Goalkeepers a lost art? As a coach with WPL14 Sharks who is now 3 weeks from the start of the season and has no goal keeper, do you think that goal keeping is a lost position? it seems that be it boy or girl the numbers for this job is small. How do we change the way in which this is seen?

Absolutely - develop the technique and then put them in the most effective formation to use it

So Andy,

We are in agreement that the key/foundation is still coaching players technique and skill. Passing the ball control etc to play in any formation be it at the moment 4-3-3 is the favored.
Look forward to the ancelotti interview too!!

We're putting up an interview with Carlo Ancelotti here soon from the magazine - a snippet.

"There's no such thing as a winning or losing formation. A manager can only create a system based on his players' characteristics."

Similarly I don't believe that just because people introduce 4-3-3 (or variations) they will create better players. It's the best system to encourage possession and constructive attacking football for all the reasons outlined above but without simultaneously working on the development of their technique it's not going to achieve much.

11 kids who can't pass or receive the football will still be poor whatever formation you set them up in

Edited by Andy Jackson: 6/12/2010 12:11:35 PM

Decentric,
Your 100% right the variations are immense when it comes to a besline of 4-3-3 but the foundations need to be set at an early age. I am finding that the players that have grown with the flat 4-4-2 are finding it at times difficult to break out of the set formation and move more freely up and down the park.
I think that it will take a few years in the grass roots and junior level to see it being played comforatbly in senior comps.
Your comments on the GK playing it from the back? I find that i still need my GK to mix up the play otherwise teams press the backs to win the ball back infornt of goal. I like my GK to mix it up so they do not become predictable.

It is better in a development sense.

A flat 4-4-2 is easier to play. The inherent qualities of the 4-3-3, in its four manifestations of a 3:1 formation in the defensive line, the forwards and backwards triangle midfields, and the flat midfield, make for easier triangles and diamonds. These create easier passing lanes.

The two screener triangle system of 4-3-3, becomes a 4-2-3-1 if the wingers play further back.

The one screener midfield triangle becomes a 4-5-1 with a 1:4 midfield if the two wingers play further back.

In the 4-3-3 with the one screener midfield, it can become a 4-4-2 diamond, or a 4-3-1-2, if the wingers are brought in to a more central position and the central striker plays further back.

There are also similarities between the 3-4-3 with a midfield diamond, or a 3:1 in the defensive line of a 4-3-3.

These are all subtle variations of the 4-3-3.

A lot of English football has manifested as a flat 4-4-2, labelled as a crossing game as opposed to a passing game by the Dutch KNVB.


I had great difficulty teaching the midfield triangle to an under 12 state title winning rep team. Then again, I saw a top adult premier league team in the state have difficulty with it too! If they had started at a much earlier age, incrementally and sequentially, it would have been much easier.

Given all the above subtle variations, the 4-3-3 covers most formations used in world football. It is designed for a passing game. It is much easier for players to adapt to a flat 4-4-2 if they've been brought up on the 4-3-3 than the inverse.

Hi Andy,

So is the 4-3-3 the answer to perfect football? this is where they want Aussie football to head is it the answer to being competitive with the rest of the world?

So is the 4-3-3 the answer to perfect football? the FFA want this to be the foundation of coaching and playing.

Hi mate

I couldn't find the actual timetable...but I have still got my notepad which I think I noted down most of the session topics...at least 90% of them.

Here's the sessions I can find and I'll put a P next to the ones that were practical sessions on the park.

Intro to C Certificate
What is junior coaching?
VARK - what is skill? what is technique?
Basic passing and receiving (P)
Lofted passing (P)
Nutrition for football performance
Planning for success
Planning for first assessment
Progressions 1v1 to 2v2 to 3v3 to 4v4 (P)
Planning your session
Developing Technique & Skill
Long passing (P)
Heading (P)
Game Sense & Decision Making in Sport
Effective communication
Look at French National Institute at Clairefontaine
Three main moments in football
Goalkeeping (P)
Improving decision making (P)
Combination play (P)
Ball mastery/turns (P)
Criteria for Age Group Training
Warm ups (P)
Defending (P)
Small sided games
Laws of the game
Coach Behaviour and Ethics
3 practical assessments
2 x theory exams

I think I'm missing some of the practical sessions...if I remember any more I'll edit and add here.

Cheers
Andy

The Dutch KNVB course I did at the AIS covered comprehensive match analysis.

I'm glad to discover what you've said, because I've been patronised by a few people here who've denigrated what I learnt from KNVB.

Nevertheless, I was recruited to coach a rep team and the KNVB stuff was extremely useful. A mediocre rep team won a state championship.

Can you paraphrase a brief outline of what the C Licence incorporated?

Thanks.

Hi mate...in the c license it didn't really cover match analysis methodology....I believe that's more B/A territory....and as far as my current coaching goes I've not really needed it because we don't play any matches (bar a couple) - the kids still play each weekend for their clubs and that's not my remit.

TIC was covered in the C license and there was also an interesting session with an AIS skill acquisition specialist who was a firm advocate of this.

I personally think there's a place for coaching the major football techniques (striking the ball, control etc) in isolation of the game at an early age but I think this works to best effect when combined with regular free play period when kids can find their own solutions.

As the players mature and the basic techniques are there then I think you can move more game centred approach and focus more on decision making/game sense/technique selection than the isolated repetition of the basic technique

Same with Liverpool_4eva how do I get started ??

What sort of match analysis proformas and methodology have you done in the course Andy?

Have you been inculcated with TIC and the application of these three different aspects of a players development at different stages of a player's career?

Coaching has always interested me a lot. I'm only in my teens but would love to coach in the a teenage team.
Will be reading these with great interest!

ah OK....that's completely seperate to the Sutherland Shire FA trials we ran.

no the boys trials for sutherland academy it was jus a joke the way they went about it

hi there....you are talking about the girls trials right?

I'm obviously only involved in the boys trials so wasn't there yesterday but I can promise you that from my perspective no teams are picked yet because there's still another weekend of open trials next weekend before the first cut and then another two rounds of trials before the squads are finalised.

if you are unhappy with the way your trials were conducted then I will send you someone to contact via PM

the sutherland trials were a joke yesterday. i wasted my afternoon trialing only to discover at the end that the team was already picked and no names were taken. the coaches just stood on the sidelines talking with no clipboard for notes or nothing, jus disgraceful

Great read mate, I'm looking forward to your tips as a young player here on the Gold Coast.

Hi Darotor,

That's a massive question! I blogged on the introduction of SSGs a while back...you can read it here still http://au.fourfourtwo.com/blogs.aspx?CIaBEID=358 it provoked some interesting discussion

I guess I can give you my perspective on what I'm looking for in kids playing U9 football this season and aiming to be part of my U10 Development Squad this year.....I tell them I'm not looking for someone who can kick the ball the length of the field or who tries to beat 5 men each time - unless they can do it every time in which case I'll get straight on to the phone to Barcelona! I'm looking for their basic passing and receiving skills, their movement and the early signs of their game sense developing - by that I mean their reading of the game when in possession and when not. Their decision making in a game environment - when to pass, when to dribble...when to tackle and when to jockey and the x-factor for me is those few kids who, even at this age, have that ability to take an extra touch on the ball instead of panicking and getting rid as soon as possible...the kid that senses things will open up a bit if he just holds on to the ball that fraction longer. I don't care whether he's 3ft6 or 6ft3...if he can show the potential to develop what I've described above I'm confident that over 30 weeks I can develop them into a better player.

I happen to think SSG (in tandem with basic ball mastery and skill development work) is the best way to encourage this.

Our trials for U10 are all in SSG format beginning with the first two weeks at 4 v 4, 5 v 5 and then progressing to 7 v 7 and 9 v 9.

However, as a caveat to this I'd say you still have to coach in SSG format to get real results and progress - it's not a "set and forget" situation where you can set them up and just let them play expecting all round development. There's a huge difference between coaching and putting on drills.

Looking forward to reading this blog Andy.

Will be looking for a club for my kids in the next couple of years. Would you be able to comment on SSG's, their implementation and their effectiveness over the last couple of years?

Great blog Andy.

My neighbour plays representative football for Sutherland Sharks in the U14's.
My friends brother plays in the U13's so you may know him if you did U12's last year

Up the Sharks

I like how they shake your hands at the start and end of each session. Every workplace I have been in charge of I insitigated a rule that every single person at the start and end of their shift had to greet/say goodbye to every person in the workplace. It is amazing how quickly that goes from a chore to a habit and really does an immense job at breaking down communication barriers and fosters a more harmoneous environment.

I too look forward to reading your insights over the season and will do my best to fire off questions. BTW I am linking you to the AUFC member page as well.

Nice one Andy, I look forward to reading your wise words of coaching as I have a young Lionel Messi of my own coming up to this age and he and I have both been frustrated by coaching at our chosen club.


What do you think about the FourFourTwo blog One season ends....another begins?
Welcome to my new coaching blog. As well as being the publisher of this fine magazine and web site I'm also an aspiring coach. Some of you may remember the story of me getting my AFC C License which a...

Have your say.