BITTERSWEET

14 May

I recently accepted a coaching position with a new club. As the title states… this move is going to be bittersweet.

The Bitter.

Making the decision to venture into unknown territory was gut wrenching. Giving up on something that I had fought tirelessly to build was one of the hardest decisions that I’ve ever had to make. I’ll be leaving a group of players that I have worked with for several years, some longer than others. Players that eventually outperformed the high expectations that I had for them when I first started. Players that began to realize they were actually playing soccer while their opponents were just kicking a ball. Players that have made me laugh so hard my stomach hurt, but yell so loud that I lost my voice. Players that earned my trust and respect, both on and off the field. And hardest of all- I’ll be leaving some players that I even consider to be as close as family.

The Sweet.

The opportunities I have been handed are amazing. Almost like a dream come true! I will now be at a club with the largest player pool that I have ever had access to. A club with much more recognition and many more connections. My teams will be competing in one of the top leagues in the state/country- which means my coaching skills will be put to the test against some of the ‘best’ in the business. I’m ready. Bring it!

 

I want to wish my former team the best of the luck. Without them- I would not be the coach, or person, that I am today.

 

 

 

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THE RIGHT WAY

25 Mar

Quote posted by Twitter friend (@SeanMonaghan_SM)

“It’s years and years of not training the right way. Not always being encouraged to play, solve problems tactically.” – Caleb Porter.

What is the right way?

There is no answer to that question. Instead, there are answers. Plural. Because there are many different ways of playing ‘right’. And you have to be your own judge.

What you think is ‘right’ will be a style of play that is in line with your own soccer philosophy. Because a coach, no matter how young or old, good or bad, will not teach their team something that they believe to be ‘wrong’. But we have too many [people] involved that don’t understand why something is ‘right’ and continue to teach with a figurative blindfold on.

Maybe [people] prefer the blindfold because the big picture can, at times, seem very gray.

In order to bring color into the picture one must become fluent in different styles of artistry. Different eras, past and present, are full of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ examples. Which ones are studied and accepted as ‘right’ will ultimately shape ones soccer philosophy. As Caleb Porter said it’s a process that lasts ‘years and years.’ It takes ‘years and years’ of studying and then ‘years and years’ of working within a philosophy before an artist and his [people] will begin to see truly beautiful, colorful, art.

But until a philosophy is adopted- the word ‘right’ cannot be defined. And again, you are your own judge.

Here’s a snippet of my artwork that I believe to be ‘right’ according to my philosophy.

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THE FINE PRINT

13 Mar

I found this gem of a quote from Jacques Pelham (www.footballgarden.tumblr.com) as I was going through some of my old Tumblr posts:

“This process also requires considerable dedicated resources. Instructors don’t work for free and schools don’t build themselves.”

And here are some random thoughts that popped in my head after reading that…

To improve our game it is going to take a real effort. It will take money. It will take time. It will take dedication. It will take a ton of resources!

Understanding the intricate details that make up the ‘gold standard’ is where we are failing. Our resources (money, time, effort, dedication, etc) should be spent on attempting to understand the gold standard. We must understand the evolution of soccer, but also be able to identify the constants. And the best examples should be studied and dissected until they can be put back together blindly.

Yeah- how many of us can say we do that?

‘That’s my two cents.” -The Pig

 

 

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GIVE ME A REASON

7 Mar

Why are you involved in youth soccer? Why do you coach?

You might have numerous reasons for doing what you do. It could be a combination of things. Leisure, pleasure, or money? Maybe it’s something more. Maybe it’s one of these examples:

  1. Recreation - Yes, soccer coaching can be a recreational activity for adults just as much as playing the game is for kids. This could help you release energy, express yourself, or escape from life’s ‘normal’ chores.
  2. Control – This could be the desire to control your own child (most likely) or having the ability to control a group of individuals. Some people need or want to be in charge. Coaching, at whatever level, might help you satisfy that need.
  3. Competitive-Competence - Maybe you are motivated by the thought of mastering the art of coaching. Maybe you’re willing to do whatever it takes in order to understand, and teach, the game at it’s highest levels.

Whatever the reason- thank you. You’ve done this country a service by providing opportunities for our youth to play the game. But that does not give you a free pass. Simply offering your time does not magically transform you into a world class coach. Having a son or daughter on the team does not make you Pep Guardiola and certainly does not make your child Messi. Being a ‘coach for hire’ does not put you on the same pedestal Mourinho or Fergie.

The hardest part of coaching youth sports is knowing when to let go. Knowing when you have reached your limit. Knowing when you have done enough. Knowing when it’s time to start looking for a different way to be involved.

You must first identify why you are coaching in the first place. When you identify that it will be much easier for you to recognize and accept when your time has come.

And your exit (or reduced role) is not a catastrophic event.

In all honesty… the catastrophes often come from those who hold on for too long.

“And the reason is…?” -The Pig

 

THIS IS WAR

30 Jan

Pacific visit

An old business partner of mine once recommended that I read The Art of War. I hate reading. I bought the audiobook instead. I loved listening to it.

Because when applied to soccer- some strategies fit perfect.

Sun Tzu wrote these as five essential ingredients for victory:

  1. He will win when he knows when to fight and when not to fight.
  2. He will win when he knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.
  3. He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout his ranks.
  4. He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the army unprepared.
  5. He will win who has the military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.

I don’t think I need to break these down. I think they’re self explanatory. Right?

“This is war.” -The Pig

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ELITE + WORK ETHIC = ELITE WORK ETHIC

3 Jan

I’m going to reference two articles that you must read prior to continuing on here. Both come from the 3four3 blog written by Gary Kleiban.

What’s an Elite Player?

and

Work Ethic – An Elusive Player Trait

Did you read both? Okay- did you read the comments? Go back and read the first comment on the second article.

To be an elite player, coach, manager, scout, trainer, or even just an elite spectator… you have to understand these types of things. You have understand all of the little details that encompass elite status. You have to be able to recognize that a goal scorer is not elite solely because he is a goal scorer. No. There is much more to it.

One problem is that we’re rewarding the wrong things. Why?  Because we don’t have enough people (players, coaches, managers, scouts, trainers, spectators) that know enough about the right things. Secondly, we’ve infected these so-called ‘elite’ players with garbage and that garbage prevents them from understanding the true difference between elite and not elite. We’ve spoon fed them bullshit for years and that bullshit is incredibly detrimental to their personal development and the performance of their teammates as well.

And at the end of the day… we’re left with a bunch of posers. Garbage players, garbage teams, and garbage coaches posing as ‘elite’.

QUESTION: How do you spot a poser?

ONE ANSWER: Brian’s comment from that second article that you already read. (Right?)

FC Barcelona’s fabled ‘six second rule’ is ONE example that I’ll use in conjunction with Brian’s comment.

When, let’s say Xavi, loses the ball in the center of midfield, the first thing he does is attempts to regain possession of the ball. He doesn’t stop. He doesn’t wait. He doesn’t complain. He doesn’t roll his eyes. Or stand with his hands on his hips and stare at his teammate with a look of disgust. No. He get’s the damn ball back. And when he loses it again. He gets it back again. And so on and so forth.

You see- that’s elite. That’s hard work. That’s someone who gets off by knowing that he’s the best or knowing that he is striving to be the best. He also knows he’s surrounded by others just like him.

And in my humble opinion… that’s what we lack here. We lack an elite work ethic, both individually and as a team. And for the most part- players, coaches, managers, scouts, trainers, and spectators lack the proper environment and knowledge in order to inspire such an ethic.

Bottom line…

“Work hard. Play hard. Work harder. Play harder.” -The Pig

 

 

 

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IT’S NOT A FLUKE

13 Dec

Good soccer doesn’t happen on accident.

Good soccer isn’t reserved for the international and professional level.

Good soccer can be seen at any level.

And it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to recognize when a team is moving in the right direction.

Take this clip for example… (music not my choice! Pete, come on man.)

Definitely not the most technically gifted players to set foot on a field,  but they’re attempting to play differently than most teams they compete against. It’s taken awhile for them see the benefits, but last weekend… they won a tournament. They won in dominating fashion. Outscoring their opponents 15-3 throughout the tournament. Not bad for a U14 girls team filled with cheerleaders, volleyball players, and some basketball players that train soccer twice a week.

Congrats to the OUSL Crusaders G98 team! Proud of the girls and the coaches!

 

 

STATISTICS

30 Nov

So many numbers! Which ones matter?

One I’ve been paying attention to lately is pass completion percentage. It’s hard for me to track ‘time of possession’ without the proper technology, but I can definitely count each and every pass that is completed. It’s time consuming. It’s a gnarly process. But it’s one of the most valuable numbers. Not only for the team, but for individual player evaluation as well.

Sometimes you think a player is doing really well, but they’re not.

Sometimes you think a player is doing really bad, but they’re not.

Video helps determine the truth. And passing percentage is one of the best measuring sticks when trying to evaluate a players performance.

115 passes completed in this clip. Is that good or bad?

 

 

THE BUILD UP

13 Nov

Buzzwords. The list is infinite.

Here is something not on the previous list that I posted: BUILD UP

What are you building? A house? Okay. What is it made of? Brick? Or is it a house made of cards? Are you building a house that can be blown over easily on a windy day? Or are building something will last a little while? Hmm…

We have a growing problem that will soon be an epidemic. Coaches and teams are mimicking ‘BUILD UP’ play and writing it off as something miraculous when its nothing more than just a few wasteful passes in the back line. You connected more than ten passes? Okay, cool. In what part of the field? With what players? Big question… what was the outcome? What did the final pass look like?

‘BUILD UP’ is quickly becoming a disguise for coaches and teams that just don’t get it.

If your build up consistently ends with a long ball, you don’t get it. Sorry.

 

“Congrats on building a house of cards.” – The Pig

 

 

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ALL THE BUZZ

28 Oct

Words.

Phrases.

We know a lot of them. We need to learn how to use them, though.  As coaches, fans, players, and parents we have to know what we’re saying. We can’t just throw words around for fun.

But after attending a coaching course this weekend, I’m convinced we’re fucked. I’m scared. I guess it’s fitting since it’s almost Halloween. On a serious note, I think buzz words and buzz phrases could be the death of US! (US meaning ‘us coaches’ and U.S. Soccer) They are masks. Really scary masks! And they hide the fact that most people have zero clue what they’re talking about.

This a short list that I wrote down over the weekend while I attended a coaching course. These are some of the hottest words in the coaching world right now. They’re being thrown around like hot potatoes. People are blurting them out so quickly, one after the other, that it’s hard to remember what the conversations are even about.

  1. Possession
  2. Penetration
  3. Space
  4. Quality
  5. FC Barcelona
  6. Spain
  7. Technique
  8. Tactics
  9. Asking questions of…
  10. Systems of play
  11. Formations
  12. 4-3-3
  13. Pressure
  14. High pressure
  15. Vision
  16. Philosophy
  17. Transition
  18. Messi
  19. Drills
  20. False 9
  21. Wingers
  22. Patience
  23. Dominate
  24. Attractive soccer
  25. Winning
  26. Development

How often do you use them? And do you really know what you’re saying?

“My vision of a high pressure philosophy is attractive and with Messi as a false 9 in a 4-3-3 system of play with wingers that have technique and possession with penetration and build up, we will dominate and develop a winning tradition and the tactics and drills will get us the princess in the castle tower and we will live happily ever after once the seven dwarfs ask questions of the evil beast…” -The Pig

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