The Coach Diary Football Blog

Month: July 2012

Dog dirt on our pitches is causing a mess..
I know is not a subject related to what I usually post, but I find myself getting increasingly annoyed by the amount of dog dirt on our pitches. I’m sick of having to move a session after setting it up, due to dog dirt. As far as i’m concerned Dog owners have no consideration for the kids that play sport on green fields and even more now that alot of pitches aren’t lined. But this is no excuse as most bring their dogs to the same locations every week.

Here are the top 5 things you should know:
1. The eggs from roundworms, Toxocara Canis, are deposited with the feaces and embryonate (becoming infectious) 2-3 weeks later. They can be viable for up to 10 years in the soil and are resistant to disinfectants and to the frost. Each toxocara canis female can lay 700 eggs per day and are only visible under a powerful microscope. If ingested by humans and untreated can cause infections to your organs most commonly the brain (nervous system), liver, lungs and your eyes causing tumours and detached retinas and can lead to blindness. This can easily be transferred from a football to kids hands and into there mouth or eyes.
2. Dog poo does not act as a fertilizer, when it breaks down it leaves toxins in the ground which are harmful to other animals, humans and the environment. In the past farmers have been blamed for poisoning the land and rivers but it has now been proved that leaving dog waste on farm land can lead to sheep being infected with Canine worms, which doesn’t have an adverse affect on the sheep but if humans then eat the infected meat can lead to cysts on the liver and lungs which have to be removed surgically.
3. Dog poo being left to wash into rivers and seas is the equivalent of pumping our raw sewage into the water.
4. It is estimated that 20-30% of stream pollution is caused by the toxins from dog waste being washed in to the water system causing a build up in algae which is harmful to fish and by infecting the water with E-Coli, leading to the closer of some beaches.
5. It has been estimated that for watersheds of up to 20 square miles draining to small coastal bays, 2 -3 days of faeces from a population of 100 dogs would contribute enough bacteria and nutrients to close a bay to swimming (US EPA, 1993)
In America and Canada scientist are investigating ways to get a useful end product from dog waste, be it fertilizer or energy, a much better option than landfill. As one learned journalist said “If you think stepping in it is bad, try drinking it!” Makes you think doesn’t it.

It’s never good to leave dog poo, use a bag, the complete dog fouling solution and spread the word to dog owners world wide.

Get informed about your dogs mess..

I think if dog owners were better informed they would think twice about leaving dog dirt in areas where kids play. Local councils and club should be doing more, I plan to put up my own signs and hand out notices at our pitches to inform dog owners.

This is an article about a toddler who feel on dog dirt and then wiped her eye with the mess. The young girl is better now, but she still has to have antibiotics even now because her eye still flares up! She could still be on them for the rest of her life and, if left untreated, could still lose her eye.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-11012044

From news.discovery.com: Mexican Internet portal Terra is tapping into the online pulse of the modern era and has come up with a truly contemporary way to inspire dog owners to get out their plastics bags.

The company has teamed up with ad agency DDB to create a pilot program in 10 parks in Mexico City and it definitely gets my seal of approval. After pet owners pick up their dog’s turds, they can place the bag in a special box that calculates its weight in exchange for a few minutes of free Wi-Fi. Welcome to 21st Century.

Of course, that didn’t stop park habitués from dropping bags of garbage in the box to claim their free Wi-Fi, but DDB said they didn’t mind. In their opinion, if people want to pick up trash — so be it — that just means a cleaner park.

A very innovative idea!

We urge you to PLEASE worm your dogs and pick up after them. Its totally unfair on kids and the coaches you volunteer there time to have to put up with this mess!

Research: dickybag.com, news.discovery.com
July 31, 2012
3 : 1
A good goalkeeper can mean the difference between success and failure for a team.

Since I started coaching I have witnessed very few goalkeepers that can play with their feet. We have a tendency to produce great keepers in Ireland but very few are actually technically good on the floor.

If games stats tell us that a keeper touches the ball 3 times with his feet versus 1 with his hands, then why do we focus so much on shot stopping?

Could it be, that managers are more concerned with winning then developing? Is this the reason why the big lad takes all the goal kicks? I believe this mentality is preventing the goalie from being the creator of most attacks. It is also putting your team at a disadvantage, having a player drop back to take the goal kicks.

Move those feet…

The success or failure of any goalkeeper revolves around their ability or inability to move their feet, get set or deal with a situation. It simply does not matter that you have the softest hands in the world if your feet do not get those “soft” hands to the ball. But, once you can get there and get set, these hands are the next critical step in having success. I’m not forgetting that there are a lot of other very important aspects of the game that the goalkeeper needs to possess (reading the game, communication, distribution, etc.), but having good feet and not just hands is what will make you stand our from the rest.

If you watch the very best goalkeepers, they always seem to be in the right position, make easy saves and dive very little. Well, it is not just a coincidence that this happens. They have great feet that are quick, agile and strong. Oh yeah, and they have great hands that typically catch everything within their grasp with little rebounds or dropped balls. This is the true mark of a quality goalkeeper. Most goalkeepers can only make 2-3 saves per game, yet they distribute the ball with their feet well over ten times per game.

One to One coaching

Its is now common for keepers to be instructed by a teams goalkeeping coach and some even pay for extra tuition. Yes, I see an improvement with their shot stopping but I rarely see any difference from one season to the next with their ball distribution (FEET).

It amazes me how many goalkeepers and the coaches want to spend most of their goalkeeper training diving after balls…why do this, if you don’t need to? Why not work on your feet, after all you use them more in a game then you would your hands and diving around that much could cause injury, especially when most kids train on hard astro pitches.

The goalkeeper is one of the most important players on the field – they are the last line of defense and the first line of attack. To play the position well, requires special skills and training.

Good footwork is the foundation of solid goalkeeping. If a keeper has quick feet, they can easily get themselves into position to make the easy catch, rather than having to dive at balls just at the edge of their reach all the time. Good goalkeepers make every save look easy, and the key to that is good footwork.

Work those feet..
1. Start with some speed and agility training
2. Don’t separatethe keeper from the rest of the training, involve them in all ball work.
3. When working the keeper, work the feet and then hands. Use ladders and cones for quick feet. For example, moving your feet quickly through a few cones to get set, deal with a shot and handle it clean. Keep everything below your waist quick and above the waist very RELAXED…the reason? Keepers need their feet to get places quickly and get set, but their upper body is what they catch the ball with and it needs to be soft and relaxed.
4. Get your keepers to do extra work outside of training and if you or they are paying for coaching, ask your coach to work the feet more.
5. Distributing the ball: work on receivingthe ball, control and distribution. This can be done with phases of play allowing the goalkeepers to have free play and the freedom to distribute without being tackled during practice.
6. Get your keeper to make up his/her own exercises.
7. Always be moving during the game, keep those feet busy!
You can find hundreds of videos on the net relating to this topic.

Often the difference between a save and a goal is just half a step. Use the feet to get the body behind the ball.

Research: Todd Hoffard – Goalkeeper
July 24, 2012
Not one Question was asked at the FAI AGM.

There was no fanfare. But neither was there furore.

As FAI chief executive John Delaney announced a 10% wage cut to bring his salary down to a still-significant €360,000 at Saturday’s FAI annual general meeting, there was only a muted ripple of applause around the conference room of the Mount Errigal Hotel in Letterkenny.

That, however, shouldn’t be confused with dissent or disgruntlement among the association’s members. Throughout the entire course of the AGM, there wasn’t a single question asked from the floor and barely a vote against any of the motions.

A handful of members said afterwards that there wasn’t the opportunity to ask anything but, in his press conference following the event, Delaney explained that they “invited questions in advance of the meeting”.

“Obviously, the members are very happy with the way the association is being run,’’ he said. “You asked are the members concerned. The answer to that, in the majority, is no.”

The AGM itself, however, hardly went to any extremes at all. It generally stayed around the same level: sedate.

That was in stark contrast to the noise and colour around Donegal in the previous week as the FAI staged its ‘Festival of Football’ there. The event, which began in 2007, remains a hugely clever move given how it builds goodwill around individual counties and also helps deepen connections in a wider football structure that can still be criticised for having too many gaps and no real shape.

Certainly, there was a very welcoming atmosphere around Donegal. And, when it came to ‘3’ marketing director Elaine Carey having her say at the AGM, she gave one reason for the contrasting absence of vigour at the event itself: a late night in Letterkenny and “a lot of sore heads”.

With the ‘Festival of Football’ now becoming so all-consuming in the week and the accounts released two weeks beforehand, though, it is possible that the AGM has simply become a mass box-ticking exercise rather than a genuine meeting for discussion.

Delaney tried to tick the biggest box of all on Saturday: his salary. Whatever about certain obsessions with the minutiae of FAI finances, it remains the only such issue that truly commands immediate public attention. It dominated discussion after the AGM. The general public agitation, however, seems to be at odds with the acceptance of it from the actual members of the association. Delaney’s salary becomes an even more emotive public issue when it is put into the context of comparable positions in other associations, the financial problems in the League of Ireland and ongoing redundancies at the FAI. And, after the AGM, such basic disparities were put to Delaney.

“I think the president (Paddy McCaul) addressed that today. I think the FAI’s revenues (when Delaney took over in 2005) were about €7m. Today, they are about €45m. I think it’s easy for people to say ‘there’s the prize money’ (for the League of Ireland).

“The FAI does a lot more work for the League of Ireland at a significant cost, in terms of how it resources it in all aspects. I don’t know what my counterparts (in other associations) earn. I know what I was offered. I know what I signed.”

Delaney’s key point in the press conference was that he voluntarily took the pay cut in order “to show leadership”.

Ultimately, though, much of this should be colour to the main question: is the FAI doing its job correctly? Is it safeguarding and improving the sport in this country? When a series of financial issues, from debt to international attendances, were put to Delaney, he kept coming back to one main point.

“I think the message today is that we’re managing our debt. The next 18-24 months are going to be difficult but, once we get through that period, we’ll be in decent shape. You heard the treasurer, the finance director, you heard me say… we owe our bankers €50m. That will be cleared by 2020.”

If Delaney argues strongly when it comes to finances, though, one striking aspect of the AGM was the complete absence of debate or discussion about the point of all this money.

Glossing over the real issues…

It was remarkable, for example, how Ireland’s Euro 2012 campaign was glossed over. A video was shown but clips of actual events on the pitch were sparse. At the time of those three defeats, one figure involved in Irish sport at elite levels told the Irish Examiner how, if they happened in most other bodies in most other countries, “the consultants would be called in to do a root-and-branch review of why that happened”.

That doesn’t come down to the micro details of Giovanni Trapattoni’s management — which should, of course, be separate to the AGM. But it does involve the macro details of whether Ireland’s football structure is capable of producing players of sufficient technical quality. Other than a few points in speeches about the grassroots, this wasn’t raised despite the fact €377,000 was cut from such funding in 2011. If such issues are not asked about at the AGM, when are they asked about? “You’ll never have enough money,” Delaney said when quizzed afterwards. “I think the message today from the grassroots was that we still need the volunteers to support the association in terms of implementing the strategies that we’ve all agreed together: be it the underage review, the amateur review, the high-performance review.”

At the tip of all that, of course, is the beleaguered League of Ireland. Delaney insisted that the competition is going in the right direction even if the road is bumpy, that he is confident Dundalk can be saved and that some of the actions and comments from Monaghan United were simply surprising.

“I opened this conference by asking whether the clubs are, in general, in a better place than before we took over? Absolutely, yes. Is the league where I’d want it to be today? No… but we’ve all got to work together to try and bring it to a better place.”

By Miguel Delaney Monday, July 23, 2012

This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Monday, July 23, 2012

Another year gone and not only have the yes men of the leagues done nothing to improve grassroots development, they don’t even ask the questions. How can a team perform so dismally at a major championship and not even a single question be asked????? C’mon!

How can the most popular sport in the country, grassroots structure not be a topic for discussion at the annual Football Association of Ireland AGM? This should have been the number one topic. Not one questions from the floor, no comments or topics to discuss. So Irish soccer has no issues, apparently. Clearly the people at the top can’t see the problems at the bottom, just proves how far removed they are from the game……..they really are!

What now for Irish soccer?

July 23, 2012
Coerver @ the NDSL Academy, earlier tonight…
Considering the winter conditions, there was great turn out for the Coaches Club at the NDSL Academy tonight. From start to finish this was an extremely well organised session; fun, fast and thoroughly enjoyable.

Austin and Ross from Coerver Coaching, put on one of the best Technical skills sessions I have ever witnessed. The 16 NSDL Academy players were put through a fast and exciting session working on speed, agility, coordination, stamina and strength. The drills required the players to use both feet at all times, change of direction, step overs and feints in 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 4v4 and 8v8 practices.

5 changes of direction: 1.Inside cut, 2. outside cut, 3. U Turn, 4. Hook, 5. Turn Step on

What I liked so much about tonight was that every player was on the ball from start to finish and they even experimented with size 1 balls up to size 5. They also worked on decision making for both defender and attackers, combined with running with the ball and finishing under pressure.

The players had to be sharp, working on Speed, Game intelligence and finishing. The session was completed with a shadow practice session on a full pitch, playing in a 4-3-3 formation. Playing out from the back, into midfield and up to the front man with variations using the wide men and over-lapping fullbacks. At all times the players were encouraged to be sharp, quick on the ball, moving it at speed and keeping the shape of the team intact.

This was my second ever live Coerver session and already I can’t wait for the the next one.

Next Month

Coerver are back in Dublin for the Diploma Course, which I will de-fin-itely be attending.

Each Attending Coach Will Receive:
- 2-days of expert tuition from Coerver® Coaching co-founder Charlie Cooke & Coerver Ireland Director Austin Speight.
- Full course resource material & New Coerver® Coaching 5-disc “Session Planner“ DVD (Worth € 69.99)
- Coerver® Coaching Youth Diploma Certificate of Attendance
Dates: August 25th, 26th 2012

Venue: NDSL, Oscar Traynor Centre, Coolock,Dublin.

Times: 9.30 registration, 10am start, 16.00 finish.

Price: €229

To book call 086 796. 9974 or email austin.speight@coerver.ie

PS. A huge shout out to Mitch Whitty on the continued success of the coaches club. Well Done Mitch!
July 11, 2012
Make Your Move – August 25th, 26th Dublin 2012
Coerver is back and I have just signed up to do the course. After 2 unsuccessful attempts to do it, nothing is gonna get in my way this time around. Just in case you have been living in a hole, this is what its all about….

The Youth Diploma and Coaches Overview

The purpose of the Coerver® Coaching Youth Diploma is to give attendees, whether you are a professional academy coach, junior coach, teacher or parent a greater understanding of how to plan & deliver more effective coaching sessions.

This will be made possible by learning to use the New Coerver® Coaching Session Planner which will provide a quick & easy solution for all attendees who would like to construct weekly, monthly or even season long programmes using proven, high quality drills & games from Coerver® Coaching, “The Worlds’ Number 1 Soccer Skills Teaching Method”.
Drills and games developed over our 27 year history, that you can use to build sessions for many seasons using the NEW Coerver® Coaching Session Planner.

The secrets Coerver® Coaching have used over the last 27 years to establish themselves as “The World’s Number One Soccer Skills Teaching Method”.

Essential tips on how to improve your coaching & make your sessions more effective.
The Coerver ® Coaching Youth Diploma is a 2-day course that has been broken down into 4 modules that will be presented through lecture presentations & practical demonstrations:

Module 1 – The Coerver® Approach To Coaching

Module 2 – The Coerver® Curriculum

Module 3 – Coerver® Session Planning for your Season

Module 4 – Coerver® Tips To Be A Better Coach

Course Intructors

The Youth Diploma launch will see Coerver® Coaching Co-Founder Charlie Cooke providing expert tuition to all attendees.

Charlie played for Aberdeen and Dundee in the Scottish First Division before joining Chelsea in the English First Division in 1966 where he played for the next 11 years.

He made 380 league and Cup appearances for the Blues and played in four Cup Finals, winning the English F.A. Cup in 1970 against Leeds and the European Cup Winners Cup in 1971 against Real Madrid. He also played 16 times for the Scottish National Team and a World Select Team in 1979. He shares the Chelsea club record of three Player of The Year awards with Gianfranco Zola and in 2005 Chelsea’s Centenary celebration year he was selected for the Chelsea All Time XI. Pic: Charlie Cooke

Austin Speight

Austin holds the highest coaching award the Uefa Pro Licence with English FA. His coaching career at professional level in UK has included:
- West Ham United (92-95),
- Stockport County (95-98),
- Manchester City (98-99),
- Blackburn Rovers (99-07).
He has worked with many top class players including David Beckham, Joe Cole, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerard & Phil Jones to name a few.

He joined Coerver Coaching in 2007 and is director of UK/Ireland. He is also currently a coaching consultant for Uefa. http://www.uefa.com/trainingground/

‘Pyramid’ Click to Enlarge

What you get – Course Package

Each Attending Coach Will Receive:
- 2-days of expert tuition from Coerver® Coaching co-founder Charlie Cooke & Coerver Ireland Director Austin Speight.
- Full course resource material & New Coerver® Coaching 5-disc “Session Planner“ DVD (Worth € 69.99)
- Coerver® Coaching Youth Diploma Certificate of Attendance
Where and When

Dates: August 25th, 26th 2012

Venue: NDSL, Oscar Traynor Centre, Coolock,Dublin.

Times: 9.30 registration, 10am start, 16.00 finish.

Price: €229

To book call 086 796. 9974 or email austin.speight@coerver.ie
July 4, 2012
Poaching or just moving clubs
Poaching is the illegal taking or tapping up of players contrary to league laws.

Which leads me to discuss poaching as its known in Irish soccer circles. I always taught poaching was an easy tap in or being in the right place at the right time. i.e. a Lineker or a Keane etc.

From July 1st its open season again and below will you find some tips, if you’re thinking of moving your child to a new set-up.

Under age Poaching

Poaching at underage age football in Ireland has be going one since I played football. The carry on is laughable, from managers ringing other managers to warn them off their players, managers ringing parents promising them trials at the best clubs in the world or aggressive managers just ringing none stop and offering parents an ultimatum. And then you have the weekly expenses, ipads, washing machines and boots etc.

In fact the entire pre-season is somewhat similar to a cattle market, players are talked about, managers are looking for the best stock with the most potential.The only differnece is usually livestock are sent to market because they have reached their slaughter weight and are at the end of their productive life, either for milk production or breeding and are to be sold for further fattening, breeding, milking etc. In our case its the opposite, the player is at the start of his productive life, still learning his trade and hopefully developing into something special, with hope that he/she maybe one day gone on to play in the League of Ireland or for Ireland.

The Poacher

The poacher has only a few weeks to do his trade and try and convince the player of a better opportunity, he must also convince the parent/guardian of the child that moving clubs will benefit the boy/girl in the long run. This decision has to be the right one or else it can be catastrophic for the player.

Of course a lot of parents think they’ve got the next Robbie Keane, and the talent scouts for the big junior clubs are happy to go along with that. They go as far to promise the earth, if little Robbie will go with them. They tell them the fees will be covered and even promise to buy the mother a new washing machine. Some clubs are brilliant at it and some not so good, but all with one intention to get the best players no matter what age, playing and winning league and cup titles for their club.

Some clubs have the credentials, they have the pulling power, the facilities, the coaching structures and a good reputation of success, others are great at convincing naive parents about the future possibilities for their son or daughter.

The Big Switch

The decision you make for your child or in fact the child makes for himself, must have the child best interest at heart. Your child may be one of the best player at his current team and enjoys having that responsibility – moving to a another team, he may not be the number one player or have as much responsibility as before. He/she may find it hard not to be the center of attention.

See some things to consider when moving clubs:
- Most elite teams have 2-3 players who stand out more then the rest, you child may have been one of these players in his previous club and now finds himself down the pecking order. This sometimes can be hard to deal with.
- He/she may have to work his way into the starting line up, again this may not have been the case previously. This could have an effect on his/her confidence.
- A whole set of new players and coaches to get to know and sometimes at the younger ages this can be difficult to adapt too.
- The coaching will most likely be different and may not be as enjoyable as before or may be even more enjoyable.
- Are the coaches experienced or just good poachers, If you really want to know whether you’ve made the right choice for your kid, you need to attend training. That is where you will see the coach in action. You’ll see how they are being taught and how the players are being treated. You won’t be dependent on your kid to relay accurate information.
- Don’t sign straight way, make sure your child is happy before you sign the dotted line.
- Ask about the ratio of kids to coaches. Eight to ten kids per coach would be ideal. You definitely wouldn’t want it to be higher than 14 kids per coach.
- Most top clubs now a days have good facilities and structures and require that coaches be trained and garda vetted but no harm in asking and checking to see where they will be training etc
- Are the training session planned, are they organised, fun, age and skill level appropriate.
- If you aren’t satisfied, take a look at the with neighboring teams. It may be worth a little extra drive time to get your kids in a better set-up.
- Speak to other parents and ask them about the club and the coaches. You are putting your child in the hands of these people, you have a right to know.
- Be as honest as possible with your current club, good coaches want to see their players progress even if it means moving to a better level of football. A coach/club should always leave the door open for any player who wants to see if they can move up a level or try a new club. If players feels they are always welcome back, then it makes things easier for everyone concerned.
- You must remember to be respectful to your current club and communicating will always make things better. People like to speculate, so best to get in there early and let the manager know. After all, he has been giving up his own time to help you.
- Make sure he/she is really wanted and its not just a ploy to get his/her best friend to the club and using you as a screen.
- They must want to move and not be forced or pressurised in any way. Change is good but it must be his/her decision.
- Check to see what the managers plans are, is he a win at all costs type manager or does he develop the kids properly and try to play football, allowing them to take risks and be expressive. Make sure he is not just picking the bigger stronger guys over the smaller more technical ones. Proper coaching and encouraging kids to get on the ball, always win out in the long run.
- If its the case that they have been asked to move from the B team to the A Team again consider all of the above.
- Ask you child how he/she feels about the situation and then ask the question again after a few weeks with his new club.
“Sometimes questions are more important than answers.”

Remember if you child is not having fun or playing with a smile then they won’t be performing at their best and this can lead to him/her not getting on the team. The most important thing for any child playing sport is that they are enjoying themselves and playing regularly. They are not always going to play well, kids have off days too; once they are having FUN, learning and smiling, that’s all that counts.

Being a sports parents is not easy and driving your child or children to and from training needs to be considered. The worst thing you can do is start missing work because of your childs sport. It has to be the perfect fit, for you and your child……..Remember to consider your life, as well as you child’s.

“Example isn’t another way to teach, it is the only way to teach.”

Good luck for the season ahead and remember soccer should be about playing and not winning.

-End

I always like to hear your opinions and views. If you feel you have something to say, please comment below or email me info@thecoachdiary.com If, you don’t have anything to add then please forward this on to a friend. As always, thanks for reading.

I’m also on twitter @Coachdiary
July 2, 2012