Football/Soccer Session (Difficult): Vision & Awareness Session

Screen 1

Objective: Visions & Awareness Session

- It's one thing to talk about checking shoulders but it's also about geting players to look away from the ball to see where they can best exploit spaces left open by the opposition.

- It's important that we talk about the body shape of the players - hips/ shoulders open to the goal all the time

- We want to build technical habits under performance pressure and creating sessions where the game controls the the environment because of the conditions placed on them.

2 Man Triangle

- Mark 5x5 or 6x6 yard box

- 2v1 in the middle w? 1 player resting off

- Have plenty of balls around the grid

- As this is high intensity work the players should only work for 15-30 seconds

- After each set, it should be followed by active rest period

Variations:

a. 2-touch juggling in the air - inside the box - within the group of 4 players

b. 1 -touch - increasing the demands on the players

c. 1v1 - player at one end passes to player at the other end and the player recieving attacks trying to beat the defender over the endline off the dribble

d. Juggle to the end - dancing feet and leaving it for the next player

e. Go back intothe 2 man triangle - 2v1

Coaching Points:

- Checking shoulders

- Encourage as much flair and creatvity

- Solve pressure

- Manupulate the defender/ball

- Resist the impulse to pass al the time

- Manage the defenders - they need to press the ball aggressively

Screen 3

Small Sided Game - 4v4 + 4

Objective: Focus on individual player's body shape and awareness

Set-up:

- 2 teams of 8 plus 2 GK's

- 4v4 inside with 4 support players for each team on the outside

- Players inisde can only play to thier support team on outside

- Outside support players cannot pass to outside players

- 3 minute games

Conditions:

- Inside players - unlimted/ outside players - 2-touch

- inside players 2-touch/outside players 1-touch

- As the game is being played inside the coach shouts "CHANGE" and players on the outsides have to quickly change places with the other team on the outside. This will force players to constantly be looking away from the ball not just over their shoulders. this increases the congnitive cognitive overload