And welcome to day 4!!
I am happy to say that I continue to feel better. This is important because I knew today would be a busy day. I am also happy to report that there was plenty of hot water for the shower!Add my hot tea and my bakery breakfast, I was charged and ready to go!!!
First up with coffee in hand was a field session called "My Favorite Games, The Gene Chyzowych High School Clinic" with Tom Durkin, Technical Director, Boston Breakers Youth Academy. Coach Durkin led some very talented U14 boys from the Baltimore Celtic FC through a progressive session on transitional play. Although I was familiar with two of the four activities, it is always great to see it from another coach's perspective. As coaches, no matter what level of education, certification or experience, we must always be willing to learn from other coaches. You can always pick up on one or two key points or add a couple of coaching points for our players. I did just that from Coach Durkin and it was a great way to start the day!
Right away, headed upstairs to my next classroom session, my true passion, Goalkeeping with Lisa Cole, Technical Director, U20 National Team Head Coach, Centre Soccer Association, Papua New Guinea and Jill Loyden, Goalkeeper, Sky Blue FC. I had the pleasure of listening to Coach Cole at last year's convention and was really looking forward to her addressing the finer points of age appropriate Goalkeeping. Jill is no longer playing and is now only coaching. However, having been a goalkeeper at the highest levels, I was ready to soak up any and all information she was willing to share. Did you know that 82% of what the modern goalkeeper does, is with their feet?!?! That's why we work on footwork agility and ball control at almost every Just4Keepers training session! It was good to hear some common philosophies between Coach Loyden and my J4K training programs. Beliefs in the importance of leadership, communication and motivating goalkeepers to motivate themselves. This made me feel proud to be working with goalkeepers in the Capital Region and can't wait to get back to training!!
I had just a little bit of time to kill before my next required class, so I decided to head to the exhibitors hall and do a little shopping. It wasn't long before I found my buddies at Orono Sports who always have great prices on decent equipment. The father-son team recognized me from past conventions and greeted me kindly. So I bought some needed training equipment that will be used for both J4K and NSSC U17! Nothing fancy, but some stuff to add to my soccer toy box :-)
So next I was off to the Hilton's Grand Ballroom, which was conveniently turned into a Futsal court where I watched "Training Activities to Teach Attacking Principles" with
Vince Ganzberg, Assistant Director of Coaching, NSCAA and Jason Sisneros, Director of Analytics, University of North Carolina. This was my first time watching Coach Ganzberg and he did not disappoint! He was working with U14 Girls and he was having a blast! He kept them moving, laughing and learning all while progressing nicely through attacking principles. He also took time to coach the coaches with key points to reinforce during our coaching sessions "back home". It was a very enjoyable session and I gained a great deal of information and tips, including......... The Secret goal Game!!
Now I had 30 minutes before I had to get back to the ballroom for the second half of the session "Training Activities to Teach Defending Principles", which was my last required course for the special topics diploma. I thought that I would go grab lunch in the exhibitors hall....silly me! Of course, as I started wandering around, I got involved with several vendors talking about player tracking software, more training equipment and said hello to my friends at Ohle Sport. So next thing you know.....no lunch and running back to the Hilton!
So next up was Jason Sisneros. And to give an honest report, it wasn't worth anyone's time. I don't want to judge Jason's coaching ability, but if he runs his sessions with his regular team, the way he worked with these U12 girls, they are in for some tough seasons. He talked way too much and didn't let the girls play. He wasn't simple and clear in setting up any part of his activities and once he finally got the activity set up, he would usually stop it in the first 30 seconds or so to make a coaching point. This poor style was repeated throughout the session. As coaches, we need to remember to be concise in our explanations. If you can't set up an activity within a minute or two at most, you need to rethink your explanation. Once an activity begins, let the players work through it for a few rounds to get the feel and see if they can begin to figure out their own problems before any coaching points are made. This way when you do finally give the correction, it has a better chance of sinking in. Also, remember that guided discovery is a great tool for teaching. Ask leading questions, get the players thinking and reinforce positive answers. Heck, I have learned so much from my players over the years by getting answers to my leading questions that I hadn't thought of!! This is one way we all can be better coaches.
This sub par session was soon replaced with an outstanding field session "Decision Making: When to Counter and Go to Goal Versus When to Build Out of the Back" with Denise Schilte-Brown, Head Women's Soccer Coach, University of South Florida. Now I didn't remember the name, but as soon as I saw her and heard her voice, I quickly realized that I had observed this great coach at some point in the past. Her high energy, positive enthusiasm and great coaching spirit was infectious. I couldn't decide if I wanted to get out there and coach or play!! Truly a great coach. The topic is one near and dear to my heart as well. I have for years been developing the NSSC boys to be confident to build up from the back to develop an attack. Coach Schilte-Brown showed me some activities and methods for developing a team's ability to determine when playing from the back is OK and when it is better to quickly counter attack. I took great notes and can't wait to help my players take their decision making to the next level!!!
Well that was the last field session and no more classroom sessions available either :-( But guess what? It was still daylight out, just barely. And having skipped lunch, I was hungry! So I finally had the chance to walk down to the Harbor and catch a little Baltimore atmosphere and scenery!!
And of course, dinner at........
Normally they would be watching a German or English Football match, but as I ate my delicious chicken sandwich and fries, I sampled a local Seasoned Wheat brew and on every TV was......American Football!!!! And you know what???........ That was just fine by me :-)
One more post tomorrow!!! The great Rene Meulensteen..... I can't wait.
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