hey,
i have a minor problem, i have recently took up the training of under 16 and under 14 football,
i have knowlegde of trainin and all involved. i have also done alot of research on training drills
what i'm looking for is a little help with a few more drills that will make the training sessions more enjoyable for all players involved.
any tips would be greatly appreciated.
thanks fellow gaa lovers
Get Sammons coaching manual.
What type of things are you looking for, modified games or drills to work on specific skills?
I would say it depends on what you want to do with your coaching...
Do you -
1 - Want to turn these kids into the best footballers they can be - then concentrate on all the skills like being able to kick/handpass off both hands/feet, teach everyone how to defend/tackle and not just the backs, teach all the backs how to shoot etc....Play backs as forwards and forwards as backs as I find it gives a far greater understanding of what you need to do and don't allow the bigger/better kids to dominate all the main positions
2 - Do you want to ensure you win matches - Well thats a different set of rules..
QuoteDo you -
1 - Want to turn these kids into the best footballers they can be - then concentrate on all the skills like being able to kick/handpass off both hands/feet, teach everyone how to defend/tackle and not just the backs, teach all the backs how to shoot etc....Play backs as forwards and forwards as backs as I find it gives a far greater understanding of what you need to do and don't allow the bigger/better kids to dominate all the main positions
2 - Do you want to ensure you win matches - Well thats a different set of rules..
3 - Or do you want neither of the above and just be all hype like Dublin. ;)
http://derry.gaa.ie/coaching_youth/coaching_tips_index.htm
http://ulster.gaa.ie/coaching/articles/
well yes i do want to turn the backs into forwards...
all the teenagers enjoy the training but i want some more drills than the standard ones to just make the training more fun and therefore be able to play any player in any positions
your help is greatly appreciated people,
thanks
Don't get too bogged down in the drills CW, small sided games are the way to go and you can set up the games so that a particular skill is the focus, for example point scoring in a 6 V 6 type game. Small sided games allow the players to practice all the skills in pressure situations but also introduces the aspect of decision making that drills rarely do. If you need them I'll pm you a few different games but if you set up the pitch size and number of players to suit your goals then you should have no problems.
http://www.ulstergaa.ie/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/adapted-fun-games-for-developing-childrens-game-play.ppt
Quote from: Zulu on May 03, 2009, 08:11:16 PM
Don't get too bogged down in the drills CW, small sided games are the way to go and you can set up the games so that a particular skill is the focus, for example point scoring in a 6 V 6 type game. Small sided games allow the players to practice all the skills in pressure situations but also introduces the aspect of decision making that drills rarely do. If you need them I'll pm you a few different games but if you set up the pitch size and number of players to suit your goals then you should have no problems.
Hi Zulu,
I'm greatly interested in this information also as I have recently started U10 coaching. I'd appreciate if you could post whatever info you have on this thread, if you don't mind. All the articles/links posted to date are great and extremely useful for anyone involved in underage coaching/training. If you have attachments/articles then PM me if you wouldn't mind.
Either way, we could build up a useful resource on here. Maybe we could even sticky this thread, mods??
Thanks again.
GMF.
I find the Gaelic Performance DVD very good
www.gaelicperformance.com
I've had a few pm's about drills etc. so I'll post everything here from now on, if you want something specific for an age group just let us know what age they are and I'll post some of the drills and games I use. I'd be very interested in anybody else who's got drills that they have used or know of and would appreciate if they'd post them here also. I won't be able to post too much over the next few days but I'll post a few games and drills for U10's on Thursday or Friday, like GMF this could prove to be an interesting and informative thread if enough lads posted their thoughts and experiences.
imo the second half of all training session sshould be for the playing of games. All players want to play football and getting bogged down in drills etc isnt as appealing and even adults love to be able to play a game at the end.
Handpass only games, shooting with foot or handpass for points at the end - with no solo/hop / with either a solo or hop / full football rules are all variations, or just full games to get them all practiscing the pass and move aspect and learning to support the man with the ball and giving him options.
Penalise players giving away the ball with pressups etc gives them subconscious notion that they must be sure of a pass when in a real game.
Having players who score to nominate opponents (and maybe even a team mate) to 'do 10 or 20 pressups' as a reward for scoring causes great competition and notions of 'revenge' and they all want to score - so can turn a going through the motions game into a more high octane affair- and a bit of craic too !
The first part of a session imo should always be based on skills and improving them.
Picking the ball off the ground, moving hand passing up to 10/15 yards,kick passing 15- 40 yards, catching, breaking ball, tackling, defending , blocking, shoulder charging, core strength work, point and goal shooting etc
imo
Zulu - good man - much appreciated.
I totally agree with Zulu and Lynchboy - conditioned games are the best form of honing skills with a focus on the kids who are performing the skill correctly rather than blowing up every mistake that is made. For example after teaching the "lift from the ground" its advisable to really praise the kid who performs the skill well during the game than call a foul for the kid who makes the mistake. This can often demotivate them and interrupt the flow of the game! Its amazing how quickly the kids will learn by watching others do it correctly and its best when they decide for themselves to perform the skill rather than doing it because they dont want to give away a foul!
I found this site very useful for older players;
http://www.dublingaagamesdevelopment.ie/resources/footballdrills/fs.php
Good info folks.
We've coaching tonight and my plan is in the game at the end to award points for players who correctly pickup, hand-pass, catch the ball etc. This is to try and not stop the game for every mistake that's made but to promote the skills and getting them right. It both praises the players who are doing it correctly but doesn't demotivate/humiliate the players who are struggling.
hi people,
as i have said i'm only new at this training and everyone has been great,
i found the dublin gaa site very helpful, they have alot of specific drills and more importantly they have some game play ideas too.
if anybody has tried it could you post here what ya's thought of the site
cheers
CW
I rarely do drills for any age group from U10 upwards, but when I do it is between games, so a session would either be like this;
1. Warm up game or 1.Warm up game
2. Drill 2. 2 V2 or 3 v 3 games
3. Game 3. 4v 4 or 5 v 5 games
4. Drill 4. 2 games for weak and strong players
5. Game
6. Game
WARM UP GAMES for U8-U12
Circle dodge ball:
Description:
Circle seven metre diameter (approx). Slipt panel into two teams, one outside the circle and the other inside the circle. Players outside circle handpass at those inside. Each player "hit" is out. Teams exchange positions when all players are out. After the ball hits a player or leaves the court, the ball is "dead" and may be picked up. Score a point for every opponent hit. Team that scores most points in a given period or reaches a certain score first wins.
Variations:
• If ball is caught, player remains in game
• Balls may be used by attackers
• If a players catches a ball, he can bring back a player
who has been hit
• Player hit by opposing team remains in game
Scout
Description:
Create a pitch, size depentdent on numbers/age/skill level, divided into two halves. Players position in opposite halves of pitch with at least one ball each. Two or three player's from each team acts as scouts in the opponent's area. The object is to get the ball into the hands of the scout in the opponent's court by kick passing. Points are scored for passes received by these scouts. Scouts may pass to each other but these do not score. Team that scores most points in a given period or reaches a certain score first wins.
No running with the ball.
Variation:
The ball may be kicked or handpassed
Pickle
Description:
Create an area with cones and all players stay within this zone, players numbered in pairs in scattered formation. One player kicks a football up and calls a number. The two players with the number try to field the ball. If marked, procedure is repeated, otherwise player calls "PICKLE". All stand still and player with ball attempts to hit them with handpass. Ball may be dodged without moving feet. Player hit restarts game.
Variation:
Call two or more numbers and all those pairs contest for the ball.
SMALL SIDED GAMES
If you have the coaches, start with playing 2 v 2's or 3 v 3's to work on whatever skill you want, increase the numbers to 4 v 4 and 5 v 5, finish with 2 games (one for the weaker players and one for the stronger ones).
The one mistake I feel many coaches make is to focus on too many skills when they should just work on a few skills that are suitable for the age group. Small sided games will offer the chance for kids to work on many skills but you can modify the game to focus on certain skills in particular. Remember a 10 year old kid doesn't have to have all the skills by the end of the year he has to have them by the time he is 22. So each coach for each age group should have 4 or 5 skills which is focusing on and developing for the year.
WARM UP
Piggy back race or wheel barrow races
Skills
General skills. Kick passing. pick up. high catching.
GAME.
Set out the game as normal. Any fumble, the players team go down for 10 press ups.
thats what i'd do
Quote from: the green man on May 09, 2009, 01:59:59 AM
WARM UP
Piggy back race or wheel barrow races
Skills
General skills. Kick passing. pick up. high catching.
GAME.
Set out the game as normal. Any fumble, the players team go down for 10 press ups.
thats what i'd do
You'd make under age players do press ups if they fumbled the ball??
or laps of the pitch
Quote from: the green man on May 09, 2009, 10:21:05 AM
or laps of the pitch
It'd put a bit of manners on them anyway! :D
I pm'd this to CW but it was still in my outbox so I thought I'd post it here as well
1. 5 goal game.
Set up Mark out pitch (size dependent on numbers) with 4 small goals at each corner and one small goal in the middle of the pitch.
Each team defends the two goals at either end of the pitch but the goal in the middle of the pitch can be scored into by both teams.
Start with a team just having to hand pass through a goal to score and develop to having to carry the ball through the goals and onto hand passing to a team mate through the goals. For the second two scoring systems the team that scores retains possession.
Pitch layout:
x x x x
x x
x x x x
Concept: The middle goal prevents teams falling back infront of the two corner goals.
If you want to work on fitness play a no hop/no solo game
If you want to encourage more tackling, narrow the pitch
2. Across the width of the pitch game
This is probably the best small sided game you can play, basically set up goals (slightly narrower that full size goals) at either side of the pitch with the side lines being the end line and the 45.
Allow full rules at some point but you can modify to work on specific things, for example no hop/no solo, kick pass only, must kick pass after recieving a hand pass, 3 second rule (player can only retain possession for 3 seconds - brilliant for encouraging fast use of ball), can't pass backwards, must attempt a score after 4/5 passes or 7-10 seconds of possession, every player must touch the ball before a score can be attempted, points only, goals only, etc.
If your short numbers or want to encourage more tackling and breaking of tackles you can narrow or shorten the pitch. You'll need plenty of balls as you want to keep the game going but this simple game can cover all the bases in a real game-like situation. So if you have a panel of 24 set the game up on two parts of the field and play 2 6v6 games. Point scoring is one thing that coaches don't work on enough, so I set up an arc around each goal, outside of which you must attempt your score (size dependent on age/ability).
Pitch layout:
end line
x x
x x
45
These games are more suited to U14 upwards but would certainly be fine for u12's as well, though you might not use all the modified rules for U14's or lower. For example you wouldn't use the no hop/no solo game as you want them to practice this and you're not concerned with developing fitness too much, also the pitches would be smaller. And you would give them more time on the ball than 3 seconds. But small sided games are the best way to teach kids the skills, yes use some drills to develop technique but the kids will self-teach through games and will also learn decision making footwork, balance, agility etc. And of course only allow them to use their weaker foot and hand (often forgotten) for some portion of the games.
well people,
with all the advice and training i've been approached for to coach u-12's tooso all is going well.
my original u-16 team are now in there first county final already so all is going very well.
cheers people.. some graet advice out there from ya's
Good stuff CW, congratulations and well done on being proactive in seeking advice and help with your coaching, too many fellas just repeat what they did themselves as players. If you're coaching the U12's make sure to spend plenty of time working on the weaker side, though this doesn't mean you have to spend 20 minutes of each session working onm the weak side. You will actually improve on the weak leg/arm/side by working the stronger leg/arm/side.
Came across this today on youtube, it's a series of clips showing a number of different drills from a session in Ulster (I presume), I haven't gone through them all but some of the ones I have are pretty good and the coach explains why the players are doing the drills.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfkJHXv3oLI&NR=1
Quote from: Zulu on May 13, 2009, 12:28:51 AM
Good stuff CW, congratulations and well done on being proactive in seeking advice and help with your coaching, too many fellas just repeat what they did themselves as players. If you're coaching the U12's make sure to spend plenty of time working on the weaker side, though this doesn't mean you have to spend 20 minutes of each session working onm the weak side. You will actually improve on the weak leg/arm/side by working the stronger leg/arm/side.
what age would you get Kids to start working on their weaker side Zulu ?
As soon as you get them DR, there is a window between 6 and 8 yeras of age in which kids will pick up skills far more easily than at other times. IMO you should have the majority of the hard work with respect to the weaker side done by the time they are 12. But that doesn't mean you have to do 5 minutes with the right leg and 5 minutes on the left leg type of thing, if you're doing a 5min kicking drill for example, do 4min on the strong side and 1min on the weak. The way I look at it is you'll have as much time with the kids between 6 and 12 (6 years) as you will between 12 and 18 so I try to work on the fundamentals of teh game between 6 and 12, kicking, hand passing, soloing, bouncing, catching, tackling, agility, balance and movement (left and right side for all skills).