Top 16 Coaching Articles of 2016 December 29 2016, 120 Comments

Amplified Soccer has reviewed their analytics for the past year and have counted down below the 16 most read posts in 2016, with The Triangle Training Method holding both the 1st place and 2nd place positions for the year! Thank you to all of our contributors that helped make it an amazing year. We hope everyone has a great 2017!​ Full List

 

16. Finishing Drills Making Use of the Entire Team

This drill incorporates game related components and involves the whole team in the build-up to the shot. The outline for this drill is below the video along with the rest of the session outline. Watch Now

15. Aerobic Endurance Training Session by Ritchie Semple

If you want to compete at your best at soccer, you need to commit to pre-season training, so that your team’s strength and cardiovascular fitness peaks at the right time. This drill can get you started.

14. Individual Defending Exercises by Jeff Tipping

When defense is discussed, it is often in the context of the team. Yes, the defensive system employed by a coach, whether it is man-to-man or zonal, is important. But what are as important and often overlooked are the technical and tactical defensive abilities of the individual players. Keep Reading

13. Soccer Awareness Elite Academy and Barcelona Double Rondos for 10 Players – Part 1 by Wayne Harrison

This exercise is what the SAEA and Barcelona thinking model of passing and movement is built on. This is a transition game teaching a mentality to switch from attacking to defending and defending to attacking We build it up to make it work with real pace and accuracy; as again; it speeds up the mind and body in decision making. Keep Reading

12. The American Future Coach: The DaVinci Coach by Jeff Tipping

UEFA’s brilliant Technical Director, Andy Roxburgh, penned the phrase DaVinci Coach shortly after the book ‘The DaVinci Code’ hit the bestselling charts. His 2007 presentation in Basle, Switzerland focusing on the skills of the European future coach captivated an audience of European Technical Directors who came away inspired and anxious to get to work. Over the years I have found that Andy has that effect on people. It set me on the road to thinking about the skills our American “Future Coaches” must have in our unique and challenging position. Read More

11. Barcelona Rondo: Angled Passing and Moving in 4s by Wayne Harrison

This is a very simple but effective angled passing and moving drill teaching speed of play; accuracy of passing and angles of support. This is a grounding to prepare the thinking process in players in a very simple but effective way. The real test is when they get to ONE TOUCH passing and moving. Read More

10. Training The Final Pass / Breaking the Lines from The Triangle Training Method

Training players to know how and when to play the final pass that breaks down defenses is an extremely important piece of training for your team's attacking players. These type of passes, that are executed so consistently by elite playmakers like David Silva and Andrés Iniesta, are exciting to watch and often result in quality chances on goal. Watch Now

9. Preparing to Play – a Mental Warm Up by Dan Abrahams

How do you conduct yourself in the hour before kick off? What do you do? How do you go about preparing for an important game? As the match approaches so you should have protocols that help your body and your mind attune to competitive intensity. So let’s go step by step through a great pre-game mental warm up. I hope it will help you. Get The Script

8. Developing Decision Making Speed in Soccer from Performance Conditioning Soccer

This article discusses an important element affecting soccer performance - decision making speed. A player's ability to make correct split- second decisions is particularly critical at higher levels of competition where time and space are limited. The individual who can consistently choose the best course of action from a variety of possible options under conditions of limited time, restricted space, physical fatigue and challenging opponents will have a decided edge on players who lack that ability. Read More

7. Passing Patterns to Combine from Soccer Champions Coaches' Clinic

Passing patterns are designed patterns which players execute in a pre-set order. The patterns can range from very simple to very complex. These Passing Patterns to Combine drills develop technical ability, increase coordination of player movements, establish timing & rhythm, increase passing accuracy and player focus. Get The Drills

6. Awareness Session Warm Up by Wayne Harrison

Use this drill to make sure your team is physically and mentally prepared for their training session or game. Get The Drill

5. 7 Crazy Quick Ideas to Improve Your Soccer Game by Dan Abrahams

Working on your soccer psychology doesn’t need to be complicated or time consuming. I’m going to keep this brief. I’m going to keep this simple. But I promise each point works, and each point is powerful. Read More

4. How much time should young players spend with the ball? from 1v1 Soccer FC

From 1v1 Soccer FC’s perspective, the Arsenal model confirms our belief that for players to become successful in the game, they must be practicing more and more with the ball. Steve Bould (former Arsenal defensive star as a player, current assistant manager and former youth team coach) believes that young English players are still behind young European players in terms of weekly training time. Read More

3. Youth Conditioning - Integrating Speed, Agility, Strength and Fitness Training into Practice from Performance Conditioning Soccer

Time is always a consideration, with some club teams coming together only a few times a week. The coach has a lot to worry about. For coaches pressed for time, make speed and agility part of your warm up routine. Here's a progression that you can use. Keep Reading

2. Full Triangle Training Method Session #1 from The Triangle Training Method

With The Triangle Training Method learn mannequin training exercises used by top European teams such as Arsenal and Bayern Munich as well as games that create environments to pass and play in triangles. All age groups and skill levels can benefit from this type of training. Here is a sample training session

1. Mannequin Training, Pep Guardiola and The Triangle Training Method from The Triangle Training Method

Watch Pep Guardiola's former Bayern Munich 1st Team, an exemplary top European team, performing mannequin training. This is why Coach Warming believes it to be so important that US Soccer adopts this training methodology for player development throughout all age groups and tiers. Proper mannequin training is the most efficient way to give players functional repetitions of different patterns of play on the field. Watch Now