Soccer training, soccer drills, articles, soccer training videos and more from Wayne Harrison/Soccer Awareness.
Soccer Awareness training develops SELF THINKING players who are not coach driven; but coach guided, and within this they are allowed to make mistakes without criticism; but rather; encouraged to learn from them.
Welcome to the Soccer Awareness Coaches Corner. Browse through soccer drills, small sided games, tactical thoughts, full sessions and a variety of resources. Posts marked “Training Center Exclusive” are for members only.
These videos show players how to position in open spaces. We use poles positioned closely to each other to represent opponents and the team in possession must position between them in the best spaces possible.
Read MoreWayne joined Alistair Bain on his podcast series, Coach Bain Mused. The Coach Bain Mused Podcast series covers all areas related to Football & discusses the complexities of development & how coaching methods can be applied to learning.
In this podcast, Wayne discusses his background, influence, philosophies and thoughts on the game.
Read MoreStriker movement is one of the greatest and most difficult ARTS to master. The situation is constantly changing and the striker is constantly moving to create space for him or herself but also for teammates. Small-sided games are important in the development of younger players through increased touches with the ball and more experience with basic tactical challenges.
Read MoreThe team in possession has to make three passes then they can pass into the lone striker. Two
midfield players break quickly to support (making a 4 v 2 overloads in favor of the attacking team) and / or one defensive midfielder can recover. Start with a big overload then introduce the recovering midfielder later when the session is working well to offer a bigger challenge. This leaves a 4 v 1 situation in the middle zone in favor of the other team who are currently defending, if no recovering midfielder is used to begin. If the defenders win the ball or the keeper receives it, the ball is played quickly into the middle zone (to a 4 v 1 overload again) where they make three passes then get the ball into the striker to attack in the other direction.
Striker comes short, center back lets the striker go, and the striker receives and
turns and runs at the back four who now are in a vulnerable position. Being able to
immediately run at the back four means the striker and teammates have not been
delayed which would help other players on our team recover back.
In this video taken of our team you can see them playing the ball on the ground, the passing and movement, the quick one touch play and the pace of the counter attack. These are all things I work on in Soccer Awareness training sessions. I do 11 v 11 tactical development sessions that result in this.
Read MoreThis is part two of a three part video series from the Soccer Awareness Training Center. In this session we are developing play from the back with inverted runs into "No Mans Land" central areas.
In this progression of the exercise:
This is the first of a typical four part Soccer Awareness training drill. In this exercise, we are teaching players to scan the field and make decisions BEFORE receiving the ball while positioning themselves in passing lanes. There are three progressions of this drill that can be found in the Soccer Awareness Training Center.
Read MoreWayne Harrison's new book, his 15th publication on Soccer Coaching, will be soon!
Playing a 1-3-3-1-3 might be the way forward in the future. Chile won the Copa America Championship this year for the first time in their history using it. Pep Guardiola head coach of Bayern Munich uses it at times.
This is another multi goal game to consider. Promote quick play with fast penetrating forward runs beyond the ball (3rd man runs).
Read MoreReceiving and turning is a technique that every player in every field position must have in their locker. The sooner they are taught this ability the better; that is why we focus here on such young ages.
Read MoreThe game is played in a 3v3 format. Players try to maintain possession of the ball by constant passing and moving. 1 point is awarded for 5 successful passes. Play for a designated number of goals or for a predetermined time.
Read More(6) Passes to (8) who has come off at an angle to receive, and gets the pass back. (9) Checks and receives a pass from (6).
(9) Then turns and moves infield with the ball and plays an angled pass to (10).
Read MoreDivide the teams up into two 3 v 3 games with teams attacking the short side lines to score a goal. Play with one ball then two balls so there is some 1 v 1’s and also some support play. Then they attack the long sides as targets making it a little harder to defend successfully.
Read MoreMost of the coaches I know look at the trends at the highest level of the game for ideas of what might be effective for their teams. In the last 10 years the most popular system has been the 4-3-3. The Dutch have been using it for much longer it became used more widely by clubs like, Jose Mourinho’s FC Porto and later Chelsea FC as well as Barcelona FC, AS Roma, the US Women’s National Team and many others. As this shift occured at the top level we began to see more youth, high school and college teams move to this highly flexible system.
Read MoreSoccer Awareness developmental training focuses on the concept of the THIRD EYE of Awareness, Imagination and Anticipation in Performance. Soccer Awareness is a highly innovative concept which aims to develop the thinking coach and player. Soccer Awareness focuses on the creation of a player centered environment which encourages autonomy and an ability to make correct decisions within a game specific context.
Soccer Awareness Training Center provides unlimited access to Wayne Harrison's Soccer Awareness systems, training sessions, drills and more. Wayne's system helps the development of all levels of soccer players and teams in a systematic and imaginative manner that guarantees performance at the highest level of competition.
This video is an example of a “One Touch Mentality” game situation U14 boys.
