U11/12 Foundation Phase (The Romance)

Development of Individual Skills as well as Individual and Small Group Tactics

The effect of the model is very important at this stage of development. Hero worship identification with successful teams/players and a hunger of imaginative skills typify the mentality of this age. This is a time of transition from self-centered to self-critical. Players of this age have a high arousal level in relation to the training of basic skills. This is the "Golden Age of Learning" and the most important age of skill development. Demonstration is very important and the players learn best by doing. This is also an appropriate tie to introduce and teach basic principles of play. It is important to establish discipline from the beginning.

Coach:  sensitive teacher, enthusiastic, possess soccer awareness, ability to demonstrate, knowledge of the key factors of basic skills, give encouragement, preferably young. Certificate/License: "E" Certificate, "D" license or higher.

Technique: important to establish good strong solid skills. Development of individual skills under pressure of time, space and an opponent. Increase technical speed.

Dribbling: encourage risk taking. Moves to beat an opponent, keep possession, shielding/spin turns, change of speed and direction.

Shooting: proper striking technique,  partner serve from all angles, turns, cut backs, volleys, proper technique,  laces, inside, outside,  -short and long, crossing.

Heading:self serve, partner serve, jumping to head, turning the ball, partner juggling, tackling proper technique.

Tactics: "Dawn of tactical awareness" basic principles of play. Play a variety of positions, develop awareness/complete player.  Promote attacking soccer, individual  1 v 1. Formation: 3-3-1 or 2-3-2.

Attacking: keep possession, encourage risk taking, take players on 1 v 1 in proper areas of the field.

Defending: proper pressure (in front and behind), channel player, immediate chase, small group  2 v 1, 2 v 2, 3 v 1, 3 v 2, 3 v 3.

* A great deal of coaching / training within 4 v 4 games *

Physical: all fitness work with the ball: flexibility, static stretching and dynamic stretching.

Psychological: keep it fun and enjoyable to foster a desire to play (intrinsic motivation).  Encourage decision making, imagination / creativity, increase demands and discipline. Encourage to watch high level soccer.

Anticipation: begins with awareness. At every instance, your players must observe where the ball is coming from and how it is traveling (in the air, on the ground, quickly, slowly, etc.) They must also have the ability to look beyond the ball, maintaining an awareness of the relative positioning of teammates and opposing players, and the direction in which the player is moving. The following coaching points will help you improve your players’ awareness of their surroundings:

·         Keep your head up- avoid looking down at the ball, and consequently not observing what is around and where players are in relation to one another.

·         Look before receiving- anticipate the next pass before you receive a ball by looking over both shoulders and thinking ahead. For younger players, equate this to a bird on a fence looking around.

·         Maintain an “Open” Body Stance- do this by turning “side on” (half turned) for greater peripheral vision, and by taking an angle of support that allows you to see most (if not all) of the other players on the field.

·         Focus on the First Touch- relax (be composed) as you receive the ball so you can control it quickly, and move the ball away from pressure on your first touch to create more space and time.

·         Communicate to help the receiver- use brief phrases like “Man on,” “Turn,” and “Time” so that players on the ball know whether or not they are about to be pressured by the opponent. Practice this type of verbal communication during non-competitive activities to stimulate game situations.

Anticipation also requires imagination: to anticipate their future options, players must first be able to imagine how their teammates and opponents are likely to react following each touch of the ball. They must also have insight into the use of the ball and how various techniques can be employed to both control the ball and play into different spaces. The next set of coaching points will help cultivate imagination and creativity among your players:

·         Change Pace- when you receive the ball, accelerate with it to get away from nearby defenders.

·         Change Direction- turn with the ball on your first touch to move off at new angles. A change of direction can be especially effective when combined with a change of pace.

·         Looking for opportunities to take a “big first touch”- before the ball arrives, look for spaces away from both your current position and nearby opponents. Play the ball into these spaces on the first touch to “get behind” the defense quickly. 

·         Move off the ball to provide support- once you have made a pass, look to support others in possession so you can receive the ball again. Avoid standing still or “admiring your pass,” since this effectively takes you out of the game. Move aggressively to support the next pass as the ball is traveling to a teammate.

·         Switch the Play- let the ball run across your body to change direction and switch play, saving a touch by using your upper body to disguise your movement and the pace of the pass to help you. Recognize the available space behind you before you receive the pass.

·         Take advantage of Crossover Runs- instead of relying solely on the pass, create deception through takeovers and “fake-overs.” Use your inside foot to exchange (or keep) the ball, and accelerate away from the crossover point as a decoy run.

·         Alternate between One- and Two-Touch Play- change the attacking rhythm frequently so that players must always think two (or more) moves ahead of the current situation. Supporting players must quickly find angles off each receiving player so the ball can be delivered with just one touch.

·         Play without Communication- challenge your players to think for themselves with no help from others, i.e. no verbal or non-verbal help (such as calls of “Man on,” “Turn,” clapping, or pointing). Your players must rely on their anticipation, imagination, and awareness to aid their decision-making process. 

Individual Technical and Tactical Issues for U-11’s and U-12’s

How many ways can the player kick or dribble or control the ball? There are six surfaces (inside, outside, instep, sole, toe and heel) used for kicking, dribbling or controlling a soccer ball. The ball can also be driven, chipped, volleyed, half-volleyed, side-volleyed, curled and lofted. The U-11/12 player should be proficient in using a majority of surfaces with both feet, and be challenged to expand their ability to use different textures (weights and spins). The coach of the motivated U-11/12 player should intensify the refinement of these basic contacting skills through warm-up activities and tactically challenging practice games.

How proficient is the player in front of goal? Shots can be placed, driven, chipped, curled, volleyed, half-volleyed, side-volleyed, or improvised using any other legal body part. Practice activities should refine these skills through individual, small group and small-sided activities. 

Does the player have the skill and creativity to dribble out of pressure, or past an opponent?At the U-11/12 level, evading pressure and beating opponents are critical skills for complementing the passing game as team play emerges. Rapid and abrupt changes in speed and direction, and the use of the shoulders and hips to disguise intentions, become critical subtleties as dribbling sophistication responds to the improved skills of defenders.

Does the player maintain vision while dribbling? Improving speed of play, through cleaner technique and faster reading of the game, is the primary role of the coach at this stage. Dribbling should now be considered very much a means to an end, with the balance between shooting, passing and dribbling (decision-making) related to time and space and position on the field.      

How diverse are the player’s heading skills? Heading to goal and heading away from goal are basic applications of this technique. In addition, the use of heading as a passing technique and as a response to crossing situations should also be stressed as viable applications of this difficult skill. The timing of heading techniques, relative to the balls’ pace, trajectory and time of flight, is the critical “next level” for most players of age eleven and beyond. Soccer balls should be kicked in the air over varying distances, whenever possible, to approximate realistic match situations, with hand-serves utilized as seldom as possible.  

How competent is the player in applying sliding techniques? In addition to tackling for the ball,sliding skills can be used to keep balls in play, to reach wayward passes, to cross balls from the goal line, and to extend reach. Players should be instructed in tacking techniques with both the inside and outside legs (relative to a defender), and in sliding to maintain possession, pass, or clear.   

Does the player move with the game and combine with others? At the U-10 level, an increase in the speed of ball circulation, coupled with a more controlled rhythm of play are common features of play. At the U-11/12 level, those qualities can be taken a step further with the expectation of more formal combination play. At eleven, take-over, wall passes and double passes are much more universal, and up-back-through combinations can be developed over time. Because of their still growing appreciation for midfield width and rhythm of play in large numbers, overlaps are still much less probable. All other combinations (passes to feet, passes to space, dribbling, and one-three’s) are already established at this age, meaning that eleven and twelve becomes the period when most of the combining elements in the game can be performed for the first time.         

Does the player move with the game when not in possession? In general, attacking players try to open up the field in order to create possibilities for small-group play, while defenders try to limit the amount of time and space available for the attackers to either penetrate by passing or dribbling, or change the point of attack to a more open area. In both cases, individual players have responsibilities to move with the game relative to their position. Attacking players should be instructed how to play with their immediate small group or stay away from the ball, and defenders should be instructed how to move as a defensive block. The attacking concepts of width, depth, support and mobility are critical applications of spatial awareness, as are the defensive concepts of cover, balance and compactness.     

Is the player more comfortable when facing the opponent’s goal than when playing with their back to the opponent’s goal? Many young players are uncomfortable checking and receiving the ball with their back to goal; however, 8v8 games provide many opportunities to expose young players to this important and difficult skill within a positional structure. To play effectively with back to goal, players must be aware of the tactical possibilities for receiving the ball to feet or into open space; they must learn to identify passing lanes or open spaces; they must learn to judge when and how to run for the ball; they must learn how to lay the ball off to a supporting player or turn with the ball; and they must learn how to disguise their movements and intentions. Playing with back to goal is an important concept for both midfielders and forwards and it is a disservice to encourage kickball, or exclusively direct soccer at this age.

Does the player understand basic defensive concepts?When the ball is lost, a defender’s first instinct should be to try to win it back. If this is not possible, they should either look to recover goal-side behind the ball, or take up a new position for any counter-attacking possibilities. Individual decision-making in defense follows a basic hierarchy of thinking. First, try to win the ball and keep possession when it is passed to an immediate opponent. Second, try to knock the ball away from the immediate opponent. Third, try to deny the immediate opponent space to turn with the ball. Fourth, try to keep the immediate attacker running towards a sideline or into other defenders. Finally, when not in position to achieve any of the above, recover behind the ball and help the team defend. 

Does the player mentally transition after a change in possession? At all levels, speed of transition is often a critical element in the scoring and preventing of goals. With that said, it is beneficial to use live practice activities that incorporate transition to and from goal. The issue of vision is closely related to transition in that a player’s first attacking thought should be to score a goal; if that is not possible, passing to the furthest player possible is the next best option.   

By U-11, many players can read the game with some degree of sophistication and can be helped to identify the “best” option for play, based on the following hierarchy. First, can the player shoot at goal? Second, can the player dribble into position to shoot at goal? Third, can the player pass to someone who can score a goal? Fourth, can the player pass the ball forward to a teammate to maintain possession? Fifth, can the player pass the ball sideways or backwards to a teammate to maintain possession? Fifth, is the player under enough pressure to warrant a clearance? 

What is a creative team player? Three elements impact creativity. The first is technique, the second is tactical awareness, and the third is self-confidence. Players who have the audacity to think and act out of the ordinary may be future stars of the game and their willingness to take risks must be nurtured at every level. As players move towards the teen years, a critical paradox enters the coaching challenge. Creative players are necessary for making teams unpredictable and creative players are often frustrating to coach and play with because they rarely conform to standard team concepts. Creative players are not always the easiest individuals to coach, but creative players are worth their weight in gold and America has yet to produce a creative genius.