Goal setting
The session plan below involves two games which are primarily designed to work on incisive passing in the final third. Upon watching the video analysis shown on this website it became clear to me our primary problem in an attacking sense was getting shots off at goal which came from an inability to 'carve open' the opposition defence despite having the ball for more of the game. One of the biggest statistics which prompted this session was the inability of four of our players to make a single successful pass in the final third.
The session plan below involves two games which are primarily designed to work on incisive passing in the final third. Upon watching the video analysis shown on this website it became clear to me our primary problem in an attacking sense was getting shots off at goal which came from an inability to 'carve open' the opposition defence despite having the ball for more of the game. One of the biggest statistics which prompted this session was the inability of four of our players to make a single successful pass in the final third.
The game on the left initially starts as a keep ball session as shown with the team with the overload retaining the ball and the team with lesser numbers looking to make a tackle. It soon progresses to the team with the depleted numbers being able to counter-attack in a swift and incisive manner upon winning the ball back. Finally the team with the advantage after making five passes may opt for a killer ball into the 'end zone' for an onrushing teammate to latch onto. Self ownership can be used with this in regards to the numbers each team should have and any potential points systems. Also guided discovery would be used by carefully mentioning certain statistics and coaxing out of the players what we need to improve on and how this session could solve it. Clearly this session has the potential to dramatically increase passing accuracy in the final third and may even encourage the players to take more risks in the future.
In this game the idea is simple, players adopt a 2v1 situation and look to make a quick incisive attack past the defender in order to enter the end zone. this progresses by removing cones to make a 4v2 situation and then finally an 8v4 however these numbers can be adapted which is something I have learned through sessions with Ian in SPOC02 where we have learned not to participate when there are uneven numbers but instead to adapt the groups or the session grids to make the best of what you have got. Another progression would be that upon winning the ball the defender may him/herself attack the opposite end zone. This session is intentionally very direct and straight to the point, and aims to develop the killer ball.
I am pleased to state that we used this session with the under 9's and had some terrific results, with improvements in our ability to retain the ball for longer and perhaps more importantly the vision and desire to try defence splitting passes when the right time arises, and a good success rate in doing so too. This experience has encouraged me to use Perfrormance analysis on a regular basis in the future as I believe it could transform the experiences of everyone involved within the club and help develop the players dramatically.