Where has he stated that Brazilians represent the pinnacle? I think you will find that he has said over and over again that there are many different methodologies and techniques which they will be teaching and that he just has an affinity for the Brazilian ones. He has also stated that he thinks they are too flashy and that there are simpler techniques which are just as, if not more, effective.


Yes they develop their own style over time, so why is it bad to teach them some basic skills to use as a foundation on which to build their own style and technique? Or do you think these things evolve in isolation? Also who is going to tell them they have failed? I don’t get where you are coming from, unless you mean you are going to be telling they failed.


Are you suggesting that kids shouldn't learn how to perform these skills? Your comment reads like you think that providing kids with skills and examples that they can then work on and incorporate into their game is the wrong thing to do. Do you think all forms of education are equally valueless?

Decentric has stated already multiple times that their sessions incorporate technical training - i.e. how to do it - and Small Sided Games for the kids to have fun and practise the skills they have been taught. Where is there anywhere in what he has stated that the kids are going to be taught to be little robots?

How is this bad? FFS people are just weird. I have to ask you the same question as localstar, do you think all other forms of education are equally valueless?

Were are you getting the idea that teaching kids how to effectively perform a dribbling technique is going to result in them being a bad player or cause them to lose their creativity? Do you think that players like Messi, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc can do the things they can with a ball because of some inate knowledge or do you think they practised on their own and in competition with their peers building upon the skills and techniques imparted to them by their coaches and learnt from watching their own idols play the game?

Edited by General Ashnak: 6/4/2011 11:37:57 AM

Who taught Ronaldo and Ronaldinho to toe poke goals ? thats creativity.
Common skill taught in futsal, which most of the players are brough up on.Futsal here though nis considered a time filler in the off season, while Brazilians are brough up on it. You might not know players like RObinho and Ronaldihno seek out Falcao to teach them new moves.

Let the game be teacher.

Absoluteley, but where we have a problem due to our cultural and economic standard of living is we don't have "Street Soccer". Most of our kids will train 2-3 hours a week with a game on the weekend, if their lucky they will play at school. Beacause we don't have street soccer the kids miss out on "Peer Tutoring" an important form of learning. Why the Dutch system is important is that it encourages and skill acquisition that is our core issue. So the process of learning "Skill Acquisition" becomes a means unto itself as children start developing their own skill sets while using their favourite taught ones.

Kids in Africa and South America a playing a lot of "Street Soccer" in their spare time.

Could you provide some quotes from the players mentioned where by they praise the coach at youth level for teaching them what they do ?

Finally i ment over doing the isolated practice at training not doing any at all.
Fair enough, we do have a problem in this country about how much adults should be involved in junior development, beleive it or not that a similar argument is happening at Ajax where Cruyff has just completed a report demanding wholesale coaching and administrative changes and has slammed the current Ajax player development system. The Board has just resigned.

So if we are having that argument over there I'm glad it is happening here to.

Decentric - what you are doing is genius and desperately needed in Australian football

The divisive opinions shown on this issue in this forum are exactly what I was getting at when I posted the comment about the Queensland federation have two opposing philosophies.
The FFA and the state bodies need to show leadership on this issue.

The buck stops with Berger - it's his charter.

Why do you think he is sitting on his hands on this issue?

Too busy counting his money?

We continue to be a football nation of dead-set suckers.

Whilst I don't disagree with this you also need to remember there's little 'favela' culture in Australia. Our kids have many options when it comes to sport, entertainment and socialising with their peers. So, not so much of an "obstacle" but a fact of life that won't be changing any time soon.

That said, I would definitely agree that there's a real danger of kids being over-coached by some trumped up boring old inexperienced farts, who are merely parroting notes from a text book. I wouldn't let my grandaughters anywhere near such people.

Edited by judy free: 6/4/2011 08:22:37 AM

Edited by judy free: 6/4/2011 08:23:09 AM

Dear Decentric,

I am a grandmother of six teenage girls who are all keen on football.

You are quite obviously a highly experienced coach, with a wealth of knowledge, and have enjoyed many successful years at the top end of Australian football.

On this note I am wondering if you have published any books on football and, if so, where can I purchase them.

Thanks,
Judy.

Hey Decentric,

I have emailed the link to this thread to the FFA, I hope that they acknowledge what you are doing and provide you with support.

I think that this tendency to think that Ronaldo, Robinho etc and all sorts of sundry other Brazilians represent some sort of pinnacle of perfection that all young kids should aspire to- is wrong.

Kids with some sort of attacking flair will develop their own style over time. They don't want to be put into a situation where they are deemed to have failed because they can't do a "Matthews cut" or a "Garrincha cut". What the hell is a Garrincha cut anyway? Garrincha had one leg shorter than another, so his unique style of dribbling was unique to him- no-one else could do it, because most people have legs of equal length!:lol:

Show the kids what these tricks are, certainly. But don't get them to just blindly copy them, like parrots. They will eventually incorporate different elements of all this into their own style.

One thing that I noticed, kids loved to try these tricks and taking on players in the playground at school as fun - but as soon as they showed up to training, this mindset was gone. Why? Because they were discouraged from trying to take on players by coaches whose only priority, as Decentric mentioned, are getting results.

The Barcelona Academy exercises are no longer on the internet.

There were five exercises from Barcelona. I can remember them well and have used them successfully, but it may be hard to explain them on here. These sorts of techniques produce technically adept players.


One good Barca passing move is directional control.

In the following diagram;
& is a player,
+ is a a pole.
o is the ball

&+....................+&
o

The left of the diagram player % inside of the foot passes the ball with the inside of the right foot to the right side of the diagram to player &.


Each player ( & ) receives the ball (o) with their left foot, cuts it onto the right side of the pole (+) and passes it with the inside other right foot. The ball should never cross the midline. Put the pole (or cones) on a boundary line on the pitch if you can.

I tried to use cones with this model to show 442 members, but they wouldn't work on this forum.


To reverse the sequence get players to receive it with their right foot and cut it with same foot, then pass with the left foot.

A mate of mine, a FFA Senior Licence accredited coach with the soccer school, has suggested something similar for years. The difference is the Barca exercise gives it some structure.

For junior players start the sequence with poles only two metres apart, with players standing behind poles.

I was doing it with a three metre distance between us, with a senior premier league player on a pitch with long grass, to trial it. I can't recommend this highly enough. Players are learning to dribble with good body shape from their first touch. It is also the quintessential two touch receive and pass that considered integral in the modern game.

With the premier league player we extended the distance to four metres and passed the ball much harder, requiring a more difficult receive.
A harder passed ball was suggested by a forum member in response to the demonstration programme I devised

To start with do the exercise slowly, emphasising good technique, head over the ball and watching it when passing and receiving.

The aforementioned post demonstrates this with the UEFA inside and outside of the foot passing technique video.



Edited by Decentric: 3/4/2011 02:29:29 AM

Genius?

My sons were doing such skills training 40 odd years ago.

Wrapping old terms in new age jargon won't cut the mustard in my backyard.

Perhaps this is a relatively new concept for tasmanian football?

I would definitely agree that there's a real danger of kids being over-coached by some trumped up boring old inexperienced farts, who are merely parroting notes from a text book. I wouldn't let my grandaughters anywhere near such people.

Edited by judy free: 6/4/2011 08:22:37 AM

Edited by judy free: 6/4/2011 08:23:09 AM

Dutch to English translationThe youth of Saba Saturday, April 16 from a professional multi-sports in the open air, the only one on the island. On that day the Cruyff Court of the overseas church almost six years after the launch was officially inaugurated. A Cruyff Court is a modern version of the old playgrounds in the district.


Johan Cruyff Foundation

The Johan Cruyff Foundation was established in 1997 by Johan Cruyff's desire for children to get moving. Since its launch in 1997, the Johan Cruyff Foundation has grown into an organization that every day, youth and keep in motion.

The Foundation does this by realizing Cruyff Courts (public playing fields so that their children play back), through sports projects for children with disabilities by supporting and organizing unique sporting events for youth.
In 2005, the then Secretary of Health Clemence Ross at the Johan Cruyff Foundation, a grant for the realization of the Cruyff Courts on all Caribbean islands within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Overgrown field
He finally succeeded in 2006 and 2007 in Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, St. Maarten and St. Eustatius, but the mountainous Saba showed the subsidy is not high enough to finish the project. For years there was an overgrown field with fences around it.

In late 2009, the Dutch Institute for Sport and Exercise (NISB) of the Ministry of Health was mandated to spot the new Dutch churches overseas to support their sport. Saba proved very soon the biggest problem the lack of sports to be. The Saban youth has almost no possibilities to entertain outdoors.

Costly
The Executive Council of Saba is important to the youth sports physical and social activation. Therefore, the Cruyff Foundation NISB with everything to put the Cruyff Court still for the children of Saba to achieve.

Persistence pays off: with additional contributions from the Ministry of Education, the former Ministry of VROM / WWI, the Cruyff Foundation, the charitable Ansary Fund and the Executive Council of Saba was the precious realization of the Cruyff Court is resumed.


Johan Cruyff court photo: JCFMarine
A special role was played by the Dutch navy: the huge artificial roles and the necessary ground equipment in March by the HMS Rotterdam transported to Saba. Not only that: with special military transport and a lot mate arts is the necessary material on steep mountain roads of Sheba brought to the now leveled terrain.

Then the students were given high school Saba the day of their lives: young people were in a small vessel to the large naval vessel for a unique tour.

Opening
Now the Cruyff Court is completed, Saba celebrates feast. On April 16 many young people come to the village of The Bottom of the official opening by including the Lieutenant Governor Jonathan Johnson, assisted by baseball legend and ambassador of the Cruyff Foundation, Hamilton, Richardson and Clémence Ross.

This time she is not as involved as Secretary, as Director of NISB she has a lot of effort on the Cruyff Court Saba.

After the official launch, children can enjoy a football tournament and a softball / baseball clinic. It is intended that the Cruyff Court in the coming years will sparkle with these activities. The policy "Saba on the Move", which commissioned NISB of Health wrote, is an important stimulus.

At least until the end of 2011 remains NISB the local education and sports sector with knowledge, advice and materials.

Ah good old decentric, moving 'round from forum to forum, in search of someone (anyone) to take him half-seriously. What an existance.

:lol:

Never coached anywhere, other than one six game season with an U12's girls pickup team, loosely refered to as tassie reps (arf).

You just keep those little tackers busy in your kindergarten little lunch kickabouts mate. I'm sure the kiddies are hanging on to your every sage word.

And when one shows promise, don't forget to email Ham Berger and let him know how about the major improvements KNVB metho is bringing to Tasmania.

You are one of a kind.

Troll!

FACT.

There's a fair few soccer forums about the place who linked this thread - there's a couple of dozen people currently rolling in the aisles reading D's latest musings.

Kudos to old D for providing the never-ending stream of belly laughs.

Edited by judy free: 8/4/2011 01:50:35 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faSqc5va4Ls


This is the drill I tried to explain above. This Barca coach speaking on the video was sitting on the bench with head coach in a few of Barca's recent matches.

This drill is excellent. It is called Directional Control.


Alternate feet. Emphasise technique and accuracy. Don't worry about speed initially. This is KNVB tip.

For young kids start just 2-3 metres apart. As the players improve increase the distance.

I've done this a lot with a player now a semi-pro in a US college. That player has astonished the college coaches with excellent two footed technique. The player has a great first touch and passing ability with both feet.

EXCLUSIVE: He’s only 31 but the buzz around Arthur Papas is building and we reckon the VPL-based AIS-scholarship coach is a future star of Australian coaching.


In 2008, Papas furthered his coaching education at a KNVB-run coaching course in Canberra. There, the Dutch coaches alerted then FFA technical director Rob Baan of this unknown Aussie with a thirst for knowledge and great attitude.

Then aged just 30, Papas became the youngest ever head coach in the VPL when he joined Oakleigh Cannons in late 2010.

In between times the FFA, clearly noticing the potential, had him work on a Skills Acquisition program at the AIS and as assistant coach to the national U13 and U18s sides as well as a technical analyst.

Additionally, Papas is an AIS scholarship coach whilst also studying a Masters in Sports coaching.

“I completed my first coaching course at 16 and by 25 my career as a player was over. So I researched what the best coaches in Europe had in terms of formal education so I put myself back through University,” he told au.fourfourtwo.com.

“I began getting my licences and getting as much hands on work as possible and it’s just evolved from there. I guess it’s just an openness to learning and new methods that has been one of my traits."

Six knee operations scuppered any chances of real success on the pitch but the young coach was always fascinated by the coaching side.

“And having the opportunity to work under Jan [Versleijen] as my direct mentor," he said. "Anyone who has the chance to work under a coach like him and Gary Van Egmond, it comes down to having that attitude to want to learn.”

Papas preaches the philosophy of Versleijen which is for players to be pro-active - not reactive - on the park and for football specific training in all areas. And we’re seeing the fruits of that now with the Young Socceroos.

Players such as Mustafa Amini, Terry Antonis and Ben Kantarovski are products of a new, enlightened approach to coaching in this country.The results at last year's AFC U/19s further proof.

And Papas, like these youngsters, is also benefitting. Currently joint second on the VPL ladder, the Oakleigh gig has been a challenge for someone like Papas who works full-time in what is essentially a semi-pro league.

“Yes, but you have to take positives out of it," he argued. "It challenges you as a coach to be creative and also prioritise."

The FFA are actively seeking to encourage the next generation of local coaches with other names such as Paul Okon, Aurelio Vidmar and Gary Van Egmond all in the system and benefitting from national technical director Han Berger’s vision.

Like the Roar mentor Postecoglou, Papas has taken his first senior post at an early age. And like the A-League title winning coach of the year, he doesn’t mind blooding youngsters.

“Every week I have five players 21 and under in my starting line up and another two 18 year old on the bench," explained Papas.

“This is very rare and also my way of trying to help the game by exposing young players earlier to senior football," he said.

With the extraordinary success of Postecoglou at Brisbane Roar as well as Graham Arnold at Central Coast, the appeal of local managers has grown enormously over the last 12 months.

“There are definitely a lot of quality in coaches here but also being given opportunities and the right education and working with the right people and keeping an open mind.”

An as you’d expect, Papas is not the sort of gaffer to throw teacups and give the hairdryer treatment at half-time. “It’s important to remain cool, calm and collected to solve problems rather than based on emotions,” noted Papas. “And with players your relationship must be one of honesty and trust."

When you have the likes of Berger, Jan Versleijen and the KNVB’s Arie Schans all vouching for you, it’s clear we have a future star in our midst.

Little wonder his nickname at the AIS was “Jose” in reference to the Real manager who, like Papas, has a modest playing CV.

“The big picture is just to keep learning. I’m not in a hurry," he added.

"Take the Ange Postecoglou example. He was 31 when he started and that was over 15 years ago to get to where he is now.

“It’s important to keep educating yourself and evolving,” Papas said.

“You have to be patient. My journey will take longer because I don’t have that massive playing pedigree, but it’s not such a bad thing.

“It just means I have to work harder. And smarter.”