The Soccer Coach

The Soccer Coach
Marco Bruno

Marco Bruno

THE SOCCER COACH

From the player’s training

to game plans and theories

Translated by: Eva Melisa Mastroianni

The sense of pleasure in wearing the cleats, the smell of freshly cut grass early in the season; the plastic bags at feet to not get in the water during workouts in the pouring rain. Friends not only for one season, but lasting forever. Growing up with a dream and not being able to accomplish it completely and then realizing that the reason was because your vocation was to train. Little ones and big ones. With an unexpected naturalness. Probably the talent I lacked as a player I had as a coach. Or maybe not even here I can say I have it... the way to get what you want is often incredibly winding and you might even get lost in it. Cleats or whistle... the passion is the same. And if passion drives you, you can never get lost.

Table of contents

What is soccer? 4 (#ulink_c660eaa0-1be9-507b-a68e-9cfd1d83c128)

TRAINING STANDARDS 7 (#ulink_191b1e5c-35ee-5e20-89c5-dffe07bc8ad6)

TRAINING AND GROWTH 24 (#ulink_73e1b485-0830-524a-a3fe-d620c390c7ce)

TRAINING OF YOUNG PLAYERS 31 (#ulink_0af72d6a-e0f4-530f-8c7a-157035c3cc2d)

COACH RESPONSIBILITIES 36 (#ulink_af26f115-1614-5fa9-b63b-b06bf72a91e0)

PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF TRAINING 45 (#ulink_4e2bef1f-943c-5c6b-af72-5b1e03069b4a)

SOURCES FOR ENERGY PRODUCTION 56 (#ulink_4514206f-5b08-585f-9dc1-ca82a9c8e8e4)

MOTOR SKILLS 65 (#litres_trial_promo)

COORDINATIVE SKILLS 66 (#litres_trial_promo)

CONDITIONAL SKILLS 71 (#litres_trial_promo)

RESISTANCE 73 (#litres_trial_promo)

SPEED 113 (#litres_trial_promo)

FLEXIBILITY 130 (#litres_trial_promo)

THE MASS IN ACTION 144 (#litres_trial_promo)

TRAINING PROGRAMMING 147 (#litres_trial_promo)

THE COACH 156 (#litres_trial_promo)

TEACHING PROGRESSION IN THE YOUTH SECTOR 162 (#litres_trial_promo)

TECHNIQUE 164 (#litres_trial_promo)

TACTICS 170 (#litres_trial_promo)

TRAINING METHODS 178 (#litres_trial_promo)

GAME SYSTEMS 185 (#litres_trial_promo)

BALL POSSESSION 202 (#litres_trial_promo)

HOW TO PREPARE A TRAINING 210 (#litres_trial_promo)

THE MANAGEMENT OF WHO DOES NOT PLAY 216 (#litres_trial_promo)

What is soccer?

Soccer is a simple and easily understandable game in its rules and in its course. Anyone can practice it because it does not require a particular physical structure or certain athletic skills; the athlete has a wide freedom of movement and therefore the possibility to express the best of him.

For this, the game of soccer is called free activity that, starting from a common basic technique, allows everyone to express their own personality and their own style; however, it is an uncertain activity, linked to the law of the case, and which is impossible to foresee.

Philosophically soccer is an ever-new and full-fledged adventure that can become spectacular; it is an activity of the present because the player builds his future during each game, the past does not matter.

People like soccer

Because it’s a simple game

Everyone can play it

It’s a free activity

It’s an uncertain activity

It's an adventure

It’s an activity of the present

I think there are key factors to work on in order to train one player in all his characteristics: technical, tactical, physical, mental and social. Obviously, we must make it clear straight away that training a young soccer player is completely different from training an adult one. For this reason I prefer to talk about the young soccer player’s formation before, and about the adult player’s training then.

In recent years, I’ve seen (and I still do) youth training coaches often making the same mistake: to train youths and kids as if they were adults.

TRAINING STANDARDS

When assuming responsibility for team leadership, each coach must have a clear understanding of the meaning of the word "training”. In an extremely general way, training is a process that produces a physical, motor, cognitive and affective change.

The athlete's sport training is:

- physical training,

- technical-tactical training,