Articles
What other coaches have learned and written, shared coach to coach: books, manuals and experience, with diagrams, examples and drills to take to the pitch.
18 articles
- Tactics3 min read
Set pieces in youth football: almost a third of goals
In matches for 10 to 12-year-olds, almost three in every ten goals come from set pieces, just like at World Cups. What the data says, what to teach at each restart by age, and how to train it in stages without turning it into chalkboard routines.
- Psychology5 min read
The group needs training too: team cohesion and leadership
Putting fifteen players together does not make a team. How a group moves through its stages over the season, which roles and rules hold it together, which coaching style works with young players and what to do about the leaders who do not wear the armband.
- Methodology4 min read
Assessing players in youth football: what to look at and how to record it
Assessing is not about giving marks: it is about knowing where each player is so you can decide what to train next. Which criteria to use, how to build a simple assessment sheet, how to observe a match and why, with the little ones, you have to look at the process and not the result.
- Fitness5 min read
Physical preparation in youth football: what to train at each age and why with the ball
Endurance, speed, strength, coordination and flexibility: what football demands, which ability to develop at each stage according to FIFA, and how to tweak a ball game so it also provides a solid physical workout.
- Fitness3 min read
Eating and drinking in youth football: what the coach needs to know
A young player has to eat to train and to grow at the same time. How much to drink, what to eat before and after the match, why children suffer more in the heat and why they don't need supplements, according to FIFA's nutrition guide.
- Tactics4 min read
Teaching defending: from 1v1 to zonal defence
Defending is learned in layers: first the duel, then helping a team-mate, then the line and finally the block. What to teach at each age, with the principles of Borzi and FIFA and exercises for every step.
- Tactics2 min read
Possession or quick attack: why you need to teach both
Keeping the ball and attacking fast are not opposing styles: a good team needs both and knows when to use each. FIFA's principles for youth development and how to train them by changing a single rule of the game.
- Psychology4 min read
How to Train Concentration in Football
“Concentrate” means nothing if the player doesn't know on what. The four types of attention a match demands, what breaks them, and simple games to train them from under-8s upwards.
- Methodology5 min read
Correcting and motivating: how to step in during training
What separates the experienced coach from the beginner is not the exercise, it is how they correct and how they encourage. When to stop play, how many things to correct at once, how to ask rather than give the answer and how to keep motivation up.
- Age groups4 min read
Growth and maturation: why two children of the same age don't perform the same
Two players born in the same year can be years apart in their development. What happens with the growth spurt, which abilities to train at each age, and how not to get it wrong when judging talent.
- Planning2 min read
Warm-ups in youth football: how long, how, and with the ball
Not five minutes of laps and not half an hour of stretching. How long it should last by age, how to set it up before a match and the mistakes that come up most.
- Goalkeepers5 min read
Coaching the goalkeeper: technique, positioning and playing with the feet
The goalkeeper is the only player who can win or lose a match with a single action. How to progress from the isolated movement to the match, where to stand in one-v-ones and at corners, and games for young keepers.
- Planning3 min read
The training week: how hard to push each day
Repeating the same sessions at the same pace every week doesn't make better players. How FIFA spreads the load between matches for under-13s, under-15s and under-18s, and how to apply it to a team that trains three days.
- Fitness4 min read
Injuries in Youth Football: What Is Special About a Growing Body
A child is not a small adult, even when injured. Why overuse injuries appear, which typical growing pains are worth recognising, and what a coach can do to prevent them.
- Psychology4 min read
Parents are part of the team: how to work with families
Parents are often more competitive than their children. What a child needs to enjoy football, how to explain your way of working to families and a code of conduct to share at the start of the season.
- Planning3 min read
How to put together a training session for the little ones
One hour, well shared out: arrive playing, learn playing and finish playing. Structure, timings, how many exercises and the mistakes that come up most often with under-7s and under-9s.
- Methodology3 min read
Why small-sided games teach more football
In a 4v4 every child touches the ball five times more than in an 11v11. What the data say, what the player gains and how to grow the format step by step without skipping stages.
- Age groups2 min read
What to train at each age, from 6 to 12 years
A 7-year-old is not a small adult. What each stage looks like, what to work on, which format to play and what role the coach has.