attended were; The use of manequins in training. Emma Hayes / Arsenal FC Ladies asst coach, Academy Director. The UNC technique olympics, Annsonce Dorrance The 10 ways to get the best from your team, Bill Beswick, the English National Team. Technical Precision in Training for Championship Performance in Matches. Dave Brandt, Messiah College Men's coach. This was a great session. I learned a lot about training, but also learned a lot about why Messiah is so successful. For the training session players from a local high school for the demonstration. In this short time, I got to see how Brandt works with players and how these players improved in just an hour. I can only imagine what would happen over a season. 4. Did anyone else attend and what were some of their favorite sessions?
I was at the one in Philly last year as a demo player and I thought it was alright. Didn't really have that great of drills to be honest.
I did not go to Indianapolis. I did go to Philadelphia, last year, one a long time ago in Baltimore, and one somewhere else, oh yea, Baltimore again... they're just a blur to me now. No offense intended, but the hungry people go to the vendors like housewives shopping for bargains at Filene's, and the coaches go to get hammered, or be honored and then get hammered at the favorite local taverns. The natives lead the way. Yes, lots to be gleaned from these three-four day conventions, but more to the point, lots of money/industry now in a convention that draws at least 6-7 thousand people to a city in January. Would have liked to see Coach Brandt, 'cause his type of success doesn't happen by accident, but beyond that, most of the sessions, intentionally or not, re-invent somebody's wheel, and in the end, it is, lo' and behold, round.
I've been attending these conventions since the mid 80's. The one constant is that I tend to stay away from Div 1 NCAA coaches - many are just names and/or reputations, not that creative (technically speaking) - very strong recruiters but their technical sessions are often flat.... that being said, Dorance gave an insightful lecture - Brave New World, talking about overprotective parents (at the college level) it was hysterical, informative, and eye opening. He also had a run at players who don't take responsibility for their own development. It's the best session I've seen or heard from any NCAA coach. I didn't get much out of his technical session - like you said - a re-invention of the wheel. and then I thought I would kill time so I jumped in for a quick listen on, Why USYS ODP Works! This was a panel discussion, Charlotte Moran from East Penn YSA, Tara Erickson ???, Janet Rayfield U Of Illinois HC and Sue Ryan, HC at Stoney Brook. Hard to believe that Rayfield and Ryan continue to coach NCAA programs. Clueless! I'm grateful to the NSCAA that they didn't offer these two "coaches" time-slots for techncial sessions. Richard Harris, Man United's rep, led a session, "Coaching Goalkeepers as Part of A Team: A Games Centre Approach - a dry session, Di Cicco's programs very similar. Harris's session supposedly is available from the kwickgoal.com site. Dominic Kinnear's session (Head Coach - Houston Dynamo) was strong - decent players, well thought out progressions. Tosh Farrell, Technical Coordinator of Everton FC, delivered a quality session with very young players. His enthusiasm and interaction provided an excellent rapport with the players as he corrected and challenged the players with very common skill activities all the while seeking very specific technical executions. Roby Stahl, Director of Coaching, Ohio Elite SA, delivered a session utilizing "deadmen", speed ladders, hurdles, etc. It was a decent session in terms of content, he clearly explained what he was striving for but the players were not up to the task. An informative session, with better players it could have been an excellent session or with more time he could have achieved some of the results that he was hoping for. Bill Beswick is a waste of skin, let alone time; Bill's all about Bill! Sam Snow's coaching of the 8 v 8 was horrible. He was working with u12s and it was an excellent opportunity to showcase how to address the disparity that exists within a typical youth team, specifically the difference between the strongest and weakest players (technically) and he totally ignored this opportunity. He ripped right through whatever it was that he was trying to do - but it sure as heck wasn't about player development, let alone coaching development. The unfortunate thing about these technical sessions and lectures are the inherent conflicts in scheduling. Many interesting topics are offered concurrently so it's tough to sit through the full hour and 15. I generally try and stay as long as the session is interesting; otherwise I'm out in 15 minutes. However in the case of Sam Snow, I stuck it out for about 55 minutes, watching a disaster in the making.... last year it was Penn State's Gorman who's session imploded - granted he stepped in at the last minute but it was a terrible session none the less. FWIW, I sense a trend may be emerging, this is my 2nd NCAA convention in Indianapolis and both have been the two most disappointing in technical and theoretical offerings. Great city, perhaps just lousy at soccer conventions! Next year its Baltimore – and the soccer community in Baltimore always rise to the occasion – 2000 was a solid convention, 2005 has been the best so far – and 1993 was memorable too.