This practice is designed to provide players with opportunities to work on passing and receiving in a 2v2 directional possession based scenarios. Quick Navigation About the Video Additional Information Practice Overview Interpreting the Diagrams Diagrams Objectives Organisation Observations & Interventions About the Video In the video below, Dan will talk you through the structure of the practice, various outcomes and how you can adapt it for your players. Do you want to improve your ability to plan and deliver great sessions? Sign up for our…
session design
How do you communicate with your players? In this article PDP Technical Advisor, Dan Wright shares some fascinating reflections and advice for coaches on how to effectively question and communicate with players to make sure they genuinely think about solutions within the game. Over the last few months I have found myself using the question used as this article’s title a lot. I’ve done so with an aim to challenge players to think about their game, or perhaps more specifically what they had noticed whilst…
Curriculums can be an invaluable source of guidance for coaches. They help us to cover a complete range of themes and topics, provide a framework for planning sessions across an entire season, and facilitate the consistent application of ideas and playing philosophies in all teams within a club or programme. Below, we explore the benefits of using a curriculum, and discuss ways that coaches and programme directors can implement curriculums within their clubs. In This Article Creating a Framework for Session Design The strictness with…
In this Masterclass Webinar replay, the PDP team host top academy coaches, Mark Lyons and Tom Mallinson for an in depth discussion on academy football in England. Mark Lyons is the Pre-Academy Co-ordinator & Lead Coach at Leicester City FC and Tom Mallinson is a Professional Development Phase Coach at Nottingham Forest FC. Experienced Academy Coaches, Dan Wright and Dave Wright will host Tom and Mark for a round table discussion on professional academy football in the UK. All four of our expert panel met…
Rondos are a popular possession-based practice favored by many of the world’s best coaches. They allow players to experience being underloaded and overloaded, incorporate elements of positional play, and provide opportunities to coach tactical elements of the game. But when is it appropriate to use rondos while working with young players? Below, we look at both the benefits and the drawbacks of rondos, and consider the best time to utilize them while coaching youth soccer. In This Article What are Rondos? A rondo is a…
In this Masterclass Discussion, PDP Editor, Dave Wright is joined by Academy Manager of Birmingham City FC, Kristjaan Speakman for an in depth and wide ranging conversation. Kristjaan has been at the club for well over a decade and has also coached at Derby County under the guidance of Terry Westley. Now one of England’s most highly regarded Academy Managers, Kristjaan sits down with Dave to discuss leadership, coaching and coach development, shares insights into the journey of Demarai Gray & recent first team debutant,…
The question this week comes from Gav through the PDP Members Community: Gav asks, “Should I have a theme for my sessions?” Your Turn: Ask PDP Anything Do you have a coaching question that we might be able to help with? We would love to hear from you! Here’s what you can do: 1. Tweet your questions to us @playerdp, or contact us on our Facebook page.2. PDP Members can chat directly with the PDP team to ask questions, share ideas, and support each other on our exclusive Coaching Community. …
This practice is designed to be used as a warm-up focused upon passing and receiving. Quick Navigation About the Video Additional Information Practice Overview Interpreting the Diagrams Diagrams Objectives Organisation Observations & Interventions About the Video In the video below, Dan will talk you through the structure of the practice, various outcomes and how you can adapt it for your players. Do you want to improve your ability to plan and deliver great sessions? Sign up for our Foundations of Session Design course here. Practice…
Quick Navigation About the Video Interpreting the Diagrams Part 1: Skills Circle Part 2: Random Passing Square Part 3: 3v3 With Target Players Part 4: Small Sided Game – Channels Game Moments of the Game The PDP team believes that in football, there are four moments of the game. They are, controlling possession, defending, transition (attacking or defensive) and creating and scoring. In line with this view of the game, we are producing full 60-90 minute training plans on these four topics that you can…
Quick Navigation About the Video Interpreting the Diagrams Part 1: 1v1 Shadow Defending Part 2: Messi v Van Djik Game Part 3: 3v3 + 3 Pressing Game Part 4: Small Sided Game – Six Seconds Game Moments of the Game The PDP team believes that in football, there are four moments of the game. They are, controlling possession, defending, transition (attacking or defensive) and creating and scoring. In line with this view of the game, we are producing full 60-90 minute training plans on these…
Player Development Project sits down with Andrew Watt, Youth Development Phase Manager at Fulham FC, to discuss how the Premier League club supports players across the U9-U16 age groups. Below, Andrew provides insights into the Fulham Academy’s principles, his views on talent identification, the different approaches to coaching kids from U9s all the way through to U16s, and how to manage the transitions to different game formats. He also offers practical advice on session design, the merits of isolated and opposed practices, and how to…
This practice is designed to provide players with the opportunities to train their ability to retain possession of the ball through passing and receiving. Quick Navigation About the Video Additional Information Practice Overview Interpreting the Diagrams Diagrams Objectives Organisation Observations & Interventions About the Video In the video below, Dan will talk you through the structure of the practice, various outcomes and how you can adapt it for your players. Do you want to improve your ability to plan and deliver great sessions? Sign up…
This practice is designed to provide players with the opportunities to practice their passing and receiving skills under defensive pressure. Quick Navigation About the Video Additional Information Practice Overview Interpreting the Diagrams Diagrams Objectives Organisation Observations & Interventions About the Video In the video below, Dan will talk you through the structure of the practice, various outcomes and how you can adapt it for your players. Do you want to improve your ability to plan and deliver great sessions? Sign up for our Foundations of…
The question this week comes from Rupert: “I’m always in a rush before training due to working in a shared facility. Do you have any ideas that could help me get organised quicker and engage the players?” Your Turn: Ask PDP Anything Do you have a coaching question that we might be able to help with? We would love to hear from you! Here’s what you can do: 1. Tweet your questions to us @playerdp, or contact us on our Facebook page.2. PDP Members can chat directly with…
This practice is designed to provide players an opportunity to work on combination play in pairs, focusing on the concepts of supporting beyond, beside and beneath. Quick Navigation About the Video Additional Information Practice Overview Interpreting the Diagrams Diagrams Objectives Organisation Observations & Interventions About the Video In the video below, Dave will talk you through the structure of the practice, various outcomes and how you can adapt it for your players. Do you want to improve your ability to plan and deliver great sessions?…
This practice is designed to provide players with the opportunities to train their ability to retain and regain possession. The practice is helpful in reinforcing aggressive pressing behaviours, and composure on the ball under pressure. Quick Navigation About the Video Additional Information Practice Overview Interpreting the Diagrams Diagrams Objectives Organisation Observations & Interventions About the Video In the video below, Dan will talk you through the structure of the practice, various outcomes and how you can adapt it for your players. Do you want to…
The FA’s Four Corner Model can be a useful tool for coaches. But to use it effectively, we need to understand both its purpose and its limitations, and learn how to apply it in a way that supports our coaching without governing our approach. All coaches need guidance on how best to support their players, and the Four Corner Model can provide an excellent framework for session design and player development, provided we use it correctly. In this article What is The FA Four Corner…
In this article PDP Coaching Advisor, James Coutts discusses the value of ‘unit coaching’ or ‘position specific coaching’ and how you can incorporate this specific coaching model into your sessions. What is unit training? When discussing unit training we are considering a unit that’s position specific within the team, for example ‘defenders’ can be a unit, ‘wingers’ can be a unit and so on. Depending on what shape you play could have an impact, it could mean you’re working with a ‘back 3’ as your…