Category: Youth Development

Cruyff’s Simple Football

Posted Peter MotzenbeckerPosted in Coaching, Methodology, Observations on the Game, Training, Youth Development

‘Playing football is very simple, but playing simple football is the hardest thing there is.’ – Johan Cruyff I see this quote from Cruyff quite often. It always seems to be used to support an opinion about how players should be trained or about how the game should be played. A few of the general sentiments that have stood out over the years: coaches arguing against players being taught to dribble during their younger ages because that makes the game more difficult from a team perspective, plus dribbling is sloppy and therefore too complex, wanting and coaching young players to […]

The Five Superiorities

Posted Peter Motzenbecker3 CommentsPosted in Coaching, Methodology, Observations on the Game, Training, Youth Development

It was in 1967 that Allen Wade, then technical director of the English FA, released the FA Guide to Coaching and Training which outlined the principles of attacking and defending in football. As part of a coach’s education webinar I ran with a colleague, we discussed whether the principles that Wade outlined in that publication were still relevant to the game today. Everyone can agree that the game has evolved since 1967, but it can also be agreed that Wade’s principles are still very much relevant to the game, no matter the level or the style of play. Attacking Principles […]

Exploring Creativity

Posted Peter MotzenbeckerPosted in Coaching, Methodology, Training, Youth Development

This podcast was recorded a few months ago with colleagues of mine from Global Premier Soccer – Massachusetts as part of the GPS Podcast series. I was in the midst of writing my previous article on player decision making, which was very start/stop process, and wanted to talk about what ‘creativity’ means in soccer. It is very much a buzz word that is thrown around, but can it be universally defined? If it cannot be defined, is it a word worth using? Is there such a thing as a creative player or is it simply a player with a greater […]

How Do Players Make Decisions?

Posted Peter MotzenbeckerPosted in Coaching, Methodology, Training, Youth Development

Decision making is arguably one of the most difficult qualities for a youth player to develop. It is a quality that has a lot to do with the environment that a player is placed in: the coach, the team, the club, the methodology, the philosophy, the style. There are objectively better environments to create players and, specifically,  players that can make better decisions. Of those listed influences on a youth player, what impacts their decision making the most? Without question, the coach has a huge impact on that player’s ability to grow in their decision making, good or bad. While […]

Game Model: Case Study

Posted Peter MotzenbeckerPosted in Coaching, Methodology, Training, Youth Development

In 2015, I took over a talented group of 1999/2000 players. They were a group that had played together for the last three or four years, so were connected socially and individually had good technical qualities. The first year that I had the team, five new players had joined, a very good centre midfielder, a versatile player that I ended up using as mostly one of my outside backs, but also in centre midfield (both as a holder and a shuttler-type in a 3-4-3) and centre back, a goalkeeper (which the team did not have a ‘full time’ player for […]

The Importance of Coaching Dribbling & 1v1s

Posted Peter MotzenbeckerPosted in Coaching, Methodology, Training, Youth Development

As viewers, we are always excited when someone like Messi goes on a mesmerizing dribble, taking defenders out of the game one by one on his way to goal, but if you transport yourself from watching a professional match to watching an under-12s game, that dribble becomes something of an after thought to many (coaches, teammates, parents, etc.) because it is seen as risky or selfish. With the success of Guardiola’s Barcelona and Spain’s dominance in continental and international competition during the late 2000s and early 2010s, there has been a huge push for youth teams to play ‘possession-based soccer.’ […]

Contextualise Your Content

Posted Peter MotzenbeckerPosted in Coaching, Methodology, Training, Youth Development

As with many jobs, one of the best things about coaching is the ability to interact with other coaches; discussing ideas on the game, on player development, on training methodology, on the professional games of the past weekend. There is a shared commonality for the passion of the game and the want to make players better. No two coaches have the exact same thoughts on a given topic, at least not beyond the broadest of topics. The complexity and nuances of the game are what make it the most interesting and most divisive amongst coaches. There are so many variables […]