Lads and lassies, just throwing together a thread regarding coaching where we can throw any ideas back and forth... Suppose the best place to start would be a few sites which I have found useful enough.
The Ulster GAA website is a great starting point, hard to go wrong from there http://ulster.gaa.ie/coaching/
Few others aren't too bad
http://www.dublingaagamesdevelopment.ie/
http://www.gaa.ie/coaching-and-games-development/
http://gaelcoach.gaa.ie/main.html
The Moy club website is meant to be good too.
I'd love to hear if anyone has used any AFl, soccer, basketball drills when training their team and which ones...
Also, was at a course recently and Terence McWilliams (Ulster Council) was going on about a football coaching book he had coauthored a couple of years ago - would love to get my hands on a copy of it. Can anyone help me out here??
The AFL site is a good one and I regularly get stuff there, http://www.afl.com.au
Soccer sites are brilliant too, this one http://www.justsoccerdrills.com/index.html is not too bad but if you just google soccer drills/small sided games then you'll get loads. Basketball and rugby are also good and again all you have to do is google and find games or drills you can modify to suit football/hurling and the level or age group you're working with.
The key is to structure your session properly and have a goal/aim to each session which is building into a 4-6 week overall aim. For example, you might have fitness development as your main aim for the first 6 weeks but would also like to develop defensive strategy and kickout tactics. Your warm up can be used for some work on kickouts and defensive strategy, then use small sided games mixed with running in an interval fashion to further develop defensive alignment and even kickouts while working on fitness. After this you could send the keepers away to work on kickout technique and spend 10-15 minutes with the outfield players on defending at 60% intensity. Finish up with fartlek running and you'll have had a pretty good session which will have set the foundation for the next 4 to 6 weeks.
was actually looking for coaching ideas a few days back and stumbled across a site called www.totalgaacoach.com. The site was under construction. Some very good articles on it regards gaa coaching and fitness and looks like it could be a deadly site when completed - its worth a look
Quote from: Tony Daily on December 06, 2010, 08:26:06 AM
was actually looking for coaching ideas a few days back and stumbled across a site called www.totalgaacoach.com. The site was under construction. Some very good articles on it regards gaa coaching and fitness and looks like it could be a deadly site when completed - its worth a look
Nice spot Tony Daily. Looks like a good job
Celt_Man just looking at that site there again and noticed a training pogramme of Timmy Hammersley (Tipp Hurler)interesting stuff actually. Good to see this info of a county player. never seen info like this b4. funny enough to - completed by a guy called jason moran
just reading Mickey hartes book right now and before you go on a coaching career or setting out drills for teams - maybe have a read of this first and focus what your objective in coaching players should be !
Certainly the spanish 700 top ranked coaches at underage level and a handful in adult level (with the reverse in English soccer) speaks volumes for putting in the structures and teaching proper football and hurling at kids level before you can really get consistently good players at adult levels..
imo
remembered this thread and thought would promote a GAA coaching day for those who perhaps have interest in it...Was at the same event last year and found it extremely worthwhile.
GAA Coaching Day - St Columbans Kilkeel - Sat 14th Januay
"Effective Tackling" - Barney Mc Aleenan
"Break Ball Wins Games"
"Planning a season and a session" - James Mc Cartan
£10 Proceeds to development of GAA in the school
Ulster council running a seris of coaching workshops on particular skills in the ne year. Have a look at their website and events calendar.
that yoke in Kilkeel is clashing with the National Coaching Conference in Croke Park
www.gaa.ie/coaching-and-games-development/games-development-conference-2011/
Pity the one in Kilkeel looks good - wouldn't have minded going
What's the national coaching conference in Dublin like? Is it as good/ better/ worse than uc one in cooks town?
Folks, looking to get a mp3 copy of the Bleep test for a fitness test tomorrow?
Does anyone have it in mp3 format or a link either??
Celt Man, if you have a means of downloading music and search for the bleep test you should be able to get it that way. Tis how I got it anyway.
I've got the Aussie version no bother but I'm looking for the Irish/UK version! Can't seem to find it online
I downloaded it as an app for my phone, ther is an android and iPhone one. You can also download it for iPad, all through the app store. If you go down this road you will need a speaker to connect to your phone to get enough volume if you are using it in a hall.
Here's a few games/drills I've used with U6, U8 and U10's. Starting with warm up games, most of which are not football specific but are fun and can aid developing fundamental movement patterns. I'll post a few skill development games later if I get a chance.
Warm up: - Copycat
Kids copy actions of the coach, for example;
1. Arm swings
2. Marching on the spot
3. Jogging on the spot – opposite arms/legs
4. Jogging around court
5. Dog crawl, dog crawl with limp, supine crawl
6. Side to side moving
7. Changing the gears
8. Squats
9. Single leg balance
10. Have kids run around court and on whistle call a number, e.g 4 and the kids must get into groups of 4, you can also ask them to make shapes or touch body parts, for example call out the number 3 with elbows touching, so the kids get into groups of 3 and have their elbows touching. Change numbers but finish with 2 so that you can start the next activity.
KIDS LOVE THESE NEXT TWO GAMES AND I'M OFTEN ASKED TO PLAY THESE GAMES AGAIN, IF I HAVEN'T EXPLAINED THEM PROPERLY IT'S WORTH GETTING CLARIFICATION OFF ME
Warm up: - Fun game with movement development & defensive principles
Fox & Goose;
1. Make 4 teams - 1 team are the foxes, 1 the head of the goose, 1 the wings and 1 are the tails
2. 3 kids join together to form a goose with a head, middle and tail by holding onto the hips of the kid in front
3. The fox stands in front of the 'goose' and to win the fox must tag the tail of the goose
4. The head of the goose should have hands spread out wide and the 3 kids of the goose must work together moving to keep the fox in front of them.
5. Don't allow the goose to run away from the fox, instead encourage the goose to shuffle from side to side. This develops, among other things, shadowing or reacting to the movements of a player and is a good drill for defensive footwork.
Dogs Tail;
1. Break kids into groups of 5 or 6, where they must line up one behind the other and hold onto the player in front by the hips. This is the 'dog' where the front player is the head and the end player is the tail.
2. The front player must try to tag the back player but the dog must stay together.
Warm up: - Fun game with movement development, defending & handpassing
1. 4 teams must each form a circle and handpass around the circle, trying to get as many HP's in a row as possible. If they drop the ball they must start counting again. Develop to HP with weaker hand.
2. Develop by numbering every player from 1 to 7 (if you have 7 players in a team). Again the teams pass around the circle but when you shout out a number that numbered player from each team must leave their own team and try to get the ball off one other team. If the defender wins the ball they must hand it back to the team and they try to get it again. Every time the defender wins the ball they get 100 points for their team.
Warm up: - Fun game with movement development, defending & handpassing
1. 4 teams must race from one end of the court and back while handpassing to each other. Player with the ball can't move so their teammates must move ahead of them to transfer the ball the length of the court. Once the player has passed the ball they should move ahead of the player they've passed to. Any team that drops the ball must do 1 press up.
2. Develop by repeating race but using weaker hand and if the ball is dropped then all the players must do 1 body squat and 1 handpass.
3. Develop by having the teams take turns handpassing and moving with the ball around the court. Send in defenders from the other teams one at a time until a max of 3 defenders are in trying to get the ball.
4. Teams are timed to see which team can retain possession longest and the defender who gets the ball is awarded 10,000 points for their team.
Warm up: - Fun game with soloing
1. 4 teams line up behind a cone each. Balls (as many as you have) are at other end of court
2. First player on each team must race down to the balls (give them different ways of moving, e.g. hopping on one leg, running backwards etc. and change for each group of players) and foot solo back, if they drop it the ball goes back to the group and the player returns to their group empty handed.
3. Winner is team who gets most balls back safely.
4. Can develop to having defenders trying to dispossess players but only if most players are quite strong at soloing.
Warm up: - Fun game with kicking (on the ground)
1. First divide the players into two teams. Position the teams to either side of the court.
2. Place a ball(s) in the middle of the court and big goals at either end.
3. Hand each player on either team a number from 1 to the amount of players on the team. Both teams should have the same numbers.
4. To start, call out two of the numbers you gave the teams, e.g. 2 & 7. The teammates who have those two numbers come together and stand back to back. They lock elbows and then race to the ball in the middle.
5. The teams then try to kick the ball into each others goal.
6. Continue until everybody has had at least one go.
7. The team with the most goals wins the game.
8. You can have more than one ball in play and more than two pairs playing at one time.
Some excellent stuff there Zulu... Fair play
Is it recommended to get kids to warm up with squats, etc these days? We never touched the physical warmups until U14 I think, it was all ball based drills to warm up until then.
Quote from: Croí na hÉireann on February 16, 2012, 11:35:53 AM
Is it recommended to get kids to warm up with squats, etc these days? We never touched the physical warmups until U14 I think, it was all ball based drills to warm up until then.
they can be used
though the lunge is a much better exercise as its more dynamic
Also, the beep test is available on Youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uJAsRoy0CU&feature=related (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uJAsRoy0CU&feature=related)
No problem with squats or other physical activities foe kids as long as you are only using their own body weight.
Quote from: Rasharkin Gael on February 16, 2012, 03:37:03 PM
No problem with squats or other physical activities foe kids as long as you are only using their own body weight.
I get them squat lifting 4 stone bags of spuds. They're as strong as little horses, but a little bit bow legged.
Quote from: neilthemac on February 16, 2012, 03:02:24 PM
Quote from: Croí na hÉireann on February 16, 2012, 11:35:53 AM
Is it recommended to get kids to warm up with squats, etc these days? We never touched the physical warmups until U14 I think, it was all ball based drills to warm up until then.
they can be used
though the lunge is a much better exercise as its more dynamic
I wouldn't say the lunge is 'better', few exercises are better or worse than others, the value is dependent on the people who are doing it and the reason you are using it.
I should clarify is that I'm using squats, single leg balance and various lunges with 6-10 year olds to work on movement biomechanics rather than as strength exercises. I tend to use the squat as part of a warm up when we are moving on to the roll pick so the kids do squats and I correct their form and then we move on to rolling the ball to each other where the receiver squats down with hands between the legs and scoops the ball up to the chest. This way the warm up biomechanics are related to the ball skill biomechanics.
I've used these games for both skill development and as warm up games. I tend to use warm up games to reinforce the skills we did the previous session so you can use these games at any stage in your session with a bit of tweaking. I rarely use drills with any age group, in fact I only use them to introduce skills so once that is done I hardly ever use them again.
1. HIGH CATCHING
Football tennis – teams on opposite sides of a line of cones, must throw the ball over the 'net' high in the air. If the ball touches the ground you get a score if it is caught you don't get a score. Make sure all players get the ball by making one pass compulsory or introducing more balls. You can also introduce a rule where a player catching a ball over their head means the kid who threw it is out and the winning team is the one with the most players left or knocks all the other players out.
HIGH CATCHING & KICKING
This can be developed by creating a 'river' with two lines of cones and players must kick the ball high over the river. You can only score if your kick is above the heads of all players. If a players ball is caught then they must sprint all the way around the court before rejoining the game. If you are indoors and have sponge balls it is worthwhile putting in lots of balls as this ensures everybody is getting plenty of kicking and catching opportunities with little risk of injury.
CATCHING & KICKING, WITH INCREASED DIFFICULTY AND DEFENDING
1.As above but have interceptors (3 or 4, depending on number of balls & kickers) in the 'river' area and if they catch any ball before it touches the ground the player who kicked it must sprint around the court before rejoining their team (alternatively they can sit out for 30 seconds).
2.The goal is simply to get the ball over the river and interceptors so make the river pretty wide for the player's ability. This game encourages distance kicking.
2. KICKING
1. Knocking the cone game – line of cones in the middle of court and 2 teams on either side of the court try to knock the cones by kicking the balls at them.
2.Teams have to stay behind a line a few feet away from the cones (how far depends on age and ability). Cones are clustered together in two's or three's to ensure the players have a good chance of hitting them.
3.Award 1000 points for each knocked cone and 10,000 for knocking them with a shot from weaker leg.
4.Set periods of the game, e.g. 45 seconds when players can only use weaker leg.
5.Develop by removing the cones and have players score by hitting a player on the opposition team with the ball by kicking it at them. If any player catches the kicked ball before it bounces the player who kicked it must sprint around the court once before rejoining their team. [Only to be done if you have sponge balls, which are well worth investing in]
2b. KICKING
1.Game is called bashball and only sponge balls can be used for this game.
2.Get 4 teams, 1 team must stand across the width of the court with their legs spread wide and the sides of their feet touching. A second team must stand a few feet away (distance dependent on age and ability) and they must kick the ball through the legs of the first team (who are faced away from the second team). The third team are on the other side of team 1 and they get the balls back to the kicking team (team 2). The fourth team count the number of 'goals' and watch for anyone crossing the line or breaking other rules like kicking from the ground.
3.Give 1000 points for every goal and 10,000 for goals kicked with weaker leg and the team with the most goals win. Don't call a winner unless a team of weaker players wins.
3. TEAMWORK, ATTACK & DEFENDING PRINCIPLES, HAND PASSING OR KICKING
1.Teams of 3-5 try to knock cones which are placed in a large-ish circle that's defended by 2-3 players. Each attacking player has a ball.
2. Attacking players can't enter circle and defending players can't leave it. Players can kick or hand pass the ball at the cones, depending on what you want to work on.
3.This game helps develop attacking and defending principles by teaching defenders to get between the cones and the attackers.
4.Develop to using less balls to encourage more team work and attacking strategies. Use one ball eventually and encourage the attacking team to spread out around the circle.
4. SOLOING/CONTROL & HANDPASSING
1 .STAR WARS – 2 teams face each other in a square (size dependent on numbers).
2.Each player has a ball and they must try to knock out the players on the opposite team by hitting them with their ball through a handpass.
3.Players can move around the square in any direction but only by soloing.
4.Can develop this game by using weak hand only or by players having to hit their opponents ball not the player. Can also switch handpassing for kicking but only if using sponge balls.
4. SOLOING/CONTROL & HANDPASSING
1. Set up a circle of cones about 10m in diameter.
2. One player stands in the middle, the rest space themselves out equally around the edge of the circle. The player in the middle receives the ball from a player on the edge, turns and passes to another player. As soon as hE passes the ball out, a second ball is played in from the edge of the circle. As soon as this ball is passed out to a player on the edge of the circle the first ball is played in again and so on.
3. The central player has to run quickly backwards and forwards to provide passes to the rest of the circle.
Swap players after one minute.
4. Develop by using weak only (for all players if you want) and/or making circle a bit bigger and having central play solo on receiving before passing to another player. You could also have the players on the edge pass the second ball around the circle as the middle player transfers the first ball.
5. KICKING AND SCORING
1. Create 3 zones on a small pitch (size of pitch & zones dependent on age group and ability), players start in zone 1 and the 4 goals are in zone 3.
2.Players divided into 4 even teams (or more) and each player takes a number.
3. Players solo inside the zone farthest from the goals.
4. When you shout a number that numbered player from each group has to break out of the zone.
5. They solo across the middle zone and shoot into any of the 4 goals on or before reaching the end of the zone.
6. If a player misses a shot they are out and go behind the goal to collect missed shots.
7. If they score the player collects their ball and returns to the soloing zone.
8.Play until the last three players at which point the quickest to score wins.
9. Alternatively, if a player misses they just don't get a score but make sure everybody is getting their turn, i.e. every number is called.
6. TACKLING
2 teams, 1 grid with cones randomly placed – 1 team hold the balls and stand on cones of their choice, other teams players must run around and touch every ball with right hand and then again with left, swop roles – now they must knock as many balls out of the hands of the other players who must hold the ball out with hands on the side of the balls, swop roles.
Develop to having 4 players with a ball each solo around the grid and one player must tackle them as often as possible in 30 seconds, using NEAR HAND only.
Hurling Warm up Games
1. Relay Races (Straight line and Zig Zag). Have players run to the farthest cone in one position and back in a different position e.g. run in the ready position out to the cone and back in the lock position
2. Colour Recognition (1). Have 3-4 players in the required number of groups. Put out three coloured cones spaced 5m apart in front of each group in the same order e.g. blue, red, and yellow. Call out a sequence of colours and each member of the team has to run to the cones in that order before returning to the group.
(a) Players run in the ready position to each cone and back.
(b) Players run in the ready position and touch the cones with their catching hand, back to ready position and onto the next cone.
(c) Players run in the ready position and tip each cone in the lock position.
3. Colour Recognition (2). Have 3-4 players in the required number of groups. Scatter cones around a given area in no particular order. Call out a sequence of colours and each member of the team has to run to the cones in that order before returning to the group.
(a) Players run in the ready position to each cone and back.
(b) Players run in the ready position and touch the cones with their catching hand, back to ready position and onto the next cone.
(c) Players run in the ready position and tip each cone in the lock position.
4. Flip Over- Scatter dome shaped cones around a small area. In a specified time (e.g. 1 minute) half the group must attempt to turn the cones upside down whilst the other half of the group turn the cones right side up. Children must run in the ready position and turn the cones with their catching hand only before returning to the ready position.
5. Hurl Tag- Nominate 2 or 3 "taggers". All other children hold and run with their hurls in the ready position. Taggers do not have a hurl. When a child is tagged, they must freeze in the ready position. Children are freed when their team mate touches hurls with them in the ready position making an "X". Alternate taggers.
6. Stuck in the mud – Nominate 2 or 3 "taggers". All other children hold and run with their hurls in the ready position. Taggers do not have a hurl. Once a child is tagged they must freeze on the spot in the ready position and spread their feet on the ground. The children are freed when another child crawls through their legs with their strong hand on the hurl and their catching hand free. Alternate "taggers".
7. Tag Freeze - Nominate 2 or 3 "taggers". Taggers do not have a hurl. All other children hold and run with their hurls in the ready position. Three children carry a ball each in their catching hand. Once a child is tagged they must freeze on the spot in the ready position. The children are freed when a person with a ball hands it to them. The new person with the ball passes it onto another child to free them. Alternate "taggers".
8. Ready-Lock-Catch – This game is based on the idea of Ship, Sea, Shore. There are 3 lines; Ready, Lock and Catch. The children start on the "Ready" line in the ready position. If the coach calls "Lock", all the children run to the Lock line in the Lock Position. If the coach calls "Catch", all the children run to the catch line in the Catch position. (Use other positions e.g. lift, ground block, hook)
9. Dodge ball - Set out a square 20m x 20m approx. 2 or 3 children are given a sponge ball. They attempt to throw the ball at the other children. All other children hold and run with their hurls in the ready position. Once a child is hit with the ball they must move to the outside of the square and complete 10 jumping jacks before returning to the game. However, if a child blocks the ball with their hurl, they continue the in the game. Alternate children with the sponge ball.
10. Ladder Work – Have the children run and jump through the ladders in various different ways holding the hurl in the ready or lock position.
11. Bib Snatch - Set out a square 20m x 20m approx. Have each child put a bib hanging out of their shorts. All players run in the ready position. Nominate 2 or 3 children to steal as many bibs as possible from the other children. The stealers must grab the bibs with their catching hand. Upon stealing a bib children are to go to the coach and give them the bib to leave at their designated cone. Most bibs stolen wins.
12. Foxes and Chickens - Set out a square 20m x 20m approx. All players except for two dribble their ball around the square. The two players without a ball must tackle the others and flick their ball out of the square. When the players ball is put out the square they must stand out for 5 seconds before returning to the game. Swap foxes.
13. Swap Over - Set out a square 20m x 20m approx. Each child has a ball. Players dribble inside grid. On coaches whistle players swap over balls with different player each time.
14. Jab and Bat - Set out a square 20m x 20m approx. Nominate half of the group to jab the ball. The other half are nominated to bat the ball. When a player catches the ball after jab lifting it, they then throw it up for another player to bat the ball. Move to a different ball and repeat.
Alright lads, logistical question for ye.
If you have 20-24 lads at a training session (under 14 level upwards) and want to run some of the drills like 6 scores, attack and defend, etc which are based on game type situations (like backs and forwards) what do you do?
For example, if I want to work on kickout strategy etc, I can line up goalie, 6 v 6 (or whatever) with midfielders and even half forwards/half backs on the other side of the field, and that will bring me to 23/24 no problem.
But if I want to work on some of the other games based on backs and forwards type scenarios, I can really only deply 13-17 at any one time (if you include goalies and midfielders. What do you do with the other 7 lads?
I've been thinking of running other drills with the 7, under the supervision of my other selectors, and interchanging often into the game drill. Or should I go with two versions of the main drill split into 13-15 and 9-11 respectively, with another coach overseeing that? I'm not a huge fan of either.
In most circumstances I have no problems working the numbers to fit the drills so shooting drills, passing drills etc are no problem. It's this type of scenario that I'm not happy with, because the sessions are losing momentum if a few fellas are working as 'ball delivery men' or the like. I want to keep everyone engaged and active.
How have ye other coaches worked this?
Quote from: AZOffaly on February 22, 2012, 01:27:04 PM
Alright lads, logistical question for ye.
If you have 20-24 lads at a training session (under 14 level upwards) and want to run some of the drills like 6 scores, attack and defend, etc which are based on game type situations (like backs and forwards) what do you do?
For example, if I want to work on kickout strategy etc, I can line up goalie, 6 v 6 (or whatever) with midfielders and even half forwards/half backs on the other side of the field, and that will bring me to 23/24 no problem.
But if I want to work on some of the other games based on backs and forwards type scenarios, I can really only deply 13-17 at any one time (if you include goalies and midfielders. What do you do with the other 7 lads?
I've been thinking of running other drills with the 7, under the supervision of my other selectors, and interchanging often into the game drill. Or should I go with two versions of the main drill split into 13-15 and 9-11 respectively, with another coach overseeing that? I'm not a huge fan of either.
In most circumstances I have no problems working the numbers to fit the drills so shooting drills, passing drills etc are no problem. It's this type of scenario that I'm not happy with, because the sessions are losing momentum if a few fellas are working as 'ball delivery men' or the like. I want to keep everyone engaged and active.
How have ye other coaches worked this?
Get the spare ones to watch and give them the task of watching how many mistakes the person who plays in their position makes. Use it as a training exercise to identify problems and come up with ways to rectify them. Give them responsibility early on.
That feels 'make work-y'
Quote from: AZOffaly on February 22, 2012, 02:54:02 PM
That feels 'make work-y'
Slow on the uptake....what do you mean?
Like the stone walls in Connemara, get them to do something, anything even if it's just to 'make work' for them. :)
I tell you what you do, make the spare men as attacking half backs, defending half forwards. Each one has a gate to start from, say 3 gates. The ball starts from that gate and must be worked back to that gate but the pair that start with the ball must be the receivers. If the defence get the ball through the gate they score and then you ca make it competitive.
Yeah, that's the sort of thing I'm thinking of.
Just a great article from Stevie McDonnell in his column today. Insightful, knowledgable and useful it's as good a column I've read this long time!
http://www.gaa.ie/gaa-news-and-videos/daily-news/2/1508120908-point-taken-steven-mcdonnell-on-football/
I agree with most of that article. It's vital that the coach understands WHY the drill is being done, and that the players understand how it is supposed to help them in a game, and what is being worked on.
Secondly I really agree with COACHING as opposed to running drills. I've seen several coaches just simply picking drills, setting them out and letting them run with no intervention. This is where the skills or attribute has to be coached. The old IDEA concept is important here. Introduce, Demonstrate, Execute, Attend. With Attend being very important.
A good article. The one thing I didn't like is the remark about cones or space markers. It's cliched to sneer at coaches who put out cones, as if they are just bluffing. But the cones are not important, they are just markers to help the drill run smoothly. As long as the coach does most of the rest of what Stevie says, then a hundred cones is not an issue.
Quote from: screenexile on August 15, 2012, 04:54:44 PM
Just a great article from Stevie McDonnell in his column today. Insightful, knowledgable and useful it's as good a column I've read this long time!
http://www.gaa.ie/gaa-news-and-videos/daily-news/2/1508120908-point-taken-steven-mcdonnell-on-football/
He must have been watching some of my training sessions to see the right way to do it :P
Could I have some views on Go Games u-8 and u-10. In matches we pick a stronger team and a weaker team, as do the opposition. But it's been divisive with kids and parents catching on that there's a sort of 1st team and some have been annoyed if they aren't on it. Plus the weaker team is left very weak - they would need a couple of the stronger players to bring the wee ones into it. Anyone any experience / advice on this? My feeling is to change it and pick 2 even teams, the kids should all be in it together and it's not supposed to be competitive anyway.
An interesting and difficulty situation. A lot of paediatric development experts argue you should mix the teams as this will bring on the weaker players and this may well be true but there are practical issues too. We tend to separate players by ability when playing blitzes so that kids get to play against other kids of similar ability and by and large the kids are fine with this. However, we also use mixed ability teams for some tournaments and I think we'll try to do more of this in the future.
Like everything I think a mix of both should be used in both training games and and 'competitive' games. This gives the kids a chance to play at their own current level but also to play with and against kids of various abilities. If your current strategy is causing problems then I'd certainly change it a bit as few clubs can afford to lose players and no club should be happy to do so.
Quote from: Sportacus on August 15, 2012, 06:07:44 PM
Could I have some views on Go Games u-8 and u-10. In matches we pick a stronger team and a weaker team, as do the opposition. But it's been divisive with kids and parents catching on that there's a sort of 1st team and some have been annoyed if they aren't on it. Plus the weaker team is left very weak - they would need a couple of the stronger players to bring the wee ones into it. Anyone any experience / advice on this? My feeling is to change it and pick 2 even teams, the kids should all be in it together and it's not supposed to be competitive anyway.
i mix both teams up so each has a range of abilities because at that stage it should not be about winning but enjoyment( altho tell that to parents) i also encourage the stronger guys only to hold the ball for 5 seconds tops so that they have to pass
from my own experience i played with county footballers who only grasped playing at say 16/17
people develop at different times and with small clubs it is better to keep everyone involved rather than lose kids who see themselves as weak
for myself my son is a young 9 and would be weak but i can see him developing and in his own wee mind as we send out evenly matched teams to go games he is more than happy to go because he is not in the reserves
In regard to go games and selecting an 'A' and 'B' team, I feel that you should put stronger players in one team rather than mixing them. The whole concept of go games and two touch football is to allow weaker players to get more touches. I also agree with the idea that weaker players will develop when playing against stronger player, but that is not the case with all players. There is also a chance of frustrating better players who will not want to play in a weaker team or will become arrogant and show off.There are certain players who are not going to make it. Also tell parents if they are not happy with their son/daughter playing on the b team to get some extra training done at home.
My club run very successful tournaments at u 8 u 10 and u 12 level and the simple reason why they are successful is because we play 'A' and 'B' teams and the 'b' team score counts as we work on an aggregate score basis. This allows the so called weaker team to count and feel that they have contributed. Also it allows up to 24 kids to compete per club.
My only gripe with the Go Games is the fact that it gives parents the impression that their child will get to play football every week, as some weeks you may have a challenge match or go to a tournament. This came to light in our club a few years ago when a parent complained about their son travelling to a tournament with his team and never got a game. Turns out it was an u10 tournament played on an 11 a side basis and this child was just too old to play at u8 level and was a 'weaker' player. The coach had 22 players and couldn't get them all on as he had to select a panel of 15 players, tournament rules.
Regarding the weaker team players, they should also receive different training, because if they are at different levels on the field of play then they are at different levels of skills development. If you can manage to have a skills assessment done at the start of the year then middle and at end of year you can see how players are developing, plus a weaker player can have a 'bigger' improvement than a stronger player and this gives him encouragement. e.g. solo test weak player scores 5 strong player scores 9, after training etc end of year scores weak player 9 strong player 10. The weak player can see how he is developing.
I would normally mix the kids, but one thing I would throw into the equation is the 'zone' concept. If I have two teams of 6 or 7 year olds, I will divide the pitch into 3 zones, (backs, midfield, forwards) and the players can only stay in their designated zones.
I would then endeavour to have the weaker lads in the same zones, or in zones with fellas slightly stronger than them. The stronger lads in their own zones etc.
I wouldn't do this all the time, but this approach, in my experience, is a good compromise
Occasionally I will do a strong and weak team, but it's not my favourite approach.
The 'zone' concept is not just something to be employed at underage level. One problem I have seen many times over is how the team loses its shape at senior level. What I have done is play the zonal system where all backs and forwards must play their zone, bar 1 on each side. They are floating players and can drift into the MF zone. MFs can go anywhere. The emphasis is to get players, particularly forwards, to move into the right areas. With solo restrictions it also encourage them to accurately kick the ball.
Nice one BCB, yes, it can work well at adult level too for differing reasons, as you've outlined.
Thanks lads. The logical thing for us is to try it differently next year - mixing teams. We don't have big numbers and the weaker team is getting annihilated most weeks which couldn't be helping them. Bringing in a couple of players from the stronger team would make a difference - robbing Peter to pay Paul I know, but we have to try something.
Hi Sportacus,
In my opinion, while winning games is good, and the kids like the competitive element, no doubt about it, I see my job as a kids underage coach is to develop all the kids you coach as much as possible, and to make sure you retain as many as you can as well. Prime importance is on instilling the basic skills in all the kids, recognising that some will always be better than others.
If you think that your weaker players will improve by having a sprinkling of stronger players with them, or against them, then go for it. You have to develop the weak lads and the strong lads. If you deliver a batch of hurlers or footballers to the under 12s, with a mastery of the basic skills, then no one will care if Ballygohome beat them in a blitz because you played a mixed team.
My own coaching philosophy would be to break a game down into passages and work on those passages through made up drills. "Drills" in the traditional sense only offer ball handling advantages therefore for me they are only used in warm ups.
Weak coaches will copy drills and make a session look visually appealing. Strong coaches are those who actually coach players to play in a specific way and make them better and more confident players in the process. Strong coaches will care less how a session looks.
Quote from: Sportacus on August 15, 2012, 06:07:44 PM
Could I have some views on Go Games u-8 and u-10. In matches we pick a stronger team and a weaker team, as do the opposition. But it's been divisive with kids and parents catching on that there's a sort of 1st team and some have been annoyed if they aren't on it. Plus the weaker team is left very weak - they would need a couple of the stronger players to bring the wee ones into it. Anyone any experience / advice on this? My feeling is to change it and pick 2 even teams, the kids should all be in it together and it's not supposed to be competitive anyway.
At the moment we play a Strong and Weak team when we play other teams . What we have noticed is the the lads in the "weaker team" have come in in leaps and bounds they have got used to playing with each other and since they started this year the improvement is there to be seen. I don't think the same improvement would have been made if we were to mix the teams at the start of the year because if we were to the stronger lads in both teams would be on the ball more.
Quote from: small white mayoman on August 16, 2012, 02:29:34 PM
Quote from: Sportacus on August 15, 2012, 06:07:44 PM
Could I have some views on Go Games u-8 and u-10. In matches we pick a stronger team and a weaker team, as do the opposition. But it's been divisive with kids and parents catching on that there's a sort of 1st team and some have been annoyed if they aren't on it. Plus the weaker team is left very weak - they would need a couple of the stronger players to bring the wee ones into it. Anyone any experience / advice on this? My feeling is to change it and pick 2 even teams, the kids should all be in it together and it's not supposed to be competitive anyway.
At the moment we play a Strong and Weak team when we play other teams . What we have noticed is the the lads in the "weaker team" have come in in leaps and bounds they have got used to playing with each other and since they started this year the improvement is there to be seen. I don't think the same improvement would have been made if we were to mix the teams at the start of the year because if we were to the stronger lads in both teams would be on the ball more.
Hence the 'zones'.
Quote from: AZOffaly on August 16, 2012, 02:53:39 PM
Quote from: small white mayoman on August 16, 2012, 02:29:34 PM
Quote from: Sportacus on August 15, 2012, 06:07:44 PM
Could I have some views on Go Games u-8 and u-10. In matches we pick a stronger team and a weaker team, as do the opposition. But it's been divisive with kids and parents catching on that there's a sort of 1st team and some have been annoyed if they aren't on it. Plus the weaker team is left very weak - they would need a couple of the stronger players to bring the wee ones into it. Anyone any experience / advice on this? My feeling is to change it and pick 2 even teams, the kids should all be in it together and it's not supposed to be competitive anyway.
At the moment we play a Strong and Weak team when we play other teams . What we have noticed is the the lads in the "weaker team" have come in in leaps and bounds they have got used to playing with each other and since they started this year the improvement is there to be seen. I don't think the same improvement would have been made if we were to mix the teams at the start of the year because if we were to the stronger lads in both teams would be on the ball more.
Hence the 'zones'.
The way the teams are set up at u8 with us are 1 Goalie , 3 Backs , and 3 Fowards. The pitch is split in the middle with 2 Zones the players not allowed to pass the 1/2 way line . If you were to have a strong back for e.g along with 2 weaker backs he would get on a lot of ball in comparison to the other 2 backs.
Quote from: small white mayoman on August 16, 2012, 02:29:34 PM
Quote from: Sportacus on August 15, 2012, 06:07:44 PM
Could I have some views on Go Games u-8 and u-10. In matches we pick a stronger team and a weaker team, as do the opposition. But it's been divisive with kids and parents catching on that there's a sort of 1st team and some have been annoyed if they aren't on it. Plus the weaker team is left very weak - they would need a couple of the stronger players to bring the wee ones into it. Anyone any experience / advice on this? My feeling is to change it and pick 2 even teams, the kids should all be in it together and it's not supposed to be competitive anyway.
At the moment we play a Strong and Weak team when we play other teams . What we have noticed is the the lads in the "weaker team" have come in in leaps and bounds they have got used to playing with each other and since they started this year the improvement is there to be seen. I don't think the same improvement would have been made if we were to mix the teams at the start of the year because if we were to the stronger lads in both teams would be on the ball more.
I'm not so sure if there's a correct answer here, as I've seen both sides of it. I'd always ask some of the other mentors of teams if they've streamed A and B teams as there may be an A and B section. If they're going to allow A and B teams to play each other I'd be inclined to split the strong players between the two teams so that both are reasonably competitive. Within that however strong players are inclined to dominate proceedings and thats of no benefit to the lesser players who stand back and don't get involved enough.
I have worked a zonal type system where the forwards can't come pass the midfield line and neither can the backs, midfield can work in both, just to get the youngsters to get a feel for positional play rather than following the ball like sheep.
I always encourage the man nearest the ball to play it rather than stand back when a stronger player comes in and on the odd occasion I've put the strong players in the forwards out of the way so that the others would get involved more.
You really have to call it as it happens.
I was reading the scores in the Irish Star the other day and came across GO-GAMES scores in Fermanagh, there was some all merciful beatings. The scores in GO GAMES should not be recorded as it is mainly for fun, and it goes against the GO-GAMES ethos.
I tend to use the zones like Jonnycool does. Rather than having 3 zones I just half the pitch and if it's 10 a side I have a goalie, 3 backs, 3 midfielders and 3 forwards. The midfielders can go where they want but the backs and forwards must stay on their side of the pitch. We play 3 periods so each trio get to play in each role with the goalie changing at the end of each period. Like AZ I try to put players of equal ability against each other and use the one hop, one solo to inhibit the best from dominating.
As has been said I don't think there are too many right or wrong things in coaching underage. You have to adapt to your players and what works and doesn't work. For example, if you have a really dominant player you may need to come up with special 'rules' for them which allow others to shine but don't cripple the stronger player too much.
One thing I find that works well is to give all frees from in front of the goals, you can change the distance, angle or the leg they use and whether they take it from the hands or ground to challenge the taker appropriately. The main thing though is it gives all players the opportunity to shoot at the goals and therefore a chance to take away something positive from your sessions. You can even allocate all frees won to a weaker player for 1 minute and ensure there are at least 2 frees awarded in that time so he gets at least two shots and if made scoreable for him he should be able to go home telling his folks about the goal he scored.
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