It is difficult to overstate just how much of an influence Dutch football legend Johan Cruyff has had on the sport. From his time on the pitch, starring for Ajax, Barcelona and the Dutch national side, to his time in management at the same institutions, Cruyff has always been at the cutting edge of football development. Player Development Project spoke to Cruyff in 2015 about his coaching philosophy and more. Winner of the Ballon d’Or an incredible three times, Cruyff started his footballing career at…
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PDP Video Session Plans are adaptable sessions designed by academy coach, Dave Wright. All sessions show key focus points, set up, and progressions so you can use them in your next practice.
Eusebio Sacristan had a playing career at Barcelona alongside a golden generation and under the guidance of Johan Cruyff. He now manages Real Sociedad in La Liga, a big challenge but one he is embracing and enjoying. With the help of translator, Brooke Duder, Player Development Project caught up with Eusebio to discuss his journey as a young player and now top flight manager.
Wesley Sneijder has gone from playing street football in the Netherlands to becoming a Champion’s League-winning superstar. We caught up with Wesley to discuss his development, how he has transitioned between football cultures on his journey, and what he believes best enables creativity to flourish. Wesley Sneijder has played for some of the biggest clubs and in some of the biggest games of the last 10 years including FIFA World Cup and UEFA Champions League finals. A graduate of the famed Ajax Academy in Holland, Sneijder broke…
Messi, Robben, Ronaldo, Sterling, Iniesta – these players, and many others, all have something in common. Not how much they’re paid, their on-field creativity, or their level of fame – it’s a key physical attribute of their game. Small steps. Running and movement expert, John Marsh examines natural running and what makes this so devastating on the football pitch. Over recent years there has been a large movement in endurance running circles called ‘natural running’ or ‘barefoot running’. It’s unclear from where this sudden trend…
Johan Cruyff changed the way football is played forever with Total Football and had a huge impact as a player and coach at Ajax and Barcelona. We’re excited to have founder of TOVO Academy, Todd Beane joining us to discuss the Cruyff Football philosophy and player development. In this Live Webinar Replay, PDP Editor, Dave Wright & PDP Lead Researcher James Vaughan host Todd as they discuss Cruyff philosophy and all things player development. Topics covered in this Masterclass are:
Technique in sport is a topic that often polarises opinion. How do we find the balance of developing players who are technically proficient with game intelligence? Founder of TOVO Academy, Todd Beane shares what he believes to be the most important factor in improving football ‘technique’. Now that I have your attention, let’s reveal the number one way to guarantee that your players improve their proficiency tonight. You are probably expecting some step-overs and crawl-unders, some pull-backs and push-forwards, and some get-down and rise-up…
In part 3 of this Masterclass Discussion Series, PDP Editor, Dave Wright hosts PDP Lead Researcher James Vaughan as he takes us through the third instalment of his PhD research. The third part of this series looks at creative moments emerging as a result of socio-cultural-historic constraints in Barcelona. James examines many of the iconic individuals (both local and foreign) who have had a huge influence on the history and evolution of FC Barcelona, such as Joan Gamper, Kubala, Johann Cruyff and Lionel Messi. Image…
Despite all we know, size still matters in youth sport. Founder of TOVO Institute, Todd Beane discusses the challenge for parents and coaches in helping young players ‘control the controllables’ and embrace physical diversity on their non-linear journey. “What can I do to grow?” my son asks as we drive home from training. “Why?” I respond. “Because everyone is bigger than me and I just want to be their size.” When your child enjoys playing sport, size matters. Being short, slight, and weak compared…
In this Masterclass Discussion, PDP Lead Researcher James Vaughan shares his PhD research after a 12 month stay in Barcelona where he immersed himself in Catalan culture and football. We go inside La Masia, examining the playing style of the world’s most famous academy and look at how it ties in to the history and culture of this great city. Some fantastic examples and footage are provided by James as he takes us on a virtual tour of FC Barcelona’s story. Image Source: depositphotos.com
John Van’t Schip is a Dutch coach who developed as both a player and a coach under the guidance of the legendary Johan Cruyff. Van’t Schip has worked as first-team coach for both Ajax and the Netherlands. He now finds himself at the heart of FFA Cup Winners, Melbourne City FC in Australia’s A League. In this exclusive interview with PDP Editor, Dave Wright, we hear about John’s journey and what advice he has for developing coaches. Given his deep connections to Dutch football, it…
Piet Keizer was described as a ‘genius winger’ who was a critical component to the Amsterdam side dominating football in the 1960’s and 70’s. In May 2016, Player Development Project was privileged to sit with late, great Keizer in an old changing room at the top of the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam. The Ajax legend was attending the NextGen Series tournament as a special guest, watching the future of top European U19 talent play. We spoke to him about the past and the future of football in…
With complete freedom to redesign talent development, what would you do? Founder of TOVO Academy Barcelona and top PDP contributor Todd Beane answers this question by providing an exclusive insight into the ‘TOVO way’. TOVO Academy offers football immersion programs for youth players, as well as coaching courses designed for innovative trainers and technical directors. They also train players and coaches on site worldwide via their Club Alliance scheme. The idea came about when I tried to answer the following question: with complete freedom to redesign talent development,…
Steve Lawrence is a consultant to Cruyff Football and Ajax. With a Masters in International Sports Management, Steve is at the forefront of research into the topic of Relative Age Effect. Here Steve gives Player Development Project readers an exclusive look behind the scenes at Ajax’s brand new academic education centre, a building he worked on as a consultant architect. The project for the new academic education centre at Ajax football club came about following discussions about the nature of pedagogy in the elite youth…
Ruben Jongkind worked alongside Johan Cruyff implementing ‘Plan Cruyff’ – an overhaul of the Ajax player development system. He is in an expert in talent development who has gained first hand experience of the Cruyff philosophy on player development working alongside Johan Cruyff for many years. Join Dave Wright in a 1-on-1 conversation with Ruben covering the following points:
Spanish football is constantly seen as a model for success in player development. Regular PDP Contributor & Founder of TOVO Institute, Todd Beane examines what elements of Spanish culture and football contribute to their consistent success in developing top players. Why Spain? “The ball is an essential part of the game.” – Johan Cruijff Take this quiz. Why does Spain produce such skillful footballers? A. They watch quality football every weekend.B. Club loyalty is a family tradition.C. Children are comfortable on the ball.D. All of…
PDP Lead Researcher, James Vaughan examines the simplicity vs. complexity debate using one of the great quotes from Johan Cruyff and asks if we have misinterpreted its true meaning. “Football is simple, but the hardest thing is to play simple football.” Consider how this famous quote influences your training session design when the emphasis is placed here: “Football is simple, but the hardest thing is to play simple football.” Or here: “Football is simple, but the hardest thing is to play simple football.” I think this…
Founder of TOVO Institute, Todd Beane examines how young players soccer brains process and filter information via ‘RAS’. Are you focused on the right stuff? Believe me I know very little about the brain so if you have a P.H.D. in brainy stuff just humor me. Apparently, we all have a RAS (Reticular Activating System), which is a part of the brain that filters information collected from our senses. Actually most data to which we are exposed does not make it through this filter, which is…