Gary Williamson North Texas Soccer State Coach National Staff Instructor: US Youth Soccer and USSF

Gary Williamson
North Texas Soccer State Coach
  National Staff Instructor:
 US Youth Soccer and USSF
      gary@ntxsoccer.org

“Change is the law of life.

The link to the past is the bridge to the future.
 Those who look only to the past or present
     are certain to miss the future.”

                              John. F. Kennedy

Who were the best players:

          70’s
          80’s
          90’s
          Now

Could the masters of
 the past play today?

Characteristics

 Similarities?

 Differences?

Players who inspired us:
           60s        70s               80s            90s          00s
  Suarez         Mueller       Rummenigge     Matthaus       Zidane
  Sivori         Cruyff        Rummenigge     Papin          FIGO
  Masopust       Beckenbauer   Rossi          Van Basten     Ronaldo
  Yashin         Cruyff        Platini        Baggio         Zidane
  Law            CRUYFF        Platini        Stoichkov      Ronaldinho
  Eusebio        Blokhin       PLATINI        Weah           Ronaldinho
  CHARLTON       Beckenbauer   Belanov        Sammer         Cannavaro
  Albert         Simonsen      Gullit         Ronaldo        Kaka
  Best           KEEGAN        V. BASTEN      ZIDANE         C. RONALDO
  Rivera         Keegan        Van Basten     Rivaldo        MESSI

                           Golden Ball Winners

INSPIRATIONS NOW
     
 Messi
     
 Ronaldo
     
 Kaka
     
 Gerrard
     
 Henry
     
 Marta
     
 Wambach

We can deduct…
The Masters of the past…
Pele, Charlton, Beckenbauer , Cruyff, V. Basten Maradona, Platini,
   Zidane, Akers, Hamm
 Inspired ALL of the players of the present
   The Masters of the present…
      Messi, Ronaldinho, Kaka, Gerrard, Ronaldo, Marta, Wambach

            Will Inspire ALL of the players of
                        the future

“Players have to react faster.
Every moment, every action happens
faster. Think faster, act faster, this is
the football of the future.”

             Valerie Lobanowsky -1996

Anticipated Traits
           Physical

  Mental   Lifestyle   Technical

           Tactical

Physical-Athletic has Improved
   
   Size
   
   Speed
   
   Power
   
   Agility
   
   Strength
   
   Increased distances (50% more than 1965)
   
   8.5 miles per game average
   
   30-40 sprints per game
   
   By 2025 20% increase in distance covered

Technical qualities improved
    Passing
    
 Fast Passes               Defending
    
 On the move               
 1 vs. 1 dominate
    
 One touch                    (press, intercept, spoil)
                                
 Off balance
    Receiving                   
 Interchanges
    
 Tight, soft first touch
    
 Clever                    Dribbling
    
 Unexpected/Unorthodox     
 Quick feet
                                
 Deception
                                
 Speed
    Running with the ball       
 Turning
    
 To move opponents
    
 To fix opponents          Shooting
    
 Counter-attacking speed   
 Accuracy
                                
 Both feet
                                
 1 touch
                                
 Heading

Ball Possession Euro 2008
                  Passes       Pass
      Team
                 per game   completion
      Spain         569        81.3%
      Italy         501        76%
     France         488        77.7%
     Germany        474        76.3%
     Czech R        379        69.6%

               Higher Game Tempo

Tactical Improvements
  
   Interchange positions
  
   Left on Right - Right on Left
  
   Dominate 1 v 1 - offense and defense
  
   Individualistic/Team mentality
  
   Counter-attacking speed
  
   Awareness
  
   Tight spaces (play into, in, through)

Positional Interchange
“We work together in training on combining with each
 other and it has really paid off.
 We don’t have one player who just stays up the front and
 stands there. We all like to move around and always try to
 make it difficult for defenders. I think we realize where the
 space is on the pitch, so when you see a team-mate running
 into one area, you just run a different way!
 Part of it is instinct, you naturally run towards a space
 where you can be a threat to the defense.”
                                           Wayne Rooney
                                              2009

Mentally Tougher
    
   Starting 11
    
   Frequency of games
    
   Stardom
    
   Fatigue
    
   Injuries/recovery
    
   Lifestyle

What We Know
          Just Like Wine

As good grapes…..
World Class Athletes are Born

As good wine…..
World Class Soccer Players are Made

Who makes them?

     How?

Nature Vs. Nurture
   Main ingredients to succeed

     
   Culture
     
   Leadership
     
   Environment
     
   Idols
     
   Opportunity
     
   Training
     
   Competition

USA                vs.              Italy
                Youth Soccer
3.2 Million      Population
                                   780 Thousand

Multiracial      Diversity          Multiracial
Bigger Pool       Athletes         Smaller Pool
First Class      Facilities           Limited
   1994           History        4 Time WC winners
 Infancy         Pro Soccer        Highest Level
High Cost     Social Economics       Low Cost

Italy’s Culture
“In Italy we have 60 Million National
  Team Coaches”
                        Marcello Lippi
                                          Italian National Team Coach

  (comment after being heavily criticized by the public and the media for
      losing a friendly game in preparation of the 2006 World Cup)

                           Italy has 60 million inhabitants

Leadership

How is Youth Soccer structured in the
            U.S.A.?

U.S.S.F                   Academy Program
                        United States Soccer Federation       U16/U18 Boys

   U.S.Y.S                                    A.Y.S.O
United States           US Club            American Youth         S.A.Y
                        Soccer                 Soccer       Soccer Association
Youth Soccer                                                    for Youth
                                            Organization

                   States               Competitive          Recreational
                Associations              Soccer               Soccer
                55 Branches

F.I.G.C
 Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio
      (Italian Football Federation)

              F.I.G.C
Settore tecnico Giovanile e Scolastico
(Youth & Scolastic Technical Branch)

               F.I.G.C
           Uffici Regionali
          (Regional Offices)

Environment-Improve
  
 Easy to say, hard to do!
  
 Recreational to Elite
  
 Elite from Recreational

Challenges – Unique to USA
      •   Geography
      •   Climate
      •   Overemphasis on winning
      •   Big soccer population
      •   Politics, fragmentation
      •   Social economic (pay to play)
      •   Other sports
      •   Education
      •   Variety of distractions

Best Practices U.S.S.F.
• Zone 1 (6-12 Years) “Base Level”
• Zone 2 (13-17 years) “Development”
• Zone 3 (17 + years) “The Lost Years!”

U6-U12                              Zone 1
    Dynamics             Assessment          Improvement
     Huge #’s           Free play, less        Entry level
                          structure             influence
Limited knowledge    Passion, experiment,    Best practices
     coaches               creativity         philosophy
  Physical stars –    Technical training    Communication -
 early developers       1v1, 2v2, 3v3          coaches
   Winning vs.        Love for ball/game    Developmentally
  Development                                 appropriate
    Drop outs                               Framework makes
                                                 sense

What is the Greatest
      ENEMY
  of the Coach?

    TIME

Elite Level
• 10,000 hours deliberate practice
  – 1,000 hours/year = 20 hours per week
  – Deliberate practice
  – Free play – value
  – Time spent playing
  – Type of activity
  – Quality: game/training

U13-U17                           Zone 2
 Dynamics         Assessment            Improvement
   Serious        Club driven      Best practices philosophy
Physical Stars   Elite punished           All leagues
  Winning        Lots of games       USSF Academy - Elite
  College         Low quality          Multi levels for
Scholarships                            recreational
                                     Success/Challenged

U17 +                         Zone 3
Dynamics            Assessment             Improvement
Players not fully   Less opportunities     Professional options
formed
-Physically         Elite drops            MLS Reserves
-Mentally           Gap between            WPS League
                    Professional/College
-Technically -
Tactically
End of soccer
careers

Idols
     Learn from the best!


   Professional Players

   Teams

   Coaches

   Peers

Opportunity

   Talent Discovery

   Identification/Selection

   Biological and Chronological Clocks

   Socioeconomic

   Geography

   Objective vs. Subjective Evaluation

Training

   Vision (Long Term Plan)

   Methodology

   Coaching Support

   Age Appropriate

   Evolve with the Modern Game

   Frequency, Duration

   Quality

   Competitive, Fun, Physical

Food for Thought

Italian F.F.
Lesson plan
 U12-U14

U.S.S.F
  Lesson Plan U12-U14
From the Best Practices Manual
 
   Technical Warm-up
 
   Small Sided Games
 
   Expanded Small Sided Games
 
   7 vs. 7

Talking About Competition…

 Recreation vs. Club Academy

   Club vs. High School vs. Academy (USSF)

   Club vs. Academy(USSF) vs. ODP (State , Regional, National)

   Games vs. Practice

   Parents!

Competition

Can the USA produce
World Class Soccer Players?