Tony Waiters - Symposium Jan 31, 2010
Intro
- we are not recognizing Canadian players, developing them and allowing them to play
- we have to change things in youth development Ontario, following the HPL model perhaps
- we should not push players to young to develop competetive play, older is ok, (examples give)
- we need to give players a chance to develop other areas of game BEFORE they learn to be competitive
- What can and cannot be done - we need to talk about that!!
Six Things Wished I had done 20 years ago (as a coach)
- attempt to persuade club to have a media analyst (video analsys)
- more individual goal setting with players
- more one on ones with players/coach
- focus on warm up to reduce injury (FIFA 11+)
- incorporate Speed & Agility and Weight training
- FIFA 11+ will go further
- higher emphasis on individual skills
- Diet and Nutrition : Professor Yudkin (Book: Pure White and Deadly)
Six Things I would do today.
- Video Analysis
- Prozone (software now used by Whitecaps) and Dartfish
- Have your own Studio
- Coaching in the game methodology
- Nutrition/Hydration
- Outside Experts ?
- Psychological Testing or Profiling
- Relatively unpressured individual practice (eg hotbox, target shooting, etc)
- reference The Sporting Brain
Six Things Wished I would continue to do today.
- work on collective and individual defending
- integrating the goalkeeper in the team practice (Back pass Rule/Zonal Defending)
- Shadow Play 11 v 1
- Lots of opposed possession play (eg 4v2 5v2)
- "the giving and taking of passes is the essence of football"
- controlled possession if its not on
- Crossing and Finishing
- Set Plays (training)
- Every Coach Need Help (video)
- professionals if you can afford
- more assistants (parents involved)
Closing Remarks
- HPL is a step in the right direction for player development
- Q: Why is USA more advanced than Canada (in soccer)?
- A: Did good job with Olympics in 84 and convinced FIFA that USA could host 94 World Cup. Money followed. Youth soccer was fragmented but have developed levels of player development - giving more players the chance to develop. Canada must change from grass roots to be succesful.
- There is the beginnings of a Canadian Soccer League but East - West geography a challenge
- Q: How do we more as a club (eg video analysis) rather each coach as an individual coach?
- A: Invest as a club in starter software (Prozone $1500 package). Social media allows low cost distribution of data/media. Invest is online training resources/dvds
- Q: Are you opposed to segmenting players (evaluations)?
- A: No. We need a simpler system to evaluate AND re-evalute players. But we address the gap between those who are selected and those who are not - gap grows. Coaches should not evaluate their own players. There should be a freer movement of players.
- Q: Have you thought about a player movement system? up and down?
- A: Yes but players like moving up but not down. Some players lose interest if not selected. We cannot develop ALL players (in one club or system) - they can go elsewhere to develop.