If you believe that saving penalties is a lottery then stop reading and move on! However, if you believe that some goalkeepers are better at saving penalties than others then read on and find out how the soccer scientists may be able to help…

Rule 1: Know the odds

The Scientists

McGarry and Franks (2000) found that between 15-25% of penalties taken do not result in goals.

The Goalkeeper

Set yourself a target of saving 1 in 4 penalties in training, and over the course of a season

Rule 2: Train your reactions

The Scientists

The ball takes a little under 600ms to reach the goal line from the instant it is kicked (Morya et al, 2003)

The Goalkeeper

Make sure that reaction training is an important part of your training routine

Rule 3: Keep on moving

The Scientists

Penalty takers are more likely to strike the ball closer to the GK if the keeper is moving (Wood and Wilson, 2010)

The Goalkeeper

Be ‘big’ in goal, move your arms to distract the penalty taker and move slightly along the goal-line.

Rule 4: Anticipate don’t guess

The Scientists

Savelsbergh et al (2002) found that expert goalkeepers try to pick up important information before initating a movement at the last possible moment before ball contact is made (approx 300ms before the kick)

The Goalkeeper

Don’t just guess. Leave your diving movement as long as possible – but not too long!

Rule 5: Look at the non-kicking foot

The Scientists

Successful penalty saving goalkeepers spent longer looking at the kicker’s non-kicking foot than non-successful goalkeepers (Savelsbergh et al, 2005). Franks and Hanvey (1997) claimed that 80% of the time the non-kicking foot is likely to point towards the ball’s likely direction.

The Goalkeeper

Try to focus on the player’s non-kicking foot and initiate your dive when you feel the foot  cannot be changed.

Rule 6: See red!

The Scientists

Greenlees and Eynon (2010) discovered that penalty takers were less succesful if taking a penalty against a goalkeeper wearing a red goalkeeper’s top.

The Goalkeeper

Have a word with the kit man!

Well there you have it, simple! Although, just in case the scientists haven’t got it right it’s probably worth continuing to practice your technique…

“When you face a penalty kick you have a lot of information about the penalty taker but you must count on your intuition as well and look at body language, because you always know what the preference of the penalty taker is, but you don’t know if he is going to use it. The special secret is to make a good decision. You need to wait until the last moment and not make it easier for the striker.”  Petr Cech

“…you need a bit of luck and masses of self-belief.” Dave Beasant

“Studying the penalty-taker’s approach is key. I don’t see many players sidefoot the ball when they run up to it quite quickly. If a right-footed player’s run-up is quick you can tell he is usually going to my right and, if it’s a left-footer, to my left.” Keith Branagan

Want to read more?

• McGarry, T.,& Franks, I.M. (2000) On winning the penalty shoot-out in soccer. Journal of Sports Sciences. 18(6):401–409.
• Savelsbergh, G., Williams, M., Van Der Kamp, J., and Ward, P. (2002) Visual search, anticipation and experise in soccer goalkeepers. Journal of Sports Sciences. 20: 279-287
• Savelsbergh, G., Van Der Kamp, J., Williams, M., and Ward, P. (2005) Anticipation and visual search behaviour in expert soccer goalkeepers. Ergonomics. 48 (11-14): 1686-1697
• Wood, G., & Wilson, M. (2010) A moving goalkeeper distracts penalty takers and impairs shooting accuracy. Journal of Sport Sciences. 28(9): 937-947

Game 1: DEFENDERS OUT  – ATTACKERS IN

How to play it

• Set up a pitch (e.g. a circle, hexagon) for a 4 v 3 game with multiple goals (here 3 are shown) in the middle of the playing area
• 3 attackers (yellow) play against 3 defenders (blue) in the playing area
• 3 additional players from both teams wait outside the area
• If the attackers (yellow) score then the game stops and the waiting players replace the players and restart the game
• If the defenders (blue) win possession of the ball they try to play the ball out to their waiting players who then become the attacking players and the 3 yellows that were attacking change to defenders against the new players entering the pitch
• Hence the game is continuous until a goal is scored.

Game 2: THE SWEEPER GAME

How to play it

• Play a small sided game of 7 v 7
• Each player pairs up with a player from the opposite team and they will man mark each  other through the game
• However each team also has a ‘sweeper’ who doesn’t have to man mark anyone – but they are restricted to their own half and are limited to three touches

Game 3: SQUARE, SIDEWAYS AND DIAGONAL

How to play it

• In this game one team (yellow) plays without any conditions whilst the other team (blue) plays with the following restriction;

- They cannot repeat a pass – i.e. a square pass (forwards or backwards) cannot follow a square pass, a sideways pass cannot follow a sideways pass, a diagonal pass cannot follow a diagonal pass

If you like this issue please let your soccer contacts know, but make sure if they win the bag of balls for signing up on our HOME PAGE that you claim half of them! If you find something you like then let us know and if you find something missing or something you feel could be improved let us know. We’d love to hear from you. Soccer IQ is not content with just being FREE it also strives to be the BEST soccer resource.

“There are more spaces in football than people think…you can provoke the opponent with the ball, provoke him to move forward or sideways and open up a space.” (Andre Villas-Boas)

It’s half time and we’re getting thrashed. What do I say to the players?

By Simon Hartley

www.be-world-class.com

I few years ago I worked in the Premier League. During the course of the seasons, I sat in on many half time team talks. Often, the manager would sit the players down at half time and explain to them where they were going wrong. He’d then send them out for the second half and was always amazed that they didn’t simply go out and put things right. I used to see the constant frustration in the manager. The problem was, the manager had made a common mistake. He assumed that pointing out the errors would automatically lead to the solution. The fact is, as human beings, we often need more than that. Understanding where we went wrong is fine, but is not enough. We also need to know how we should be performing and we need to be able to practice it! Practicing is absolutely crucial if we’re going to change our performance.

Often the manager would ask the team to change their tactics or their formation on the field, to counter what the opposition was doing. The problem was, our players hadn’t practiced doing that. They’d never played in the formation before or practiced the new tactics. It was not simply a case of switching to something they knew and were confident in. Therefore they tried it for a while, found that it didn’t work very well, and they reverted back to what they did know. As the manager moaned at them for making the same mistakes time after time, the players’ confidence started to drain away. The players didn’t know what to do or how to do it.

I’m sure you will have seen it, been on the receiving end of it, or maybe even fallen that trap yourself at some point. So, what’s the alternative? How do we turn around performances during a 15 minute half time interval?

Let’s start with some basic principles.

Firstly, the players will only retain a few key pieces of information. Over 90% of most team talks are forgotten by the time the players walk back down the tunnel. So, make sure you focus on a couple of key elements.

Secondly, players normally perform well when they have three things:

• Focus
• Confidence
• Motivation

Fortunately, these three feed off of each other. Very simply, when we have a simple, clear focus we tend to execute our tasks well. When we execute our task well, we become confident and enjoy what we’re doing. As we become confident and enjoy what we’re doing, we are motivated to do it again.

If we want to start this positive spiral of increasing focus, confidence and motivation, we normally need to start at the beginning; focus. Make sure the players know their job and understand what they need to do, in order to do that job really well. There will be some simple processes that they can focus on. Once they know these (and they are focused on them) we can start to evaluate players by looking at how well they execute those processes. Coaches and managers often make the mistake of judging the players according to the results, rather than evaluating how well they are delivering the processes. Former England Rugby coach, Clive Woodward, was often heard commenting on areas of the game that his team performed well in and those areas that they needed to improve. If they won 70-0, he’d still highlight the areas that were working well and those they needed to work on. If they lost 70-0, he would do exactly the same. This kept his team focused on ensuring they delivered the processes. Woodward knew that when the processes were delivered well, the results would follow!

Although there are no magic wands, making positive changes in how players think and feel can have a significant impact on performance. There are very few things in sport that can change in a very short period of time. We don’t suddenly lose or gain skill, or suddenly become more or less athletic. The things that tend to change more quickly are tactics and mind-set. If we can take control of mind-set, we’re in a far stronger position.

Who should get the credit when a goal is scored? Obviously the striker who applied the finishing touch gains the plaudits for their vision, movement and technique. The player whose insightful pass cut open the defence will have their assist rightly recognised. The coach who spent time on the training pitch honing the skills of their players will feel a sense of satisfaction. Anyone else? Well perhaps the Match Analyst who provided the analysis of the opponent’s weaknesses can feel that they too played a hand in the goal.

Jamie Roberts, Match Analyst at Premier League’s Wigan FC explains his role at the club and provides an insight in to what it takes to help the team gain success on the pitch.

Name:  Jamie Roberts

Position:  Match Analyst at Wigan Athletic FC

Job Description:  It is the Match Analyst’s job to provide the manager and coaching team with both statistical and video analysis of the opposition pre match, and their own team during the match and following it.

A Typical Week in the Life of a Match Analyst:  In the early part of the week I will focus initially on post match analysis from the previous weekend’s game.  Following that, I’ll complete my pre match pack for that weekend’s game which provides the manager and coaching staff with video and statistical analysis of the opposition.

Towards the back end of the week I will begin preparing for the following week’s game and also use this time for any ad-hoc work such as motivational dvds for players or further analysis requests on the work I’ve already done.

On matchday I like to be at the ground at least 2 hours before kick-off.  Once the team arrive I will meet with the coaching staff to check that they have all information that they need, and following that get set up on the gantry with our club cameraman to record the first half for half time analysis of key events with the coaching staff.  Immediately following the game I have a quick debrief with the manager to give him certain statistics from the game.

Advice to young people interesting in becoming a Match Analyst

Qualifications:  There is no industry standard qualification for this job.  Any sports based qualification will obviously help.

Experience:  Experience at a club is difficult to come by, and is generally gained on a voluntary basis.  Computer software skills are massively important and easier to gain.

Personal qualities:  You have to be willing to live and breathe the job.  It can quite literally take over your life at times and work you to the point of exhaustion.  However, I can’t think of many jobs that are as rewarding.

For more information and advice on the range of possible jobs in sport visit www.careers-in-sport.co.uk

In this feature Josh Holt examines the academic theory and research relating to Soccer and explains its relevance to coaches and players operating at all levels of the game. In this issue Josh outlines what is meant by Relative Age Effects, potential causes and implications for youth soccer.

Tackling the Relative Age Effects – Part 1.

A great satisfaction of teaching and coaching youth soccer is helping young people progress into competent and enthusiastic players. You might manage a club side for local kids or be responsible for developing talented and future international players. Whatever the situation, all youngsters deserve a fair chance to play the game and progress to their full potential. However, a hidden problem exists at every level of youth soccer that hinders the enjoyment and improvement of young players. To ensure children receive equal opportunities for coaching and playing, teachers and coaches need to tackle the Relative Age Effects.

A definition: The Relative Age Effect or Effects (RAE) describes the biased situation that favours older children in each age group due to their superior physical, emotional and psychological development relative to their younger peers.

Research examining the RAE phenomenon has demonstrated an ‘un-level’ playing field for younger members of a cohort at all standards of the game, from local club and school sport to academy soccer.

RAE in talent development

Children born early in the selection year (September to November) who benefit from up to a year more growth, development and practice than their youngest peers (born in June to August) are more likely to be identified as talented and recruited by pro-clubs. In other words, a child’s date of birth is a greater indicator of talent or a perceived lack of talent than his or her ability to master and apply the necessary skills of the game.

During a recent season at one highly respected English professional soccer club academy there were 5 ½ times more players (aged u9 to u16) born in the first compared to the last quartile of the selection year. 78% of players were born in the first half of the year and only 8% of boys had birthdays in June, July or August. Clearly, the processes of initial and on-going player assessment based largely on the subjective opinion of game performance by coaches and scouts have deficiencies that the professional game must address. It is likely that a feature of the English academy system that occurs when the physical disparity between players is greatest has also increased the problem. Without an u15 games programme, academy boys at the end of their u14 season are expected to cope with the physical demands of u16 soccer. If this situation existed when the player voted the best in the English Premier League was 13 years old it is probable that he would have been released by his academy and Harry Redknapp, Spurs fans and Wales might not be enjoying their £50 million rated, prized asset.

Case studies

Gareth and Alex were fortunate to have developed physically before their 16^th birthday, but these high profile cases suggest many players did not survive the disadvantage of a late birth date. Due to their relative young age numerous other worthy players also fail to be identified and recruited into elite coaching programmes resulting in a waste of potential talent.

RAEs in grass roots and school soccer

Competition has a causal role in RAEs, which are not restricted to player selection in talent development programmes. Participation and drop-out from club soccer also suffer from RAEs. A recent study has shown that across the u9 to u18 ages, players who are born late in the age group are more likely to stop playing competitive youth soccer. This is more concerning when the youngest children in the competitive year are also less likely to start playing in the first place.

An unfair bias also exists in terms of attainment in school physical education by the relatively older students in 11 to 16 age year groups. Similarly, an over-representation by older children in competitive school teams is common. Assessment and team selection by teachers, as with youth coaches, might unknowingly be based on faulty notions that advanced physical characteristics are associated with performance.

British soccer is not alone in suffering the RAEs. France, Germany and Spain for example share the same issues as do numerous other youth sports such as ice hockey in Canada and ski racing in Austria.

NEXT ISSUE: Part II in the next edition of SoccerIQ will describe some practical steps for every youth coach, teacher or manager to examine and improve their own practice to help tackle and attack the Relative Age Effects. A three stage ‘R-A-E’ process is suggested that guides coaching action to (1) REFLECT and take RESPONSIBILITY for the issues, (2) ANALYSE personal coaching and contexts to know the extent of your problem and (3) ERASE the effects with a proactive, personal response.

Sources and further information:

Cobley, S., Abraham, C., & Baker, J. (2008). Relative age effects on physical education attainment and school sport representation. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 13(2), 267-276.

Delorme, N., Bioché, J., & Raspaud, M. (2010). Relative age and drop out in French male soccer. Journal of Sports Sciences, 28, 717-722.

Holt, J. E. (2009). The application of behaviour analysis to the coaching of academy football players: Towards a technology of elite player development. Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Southampton, UK.

Jiménez, I. P., & Pain, M. T. G. (2008). Relative age effect in Spanish association football: Its extent and implications for wasted potential. Journal of Sports Sciences, 26(10), 995-1003.

Wallace, S. (2008). Europe’s most wanted: The remarkable rise and rise of Gareth Bale. The Independent, retrievable from http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/europes-most-wanted-the-remarkable-rise-and-rise-of-gareth-bale-2120367.html

Wattie, N., Cobley, S., & Baker, J (2008). Towards a unified understanding of relative age effects. Journal of Sports Sciences, 26(13), 1403-1409.

In the last issue the experts at LeisureLeagues showed the winning moves for success in the 5-a-side game; this issue Alex Zielski switches the focus to 6-a-side soccer. Read on to find out the key tactics.

Johan Cryuff was undoubtedly one of the greatest players to grace the football field, his idealism on how the game should be played proved refreshing, and ultimately groundbreaking.

The Dutchman played a pivotal part in the ‘total football’ revolution for both club and country during the 1970’s, the central figure as Ajax and The Netherlands opened up their opponents for fun with ruthless attacking prowess.

Although arguably not as fruitful in management as he was with a ball at his feet, Cryuff still brought some landmark ideas to the table. For example he swore by a more common theme witnessed in training sessions across the globe, and that is playing on a smaller, compact pitch, often adapting to 5 vs 5, or 6 against 6, whilst also having his own modified version where players switched sides.

THE CRUYFF GAME

“In a small area, the movement is necessarily fast and the passes must be pinpoint. Two of the six play wide and change team whenever the other four gain possession. It is always six with the ball against four trying to retrieve it. This possession principle should operate in any area of the normal field of play, so our training is intense and is the basis of our game. You can close down space more effectively by accurate passing when you have the ball, forcing opponents into certain positions, than you can by man-marking without the ball.”  (Johan Cruyff)

6 TACTICS FOR 6 A-SIDE SOCCER

1)    How to defend as a team

Most sides will set up with two players at the back, two, possibly three in the middle, then either a lone man, or two up top. This provides an even balance to the side, a core setup which should result in flowing football. With the ball   Zonal marking is a prominent feature in the modern day 11 a side game but in 6 a side football, this can result in confusion. Man marking is key. What can be simpler than agreeing at kick off, “he is your man, stick with him”? The two dedicated defenders will know their men, as will the midfielders.

What is pivotal however, is the importance that the forwards are also aware of their responsibilities, and that, unlike in the traditional game, they will be required to lend a helping hand in defending. Players at the back can quite easily burst forward, and if the top man isn’t sharp enough to spot the opposition’s movement it can leave the backline outnumbered and exposed. The key message to defending in 5 or 6 a side football, is that it is everyone’s responsibility – defend as one.

2)    Playing off a Target Man

One unique feature of 6 a side football is its pace. Something which can be very effective, is to have a target man (especially for those teams consisting of the mature, for want of a better word, players). Facing a bunch of youngsters with bags of energy can be a daunting prospect so it is key to utilise any strengths available, and playing with a target man could well be one.

Having a Jon Parkin in your setup, someone who the ball sticks to, even if it is just to take the sting out of a game and slow it down, can be greatly advantageous. There is nothing wrong playing with a striker who spends large periods with his back to goal – feed him, let him knock the ball back and then spin off to create more space which the midfielders can subsequently exploit.

3)    Breaking quickly

Much like wing backs on an 11 a side pitch, the defenders play an important part in attacking. Perhaps surprisingly, an alert goalkeeper can create chances. Pulling off a fine save is obviously what is required, but one who can then bounce up and release the ball straight away is a massive asset. At Leisure Leagues, the shot-stopper is only permitted to roll the ball out so it is useful if the defenders can also react quickly and make themselves available promptly.

Having pacey players helps, but isn’t a must. Someone in the middle who can thread the ball and pick a pass to the forwards, similarly to Cesc Fabregas or Luke Modric can really expose teams.

4)    Quick Free Kicks

Every free kick in 6 a side football is direct so to get the ball moving again quickly can catch teams off guard. On the other hand, on conceding a free kick, ensure that someone stands on the ball in an attempt to quash any impending threats.

5)    Goals Win Games

If you don’t like having a pop at goal, then 6 a side football may not be for you. As discussed, the small sided game requires defenders to attack and forwards to work back so it is a great advantage if the deeper players aren’t afraid to hit one from distance. Depending on the size of the pitch it can be more than plausible to have a dig from the half way line, test the keeper and see if he is up to scratch.

6)    Training/Preparation

Not all 6 a side teams will train but it is of course, useful to do so. Getting use to playing alongside teammates can provide familiarity with each others styles and help to determine tactics and positioning. One thing which would be advisable is to get accustomed to the goals; practice shooting at a smaller target area. Other exercises such as playing ‘two-touch’ will only enhance a team’s ability to knock the ball around.

These are merely suggestions on how to tackle 6 a side football and every team will have their own ideals and methods on how to succeed. But one thing with which top class managers agree on is its ability to improve their players’ games in numerous ways. So what are you waiting for?

Once again Soccer IQ has ideas, drills and games for you to try out on the training ground but also content to ‘get you thinking’. Read the thoughts of Dick Bate, the FA’s Elite Coaching Director on the future of Youth Coaching, consider Sports Psychologist Simon Hartley’s advice on conducting meaningful half time talks, and open your eyes to A-Licence Coach Josh Holt’s perspective on Relative Age Effects. Of course we hope there are some lighthearted features as well, as after all, coaching, playing and watching the game should be fun!

We hope we have managed to step up our own game for this second issue. If you like Soccer IQ then please PASS IT ON! Remember we provide our content ABSOLUTELY FREE!

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