8th October - U12 Boys

Session Objectives
By the end of this session participants will be able to:

1. Control a moving ball in the air.
2. Shoot in to designated areas of the goal.
3. Have confidence in front of goal.

Session Evaluation

This week I decided to take a more democratic style of coaching, (Lyle, 2002) listening to feedback whist inviting there suggestions and ideas but still ensure I had control of the session. I set out coned areas first so for the start of the session they worked in small groups on control. After most of the group had become confident it was time to move on to the main area of the session, shooting. To incorporate control into this drill I set up the ball at different heights and angles for the on coming players. I think this worked well and I began to get the most positive results in training so far.

In this session I noticed on of my players no playing to there normal standard, when approached they explained they had experienced a bad day at school. They were aggressive towards the football with out thinking of the skills and knowledge they had previously gained. This was then linked to a large decrease in skill level. (Weinberg, 2006) To ensure they did not injure any other boy in the session in the concluding match I advised him to work on his control through out the match, giving him self two points for good control and minus one if its bad control. I think this person goal took his mind off school and his football improved through the later part of the session.

All objectives where met but feel that control is still letting some of my players down due to lack of concentration. I will continue to work on this aspect of football over the following weeks, involving it in every session mixed up with other drills. I explained this to the manager and he agreed but also offered to work with a small group of players if they do not improve, I agreed as this can only benefit the team as a whole in the long run.

Lyle, J. (2002) Sports Coaching Concepts: A Framework for Coaches' Behaviour

Weinberg, R.S. (2006) Foundations of Sport And Exercise Psychology