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Soccer Journal • March-April 2008 1

2 Soccer Journal • March-April 2008

Soccer Journal • March-April 2008 

Published by: The National Soccer Coaches 

Association of America 

Editor: Dr. Jay Martin 

Edwards Gym 

Ohio Wesleyan University 

Delaware, OH 43015 

Office: 740-368-3727 

Fax: 740-368-3751 

Email: jamartin@owu.edu 

Managing Editor: Craig Bohnert 

Associate Editors: Mike Kennedy, Pat Madden 

Editorial Council: Ray Alley, Dr. David Carr, Dr. 

Hardy Fuchs, Mike Lentz, Alan Maher, Perry 

McIntyre Jr., Len Oliver, Dr. Ron Quinn, Tim 

Schum, Jeff Tipping, Frank Tschan, Jeff Vennell, Lang 

Wedemeyer, Dr. Doug Williamson 

NSCAA Executive Director: James Sheldon 

800 Ann Avenue 

Kansas City, KS 66101 

800-458-0678 • Fax: 913-362-3439 

NSCAA on the Internet: www.NSCAA.com 

To advertise in Soccer Journal, contact: 

Chris Burt 

Marketing Director 

NSCAA 

800 Ann Avenue 

Kansas City, KS 66101 

800-458-0678 • Fax: 913-362-3439 

Email: cburt@nscaa.com 

Printer: R.R. Donnelly, Independence, Mo. 

• • • 

Fees for NSCAA 

international membership 

To cover increases in postage rates, the 

following dues structure applies to members 

outside of the United States: 

Europe $100 • Asia $110 

North/Central America $80 

• • • 

SOCCER JOURNAL 

(USPS, 568-630, ISSN 0560-3617) is 

published bimonthly with one special issue 

in October by the NSCAA, 800 Ann Ave., 

Kansas City, KS 66101. Periodical postage paid 

at Kansas City, Kan., and additional mailing 

offices. Subscription information: $12 of the 

annual membership fee brings Soccer 

Journal to members for one year. It is just one 

benefit of the annual $80 dues ($60 for youth 

coaches). Postmaster: Send address changes to: 

Soccer Journal, 800 Ann Ave., 

Kansas City, KS 66101. 

• • • 

Reproduction or reuse of this material 

in whole or part is forbidden without 

the expressed written permission of the 

National Soccer Coaches 

Association of America. 

Volume 53, Number 2 March-April 2008 

Two loyal members received special pins commemorating 60 years of involvement with the NSCAA 

during the annual Awards Banquet in Baltimore. President Steve Malone (right in both photos) 

presented the newly minted pins to Alden “Whitey” Burnham (left photo) and Bill Shellenberger. 

9 Guardian and Curator – Jeff Vennell, athletics director for Cranbrook Schools and a longtime 

member of the NSCAA Academy staff, received the 66th Honor Award. 

14 Yeagley, Sanderson Enter Hall of Fame – One helped put college soccer on the map, the other thrust 

the NSCAA into the consciousness of high school coaches. Both now are in the NSCAA Hall of Fame. 

16 Four Honored for Service – John Rennie, Rusty Taylor, Chico Chacurian and Schellas Hyndman each 

were recognized for their lifetime service to the sport and the NSCAA. 

18 2007 NSCAA/adidas National Coaches of the Year – Who won the awards at each level of 

college, high school and youth coaching. 

22 Coaching Generation Y and Millennial Players – Dr. Rick Underwood offers his thoughts 

on how a coach can work with today’s younger players. 

26 In Search of the Perfect Training Session – From the pages of Champions magazine, input 

from some of Europe’s top coaches on their approaches to developing a practice. Focus: 

Coaching. Ages: U-15 and above. 

28 Team Notebooks: Writing to the Next Level – In the first of a three-part series, Dr. Richard 

Kent shows how team notebooks can improve player and coach performance. Focus: Coaching. 

Ages: U-15 and above. 

30 Mental Toughness: Developing Self-Awareness – Erika Carlson is back with an article on addressing 

how mental toughness can be developed. Focus: Psychology. Ages: U-12 and above. 

34 Coaching Conversations – From the Olympic Coach E-zine, Rune Hølgaard and Arild Jørgensen 

explore how conversations with athletes can lead to peak performance. Focus: Coaching. Ages: All. 

38 Learning from the Best – Retro Journal is back with a 1996 article by Tim Nash that describes 

what top coaches look at when they observe another’s practice session. Focus: Psychology. Ages: All. 

42 Five Favorite Practices – The start of a three-part series featuring the favorites of AC Milan focuses 

on warm-up activities. Focus: Exercises. Ages: All. 

48 Coaching the Counterattack – A new feature called SJ Training Session makes its debut with 

Anthony Hudson’s thoughts on training to develop the counterattack. Focus: Psychology. Ages: All. 

52 European Ladies Hat Trick – From the pages of The Technician, interviews with three leading 

names in European women’s soccer. 

58 Soccer Shorts – Bobby Howe talks about how to build a successful practice; Frank Carrozza observes 

track’s a player’s emotional cycle in practice; and Neil Hull offers thoughts of the semantics of heading. 

3 The President’s Corner 5 Center Circle 7 Soccer Network 

On the Cover: Jeff Vennell received the 66th NSCAA Honor Award in Baltimore. 

Soccer Journal • March-April 2008 3 

NSCAA photos (2) by Perry McIntyre Jr.


Why Brazil? 

What makes the educational experience worth the time and expense? 

Since 2004, the NSCAA has been offering 

coaches international courses in Brazil. The trip is 

long, airfare is expensive and not many of us are 

fluent in Portuguese! Why Brazil? What makes it 

worth the time, the trouble, the expense? 

Having been to our two previous courses at 

Atletico Paranaense, I can speak from personal 

experience. It is the perfect environment to learn and 

improve as a coach. 

While coaching college soccer for more than 30 

years, I went abroad numerous times – taking teams, 

recruiting players and attending coaching courses. 

During my active coaching career, for one reason or 

another, I never made it to South America. The largest 

country on that continent and the only five-time 

winner of the World Cup, Brazil is known throughout 

the world as the greatest exporter of soccer talent 

and by transitivity, the top producer and developer 

of soccer players in the world. 

Foreign clubs in Europe, Asia and the Middle East 

consistently have lured players from Brazil with lucrative 

contracts that their domestic clubs cannot match, and it is 

obviously great business for Brazilian clubs to sell those 

contracts to fund their operations. There is a constant 

migration of talented young players overseas and just as 

steady a flow of younger players coming up into the first 

team from the reserves and youth systems. 

The fact that more Brazilians play outside their country 

than any other nationality is due in part to the amount 

of physical talent that exists in a very large and diverse 

population. However, it also is due in great measure to 

the way in which their players are developed and the flair, 

skill and presence that they bring to teams worldwide. 

Several years ago, the soccer video “Ginga” portrayed 

a number of different ways in which Brazilian 

soccer uniquely embodies the passion and spirit of the 

game. Soccer is woven into practically every aspect 

of Brazilian society – the street soccer culture, the 

beach soccer culture, futsal and the fanatical support 

of professional teams through generations – but there 

also is a very strong and organized player development 

infrastructure. What the “Ginga” production did not highlight 

was the role of the coaches and the clubs, which 

in my opinion deserve much of the credit for Brazil’s 

success and status. These great players do not just 

“grow on trees!” In my experience, Atletico Paranaense 

has as professional an approach to player identification 

and development as any club anywhere in the world. 

Its recent investment in its stadium and training center 

has made them the envy of the rest of South America. 

Atletico has numerous non-residential clubs and 

youth leagues under its 

umbrella in the state of 

Parana and all over Brazil. 

Many of these youth 

players play only in futsal 

leagues, but are under 

the club’s microscope 

as well. 

They constantly are 

searching for talent, bringing 

players in for objective 

testing and evaluation, 

sending them back into 

their home environment 

and then bringing them 

back again to the training 

center. Only after exhaustive 

scouting and evaluation 

will a young player 

be offered a residential 

contract as a fulltime youth 

professional. 

At the center, Atletico 

pays attention to every 

aspect of youth player 

development – nutrition, 

training load, education, 

medical and dental care 

and social development. 

Testing and re-evaluation 

is a constant part of the 

process. Once a year, 

usually in June, players receive 

an annual evaluation 

and either are released or 

offered a spot in next year’s residency. As a result of 

this highly organized and competitive developmental 

system, Atletico has produced more players than most 

clubs in Brazil. In 2004, after finishing second in the 

league, they sold 18 players to other clubs in Brazil and 

abroad, the most of any team. 

In May, the NSCAA will host an Advanced National 

Diploma course for 60 coaches at the Oscar Inn and 

Training Center, another outstanding training facility 

in the state of Sao Paulo. The site is owned and 

developed by “Oscar,” former World Cup star from 

Brazil and former New York Cosmo. Oscar has his 

own residential developmental program for young 

players at this center, as well as a soccer resort 

which many teams, including our own U.S. national 

teams, have used in the past. Miguel deLima, a long- 

by Al Albert 

Site of the NSCAA Advanced National Diploma in May, Oscar Inn and 

Training Center combines first-class training facilities with resort-style 

amenities. 

time NSCAA member and our liaison to Brazil, and 

Jeff Tipping, our director of coaching education and 

development, visited the site in December as part of 

our due diligence on this project. 

The Oscar Inn combines a resort facility with soccer 

development. Although there is no senior professional 

team there, Oscar does have his own highly developed 

youth club, which transfers players to professional clubs 

within and outside the country. The accommodations at 

the onsite hotel and food are first class, as are the soccer 

fields and classroom facilities. 

Of course we do not go all the way to Brazil just for 

a top-tier physical facility and good meals. The most 

important part of this program is that it allows coaches to 

feel the spirit of the Brazilian soccer culture while observ- 

(continued on page 47) 


Photos courtesy of Oscar Inn and Training Center


Convention Musings 

Observations from the 2008 NSCAA Convention in Baltimore 

The Walt… 

The Walt Chyzowych Award, or as I call it – The 

Walt – is unique. Most awards named for a prominent 

person honor the recipient. The Walt honors a 

worthy recipient but it also honors Walt every year. 

The recipient usually has had a special relationship 

with Walter. It is fitting, therefore, that this year’s 

recipient was the man who worked with Walt the 

last eight years of his life. This year’s recipient was 

Jay Vidovich, the head coach of the Wake Forest 

Demon Deacons, the 2007 NCAA Division I men’s 

national champion. 

The award is given to a “…coach who promotes 

the game of soccer as exemplified by the life of Walter 

Chyzowych.” Vidovich is a worthy recipient. 

Jay played soccer at Ohio Wesleyan University 

for three years after a year at Indiana University, 

where he came in contact with NSCAA Honor 

Award winner (and former recipient of The Walt) 

Jerry Yeagley. In three years at OWU, Jay’s teams 

had a 50-10-4 record, won three conference championships 

and gained three NCAA Tournament 

bids. As a senior he was captain of the OWU team 

that made it to the Division III “Final Four.” He was 

a “coach on the field” for the Bishops, the kind of 

player every coach would like to have. 

After coaching and receiving his master’s degree 

at Regis College in Colorado, he returned to 

OWU and was assistant coach for two more years. 

The team was 34-6-4 with two more conference 

championships and two more NCAA bids. 

In 1986 Jay moved to Wake Forest and began 

his tenure of eight years under Walter Chyzowych 

as the assistant coach. At that time he began his 

graduate education in soccer. Life was not easy 

early for the dynamic duo. They were at a program 

that was only eight years old with no soccer tradition; 

they were playing in the best soccer conference 

in the country and they were at an institution 

that had demanding academic requirements. 

Things were tough. But they persevered and they 

fought hard, which is just what they would expect 

from the players on their team. 

Walt was a mentor, a teacher and a friend to 

Jay and taught him how to manage and motivate 

men, how to identify talent and how to run a soccer 

program. He also introduced him to the cream of the 

crop of soccer coaches in the country. He met and 

learned from the likes of Bob Gansler, Joe Machnik, 

Jay Miller and Nick Szlatar, to name a few. 

When Walter died in 1994, Jay was ready to be a 

head coach. In the last 14 years he has pushed and 

prodded the Deacons to the highest level. The Wake 

Forest team is considered one of the top programs in 

the country today. His work culminated in 2007 with 

a 22-2-2 season and a national title. 

It is now time for Jay Vidovich to become a mentor, 

a teacher and a friend to a new generation of soccer 

coaches. He has the opportunity to perpetuate the 

legacy of Walter, and who better to do it? 

The Paul… 

The Soccer America article by Paul Gardner 

published right before the 61st Annual NSCAA 

Convention in Baltimore was a slam on the convention 

program. Gardner criticized the high number 

of English coaches presenting at the convention. 

In light of the slow demise of English soccer, he 

may have a point – maybe we should have asked 

Bosnian coaches! 

It is true that many presenters were, in fact, 

English. The list included long-time NSCAA friend 

Bill Beswick and former England National Team 

coach Steve McClaren; however, whether you 

agree with Gardner or not, there are reasons for 

this Anglo invasion. 

There is no question that the Association and its 

Director of Coaching Education and Development, 

Jeff Tipping, have more contacts in England and 

Europe than in South America or Asia. And it is 

difficult for the Convention Committee to turn down 

coaches from such EPL clubs as West Ham, Manchester 

United, Blackburn etc. Many EPL teams 

are searching for a way to “get into” the American 

market. Where better to start? 

It is difficult to fill a program like the NSCAA 

Convention. The path to bring a clinician in has to 

be a two-way street. The NSCAA wants the coach 

to attend, but the coach must want to attend. The 

NSCAA has a great relationship with many “bigtime” 

international coaches. Past Convention 

programs have included national team coaches 

from France, Italy, Brazil, Germany, Japan and 

China. All were received with enthusiasm! But it 

is difficult to get these men (and women) to attend 

every year. We have had the Technical Director 

of UEFA (Andy Roxburgh) many times and will 

surely have him again. Tipping asked the technical 

director of Sao Paulo to be a guest, but was 

declined. The Brazilian women’s coach agreed to 

attend but could not get a visa in the short time 

between accepting the invitation and the start of 

by Jay Martin, Editor 

the Convention. A Mexican first division coach 

turned down an offer the week of the Convention. 

Far more invitations are extended than accepted. 

The NSCAA has tried to offer a taste of Brazilian 

soccer in recent years by offering a course 

in Brazil with a professional club (see Al Albert’s 

column on page 3). One course doesn’t help the 

majority of members – a coach attending the 

Convention would serve the Association far better, 

but the NSCAA is working to establish a South 

American presence. In addition, only Argentina 

has a soccer coaches association. In the other 

countries there is no place to go to find coaches 

who are interested in helping other coaches. 

Carlos Alberto Parriera often has cited the lack 

of an organized coaches association as holding 

Brazilian soccer back. 

Two of the most important criteria when searching 

for clinicians are availability and language. In 

many countries January is a busy soccer month. 

Coaches simply aren’t available. Having a coach 

with the ability to present in English is important. 

In the past, the NSCAA has tried interpreters, but 

with mixed results. The convention environment 

is suited best for English speakers. 

We want to get better. We want clinicians 

that the membership will enjoy and learn from. 

We want to have our members think about the 

good, the bad and the ugly of soccer. We want to 

challenge the membership and will work hard to 

continue to do so. 

We try to bridge this gap in SJ by publishing 

articles and interviews from coaches from around 

the world and will continue to do so. 

The Book… 

A very interesting book surfaced during Baltimore 

2008. The book was published by Meyer 

and Meyer in Germany but written in English. The 

coach, Detlev Brueggeman, is an experienced 

teacher of the game (DFB and FIFA certified) in 

Germany and wrote Soccer Alive: The Game is 

the Best Teacher 

The premise of the book is that coaches should 

structure training sessions based on what is 

needed by the team and how it is needed in the 

game. The book suggests that coaches should 

identify problems in the game and use the game 

situations in training to improve particular movement 

and behaviors necessary to be successful. 




NSCAA Board responsibilities retooled 

The NSCAA Board 

of Directors has approved 

a change in its 

governing structure 

that will permit its vice 

presidents to focus their 

energies on specific 

areas of the Association 

during their three-year 

terms. 

Each of the three 

vice presidents now 

has a specific area of 

responsibility: education, 

convention and 

awards and marketing 

and communications. 

Randy Waldrum, 

the women’s coach at 

the University of Notre 

Dame, will oversee 

convention and awards. 

Marcia McDermott of 

the Women’s Professional 

Soccer franchise 

in Chicago is responsible 

for for marketing 

and communications 

and Paul Payne, the 

men’s coach at Bloomsburg 

University, will 

manage education. 

ELECTION RESULTS 

Four new members 

of the NSCAA Board of 

Directors were seated as 

a result of the election 

concluded at the 2008 

Convention. 

Paul Payne was elevated 

from Secretary to 

Vice President for Education 

and will rise to 

the presidency in 2011. 

Ralph Polson, the 

men’s coach at Wofford 

College, was selected as 

Secretary. 

John Daly, the 

women’s coach at the 

College of William 

and Mary, became the 

Women’s College Representative. 

Greg Mauch, 

the boys coach at The 

Canterbury School in 

Fort Wayne, Ind., was 

This is to notify the NSCAA membership of an upcoming 

election for the following positions on the Executive Committee 

of the NSCAA Board of Directors: 

• Vice-President for Awards and Conventions 

• Secretary 

The election will culminate Jan. 9, 2009. Election results will 

be announced at the Annual Meeting of the membership, Jan. 

16, 2009, in St. Louis, Mo. 

Any active or life member may submit one or more nominees 

for these positions to the Nominations and Election 

Committee, which then will select a maximum of three 

names per position based on the following criteria: 

• Current NSCAA member who has been a member at 

least five of the past eight years; 

• Ability to fulfull the duties in the job description that 

will be provided to the nominee; 

• Have served on the Board of Directors for a minimum of 

three years, been the chair of a standing NSCAA committee 

Ralph Polson John Daly 

Greg Mauch Charlotte Moran 

chosen as High School 

Boys Representative. 

Charlotte Moran, the 

executive director of the 

Eastern Pennsylvainia 

Youth Soccer Association, 

was named Youth 

Girls Representative. 

Request for Nominations for the NSCAA Board of Directors 

or council for a minimum of three years, been a member of 

the Academy staff for a minimum of three years or be able to 

demonstrate distinguished service to the sport of soccer. 

No person may be nominated for more than one position in 

a given election. Nominations should include a brief description 

of how the nominee(s) meet the aforementioned criteria and 

should be submitted to: 

Steve Malone 

Attn: NSCAA Nominations 

40 Mapledale Ave. 

Glen Burnie, MD 21061 

Nominations must be postmarked no later than May 31, 2008. 

Respectfully submitted, 

James A. Sheldon 

Executive Director 

Special Thanks! 

The 2008 NSCAA 

Convention could not 

have been the success it 

was without the valuable 

contributions of the local 

organizing committee 

and the demonstration 

teams who took part. 

We’d like to recognize 

them here: 

LOC Members 

Pete Caringi (chair) 

Anthony Adams 

Mike Libber 

Mandy Libber 

Dave Lane 

Sue Lane 

Sam DeBone 

Mike Tesla 

Pete Sarioglou 

Arlene Rodway 

Teams 

Baltimore Bays 

UMBC Mens Soccer 

team 

Maryland ODP 

Bethesda SC 

Freestate SC 

SAC Girls 

MSC Dragons 

Potomac Internationals 

Olney SC 

Crystal Palace 



GUARDIAN AND CURATOR 

Jeff Vennell 

receives the NSCAA’s 66th Honor Award 

Presented by C. Clifford McCrath 

Honor Award Committee Chairman 

The Honor Award legacy, metaphorically, 

is a long, glorious – sometimes 

meandering – trail that echoes and heralds 

the achievements of mostly ordinary 

people who managed to accomplish 

extraordinary things. And, the billboards 

dotting the landscape of the roads taken 

are strewn with heroes that define greatness, 

uncommon dedication and every 

other virtue known to humankind. And, 

albeit children yet unborn may never 

embrace and revere their names - like 

those sports culture has spawned - they, 

nonetheless are the pillars of the National 

Soccer Coaches Association of America. 

Names like Burnham, Schmid, 

Walters, Jeffery, Morrone – and what of 

Yeagley, Bahr, Bean, Bernabei and Baptista? 

Names that may never be uttered 

let alone remembered in the same breath 

as Ruth, Rockne, Mantle, Mays, Jordan, 

Shaq or Tiger. 

How then shall the NSCAA perpetuate 

the legendary heroes of its own history? 

The technological age of iPhones 

and electronic distractions has pilfered 

humanity’s life juices and stolen its historical 

values, its molten moments and its 

terms of endearment. Lest we forget, who 

will preserve, promote and perpetuate the 

memory of the trailblazers of America’s 

version of the great game? Is there someone 

pledged to remind future members of 

the NSCAA’s own household names? 

Traditionally, Honor Award recipients 

of this association’s highest award, have 

been defined by awe-inspiring records of 

gasp-inducing win-loss records or statistical 

benchmarks that boggle the mind. 

This year’s recipient hasn’t won – or lost 

– that many soccer games. Indeed, the 

records are spotty, and even he doesn’t 

know how many games he has won or 

lost. 

The facts are nobody seems to know 

for sure. For that matter, it appears that 

nobody, including him, really cares. 

Family support is vital to a career of service, and the Vennell family enjoyed a moment 

together after the award presentation. From left: Brian and Nicole Roberts, Jeff and Judy 

Vennell and Kara and Arron Cooper. 

Alors! Egads! Horrors! You mean this isn’t 

all about binging over “conference this” 

or “regional that” or national championships? 

No standing tributes or sceneending 

ovations for won-loss records? 

Apparently not! Where’s Groucho when 

we need him? “Why, that’s the most 

ridiculous thing I’ve ever hoid!?” 

So what are we doing here? How does 

a sports organization honor someone 

who fails to break the sacred barriers 

of “winningest” this or “bestest” that or 

“mostest” of the universe? Is this a joke? 

Meeting over! Banquet adjourned! Ceremony 

cancelled! But wait! There must 

be another wrinkle? 

Perhaps there really is a road less 

travelled. What if the whole issue of 

“honor” is all about defining itself? What 

is honor anyway? And, if it is a worthy 

pursuit – what is its meaning? Google 

says “honor” is “an award for bravery…”; 

“an accolade…”; “…a tangible symbol 

signifying approval or distinction.” 

A quick glance back reveals that there 

have been honorees of every ilk. Great 

coaches and mentors for sure, but also 

doctors, lawyers, professors, referees, 

World Cup members and even college 

presidents. 

At first glance, this year’s recipient 

appears to be the guy from “maintenance” 

who comes onto the plane when the pilot 

says one of the gadgets isn’t working. A 

closer look reveals that he, indeed, might 

not be big-time in the win-loss column, 

but he is a Hall of Famer with his former 

players and, certainly, with his own family. 

To them, and apparently all that know 

him, he is hard-working, loyal, very caring 

and extremely conscientious. 

Moreover, he is devoted, more private 

than most would think, but undeniably 

loves soccer, loves those he directs and 

loves the National Soccer Coaches Association 

of America. And, oh by the way, he 

did win more than 100 games – far more 

than he lost! And those who did play for 

him hold him in high esteem paying him 

the utmost respect as a mentor, teacher, 

man of integrity and honor. They say he 

was “…generally quiet, not a ‘screamer’, 

somewhat elusive at times, but always 

available and always prepared.” He is “the 

glue that keeps the platform in place”! 

He was born Aug. 14, 1944, in Glen 


NSCAA photo by Perry McIntyre Jr.

Ridge, N.J., the son of a World War II B-17 pilot. He grew up in nearby Bloomfield, 

in a neighborhood where the streets were filled with kids playing all sorts of games, 

including basketball, which early on became his sport of choice. But in the ninth 

grade he turned out for soccer and played for a past Honor Award winner named 

Bob Nye, who was beginning his first coaching stint. He “…loved the game, immediately…” 

and “…was hooked for life,” according to Nye. After graduation he was 

off to Springfield College where he played for Irv Schmid (another NSCAA legend), 

who named him co-captain of the 1965 team, and where he played alongside another 

NSCAA Honor Award winner, Ray Cieplik. 

He graduated magna cum laude in 1966 with a degree in physical education and 

went across town to the University of Massachusetts, where he earned his master’s 

degree in the same discipline one year later. He continued his soccer-playing career in 

the Connecticut State League with yet another Honor Award winner, Amherst’s Peter 

Gooding. 

It was also in 1967 – Jan. 22, to be exact – that he wooed and married Judy 

Varjian, whose first attraction primarily was alphabetical. As a freshman enrolled in 

a rather large class, she was separated by two other people whose last names began 

with the letter V from a soccer player named Jeffrey Vennell. In 1972 they welcomed 

daughter Nicole (now Nicole Roberts) and in 1975 Kara (now Kara Cooper, mother 

of the Vennell’s granddaughter Julia). 

In 1970, he was named freshman and assistant varsity coach at Columbia University 

and the following year accepted the head coaching position at Williams College. 

While at Williams his teams were ECAC and regional NCAA champions and, in 

1978, he was named New England Coach of the Year. The next stop was Ohio’s Kenyon 

College where, from 1978-1987, Jeff’s teams garnered conference championships 

and postseason honors. 

From 1987-1999 he served as Director of Sports and Recreation for the University 

of Rochester, as well as Director of Coaching Education for the Fairport, N.Y., 

Youth Soccer Association. In 1999 it was on to Bloomfield Hills, Mich., where Jeff 

was appointed Athletic Director for Cranbook Schools and Director of Education for 

12 Soccer Journal • March-April 2008 



the area’s youth soccer associations. In 

2004 he was the recipient of Cranbook 

School’s coveted Dawkins Award for 

outstanding contributions to the athletic 

program. Now it gets crazy! 

Time does not permit anything 

close to a proper recitation of the 

things Jeff Vennell has achieved – off 

the field – let alone contributed to the 

game of soccer in America. And, even 

though he doesn’t care about wins and 

losses, it would border on the criminal 

not to reference at least some of what 

he has accomplished. 

With reference to administrative and 

committee functions, he has done it all. 

A mere sampling of some, but not all, the 

myriad committees he has served – and 

frequently chaired – includes the New 

England Intercollegiate Soccer Executive 

Board; the Ohio Collegiate Soccer Association; 

the USSF Coaching Committee; the 

ECAC Selection Committee; the New York 

region’s men’s and women’s NCAA Soccer 

Committee and the NCAA Men’s and 

Women’s Soccer Rules Committee. With 

reference to publications and materials 

– used to foster and promote educational 

programs for aspiring coaches – he has au- 

Jeff and Judy Vennell proudly display the new design 

of the Honor Award trophy. 

thored or co-authored articles on all aspects 

of the game, including receiving, dribbling, 

elevating passing skill, heading, coaching 

long passing, choosing the correct tactic, 

advanced training sessions, learning the 

Dutch way and many more. 

With reference to the coaches association, 

he, quite possibly, could be called “Mr. 

NSCAA.” In 1993-94 he served as President 

of the NSCAA and has served or continues 

to serve in a multitude of capacities, 

including the Board of Governors, 

Secretary, Vice President for Education, 

Rating Board, Strategic Planning Committee, 

Soccer Journal Editorial Board, 

Membership Committee, NSCAA Site 

Selection Committee, DVD Council, 

Soccer Ambassador Committee, Coach 

of the Year Committee, Coaching Academy 

and, since 1987, a member of the 

Academy’s National Coaching Staff. 

Suffice it to say that the Honor 

Award this year is being presented 

to a man who, perhaps more than 

anyone in this association’s history, 

represents the guardian and curator of 

all that is good and honorable about 

the NSCAA. It may even mean that 

– finally – there is a household name 

that will be the reference point for remembering 

all the great names that have 

gone before. One thing is certain: If gold 

medals are given for service and just plain 

day-to-day contributions to the cause, he 

always will be at the head of the class. 

Therefore, the National Soccer 

Coaches Association of America proudly 

presents the 2007 Honor Award to Jeffrey 

Vennell! 




Yeagley, 

Sanderson 

Enter Hall 

of Fame 

The NSCAA inducted legendary Indiana University coach 

Jerry Yeagley and Paul “Sandy” Sanderson, whose tireless efforts 

help grow the association at the high school level, as the 43 rd 

and 44 th members of its Hall of Fame during its annual Awards 

Banquet on Friday, Jan. 18, in Baltimore, Md. 

Yeagley began his remarkable 

coaching career at the 

helm of the men’s club team 

at Indiana in 1963. After 10 

years and a record of 78-25- 

7, the team was elevated to 

varsity status, beginning a run 

that is unparalleled in men’s 

intercollegiate soccer. During 

Yeagley’s 31 years as varsity 

coach the Hoosiers compiled a 

544-101-45 record, made 28 

NCAA Tournament appearances 

and won six national 

titles. In the first 13 years that 

the Big Ten held a conference 

championship, Yeagley’s team 

claimed 10 titles. 

A six-time NSCAA National 

Coach of the Year, 

he has been named Big Ten 

Coach of the Year eight times, record totals for both awards. He 

received the NSCAA’s Bill Jeffrey Award, recognizing long-term 

service to intercollegiate soccer, in 1987, and the association’s 

Honor Award in 1997. He concluded his tenure at Indiana 

in 2003 with an 18-match unbeaten streak on the way to his 

sixth NCAA title. Under his direction, Indiana players have 

been named NSCAA All-America 49 times, and 65 have played 

soccer professionally. Twenty Hoosiers have played for the U.S. 

National Team. 

Sanderson joined the Suffield (Conn.) Academy staff in 

1952, where he taught history, mechanical drawing and public 

speaking in addition to his coaching responsibilities in soccer, 

basketball and tennis. During his tenure he also served 

as Suffield’s Director of Admissions and Assistant Headmaster 

and spent four years as the school’s Headmaster. As the varsity 

soccer coach, he fashioned a 156-77-22 career record before 

leaving Suffield in 1978 to work for the American Secondary 

Jerry Yeagley won six NCAA Division I national titles while coaching 

at Indiana University. Along the way he was named NSCAA National 

Coach of the Year six times, more than any other coach. 

Jack Huckel (left) of the National Soccer Hall of Fame and NSCAA President Steve Malone (center) 

presented Paul Sanderson’s Hall of Fame plaque to his family (from left): son Paul III, wife Gail and son 

David. 

Schools for International Students and Teachers (ASSIST). 

His efforts to grow the sport branched in several directions. 

He was founder and president of the Western New England 

Preparatory School Soccer Association and was president of the 

NASL’s Hartford Bicentennials from 1974-76. He also served 

as a vice-president of the NSCAA and received two Letters of 

Commendation from the association, recognizing his coaching 

success, organizational efforts for prep school soccer and his 

work to attract independent and high school coaches into the 

NSCAA. Those efforts laid the foundation for the association’s 

growth into the largest coaches association in the world, with a 

membership that now exceeds 26,000. Sanderson, who passed 

away in 1986, was represented by his wife, Gail, and sons Paul 

III and David. 

Yeagley and Sanderson will be enshrined in the NSCAA 

display during Big 3 Weekend activities at the National Soccer 

Hall of Fame in Oneonta, N.Y., on Saturday, Aug. 2. 




Four are honored for service 

to the Association and the sport 

Bill Jeffrey Award: 

John Rennie, Duke 

In 35 years as a college coach, Rennie compiled 454-206-50 record. In the past 29 years, he built 

Duke into one of the nation’s most respected programs. His Blue Devils made 20 NCAA Tournament 

appearances, reached the College Cup five times. His three trips to the title game resulted in the 1986 

national championship, the first won by Duke in a team sport. Rennie ranked fifth all-time in career 

victories and his 95 conference wins are the most in the ACC. His teams won six ACC regular-season 

titles and three league tournament championships. The 1982 National Coach of the Year, he was a 

five-time ACC Coach of the Year. Five of his players earned National Player of the Year honors and 29 

were named All-America. Pictured at left: John Rennie (right) with NSCAA President Steve Malone. 

Robert W. Robinson Award: 

Rothwell “Rusty” Taylor, Bentley School 

Taylor has been a fixture in West Coast high school soccer since 1972. He has 

coached at four different schools in the San Francisco area, compiling a career 

record of 1139-207-74. He has surpassed the 500-win plateau as a boys coach and 

the 600-win mark coaching girls. During his stint as the boys and girls coach at San 

Francisco University High School, he won 766 games and four national coach of the 

year awards. His NSCAA national recognition includes the Girls Large School Coach 

of the Year award in 1982, the Boys Private/Parochial Award in 1992 and the Girls 

Small School Award in 1999. He also helped grow the NSCAA presence on the West 

Coast by serving at times on both its Coach of the Year and All-America committees. 

He currently coaches at the Bentley School, where he also is athletics director. 

Pictured at right: Rusty Taylor (center), President Steve Malone (left) and Robert W. Robinson. 

Youth Long-Term Service Award: 

Efraim “Chico” Chacurian 

Chacurian has a long and distinguished career as a player and coach, earning him entry into the 

National Soccer Hall of Fame as a player in 1996. He began coaching youth soccer in 1962, while still 

an active player. He and other coaches have conducted ODP recognition sessions at Rider College for 

35 years, developing teams for the Region I National Youth Program. His professional playing career 

began in 1939, when he signed with the famed Racing club of Buenos Aires. He came to the United 

States in 1947, when he began playing for several clubs in the New York City area. He then moved 

to Connecticut, where he played for Bridgeport City, a team he later coached. A former member of 

the U.S. National Team, he also coached at Southern Connecticut State and Yale University. He still 

coaches, working with a U-9 girls team, and participates in the local “old-timers” match every Tuesday 

night. Pictured at left: Chico Chacurian (right) with President Steve Malone. 

Mike Berticelli Excellence in Coaching Education Award: 

Schellas Hyndman 

Hyndman has been an influential part of the NSCAA Academy staff for a number of years. As 

a member of the Senior Academy Staff, he has shaped the instruction of NSCAA candidates and 

has taught NSCAA courses throughout the nation as well as in England and Brazil. The former 

NSCAA Vice President for Education and NSCAA president in 2005, he also is an NSCAA Director 

of Coaching Emeritus. He has a career record of 466-122-49 in 31 seasons as an NCAA Division I 

head coach. Pictured at right: Schellas Hyndman (right) and President Steve Malone. 




NSCAA photo by Perry McIntyre Jr. 

MEET THE 2007 NSCAA/ADIDAS 

NATIONAL COACHES OF THE YEAR 

Pete Felske (center) of Wheaton (Ill.) College was presented his third NSCAA/adidas National 

Coach of the Year Award by NSCAA President Steve Malone (left) and Ernesto Bruce of adidas. 

NCAA Division I 

Men – Jay Vidovich, Wake Forest 

Vidovich led the Demon Deacons to 

their first NCAA men’s soccer title, compiling 

a 22-2-2 record in 2007. It marked 

the second consecutive trip to the College 

Cup for Wake Forest. In 14 seasons, Vidovich 

has a record of 187-81-27 and has 

never had a losing season as head coach. 

Women – Ali Khosroshahin, Southern California 

In his first season as head coach, 

Khosroshahin led the Women of Troy to 

their first NCAA women’s soccer national 

title and a 20-3-2 record. He is the 

first coach in NCAA history to win the 

national championship in his first season 

with a team. In seven seasons as a head 

coach, he has a record of 96-43-8. 

NCAA Division II 

Men – Marco Koolman, Franklin Pierce University 

Koolman led Franklin Pierce to a 17-2-4 

record and its first NCAA Division II championship. 

In eight years, his Ravens have a 

112-37-19 record and have advanced to the 

NCAA Tournament each of the last five seasons. 

Koolman has a record of 186-66-25 

in 14 years as a head coach. He also earned 

National Coach of the Year honors in 1993 

while coaching at Gannon. 

Women – Chuck Sekyra, Seattle Pacific University 

Sekyra’s team went on a string of 23 

consecutive wins in 2007, carrying them 

to the NCAA Division II semifinals for the 

second time in three years. Concluding 

the season at No. 4 in the NSCAA/adidas 

national rankings with a 23-1 record, 

Sekyra improved his career record to 96- 

10-8 in only four years. 

NCAA Division III 

Men – David Saward, Middlebury College 

Saward brought Middlebury its first 

NCAA championship with an 18-2-2 

record. In 23 seasons as the Panther coach, 

he has taken his team to the postseason 

20 times. A five-time regional coach of the 

year, he has a career record of 251-83-36. 

Women – Pete Felske, Wheaton College (Ill.) 

Felske’s Thunder won its third NCAA 

title in four years by posting a 27-0 mark 

and extending its string of victories to 

45. With 13 CCIW and five regional 

titles to his credit, Felske earned his third 

NSCAA/adidas National Coach of the 

Year award. He has a 306-83-18 record in 

20 seasons at Wheaton. 

NAIA 

Men – Phil Wolf, Azusa Pacific University 

Under Wolf’s direction, Azusa Pacific 

won its first NAIA national championship 

on its third trip to the title game. Posting 

a record of 20-1-1, Wolf now has a 107- 

25-15 record in seven seasons at APU. 

He also was the NSCAA/adidas National 

Coach of the Year in 2005. 

Women – Gerry Cleary, Martin Methodist 

University 

Cleary’s RedHawks won their second 

national championship in three years 

with a 19-4-1 record, in the process reeling 

off victories in their final 16 matches. 

During his five seasons at Martin Methodist 

he has a career record of 88-19-5. 

He also was the NSCAA/adidas National 

Coach of the Year in 2005. 

NCCAA Division I 

Men – Jim Rickard, The Master’s College 

Rickard won his third NCCAA title, 

the team’s fifth overall, with a 12-6-3 

record. His squad defeated both top 

seeds during its run through the NC- 

CAA tournament. It capped a remarkable 

comeback from the first back-to-back 

losing season’s in Rickard’s 17-year stint 

at the school, where he has a 210-129-26 

record. 

Women – Dr. John Bratcher, Indiana Wesleyan 

University 

Bratcher guided his Wildcats to a 21- 

2-1 record and the national title. IWU was 

undefeated in conference play while claiming 

the Mid-Central College Conference 

regular-season and tournament championships. 

Bratcher earned NCCAA national 

coach of the year honors in 1983 and 1985 

while coaching at Grand Rapids Baptist, 

now Cornerstone University. 

NCCAA Division II 

Men – Dr. Rick Wright, Manhattan Christian 

College 

Wright’s Crusader squad won its second 

NCCAA Division II national championship 

in three years with a 23-3 record. In his 16 th 

season as the coach at Manhattan Christian, 

Wright has a 282-63-8 career record and 


MAKE A NOTE: 

SIGN UP FOR 

AN NSCAA 

NON-RESIDENTIAL 

COURSE THIS YEAR 

Find a nearby course from the list below, or check NSCAA.com for 

the most up-to-date schedule. 

March 

7-8 Regional Diploma, Newport News, Va. Contact: 

Al Cousineau, 757-753-3968 

7-8 Regional Goalkeeping Diploma, Hockessin, Del. 

Contact: Steve Roper, 610-747-0838 

7-8 State Goalkeeping Diploma, Binghamton, N.Y. 

Contact: Steve Mastronardi, 607-743-6356 

7-9 Advanced Regional Diploma, Wilbraham, Mass. 

Contact: Gary Cook, 413-596-2145 

7-9 National Goalkeeping Diploma, Indianapolis, Ind. 

Contact: Isang Jacob, 317-532-6376 

8 State Diploma, Davenport, Iowa. Contact: Mike 

Orfitelli, 563-340-3555 

8, 16 Regional Goalkeeping Diploma, Binghamton, 

N.Y. Contact: Steve Mastronardi, 607-743-6356 

9 State Diploma, Hanover, Pa. Contact: Michael 

Flickinger, 717-324-6062 

9 State Diploma, Staunton, Va. Contact: Kyle 

Congleton, 540-836-7088 

9 State Diploma, Austin, Texas. Contact: Nick 

Hallam, 512-762-0263 

9 Regional Goalkeeping Diploma, Cape May Court 

House, N.J. Contact: Christine McMullen, 609-425-9016 

14-15 Regional Diploma, Bayonne, N.J. Contact: Simon 

Nee, 201-583-7044 

14-15 Regional Diploma, Kingston, R.I. Contact: John 

O’Connor, 401-255-4465 

14-16 Advanced Regional Diploma, Hoopeston, Ill. 

Contact: John Klaber, 217-799-4425 

14-16 Advanced Regional Diploma, Austin, Texas. 

Contact: Nick Hallam, 512-762-0263 

15 State Diploma, Wilmington, Del. Contact: Steve 

Roper, 610-747-0838, ext. 206 

15 State Diploma, Mt. Airy, Md. Contact: Paul Riley, 

301-763-9172 

15 State Goalkeeping Diploma, Carlisle, Pa. Contact: 

Dustin Shambach, 717-243-2525, ext. 221 

15 State Goalkeeping Diploma, Austin, Texas 


16 Regional Goalkeeping Diploma, Carlisle, Pa. 

Contact: Dustin Shambach, 717-243-2525, ext. 221 

16 Regional Goalkeeping Diploma, Austin, Texas 


16 State Diploma, Independence, Mo. Contact: Brett 

Simpson, 816-305-1185 

22 Parent Coach Diploma, Lititz, Pa. Contact: Mike 

Logan, 717-393-2665 

22 Advanced Regional Diploma Supplement, 

Teaneck, N.J. Contact: Simon Nee, 201-583-7044 

26 Parent Coach Diploma, Germantown, Md., 

Contact: Louise Waxler, 301-528-1480 

26-30 Advanced Regional Diploma, Hoboken, N.J. 

Contact: Tim O’Donohue, 201-216-5244 

28 State Diploma, Cedar Falls, Iowa. Contact: Sue 

Rink, 319-404-1307 

28 State Goalkeeping Diploma, Cedar Falls, Iowa. 

Contact: Sue Rink, 319-404-1307 

28-29 Regional Diploma, La Crosse, Wis. Contact: Chris 

Buchanan, 608-498-9205 

28-29 Regional Diploma, West Chester, Pa. Contact: 

Steve Wilman, 610-747-0838, ext. 203 

28-29 State Diploma, Sharonsville, Ohio. Contact: Neil 

Bradford, 800-233-7291 

28-30 Advanced Regional Diploma, Greensburg, Pa. 

Contact: Bill Urbanik, 412-491-2591 

29 State Diploma, Palmyra, Pa. Contact: Charlie 

Grimes, 717-867-6267 

29-30 Regional Diploma, Weymouth, Mass. Contact: 

William McEachern, 781-337-7500 

29-30 State Diploma, Cedar Falls, Iowa. Contact: Sue 

Rink, 319-404-1307 

29-30 State Goalkeeping Diploma, Cedar Falls, Iowa. 

Contact: Sue Rink, 319-404-1307 

30 State Diploma, Oberlin, Ohio. Contact: Cooper 

Martin, 440-309-5206 

April 

4-6 Advanced Regional Diploma, Medford, Ore. 

Contact: Gary Osterhage, 541-210-6157 

5 State Goalkeeping Diploma, Metuchen, N.J. 

Contact: Al Piotrowski, 973-432-6314 

5 State Diploma, Burnsville, Minn. Contact: Tony 

Englund, 612-805-9262 

5 Advanced Regional Diploma Supplement, 

Wallingford, Pa. Contact: Steve Wilman, 412-491- 

2591 

8, 15 State Diploma, Park Ridge, Ill. Contact: Bob 

Dollaske, 847-823-7717 

11-12 Regional Diploma, San Jose, Calif. Contact: Marco 

Santillan, 408-834-6012. ¡En Español! 

11-12 Regional Diploma, Glen Rock, N.J. Contact: Terri 

Rios, 201-218-7491 

11-13 Advanced Regional Diploma, Allentown, Pa. 

Contact: George Crampton, 610-282-1100, ext. 1635 

11-13 High School Coaches Diploma, Temecula, Calif. 

Contact: Cyndi Goodwin, 951-217-4029 

12 Advanced Regional Supplement, Wallingford, Pa. 

Contact: Steve Wilman, 610-747-0838, ext. 203 

18-20 National Goalkeeping Diploma, Tampa, Fla. 

Contact: Randy Belli, 813-927-3077 

27 State Goalkeeping Diploma, Newton, Mass. 

Contact: Jon McIntyer, 617-645-3165 

May 

3 Special Topics Course, Mechanicsburg, Pa. 

Contact: Matt Billman, 717-258-0076 

To schedule an NSCAA Non-Residential Course in your area, 

contact your NSCAA Regional Technical Director (see our web site for a list) or call 800-458-0678. 


won 16 conference titles. He also earned 

NSCAA/adidas National Coach of the Year 

honors in 2004. 

Women – David Loesser, Philadelphia Biblical 

University 

Loesser led Philadelphia Biblical to a 

12-9-2 record in his first season, including 

a 7-2 record in the North Eastern 

Athletic Conference, good for a thirdplace 

regular-season finish. His team 

scored 62 goals while allowing only 28. 

Four of his players earned NCCAA All- 

America recognition. 

Junior College Division I 

Men – Michael Pantalione, Yavapai College 

The only head coach in the program’s 

history, Pantalione led Yavapai to its 

sixth NJCAA title. The 24 wins in 2007 

were a school record and improved 

Pantalione’s career mark to 417-29-13. 

It is the fourth time he has been named 

NSCAA National Coach of the Year 

(1990, 1997, 2002), the most among 

coaches at the junior college level. 

Women – James Haislip, CCBC-Catonsville 

Haislip blended a balanced mixture 

of freshmen and sophomores around 

the versatile Shaneka Gordon to propel 

Catonsville to the NJCAA Division I 

national title. Their 21-1-0 record earned 

them the No. 1 spot in the final NSCAA/ 

adidas Division I junior college ranking. 

Junior College Division III 

Men – Alex Louis, Union College 

Louis led his team to a record-breaking 

season that featured both offense and defense. 

His team scored 128 goals and had 

the nation’s top three goal-scorers while allowing 

a mere 0.696 goals-against average. 

With a record of 21-1-1, they finished No. 

4 in the final NSCAA/adidas Division III 

junior college national ranking. 

Women – Bill Rich, Broome Community College 

A 20-1-0 record this season gave 

Rich’s Broome Community College the 

No. 1 spot in the final NSCAA/adidas Division 

III junior college national ranking. 

High School Division I 

Boys – John Conlon, East Kentwood (Mich.) 

Conlon’s team became the first school 

from the western half of the state to win the 

Michigan Division I boys state championship. 

They finished the season with a 25-1-1 

record and earned the No. 11 spot in the final 

NSCAA/adidas boys fall national ranking. 

Girls – Julie Bergstrom, Waubonsie Valley (Ill.) 

Bergstrom’s team made history last 

season, giving the school its first state title 

and the No. 1 ranking in the final 2007 

NSCAA/adidas spring national poll. Her 

squad matched the state record for wins in 

a season with a 30-0-1 record, becoming 

only the fourth Illinois girls soccer team to 

finish the season undefeated. 

High School Division II 

Boys – Shelley Blumenthal, Blacksburg (Va.) 

Blumenthal’s Blacksburg side went 

undefeated last spring, logging a 23-0-1 

record while claiming the state title. It 

was the eighth Group AA crown Blumenthal’s 

teams have won and also the 

last, as Blumenthal has stepped down 

after 16 years as the Blacksburg coach. 

Girls – Judi Croutier, Rockville Centre 

South Side (N.Y.) 

Croutier’s 22-0-0 record included the 

school’s fourth consecutive Class A state 

championship, its 14 th overall. South 

Side ended the season as the No. 1 team 

in the final NSCAA/adidas girls fall 

national ranking. The team has won 28 

consecutive postseason games and won 

20 county titles in the past 22 years. 

High School Private/Parochial 

Boys – Bill Vieth, Evansville Memorial (Ind.) 

Vieth led his Tigers to their first sanctioned 

state championship and 11 th overall 

state title. Memorial ended the season 

ranked No. 2 in the NSCAA/adidas fall 

boys national rankings. The team posted 

a 23-0-2 record, including Vieth’s 350 th 

career victory and the program’s 500 th win. 

Girls – Michele Nagamine, Kamehameha 

(Hawaii) 

Despite graduating a dominating 

group of seniors, Nagamine was able to 

rebuild and claim her second consecutive 

state championship with an 11-0-2 

record. It also was the fifth for the school 

since state championships were begun 

in Hawaii in 1982. Nagamine has been 

named the Hawaii Coach of the Year the 

past two seasons. 

Youth 

Boys – Steve Nichols, Owings Mills, Md. 

One of the nation’s most successful 

youth coaches during the past five years, 

Nichols has led his Casa Mia Bays teams to 

12 Maryland state cup titles, eight Region 

I championships and national crowns each 

of the last five years. Last season the Bays 

won three state championships (U-14, U- 

17 and U-19), two regional championships 

(U-14 and U-19) and one national championship 

(U-14). He also earned 2007 

NSCAA/adidas Regional Coach of the Year 

honors at McDonogh High School. 

Girls – Clyde Watson, Washington, D.C. 

Watson guided the McLean Freedom 

U-16 team to the 2007 USYS national 

championship. The club’s technical director, 

he also is director for the Washington 

Freedom Player Development Academy. A 

Washington, D.C. native, Watson has been 

part of the area’s soccer scene for nearly 

25 years. He was named the 1998 Virginia 

Youth Soccer Association Boys Coach of 

the Year and also was an assistant coach for 

the Washington Freedom of the WUSA. 

Assistant Coach 

Glenn Myernick College Assistant Coach of the 

Year – Eric Yamamoto, Santa Clara University 

Yamamoto recently concluded his 

17 th season as an assistant coach at Santa 

Clara, where he helped the team to a 13- 

4-4 record and the No. 7 spot in the final 

NSCAA/adidas national poll. A former All- 

America goalkeeper, he has helped both 

the men’s and women’s teams establish 

formidable defensive reputations. He also 

is active with the U.S. National Team, having 

served as an assistant at last summer’s 

Pan American Games. 

High School Assistant Coach of the Year 

– Sheldon Cohn, Norfolk Academy (Va.) 

An orthopedic surgeon by trade, Cohn 

has lived his passion for soccer as the assistant 

coach at Norfolk Academy since 2001. 

His impact has been apparent, with the 

team winning 93 percent of its games since 

then, including five Virginia Prep League 

titles and the 2002 VISSA state championship. 

He also has been active in the youth 

game as a coach, referee and administrator 

at the local and state levels. 



COACHING GENERATION Y 

AND MILLENNIAL PLAYERS 

By Dr. Rick Underwood 

For the last three years at the NSCAA 

Convention, the largest crowd of coaches 

has packed in to hear Bill Beswick tell his 

wonderful stories and discuss psychological 

strategies for building a winning team. 

In fact, during the past few years some of 

the best-attended sessions at the convention 

have been addressing the psychological 

aspects of the game. 

Most coaches come to the game having 

been an outstanding player and possessing 

great technical knowledge of the 

game, but some struggle with leadership 

skills in the areas of team building and 

psychological management of players. 

This is especially true when coaching 

players from a younger generation. 

Recently, a very successful high school 

girls’ coach framed the challenge “These 

girls seem more selfish than any team I 

have coached over the last 20 years.” My 

response was “Are they selfish, suffering 

from entitlement issues or are they just 

different?” 

This article will briefly discuss: 1) the 

unique challenges of coaching younger 

Generation Y and Millennial players; 2) 

leadership skills needed for coaching this 

group of players; and 3) some practical 

suggestions for creating a winning 

environment. 

UNIQUE CHALLENGES OF 

COACHING YOUNGER GENERATION Y 

AND MILLENNIAL PLAYERS 

While it is dangerous to stereotype 

any group, research has confirmed there 

are traits each generation has in common. 

Generalizations are helpful as a 

way to begin understanding someone 

else. They give us insights, awareness and 

empathy that can lead to new coaching 

approaches. There is not room here for 

a full discussion of the different traits 

between Veterans (Radio Babies), born 

between 1930-45; Baby Boomers, born 

between 1946-64; Generation X, born 

between 1965-76; Generation Y, born 

between 1977-90, and Millennials, born 

after 1991. This article will focus on the 

similar traits between the Generation Y 

and Millennial (ages 30 and under) because 

they are the youth, high school and 

college players of today. 

A generation is a group of people who 

are programmed at about the same time. 

During any given generation, the media 

bombards children with compelling 

messages. Educational systems, parenting 

patterns and other unique circumstances 

in life all shape and mold the children 

of that era. Each generation has its own 

mood or tone that pervades the developing 

perspectives of its children. Certainly 

there are many other diverse issues that 

effect the development of attitudes, values 

and behaviors such as race, socio-economic 

status, ethnic background, family 

configuration, regional differences, etc. 

But research has shown that similarities 

pervade, even into the soccer lives. 

Here are some generalizations about 

the younger Generation Y and Millennial 

players. 

1. Compelling messages that affect these 

players: 

• Be smart – you are special. 

• Leave no one behind. 

• Connect with each other 24/7. 

• Achieve now. 

• Serve your community 

2. Parenting styles that influenced these 

players: 

• Parent advocacy 

• Put children first 

• Soccer moms 

• Supervision 

3. Resulting values, attitudes and expecta- 

tions on these players: 

• Positive team environment 

• Future oriented teams 

• Collaboration 

• Challenges 

• Fun 

• Flexibility 

All of this translates into a generation of 

players with a different work ethic than any 

other generation. Raised by parents who 

Each generation has its own mood 

or tone that pervades the developing 

perspectives of its children. 

valued the importance of self-esteem, they 

tend be very confident. Optimistic about 

the future, they expect their coaches to 

create a challenging, collaborative, creative 

and fun training and playing environment. 

Goal- and achievement-oriented, these 

players expect immediate feedback on how 

they are doing. They are used to being 

organized into teams and making sure no 

one is left behind. Therefore, they want 

teams where everyone is treated fairly. They 

expect their coaches to be positive and 

respectful. They are open to learn new skills 

and knowledge but need to be encouraged. 

Coach turn-offs for this generation of players 

are cynicism, sarcasm, unfairness and 

condescension. 

LEADERSHIP SKILLS NEEDED TO 

COACH GENERATION Y PLAYERS 

If you are a Generation Y coach, you 

probably are very effective. However if you 

are from one of the other groups, doing 

what comes naturally may not work with 

these players. When was the last time you 

thought, “these kids are spoiled and don’t 

know how to work hard” or “these players 

are self-centered and don’t know how 

to work as a team” or “I wish these kids 


would grow up and separate from their 

parents”? Obviously, coaches influenced 

by other generational values and attitudes 

may struggle to lead these Generation Y 

players. In fact, it is common for Veteran, 

Baby Boomer and Generation X coaches to 

experience clash points with players over 

training, recruiting, motivating, communicating 

and retaining. 

So what is the older coach to do? 

Some coaches move into administrative 

positions or get out of athletics completely. 

Other coaches choose to work 

with players who will adapt to their style. 

There are three basic levels of response to 

working with these young players. 

Acknowledge it and let it go. In other 

words, when you realize there are generational 

values and attitude differences, you 

can acknowledge them and let go of your 

frustration. If you can’t change your situation, 

then change your attitude toward it. 

“This player is a younger player and I am a 

Baby Boomer coach – we are acting typical 

for our generation.” Obviously, this strategy 

isn’t going to work over the long haul. 

Change your behavior. You change 

something you do, such as what you 

say or how you say it. There has been 

a resurgence of interest in research on 

emotional intelligence and its implication 

for leadership, especially with younger 

players. Emotional intelligence refers 

to the capacity for recognizing our own 

feelings and those of others, for motivating 

ourselves and for managing emotions 

well in us and in our relationships. 

In his latest book “Primal Leadership,” 

Daniel Goleman differentiates between 

resonant and dissonant leadership. Dissonant 

leadership sways players feelings 

negatively, undermining the emotional 

system that helps players be their best. 

Under this leadership style, players feel 

dispirited, unmotivated, burned out and 

discouraged or they leave. Resonant leadership, 

on the other hand, influences the 

emotions of the players positively, connecting 

authentically with players, helps 

the players to be their best and builds 

passion for the team goals. 

This is not a “soft” approach – increasing 

your coaching EQ allows you to 

connect and create positive relationships 

with your players that will more likely lead 

to outstanding results. The EQ skills that 

work best with Generation Y players are 

emotional self-awareness (recognize how 

your and their feelings influence perfor- 

mance), assertiveness (deal with difficult 

issues directly and welcome feedback), 

empathy, social responsibility (want to 

develop players and give praise generously), 

interpersonal relationships, flexibility and 

optimism. Studies have shown a positive 

correlation between coaches who possess 

these leadership skills with results as measured 

by win/loss records. 

Use an understanding of the generational 

differences to talk and listen. Out 

of this dialogue you can reach some new 

understanding about how to work together. 

In his book “Focused for Soccer,” 

Beswick summarizes the challenge of the 

modern coach: “Coaches must develop 

the philosophy and skill to change the 

culture of their teams, to gain access to 

the power of positive attitudes and to influence 

change from negative to positive, 

hope to belief and fear to confidence.” 

Some practical suggestions for 

creating a winning environment for the 

younger generation players 

• Read everything you can about the Generation 

Y and Millennial players. Challenge 

your own assumptions about what 

motivates this generation of players. A 

high school girls coach asked players to 

answer questions about events, places, 

music and people who had influenced 

them. The coach used these answer to 

have a discussion with the players about 

resulting values and attitudes. This process 

not only helped the coach build a 

relationship with the players, but also 

provided some valuable insight about 

what motivated these players. 

• Look at your emotional EQ and decide 

if you want to improve in the areas discussed 

above. A motivated Baby Boomer 

coach actually took the ECI (a 360 EQ 

evaluation) and had a cross-section of 

his players take the instrument, which 

provided surprising information about 

the gaps in how he saw his strengths and 

weaknesses and how the players viewed 

them. As a result the coach discovered 

how de-motivating his sarcastic comments 

were and how his players really 

needed immediate feedback (communication) 

on how they were doing. 

• Don’t fight parental involvement, embrace 

it. Find creative ways to involve 

them. A coach who was struggling 

with “negative attitudes” with players 

realized some of the parents constantly 

were voicing negative opinions about 

what the coach was and wasn’t do- 

ing with the team. The coach called 

a meeting of the parents and invited 

them to be a part of the solution. The 

coach clarified her goals and values, 

listened to the parents’ concerns and 

then adopted a communication process 

through which concerns could 

be addressed. The coach then worked 

with the parents to schedule a series of 

parent-only social gatherings for team/ 

parent building. Out of this process a 

number of parents stepped up and volunteered 

for supportive jobs. The team 

chemistry gradually improved, leading 

to greater on-field success. 

• Communicate, communicate, communicate. 

Share information with players and ask 

for a lot of feedback. Listen and adapt. 

When possible, decisions are made by 

consensus. A college coach provided 

a weekly email newsletter for parents 

and players to share pertinent information. 

Through this medium questions, 

concerns and suggestions were invited. 

Parents who had been feeling out of 

control of their players’ lives were able 

to relax and the energy was transferred 

to players. When themes emerged that 

seemed important, the coach would 

address them proactively with the 

team, asking for their input and when 

possible reaching a consensus about 

what to do. This same coach instituted 

a team council representing each class, 

which would meet weekly and discuss 

issues and provide suggestions and 

feedback to the coaching staff. 

• Involve your players in creating the 

vision, team values and team goals. 

A high school coach took the team 

on a pre-season retreat where they 

discussed their hopes and dreams 

for the season. Through a variety of 

team-building activities the players 

crafted specific, measurable, attainable, 

realistic and tangible goals for the season. 

Each individual player’s goal was 

included in the team goals, distributed 

and discussed often throughout the 

season. 

• Use a web-based feedback system 

to weekly evaluate progress toward 

team goals. Be sure this process is 

confidential and allows for immediate 

feedback with suggestions for 

improvement. You may want to use 

a blog. The same coach described 

above contracted with a peak performance 

coach to create a web-based 


feedback system. The team’s values 

and goals were stated in behavioral 

terms and put into questionnaires 

on the web site. The team picked 

three categories: motivation, focus 

and positive. Each week the players 

would go on the web site and confidentially 

evaluate the team’s progress 

on each of the behavioral categories 

(for example: “we had focused warmups 

before games” and “we pushed 

each other in conditioning”). The 

players could log on any time and 

see how the entire team was rating 

each behavioral category and the 

comments. After three or four weeks, 

the team and coach could evaluate 

their strengths and weaknesses and 

discuss possible behavioral solutions 

to address the weaknesses. The process 

kept the players focused on the 

process goals and values as well the 

end result goals. 

• Create a challenging training environment. 

Balance positive and constructive 

feedback. Be open to suggestions 

from players for improvement. Older 

coaches always should be upgrading 

soccer skills through continuing coach- 

ing education, thus ensuring variety 

and challenging training. At the end of 

the season, one high school coach had 

the team’s seniors design and conduct 

a couple of training sessions focusing 

on what they thought mattered most 

to the team. The players responded 

extremely well. Another high school 

coach invited several of his returning 

seniors to participate with him in 

an NSCAA State Diploma coaching 

course, then used them throughout the 

year as training assistants. 

• Reward and reinforce good practice and 

play. Celebrate successes. 

• Always be fair and respectful and deal 

with problems in a proactive, straightforward 

manner. A tendency for some 

coaches is to ignore problems between 

players. A successful college coach is 

great at noticing issues brewing. In 

consultation with a peak performance 

coach she has developed a workable 

conflict resolution process. A reduction 

in drama and increased resonance has 

been the result of using this process. 

• Make a connection with every player at 

every practice. Many coaches have assistants 

touch base with every player dur- 

ing a training session and game to make 

sure personal and soccer-related issues 

are being addressed. Some coaches institute 

a weekly session with each player to 

discuss anything but soccer. 

• Use a sense of humor often. Do fun 

things with the team such as a community 

service project. Rafting trips, 

challenge courses, team trips, soccer 

clinics and camps are a few ways 

coaches and teams have done teambuilding 

and community service. 

• Stress that soccer is a learning ground 

for future life. Coaches need to debrief 

what was learned from both wins and 

losses. Help players apply these connections 

to everyday life. 

Conclusion 

By taking an honest look at the values 

that have influenced your players and 

your coaching philosophy, you can break 

the unproductive self-fulfilling prophecy 

that often leads to team dissonance 

and disappointing results. Find creative 

means for closing the generation gaps 

and empower your young players to realize 

their potential. 


Thank 

You! 

The Exhibit Hall at the NSCAA Convention is 

known as the largest soccer-specific trade 

show in the United States. The support of 

these exhibiting companies helps make our 

annual gathering the success that it is. 

2SV Sports Santa Filomena 

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SEI 

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In Search of the Perfect 

Training Session 

“If I was asked to find one word to describe 

one of the main differences I have 

noticed in 25 years of coaching,” Gerard 

Houllier (left) remarked at this year’s 

elite club coach’s forum, “the word would 

probably be ‘why?’ Today’s players want 

to know the reasons behind each session 

on the training ground – and, of course, 

you have to be ready to give them a good 

answer.” >>> 


An Interview with Per Omdal 

At today’s multilingual professional 

club, this can become even more demanding 

– which is why some technicians, 

Takis’ Lemonis among them, now 

open the proceedings with an explanatory 

talk, either on the training pitch or 

in the dressing room. Pragmatism apart, 

the coaches at the forum emphasized 

that modern footballers tend to be toplevel 

students of the game and, in order 

to attain maximum levels of motivation, 

need to feel involved and, to a degree, 

responsible for the shape of training 

exercises. 

Jose Mourinho voiced the opinion of 

many coaches when he said he encourages 

feedback from his players and 

prefers to implement a “guided discovery” 

strategy on the training ground. 

“Sometimes an exercise starts in one 

way and finishes in a totally different 

way,” he commented. 

Everybody has his or her modus operandi, 

but the clear message was that the 

days of “just do what I say” are history. It 

was a theme which cropped up again at 

the UEFA Coach Education Symposium 

in London, attended by representatives 

from all 53 member associations and, in 

addition, colleagues from FIFA and the 

other confederations. There was a clear 

consensus that, in today’s dressing-room 

climate, the technician is required to 

devise training exercises which are motivating, 

interesting and totally relevant to 

match play. 

“The important thing is to start with 

clear objectives that you can explain to 

the players,” Mourinho commented. “And 

then you design the exercise to attain 

those objectives. But you want input from 

the players and, like matches, exercises 

can start in one way and end in a different 

way. But everything must be gamerelated. 

The game is the end, so it should 

also be the beginning. 

“I use a global method,” he told 

UEFA’s Andy Roxburgh during a recent 

interview. “I use direct methods when 

preparing our organization but I also 

use guided discovery where I create the 

practice, dictate the aim and then invite 

the players to come up with different 

solutions. My practices are aimed at 

developing an aspect of my team’s play 

– they are specific for my style of football. 

Sometimes I decide I won’t use a 

certain practice again because I am sure I 

can devise a better one with this specific 

outcome in mind.” 

During his time at Chelsea FC, 

Mourinho enjoyed the luxury of brandnew 

training facilities at Cobham – and 

one of the features he regarded as basic 

was the ability to conduct training sessions 

on two adjacent pitches. “This allows 

you to prepare exercises in advance 

without having to stop working to move 

cones or change goals. Players can simply 

switch from one pitch to the other, taking 

some fluid in the meantime, and that 

allows you to conduct a 95-minute session 

with match-like intensity. That has 

a big influence on the players’ levels of 

concentration.” 

Some would argue that a peak-ofthe-pyramid 

club like Chelsea is not 

the perfect example in that many of the 

players have been acquired rather than 

developed. Zico, who was poised to 

make his UEFA Champions League debut 

with Fenerbahce SK, admitted that his 

training program focuses as much on the 

development of the individual as on the 

construction of a winning team. “It’s important 

to go back regularly to basics and 

to make the player feel responsible for his 

actions,” he said. 

Claude Puel endorsed his viewpoint. 

“When you have a young squad like 

we have at Lille,” he explained, “there 

is a need to develop players. Training 

therefore becomes an educational process 

as well as the means of preparing for a 

specific game. This is why competing in 

the Champions League was important. It 

helped us to raise standards.” 

“I think this is why many of us complain 

that we don’t have enough time,” 

FC Porto’s Jesualdo Ferreira added. “Today’s 

fixture list barely leaves us enough 

training time to prepare for matches, let 

alone work on player development. In 

my average week, the emphasis is firmly 

on team tactical work rather than anything 

else.” 

“The objectives are usually tactical 

variations for a specific game,” Ottmar 

Hitzfeld agreed. “If you have time, you 

work on attacking and defensive patterns, 

passing options and transition. And to 

make training sessions successful, you 

Focus: Coaching ✪ Ages: U-15 and above 

need a fitness trainer who has hundreds 

and thousands of exercises.” 

The role of the fitness coach was a 

theme which cropped up again in London. 

“Top-level football is so important,” 

Houllier commented with a smile, “that 

we have to be careful about how much 

we leave to the fitness coach.…” 

For Houllier, the training ground is 

one of the places where the personality 

of the coach – as well as his/her methods 

– become highly relevant. “Today’s players 

are usually top-level students of the 

game. They want to ask questions about 

what happens when we meet opponents 

who do this or do that. And the training 

ground is where the coach’s enthusiasm is 

passed on to the players.” 

At the symposium in London, Houllier 

stressed the importance of building 

an entire season as a coherent training 

project aimed at raising the level of competence, 

building confidence and mutual 

trust among the players and establishing 

a culture of constant progress and 

improvement. Both he and Hitzfeld also 

highlighted the need for training sessions 

to combine fun and efficiency. 

But what is efficiency? Is it simply 

measured by the next results? These are 

two of the many questions posed by Arsene 

Wenger, a restless mind if ever there 

was one. 

“It’s correct to say that we have 

limited time in comparison with other 

sports,” said Wenger. “So what is the 

most efficient way of using, for example, 

a one-hour session? Sometime I think 

that a training session has been good, but 

that’s a subjective assessment. How can 

we objectively measure the effectiveness 

of a session? What is the best way for us, 

as coaches, to work on aspects such as 

vision or reading the game? I still cannot 

unravel the mystery of exactly what 

makes a player suddenly improve and 

develop.” 

Sir Alex Ferguson maintains “a top 

coach needs an imagination – we all want 

to be the coach that created the perfect 

goal.” Wenger would surely love to be the 

coach who created the perfect training 

session. 

This article originally was published in 

Champions Magazine. 


Focus: Coaching ✪ Ages: U-15 and above 

Team Notebooks 

Writing to the Next Level 

By Richard Kent, Ph.D. 

University of Maine 

The following article is Part I of a three-part series focused on 

Team Notebooks, or what Dr. Rich Kent calls “writing to learn in 

athletics.” These three articles provide coaches at all levels with 

the how-to’s and why-to’s of employing Team Notebooks as learning 

tools to more fully develop individual players and teams. The 

writing in Team Notebooks helps players think like coaches, moves 

team discussions to new levels and adds another way to learn the 

game of soccer. The writing in these notebooks keeps coaches more 

thoroughly informed and serves as a unique teaching tool. Kent’s 

research in the field of “writing to learn in athletics” and his use of 

Team Notebooks as a coach offer us a unique opportunity for professional 

development and team enrichment. 

For years, on international tours and during high school 

seasons, I have used Team Notebooks to enhance communication 

and amplify learning. As learning tools, the notebooks 

serve as a place for players to reflect, analyze and note-take as 

well as to set goals. Over the years, Team Notebooks became as 

much a part of my players’ kits as water bottles and foul-weather 

studs. They may do the same for you and your players. 

Getting Started 

Team Notebooks engage seniors and first-year students, 

stars of the pitch and benchwarmers… in different ways. And 

that difference is the beauty of such a learning activity. Writing 

adds insight and variety to a player’s athletic experience and has 

the potential to fill in knowledge gaps, for example when players 

start analyzing a match in their notebook and realize they 

don’t quite understand how a 3-5-2 defends a 4-4-2. Writing is 

not the ultimate in learning for every player – but then again, 

neither is a coach’s halftime talk. The version of notebooks 

introduced in this series of articles has five sections: 

• Pre-Season Thoughts – Guides players in thinking about the 

previous season and the upcoming season. Players write 

about their preparation and goals for the season. Writing 

Preseason Thoughts takes the average player 10-15 minutes. 

Coaches will read and perhaps take notes on the collection 

in 15 to 30 minutes. 

• Match Analysis I – Guides players in reflecting on a match. 

The one-page reflection takes an average player three to five 

minutes to complete. Coaches will read and perhaps take 

notes on the collection in 10-20 minutes. 

• Match Analysis II – Guides players in writing about a match 

that their team watches together. The two-page observation 

takes average players 10 minutes to complete. Coaches will 

read and sometimes take notes on the collection in 10-20 

minutes. 

• Post-Season Thoughts – Guides players in thinking about the 

past season while making plans for the future. 

• Player’s Notes – A place for taking notes and sketching plays 

as well as storing information from the coach. 

These notebooks may be adapted in any fashion to fit your 

program needs. There is no one right way. If the notion of Team 

Notebooks is appealing to you, my best advice when starting 

out is to keep them manageable for both you and your players. 

The bottom line in using Team Notebooks for me as a coach: 

Writing improved my “soccer classroom.” Let’s begin with Pre- 

Season Thoughts. 

Pre-Season Thoughts 

These forms may be handed out at a pre-season meeting or 

at the first training session. If you mail home a player information 

packet (as we often do for travel teams), the Preseason 

Thoughts may be included. The two-page sheet takes a player 

about 10-15 minutes to fill out. The coach, assistant or team 

manager collects and photocopies the sheets. The photocopies 

are placed in the coach’s four- to six-inch three-ring binder, and 

the originals go back to the players for their notebooks. 

Jonathan’s Pre-Season Thoughts (Figure 1) reveal an 11th 

grader who has prepared well for the season. On the pitch 

and in the classroom, this 16-year-old shows himself to be a 

thoughtful young man. His balanced personality and steady 

play bring calm and confidence to his fellow defenders and, 

indeed, to the whole team. What’s striking in Jonathan’s writing 

is how well he sees himself as a player. He writes with the kind 

of knowledge and understanding that next-level players possess, 

and yet Jonathan’s writing is that of a fun-loving teenager 

who’s all about the game, his friends and spaghetti feeds at the 

coach’s house. 

When reading my players’ Pre-Season Thoughts, the coach 

can use a highlighter to note certain passages (e.g., a player has 

a part-time job). Even though coaches may know their high 

school players fairly well, they always may discover something 

through this reading. Naturally, these pages provide special 

insight into new players. For newcomers, first-year and transfer 

players, keeping a Team Notebook often proves to be a unique 

experience and tends to elevate the stature of the team in their 

eyes. 

The assistant coach and trainer also can read the Preseason 

Thoughts. This common experience adds to the conversations 

about individual players. Used as references, the sheets may 

help the coach decide that last spot on the first team, assist in 

filling out all-star award forms, highlight health/fitness issues 

and offer points of contact with players for future discussions 

about training and match play, college and work. 

When players write about their preparation for the competitive 

season, several benefits emerge. For dedicated players, 

those who have fully involved themselves in off-season training 

and arrive at pre-season fit and determined, writing such a reflection 

can build confidence. In addition, sharing these accom- 


Falcon Soccer 

Pre-Season Thoughts 

Player: Jonathan, sweeper 

3 My strengths last year as a player: 

Last year I felt confident in the air. I loved winning 50-50 balls. 

I’ve gained a lot of confidence on the pitch these past couple of 

years. I understand the game better – I can see how attacks are 

developing and I know what to say to my defenders. I bet if you 

asked the forwards from other teams they’d say I’m good at delaying. 

I love playing against great players (Remington from Telstar) 

– I used to get scared, now I get up for them. 

3 My weaknesses last year as a player: 

My communication wasn’t the best. Like you said, young players 

think about themselves & don’t talk much – experienced players 

speak up. Thanks to the summer matches I already have better 

talk. My left foot was squirrelly...Not this year! :) 

3 My preparation for this season has been the following: 

Winter soccer, summer matches, and camp. I coached community 

center summer soccer. I did the deal! I’m prepared. Bring it on. 

3 My goals for this season include the following: 

Talk, composure & leadership on and off the pitch. 

3 Last year our team strengths included: 

Moving to space. Staying composed during the physical matches. 

We liked each other! 

plishments with coaches and training staff proves motivational. 

For those players who have prepared only marginally for the 

competitive season, composing the Preseason Thoughts’ pages 

can be a hollow experience. This can prove motivational, too. 

The reality check may impact long-term player development by 

serving as an incentive. Clearly, writing about poor preparation 

won’t necessarily inspire an athlete to train to new levels in the 

future, but then again it might. At the very least, this activity 

can help players see the emerging picture of their athletic identity 

and serve as one more piece of a larger wake-up call. 

Pre-Season Thoughts generate deeper conversations, provide 

players with a forum for goal-setting and keeps the team staff 

informed. In some ways, the Match Analysis I builds on the 

work of this preseason writing. 

Match Analysis I (MAI) 

The MAI guides athletes in reflecting on their individual 

performances as well as those of their teammates and the opponents. 

The prompts in this section of the notebook steer 

players away from reducing a match result to one-dimensional 

accounts like “the referees had it in for us.” The MAI helps players 

gain perspective and moves them, in large and small ways, 

toward thinking as coaches. 

Jonathan’s analysis as sweeper (Figure 2) begins with a discussion 

of his ability to maintain compactness in defense. His 

writing about communication (“Right amount of talk – I didn’t 

talk too much like at Lisbon”) shows that he has applied his 

learning from one match to another. Jonathan also recognizes 

the difference he makes in the play of less confident teammates 

like Jason. When reading an entry like this one by Jonathan, the 


3 Last year our team weaknesses included: 

What can I say, we were young. Not really a weakness but like 

you said our age defined our play. We didn’t have the stength to 

finish a lot of our attacks. Not this year! Light it up! 

3 I am taking the following classes this fall: 

Physics 

Pre-Calculus 

Writing Center English 

US History 

Psychology 

Figure 1 – Jonathan’s Pre-Season Thoughts (front and back) 

3 Other thoughts: 

I’m psyched we have friendlies against Class-A teams like Lewiston 

– playing up will help us. 

I know it’s a pain – BUT, everyone likes the spaghetti feeds at 

your house. The first 11 will help with clean up and everything. 

I guarantee we’ll make it through the second round of the play-offs 

this year. We’re ready. 

Falcon Soccer 

Match Analysis I 

Player: Jonathan, sweeper 

Falcons v. Leavitt Date: 9/17 Place: Away Final: 1-0 Win 

Records – Falcons: 4 W 0 L 0 T Opponent: 3 W 1 L 0 T 

3 My strengths as a player in today’s match: Maintained defense’s 

compactness. Right amount of talk – I didn’t talk too much like 

at Lisbon. I had a brilliant run through the midfield into the 

attacking third. :) 

3 My weakenesses as a player in today’s match: I could have been 

more supportive of Jason. When I encourage him he plays better. 

3 Team strengths in today’s match: Maintained defense’s compactness. 

Right amount of talk – I didn’t talk too much like at Lisbon. 

I had a brilliant run through the midfield into the attacking 

third. :) 

3 Team strengths in today’s match: We worked as a team – great 

support – positive comments...Good halftime adjustments. 

3 Team weaknesses in today’s match: We could have been more 

inventive in attack during the 2nd half. We used Matt too much. 

3 Opponent’s strength: They never let down. #9 had warp-speed. 

His runs opened space and chances on goal. 

3 Opponent’s weakness: Their midfielders and forwards did not 

mark us well in attack. 

3 What was the “difference in today’s match: Our midfielders support 

of the forwards...and, did I mention, a brilliant run by the 

sweeper? 

3 What team adjustment would you suggest for the next match against 

this opponent? #9 = FAST. Move Dusty? More variety in 

attack. 

3 Other comments about team strategy, attitude, preparation... We 

were prepared! The seniors had us ready to play. Un-DE-feated! 

Figure 2 – Jonathan’s Match Analysis I (MAI) 


Focus: Psychology ✪ Ages: U-12 and above 

Mental Toughness 

Developing Self-Awareness 

By Erika Carlson 

Mental Toughness: Some have it. Some 

don’t. If you believe this, stop reading now. 

However, if you believe that mental 

toughness is teachable and you want to 

learn how to help develop it in your players, 

read on. 

The concept of mental toughness, even 

the psychological pillar as a whole, often 

seems more elusive than the other three pillars 

of soccer development (tactical, technical and 

physical). The most common reason for this is 

that coaches were not directly taught mental 

skills when they were players. Additionally, 

most have limited practical knowledge on 

how to coach the mental aspects of the game. 

Therefore, it was the case that some players 

were more mentally tough than others, just 

as some players are more physically talented 

than others. Times are changing. Sport 

psychology slowly is making its way into the 

world of soccer, right down to the youth level, 

and mental toughness can be developed, just 

like technical skills. There are practical and 

simple ways for coaches to enhance the mental 

toughness of their players. Let’s begin by 

examining the definition of mental toughness. 

Jones et al. (2002) provide a useful 

definition of mental toughness: 

Mental toughness is having the natural 

or developed psychological edge that enables 

you to 

• Cope better than your opponents with demands; 

competitive, training and lifestyle 

• Be more consistent and better than opponents 

in remaining; determined, focused, confident, 

resilient, composed under pressure. 

Developing mental toughness provides 

coaches some unique challenges. One of 

the first challenges is getting athletes to 

learn from themselves as they progress. 

Self-awareness is the foundation of learning 

and development. Athletes need to develop 

awareness of what they are thinking about 

and feeling emotionally (mental and emotional 

awareness) and also what they are 

feeling physically (kinesthetic awareness). 

It often is the case that athletes develop this 

through both trial and error and feedback 

from coaches. 

There is an additional way to increase 

self-awareness. Reflective practice is a relatively 

simple but incredibly effective process 

that allows athletes to exploit all playing experiences 

for their benefit. This writing task 

aids players in enhancing both their kinesthetic 

and mental and emotional awareness 

during both training and competing. 

This process can be incorporated into 

training by coaches, and many will find 

it useful to practice what they preach and 

commit to doing self-reflection exercises 

for themselves. The process of reflective 

practice is best explained by Gibbs’ (1988) 

six-staged model of reflective practice. 

Following training and games 

players need to answer the following 

questions. Reflections should consider 

technical performance, tactical performance, 

physical performance and 

psychological performance. 

1. Describe Your Experience: What happened 

in the practice, training or game 

situation? 

2. Thoughts and Feelings: 

a. What thoughts, emotions, physical 

feelings affected my performance 

both positive and negative? (excitement, 

nervousness, strong focus/lack 

of focus, anger/frustration) 

b. How did my coach, teammates, 

opponents, equipment affect my 

performance both positively and 

negatively? (What was said, how did 

I respond, was I able to recover) 

3. Evaluation: What was good about this 

performance (training, practice, game)? 

4.Analysis (Adjustments): What should I 

do differently in the future? 

5. Conclusion: What did I learn from this 

experience? 

6. Action Plan: Set performance goals for 

the next soccer session. 

Following training, practice or 

games, a small investment in time (10- 

15 minute) will help to create aware- 

Reflective practice is a relatively simple 

but incredibly effective process that allows 

athletes to exploit all playing experiences 

for their benefit. 

ness within the athlete about what happened, 

why, what was going on, how it 

felt, the result it had and adjustments 

that need to be made. While players 

may have this information “swimming 

around” in their heads, the process 

of writing it down systematically will 

clarify and confirm the athletic experience. 

This in turn will allow the athlete 

to move ahead with the next training or 

competition more focused. 

For example: Susie, a 15-year-old 

center midfielder, needed help to deal 

with all the negativity she was experiencing 

during games. She was tremendously 

hard on herself when she made a mistake 

and was known to yell out “Sorry!” to her 

teammates when she made a mistake. 

Susie was introduced to the reflective 

process, which was used both as a tool 

for to assess what exactly was going on 

internally with Susie’s self-talk and as a 

tool for Susie to become more aware of 

what was going on. In our work, we began 

to refer to Susie’s self-talk as the “little 

voice.” She would speak in the third 



person about the little voice. “The little 

voice would not shut up today!” 

Her reflections revealed that the little 

voice was very active and very negative 

following mistakes. In order to recover 

from a mistake, Susie felt compelled to do 

something “right” to make up for it, like get 

possession back, make a good pass or score 

a goal. At times it could take several minutes 

for something “right” to happen. While 

waiting to redeem herself, Susie would 

punish herself internally the whole time, 

playing angrily and erratically, yelling at 

herself “You know better than that!” “How 

could you be so stupid?” “I can’t believe the 

coach hasn’t taken me out yet!” 

Susie began to write her complete 

reflections following each training 

session and game. She returned the 

following week and was asked to read 

what she had written in her reflections. 

As she read it out loud, her body language 

shifted and a look of amazement 

came over her face. She looked up and 

said, “I sure am wasting a lot of time on 

my mistakes! All I can think about is 

that stupid mistake I made!” 

It was clear that she was very distracted 

after she made mistakes. Susie agreed 

and suggested, “Yeah, I sure am! I really 

need to get back into the game, even after 

mistakes!” The important question was, 

“What should you be thinking about during 

that time?” 

Susie thought and replied, “The game, 

the ball, my position, communication… 

whatever my job is at the moment!” 

Awareness has been achieved! 

From this point, Susie was given a plan 

to include a cue word to get her refocused 

following mistakes or anytime she found 

herself focusing on “the little voice” instead 

of the appropriate task. The reflective process 

allowed Susie to look at herself more 

objectively and recognize her own patterns. 

With this self-awareness she can then move 

on to making appropriate adjustments to 

help improve her focus when needed. Susie 

proceeded to play more consistently, dealing 

with adversity in game situations better, 

remaining focused for the whole game and 

overall became more mentally tough. 

Notice that Susie did all of the work 

herself. She took the time to write up the 

reflections, she read it out loud and she 

made all the connections. This was her 

process. All that was needed of the coach 

was a list of reflective questions to give 

your athletes and some accountability 

to ensure the reflections are completed. 

Have players keep spiral notebooks in 

their gear bags and commit 10 minutes at 

the end of practice for players to reflect 

on their practice performance. Like other 

skills, reflecting takes some practice 

before players are good at it. Encourage 

players to communicate questions, positive 

insights or confusion that they may 

have as a result of reflecting. 

This process allows players to be more 

independent and take more responsibility 

for their own development as players. It 

also opens the door for communication 

between player and coach. (As a coach 

you also may find that you have players 

that may require more specialized training 

from a sport psychology consultant.) 

As Susie showed us, the self-awareness 

that she gained from the reflective practice 

allowed her to make adjustments to cope 

better with mistakes and play more consistently 

focused, confident and resilient. She’s 

got it. She proved that mental toughness is 

teachable through self-awareness. 

Editor’s note: Erika Carlson specializes 

in youth sports and is the Sport Psychology 

Consultant for Bodymax Sports Training in 

Pleasanton, Calif. She also works extensively 

with The National Champion Girls Soccer 

Club Pleasanton Rage providing services for 

the clubs teams and individual athletes to 

increase teamwork and performance. 



Focus: Coaching ✪ Ages: All 

Coaching Conversations 

A way of fostering athletes to peak performance 

By Rune Høigaard, 

University of Agder, 

and Arild Jørgensen, former 

coach to the Norwegian 

National Cross-Country 

Ski Team 

The following article is reprinted 

from the Olympic Coach 

E-zine, which is a free service of 

the United States Olympic Committee. 

To subscribe – http:// 

coaching.usolympicteam.com/ 

coaching/ksub.nsf. 

Even though there is 

a considerable amount of 

literature on coaches and the 

coaching process, there is no 

single framework or empirical 

model of effective and successful 

coaching that has achieved 

consensus (Lyle, 2002). Given 

that there is a wide variance in 

athletes’ needs between sports 

and competitive levels, gaining 

consensus may not necessarily 

be crucial. Nevertheless, 

there may be some coaching 

behaviors and approaches that 

make a particular contribution 

to effective coaching. 

One reason for Norwegian 

success in sport may be 

the common understanding 

among coaches that it is important 

to include and involve 

the athletes in analyzing, 

planning and evaluating training 

and competitions. This 

gives athletes the opportunity 

to take greater responsibility 

for their careers and to gain 

more understanding of their 

sport. Moreover, when this 

is achieved through a close, 

honest and caring relationship 

between the coach and 

the athletes, a mastering and 

productive atmosphere arises. 

This increases the athlete’s 

motivation and passion for the 

sport, influences attitudes and 

prolongs effort and performance. 

Individual coaching 

conversations (ICC) appear 

to be a significant method in 

achieving this. This purpose 

of this article is to describe the 

central aspects of ICC. 

According to Høigaard 

& Jørgensen (2000)1, the 

ICC approach is a structural 

development process. The 

main focus is to train athletes 

to help themselves in order to 

achieve success. The role of 

the coach in these conversations 

is to set up the process 

and guide the athletes through 

the process in a focused way. 

The coaches’ communication 

skills and how they structure 

the processes are significant in 

order to be successful. 

The main objective of 

the conversation is athletic 

performance and to develop 

a positive and offensive state 

of mind in relation to training 

and competition. Nevertheless, 

coaches need to adopt a 

holistic view of the athlete by 

focusing on and demonstrating 

interest in different aspects 

of an athlete’s life. 

This is important for 

several reasons. First, it 

demonstrates that the coach 

is interested in the athlete as 

a person and not just his/her 

athletic performance. Second, 

it may increase the athlete’s 

self-awareness and, more 

important, help the athlete 

understand that self-esteem or 

self-respect is linked to more 

than performance. Third, 

increased knowledge and 

understanding of the athletes 

is necessary when analyzing 

stress and estimating the 

athlete’s total load, which is 

important when planning or 

regulating the total training 

and competition load. 

One main departure in the 

ICC approach can be taken 

from the Danish existential 

philosopher Søren Kirkegaard’s 

Art of Helping (as cited 

in Høigaard & Jørgensen, 

2000). 

“If one is truly to succeed 

in leading a person to 

a specific place, one must 

first and foremost take care 

to find him where he is and 

begin there. This is the secret 

in the entire art of helping. 

Anyone who cannot do this 

is himself under a delusion 

if he thinks he is able to 

help someone else. In order 

truly to help someone else, I 

must understand more than 

he - but certainly first and 

foremost understand what he 

understands. If I do not do 

that, then my greater understanding 

does not help him 

at all. If I nevertheless want 

to assert my greater understanding, 

then it is because 

I am vain or proud, then 

basically instead of benefiting 

him I really want to be 

admired by him.” 

Kierkegaard’s words are 

both philosophical and practical. 

In order to develop an 

effective coaching relationship 

and process, insight into 

how the athlete perceives and 

experiences the situation is 

required. The athlete’s experience 

and view is the core 

and baseline of the coaching 

process in order to establish 

an effective coaching process 

and develop the athlete. In addition 

to knowledge about the 

sport, e.g. technique, tactics 

or general competence in 

strength training and endurance, 

the coach also needs 

to know about communication, 

coaching processes and 

structures. 

Kirkegaard refers to his 

text as “the art of helping.” 

ICC may then be viewed as 

a form of aid for athletes in 

order to develop their athletic 

careers and enable them to 

reach peak performance. It is 

described as an art, and like 

artists, the coach needs intuition 

and creativity, combined 

with high standards. 

The ICC approach is based 

on the following assumptions: 

• Solution focused. Even 

though it may be necessary 

to analyze and reflect 

on problems and obstacles, 

don’t forget to adopt a solution-focused 

attitude, i.e. 

focus on what works. Steering 

attention toward situations 

or sequences when the 

athlete has succeeded, or focusing 

on the improvements 

and advances that already 

have been made, increases 

both motivation and selfefficacy 

and the chance of 

finding good solutions. 

• Use the athlete’s ability. 

Work in a way that it makes 

clear to the athlete what he/ 

she needs to do and emphasize 

that he/she has what it 

takes to conquer or solve 

the challenges, obstacles or 

problems. 

• Athletes are responsible. 

Involve the athletes in their 

own career. Ownership of 

plans, decisions and goals 

increases motivation and 

prolongs efforts to achieve 

goals or conquer obstacles. 

• Learning is essential. Coaching 

is a matter of learning. 

Good coaching is good 

teaching and the coach 

needs to create a good 


learning process and environment. 

We define ICC as a 

pedagogical approach that 

is context-dependent and 

context-sensitive. This might 

imply that there is a long list 

of conditions and terms that 

influence what is wise, professional 

or correct to do or say 

in the conversations. However, 

the context consists primarily 

of who is meeting, why they 

meet, what the topic is and 

when and where the meeting 

takes place. 

Moreover, as with pedagogical 

work in general, we 

need systematic knowledge 

in order to plan, accomplish, 

reflect and evaluate. The ICC 

is made up of eight different 

components that are reciprocally 

related (Figure 1) (Mathisen 

& Høigaard, 2004). 

Goals can be articulated 

clearly before the conversation 

– for example: the purpose 

of this planned and scheduled 

meeting is to draw up 

pre-competition plans. Goals 

also can be developed during 

the process as a response to 

challenges or problems that 

occur. Regardless of the type 

of occasion for the coaching 

conversation, it is important 

that the coach help the athlete 

to develop specific, concrete, 

challenging, but realistic goals. 

Athletes’ involvement in the 

goal process and in establishing 

well-formed goals is 

essential in order to create 

confidence, autonomy and 

motivation. It is proven that 

goals are beneficial in order 

to increase performance, to 

solve problems or to overcome 

obstacles (Burton & Naylor, 

2002; de Shazer, 1988). 

The content of the conversation 

can be selected or 

Figure 1 – The eight components in ICC are reciprocally related 

defined either by the coach or 

the athlete. It may be related 

to competition or training, 

but also to psychological 

and social conditions. It may 

further be related to a forthcoming 

challenge or competition, 

an ongoing situation or a 

reflection or evaluation of past 

experience. “As the national 

cross country coach for the 

Norwegian team, I always 

tried to have one main coaching 

conversation per month, 

in addition to the regular contact 

I had.” (Arild Jørgensen). 

Evaluation of the conversation 

can be done continually 

during the conversation or 

as a summing-up at the end. 

The athletes’ evaluation of the 

process and outcome needs 

to be evaluated in relation 

to established goals. This is 

important in order to ensure 

that the process is on the right 

track. It is also vital that the 

coach carries out self-reflection 

or self-evaluation. 

Systematic self-evaluation 

in order to ensure that the 

process is done properly is 

necessary and also will contribute 

to the coaches’ skill 

development. Evaluations can 

be done using a logbook of the 

conversations, audio recordings 

or peer observations from 

other coaches (ask the athlete 

for permission). A 

common challenge 

for coaches is lack 

of time, but taking a 

few minutes after a 

coaching session in 

order to reflect and 

evaluate what was 

good and whether 

something could 

have been done 

differently is a good 

investment. “In my 

monthly coaching 

conversations, 

the athlete and I 

always evaluate the 

training. We do not 

just look for mistakes, 

but try to be 

aware of the factors that have 

enabled us to move forward.” 

(Arild Jørgensen.) 

The coaching conversation 

can be described as having an 

inner and outer framework. 

Outer frameworks are the 

context, i.e. all the influential 

factors that surround the 

conversation (for example, 

place, goals, expectations). 

The coach, with his/her 

expertise, personal style and 

communication and coaching 

qualifications also is a framework 

factor. It is important to 

be aware of these factors and 

be able to deal, influence or 

even change them so that the 

coaching conversations have 

“optimal” conditions and effects 

in a particular situation. 

The inner framework is related 

to the conversation structure, 

i.e. how the conversation is 

organized – for example, using 

the COACH acronym: 

• Competency; assessing current 

level of performance. 

• Outcomes; setting outcome 

action. 

• Agreeing; drawing up tactics 

and initiating action. 

• CHecking; giving feedback 

and making sense of what 

has been done and learned. 

Remembering what was 

said in previous conversations 

and reminding the 

athletes about this provides 

the continuity that is necessary 

to create effective learning 

and optimal development 

processes. 

Methods are related to the 

coaches’ use of communication 

skills and methodical 

strategies. The coach can use 

a wide repertoire of different 

coaching skills. However, 

where such skills are lacking, 

the process may then be 

characterized as monotonous 

and rigid. Moreover, the process 

can be tight and formal, 

or accidental and intuitive. 

Nevertheless, the coaching 

conversation never will be 

better than the competence 

of the coach. Competence in 

sports-specific domains, as 

well as being able to communicate, 

organize and progress 

the coaching process, is 

essential. 

The coach-athlete relationship 

can be characterized 

by closeness, confidence 

and security, or by tension, 

mistrust and distance. In an 

effective coaching conversation 

process, the primary 

condition in order to persist 

and be effective is to create 

a positive, constructive, 

trusting and task-oriented 

relationship. The relationship 

often will be asymmetric, 

i.e. the coach generally has 

more competence, power or 

formal authority. Therefore it 

is necessary for the coach to 


use her/his power ethically in 

order to prevent unethical or 

incompetent behavior. 

Superior coaches are 

often recognized by their 

ability to sense their own 

and the athletes’ boundaries. 

The role the coaches execute 

in the conversations may be 

different from the role on the 

pitch, in a regular training 

session or as a team leader. It 

may therefore be necessary to 

explain the differences of this 

role and how this “conversation” 

role will be executed. 

This is especially important 

when athletes lack 

experience of coaching conversations.Misunderstandings 

based on uncertainty 

then may be cleared up. 

Within a solution-focused 

coaching approach, it is common 

practice to distinguish 

between three different types 

of relationships between the 

coach and the athlete: the 

visitor type, the complainer 

type and the customer type 

(Høigaard & Johansen, 

2004). 

• The visitor type relationship: 

Visitors are there because 

they have to be. The problem 

to be solved does not 

worry them much or they 

may not realize that they 

have a problem. 

• The complainer type relationship: 

Complainers contribute 

by giving precise 

descriptions of the problem 

but regard themselves 

as innocent “victims” and 

claim that those who have 

caused the problem, or 

who know about it, ought 

to find the solution. 

• The customer type relationship: 

Customers are 

motivated and eager to do 

something in order to solve 

the problem. 

The different relationships 

do not reflect an athlete’s 

personal qualities. They 

simply provide a description 

of the relationship between 

the athlete and the coach at 

a given time. The three types 

of relationship are more like 

categories of motivation 

arising from the interplay 

between the coach and the 

athlete in a way that makes 

the athlete a participant in 

the work of improvement. 

There are two important aspects 

that need to be kept in 

mind. First, the relationship 

between the coach and the 

athlete will change as a result 

of what happens during the 

course of the conversation. 

Second, the coach should try 

to create a customer relationship, 

making a “customer” 

out of a “visitor” or a “complainer,” 

adjusting the coaching 

accordingly. 

PERSONAL STYLE 

AND BEHAVIOR 

Coaches’ personal style 

and behaviors have a significant 

impact on the coaching 

process. Personal qualities 

always will be interwoven 

with the way in which the 

coach executes the conversations. 

It is therefore important 

that coaches are selfaware 

and know how their 

own attitudes and behaviors 

influence other. Moreover, 

it is essential that coaches 

have the ability and will to 

regulate their own behaviors 

in a way that is appropriate 

and positive for the athletes’ 

progress. The values and 

attitudes that contribute to 

establishing a helpful and 

productive relationship 

include being genuine (e.g. 

be yourself and don’t pretend 

to be someone else), having 

positive intentions, showing 

respect and being honest. 

THE EIGHT VARIABLES 

Some factors or elements 

are difficult or impossible to 

describe or predict. These unknown 

factors are labeled the 

“eight variables” and represent 

the “other” factors that are 

influential. 

CONCLUDING REMARKS 

Remember that the different 

components can have 

varying degrees of influence, 

depending on the situation 

and the context. In one situation 

or stage of the conversation 

it may be of vital importance 

to state the goal or the 

content clearly and crisply, 

while in other situations a 

clear understanding of the 

context may be the most important. 

What is important is 

that the coach is aware and 

understands the significance 

and content of these factors 

and, moreover, is able to use, 

moderate or regulate them 

in order to create an effective 

coaching conversation 

process. 

We are convinced that 

ICC is important for top 

athletes in order to extend 

their performance, but for 

athletes who lack confidence, 

are injured, are experiencing 

obstacles or are in a career 

transition situation, ICC is 

essential. A final piece of advice: 

in order to increase the 

impact and quality of ICC, 

on-going, systematic practice 

is necessary. Have a pleasant 

ICC journey with your athletes 

in order to reach peak 

performance! 

About The Authors 

Rune Høigaard (Ph.D) is 

an associate Professor at the 

University of Agder, Institute 

of Public Health, Sport and 

Nutrition. He is the author 

of several books and articles 

on sports psychology, group 

dynamics, coaching and counseling. 

He also is founder of 

the mentor program: Fostering 

coaches through mentoring. 

Høigaard has several years’ 

experience with individual 

coaching and team coaching in 

sport and in public and private 

organizations. 

Arild Jørgensen is the former 

coach to the Norwegian 

national cross-country ski 

team. With more than 30 years 

experience in coaching in a 

variety of branches of athletics, 

he has been using individual 

coaching conversations in his 

work in developing athletes 

and trainers. He now is head 

of special needs education in a 

junior high school and coaches 

a regional cross-country team 

as well as individual athletes 

at international level. He is a 

mentor for several top trainers 

in Norway. 

References 

Burton, D., and Naylor, S. 

(2002). The Jekyll/ Hyde 

nature of goals: Revisiting 

and updating goal-setting 

in sport. In T. Horn (Ed.). 

Advances in sport psychology 

(2nd ed., pp. 459- 

499). Champaign: Human 

Kinetics. 

de Shazer, S. (1988). Clues: 

Investigating solutions in 

brief therapy. New York: 

W.W. Norton. 

Høigaard and Jørgensen 

(2000) 1. Veiledningssamtaler 

i idrett. [Coaching 

conversations in Sport] 

Kristiansand, Norwegian 

Academic Press. 

Høigaard, R., and Johansen, 

B.T. (2004). The solutionfocused 

approach in sport 

psychology. The Sport Psychologist, 

18, 218-228. 

Lyle, J. (2002). Sport coaching 

Concepts. A framework for 

coaches’ behavior. London: 

Routledge. 

Mathisen, P., and Høigaard, R. 

(2004). Veiledningsmetodikk. 

En handbok i praktisk 

veiledningsarbeid. [Counselling 

methodology. A 

handbook in practical counselling 

work]. Kristiansand: 

Norwegian Academic Press. 

1. A new book: ‘Coaching 

Conversations with athletes’ 

will be available in 2008 



By Tim Nash 

LEARNING FROM 

THE BEST 

If you ever have observed a coach at 

work and thought you had not gotten as 

much out of it as you had anticipated, 

maybe you weren’t trying hard enough. 

Most observers make an effort to record all 

the drills of the session, how long it takes to 

do each drill, what the purpose of the drill 

is and the result of each drill. 

However, that is only a small part of 

what an onlooker can acquire from the 

experience of watching a coach work. 

Two of the USA’s most successful coaches, 

UCLA men’s coach Sigi Schmid and North 

Carolina women’s coach Anson Dorrance, 

believe that an observer who pays attention 

only to the basic workings of a training session 

has just scratched the surface. 

“Too often when we watch a coach work, 

we just write down the sequence of drills,” 

says Dorrance. “At the end of the day, we have 

notes on how he organized practice – what 

went first, what went second, where the players 

ran, where the balls were. When you’re 

done, you have an imprint of the coach’s 

practice…all that is not without merit. Part 

of observing a coach, certainly, is watching 

the progression of practice.” But observers 

sometimes don’t get involved in the session at 

all and they miss the good stuff. 

“When I see people observing a training 

session, they stay in the stands, and they 

shouldn’t,” says Dorrance. “If they sit in the 

bleachers, they are missing what I think 

are the essential aspects of coaching. It’s 

not a collection of exercises that makes a 

coach consistently successful. It’s how he 

drives his players in a session. It’s how they 

respond to the coach and play at a higher 

intensity level in every session.” 

Schmid agrees. When he has been in 

the role of an observer, Schmid is looking at 

methods of leadership. “When I go watch 

a coach work – whether it is a soccer coach 

From Soccer Journal, March-April 1996 

or any coach – I like to watch the way that 

person interacts with the team,” he says. 

“There are some group dynamics going 

on. I look for what is allowed to happen 

and when it is allowed to happen, as well 

as what isn’t allowed to happen. Basically, 

you are looking for leadership styles. Even 

within the training environment, there is a 

lot of this going on – not so much correcting 

the players, but when the coach steps in 

and when the players are allowed to play. 

“How the coach cultivates the team is 

how he or she interacts with the group, what 

leadership methods are being used. And what 

takes place in training often relates to the way 

a coach leads his or her team.” 

Dorrance made his plans to observe 

some training sessions this winter and 

spring, and he had a very specific idea of 

what to watch. “I asked (former University 

of Virginia coach and U.S. Olympic coach) 

Bruce Arena if I could come in and watch 

his sessions, and he encouraged me to do 

that,” says Dorrance. “I’m not just going 

to watch what he does in practice, even 

though that would certainly be interesting. 

I’m going to watch how he handles his 

players and what he says throughout the 

practice to get his players to compete at 

higher and higher levels. I’m also interested 

in what his relationship is with the players 

off the field, what he says in meetings. 

“Basically, I’d like to see what his organization 

structure is – is it tight, or is it a 

little loose? If it is real tight, how does it 

Reviving articles of interest from 

the archives of Soccer Journal 

fit in with his persona as a leader? If it is 

loose, how does he still maintain control 

without being a dictatorial martinet? 

“I’m interested in how he had that run 

of success at Virginia,” Dorrance added. “I 

know it’s not just the organization of his 

practice sessions. It also has to do with 

his personality in relation to the teams he 

An observer who only pays attention 

to the basic workings of a training session 

has just scratched the surface. 

trained and the people he’s trained.” 

Much of Dorrance’s interest in watching 

Arena coach stems from when Dorrance 

was the men’s coach at UNC. 

“The critics of any coach who is successful 

like to point to all the (player) talent 

they have as a reason for their success,” 

says Dorrance, whose success is often 

downplayed because of the perception 

that he had all the best players. “I coached 

against Bruce before he had any talent, and 

I thought he did very well. I was competing 

against him when he made the transition of 

having an average team in the ACC to having 

the best. I saw him work special aspects 

of his coaching leadership that I think all of 

us can learn from. 

“My curiosities when I go in to watch 

Bruce work are not just his selection of 

drills but what he says during those drills. I 

want to hear what he says when he brings 

them together in the middle of practice.” 

Getting peak performance 

Schmid points out that you can’t copy 

a coach’s style of leadership. If the coach 

you are observing has an entirely differ- 



Photo by Perry McIntyre Jr. 

ent personality than yours, that style of 

leadership will not work for you. For 

instance, Steve Sampson probably would 

not be effective using Woody Hayes’ motivational 

techniques. 

But Schmid believes you can take parts 

of any coaching style and adapt them to 

your own personality. “I was recently at a 

When Anson Dorrance observes another coach’s practice, he 

takes note of elements beyond the organizational structure. 

coaching school, and I was watching one 

of the students give a lesson,” he says. “I 

thought it was really good. In fact, the 

whole time I was watching, I was thinking, 

‘How can I adapt that to my college team?’ 

“I’ve always believed that you teach 

from a base point of what you are most 

comfortable with,” Schmid added. “For 

me, I feel I’m best at being a bird chirping 

in your ear. I feel I have the most success 

by putting the team in game situations and 

constantly reminding them with things like 

‘Now is the perfect time for you to make 

that run,’ and ‘See! There it is again.”’ 

Because motivating and instilling a desire 

to compete at higher levels are such difficult 

areas for coaches to address, the successful 

coaches constantly are looking for new ways 

to instill these qualities in their players. 

“When I watch a soccer coach, I don’t 

necessarily want to know why they play a 4- 

4-2,” says Schmid, who served as an assistant 

coach to Bora Milutinovic with the 1994 U.S. 

World Cup team. “I’m more interested in how 

they get peak performance out of their players. 

And there are so many small things. 

“For example, Bora was very good at 

keeping the players a little off balance, and he 

used that to motivate them. If he had a player 

who was not bringing his best performance 

every day to practice, he would make him 

uncertain about his status within the team.” 

There are many ways to run a practice and 

Dorrance believes that most coaches today 

know the basic way to structure a training session. 

There is, however, much more to it. 

“If coaching were simply stringing 

together a collection of drills and organizing 

a practice,” says Dorrance, “then that coach 

sitting and watching from the stands could 

set up a practice and claim to have the same 

impact of Bruce Arena. 

“It’s not those collections 

of exercises that make a 

coach consistently successful. 

It’s how he drives his 

players in a session. It’s how 

they respond to the coach 

to play at a higher intensity 

level every session.” 

Other than the basic 

structure of a practice, 

there are several aspects of 

a training session to watch 

that will help an observer 

understand how a coach 

motivates the players. 

“It could be the things 

said during the session,” 

says Dorrance. “It could be the things 

said when he or she brings them together. 

It might be what is said in the team 

meeting before the session. Maybe it’s 

what was written to them in a cover letter 

before they came to camp. Maybe it’s how 

he or she acts off the field — is he or she 

very intimidating and distant, making the 

players afraid of him or her, or a really 

nice guy and that players genuinely like? 

“These are the issues that are critical 

in leadership, and I’m always curious 

as to the essence of leadership. Can you 

actually teach and instruct leadership, or 

is it something that comes from within?” 

Learning from the greats 

Schmid and Dorrance both have 

had opportunities to watch some very 

successful coaches in action, and the 

lessons they took away have helped them 

become successful themselves. 

“I watched Pat Riley when he was 

coaching the LA Lakers,” says Schmid, 

who observed the NBA coach when the 

Lakers were training at UCLA. “Outside 

observers would think that the coach of a 

team that had Magic Johnson and Kareem 

Abdul-Jabbar on it would just roll out the 

balls and let them go. But I was amazed 

at how much intensity he demanded and 

how much he required them to work. 

“What I found interesting was how 

he used Magic to motivate Kareem. He 

would say, ‘Hey Magic, we’re not getting 

into our offense soon enough.’ He 

did that instead of insisting Kareem get 

involved earlier. You don’t know all the 

internal dynamics of the team, but maybe 

he knew that Kareem would respond better 

to Magic than he would to him.” 

Schmid also was fortunate enough to 

be able to learn from legendary UCLA 

basketball coach John Wooden. “When 

I was younger, I watched him at UCLA,” 

Schmid says. “He had such a mild approach, 

but there were times when he 

was very animated. When most people 

want to get attention, they get louder. 

But Wooden would get the best results 

by speaking softer. To get his point 

across, he would call the team together 

and speak in a soft voice. All his players 

would be playing close attention.” 

Dorrance also learned a bit from a 

basketball coach. As a young coach, Dorrance 

spent time observing UNC’s Dean 

Smith. From Smith, he learned about the 

proper time and place to display emotion. 

“There is a public perception of Dean 

Smith that he is a very business-like 

coach who coaches without passion, and 

people think he is successful because of 

his wonderful organizational structure,” 

says Dorrance. “If you watch Dean Smith 

work, what you are struck by first is that 

his sessions are certainly wonderfully organized, 

but if his players aren’t working, 

his passion comes out immediately. 

“I think this is what surprises people 

about a lot of these very successful 

coaches. There are environments when 

you want to be calm, cool and collected. 

But there also are situations when you 

don’t want to be. I think nothing grabs a 

player’s attention quicker than passion. 

And in every great leader and every great 

coach, passion is bubbling.” 

Like Schmid, Dorrance adapted aspects of 

Smith’s style and fit it into his own coaching 

philosophy. “Based on your leadership style, 

you pick moments to express passion and 

emotion,” he says. “You don’t want to express 

it all the time because then it becomes like the 

child who tunes out his mother’s voice. She 

yells ‘Fire, fire, fire!’ and the child says, ‘Oh 

that’s just my mom.’ Then the kid ignores it as 

the house burns down around him.” 

Editor’s note: Tim Nash was the editor of 

Soccer News when this article first appeared 

in Soccer Journal in 1996. 



Focus: Exercises ✪ Ages: All 

Five Favorite Practices of 

AC MILAN 

The following is the first of three parts of practices from AC 

Milan. This article deals with five warm up activities, the second 

article will offer five possession games and the final installment will 

deal with tactical exercises. These were first presented in an NSCAA 

special topics course by former NSCAA Board member Steve Locker. 

PRACTICE #1 

5 Players + Goalkeeper 

Players stand approximately 15-20 yards away from the 

goalkeeper and run towards the keeper (GK). The GK rolls the 

ball and the player plays it 

back. This is repeated so 

that each player gets two 

touches on the ball. Use different 

parts of the foot and 

then have the GK serve the ball for volleys. After the second 

touch, the player sprints for 5 yards. 

PRACTICE #2 

Dribbling, Juggling, Passing 

In a confined area (25 x 25 

yards), every player has a ball. 

• Dribble around the area using 

ball fakes. 

• Juggle ball 4-5 touches, pop it 

up in the air, take ball with instep 

in different direction. 

• Same thing, use outside of foot. 

• While dribbling, make eye or 

verbal contact with another 

player, and pass balls off to each 

other. 

• Same thing, have partner stop 

your pass, then each player retrieves 

his/her own ball. 

• Same thing, try to hit each other’s 

ball when passing. 

• One player in the group with no 

ball, all others dribble around, 

on the whistle, every player 

must find a new ball. See who 

hasn’t found a new ball. 

PRACTICE #3 

Patterns of Play #1 

Two coaches (C) position themselves as shown. The player 

with the ball begins by dribbling at coach, and then passing 

back to center midfielder. Passing sequence is followed as 

diagrammed. 

Important: Both attacking players, opposite midfielder and at 

Este es el primer artículo de tres series de entrenamientos que 

incluyen cinco actividades de calentamiento, juegos de posesión y 

ejercicios tácticos. Todos los mencionados fueron presentados en un 

curso especial por el exmiembro de la Junta Directiva del NSCAA, 

Steve Locker. 

PRÁCTICA #1 

5 jugadores con un portero 

Los jugadores están enfrente del portero a 15-20 yardas, y 

corren hacia él. El portero distribuye el balón a cada jugador 

para que le devuelva el 

balón a él. Se repite con 

dos toques usando diferentes 

partes del pie y después 

el portero sirve el balón en 

el aire después del segundo toque. El jugador hace un esprint 

de 5 yardas. 

5 Players + Goalkeeper • 5 jugadores con un portero 

Dribbling, Juggling, Passing • Dribleando, domino del balón, 

pasando el balón 

PRÁCTICA #2 

Dribleando, domino del balón, pasando el balón 

En un área de 25 x 25 yardas, 

cada jugador tiene un balón. 

• Dribleando adentro de un área 

con amagues. 

• Domina el balón hasta 4-5 

toques, pateando el balón en el 

aire, controla el balón con el empeine 

en una dirección diferente. 

• Se repite, pero con el exterior 

del pie. 

• Mientras uno driblea, hace contacto 

visual con otro jugador y 

hace intercambios de pases. 

• Se repite tratando de que se toquen 

los dos balones al pasar. 

• Un jugador en el grupo sin 

balón con los demás dribleando 

alrededor de él. A la señal del 

entrenador todos los jugadores 

buscan un balón diferente para 

ver quien se ha quedado sin 

balón. 

PRÁCTICA #3 

Sistemas de Juego #1 

Dos entrenadores se estacionan como se indica en el diagrama. 

El jugador con el balón driblea hacia el entrenador y 

pasa hacia atrás al mediocampista. Se pasa el balón secuencialmente 

como está indicado en el diagrama. 

De importancia: Los dos jugadores atacantes, un mediocampista opo- 



PART OF THE Q COACHING DEVELOPMENT SERIES 

Patterns of Play #1 • Sistemas de Juego #1 Patterns of Play #1 Variation • Sistemas de Juego #1 Variación 

least one (1) central midfielder should get into the box to attack 

the goal. 

Variation: Same as above, except additional flank players are 

added. Follow pattern of play as diagrammed. 

Note: Very effective promoting forward movement by outside 

defenders. 

Patterns of Play – Defense – Part I 

Sistemas de Juego – La Defensa – Parte I 

Patterns of Play – Defense – Part I 

Seven (7) flags of different colors are positioned as shown. 

Players are positioned in their formation (4-4-2). Coach calls 

out a color and players jog into defensive positions. This continues 

for approximately 10 minutes with the pace increasing as 

players get comfortable with their roles 

Variation: Patterns of Play – Defense – Part II 

Six (6) balls are placed across the midfield line with a different 

colored bib behind each ball. Coach calls out a color and 

the entire team moves into the proper defensive positions. After 

several movements, the coach will say “play”, and the players 

nente y por lo menos un mediocampista atacante deben colocarse 

en el área grande para buscar un remate hacia la portería. 

Variación: Similar al sistema #1, pero con volantes de ambos 

laterales. Se busca el mismo sistema de juego como está indicado 

en el diagrama. 

Se nota: Que es muy efectivo promoviendo la marcación de los 

defensa laterales. 

Patterns of Play – Defense – Part II 

Sistemas de Juego – La Defensa – Parte II 

Sistemas de Juego – La Defensa – Parte I 

Se colocan siete (7) banderas de diferentes colores como está 

indicado en el diagrama. Los jugadores se colocan (4-4-2). El 

entrenador indica un color y los jugadores se colocan en posiciones 

defensivas. Esto continúa por 10 minutos aumentando 

la velocidad de juego al mismo tiempo que los jugadores se 

sienten cómodos en sus posiciones. 

Variación: Sistemas de Juego – La Defensa – Parte II 

Se colocan seis (6) balones en la línea central del campo con 

una casaca de diferente color detrás de cada balón como se indica 

en el diagrama. El entrenador indica un color y todo el equipo 



PART OF THE Q COACHING DEVELOPMENT SERIES 

will work the ball from its position towards goal and finish with 

a shot. (approximately 15 minutes) 

PRACTICE #4 

11.1. Half Field 

Playing across the field, players operate without opposition 

(except an opposing GK), but game speed is required. (For initial 

use, walking through patterns of play is highly recommended). 

PRACTICE #5 

Six (6) Goal Soccer 

Two teams play between 18 yard line and midfield line, place 

three (3) goals on each touch line. Goals are one (1) yard wide. 

• Play 10 minutes, walking only. 

• Play 10 minutes running. All touches limited to one (1) touch. 

Team Notebooks 

Practice #4 • Práctica #4 Practice #5 • Práctica #5 

Soccer Journal would like 

to thank Phil Vigil for his 

assistance in translating 

this article into Spanish. 

player may recognize his/her greater role 

on the pitch. 

Jonathan’s comments on team 

strengths parallel what I mentioned in 

both my halftime talk and post-match 

debriefing. However, his observation of 

our lack of inventiveness in attack raised 

my awareness. I knew we used Matthew 

a great deal – he’s an all-conference player 

and tends to demand the ball. Jonathan’s 

wording – “We could have been more 

inventive in attack” – raises issues such 

as how opponents prepare for us (e.g., 

“Matthew is their main weapon”), how 

balanced our attack is and how surprising 

we are as a team. Jonathan’s words led me 

to discuss our offense more comprehen- 

sively with my assistant and the team. 

During the fall 2006 season, Coach 

Mike Keller of the University of Southern 

Maine Huskies discovered through reading 

his team’s MAIs that more than several of 

the younger players were confused about 

their roles in the 3-5-2. In addition, some 

players thought the team would be more 

productive with a 4-4-2. Through team 

discussions, more intense coaching and an 

unsuccessful trial run of the 4-4-2, the Huskies 

learned the 3-5-2 and became more 

confident with the system. Certainly Mike 

would have recognized the issue with the 

3-5-2; however, this veteran coach believes 

the MAIs brought the matter to his attention 

more quickly. 

toma su posición defensiva. Después de un tiempo, el entrenador 

dice “Jueguen!” y los jugadores juegan con el balón de su posición 

inicial hacia la portería para terminar con un remate. 

PRÁCTICA #4 

En un medio campo, se colocan los jugadores como está 

indicado en el diagrama. 

Los jugadores juegan sin oposición (excepto un portero 

contrario) a ritmo de partido. (Para empezar, se recomienda 

mostrar a los jugadores los movimientos caminando. 

PRÁCTICA #5 

Un juego de seis (6) porterías en un campo (con tres porterías 

de una yarda en cada lateral) como está indicado en el 

diagrama. 

• Se juega por 10 minutos con todos los jugadores solamente 

caminando. 

• Se juega por 10 minutos con todos los jugadores corriendo 

jugando de un toque. 

(continued from page 29) 

In Part II of Team Notebooks: Writing 

to the Next Level, we’ll look at the final 

three sections of the basic notebook, 

including the Match Analysis II, Post-Season 

Thoughts and Player’s Notes. 

Editor’s note: Richard Kent is an assistant 

professor of literacy and director 

of the National Writing Project site at the 

University of Maine. A soccer and ski coach 

for three decades, Kent researches writing to 

learn in athletics and serves as a consultant 

to athletes, coaches, and teams. A National 

Educator Award recipient, Kent is the author 

of seven books. He may be reached at rich. 

kent@maine.edu. 


Why Brazil? 

ing the highly developed youth soccer developmental system. Somehow, we hope 

American coaches will begin to understand what “ginga” means and how the special 

nature of Brazilian soccer is developed. There obviously is a tremendous respect for 

technique, skill and the way the game is played – beyond even results, which also 

are important. It is a complex process, beginning with the street soccer culture and 

moving up through their highly organized and professional player development system 

as players grow older. The process begins the first time a young child kicks a ball. 

Teamwork is important, but no less important is the expression of individual creativity. 

At Atletico, even the older pros spend a fair amount of time each week on technical 

practice. Clearly there is a passion for form over function that permeates Brazilian 

soccer. Many other nations profess to have skill and flair as a priority, but none have 

produced the amazing number of technically proficient and exciting attacking players. 

In the U.S. we perhaps have been overly influenced by English-speaking European 

soccer cultures, which clearly cannot claim the same balance of flair and results that 

we see in Brazil. It is this attitude that is the key to development of young players – to 

insist that players try things that may not be the most efficient in game situations in 

order to develop problem-solving technique. 

There are other aspects of South American soccer that we might not want to study 

and emulate. Having recently returned from a two-week tournament in Buenos Aires 

with the U.S. Pan Am Maccabi team, I have a clear picture of the passion and emotion 

that often spills over into violence and unsporting behavior. By combining all the best 

aspects of our American game with the Brazilian creative genius, skill and technique, 

perhaps someday we will become a truly great soccer nation. 

A week-long course in Brazil for 60 coaches is not going to singlehandedly 

change U.S. soccer, but it certainly is a step in the right direction. If you 

haven’t been to Brazil, I hope you will consider this opportunity and others 

that we will present in the future. 

Convention Musings 



The coach will duplicate the game situation in training and allow the players 

to find the best solutions. By isolating certain moments in the game for 

training, the coach can create goal-oriented, developmentally appropriate 

and progressive training sessions. 

This is the first of two volumes that Meyer and Meyer will offer. The book 

is geared for children and players at a lower level, but the process will work 

for players at all levels. 

An example: 

• A game situation where a midfielder is dribbling at speed from the middle 

third to the attacking third and into the penalty box. 

• The coach “freezes” the situation in front of the penalty box, where the 

ball carrier has to decide how to proceed according to the behavior of 

the supporting players and defenders 

• This can be transferred into the training session by: 

o Using two strikers and four midfielders against four defenders 

and four midfielders on one goal. The attacking players defend 

two small goals at the midfield line. There is a second goalkeeper 

between the two small goals to start the play after a goal 

o When a goal is scored, the next attack starts with the keeper throwing 

to a midfielder who must dribble first (replicate the game situation). 

This allows the coach to manipulate all the variables in that game situation 

to improve the decision making of attacking midfield players. 

Get the book and try it! 

The End… 

In the end, Baltimore was the biggest convention the Association has had. 

There were more than 4,300 coaches in attendance. Many had a great experience…again! 

In spite of the concerns voiced by Mr. Gardner, we must be doing 

something right. 


This is the first of a new SJ feature that 

will focus on training sessions for specific 

tactical and technical needs of your team. 

By Anthony Hudson 

Wilmington Hammerheads 

www.anthonyhudson.com 

Duration: 90 minutes 

Climate: 85 degrees 

Players: 14 + 2 GK 

Organization: 60 x 40 yards, four 10 x 10 

grids inside (Figure 1) 

Figure 1 

Warm-Up 

Organization: In Area B 

Exercise: Everyone has a ball, moving in 

this area. 

Dribble – On coach’s call: 

• Five-yard change of pace/direction 

• Perform any turn and change of 

pace/direction 

Juggle – On coach’s call: 

• Flick up, control on, volley (in/outside) 

and change of pace/direction 

SJ Training Session 

Coaching the Counterattack 

• Flick up (above head height) control 

on chest, and change of pace 

• Flick up, control with head/knee 

Stretch 


Warm-Up/Technical 

Organization: In Area A 

• Groups of 4 

• One ball per player 

• Each group starts at Point 1. 

EXERCISE NO. 1 (FIGURE 2) 

• Player 1, at three-quarters pace 

around Points 2, 3 and 4. Slowly 

dribble to Point 1. 

• When Player 1 gets to Point 2, 

the next player goes. 

Duration: 1.5-2 minutes work 

Stretch: 2-3 minutes 

EXERCISE NO. 2 

• Up the tempo. When first 

player gets to Point 4 , get 

the ball in the air and juggle 

(slowly) to Point 1. At Point 1, 

take the ball on the half volley 

and away, attack Points 2, 3 

and 4. 

Duration: 1.5-2 minutes 

Stretch: 2-3 minutes 

EXERCISE NO. 3 

• From juggling, ball above head 

height and control with head/ 

chest….. 

Duration: 1.5-2 minutes 

Variation: • Change direction 

• Right/left foot only 

• Round cone with inside/ 

outside of foot only 

Coaching Points: 

• Change of pace – Attack the cone! 

• Quality on the ball -- close control 

• Positive first touch. Confidence 

• Positive mindset/attitude 

Technical Work (Figure 3) 

Organization: 

• 40 x 15-20 (adjust accordingly) 

Figure 2 

Figure 3 

• Four groups on 1, 2, 3 and 4 

• Supply of balls 

Exercise: Player 1 runs with the ball. On first 

touch, Player 2 chases. Once past halfway, 

Player 1 plays diagonal pass in to Player 4, 

who attacks the ball and repeats in the opposite 

direction. Three chases. 

Progression: Player 1 has to cut across 

defender (Figure 4). Final pass – into 

feet/space. 




Figure 4 

Duration: 12-15 minutes 

Coaching points: 

• Be positive: 

• With first touch (out of feet/into 

space) 

• Attitude (confidence) 

• Attack the ball 

• On the ball: 

• Attack quickly/head up 

• Control 

• Final pass: 

• Correct weight/line 

• Into feet/space 

• Invite player to run onto it 

Transition (Figure 5) 

Organization: 60 x 40 (two halves) 

Exercise: 7 v. 7 in one half. Team in 

possession has to play ball into 

opposite GK. Every player must 

transfer into that half, get the ball 

and transfer back to other half. 

• Ball played from one GK to the 

other successfully = 1 point. 

• On a turnover, the ball has to 

go into the opposite GK 

• Offside rule applies 

Progression (Figure 6): To transfer, 

they must play a teammate into the 

other half with a pass before finding 

a GK. To transfer, they must 

dribble into the other half before 

finding a GK. 

Variations: • Condition touches 

• Ball into GK’s hands/feet. 


Coaching points: 

• Timing/type of pass 

• Timing/type of runs 

• Speed of transition – catch 

team out of balance 

• Desire/discipline to: 

• Run off the ball 

• Support early 

• Create opportunities 

Counterattack/Transition 

Organization (Figure 7): 60 x 40, 

split into thirds 

• 7 v. 7 

• Two goals 

Exercise: GK releases O defender 

into middle third or O’s play 

out. O defender attacks to make 

it a 4 v. 4 in the attacking third. 

Try to score. On the turnover, 

X’s release a defender into middle 

third and take advantage of 

a 4 v. 3. The weakest (nearest to 

goal) O recovers into defensive 

third and gets goal side. 

• No tackling allowed in middle 

third. 

• High tempo 

Progression: Attacker is allowed to drop 

into middle third and receive ball from 

back. A defender can go in with him. 

Variations: Add targets/wingers. 

Duration: 20/25 minutes. 

Coaching Points: 

• Speed of play 

Figure 5 

Figure 6 Figure 7 

• Timing/type of pass 

• Timing/type of runs – support in 

front and behind the ball. 

• Movement off ball 

• Exploit weak areas left open 

• Mindset – ready to change quickly 

from defense to attack 

Finish with a 7 v. 7 game emphasizing 

the counterattack – 10 minutes. 


Focus: SJ Interview ✪ Ages: All 

European Ladies’ 

Hat Trick 

Gero the Guru 

The all-German final in the UEFA Women’s 

Cup, on the heels of last year’s European 

championship victory for Tina Theune- 

Meyer’s national team, underlined that one 

country currently holds pole position in 

European Women’s football. Germany is the 

obvious role model to follow for the emerging 

nations of the women’s game. In this respect 

it’s not so much about seeing where the Germans 

are now; the important thing is to find 

out how they got there. 

Gero Bisanz has the answers. His remarkable 

coaching career began when he 

obtained his license and became playercoach 

of 1 FC Koln amateur team at the age 

of 21. After graduating to the professional 

team, he was signed by Hennes Weisweiler, 

head coach of Victorian Koln and in 1970 

succeeded him at the sports university to run 

the football courses and the German FA’s 

(DFB) coaching license program, combining 

it with 10 years more as coach at 1 FC Koln 

and Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 

He ran the DFB coaching program for 

30 years, bowing out in June 2000 after a 

fast-track course for players like Jurgen Klinsmann, 

Matthias Sammer, Andreas Brehme, 

Doris Fitschen and Bettina Wiegmann. In the 

meantime, he also had won three European 

Championships as head coach of the German 

women’s team and had taken them to FIFA 

World Cup and Olympic Games finals. 

All of that has converted him into something 

of a spiritual leader for women’s soccer 

in Germany. The interesting thing is that even 

though he started building Germany into a European 

and world power over two decades, his 

blueprint is still legible and valid. Anyone trying 

to build up women’s football could do a lot 

worse than to listen to what Bisanz has to say. 

The first question is obvious: How did it 

all start? 

It was in 1982, when the president 

of the DFB asked me if I would build up 

a women’s national team. I had to think 

about it carefully because I had no experi- 

ence in women’s football – neither practice 

nor theory. I was a professor at the German 

Sports University, and in that role I had discussed 

women’s football with some female 

students of mine, but that was as far as it 

went. I spoke to our men’s national team 

coach, Jupp Derwall, and he told me I had 

to do it. He knew that the president wanted 

to build up women’s football, and he felt 

that a good national team was the best way 

to attract interest and help the sport to 

grow. So I told the president I would do the 

job, but asked him to give me a bit of time. 

That was in March or April of 1982. 

How quickly can a team be built? 

In 1983 we took a big step because we 

were in the European Championship. We 

played against the Netherlands, Belgium 

and so on, finishing 0-0, 1-1… nothing 

spectacular. I was obviously watching my 

players very carefully in these matches and 

I soon realized that I didn’t have much of 

a chance of helping them develop further. 

I had to find other players, but because 

of my other duties at the DFB – including 

developing coaches for the national league, 

for example – I didn’t have time to travel 

the country watching women’s games. 

So I phoned an ex-student of mine, Tina 

Theune-Meyer, and asked her to help me 

scout for talent. I told her that we needed 

to find girls of 17, 18 or 19 who had been 

training for at least three or four years. She 

started looking in southern Germany and 

I focused on the areas around Cologne. By 

1985, we had a group of younger players 

whom we could prepare for international 

football – and Tina became the first woman 

in Germany to get her B license, her A 

license and the Pro license. 

Looking back, do you think it was good 

strategy to give priority to forming a national 

team? Would you recommend other 

associations to follow the same path? 

Yes, because at the same time, I was 

The following three interviews 

by Graham Turner focus on European women’s 

soccer and three of the best coaches in 

Europe. These originally were published in 

The Technician and are reprinted from the 

UEFA website (www.UEFA.com). 

Thanks to Andy Roxburgh of UEFA. 

talking to the president of the DFB about 

the need for women’s football to have a national 

competition instead of seven regional 

leagues. At first the Bundesliga was actually 

divided into two parts because the clubs 

were struggling to cope with travel costs. 

The next step was to talk to the coaches at 

the clubs where my national team players 

were based. I got them all together and told 

them about the problems we had in terms 

of fitness and so on. I asked them to pay 

attention to specific details in training, to 

do fitness tests, speed tests and endurance 

tests. I could see what they were capable of 

doing technically and tactically, but I really 

needed to know what their ceiling was in 

physical terms. 

What was the next turning point? 

The turning point was the European 

Championship in 1989. The finals 

involved Sweden, Italy, Norway and 

ourselves as hosts. We drew 1-1 with 

Italy. The game went to extra time and 

a penalty shoot-out, which was really 

thrilling. We won it and got through to 

the final in Osnabruck on the Sunday. 

Our opponent was Norway, which was 

very strong at the time. We had a fairly 

long drive to the stadium, and the girls 

couldn’t work out with so many cars on 

the road waving flags. They were motivated 

when they realized the flags were 

for them – and even more when they saw 

a crowd of 23,000 in Osnabruck. I told 

them we couldn’t have wished for better: 

good weather, a good pitch and, a good 

crowd behind us. 

The nice thing is that both teams produced 

a good performance – which was 

important because it showed the public 

just how good women’s football could be. 

We were tight in defense; we worked the 

wings; we played combination moves, 

wall passes and so on. We scored two 

goals through good combination moves, 

and Norway then pulled one back. It 

wasn’t just the result that was important; 

we had transmitted a very positive 

message to the public and to the press. 


We immediately got to work on building 

another team, but we had already 

done some important work on building 

foundations. 

They say that reaching the top is difficult 

and that staying there is even more difficult. 

How did you manage it? 

Yes, we consolidated our status by winning 

the title again in 1991 and 1995. And 

after the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, I felt 

that I had achieved my target of building up 

the women’s team. So I proposed that my 

assistant, Tina Theune-Meyer, should take 

over with the team captain, with Silvia Neid 

as her assistant. The proposal was accepted, 

so there was a high degree of continuity in 

coaching methods. 

How have attitudes changed? In the past, 

would it have been more difficult to persuade 

good male coaches to work in the 

women’s game? 

I think that coaches want to work in 

football and, nowadays, there is certainly 

no shame in working in women’s football. 

But when I started in the 1980s, I think it 

was true to say that coaches didn’t want 

to work with women’s teams. There was a 

strong feeling that it was a man’s sport and 

not at all suited to women. Again, I would 

say that the national team’s successes were 

the pivotal point, the fulcrum. Coaches 

began to realize that there were incentives 

to work in the women’s game. In terms of 

coaching, there are no differences between 

men’s and women’s football. I always had 

the same demands and set the same standards 

as I had during 10 years of coaching 

men’s teams…exactly the same. 

Do you think that Germany is a valid role 

model for other associations to follow? 

Yes, because Germany learned from 

other countries that had had national 

teams for a longer time – the Scandinavians 

in particular. I think you always 

need to look at the established powers 

and see what you can learn from them. 

How do you see the future? 

Germany now has good Under-19 

and Under-17 teams – and it was a very 

good thing for UEFA to introduce the 

Under-17 competition because it means 

that countries can now build really solid 

foundations. In Germany, we are going 

through a period of steady growth with 

more and more girls of six and above 

making it clear that they want to play 

football. Clubs have a lot of new members. 

So we need more women coaches 

– and one way to do this is to educate 

former national team players and encourage 

them to do their Pro license. But the 

foundations have to be laid on the pitch. 

Young girls must be allowed to have fun 

playing football. We should never reach 

a situation where youngsters don’t want 

to go to training because it’s too much 

like hard work. We have to give them a 

ball and encourage them to play. We have 

to create situations where they are upset 

when the coach calls “time.” The aim 

must be to make them want to play even 

longer. That is the right atmosphere. That 

is the best way forward. 

Fleeting: Success It definitely represents the greatest 

achievement of my career. Competing 

Among the women who have performed 

outstandingly for club and country, Julie Fleeting 

probably stands alone. Her career is, in 

many ways, unique. Paradoxically, she spends 

much of her life traveling, yet has remained 

very close and very loyal to her roots in the 

historic town of Killwinning. On the soccer 

map, the nearest major landmark is Kilmarnock. 

More important for Julie, you don’t have 

to look far away on the Scottish map to find 

Glasgow airport. The striker in the No. 10 

shirt lives in her home town, captains the Scottish 

national team, married a fellow footballer 

called Colin Stewart and commutes to London 

to play her club football with the 2007 UEFA 

Women’s Cup Champions, Arsenal Ladies FC. 

Football is deeply rooted in her life, thanks 

in great part to the enthusiasm of her father, 

Jim, the Scottish FA’s Director of Football 

Development for the last year or so. Julie still 

recalls with affection the goal she scored in a 2- 

1 win against Cunningham Boys Club for her 

local Under-10 team when she was the only 

girl in the league. She immigrated to the USA 

for a spell with San Diego Spirit in 2002 and, 

on her return, left Scottish club Ross County to 

join Arsenal in 2004. In the meantime, she had 

made her debut for the senior Scottish national 

team at 15 and, at the time of writing, was 

poised to make history with a career total of 

97 caps and 98 goals – at the tender age of 26. 

But let’s allow Julie to tell her own story, starting 

with the obvious question: 

How do you cope with such an unusual 

lifestyle? 

It sounds complicated, I know, but 

I’ve developed a routine which seems to 

work out okay. From Monday to Friday, 

I teach physical education at the local 

school where I studied. Then I get an 

easy jet flight down to London on Sunday 

morning, play a game for Arsenal and 

fly back on Sunday evening. In terms of 

fitness, my job helps. But I always do a 

session in the gym before work in the 

morning and, two evenings a week, I 

train with the men’s Under-21 side – only 

five minutes from home. I can understand 

that people raise eyebrows about 

playing but not training with Arsenal. 

But when I arrive, they always give me 

a good briefing and if there’s something 

special they’ve been working on during 

the week, it’s explained to me before the 

game. It hasn’t been a problem so far. 

How much did it mean to you and the club to 

beat Umea IK in the UEFA Women’s Cup Final? 

against the best in Europe always is a great 

experience, and winning the title was a 

huge thing for everybody. We had been 

working hard to raise our standards over 

several seasons of domestic football and to 

achieve something that no British club had 

achieved in Europe made all the hard work 

worthwhile. Let’s be honest, we rode our 

luck in the final against Umea, especially in 

the second leg at home. That match gave 

me the worst and best feelings I’ve ever 

experienced. During the game, we were 

under so much pressure that I felt guilty 

about being on my own up front and contributing 

so little to the team. Holding out 

and winning was just fantastic. Then our 

captain and vice-captain went straight off to 

the main stadium in London to parade the 

trophy at the men’s team’s league fixture. 

I think it was a huge boost for women’s 

football in the UK – not just in England, 

because we have girls from all the countries 

within the UK in our team –because we’d 

always had the feeling that we were trailing 

behind other nations in terms of the players 

we produce and the football we play. 

You’ve mentioned the Arsenal men’s team 

– and one of the talking points in the 

women’s game is whether more profes- 


sional men’s clubs should be persuaded to 

run women’s teams. What’s your first-hand 

experience? 

My personal opinion is that it definitely 

works well. I think that being part of 

such a massive club is very positive, even 

if we do play at a smaller stadium near 

the club’s training centre. What’s more, 

Vic Akers is part of the men’s set-up and 

bridges all the gaps. 

Yes, we wrote about Vic (recently) because 

he also was an unusual case of combining 

the job of kit man for the men’s team 

with coaching the women’s team. How 

does that work from your perspective? 

It works very well, and I would even 

say it’s something for other clubs to look 

at. Vic is involved in the day-to-day work 

of the professional squad and brings 

things back to the girls’ team. He’s also a 

direct link and helps to generate a lot of 

interest in our team. As a result, we get 

great backing from the men’s team and 

the supporters. It works fantastically well. 

You’ve had quite a variety of coaches in 

the Scottish national team. What sort of 

guidance do you look for or appreciate the 

most? 

That’s right. When I made my debut at 

15, the coach was Millar Hay. Then I was 

with my dad for a while – which worked 

out much better than you might suspect! 

And, in more recent times, I’ve had Vera 

Pauw and Anna Signed as coaches. I think 

you want your coach to pass on as wide 

a range of experiences as possible and to 

prepare you physically and mentally to 

compete with the top athletes in football. 

When Vera arrived in Scotland, she took 

on a group with very limited experience. 

She was very positive and demanding, and 

I think that Anna is building very well on 

the foundations that Vera put down. When 

I see the Under-19s play and the quality of 

the players we’re producing now, I have to 

compare with my day. A lot of good work 

has been done, and is being done. In more 

general terms, what I appreciate most from 

a coach is that he or she imposes thoroughly 

professional attitudes and behavior. That 

is why it is so good that Vic comes straight 

from the men’s elite level pro environment 

to the women’s team. Vera and Anna also 

have done a great deal to establish really 

professional standards about everything we 

do – including our conduct! 

In your opinion, what are the main differences 

between national team and club football? 

I live in a strange situation. Because I 

train apart from my teammates, we have a 

very special relationship. And, in fact, my 

closest relationships within the game tend 

to be when I’m with the national team 

and spend a week or so with the girls 

that I’ve known since I was 15 and try to 

catch up with everything that’s going in 

Scottish football. It’s probably exactly the 

opposite of a normal player. 

How demanding is the English league? 

There is talk about the top players in 

other leagues not getting enough truly 

competitive matches in a season. 

Matikainen’s Evaluation 

The year 2006 raised some interesting 

questions. Was it an anecdotic fact, for example, 

that the number of goals scored at the 

European Women’s Under-19 Championship 

finals fell by more than 30 percent? Was it an 

anecdotic fact that no European teams were 

among the top four at the finals of the FIFA 

Under-20 Women’s World Championship? In 

a quest for answers, we knocked at an office 

door in Finland and put the questions to a 

man who made his debut for the Finnish FA 

as an assistant coach to the women’s Under-19 

team. His experience includes: assistant coach 

to the women’s Under-21 and senior teams 

from 1999 to 2000 and again since 2005; 

head coach of the Under-17 team from 1999 

to 2005; and head coach of the under-19s 

since 2000. He led Finland to the semifinals 

of the 2005 European Women’s Under-19 

Championship and, just before he took his 

team to the Under-20 finals in Russia, traveled 

to Switzerland as a member of UEFA’s 

technical study group at the 2006 European 

women’s Under-19 championship. If we want 

a review of women’s youth football in Europe, 

who better than Jarmo Matikainen to deliver a 

progress report? 

Having watched the European Women’s 

Under-19 finals and taken part in the Under-20 

Women’s World Championship, what 

is your overall impression of the state of 

the game in women’s youth football? 

I would say that the trends in top-level 

international football in general are clearly 

I would say that the Arsenal side that 

won the European trophy is the best we’ve 

had in many years, if not ever. Some of the 

other clubs can’t match us for strength in 

depth, but that doesn’t make them weak 

opposition. Everyone wants to beat us and, 

especially if we don’t score early on, we 

have to be prepared to play under a lot of 

pressure. The league is really competitive. 

As champions of Europe, do you feel that 

you’ve become role models? 

Yes. We would obviously like our success 

to have been publicized a bit more. But 

role models are very important, not only in 

terms of playing but also in behavior. Kids 

do copy what they see the seniors doing. 

This is brought home to me because it’s 

a factor in my job as well as my playing 

career. Fortunately, I’ve always lived my life 

as an athlete so, as a player and as a teacher, 

I don’t have any worries on that score. It’s 

a pity I didn’t have any role models in my 

time. There were no female players to model 

myself on. And I didn’t grow up with a 

special passion for any particular club. If I 

had to name one player, it would be Henrik 

Larsen. During the years he spent in Scotland, 

he came across as the sort of player 

and person that I would like to be. 

As a role model, what would you say if you 

were asked to give one piece of advice? 

Play football to enjoy it and work hard 

– and you’re prepared to work hard if 

you’re enjoying it. 

visible in women’s youth football. The competitions 

demonstrated that the best players 

now have top-class individual qualities in 

terms of excellent technique, speed, hightempo 

execution, creativity and athletic 

preparation. At the same time, we could see 

that team organization in final tournaments 

is very professional indeed and that the approach 

in the women’s game doesn’t differ 

in any aspect from that of men’s football. 

The speed of progress is impressive, to say 

the least. I have to add that, from Finland’s 

point of view – being a small football nation 

– it makes one wonder whether the little 

ones can keep up with the big countries. 

So what do you think are the possible 

causes for the “failure” of the European 

teams in Russia? 

Personally, I don’t think the Europeans 

“failed.” This time, the other confedera- 




tions were better prepared and much more 

consistent during a long tournament. Maybe 

qualifying structures and fixture lists suited 

the other confederations better. The European 

coaches faced a bit of a dilemma, as some had 

players at the Under-19 finals in Switzerland 

just before going to Russia while others, like 

us, had to cope with a long gap between 

competitive tournaments, as qualification had 

been earned at the Under-19 finals back in 

July 2005. I think that you tend to forget a bit 

about the special demands of long tournaments 

if you don’t play them regularly. 

How did you react? Tell us about your personal 

experience with the Finnish team in preparing 

for the finals and in the finals themselves. 

For us, it was a great learning experience 

– painful at times though. To see, at close 

range, the top players and teams in the world 

is irreplaceable. On the other hand, we had a 

relatively clear picture of the challenge ahead 

of us. From a preparation point of view, we 

didn’t have enough resources to offer the 

players international training camps at regular 

intervals during the gap between July 2005 

and the World Championship. I was hoping 

to play double- or triple-headers with topclass 

opponents once every three months. But 

we had to concentrate activities in late spring 

and the summer of 2006. Playing our final 

preparation matches against Canada and the 

USA kept our feet pretty well on the ground! 

So we focused on individual qualities and 

tried to get the maximum for each player 

out of the project. Among other things, we 

did some research on how to develop what 

we call the “24-hour player.” We monitored 

heart-rate behavior during training camps 

and in tournament play to gather information 

on players’ recovery and the differences from 

individual to individual. 

We also drafted some very talented 

younger players into the group to give them a 

better picture of football at the absolutely top 

world level. I believe in having one eye on the 

future – especially in youth tournaments. 

Tina Theune-Meyer – who was in Russia as 

a member of FIFA’s technical study group 

– commented that “playing the European 

Under-19 finals was not the ideal way to 

get ready.” Do you agree? 

If you’re referring to fitness levels, I would 

say that the problem is more complicated 

than that. As I said, many Europeans went 

to Russia without having played a major 

tournament since July 2005. Other confederations 

played their qualifiers in 2006 

– the African nations in the summer. So my 

personal experience with the Finnish team 

provoked the following thoughts: firstly, a 

player’s individual development at this level 

requires constant international contacts with 

high-class opponents. These “checkpoints” 

are necessary to give players insight into the 

demands of top-level football. This applies 

especially to countries with smaller resources 

in terms of players and material. 

Secondly, preparing players to meet the 

physical and mental demands of a world 

championship requires top-level tournament-type 

training or match events. The 

other confederations’ qualifying tournaments 

in 2006 automatically served this 

purpose as they lasted 10 to 20 days. In 

Europe, we didn’t have that opportunity. 

Thirdly, if we wish to obtain results 

at an age-limit tournament such as the 

Under-20 World Championship, you 

need to have all the players available for 

longer training camps. 

Does this mean that European players are 

not physically equipped to play sequences 

of matches at high level in a short space of 

time? 

No. I’d better clarify what I said earlier. 

I can appreciate that in the Finnish 

team there were players who were not fit 

enough, but I don’t see that as the main 

problem with, say, Germany or France. 

What can we do to improve the situation? 

We could review our Under-19 competition 

system; we could organize friendly tournaments 

to prepare for the Under-20 World 

Championship; and we could continue to 

fine-tune the international calendar. 

You mentioned the demands on some players 

at club level. Do you think that club football 

in most European countries prepares young 

players for the international stage? 

In the best European countries, such as 

Germany, Sweden and Norway, club football 

is of a very high standard. The differences 

are quite big however. In most countries, the 

leap to international football from the domestic 

day-to-day game is huge. In this respect, 

the introduction of an Under-17 competition 

will be very positive. Even so, countries 

that don’t make it to the second qualifying 

round will need more activity – maybe at the 

regional level (Baltics, Scandinavia, British 

Isles, etc). It is the same challenge in the boys’ 

game. The “checkpoints” for coaches and 

players are essential. That helps a lot with 

long-term player development. We already 

started, in late 2005, to adjust our domestic 

players’ “football education” at the district 

level and with a scouting tournaments’ calendar. 

We also put forward a proposal to alter 

the age category in the girls’ Under-17 Nordic 

Cup. In 2007, it will be played with girls born 

in 1990, to give them international activity, as 

the UEFA Under-17 competition will focus 

on those born in 1991. In 2008, we jump to 

girls born in 1992 for the Nordic tournament 

as well. 

Do you think that there is a lot of work to 

be done on individual skills? 

We have seen a major improvement in the 

women’s game with regard to individual skills. 

You detect that in every international tournament 

in the countries with strong football 

cultures, progress is very rapid and sustained. 

The finals in Russia produced 106 goals in 

32 matches. Tina Theune-Meyer said “if I play 

just to keep the score down, then I’m not 

helping my players to develop.” Would you 

agree with that? Was that always the philosophy 

at the Under-19s in Switzerland? 

In general, I think that the approach was 

very positive in Switzerland. There is always a 

connection between the chosen formation and 

the style of play. It doesn’t mean, for instance, 

that the teams who opted to play with one 

striker necessarily concentrated on defending. 

I think there is no use having three players up 

front if the other seven cannot get the ball to 

them. Every coach wants his or her players 

to develop and chooses the style of play that 

serves that purpose. Personally, I think that 

whenever Finland plays a UEFA competition 

game it offers individual challenges and opportunities 

to improve. Mostly it is a question 

of preparing the players in a way that they are 

brave enough to focus on performance and not 

the result – and that they remember to enjoy 

the special occasion. 

You say “his or her players” – and one of 

the talking points in Russia was that there 

was only one female coach. What’s your 

view on the situation? 

We need to get more women involved. In 

practice, this means that FAs need to actively 

seek ways to recruit former players and 

women who are involved with football at the 

club level. I think the most important factor is 

football background and football education. 

For coaching you need both. We try to involve 

top players during their active careers. Three 

years ago we organized a B-license course 

aimed at female players only. With sponsorship 

for course costs and targeted marketing 

we educated 11 top players. All of them are 

active and some of them are involved with our 

national team activities. 


Soccer Shorts 

Building a Successful Practice Starts with the Coach 

By Bobby Howe 

Former Director of Coaching, 

Washington State Youth Soccer Assoc. 

In previous articles I have given examples 

of games that help players to improve 

their skills. However, it must be understood 

by coaches that while the games themselves 

will help to teach players, they do not complete 

the total development picture. Players 

must apply themselves within the practice, 

and coaches must help the players solve 

their problems. 

How does the coach interpret the game 

and help the players solve their problems? 

METHOD 

• With young players, all aspects of the 

game will require a great deal of work. 

Coaches should select one part of the 

game that they believe requires attention 

and use that as the theme for 

practice. 

• Devise a realistic practice situation 

where that aspect of the game can be 

highlighted. For example, if control 

was the theme of the practice, the 

coach should ensure that, within the 

framework of the practice, the players 

have the opportunity to control the 

ball a great deal. 

• The practices shown in previous articles 

are examples of the "frames" that 

coaches should use to highlight the 

themes of their practices. 

• Observe the performance of the players 

within the practice to identify their 

mistakes and successes. 

• Guide the player(s) to successful responses 

to their problems by: 

a) Stopping the play after the mistake, 

b) Pointing out the mistake to the player, 

c) Demonstrating the correct method 

of execution to show the correct 

"picture" to the players. 

d) Allowing the player to correct his 

mistake under similar circumstances 

in which the error occurred. 

• Allow play to continue if the error is cor- 

rected. If the player continues to make a 

mistake, the coach should remain with 

the player to give him opportunity to 

succeed. However, the coach should ensure 

that the challenge that is being presented 

to the player is not too difficult. 

Players will not be motivated to learn if 

their tasks are too difficult. 

ORGANIZATION 

The coach should spend a little time 

before each session preparing the practice. 

In preparation, the following points 

should be considered: 

• The theme of the practice 

• How many players are available 

• How much equipment is needed (e.g., 

balls, bibs, goals, cones, Frisbees, etc.) 

• How much area is available in which 

to work 

• How the practice would progress ideally 

• Approximately how much time is going 

to be spent in each segment of 

practice 

If the coach is not prepared before 

practice, too much valuable coaching 

time will be wasted on organization 

during the practice. If the coach looks 

disorganized to the players, credibility 

could be eroded. 

DEMONSTRATION 

“A picture paints a thousand words.” 

In practice, the coach should demonstrate 

exactly what is being sought from the players 

rather than trying to provide lengthy explanation. 

It is important, however, that the 

coach has an understanding of his/her own 

abilities before attempting to demonstrate. 

Not only would a poor demonstration 

affect the credibility of the coach, it also 

would not represent a true “picture” of the 

technique being demonstrated. If a coach 

does not feel comfortable in demonstrating 

a particular technique, one of the team’s 

better players should be used to perform 

the demonstration. 

A collection of brief articles 

of interest to soccer coaches. 

OBSERVATION AND INFORMATION 

The skill in coaching is to observe the 

mistakes of players as individuals, or as a 

team, and to provide the information to 

correct the mistakes. There may be times 

when individual players or the team make 

mistakes that the coach has observed but is 

unsure of the information to correct them. 

In those cases it is much better for the 

coach to say nothing and allow the practice 

to continue rather than confuse the players 

and him/herself. The coach should be clear 

and precise with information. A drawn-out 

explanation of a mistake will cause players 

to lose attention. 

Naturally, many mistakes occur in 

practice games. However, it would be 

poor judgment for the coach to stop the 

game every time a mistake is made; the 

players must be allowed to play. Too 

many interruptions will cause players to 

lose attention. One of the arts of good 

coaching is to know when to stop play 

and when to allow play to continue. 

POSITION 

The coach should ensure that the 

practice is observed from “outside” the 

activity and not in the middle of play. In a 

practice session where there is more than 

one group working, the coach should be 

positioned to see all the players. When 

speaking to the players, they should be 

facing away from the sun and away from 

all other activity on the field. Any distraction 

will cause players to lose attention. 

PERSONALITY 

It is most important that a coach’s own 

personality is reflected in the practice sessions 

and at games. A coach should not try 

to copy anybody else. A person is the best 

at being him/herself, but at best the secondbest 

at trying to be somebody else. 

The former USSF Director of Coaching 

Education, Howe was serving as Director of 

Coaching for Washington State Youth Soccer 

Association when this article was first published 

in the WSYS newsletter in 1996. 


Training and the Emotional Cycle 

By Frank Carrozza 

Assistant Women’s Coach, 

Misericordia University 

Do we as coaches take the time to 

consider our athletes’ mental state before 

planning and conducting a training session? 

Did we just come off a win or loss? Were 

they tied down with academic stress this 

week? Were things back home okay? Team 

chemistry and the psychology of an athlete 

go hand in hand. Let me take you through 

a recent study I performed and the mental 

cycle I had the opportunity to observe. 

It’s 5:30 p.m. and our goalkeepers are 

meeting to get in a quick workout after 

classes. Upon arrival I approached one 

goalkeeper and explained how members 

of the team approached me about her 

absence during a fitness session the previous 

day. They thought she had finished 

with classes earlier than expected and 

skipped out to avoid fitness. Immediately 

you could see the change in the keeper’s 

demeanor from excited to mad, upset and 

confused. The cycle has begun! 

Fifteen minutes went by and my keeper 

still is lacing up her boots. Finally she 

decided to join us in our activity. You could 

see the look on her face and the effort she 

The Semantics of Heading the Ball 

By Neil Hull 

After recently instructing one of the 

NSCAA’s Non-Residential Courses, I 

realized that a technical phrase that I 

have taught for years was semantically 

obsolete. That technique was the label of 

“attacking” and “defensive” heading. A 

little background first. 

As we know, there are two types of 

headers: the so-called “attacking” and 

“defending.” An attacking header is a 

downward penetrating ball released 

from the player’s forehead with pace and 

penetration towards the goal or target. A 

defensive header is a ball played from the 

middle to upper half of the player’s forehead 

and released in a clearing “rainbow” 

shape over the heads of other players. 

But back to the main point of this 

article. If the job of the player with the 

ball, the first attacker, is penetration by 

pass, dribble or shot, labeling the two 

was putting forth was next to nothing. 

Frustrated, she took out her aggression on 

every ball that was flighted in to her. Not 

worried about technical or tactical issues, 

the keeper just wanted to get a hold of that 

ball. Goal after goal is scored and anger 

soon turns into aggravation. 

Part 2 of the cycle: the athlete now took 

it upon herself to let the issue go, accept 

that she could have been wrong, put forth 

an effort and decided to get better finding a 

positive from a negative environment. Playing 

the “nutty” professor I decided to add 

more fuel to the fire. “Hey Jenny, how about 

you catch a few of those – that’s what you’re 

paid the big bucks to do, isn’t it?” Now 

with some humor mixed with attitude, the 

keeper shot me a look and jogged off with 

the group to get water. 

The Completion: moving on to 

another activity, all three keepers were 

focused and ready to finish hard. A series 

of games with shot blocking and distribution 

was used to heighten excitement and 

the competitive level. Jenny now pushed 

aside the issue that was eating at her and 

worked harder than ever to prove a point. 

“I am not going through the motions. I 

do my job on and off the field. How dare 

weapons of their heading arsenal in this 

matter might be sending an incorrect 

technical message to a developing player. 

A right back might only think to use a 

defensive clearing header to release the 

ball from his/her possession (as coached), 

creating hang time for a 50/50 challenge. 

However, a better option possibly could 

be a penetrating, attacking header to the 

foot of the outside midfielder to initiate a 

counterattack. To cure this, I believe the 

semantics should be corrected to “penetrating” 

and “clearing” headers. Why? 

By labeling them thus, we are not 

tuning out the use of the either technique 

in a specific tactical area of the field, and 

either technique is audibly directed at 

both the attackers and/or the defenders. 

Think about your team – once you mention 

defending, what do your attackers 

do? Count the clouds or adjust the grass! 

Semantically they have removed one of 

you test me! Let me show you, coach 

and teammates, how much I care and do 

my best for us as a team!” Jenny did just 

that. She finished out the session with the 

most effort and determination I had seen 

from her all season. Well done, Jenny! 

In conclusion I had the chance to 

observe an athlete’s performance under 

extreme, slight and no pressure. Where did 

this pressure come from, the athlete herself? 

I did not hover over Jenny, harping on her. 

The other keepers had not acted differently 

toward her, but her perception of her teammates 

against her, questioning her work 

ethic, brought out a series of emotions that 

heightened her performance. 

After the session I told Jenny that 

this was a test so I could observe her 

performance and mental state. Yes, she 

did want to kill me, but she noticed the 

change in herself as well. Afterward she 

wanted to do fitness anyway because she 

thought she needed it and to make certain 

her teammates did think differently 

of her, but in a positive way. 

It truly is amazing how players can create 

a cycle based on their mental state that 

ultimately can affect their performance so 

drastically from one end of the spectrum to 

the other. Let us try to remember this next 

time we plan our session. 

the techniques, possibly because of their 

positional perceived stereotype, classifying 

themselves as either an attacker or a 

defender and hence play the labeled techniques 

accordingly. You as a coach might 

not be teaching the correct technical 

decision because of indoctrinated labeling 

given to these heading techniques. The 

answer – change the name of the techniques 

to penetrating and clearing, giving 

both open options to all players. 

This semantic issue becomes even 

more important as we vertically integrate 

the use of techniques with the progression 

of tactics. According to Alan Wade’s 

“Tactical Principles of Attack,” the first 

role of the player with the ball (first attacker) 

is penetration. If we start coaching 

attacking and penetration, then throw 

in phrases like “defensive heading,” 

confusion could result. By offering buzz 

words like clearing and penetrating, it 

might offer new visions of breaking out of 

the back or create ideas in the final third. 


Player Development and Super Teams 

By Michael DeLeo 

The following is a letter addressing the issue 

of Super Teams that Mike DeLeo sent to 

his local youth soccer association. It offers food 

for thought about the Super Teams concept. 

DeLeo holds NSCAA Regional, Advanced 

and National Youth diplomas. Feedback or 

discussion would be appreciated and should be 

emailed to the editor at jamartin@owu.edu. 

Hello, 

My name is Mike DeLeo. I am a 

youth travel coach with West Chester 

United Soccer Club and a parent coach 

with the U-12 WCUSC Predators. I am 

very happy and proud for our boys to 

represent the Delco Soccer League, EPY- 

SA and West Chester United Soccer Club 

at the USYSA Regionals this summer in 

Maine as the U-12 State Cup Champions. 

Our Delaware County area is rich in soccer 

tradition and it is a high honor and 

accomplishment to represent Delco and 

EPYSA. However, this letter is not written 

in regards to this team achievement, 

but rather a much larger, more important 

issue – our current model of youth development 

in the EPYSA area. 

As you are aware, at the youth level 

of U-13 our local “super club” begins 

to form a team. This team has brought 

great accolades to EPYSA on the regional 

and national level. It attracts most of its 

players from the local Delco soccer league 

teams in the Delaware County area. 

This team, which originally began as 

a tournament team, now operates as a 

year-round club team with the unmistakable 

objective of bringing together the 

most technically and physically developed 

players with the goal of winning 

tournaments and championships. This 

unto itself is not wrong. Such a tradition 

of excellence is achieved by few and in 

some ways is to be admired. However 

I must point that such objectives have 

unintentional negative side effects to the 

local area club teams and many well-intentioned 

players and families. 

Recently our team (WCUSC 94B1 

Predators) lost three players to the local 

super club. One might think this is a bit 

odd, since we were the 2007 EPYSA state 

champion. Generally players leave clubs 

to move to better instructional programs 

or play at a more competitive level. I 

must say we have done both here at 

WCUSC. We have good players developed 

through a strong instructional program 

and quality coaching, and we play 

at high levels, as evidenced by winning 

the state championship. Although we 

may provide all the right components of 

proper player development, what we cannot 

offset is the attraction by top players 

(and families) to compete with nationally 

recognized super teams. 

One cannot blame a young player 

for having high ambitions. Certainly this 

is an important ingredient in any high 

achiever. However what is not seen are 

the long-term side effects to the individuals 

and teams, which develop and then 

loses them. 

Clubs in the local area have a large 

out-flux of quality players to the super 

team. This causes an unfair competitive 

edge to non-local teams in league play 

that non-Chester and Delaware county 

teams such as PA Classic and YMS don’t 

face. This is because of our proximity 

to the super club. Such feeder clubs are 

forced to be viewed as secondary, inferior 

clubs with substandard development 

programs when in fact they are the strong 

programs that continue to feed the super 

club. 

Another side effect is that some of 

these young, well-intended players from 

the feeder clubs go to super teams only to 

find limited playing time with high pressure 

to perform. Many young players face 

the threat of rapid player turnover (as 

many as five per year) and fierce competition 

at an age where development and 

creativity should be primary. Rather than 

focusing on enjoying the beautiful game, 

some are solely focused on preserving 

their roster spot and avoiding mistakes. 

Rather than having the playing time and 

opportunity to develop, many players 

who previously had excelled and grown 

with their local teams now either remain 

with limited playing time or play with 

fear of making mistakes. 

If winning is the top priority of 

youth soccer (U-14 and below), then 

the creation of super teams has its place. 

However if development is to remain the 

priority, then the creation of super teams 

and clubs needs to be scrutinized. 

I am hopeful that EPYSA can reconsider 

and open dialogue about returning 

such super teams to their original intent 

as a seasonal league tournament team. 

This would again bestow upon such a 

team the cooperation and pride of league 

affiliation as the league tournament team 

rather than being seen as a competitive 

force that takes the carefully, thoughtfully 

and energetically developed players from 

within the local Delco team ranks. 

Sincerely, 

Michael DeLeo 

WCUSC 

Have you kept us in the loop? 

In order for the NSCAA to serve you better, we need to know more about you. 

If you haven’t updated your member profile lately, now would be a good time to do so. 

It’s easy to do online - simply go to the Members Only area of NSCAA.com 

and log in, then update your information. 

If you have trouble logging in, 

email Membership Manager Sandy Williamson-Smith at swilliamson@nscaa.com.

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