The Coach Diary Football Blog

Author: The Coach Diary

  • Interesting Article

    Interesting Article

    Modern life is ‘producing a generation of weaklings’, claims research as physical strength declines in 10-year-olds

    This is an Article from the Guardian paper last week, interesting enough!

    Children are becoming weaker, less muscular and unable to do physical tasks that previous generations found simple, research has revealed.

    As a generation dedicated to online pursuits grows up, 10-year-olds can do fewer sit-ups and are less able to hang from wall bars in a gym. Arm strength has declined in that age group, as has their ability to grip an object firmly.

    The findings, published in the child health journal Acta Paediatrica, have led to fresh concern about the impact on children’s health caused by the shift away from outdoor activities.

    Who’s Stronger

    Academics led by Dr Gavin Sandercock, a children’s fitness expert at Essex University, studied how strong a group of 315 Essex 10-year-olds in 2008 were compared with 309 children the same age in 1998. They found that:

    ■ The number of sit-ups 10-year-olds can do declined by 27.1% between 1998 and 2008

    ■ Arm strength fell by 26% and grip strength by 7%

    ■ While one in 20 children in 1998 could not hold their own weight when hanging from wall bars, one in 10 could not do so in 2008.

    “This is probably due to changes in activity patterns among English 10-year-olds, such as taking part in fewer activities like rope-climbing in PE and tree-climbing for fun,” Sandercock said. “Typically, these activities boosted children’s strength, making them able to lift and hold their own bodyweight.”

    The fact that 10% could not do the wall bars test and another 10% refused to try was “really shocking”, he added. “That probably shows that climbing and holding their own weight was something they hadn’t done before.”

    Previous research

    has already shown that children are becoming more unfit, less active and more sedentary and, in many cases, heavier than before.

    But the new study also found that children in 2008 had the same body mass index (BMI) as those a decade earlier. Lead author Daniel Cohen, of London Metropolitan University, said this meant that, given their declining strength, the bodies of the recent test group are likely to contain more fat and less muscle then their predecessors. “That’s really worrying from a health point of view. It’s good news that their BMI hasn’t risen, but worrying that pound for pound they’re weaker and probably carrying more fat,” said Sandercock.

    Bring in Fitness testing in all schools

    The authors want ministers to reduce their reliance on the National Child Measurement Programme, which surveys primary schoolchildren’s BMI, and introduce fitness testing in all schools– a call made last year by the then-chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson.

    “Climbing trees and ropes used to be standard practice for children, but school authorities and ‘health and safety’ have contrived to knock the sap out of our children,” said Tam Fry of the Child Growth Foundation.

    “Falling off a branch used to be a good lesson in picking yourself up and learning to climb better. Now fear of litigation stops the child climbing in the first place.”

    He added: “Fitness tests may or may not be appropriate, but Sandercock should not be discouraging the use of BMI measurements.”

    A Department of Health spokeswoman said the government had introduced several programmes promoting active lifestyles among the young, and the health survey for England reported back on physical activity levels. She added: “The Department of Health has no current plans to introduce fitness testing for children.”

    Content: Denis Campbell – The Guardian

  • Xavi Hernandez Creus – Age 31

    Xavi Hernandez Creus – Age 31

    I hope your not sick of all this Barcelona stuff i’m posting but it is hard not to get enough of it! These are a few quotes from Xavi from an article with the Guardian back in February. I thought they might interest you!

    Q. That’s at the heart of the Barcelona model and runs all the way through the club, doesn’t it? When you beat Madrid, eight of the starting XI were youth-team products and all three finalists in this year’s Ballon d’Or were too – Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta and you

    “Some youth academies worry about winning, we worry about education. You see a kid who lifts his head up, who plays the pass first time, pum, and you think, ‘Yep, he’ll do. Bring him in, coach him. Our model was imposed by Johan Cruyff; it’s an Ajax model. It’ all about rondos [piggy in the middle]. Rondo, rondo, rondo. Every. Single. Day. It’s the best exercise there is. You learn responsibility and not to lose the ball. If you lose the ball, you go in the middle. Pum-pum-pum-pum, always one touch. If you go in the middle, it’s humiliating, the rest applaud and laugh at you.

    Q.England seems to mistrust technical players.

    It’s a pity. Talent has to be the priority. Technical ability. Always, always. Sure, you can win without it but it’s talent that makes the difference. Look at the teams: Juventus, who makes the difference? Krasic. Del Piero. Liverpool? Gerrard, or Torres before. Talento. Talento. When you look at players and ask yourself who’s the best: talento. Cesc, Nasri, Ryan Giggs – that guy is a joy, incredible. Looking back, I loved John Barnes and Chris Waddle was buenísimo. [Open-mouthed, eyes gleaming] Le Tissier! Although their style was different I liked Roy Keane and Paul Ince together, too. That United team was great – my English team. If I’d gone anywhere, it would have been there.

    So, what’s the solution?

    Think quickly, look for spaces. That’s what I do: look for spaces. All day. I’m always looking. All day, all day. [Xavi starts gesturing as if he is looking around, swinging his head]. Here? No. There? No. People who haven’t played don’t always realise how hard that is. Space, space, space. It’s like being on the PlayStation. I think shit, the defender’s here, play it there. I see the space and pass. That’s what I do.


  • Bring Discipline into the Game

    Bring Discipline into the Game

    Kids all over the world watch and play this game every week…

    Now Players and Managers can sign a pledge to help set a better example to control yourself and your players. Click the LIKE button on the www.facebook.com/KeepFootyBeautiful page.

    [media id=8]

  • Leading The Way…

    Leading The Way…

    The Catalans

    We were all amazed from last Saturdays game and they way Barcelona completely outclassed a team that is custom to outclassing so many. I think now we can say that Barcelona is currently the worlds best footballing side and for me the best footballing side I have ever seen. No team on the planet can pass the ball the way they do, it really is so beautiful to watch. Some of the movement and inter-passing on Saturday night, I’d never seen before.

    Guardiola put things right

    After the antics of some of Barca’s players in the recent Madrid game I was very disappointed with all the bad press Barca was getting. Having  watched practically every single game that was shown on SKY TV, I don’t remember seeing play acting quite like the Madrid game.

    Saturday’s game put that at rest, from the beauty how they passed the ball, to how they conducted themselves on the pitch, to Messi sinsulating trickery,  to the guard of honour for the United players and fittingly the beautiful gesture from Puyol wrapping his yellow captains armband around the left arm of Abidal and was he who lifted the European Cup aloft. Remarkably only 10 weeks ago Abidal was fearing for his life, when he underwent surgery to remove a tumor from his liver, a perfect finish to end an exhilarating evening.

    There were no refereeing controversies, the game’s flow assisted by the judicious officiating of Viktor Kassai. There was no hounding of the officials either. This was the day when dignity returned to football.

    Back to the Game

    Ferguson said after the game that “Barcelona deserved it, they enjoy their football and play the right way”.

    For a those few hours on Saturday night I was so proud to be a lover of this great game, finally we had a spectacle without the diving, the cheating, the imaginary card waving and surrounding the ref at every given opportunity. This match could be somewhat a bench mark for the future. But with the shambles that is FIFA at the moment and all the corruption allegations with evidence of emails containing the words bribe etc

    Football or Soccer could still do with a cleanup and we could take on some of the sporting gestures that Rugby has, certainly the guard honour is something they could insist on and could be brought it as quick as you can write it down on paper. Another is to mic the referees and feed it live to out TV’s, this will stamp out the abuse, the foul language constantly directed at the officials.

    The statistics from the Wembley clash showed that United completed just 301 passes, while Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta beat that between them as the Catalans achieved 63 percent possession and over 350 passes between them.

    Sporty City

    Last year I was lucky enough and one of very few who have had the pleasure of visiting FCB Sport City. The Ciutat Esportiva (FC Barcelona Academy) Joan Gamper. Is about 15 minutes and just 4.5 km away from the Camp Nou and is directly connected by the road between Barcelona and Sant Joan Despí. Covering 136.839m2 it is used by all Youth Teams for training and matches, as well as Barca Ladies, Barca B and Guardiola’s magic men . There is also the multi sports arena for Basketball, Handball and Futsal.

    La Masia

    The Masia Director Carles Folguera said: “next year we’ll be taking this photo at the new Masia in the Ciutat Esportiva Oriol Tort Training Centre, and to be honest, we’re all looking forward to that moment”.

    He added that “the desire to find out what the new home will be like helps overcome the sadness of having to leave such an emblematic building … The change will be good for everyone, as we gain modernity, comfort and space and we hope we won’t have to miss the warmth of the current Masia”. At the start of the 2011/12 season, all of the residents’ activities will be centred on the new Masia in the Ciutat Esportiva. This is a truly amazing facility and fits in well with a club of such Sporting history.

    Article about La Masia https://www.thecoachdiary.com/?p=2301

    You can play like Barca…

    So why are we so fascinated by Barcelona, why does every single kid want to be a Messi, a Xavi or Iniesta?

    Why does every single coach want his team playing like Barcelona and can we really get our players to play this way even without a Messi?

    Well, you can certainly try; every player must have a ball, you must allow your players freedom on the ball,  and you will probably have to correct every single pass your players make in training in order for them to understand the discipline of passing the ball in the correct manner, with the right amount of pace, accuracy and distance (remember a Barca pass is not more then 10-15 yards) and movement, every single players is moving, dropping into space and creating that line between the passer and the receiver, 7 of out 10 passes go back to where is came from and back again, whilst the passer moves into space again and so on and so on. It’s as easy a that…I wish it was…

    Last year

    When I visited the Academy last year (glad to be going back in the coming weeks), we watched an u6s train, the keeper rolled out to his left right full, who in turn played it into the centre mid, he then passed to the right mid. A triangle of passes from 6 year old….wow…fast forward 10 years and u have under 16s, these were playing on the far pitch and the same passes, the same movement, the accuracy like I have never witnessed before…fast forward 3 years and some of these kids will be playing in the first team. Doing the exact same things they were taught as 6 year olds. So there is no mystery to the way they play, they are just playing the same way they did as kids.

    “Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.”

    What can we learn from this?

    Of course we can and fittingly in the same week that the NDSL announced they would be restructuring their league system and paved the way for coaching and player development to be the focus of the under age game, it is at this age that in Barcelona they play total football. Something Barcelona have been doing since the Cruyff years and Guardiola insisted on bringing back the quick passing total football philosophy with discipline when is joined the coaching staff back in 2007.

    Its one way that works

    The Barcelona way is not the only way of course, but it certainly is a one way of playing the game and they do it with great beauty. In fact I believe the Iberian way is the way forward. Firstly they have a completely different mentality to us, they a different way with kids; they welcome kids with open arms, but their kids also have a respect for elders and their coaches. In Portugal, Spain and Catalunia the coach is well respected, the kids are taught to respect and listen to their coach but the coach is also educated on his coaching and knows exactly how to develop the player, we must not forget COACH EDUCATION, its vital. They have a different way of interacting with the kids (we saw that when FCBs Albert Benaiges came to Ireland in February).

    “So there is no mystery to the way they play, they are just playing the same way they did as kids”

    Kids need discipline

    We have lost alot of our authority and the young kids are growing up to fast, kids need to be kids for longer and we see so much of kids not respecting older people, this can be a huge factor in how we train and educate our players.

    With the correct tools and the right focus, educating our players about life skills not just expecting that they show up for training but also making sure they are decent human beings. Teaching them to listen and not talk when the coach talks, teaching them to shake hands properly (not a whippy hand shake), teaching them to make eye contact and making sure they stay in school to learn. Teaching them about discipline and fair play, sportsmanship and becoming a leader and a team player, teaching them respect their team-mates, referees, the opposition, making them take responsibility for there training gear and match day uniform.

    Be the difference

    Football development is just as important, after all this is the game were in; however we must not get tunnel vision and forget some of the qualities and attributes our players will need in life, the social kills to succeed. We spend alot of time with these kids and we have the opportunity to make a difference to their lives and attitude, but to be the change YOU must have all of the above yourself or at least strive to be a good person and a better teacher, you can never stop learning  and passing on information.

    Actions speak louder than words, when it comes to kids. Most of the times we teach kids through our body language and unconscious actions as compared to sitting them down and telling them consciously. Kids learn naturally by observation and imitation and hence it becomes important for us, as parents and coaches to set a good example and walk the talk or at least only talk about that which we can walk too!

    Parents also need to be educated about discipline and conduct particularly on match day but they must not interfere with the coaches sessions or shout over the coaches on match day. If they are not happy with the coach or have any issues concerning their child then, they must address this immediately. (See bottom of the page)

    FCBarcelona Escola (School)

    Which feeds the main Academy has two Objectives which are centred on two basic ideas: teaching the basic concepts of football and transmitting the values that represent FCBarcelona, such as tolerance, respect, solidarity, companionship, citizenship, integration.

    The school acts as a feeder system for the Academy and if Barcelona see potential in a player who may not be good enough for the academy, instead of letting him go they will get him to spend some time learning at the Escola and try and develop him the Barca way, the great thing about the Escola is that kids have a chance from 6-11 to develop, before they are progressed to the Academy or not!

    The Barca way

    In Catalunia they play 7aside football all the way until U12, they use bigger goals then the Irish small sided games but slightly smaller than full size, this makes the game fun as they’re are plenty of goals scored and for the keepers the step up to full size adult goals is not a major shock.

    This 7aside game allows kids to develop technically, every players gets plenty touches of the ball and this is why most European players are all so confident and assured on the ball, they play against smaller numbers for much longer then our kids do. Only at U13 (this still means some kids are 11 or 12) is the move made to the 11 aside game. Cup Competition is not introduced until U14 level.

    Change the System

    To summarise so much of what we do at grassroots is good but we can always strive to do much better and don’t be afraid of change, change is good, change is progressive the key to change, is to let go of fear..We must encourage kids to dribble and be creative, take risk in the attacking third, run with the ball and not alway make the pass. Encourage to go at players in a 1v1 situation instead of crossing all the time. Everything we do must be with the ball, we must start with smaller balls so kids get familiar it and develop confidence. All this must be encouraged in the SSG, the early stage of a child’s development should be focused on ball work.

    We must also not forget the coaches they’re the important people in all this who will educate the kids, they too need to be educated on how to develop these kids properly. You can never stop learning as a coach..

    More touches of the ball

    In training we should be aiming to get kids touching the ball at least 100 times per session, currently an average 11 year old is touching the ball about 15 times per game in 11v11s and about 25 times in training. This is not enough touches of a ball for kids to develop technically like our Iberian friends. We must extend the 7v7 game for much longer for kids to enjoy the ball more.

    We need to move away from developing Physical Energy and concentrate on technical skill, Physical Energy can be developed with the ball also, we don’t need kids doing laps of the training ground to get fit.

    Get kids on the ball and don’t take the ball away until training is over!

    “At one point, he dropped the shoulder and sent 3 United players and half the crowd behind the goal the wrong way” Alan Hansen on Messi

    Past posts related to some of the above

    This is a post I wrote some months back about being supportive towards your child coach

    https://www.thecoachdiary.com/?p=1188

    This one about keeping parents in the loop

    https://www.thecoachdiary.com/?p=1134

  • Iberian Football rules the world

    Iberian Football rules the world

    We lover their weather, we love to holiday there. Iberia which is know as Portugal and Spain has for many many years been the holiday destination of so many Irish people. We have been graced with the beauty of their football, from Porto to Jose Mourinho, Portugal’s phenomenal wing play to Madrid’s Galacticos, Spain’s Tic-Tac  football and now FCBarcelona beautiful silky movement and now masters of the ball.

    These 2 countries are ruling the football world currently: –

    World Cup Holders – Spain

    European Champions – Spain

    Champions League – FCBarcelona

    Europa League – FCPorto (4 Iberian Team in the Semi-Finals)

    UEFA Super Cup – Athletico Madrid

    Golden Shoe – 1st Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), 2nd Lionel Messi (FCBarcelona)

    Ballon DOR – 1st Lionel Messi , 2nd Andre Iniesta, 3rd Xavi Hernandez (All FCBarcelona)

  • Ireland defeat Italy for U19 finals return

    Ireland defeat Italy for U19 finals return

    Congrats to Paul Doolin and his U19s players and management.

    Goals from Connor Murphy, substitute Sean Murray and John O’ Sullivan took Ireland into their first finals since 2002 as Group 4 winners.

    Ireland qualified for their first UEFA European Under-19 Championship finals in nine years with a convincing defeat of Italy. Ireland went into the elite round Group 4 decider in Poland two points behind their opponents but goals from Connor Murphy, substitute Sean Murray and John O’ Sullivan sealed victory against a side who ended with nine men. Paul Doolin’s team will compete in Romania from 20 July and in the draw in Bucharest on 8 June join the hosts, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Greece, Serbia and two further teams to be decided next week.

  • La Masia

    La Masia

    La Masia, located next to the stadium, is the heart of the Barça youth system. This emblematic building forms part of the history and heritage of Futbol Club Barcelona, and is an ancient country residence built in 1702.

    At first, La Masia was used as the workshop in which the architects and builders of the Camp Nou modelled their project, and was the starting point for VIP visitors and collaborators in the construction work. Once FC Barcelonas stadium was inaugurated, on September 24, 1957, the doors of La Masia were closed until a new use could be found for it. Under the presidency of Enric Llaudet, the building was remodelled and extended for use as the clubs social headquarters, which had formerly been located on a different site in Via Laietana. The new social headquarters were opened on September 26, 1966.

    In 1979 it became a holl of residence

    As the club grew and different offices were established, it became apparent that La Masia was no longer big enough, and under Agustí Montal, they were moved to the area now next to the ice rink. So, La Masia was once again disused until Josep Lluís Núñez assumed the presidency and immediately found a new purpose for the building: La Masia became the residence of young players from outside of Barcelona. The renovation work was done quickly, and on October 20, 1979 it was officially declared ready for use.

    A group of young players with a bright future

    This residence is now used to develop the young players that have had to leave their families in order to train at FC Barcelona both in a sporting and intellectual sense. In the clubs centenary year, La Masia celebrated its twentieth anniversary and the general feedback has been very positive. Several youngsters that had lived at La Masia have gone on to play for the first team, including Amor, Guardiola, Sergi, De la Peña, Puyol, Xavi, Reina, Víctor Valdés, Gabri and Messi, as well a large number of players that have gone on to play for other Spanish clubs. So successful has it all been that many people now simply use the name La Masia to refer to Barças youth players in general. But the players residing at La Masia are not only limited to those from Catalonia or the rest of the state. There are also numerous young players from other countries.

    The facilities

    La Masia consists of two floors and a few attics, measuring 610 m2. It houses 60 boys (12 sleep at La Masia itself and another 48 in other rooms situated around the stadium). It has a kitchen, dining room, living room, library, office, bathrooms, showers and four large dormitories with dressing rooms.

    An official photograph of the residents of La Masia has been taken for the last time outside the emblematic building . The next picture of the residents will be at the new Masia in the Ciutat Esportiva.

    FCBarcelona.cat