SECTION 1: TRAINING SCHEDULE BREAKDOWNS
MONDAY TRAINING SCHEDULE1.
Open Play Phase : Crew calls it "Street Soccer"
2.
Play Phase #1 : Coaches overseeing Fields (No "Joy-sticking," focus on themes and reminders)
3.
Practice Phase #1 : Activation and Footwork ("Grid Training")
4.
Practice Phase #2 : Drill Work (Funino's, etc.)
5.
Play Phase #2 : Guided, Age-Appropriate play on Age-Specific Fields
6.
Post Practice : Comments, Announcement, Communication
*Note that not only is the above Practice Progression part of the Best Practices for the Columbus Crew Youth Network, it is standard Best Practices for U.S. Youth Soccer, the primary governing body for youth soccer in the United States.
THURSDAY OPEN FIELD/TEAM ONE TRAINING SCHEDULE 1.
Open Play Phase : Crew calls it "Street Soccer"
2.
Play Phase #1 : Coaches overseeing Fields (No "Joy-sticking," focus on themes and reminders)
3.
Practice Phase #1 : Activation and Footwork ("Grid Training")
4.
Practice Phase #2 : Breakout - All Out SC Players start Open Field Play
>Team One Teams Break off to do their own curriculum in preparation for the Ohio Champions League season
5.
Post Practice : Comments, Announcement, Communication
*Note that not only is the above Practice Progression part of the Best Practices for the Columbus Crew Youth Network, it is standard Best Practices for U.S. Youth Soccer, the primary governing body for youth soccer in the United States.
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SECTION 2: POPULAR ALL OUT SC TRAINING DRILLS
DRILL #1 - RONDOSThis game of keep away, which we play primarily in a 4v1 square format, is great for working the fundamentals of vision and passing while under pressure. We feel this is a much better fundamental builder than static passing drills as it is more "game-like" and involves some decision-making.
Rondo Video #1Rondo Video #2
DRILL #2 - CREW FUNINO'S
The Funino is one of the cornerstones of the Crew Youth Network Development Process. Below are some resources that will help you as Crew Network Coaches to coach up players as they engage in this great drill.
**Please note that while we give plenty of opportunities to "coach up" our players during these drills, one thing emphasized at the Crew Coach Training was that these opportunities are great for developing IQ and allowing players to play and make decisions independent of the coaches. We want to avoid "joysticking" (instructing players "pass to Sarah," or "look at that open space, pass there") where we direct players. Best practices are to ask questions, sometimes even at breaks in the action and communicate themes like "look for space" or "remember to keep that ball moving."
Crew Funino Information Page -Note that there are multiple versions of Funinos, including 4-goal, 2-goal and Targets (You'll see examples of 4-goal below). This document from the Columbus Crew Academy shows all Target versions to provide max reps for players... instead of sitting on sidelines, when off field, they are still involved with the drill.
Funino Video #1 (YouTube)*Great description of coaching points and format for the drill.
Funino Video #2 (YouTube)
*Note this teaches the 4-goal version but reminder we can also do a 2-goal version or a moving Targets version.
DRILL #3 - KNOCKOUT
This is a fun drill that is great for teaching players to protect the ball; the term we'll use is SHIELDING.
Knockout Video #1 (YouTube)
DRILL #4 - GATES GAMES
This is a fun game that help players will small ball skills like dribbling and passing. See these awesome videos by MOJO Soccer on YouTube. Note that there is both a dribbling emphasis Gates Game and a passing emphasis Gates Game
Gates Dribbling Video #1 (YouTube)
Gates Passing Video #1 (YouTube)
DRILL #5 - MINEFIELD
The example below demonstrates an individual minefield drill. In practice, we will play this as a group drill and will even progress to playing a form of minefield that is a combination of this drill and the Knockout Drill.
Minefield - Individual Drill Example (YouTube)
DRILL #6 - GRID FOOTWORKOur first Practice Phase of Practice is individual foot skills done within a designated GRID. Typically, our clinician/technical director will call out specific numbers that are aligned with specific foot skills for the evening. Below are some variations that may end up as part of our GRID Footwork...
*Please note these videos will direct you to YouTube
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SECTION 3 : GAME DAY RESOURCES:
PRE-GAME WARM UP:
Coach Rory has a great series of videos that show a number of different elements from Tactics to Technique to Practice Planning. While the Crew Network Development Plan is slightly different, I DO like his Pregame Warm Up Video. He has divided his team's pre-game into five parts, which is tailored mostly for U8, U9 and U10 (though concepts can be used at all age groups). Those parts are...
- Mental Preparation
- Physical Preparation
- Touches
- Positional Preparation
- Pre-Game Talk
The link to his video is here:
Coach Rory's Pre-Game Warm UpAnother step to consider is the importance of Post-Game Talk, as stated in the U.S. Youth Soccer Coaches' Licensure Program. Consider relaying the following information in that post-game talk...
- Encouragement
- What went well?
- What could we improve on?
- Encouragement
- Announcements (Next practice is when/where? What are some goals moving forward? Etc.)
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SECTION 4: MOJO AND OTHER DRILL RESOURCES
MOJO (YouTube Channel) is an awesome resource for age-appropriate as well as skill-specific drills. Below you’ll find some headings and sub-headings of drill sections on various age levels as well as particular skill breakdowns…
AGE APPROPRIATE SECTION:
U6 Soccer Drills Playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaSL84U3HNjBim737vyN1EHnf1ifKGAcS
U8 Soccer Drills Playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaSL84U3HNjAQysUtasTOAxemOJix4gyf
U10 Soccer Drills Playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaSL84U3HNjAQysUtasTOAxemOJix4gyf
U12 Soccer Drills Playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaSL84U3HNjBkMP37GcY8DUPGN39pZ3ey
U14/MSSA Soccer Drills Playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaSL84U3HNjAdleqpjw9GKd0wQpudmfH4
DRILL SPECIFIC SECTION:
General Small-Sided Games
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaSL84U3HNjBzlwTMjEox83orJME2eGfg
>Small-sided games are a core area of development for the Columbus Crew and All Out SC. This playlist breaks down several fun small-sided games that help build player IQ and creativity.
Individual Soccer Skills
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaSL84U3HNjAzScYPOkRoLm4ZtI0BUXhs
>The Cruyff, the Scissor, the Ronaldo Chop, the Poke Tackle. These individual drills are demonstrated, described and refined in this section of videos.