Erik Gerets, coach VfL Wolfsburg

“You have to let the ball do the running, not the players”

“It is not important which system you play, but rather how you play within that system. You need to circulate the ball well and not shoot too quickly at goal. I come from a Dutch soccer background/ education and I try to explain this to my players as well. It is important that the ball is always moving and that the players can get away from their opponents. Its a constant game of coming and going. Always looking for the best areas to play 1 against 1, offensively as well as defensively. Players have to show good vision and insight, just moving around is not enough, you have to be clever and use the spaces provided.”

Way of playing
“You have to analyze your players’ qualities and develop a plan based on that analyzes. I prefer the 4-4-2 system with a diamond and the 4-2-3-1 system. It is important to play along the wings and that the number 9 receives the ball well in the center and that he distributes/guides the play. It is also important for the other players to join the attack in order to create scoring opportunities. During the opponents possession you must aim to create a competitive advantage by playing 2v1 close to the ball. We also opt for fast counter attacks, for example by means of long passes up field. But no kick-and-rush, only good, intelligent long passes up field. I like playing with 4 men on a line in defense, as I believe a 3-men defense is too dangerous when the opponent uses the wings and a 4-man line defense is more creative during build up.”

Wings or deep?
“The choice on whether to use the wings or play deep depends on the situation, but I don’t mind playing wide in order to lure the opponent forward. This provides you with the space to create scoring opportunities with quick ball circulation. You have to dribble at high pace and be able to pass the ball well. A long diagonal pass is also a good tactical solution, but I also live by the rule: ‘depth before width’, because the goal is located in the center. Whenever a good deep pass is played and number 9,7 or 11 can move effectively towards the ball, a good scoring opportunity will result from it. With all passing combinations it is important for the players to continuously move and choose a new position after their pass. You always have to make sure the player who has possession will have enough passing options. This is why we use a lot of passing combinations in our practices, also without resistance, in order to automate passing and running lanes.

Assistant and goalkeeping coaches
“My assistant coach is Reinhard Stumpf (played at 1.FC Kaiserslautern and FC Köln) and my goalkeeping coach is Jörg Hoßbach (played at Hamburger SV and VfL Wolfsburg). I worked with Reinhard at Kaiserslautern. He is my right-hand and is in charge of the physical aspect of the training, such as the warmup and coordination exercises. He is also the expert for speed and cardio/conditioning training. Jörg is in charge of the goalkeepers and therefore all goalkeepers’ related aspects. He also trains the U23, U19 and U17 goalkeepers. He works a lot on technical skill development, but also on speed and strength skills. For the psyche of the goalkeepers it is important that Jörg joins us in the dugout during games. I am responsible for all tactical aspects. We do a lot of positional games. I coach a lot on the tactical aspects of the game and evaluate the execution of passing and dribbling. Of course I am also responsible for the strategies during the game. We have good communication within the team, which is important for success.”

Communication
“Communication is a magical word in soccer. The players need to learn how to communicate, which is not only important for their psyche, but also for various game situations. Everybody has to help each other. As a defender you need to let the attacker in front of you know where you are and whether he can pressure the ball. This way the attacker knows he is getting back cover. The defenders and goalkeeper will recognize the situation and will know when the player in front of them will pressure the ball.”

Training
“We train a lot on positional games and frequently repeat the exercises. I believe this to be important, because players need to develop automatically. You have to convey automatisms to your players, which they can also apply in the game. However, I also don’t want practices to become boring, fun is a must also at the professional level. You therefore have to try and find variations in the exercises and use these as well. I have to coach the team as a whole, but also engage in a lot of one-on-one conversations with the players, because tactical aspects are often better understood in face-to-face conversations.”

Germany and Holland
“Every country has its own way of playing and soccer in Germany is therefore different from soccer in Holland. The Dutch players play a lot from their positions. They will walk 30 meters to the left or right, but always end up back in their positions. This is narrowly intertwined with tactical disciplines. They also have great vision in the game. In Germany the focus is more on strength and cardio. German players are more likely to leave their positions and not as likely to return to them afterwards. They also use the long pass more frequently and they are usually good headers of the ball. In Germany a lot ofattention is put into game continuations, such as corners, free kicks, etc. In the Bundesliga a lot of games are decided on game continuations. I also think the German determination is a positive factor.”

Youth program
“I am very interested in educating the youth and find youth development very important, which is also a Belgian and Dutch tradition. I watch all U17, U19 and U23 games and try to communicate with and give my opinion to the youth coach responsible. I don’t interfere with their job, as they are well educated and responsible for their own team. I don’t have much time to watch the practices, but would like to as I find it very interesting. The youth coaches also attend my practices and games, which I am happy about. It creates a cooperation and communication between the coaches. We do not have one set system of play throughout our teams, everyone has their own system of play, which is good for the players as they will learn how to function in various systems. However, I do believe it is important that all teams play with a 4-men line defense. My wish is to play in a 4-4-2 with a diamond, but you do need 2 good strikers for this. Whenever you have a good number 10 (play maker), the 4-4-2 is a great system of play. I think you can start with tactical practices at the age of 12, as this will develop the kids’ game intelligence at an early age. It is important for a coach to pay attention to this by using a lot of positional and small-sided games. Always keeping in mind that fun is the most important thing, also in tactical practices.”

Build up
“The optimal build up starts with the creation of as many triangles as possible on the field. The player who has possession always needs at least two passing options. The players need to learn how to work together. When the ball is played along the wings, positions 2 and 8 and 3 and 7 must work together. It is also important that there is always back cover during build up and good ball circulation. You have to let the ball do the running, not the players. A long pass to player 9 is a good option as well, that is if you have a good number 9 who can receive the ball and hold it or take it with him.”

PSV and VfL Wolfsburg
“PSV and VfL are both industrial teams (Philips and Volkswagen). The big difference is that PSV has a strong and fantastic tradition. VfL Wolfsburg is developing little by little every day (the fans, youth and media). Both clubs are alike in terms of structure. Both Philips and Volkswagen want success and whenever a problem arises it will be solved within 2 minutes. I really like this professional attitude. There are a lot of possibilities at both clubs.”

4-men line defense
“I am a big fan of the 4-men line defense as you always have to look at the game in a ball oriented way. It also allows the defense to play with a certain level of tranquility. You have to wait for the opponent to make a mistake. You can also double team the opponent, but only when you create a good pressure situation. The key is playing with good back cover and the defenders must never forget that they can play the offside trap.”

Defending
“The goalkeeper also has to participate, always having contact with the defenders and always expecting the ball. After winning the ball they must transition fast and think offensively. Because the opponent will have to be organized yet the ball must quickly be passed deep or along the wings. Fast counterattacks are crucial. The focus during ball oriented defending is playing compact. The center has to be covered. The midfielders and strikers must work closely together and the two central defenders and the controlling midfielder must form a compact block. Good back coverage is essential and the players must coach each other in this. They need to recognize the situations and anticipate well. The central midfielders may not allow a pass to the opponents striker. Numbers 6 and 10 are responsible for this, they always have to be blocking the passing lane to the striker. The players have to be disciplined in their position, but also be flexible at times. They have to move forward (pressure), backwards (back cover) and sideways (help) at the right moments during defense.”

Force
“You always have to force your opponent to the sides, except for when you can force them into a situation whereby you create a 2v1, in this case you can force your opponent to the inside towards your second defender. Sometimes you can even create a 3v1 situation. In these situations it is important that you force your opponent to the inside, so you can win the ball and don’t play it across the sideline with a tackle. In the 1v1 situations I always want my players to force opponent to the sides, because the opponent can shoot at goal or threaten our defense from the center.”

Youth
“It is important to bring every exercise you do with youth team (players) in game like settings. You must try to find exercises whereby you have a lot of ball touches. It is important to use small exercises in other to increase the repetitions, but also in order to learn the group and individual tactical drills. We used to play street soccer when we were growing up, which provided us with a lot of repetitions and created automatisms. Using small exercises will provide the players with similar repetitions and automatisms. It is also good for the coach as you can recognize the positive and negative things. You must not always discuss the negative aspects with youth, but also talk about the things, which are going well. The coach and players always have to communicate and the coach needs to ask questions. Do you understand what you did wrong? How can we do this better next time? The players need to coach each other as well, as small mistakes are often punished in small exercises. The players need to really use the width and depth of the field and need to be able to anticipate. Experience is very important here and the coach has that experience and therefore needs to convey this onto the players.”

Leo Beenhakker, Polish national team coach

“You cannot make it without good people in management anymore”

Leo Beenhakker has an impressive CV. He started as a coach in 1965 at SV Epe and later coached clubs such as Ajax, Real Zaragoza, Real Madrid and Feyenoord. He was also the Dutch national team coach and during the last World Cup he brought Trinidad and Tobago to a new level. Now he is doing the same in Poland. He has been successful as a coach for 42 years.
What is his secret? His message to other coaches is clear: you cannot make it without good people in management anymore.

“Throughout the years soccer has obviously changed, especially at the top. When I began, you only coached and did not have to worry about the other things. Nowadays you are much more a manager and that is the big difference. Furthermore, in spite of the fact that soccer is still just a game, the consequences of winning and losing have becomes much bigger.There is a huge amount of money in soccer and you have a whole host of people involved with the club, who all have their interests, particularly the sponsors. They all have interests based on the performance on the field.

Media
“I do not need to point out that the media has also gained more interest in soccer. Back in my early days you had a couple of specialists who reported the sport for their newspaper, then a radio channel was added, later a camera for the television and just look at it now. Everything and everyone is concerned with soccer, whether you are the Cosmopolitan or People magazine, you must do something with soccer, a soccer-player or a coach, because soccer is high profile. Those are all influences which you as the technical leader of a team must manage. And I can tell you, it is not easy.”

Generations
“Soccer itself has changed as well. It is not measurable, but it is clearly visible. You cannot say like with speed skating: `It has become ten times faster than in the past’. But those who understand the game can see that it has changed. The players have also changed. As a coach you must be very alert, because when you are five years older, then the players are five years younger. Therefore you must be very alert to the new generation.
How do they think, how do they feel? That does not mean that you should always agree and go along with them, but you must realize that with every generation the society and culture changes.That is logical. The current generation thinks and lives very differently than the generation of 10 or 15 years ago. And if you add the fact that you have to deal with players from several different cultures to this, you have your hands full.”

Management
In the United Kingdom they recognized this very quickly. As a coach you have to deal with two forms, now more than ever: the pure soccer management and the people management. In that week at Feyenoord I also noticed the importance of this. It is an enormous task to keep everyone together. Of course they don’t all have to be the same. I think every player must keep his own individuality and his own character. He should not make any concessions, he comes from his own culture and we must preserve all our cultures. If a player goes abroad, I always say: be yourself. In your social life, your family life, in your religious life, etc. but there is one important thing, are you able from your own culture, make the step to the soccer culture? That soccer culture, at least if you want to be successful, is everywhere the same. That is simple. A Japanese club must, to be successful, play the same principles and ideas as a Polish club. There is one way to have success, but it is perhaps made up of 100,000 small things all put together. That starts with simple things like being on time. That soccer culture is for the time you are at the club and the rest is for at home.”

Hiddink
“This is how Guus Hiddink did it with South-Korea. He had the advantage that he had a year and a half to work with those guys, but in that culture it is very normal that young people are subservient to the elderly. They don’t talk back and do what they are told, without bringing their personal thoughts and beliefs into it. But this can’t happen in soccer. Young players also have to get involved in the complete coaching process. That was a huge breakthrough for those people. They saw a 20 year old who was able to carry the team. This can be accredited to Guus Hiddink. He was able to fit the national team into that soccer culture.”

Conditions
“As a coach you must ensure all these conditions are in place, before you can start thinking about soccer. It starts with finding good staff. Staff, whether it is medical staff, technical staff, the material man or the press chief, must all be on the same line. How can we prepare those players in the best possible manner for that game? Because that’s what it is all about! There sometimes may be another approach for a Brazilian then for a Dutchman or an African. Everyone experiences it in a different way. Because that is not simple, it is important to have staff who has sufficient knowhow and who all speak the same football language. And here too it is your task as a coach to manage the staff.”

Local
“Within the staff I think it is important to also work with local people.They can help you with the way of thinking and the mental aspect of the players. This way they can provide me with a lot of valuable information. But they must be able to work at the same level and from the same perspective as me. I always want someone on my staff who comes from the Dutch culture. Someone who speaks the same soccer language. It is impossible for me to develop 20 boys in a short time. When you, for example, work with Wim Rijsbergen in Trinidad, then it does not matter whether Rijsbergen or I talk with that player. For the players it is also clear, whether they are talking to Rijsbergen or me, they will hear the same ideas.”

Fantastic
“But you’ll have to be on top of it. Formerly it was friends amongst each other, playing cards and drinking a beer after the game, but nowadays the situation is different. The players also experience it differently now. This doesn’t mean it is better or worse, its just different and whether you are working in Trinidad or Poland, it is also different. But eventually you must ensure that you get them at the same level in your soccer vision. Eventually there is just one objective, but the basis is always different. This is why I like about working abroad. Every time it’s a hell of a job, but it is fantastic to see this developing. Absolutely fantastic!”

Watch
“How do you get them there? You open your eyes and need people skills. Watching and observing. This is why good staff is so important. Then you can regularly distance yourself and circle around like a helicopter to observe from a distance. That’s what I frequently do in the beginning.I let them train in certain exercises, purely to train and I don’t intervene too much. I watch, listen, observe. From there you are able to gain a lot of information on the personalities and the individuality of the players and you will gain insight in their qualities.”

Healthy
“Thinking about the main point: ‘how do I get that player in optimal shape for the game on Sunday. It is not only a question of standing open or passing well or making the correct choices. In the first place he must be positioned well in the game based on his talent and qualities. Then I say: ‘that player is in order, he is healthy’. Healthy in the sense of functioning within the team, being ambitious and pursuing objectives. From there you will start fine-tuning.
Things like, when he does that, you do that. This will eventually take you to football management matters. It is now a minimum of 50% people management and 50%s soccer management. Those two things cannot be detached. A good example of this is Feyenoord. The problem there was not a soccer problem. There are probably 1 or 2 teams in the Netherlands who have more quality with regard to organization but that is not the problem.That can be taken care of with a different playing style, or another organization. You can compensate a lot to make it work for you. Of course not everything, but a lot can be compensated. The problem at Feyenoord was people management, an area in which they totally failed.”

Problem
“You cannot solve that problem in a week, you do not have enough time. The Sunday before I started at Feyenoord we spent the whole afternoon with the technical staff, and we talked about all the players, we discussed everything. We then trained on Monday and then you start observing. On Tuesday you must start with game-oriented training because we had a game on Thursday. But that was not our emphasis. There were so many misunderstandings, antagonism and irritations, which is impossible to solve in such a short time. The only thing we could do is emphasize to those players that we should put all those problems aside for one week. They didn’t need to forget, just put it aside. When a new coach comes, he can start the new season and he’ll have enough time to tackle the problems in a structured manner, but for now, put it aside and don’t take it onto the field with you.”

Fighting
“The result was a team fighting for two play-off games, who due to certain factors still missed the boat. Whether these factors are a red card in the away game against FC Groningen or an individual mistake from a player, these things can happen and I don’t dwell on them. These type of things happens, a coach cannot do anything about that. And then you will see how vulnerably a coach is. In the game against Groningen the players were focused and worked for each other. You are winning 1-0, everything is going according to plan and how we agreed and then suddenly you are one man down. There you are, not only as a coach, but also as a team. The moment we scored to make it 1- 0 I told Metgod: We are going to win this game. Everything was going as planned and all of a sudden things change. The same thing can happen in life. We have so much arrogance in life and we frequently think that we have everything under control, but as soon as one guy presses a button and all the electricity is cut off for 24 hours, you realize you are not in control at all. That’s why there is no place for arrogance, just do it when you win, but also when you lose.”

Organization
“For years I have been seen as someone who always plays the same organization. I explicitly say organization, because a system of play is a completely different story. In the organization I play with two midfielders beside each other, numbers 9 and 10 play behind each other and never beside each other, four people at the back and then numbers 7 and 11 on the sides. You can then go in any direction. You can play with a 4-5-1, it depends on your choice. At the beginning I like to choose a clear organization and say ‘this is how it is, this is how we will play’. The difference arises in how you are going to fill these positions. With Poland against Portugal I played with two defending midfielders who always played from behind the ball. Against Azerbeidzjan you don’t need two of these players, so I organize the team in the same way, but on one position you put a player who can attack and your number 10 can be a midfielder who comes on the ball, but also a striker who falls back. Then you suddenly have a completely different team.”

House
“You frequently watch you players, you try to pick up information on them in all kinds of ways and you watch them play in several positions. The moment I think I have enough knowledge about the players, I make a choice. But this is always from the organization. That organization is our house and this is the way we will play. Whatever happens, we play this way. I don’t like to adapt to the opponent. I don’t mind adapting, but exclusively in the choice and the qualities of my players. I don’t think it is good to play one time with three defenders and the next time with five. I do not believe in this.”

Negative
The moment I started at Poland, they had just had a dramatic World Cup and there was a terribly negative atmosphere both with the public and the press. Nobody wanted to have anything to do with it. As a result, the players weren’t very enthusiastic either. Then you must bring in a clear organization to the players and train from there and you will create a certain steadiness and a certain belief in the group. When you are then aided by one or two good results, the players will start to grow into their roles. Recently I chose to play with one defending and one running midfielder in a game. Then I sit down with the other defending midfielder. But he immediately said: ‘I understand it, you don’t need me today, right?’ He also saw the opponents on DVD and understood that he would start on the bench and that is a fantastic process. Exactly the same happened with my captain. Against Belgium we played this way, against Portugal this way and against Azerbeidzjan this way for that and that reason, they all get it all. Because they know that they will be needed again against another opponent the next game. This depends on qualities, but also whether you are in form or not. When I choose a certain player, I always explain my reasoning. You now see them thinking along and in order to accomplish that you need people management.”

Culture
“This is very striking for their culture. You frequently see very authoritarian, snarling coaches at the clubs. We are very different. I believe the players want to achieve the same as me. They want to play, play well and win. And if they do not want that, then they should play in a recreational team. That’s why I always say: if you do not want this, then please leave. Just leave me alone. I will not be angry with you, but just leave. But in Poland the coach is above the players. Never an objection, never some form of discussion, never. Also they never want to explain the reasoning for certain choices. I want that a player understands why we do something, for which I make choices. Before a game I need to cut four players out of the 22, that must take place in the stands. I therefore always start with those players, never with the starting line-up. Afterwards we go to the 7 players who sit on the bench, what is their role and in which positions can they be substituted, so that they can prepare themselves for this. Last I name the 11 starting players.”

“I do this to give everyone the feeling that they are important to the team. Because they are. You must treat them for this reason as valuable and involve them entirely. Take the training as an example. Players are not stupid, so when you start throwing bibs around they know what’s going on. The red team is the starting team that I have in mind. Then we will play 8 against 8 or 11 against 11. The B-team will be playing as if their lives depend on it and the A-team will regularly lose. That is fantastic, because that B-team will improve the A-team. I play in short periods of 6 or 8 minutes and then correct a bit here and there, possibly modify the teams, but it is great to see how the A-team improves. Eventually it will turn out that their quality is (frequently) better, as long as they put everything into it. That is then a learning moment because if they play against Azerbeidzjan, they frequently think completely differently than when they play against Portugal.”

Together
“Your role as a coach is of course different. Training a club is clearly a question of making a team better. As a result, you must automatically make the players better and/or make the players function better. But I believe that currently in football - and then I mean professional football – you must especially learn how to play together. That the player on the right knows what the player on the left does. This takes you to the Dutch soccer school. Trained in hundreds of thousands of exercises, but always related to the organization in which you play. I frequently choose positional games, but once again, always related to the organization. I therefore tell the player, you play on 6, you on 8 and you on 10. A number is a position. That usage of the numbers comes from my Ajax-past, but it gives so much clarity. When I tell someone: you play in this position, number 7. Do you know what 7 does? Then it is immediately clear. That is another advantage of a fixed organization, they also know what each other must do. They know that as a 6 you must remain behind the ball. If he does not do that, the players will make him come back themselves, I do not have to do that as a coach. Obviously the players play in a position which they also occupy in the game.”

Refinement
“You can of course refine this in every detail. That depends on your choices. Where do you defend, how do you defend? Do you defend to gain possession or to prevent the opponent from scoring? How important do you make ball possession? Is it your basis or do you opt for the ball forward, the long ball? This also depends on the qualities in your team. If you have good, running players up front, then you tend to play the ball behind the defense. If you do not have those running players, then you will opt for the build-up and may choose to build up down the flanks more often. It is simply a question of assessing and exploiting qualities.”

National
“At a national team it is another story. We are together for 10 days, the first two days are completely individual. They all bring their own baggage from the club. One player was lost another was sick, the other one won, the fourth was benched, the fifth was injured. Some players consider it as a trip to see their friends and family. Therefore each time the first two days are used to get the right mindset and mainstream the way of thinking. At this level, especially when you have little time, then you spend attention to the playing together part. That there is a balance, that the team functions as a team and that everyone knows what he must do, especially because they come from several soccer cultures. At Celtic they play differently than at Auxerre or Dortmund.”

Rational
“What I learned through the years is that I can now rationally examine a game. If you are a young coach, then the emotions can sometimes have the upper hand. Of course I sometimes react to the referee or the linesman, just to try something, but I can now rationally focus on the problem and what I can do help the team. That is now, whereas I also had a phase where I was led by my emotions and where I was too busy with myself and lost the overview. I learned this when I went abroad. Of course you keep your emotions as a coach, but you learn to rapidly switch to control these. The consequence was however that after a game I was completely exhausted. You have so many emotions and you can’t let them go, because you control them. From that moment on I learned to focus on where the problem is, where you can help, what is going well and what can be improved. This is pure experience you acquire throughout the years. Of course it also has to do with your character.”

Forty
“For me it is unbelievable that I had to teach a 28 year old midfielder, which foot to pass to when the striker comes for the ball with an opponent at his back. When I watch a game here in the Polish league, then I think that they suffer unnecessary loss of possession about 40 times per team per game, because they don’t pass the ball well (too slow) or that they pass the ball to the wrong foot. Just imagine when you take those 40 bad passes away (because that is trainable!) how much better they would play! When you see how frequently players get in trouble because they receive a ball wrongly, with their back to goal, so receiving defensively. Whereas they have plenty of space. Simple things like that, we teach 12 year olds in Holland.”

Ball possession
“Here in Poland I was confronted with the fact that they do not pay any attention to ball possession. The consequence of it is, that when they lose the ball, they all have to run back into defence. In the Netherlands we reason very differently: if we have the ball for 60 minutes, then we won’t have any problems during those 60 minutes. That’s why I always say: ‘don’t run back, stay there’, but that is also a question of trust and uncertainty. We will defend to recover the ball! Because when we have the ball, it is our game, we determine the pace, we decide whether to play the long pass or the short pass or if we go or not. But this is also a beautiful process, more so when you see that you play well and win. For us the breakthrough came against Portugal. We didn’t just win that game, but we have played extremely well. You cannot train against this result, because they have been persuaded that it works and then it goes fast.”

Bad
“Of course you can also play a bad game sometimes and that has also happened, but there is now a basis in which everyone knows what he must do, everyone knows what he wants and everyone also knows: if we do that, then we are good enough to participate. You must never wonder whether you are good enough. That is very difficult to say. The question is whether we are good enough to play at that level and have success. And now they know that they are able to beat the number 3 or 4 of the world. With Ronaldo, Deco, Nuno Gomez, Simao, they were all on board. When they beat those guys, you can imagine how they walk in next time around. Of course you must then make sure they return back to earth as a coach, but that is people management.”

Hat
“How I handle the fact that I become five years older and they get five years younger? I stand there in the middle and I follow it. There are a lot of things that I do not understand and I don’t need to understand. If I compare my youth with this youth, then it is ready. You grow with them, but you must keep your eyes open, not only with regard to age, but also with regard to culture. That was also one of the discussions at Feyenoord. Some guys came in wearing a hat. Same thing applies to clothing, music, the social forms, the interests. A couple of years ago we all of a sudden had mobile phones and now the iPod. I do not want to prohibit all of this. Their music choice is not my music choice, but that is logical. I cannot start playing an oldy by Frank Sinatra. Whereas I would much rather hear that but also with use of language, I want to stay up-to-date. I have always said: if I have the feeling that I have lost touch with a next generation, then I would stop immediately as you cannot function anymore. But the way it is now I can still laugh, play and talk seriously with them.”

Cool
“Sometimes they think I am a cool guy and sometimes I think they are extremely cool. But I see that some old top soccer players stayed in their own period. That is not good, you must continuously develop as a coach. You must stay on top of all those new developments, whether you like it or not is simply not important. You must know it and you must give it a place in your soccer work. This way I consider dining, for example, as a team activity.During diner you mobile phone is turned off and you are not sitting with it held to your ear. Diner for me is a team building thing, having fun together and talking.”

Concessions
“But once again, you go along, but without doing concessions to your own soccer culture. That remains intact whether your name is Beckham, Castelen or De Mul that has nothing to so with it. If you want to be successful, you will have to do that and that and leave that and that. Wherever you play and whoever you are, the big players understand that. That is why they are big players because you also have players who have problems with rules and who think that they are big, but they aren’t. They have another culture at home, which they take with them to the field and they do not want to adapt to soccer culture. Those players won’t be able to make that step. That is the reason that you see a lot of talented players fail.“

Milan Djuricic – FK Vojvodina Head coach

'The game is the poetry of Soccer'

“Milan Djuricic is known for his creativity and his extraordinary sense of scouting and educating talented youth players. Djuricic is one of the most respected coaches in Serbia, because of his willingness and ways of developing youth players for the first team. He teaches them to be professionals and guides them into their future career. As the leading man at FC Vojvodina his goal is to repeat the success he had with a young selection like he did last time he was in charge of the team. However, this time around his task is considerably harder since he took charge of team halfway through the season and he did not take part in the selection of the players. He has to work with the players he has and try to restore the club’s standing in the national league to ensure participation in one of the European competitions next season.”Dusan Petrovic talked to Milan Djuricic about his success of educating young talented players. He poetically shares his vision and philosophy the same way he has shared them with youth players for years. His strength is to see the game for what it is and to humbly accept is unpredictability and that is what he tries to teach his players.

“I belong to a Nation which once called itself the 'European Brazil' and I am one of the nostalgic people who love this game with all his heart. Serbia has some good football players and national selections but the problem is we play decadent football and that doesn’t bring spectators to the stadiums. A Serbian team qualifying for the Championship league has become something almost unimaginable. One of the reasons is that we have given up on our mentality to educate players for our own competitions. Nowadays selling players seems to have become a priority in Serbian soccer. As a lecturer at the UEFA college in Serbia I have even bored myself with the story that only the game brings prosperity and that the game is the poetry of soccer. Naturally, this means that players have their freedom, but their movements must have certain meanings. Running around without a plan is useless.”

“Winning or losing isn't everything. It is about accepting the game with all your being. On a pitch unexpected things are always waiting to emerge. However, wise coaches accept it, enjoy it and learn from it. Just watch the ball! The game has rules of its own, and not those that others prescribed to it. The game does not take anybody’s side; it does not always award you with victory nor punishes you with defeat because of good or bad match. Soccer is not always fair. Playing well is an award on its own. Accept the defeat calmly and victory humbly. No great expectations and no great disappointments.”

Balance
“If everything is based on a the urge to win or the fear to lose, balance will never be reached. Still, defeat does not come from losing but from not taking the chance to learn something from it, to improve something and to take risks.
There is no task that cannot be carried out. There are no undone actions, no losers that cannot be winners and no favorites that cannot lose. So let the games flow on its own. Do you want to control an uncontrollable situation? Are you worried about the results? Do you care what others say? If you start choking your game, you will end up choking your own efforts and destroy its beauty. If you let your game breath slowly and calmly, you will easily find pleasure and tranquility. Be in a game with all your heart and relax.Give your whole being to the spirit of the game and it will be worthwhile. The heart often has its reasons, which the mind knows nothing about.”

Passion

“Why do we compete? To win? To dominate? To show our domination? All these require a passion but passion has two sides. One side encourages and the other preoccupies. Point your passion towards the inner being. Direct your own passion not towards the opponent or victory but towards the cognition of your own potentials i.e. try to express yourself to achieve as much as you can.”

Independency

“What is important in a game for you? How important is a value of victory or defeat? Does it reflect your feelings? Do you judge yourself according to your achievements? Do you acknowledge your mistakes? Do you ask others for acknowledgement? Do you depend on them as to prove how much you are worth? Are you excited by achievements of others? The game does not depend on anything; it is on its own. It does not have intentions, messages or consequences. Thus, play it with all you have. Let the game fill you with joy. Then go home, take a hot shower and carry on with your life!”

Evaluations

“How can you evaluate a football player or a coach merely based on statistics? Do statistics serve as an examination? Are there numbers that can measure heartiness, courage and persistence? Do results from outside reflect inner pleasure? Do they appear on a display somewhere? What happens with all those unannounced performances, perfect dribbling, successful shot, or with balls that get stuck in the mud?

Present

“Can a brilliant career be disturbed by an injury? Like plants, young soccer players grow and bloom when nothing is in their way. Wishes make your focus blur, feelings make your intentions numb, and thoughts inhibit your instincts. A real soccer player lives in the now: he takes what the game offers. The past - it should have been done or it must have been done – does not count! The future cannot be controlled. Expectations undermine your strength and weaken your effort. So just let it happen.”

Unpredictable

“Watched superficially, the game seems to be interesting and approachable with its lines, rules and codes. Imagine what would happen if these did not exist. Even now the game is still considerably chaotic. Nothing can be accepted as a pure act: plans, patterns and strategies are qualitative but what happens when a crazy ball starts rolling? The moment which you dare to expect or predict... SURPRISE! You lean on your score but in the nick of time things start going wrong. The game does not have rhythm or a reason so you never know what might happen. All you can do is to play the game.”

Patience

“You are losing the championship, trailing with one goal. So what?! Breathe in deeply, believe in yourself and in the stream of the game. Be careful and sensitive, watch what is happening. No matter what the situation is, accept the events as they are coming, without forcing the final score. In the climax of the moment there is a space to be coldblooded. With patience everything, even the most serious mistakes, can be corrected and the biggest trail can be erased.”

Sportsman

“A sportsman, who just wants to win, blows his own horn and wants to scare others by putting his own ego before his efforts. A sportsman who understands the game is humbled by its greatness, complexity and mystery. You can never solve it or beat it. The game teaches you to be humble in its presence, to find peace and tranquility inside yourself, to be careful with victory as well as ready for defeat. Sportsmen, who really appreciate a game, will start to appreciate its real place in sport. “

The body

“Do not think too much because your thoughts will influence your game: fear, doubt, failure even a wish for perfection. Unburden your spirit and leave the control to your body. Eliminate your plans; let your natural rhythm flow. Do not worry about results and they will happen despite of it.”

Leadership
“To be a player is difficult enough, but to lead other players is the ultimate paradox. For a coach, this means to be present and simultaneously invisible, enabling the game for players with their rules. Showing but not telling. Lecturing, without saying a word and in a way that you as a coach can also learn something. Developing a technique, knowledge and trust, and thenscatter yourself in the air. The secret of leadership is keeping five people who hate you away from five people who are indecisive.”

Young coaches

“Young coaches must stick to the principles and practice of the game which means to apply this with flexibility. The question of principle in a game is always a question of habit and discipline. This is a well known fact for defense, but for offense the difference between who wins and who was beaten must be made. A task in an exercise is very important if applied in a correct way. I will try to explain that by presenting my first exercise and in every next exercise the task of the first exercise will show how complicated and simultaneously simple football is.”

5v5

“Soccer is becoming faster; therefore ball circulation is becoming faster. A good way to practice this is in 5v5 game, in reduced spaces. The 5v5 games I use are played on a standard pitch and divide it into 3 zones. Each zone has its own rules, which correspond to the play which is needed in each of the thirds of a pitch in a full 11v11 game. In the first third (defense - zone A) the players must pass the ball like a buildup, finding the open space with patience and discipline. They must then advance to the middle third (midfield - zone B) where they must pick up the pace and quickly pass and run to advance to the final third (offense - zone C) where they must find the open space, without limitations, and finish on goal. The tasks for this exercise are to maintain possession, apply fast ball movement, support your teammates, penetrate into the open space and finish on goal."

"All the other exercises presented will have similar tasks and will help to teach your players to judge situations. How do we use the space around us? Which movements do we apply? Who is in the best position to see the game? Every inch of the pitch will be important, as players must use the spaces around them to find the open spaces elsewhere on the pitch."

Advice

I would advise all young coaches to do the following: Be honest towards yourself and to those who deserves that. Be prepared to change yourself and to improve yourself. Use your own head and ask the right questions, at least to yourself. Face the truth and do not let your spirit be defeated. Everything has its end except what is authentic.”

Luis Martins - U19 coach, Sporting Lisbon

“The secrets of the academy”

Luis Martins began at Sporting Lisbon at the age of 8 years old as a player, but he was unable to make it to the top. After graduating in sports, he began his coaching career with the U16’s at Odivelas FC, a modest team from the Lisbon area where he played until the age of 18. Not surprisingly, he went to Belenenses, a team from the Portuguese 1ª Liga, where he coached all youth ages. After some adventures with senior teams in the 3rd division, he was invited to join Sporting Lisbon were he has now been for 6 years, coaching the youth teams. He was also José Peseiro’s assistant coach for the senior team, during the season when they ended up as runners- up in the UEFA Cup final.

The demands of a top club
At Sporting Lisbon, the youth are always very important, and they continue to have a big role in the club‘s future. Without the winning at all cost philosophy, Sporting Lisbon assures that all kids have other priorities that go hand in hand with soccer. Besides the high demands of playing at a top club, with all the inherent expectations, they also have to achieve good results at school, and good social behavior is not required it is demanded.

Currently there are 47 kids from six youth teams and different age groups living at the “Academia” full time. They have the facilities to house more kids, but they prefer to keep the players in their natural environment with their families in order to lessen the impact that playing at a top club can have on a child’s life. They prefer to keep the number of full-time players restricted to some special situations, also in order to avoid conflicts that can happen more easily when living together with other kids.

With excellent conditions and facilities the new Sporting “Academia” is the most successful in creating top soccer players for the Portuguese professional scene and obviously for their A team, their main goal. Another season has passed, and Sporting achieved the champion’s title in all youth categories, which gives you an insight into the quality of their work throughout the club.

The role of the coach
The coach has an important role in this project, but he is conditioned in some areas. An internal program guides the coach through the formation process that has to be followed. Luis Martins considers this a great tool in his coaching work; because it ensures that each age has the required complexity in their work according to his capabilities. With this program, Sporting Lisbon can guarantee that the development of the player does not depend solely on the quality of the coach and his ideas, but on the program followed by the coach, which can provide a constant evolution in the formation of the player, adding more contents and complexity in a progressive and pedagogic way in the process of teaching the game. That is why many players who reach Sporting Lisbon’s A team or transfer to other 1ª Liga teams, are always able to answer to the demands of professional soccer.

The systems and style of play
In Sporting Lisbon, all youth teams play in a 4-3-3 formation and when they reach the U17 they also start to practice in a 4- 4-2 formation. More important then the system of play used, is the capacity of the players to play according to the game principles; exploring, creating and filling up spaces that are important in the attacking process and in the defensive process. An attacking mentality is always present at all ages and because almost all their opponents, even at lower ages, play very defensively, this gives them the initiative in the game. With many players behind the line of the ball, they usually play an organized attack, with lots of passing and moving, and with the accent on exploring the sidelines, usually the only place available to find spaces to attack against a massed defense.

The practice sessions
From their first day at the club all individual data on each player is registered, both inside and outside of the club (international call for practices and games) in order to follow the development of the player closely with constant evaluation according to the expectations of that player. At Sporting Lisbon, pleasure in playing the game is the key to learn soccer, so all exercises try to have a good balance between the contents of the game principles and the fun of practicing them. The complexity and demands of the exercises increase as the age and experience of the players increase. Like this, every coach at Sporting Lisbon can be more then sure, that when a player is promoted for example from U14 to U16, he already has a good knowledge of the game, and the exercises that he will face are a constant and logical evolution of what he did before, only in a much more challenging way! At Sporting Lisbon, huge importance is given to the way a player and the team, manage the ball in possession, so they work a lot on tactical circulations, focusing on the movements of support to the player with the ball, usually with constant changes from side to side, exploring the sidelines, trying to create spaces on the opponent defensive system.

The defensive process
At Sporting Lisbon, all teams have an offensive attitude but it is very important to have a solid defense as well. For example, the U19 team defends with zonal pressure; in a high or low block depending on how the team is organized at the moment they lose possession and start to defend. That is why it is important to create intelligent players that can read and understand the game, so they can communicate and organize themselves and start their aggressive pressure in the field, with a high, middle or lower block, according to their actual organization.

The U19 team
With the elimination of Sporting Lisbon’s “B” team, the U19s are now seen as the reserve squad of the “A” team, so there is a huge demand on the players, but, like the coach Luis Martins says, we cannot and will not forget that despite all the demands and expectations, this is still a stage in their development process as players. At Sporting Clube de Portugal, there is also a big concern in making the players see that they are part of a team, of a big club, and they are only as good as the team. The group is above everything, and players have to think as a team and add quality and something more to the squad.After reaching the championship title this year, the team will now see some of their players promoted to the professional team of Sporting Lisbon with high expectations on them, and they will have to answer to the demands of a club that competes to win competitions, in their country, and outdoors! And this is the goal of the Sporting Lisbon “academia”, to create top players for their professional team. And if we look at the names they have already “produced”, we definitely think they are heading in the right direction!

Pieter Legein - U9s coach, Club Brugge

“The kids have to remain kids”

“As a coach it is great to see how these boys progress in just 1 season. Kids in this age group are not arrogant, they have a lot of respect for their surroundings and their coach. A lot of times the coach is their role model and they are willing to do anything for him. Extra motivation is therefore not needed, they are naturally motivated. As a coach I think it is especially important that that the U9s are the first age category that can actually play (in 8v8), compared to the age categories below them.“

Technique
The motivation these kids possess makes it possible to teach them technique in great detail. Technique is the most important aspect within this age category. Legein believes that the U9s should spend most of their time working on passing, receiving and individual moves. “The accent is on passing with the inside of the foot, receiving, finishing on goal, executing moves, daring to take the initiative and lots of small sided games. They have to learn how to pass correctly, with the correct ball speed and with both feet. Along with passing you also coach receiving. Within the individual moves we have specified 8 fake moves, which are also applied during the small sided games. We have had an artificial grass field for about 2 years, which has it’s advantages during technical training. It also doesn’t strain these young kids as much with bad weather (heavy fields). So whenever the weather is bad these young kids get first choice to use this field. Another advantage is the fact that the execution speed is faster on artificial grass. We therefore train at least once a week on this surface.”

Development
“In order to be recruited by Club Brugge you need to possess good basic technique, meaning good passing and shooting skills and good ball control. The players have to (positively) stand out at their original club. It is hard to predict the future of an 8-9 year old as it is dependant on so many different factors. What is their home situation? How will they react to puberty? How will their physical development evolve? I can go on and on. We are able to see whether a U9 player’s is technically strong and if so that will be an advantage for the remainder of his career. The same thing applies to tactics. Regarding the physical possibilities, this is heavily dependant on their physical development and growth. If a normal development occurs a fast player will never become the slowest and vice versa. Speed is also therefore an important selection criteria.”

Practice week
“On Tuesday we have an optional practice, which means it is not mandatory. This practice mainly consists of small sided games. Regardless of the fact that it is not mandatory generally speaking all players show up. To me this means they are having fun. Wednesdays and Fridays are regular practices consisting of various technical and tactical aspects. Sundays is game day for the U9s. All practices are about 80 minutes.” The strains on kids of this age is relatively high, Legein tries to take this into consideration in his activities and expectations.

Expectations
The pressure on kids who are playing at a professional organization is usually pretty high. Club Brugge tries to prevent this by not placing too much expectation on this age group. “We ask for a good game preparation: rest well and eat well. We don’t want to place additional pressures on these kids. The kids have to remain kids. We therefore opt to play games during practices on a regular basis. Joking around is also allowed, although we do expect full concentration during practices and games. When it is obvious to us at the end of the season that a kid will not be able to continue his career at our club, we try to tell him that he needs to find a new club in a child friendly way (although this is never easy). We try to make it clear throughout the season and find a new club for him in conjunction with his parents.”

School
“The parents of a young player has a big influence on his success. They can take care of the ‘right’ mentality, rest, good nutrition, being there when the child needs them (for example after a bad game) and especially making sure they do not put additional pressure on the player. The combination with school is not as easy as it seems in some cases. A player who lives 50 kilometers from the stadium, has to be picked up from school and dropped off by his parents or in some cases grandparents. He has to quickly eat something, because practice starts at 18:00 hour and finishes at 19:20 hour. He will then leave the stadium at around 19:45 hour and will not get home until 20:15 or 20:30. And then it’s straight to bed. So you may ask: when does he do his homework? Good planning can tackle these problems and besides we do not practice every day. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays are practice days. So whenever a player has a lot of schoolwork we take this into consideration. If a player shows poor effort at school he will immediately be called in for a chat with the staff in order to change his attitude and if necessary practice schedule. School results are forwarded to the club and we have someone on our staff in charge of keeping track of the player’s progression in school.”

Discipline
“I do not get the impression that these players are growing up faster than their peers. After the game or practice they are just like other kids their age. They do however need a certain discipline in order to progress. We therefore make good agreements from the beginning and it rarely happens that a player doesn’t commit to these. Good agreements ensure that the coach rarely has to raise his voice.” This way Legein tries to make sure the players are having fun as well. “I believe as a coach we must distance ourselves once in a while in order to gain respect.”

Motivate
“I try to give a positive input to my players, by not constantly pointing out their mistakes. When they make a good move or give a good pass I will (often over) positively comment on this. Other players will also see and hear this and are in turn motivated to achieve the same positive input from me. On the other side when they do not perform (in practice or a game) I sometimes have to raise my voice and wake them up a bit. However, I always try to keep the fun element alive. This is also relevant when we do exercises as well, I do this by including lots of variations, lots of small sided games and lots of game elements.”

Guidance
“At Club Brugge the guidance of young players is a priority. We mandate them to get checked-up by the club doctor twice a year to undertake several sport medical tests. We want to make sure they are healthy and do not have any hidden injuries. Furthermore we believe the quality of our coaching staff is very important. We only hire coaches with a recognized coaching license and with sufficient experience. We also try to organize events or activities which provide the players with fun elements. For example, the U8s, U9s and U10s take turns escorting the first team players onto the field at home games. Obviously this is an unforgettable experience for these young players to enter the field with 27.000 fans in the stadium.”

Attention
“In order to retain the attention of these young players, I always try to stimulate them positively in the execution of the exercise. Motivated players have a greater attention span. Furthermore I look for variation in the exercises and try not to do the same exercise three times in one month. Another good way to keep them motivated is to make a competition out of the exercise. For example, which group can finish 10 correct passes in a row the quickest? Or which group can score 10 goals first?” So stimulating the players and retaining the wanted level of attention are very closely related. This is often underestimated by coaches. It is important to place yourself in their shoes, especially with the youngest youth. Peter Legein realizes that it is tough to play at this level in a youth team, so fun is an absolute must.

Michael Dober - Hertha BSC Berlin U11 coach

“No goal kicks in Germany”

“In the Hertha BSC Berlin youth academy all U11 players must be able to play in all positions, in defense, midfield and in attack. This way they will automatically learn all aspects of soccer. This also means we do not bother with tactics at this age group. We do give them tips once in a while,but overall they have to discover it for themselves, simply by doing.”

Complex exercises
“We try to educate players in the broader sense of the word, which is why we
train with complex exercises. We call them complex exercises, because they
cover every aspect of soccer. The following elements always have to be in every exercise: passing, receiving, running with the ball, fake moves and shooting on goal. All these elements have to be a in every exercise. You can also have 2 players across from each other shooting the ball back and forth, and they will also learn from that approach, but it is very boring and the players will be less motivated to execute it correctly (and therefore also to learn). Having fun is a huge part of the training sessions, but you have to make sure there are always enough repetitions.”

No goal kicks
“We, under no circumstance, want to play ‘kick and rush’ soccer. We want to build up from the back. Not just with the U11s, but throughout the entire academy. A lot of districts have already reinforced this rule in Germany. The goalkeeper is not allowed to kick the ball across the halfway line whenever he has it in his hands. This way they are forced to pass it to a teammate who is close and will build up from the back.”

Over the ground
“With the U11s we prefer to play in a 3:1:2:1 formation, so that we play with 2 diamonds in midfield. Whenever the goalkeeper has the ball, one of the defender always has to be available to receive the ball. If need be a forward can also come to the ball. Whatever happens you have to build up from the back and are not allowed to kick the ball long.
At Hertha we have an extra rule that the goalkeeper must always pass the ball along the ground. From there on we try to play combination soccer with fast short passes to get the ball to the strikers.”

Improving
“During matches and training sessions I always pay close attention to the techniques that are being used. Aspects such as passing the ball correctly, receiving the ball, etc. I also pay attention to the movement to the ball and movement off the ball. Furthermore players should never pass the ball from a standing position, they should always be moving. Even when shooting on goal.
They have to react within seconds, so the handling speed should be high.Whenever something goes wrong I interrupt the game, because every player on the team should be able to act faster and more efficient. At the end of the season a coach has to be able to say ‘he improved in this aspect, he reached that goal and he made steps in that area’ about every single player. The next coach taking over the team will then know what they can and cannot do. I also ensure that they execute every exercise with the will to win. I believe that is important.”

Endurance?
“In the past endurance was probably the most important aspect in German training sessions. This has changed. The players spend enough time running during training sessions, so I don’t bother with additional conditioning exercises. The German mentality has changed from educating powerful and enduring players to educating creative players.”

Mental guidance
“I do not coach mentally. Although I probably shouldn’t say never, indirectly you are doing it. Whenever a player has problems in school or at home you have to help them, but we don’t do it separately. You are also trying to prepare the boys for inter national youth tournaments, where we play teams like Inter Milan, Arsenal and Ajax. These are all big teams and my boys look up to them. A club like Hertha may be known in Germany, but it does not have the international fame like some of these clubs.”

Confidence
“I told my boys not to look up to the bigger international teams, but simply play them like they play against Bayer Lever - kusen or Borussia Dortmund. They know these teams and therefore also know they can beat them. When they play at home, you see real competition, but at these tournaments it is new and they have to play against foreign teams. In their mind this plays a role, which was apparent in a game we played again Inter Milan. We were trailing 2-0 after 30 seconds. Afterwards they realized they could have won, but they were nervous. Eventually we were the only team to beat the tournament champions Everton and we also beat Ajax 5-1.”

Learning
“After the tournament I asked the players what they learned from the experience. They all said that they learned that they were able to compete against the bigger international teams. That those teams aren’t much better than they are and that we were able to play good soccer, with a solid build up and organization against these teams.”

Little tactics
“Like I said before we don’t really spend a lot of time on tactics and I don’t bother with complex tactical talks. We want to play combination soccer, with good passes and we want to play forward and I try to make this clear with as little words as possible. Less is more. They don’t hear it anyways, they just want to play soccer and I allow them to do that. We want players to show their qualities. Of course we explain to them that they have to play structured in defense and that they shouldn’t execute fake moves or actions (in the red zone), but rather do that in the attack. We also motivate them to do it in the opponents half. During a match I try to coach in a composed manner and stay positive. For example tell them to receive the ball, or when a player is dribbling towards the opponents goal and is not sure whether to shoot, I will them him ‘go ahead shoot, try it’. He shouldn’t pass the ball in those situations, but simply go for it.”

Bristol City Academy - U9 The Way Forward

Sleeping Giant
Bristol is one of the largest cities in the UK. In recent years there has been a splendid regeneration of the city with vast new shopping centres and the old docks being transformed into a thriving area full of restaurants, bars, cinemas and clubs. However the fortunes of the two football clubs have not kept pace with these exciting developments and other than a brief flirtation with the top flight some two decades ago the city, based in the south west of the country, has always been seen as a bit of a football backwater. There are signs that all this could change with Bristol City currently leading the second division, two divisions below the Premiership, however their city rivals, Bristol Rovers are currently languishing in the bottom half of the Nationwide 3rd division. It is a great credit to the clubs Academy system that no less than six of the current first team squad were once U9s at the club. This could be the key to the clubs future in what are financially difficult times.

Targets
The club set targets for the U9s so that when they reach the U11s age group they are expected to be at a certain development level. The coaches then put their own coaching programs together to help the children reach these targets. The coaching program for the 9-11 age groups should focus on developing techniques and applying it in small-sided-games and achieving the following age related targets.

By the age of 11 a boy should:
1. Understand the importance of a disciplined approach to training which includes:
- Arriving on time for every session
- Properly dressed and equipped
- Enthusiastic attitude- Willing to practice between sessions

2. Be able to perform basic individual moves and be able to control the ball in the air.

4. Be able to receive the ball comfortably across the body.

5. Be able to play 2 touch football in tight situations.

6. Be able to execute the wall pass (give and go) and cross over.

7. Be able to dribble and run with the ball in 1 v 1 situations.

8. Be able to defend in 1 v 1 situations.

9. Understand how to keep possession which includes:
- Spreading out as a team.
- Support early in front of and behind the ball
- Pass quickly
- Use moves where necessary

10. Be able to select when to pass back, pass forward and between players.

11. Be prepared to run unselfishly to support the man on the ball.

12. Be able to complete a lap of Ashton Gate (Bristol City stadium) in 72 seconds or less.

Evaluation

At the end of the season each player is evaluated by the coaches and given the following ratings: excellent, very good, fair, average, poor, needs special attention.

The evaluation is then broken down into individual sections:

Training session
It is quickly evident that the three coaches understand the needs of the young children they are coaching and are very much on their level. The atmosphere is friendly but professional and the children are clearly enjoying themselves. Frank Jacobs, Ian Tincknell and Ian Rossiter begin to put the players through their paces. Everything is done with the ball and the players pair off with a ball each. As one would expect with children of this age, there are the usual Coerver ball familiarity exercises such as toe taps, ball dancing and step-overs.Frank Jacobs explains the reason why they do everything in pairs is that it encourages the boys to look at each other while they are practicing their ball exercises as this brings their head up. Frank is very keen that children learn good habits at the start and continually encourages the players during the small-sided games to “get their head up”. During the winter months when the evenings are dark the U9s, 10s and 11s train indoors on three tennis courts. This is by no means easy with 20 children on each court and does limit the coaches in what they can do. There is a lot of 1 v 1 exercises where children have to beat their opponent and run the ball over the line for a goal as well as with no goals where one player has to keep possession by keeping the ball away from his partner by turning, looking up and making sure his body is always between the ball and the opponent. The players then work on their turns and moves such as the Cruyff turn and the step over move. The children are encouraged to express themselves and repeat with both left and right feet. The sessions normally end with 3v3 or 4v4 games. Tonight they play 3 games of 3v3 line soccer with the emphasis on getting their heads up and opening the body up to receive a pass. The children are encouraged to practice the moves they learn at home; indeed it is essential for them to do the extra work if they are to develop any further in the Academy program. The children I saw were very bright and extremely keen to further their skills in their own time.

Conclusion
Bristol City is a club with a future and with players that represent a good cross section of the local community. The next few years will see if the sleeping giant will awake and play on a bigger stage that the size of the city should warrant. There are certainly some good strong foundations that the club can build on thanks to the efforts of a dedicated bunch of individuals such as Frank, Roger and the two Ian’s.