ONCE AGAIN OFFSIDE EXPLAINED

Come on people! It ain't rocket science!

Robinho Highlights

Well if you looked at my blog entries, Robinho Lesson #1 and Robinho Lesson #2, and ask "sure but what does that do for me in a game situation?". Just take a look at Robinho abuse this defender:

DCU use of Roster

DCenters highlighted (The Sour Smell of Success) the problems MLS teams have had translating regular season success into post-season success. The question "D" poses is:

"If we look at MLS Regular Season points per game (modified as above to account for the shoot-out), there's something shocking. Your top 5 historically have a grand total of 0 MLS Cups. Those teams are the 1998 LA Galaxy (2.19 ppg), the 2001 Miami Fusion (2.04 ppg), the 2005 Quakes (2.0 ppg), the 2001 Fire (1.96 ppg) and the 1996 Mutiny (1.91 ppg). Is there something about the regular season, and really tearing it up that makes playoff success difficult?"

With DCU looking at a 2.0 ppg if they win out should we be worried?

My gut reaction is that this post season problem is due more to team management than anything else. DCenters feels that it is random chance.
My thought is that less depth in your roster and a willingness to use it will cost you in the end (Look no further than United last season or the Revs every season.)

I looked at the top five teams and this season's DC United. I just looked at season minutes available versus minutes played by each player. This was a very cursory look, not adjusting for late-comers to teams or injuries, just Team's total minutes played versus total Team's minutes available. Here is the table:

If you look at this distribution a couple of things jump out at me. First and foremost that the Black and Red have only three players that have played eighty percent or more of the available minutes (Perkins 96%, Emilio 90%, Gomez 83%). The others that failed to bring home a Cup have 6-8 players playing 80% plus minutes. The other item is that United has 15 players that have played 30% or more of the available minutes, more than any other team on the list (Fire-14, Quakes-14, Mutiny-13,LAG-13, and the poor Fusion-12). I feel this distribution of playing to is going to ensure us a fifth star and Tom Soehn COY.

EDIT:The current Revs roster has 10 players playing 80% of the minutes and last season's United had 8.


The great thing about this game is that it is not baseball; statistics really say little about the game. I love the fact that three knowledgeable fans can go to a game, sit together and all see a different game! So enough with the stats, my gut tells me our management of the roster this year will pay big!

The first two steps are in your head (pt 3)

Visualization or Guided Imagery
How easy is this! Mental practice. Just imagine yourself in a game situation,play it over and over in your mind and you will perform better. Can this work? Absolutely! Most if not all top athletes have it as part of their training regimen (Check out the Nike commercial with LT below).

[REMEMBER:VISUALIZE IN REAL TIME]

It obviously can't take the place of physical practice but it is another piece to the puzzle. Just as physical practice trains your
muscles how to react, guided imagery trains your mind how to react. Research is finding that both physical and psychological reactions in certain situations can be improved with visualization. Such repeated imagery can build both experience and confidence in an athlete's ability to perform certain skills under pressure, or in a variety of possible situations.

Of course it is just like physical practice; results will depend on how much effort you put into it. The key is using all of your senses.They can be visual (images and pictures), kinesthetic (how the body feels), or auditory (the roar of the crowd). The more real you can make it in your mind the better your results will be.

Here are the key points:

Visualizing an activity uses the same parts of your brain as actually doing the activity.

The more detailed your visualizations are, the more effective they will be in helping you improve your game.

Keep your sports visualizations as specific and detail-oriented as you can.(In other words, not you making All-State, but performing that step over successfully)

For best results make your visualizations happen in real time.

Start out slowly since it can be mentally tiring to really focus on your visualizations. As you get better you can visualize for longer times.


Include those real life distractions in your visualization.

If you are having a problem with a specific move, focus on it in your visualization. Visualize doing it correctly, over and over again.

Proper visualization can even increase your heart rate.

Remember all stress is not bad. Distress is bad-- anxiety, fear and that voice in your head telling you that you can't do it. Eustress is good-- it comes from a challenge and pumps you up.

Visualization is an effective tool even if you're laid up with a sports injury. If you're too hurt to make practice, you can at least picture yourself going through the motions. It might even speed your recovery.

Robinho Lesson #2, Juggling

The single easiest and best thing to do to improve your touch on the ball. No nets, no cones, no pinnies, no coaches...just you and a soccer ball.
Why I'll never juggle in a game.
It's not about the juggling, it's about your ability to make the ball do what you want it to. It's all about touch, your ability to control the ball with different parts of your body. It's about balance while playing with the ball. Here's Robinho's tips, I'll add a few more after the videos.







Just take ten to twenty minutes a day, the pay back will be huge.

Remember to use all parts of your body and please work with the non-dominant side of your body.

Plug in your ear buds and get into a rythm with the ball, remember, "you can't just play...you got to have the sway".

When you start feeling a little cocky go look at youtube to find some new tricks and a little humility.

Robinho Lesson #1-"Futebol moleque"- video

"Man, you can't just play football, you've got to have the sway!"

You know if you need someone to give you some soccer lessons, you can't beat somebody with one name, especially if it ends with 'inho'. Thanks to Nike we've got Robinho sharing his skill and knowledge.In this video we see him playing Futsal with Falcao and imparting some wisdom such as:

"futebol moleque": "is to play with joy and love...respecting your opponent but always with boldness."

On size: " I think football players are becoming bigger over all. But I think strength will never beat intelligence. If you're smart the defense will never stop you."

Hope Solo Off Team

I try to avoid reporting any thing regarding the Women's National Team but there are good lessons to be learned here.As I'm sure you all are aware Hope Solo was benched for the Brasil game by coach Greg Ryan, who played Brianna Scurry instead. Well after the game Hope Solo decided to vent her frustrations with the press saying among other things that she would have made the saves that Scurry didn't and that her coach knew nothing about the game of soccer. The Soccer Insider is reporting that following a team meeting it was decided that Hope Solo would not be practicing with the team or in uniform on Sunday when the USA plays Norway. Steve Goff quoted team captain Kristine Lilly as saying:

"We do what is best for the team, and what is best for the team is the 20 of us right now, With the circumstances that happened and her going public has affected the whole group, and having her with us is still a distraction."

Here is the lesson: Eighty percent of the working population thinks that their Boss is a moron, making bone headed decisions that negatively impact their life, but if you publicly express your feelings you can expect to have the opportunity to find a dfferent boss who is more to your liking.

Lesson two: The organization is ALWAYS more important than the individual.

Here is the interview that has afforded the chance for Hope to fly solo:


Back in August, Bobby Boswell ( last year's defensive player of the year)with DC United, found himself sitting on the bench. Below is part of an interview Steve Goff did with him about the situation. This is how a professional handles it (In this case an extremely competitive male).

“Soccer Insider: How are you doing?

Bobby Boswell: I’m just working hard. I feel like I should be out there and when the coaches feel they need me, I will be ready.

SI: Is it frustrating?

BB: Yeah, you want to play, but that’s part of being a professional, it’s part of the job, and you’ve got to keep working. I think I have done pretty well in practice. I’d like to think I will get an opportunity this weekend, but if not, I’ll be ready to contribute when I am needed.

SI: Have you come to the realization of what you did wrong that resulted in this situation?

BB: I talked to Tommy and he expressed some concerns to me. He said he thought sometimes a good way to show people what they’re doing wrong is to have them watch from his perspective and ……
The team has done well. I always say, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,’ but I’m not sure it was broken when I was taken out. I see myself as a starter, I don’t see myself as a substitute, but right now that is the role I am playing. I will earn my spot back on the field.

Attractive Soccer - What is it? or England is an island

You see these words thrown around alot today, but what is it? Different things to different people, most would agree though that attractive soccer revolves around possession and creative play. To me personally it can be summed up simply by "playing to win", not, "playing not to lose." My personal version involves building from the back, possession, and a simple philosophy of everyone attacking when we have the ball, and everyone defending when we don't.

The question often asked is why can't the USMNT play this way. There is no short answer other than, slowly we are. Here is my attempt at the long answer:

You'll often see the argument that the American youth system stifles creativity, that the Americans rely on athleticism too much, they over coach and don't let kids play. Well the reality is that the crux of the problem, stems from a lack of coaching at the younger ages. You see to be creative requires great technical ability,you can't be one with the ball when all you are taught is to chase it and kick it with your toe by a well meaning parent/coach. This is slowly being addressed as clubs get bigger and better funded. It is after all a business and economics drive the youth system. Initially after the parent/coaches got the kids to the age where the clubs could charge for coaching, the coach had alot of players who were technically deficient hence the need to rely on size and speed. This was compounded by the influx of UK coaches. Parents unfamiliar with the game felt an English accent meant a high soccer IQ. This wouldn't have been particularly catastrophic until you look at the style of play in England. Last Spring, in an ESPN article, former World Cup winner Jorge Valdano blasted Jose Mourinho(Chelsea) and Rafael Benitez(Liverpool) for the style of soccer they perpetuate.

'Chelsea and Liverpool are the clearest, most exaggerated example of the way football is going: very intense, very collective, very tactical, very physical, and very direct.

'But, a short pass? No. A feint? No. A change of pace? No. A one-two? A nutmeg? A backheel? Don't be ridiculous. None of that. The extreme control and seriousness with which both teams played the semi-final neutralised any creative licence, any moments of exquisite skill.'

So let's recap. You've got parents unfamiliar with the game who could (at the time) really only watch the EPL on TV, hiring English coaches to coach technically deficient players. Garbage in garbage out.

Okay today that picture is changing drastically. From an economic standpoint Clubs became bigger and more lucrative and as the fight for the biggest and the fastest kids waged, someone came to the realization that if I can't win that battle I can produce the most technically gifted team. This is starting an entirely new look at the youth system level. (Just look at England's World Cup history to see who wins the physical, direct style versus the technical, possession style.) Combine this with the ability of satellite and internet to watch any league in the World and the influx of Latinos to America and literally, it's a whole new ball game.

Before too much longer The United Kingdom will be an island (pun intended) of 'direct football' This year I would much rather watch a Bundesliga game than an EPL game, much more 'attractive soccer'. If you saw any of the 2006 World Cup you know that this translated to the German National Team, so much so that the Argentinian press welcomed Germany to the 'game of soccer'. In the United States the MLS is playing 'attractive soccer', with the exception of New England, oh that's right an English coach. Jorge Valdano had his own theory on coaching styles. He said:

'...neither Mourinho nor Benitez made it as a player. That has made them channel all their vanity into coaching.

'Those who did not have the talent to make it as players do not believe in the talent of players, they do not believe in the ability to improvise in order to win football matches. In short, Benitez and Mourinho are exactly the kind of coaches that Benitez and Mourinho would have needed to have made it as players.'

That must be the difference in Steve Nichol and Steve Morrow.

Giving Thanks

Following last night's defeat of Brasil by the U20s, I think some thanks are in order.


First I think we need to send a general thank you out to cable tv programming executives. It is not mere coincidence that the U20 play the way that they do and they are the first generation to benefit from better soccer tv coverage in the United States. I have told you guys this over and over, "how to you expect to excel when you don't know what it's supposed to look like?". Thanks to soccers increased popularity the U20s are the first group of youngsters coming up that had the ability to watch high level games at their finger tips. Do not underestimate the power of this seemingly insignificant fact.



Thank you Peter Nowak! You tried to make Freddy Adu a complete player, forcing him to play both sides of the ball. Last night you could witness the pay off. Altidore's first goal game from strong defensive work of Adu.


Last but not least we need to thank the ESPN suits that deemed it proper to replace the third showing of a hot dog eating contest with a soccer match. The fact that it was the most exciting game in US soccer in sometime hopefully rewards you for your decision. Please take the time to contact ESPN and let them know how happy you were their decision. A little positive reinforcement may help with future programmin decisions.

AS YOU GIVE THANKS ALSO DELIGHT IN THE KNOWLEDGE THAT FREDDY ADU AND JOSMER ALTIDORE ARE YOUNG ENOUGH TO PLAY IN THE NEXT U20 CHAMPIONSHIP!!

Quick Reminder: GET TO WORK!!

Touch is everything!

Here's a previous post on working on touch.

LOOKING FOR SOME COWBHOYS

OR BHOYS IN THE HOOD

While other European teams are trying to gain a foothold in the U.S. market through Summer Tours and Camps affiliated with high end Clubs, Celtic has taken a different approach. Celtic have set their sights on inner-city kids who have been traditionally denied access to the beautiful game. Celtic have teamed up with Joan Kroc, widow of McDonald's founder Ray, who has bequeathed a fortune to the Salvation Army to fund community centres in some of North America's most deprived areas. Chief executive Peter Lawwell said: "The programs in America, like those at home, are about getting kids involved in sport, healthy living and education at no charge." No charge being the operative word. Celtic plans on setting up programs in thirty cities in the U.S. and Canada. Celtic have already started working with the Salvation Army via the Atlanta-based Global Events Group, who are sports consultants to the Christian movement.

Here is the link to the Celtic FC site.

My hats off to Celtic in finding a way to expand their brand in a remarkable way. Hopefully their good deeds will be rewarded with the discovery of some diamonds in the rough.

Summer Soccer Starts Tonight

Summer soccer begins tonight at 6:00pm. Please remember that only one player graduated from last year's high school team. First impressions are very important, so here's my advice to put your best cleat forward.
Nothing says freshman on the soccer field than a bunch of guys standing around shooting at the net. You guys know the routine, try acting like it! Grab a partner and start knocking the ball around, get warm and stretch, repeat.
Talk on the field! You understand the game, let everyone know you do!
Play with your head up, if you don't you're going to get ROCKED!
Lastly but most importantly don't be a scaredy cat...


...GET STUCK IN!!!

HYDRATE!

The grass isn't the only thing that needs water in this weather. Guys your age usually lose 1.5 litres of sweat per hour when performing intense soccer activities in heat like this. a study last year showed that nearly two thirds of the soccer players being tracked were showing up for practice already dehydrated. It is extremely important to be drinking plenty of fluids before practice and after practice as well. The U.S. Soccer Federation recommends: "that parents and coaches ensure children are well hydrated before practice and games. During activity, young athletes should drink on a schedule; because thirst is not an accurate indicator of fluid needs, athletes should drink before they become thirsty."

You need to be aware of the signs of heat illness. If someone becomes unusually fatigued, dizzy, and nauseous or has a headache during exercise in the heat, have them stop, rest and drink fluids

Here is a link to the United States Soccer Federation's guidelines.

Midfield Madness

A lot of the leading teams in the English Premier League (EPL), the top league in England, use video software called ProZone. ProZone software uses video to detail every movement of every player, every 1/10th of a second. This allows the clubs to analyze team and individual performance. Some of those stats will make you understand why you're running suicides in your spare time.Midfielders did the most running of all (big surprise), averaging over seven miles a game.Center backs covered the least ground but were still running just over six miles in a match. To put this in perspective run from Wilson Field to the pool at Cedar Rock and you've only gone a tad over five miles. But like I said it is not enough to be in aerobic shape. The report showed that the amount run in a match has changed very little in the last four years but the amount done at speed has more than doubled.What ProZone calls "high-intensity activities",runs made by players at three quarters of sprint space or better has increased from 627 per team per match in 2002-2003 to 1,209 in 2005-2006.It should also come as no surprise that the right midfielder did the most "fast" running.The right winger had an average of 147 "high-intensity" runs per game and covered over 300 yards flat out.

Now don't let this discourage you because the midfielders had an average of 40 seconds recovery time between those "high-intensity activities".

Time to get off the couch

It's less than a week before Summer soccer begins and if you haven't been out working some you're going to be hurting Tuesday. I've seen a few of you out working on touches, hopefully you have also been working on fitness.
Please remember it's not just aerobic conditioning that you need to be working on. If you've been running 10 miles a week, that's great! But don't forget anaerobic endurance which is more critical to your soccer success.
Here are a couple of easy things you can do.
Interval running:


You guys know the routine on this one, simply run laps around the field, alternating between light jogging and sprints. You're supposed to change pace any time you reach a corner flag or the midfield line.
Tip: If you feel out of breath, slow down on the jogging segments so that you have more time to recover.
Please remember that it is important when sprinting to remember the techniques that Brian taught you. This is a chance to practice your running as well as get in shape.
Remember to pump your arms, drive with your back foot, and don't "clomp".

The other thing you can do to work on your anaerobic is everyone's favorite, shuttle runs (suicides).


Drill: Stand on the goal line, facing the field. Sprint up to the 6 yard line (a) and back. When you return to the goal line, rest for 10-15 seconds and sprint again, this time to the 18 yard line (b) and back. After a second brake, sprint to midfield (c) and so on. One repetition consists of a total of five sprinting runs (a-e)
Remember: You're supposed to sprint in both directions so there's no reason you should slow down upon reaching the 6 yard line or the 18 yard line. Try to change direction as quickly as possible

USMNT Practice

The Men's National team is practicing in California, preparing for Saturday's game against China. The log of Tuesday's practice can be seen here
I just wanted to copy a few items and see if you recognize this practice.
"10:04 a.m. – Head coach Bob Bradley brings the guys together in the center circle and is talking about what they’ll be doing today and what he’s looking for from today’s practice....After the quick pep talk, trainer Anthony Slater leads the guys in a light jog around the field.
10:10 a.m. – After the run, the guys get in a circle to stretch, led by Andrew in the middle of the circle. Interestingly, Sorber and Peter are also stretching. Possibly playing today? Guess we’ll see.
10:14 a.m. – We finally get into the meat of the practice. The 16 field players are broken up into two groups of eight. One is taking part in a passing/trapping drill. Basically the guys run with in a square, always moving in a counter-clockwise direction, taking a touch and giving it back...
10:31 a.m. – Players using almost an entire half for the next drill where there are four two-by-two foot boxes in each corner. The teams of eight can score points by completing a pass into one of the boxes ... Bob telling the guys good so far, but there needs to be more talking. Umm…Nowak can definitely still play as he gets in good spots and sprays perfectly placed balls with one and two touches. He hits a great one-time ball to Jonathan Spector in the corner and puts it at 3-3. Another yellow score, then Marsh responds to for blue and a 4-4 tie.
10:38 a.m. – Bob blows his whistle after about seven minutes to talk through a couple points about moving without the ball and spacing.
10:51 a.m. – Both goals are pulled up to the 18-yard lines and it looks like they’re going to play 9v9 ...
11:45 a.m. – Guys move on to a strictly shooting drill now, with Sorber playing them a ball straight on from the endline. Lined up about 20 yards out, guys are attempting to take two touches, one to settle, the second to strike on goal...."

My point is that practice is practice no matter what level you are competing on. It is all about fundamentals.

3v3 Practices

For those of you playing in the tournament in Boone, here is your practice schedule:
Thursday 5-31 (6:00 - 7:30)
Monday 6-4 (6:00 - 7:30)
Thursday 6-7 (6:00 - 7:30)
Tuesday 6-12 (6:00 - 7:30)
Thursday 6-14 (6:00 - 7:30)
Sat 6-16 & Sun 6-17 - Tournament.
Location is still up in the air but I would plan on Wilson Field. The nets and goals are down at the Complex, unless you hear otherwise from Troy.
Here's the link to the tourney info and rules:http://www.hcavalanche.com/avalanche+3/home.html

How not to take a free kick

For you guys that were at UNC camp last year, your coach played with Khano in college.
Here are his remarks concerning this:
"I tell you that 90% of the time that ball is driven like hell to the near post, a week into my first preseason I took one off the face waiting for the re-direction that never came."

The first 2 steps are in your head (pt 2)

SELF CONFIDENCE

click on picture to see full size

ENOUGH SAID!...Actually I will be adding to this a little later.

The first 2 steps are in your head (pt 1)

As I stated in the introduction I wanted to bring to your attention the importance of the mental aspect of the game. I wrote that everything is built on the foundation of your skills or technique but you must be attentive to the physical and mental aspects of the game.I'll start with "understanding the game" or tactical awareness. Most coaches put tactical awareness into its own group, but I believe it is a major component of the mental aspect of your game. I wrote in the introduction that the only way to truly gain an understanding of the game was through watching and playing. Now you have been taught or coached on a variety of tactical situations from how to run a 4-4-2 to what to do in a 2 vs 1 in the defensive third of the field but what sticks in your mental database is what has worked in games you've seen or played. Because soccer is not football the 4-4-2 will often morph into a 4-5-1 or 4-3-2-1. Your decision on how to handle the 2 vs 1 will be tempered by where you are on the field, who's tracking back, your confidence in your keeper or a dozen other factors. The most important thing I want you to remember is : You can't stop thinking!It sounds so simple yet how many times have you been watching a game and heard "that was just a mental lapse on so and so's part"? Unlike your technique which should be automatic you can't put your mind on auto-pilot during a game. When you do you end up reacting and in soccer that equals chasing the ball which means no fun. Now here's the big secret. Remember all that work with Brian on explosive speed? All the plyometrics, all the work on first step technique? The secret is the first two steps are in your head! When you start thinking during the game you move from reaction to ... wait for it ...wait... ANTICIPATION! I know you've never heard this before, especially being screamed from the sidelines. Some of the fastest players you'll face on the soccer field are not the fastest at running the 40. They are players with great tactical awareness or understanding of the game who are thinking and anticipating on the field. As the level of your play raises so will the "speed of play". Speed of play has many components. Physically, it is affected by the quality of our first touch. From the mental side, it is affected by our understanding of the game, i.e., the decision process made by the you as to when to turn and take on an opponent, when to combine with another player or when to play a forward pass. Now the best part is when you have great tactical awareness and can remained focused on the field you move from reacting or anticipating to DIRECTING.
Next we'll talk about confidence.