Tag Archives: the pig

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.

 

 

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

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.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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

 

 

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

EVERYONE LOVES A QUICKIE, RIGHT?

13 Sep

Everyone loves a quickie, right? Here are some quick thoughts that came to mind this morning when I watched the video linked below.

Soccer is unique. Unlike our traditional American sports such as basketball or football, there is no shot clock or play clock. There is no rush for a player to try to score. We are given the entire game to chose when we want to strike. It can come at any moment. Possession of the ball is the key to success. Possession must be utilized to unlock and breakdown the opposition.

Players must always be encouraged to keep possession of the ball at all costs. They must be encouraged to use short passes and combinations on the ground to maintain our possession not only in the attacking half, but in the defensive and middle thirds of the field as well. Possession helps dictate the pace of the game and by always having the ball at your feet, you’re in control. If you don’t have the ball, you should work at a relentless rate to win it back.

And for those who feel like possession is a new idea or just a fad… study up. It didn’t start with Barcelona. It didn’t start with Ajax. And it’s not just a few teams here and there. The best teams throughout history have been possession based teams. Don’t believe me? Check out this video that was shared by a reader on @3four3′s blog.

“All the cool kids are doing it.” -The Pig

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

FOUR IS THE MAGIC NUMBER

12 Sep

Awhile back one of my roommates told me ‘four is the magic number.’ I wasn’t sure what he meant at first, but then he told me, ‘say any number and I can make four the magic number!’

So I said, ‘Eight.’

He said, ‘Eight is five. Five is four. Four is the magic number.’

I was confused and tried another. ‘Nine’ I said.

‘Nine is four. Four is the magic number.’ He responded.

‘THIRTEEN!’ I yelled at him.

‘Thirteen is eight. Eight is five. Five is four. Four is the magic number.’

I spelled it all out of for you guys, so maybe you’ve caught on already. I didn’t catch it right away. My roommate let me think about it for quite awhile before telling me.

Where am I going with this though? How is this soccer related?

Well, a friend and I attended a local junior college match here in town earlier tonight. It was sort of a rivalry game- as much as a junior college rivalry could be I guess. One team coming from Santa Maria, CA and the other from Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara being the stronger of the two teams throughout the history of their meetings. I was lucky enough to take part in this rivalry back in my playin’ days (2007) and even scored a goal in SB when I came on as a sub late in the second half. I primarily played outside back that season and only came on as an attacking sub because I convinced my coach that I could score. VIOLA! :)

Back to the magic number.

About ten minutes into the second half, I told my friend to start counting the passes each team connected in a row. We made a little game out of it.

‘One, twoooooo….!’ Then, we’d laugh at a stupid mistake. ‘Onnnnnnnne…….!’ And laugh again. And so on and so on.

What I realized was that four was sort of the magic number, again. Each team hit the magic mark once in the second half. Yes, each team connected four passes in a row only one time in the entire half. SB outdid their counterparts by connecting five one other time actually. But it seemed like they could get to three and then just couldn’t get over that hump. Four had some sort of force field around it. Almost as if an internal self destruct button was set to go off at four. Maybe I’m exaggerating a bit. Actually, I am. Because there were other self destruct buttons built to go off at one, two, and three as well. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen so many one time clearances go back and forth… okay… you caught me! I’m exaggerating again. We all know that MLS is notorious for that shit, too.

Needless to say- the match was quite a shame to watch. Neither team took hold of the game. Each decided to rush forward immediately after winning the ball from the others lame mistakes. No one tried to set a tempo, besides the English center back on SB who was going 100mph from the first whistle.

It boils down to this:

In order to be considered a good team, you have to be able to keep possession.

In order to be considered a good player, you have to make decisions that keep your team in possession.

Too many times we think of good players as ones who have a presence on the field. Like the English center back for example. He was all over the place! He was yelling and pointing and tackling and sliding. But each time he set the ball down for a free kick, he would blast the fuck out of it and not a single one was converted into anything. Good player? No. Good field goal kicker? Maybe.

So, if you’re looking for anything to measure a teams or individuals skill on- try possession. Try to count how many passes a team can connect in a row. Or if you’re looking for individual skill, try counting how many times a player turns the ball over. I’m warning you… you might get upset.

Side note: In today’s World Cup Qualifier match between  Spain vs Georgia, Xavi connected 160 passes. Georgia, as a team, connected 120.

 
“PASS! PASS! PASS!” -The Pig

 

 

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

DO YOU WANT TO SPEAK THIS LANGUAGE?

11 Jun

The Riot Pig is my outlet. This blog is where I come to voice my often criticized opinion. I see this as my platform to share information that I deem relevant to this global quest for progression in youth soccer development.

Yes, global.

Soccer is an international language that billions of people speak. Out of those billions of people- only a small fraction speak it fluently. But out of those billions of people- there are many that are willing to practice and learn more. I feel like that might be why you’re here.

I must warn you… I’m no expert.

By no means am I claiming to be one of those few fluent speakers of the sport. I am and always will be a student of this game. The day that I claim to know it all will be the day that I win the Lotto and buy an entourage to follow me around and agree with every word that I say. But slavery is illegal and my chances of winning the Lotto are slim to none. I think it’s safe to say that I am always going to have to more to learn.

That is the mentality that we as coaches must have.

The day that we stop trying to learn is the day that we start doing an injustice to ourselves and our players.

Here are some questions that I ask myself frequently. These questions have helped mold me into the type of coach that I am. They have motivated me to do better and to do more. I hope that they can do the same for you.

  • Are you committed to bettering yourself as a coach? Truly committed? If not, can you expect your players to be committed to learning from you?
  • What do you do to further your education? And how often? Is it daily? Weekly? Monthly? Annually? Is it enough? Are you really doing enough to assist your players in reaching their maximum potential?

Last set of questions for now…

  • Is your goal to help your players reach their maximum potential? If not, what is your goal? What is your reason for coaching? Money? Fun? Exercise? You’re wife accidentally signed up to coach your daughters rec team?

“Anyone want bacon?” -The Pig

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

THE SECRET SOCIETY OF PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND

8 Jun
Barca’s “Secrets” Unveiled
I’ve said before that there aren’t any secrets to success soccer. I used to think that there were, but now I don’t. All of the information is out there. You just have to find it. When you find it- you have to decipher it. When you decipher it- you have to find a way to implement it. It’s all over, though. Hidden in matches, trainings, articles, videos, interviews, books, and the list goes on. Secrets? No. It just takes dedication and an good general idea of what you should be looking for.
One of my first posts contained links to sites that I visit on a regular basis to further my education. The word FREE really pleases me. I was going through some stuff on my old Tumblr page and I remembered posting the following information. Since I actually have a following now… I figured it would be beneficial to share it again.

Every now and then you come across an article worth reading, reading again, and reading again. Well, here is one of them. I found it quite entertaining to read  this while watching a replay of a Barcelona/Inter UEFA Champions League game. Certain things weren’t as “obvious” as they would be against some of their lesser La Liga opponents, but nonetheless Barca is Barca and they will always prove why they are the best… even in a 0-0 tie.

Here is the link to the actual article:

http://www.miostadium.com/opinions/simon-kuper/barcelonas-secret-soccer-success

Here is an excerpt from Simon Kuper’s article. This is some information that I liked a lot and honestly had never heard of before:

No surprise
When Barcelona win the ball, they do something unusual. Most leading teams treat the moment the ball changes hands – “turnover”, as it’s called in basketball – as decisive. At that moment, the opponents are usually out of position, and so if you can counterattack quickly, you have an excellent chance of scoring. Teams like Manchester United and Arsenal often try to score in the first three seconds after winning possession. So their player who wins the ball often tries to hit an instant splitting pass. Holland – Barcelona’s historic role models – do this too.

But when a Barcelona player wins the ball, he doesn’t try for a splitting pass. The club’s attitude is: he has won the ball, that’s a wonderful achievement, and he doesn’t need to do anything else special. All he should do is slot the ball simply to the nearest teammate. Barcelona’s logic is that in winning the ball, the guy has typically forfeited his vision of the field. So he is the worst-placed player to hit a telling ball.

This means that Barcelona don’t rely on the element of surprise. They take a few moments to get into formation, and then pretty much tell their opponents, “OK, here we come.” The opposition knows exactly what Barça are going to do. The difficulty is stopping it.

The only exception to this rule is if the Barça player wins the ball near the opposition’s penalty area. Then he goes straight for goal.

 

“I like learning.” -The Pig

Tags: , , , , ,

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MESS!

31 May

Cal FC? Who are they? Cal FC is a team full of players who have “fallen through the cracks” of US Soccer. Eric Wynalda has rounded them up in an attempt to bitch slap everyone who has turned their backs on this true talent. After just three games in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, I’m not sure which is more sore- The back of Wynalda’s hand or his players unfit muscles after an excruciating 1-0 extra time victory against MLS’s Portland Timbers and two other victories over professional sides.

First things first- does US Soccer really have cracks? I don’t think so. I think we just have boneheads running most of the shows. Those boneheads have flaws, not cracks.

The Grand Canyon has cracks. The Grand Canyon is beautiful. The MLS and US Soccer don’t have cracks. They have flaws. And they are not beautiful.

Bottom line- Wynalda is on a mission. He wants to be an MLS coach, but no one wants him. His Cal FC players want to be MLS players, but no one wants them. The big problem is that no one in the current MLS or US Soccer infrastructure wants meaningful change. They’re content with their salaries and mediocrity. But now that Wynalda has the worlds attention- shit is bound to change.

Let’s define SHIT real quick. SHIT- MLS and US Soccer as we know it!

Some are saying that Cal FC’s win over Portland isn’t a big deal and that this has been done before by a 5th division team. One big difference between Cal FC and Dallas Roma from 2006… Wynaldas voice is heard internationally on many platforms. (Cal FC was trending on Twitter last night!) I hope shit hits the fan. And when it does… I hope it makes a freaking mess. A beautiful freaking mess. And I hope guys like Wynalda are the ones to come in and clean it up!

“Cal FC can win! And pigs can fly!” -The Pig

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

← Older Entries

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 924 other followers