Specialty Clinics Descriptions

SPECIALTY CLINICS

U6---A fun clinic and discussion that will include activities for 6 year-olds that facilitate social and motor development, as well as promote soccer skills and smiles. Discussion will cover management of a team and age appropriate concerns.

U8---This clinic and discussion will include activities for 8 year-olds that facilitate development of basic dribbling and passing skills and encourage paired play. Discussion will cover age appropriate concerns as different from U6.

U10---All technical skills and a basic understanding of tactics will be covered in this clinic and discussion focusing on 10 year-olds. Discussion will cover mental and physical capabilities and variations seen commonly amongst typical 10 year-olds.

U12---This model practice and lecture will include activities for 12 year-olds that focus on all technical skills, combination play, and basic defensive understanding. Discussion will cover reasonable expectations for 12 year-olds and the unique challenges faced during these pre-teen years.

Technical Skills—The instructor will cover a variety of activities that addresses each and every technical specialty including dribbling, passing, receiving, shooting, and heading. Will not be as detailed as the more specific technical clinics but will cover the full breadth of topics.

Passing and Possession---This session will cover a model practice for teaching a team how to maintain possession. Of course, part of this will be the execution of passes, but the instructor will focus more on movement off the ball and support positions as part of teaching a team to possess.

Shooting & Attacking the Goal---Every team needs a goal scorer or goal scorers. This session will cover topics for the individual goal scorer and cover basic team strategy to increase the likelihood of scoring. This session will stress technique and basic attacking options.

Goalkeeping---The instructor will go over basic goalkeeper technique and positioning as well as teach activities that allow a coach to work a GK into a team practice. This is often a forgotten position of youth coaches and a little education goes a long way.

Defending---There is a technique to defending and decisions as to when to tackle and when to contain and where to take risks on the field also are important. This session will cover those concerns and discuss variations of defensive styles.

Dribbling & Feinting---If a player masters the ball then he/she becomes a constant threat to opponents. The instructor will go over activities to encourage creative dribbling and teach players to recognize when and how to dribble.

Passing and Receiving---This session will go over every detail of passing and receiving. Passing with all sides of the foot and receiving with all parts of the body will be covered. A must for those coaching 8-12 year-olds.

Speed of Play---For the more competitive player, speed of play becomes a major determinant of who succeeds. But how do we teach our teams to play faster and make quicker decisions? We will show you how to do this and to get teams to be efficient with their ball touches.

Counterattack---As tactics become more of a factor in the game (age 13-18) the mechanics of setting up a counterattack are extremely important. Session will cover arrangement of players, cues to releasing players and reading the correct times and where to counterattack.

Zonal Defending I---The game is advancing to where all high level teams are playing a zonal defense. This session will cover why this is so and go over the first steps of installing a zonal defense including roles and organization of the 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd defender.

Zonal Defending II---Part 2 of this topic will include the 4^th defender and team organizational issues. In which direction do you force players, when do you mark, what is your line of confrontation?

Pressing---It is easier to score if you win the ball in the attacking third of the field. This session will teach you how to organize your team to do this and at what times to press in order to be successful. A team cannot press all game, but choosing times and pressing effectively can be overwhelming and too much for another team to handle.

Building out of the Back---Other than punting the ball out, how do we get the ball up the field? The instructor will go over methods of building out of our own defensive third from the GK or from defenders in the flow of play. Technique and tactics will be discussed in regards to accomplishing this task.

Combination Play---A true art form. A team that knows how to do 1-2's, takeovers, and overlaps is not only fun to watch but is a devastating attacking team. A must for all developing teams. 

Match Analysis/Scouting---If getting ready for an important match or even trying to evaluate what is going on during a game there are methods to use in order to make this an easy task. We will teach you the primary things to look for and how to go about scouting in a way that will give you the most useful information with which to coach your team.

Finishing & Attacking---Shooting is one part of finishing. How does a player and team maximize their chance of scoring and attack in areas that are most dangerous? How do you teach this?

Art of Coaching (Team/Player Mgmt)---For a beginning coach there are many simple tricks of the trade to make the job easier. Whether it be parent communication or organizing a practice or dealing with difficult players, there are some proven techniques to make the experience simple and fun.

Basic Tactical Situations---What situations are coming out of your formation? What are you hoping to accomplish with your team and how do you go about that? Teaching the players simple tricks and decisions can help us all achieve our goals more easily.

Team Building (Sports Psych 12-18)---This field and classroom session will go over activities to help build team cohesion and understanding of roles, as well as encourage competitive mentality. In the classroom we will also discuss goal setting and styles of communication with various types of players and in different situations.