Hello and belated welcome to this week's slightly later blog. There's been so much going behind the scenes that I found it difficult to come up with a topic for the blog. Thankfully some of the other committee members came up with some great ideas, which you'll be reading over the next few weeks, but this week's comes from Martin Jack (Jacky) who is Head Coach of the Giffnock SC Amateurs and expert in the world of business. Here's what Jacky has to say on similarities between the worlds of sport and business:

Sport and business

As volunteer coaches we all have a day job and a love of football which brings us together at Giffnock Soccer Centre come rain hail or shine. We’re encouraged to attend Scottish FA courses and our own CPD nights to make us better as coaches, improve the quality of coaching of the young people under our wing and take the club forward. However, we bring a great deal of experience from our day job too and if we can channel that into our coaching then we can all become better as a club.

I set up in business almost eight years ago and, as a small business, have had a fair share of ups and downs during that time. If anything, I’ve learned more from the bumps and bruises along the way than the successes, and managed to evolve the business to meet the challenges faced as a result.

I’ve also been a football coach for the past eighteen years with The Giffnock Soccer Centre, starting with boys when they were 6 years old until this season when we kicked off in the amateur leagues.

When you’re running a youth or amateur team you don’t have the luxury to buy in big name stars to fill in gaps in your squad. If you’re lucky some of the team will know some mates who are interested in coming along. As a coach you have to look at the talent you have and blend it into the 11 key positions that any team requires. 

Square peg

Goalkeepers are specialists and generally it’s difficult to transform an outfield player into a good goalkeeper and I’ve yet to experience a good goalkeeper I’d prefer to have somewhere out on the pitch.

In business there are some skill sets you just can’t ask either yourself, if you are a sole trader, or your staff to undertake because basically it’s counter productive to the objectives of the company. So in this instance businesses need to consider outsourcing the ‘goalie’ duties.

For the outfield positions you have defenders, midfielders and attackers. Some defenders can easily play in midfield, midfielders may be attack minded or defensive in nature and attackers are generally selfish buggers who want the glory of scoring the goals and won’t play anywhere else.

In business you may have to look at the balance of the workload ahead of you and blend the current team into the tasks required. These can change on a regular basis so you may have to use the substitutes or move people about. Whatever the solution, those performing the tasks need to feel comfortable. Stretched yes, but not to the point where they are scared to do something in case it’s wrong.

You may need to be more aggressive in your sales campaign and this is where you need some of the selfish mentality that goes with good forwards. They may not score every time but as long as they continue to knock on the door and make themselves available the goals will eventually come along.

The midfield is the engine room of the team offering one part creativity, one part energy. Maximising the opportunities available while making sure the defensive line is holding out. Without the creativity the chances won’t come along for the attackers; without the defensive cover the foundations of the team may well fall apart.

Without a good defence a team is nothing. If you don’t concede goals, chances are one of the opportunities created during the game will be taken and the team can go away with a winning bonus. But good defence isn’t just about the back three or four. It’s about the whole team defending right across the park. Knowing where they should be when they have lost possession, tracking the runs, making sure there are no gaps for the opposition to get into, keeping a clean sheet.

Good companies have staff who will defend their every action knowing it’s best for the long term objectives of the company. They know that everyone else want the company to succeed. They know they sometimes have to make sacrifices to guarantee the long term goals.

Giffnock Amateurs

From a business perspective that’s about doing your research, giving everybody the tools to work to their capability and knowing what the opposition is doing and counteracting any moves they make with your own. Also helps if the manager looks at the bigger picture ahead rather than worry about what went on a few minutes earlier. The past as they say is history. Learn from it quickly and move on.

As a football team we just don’t walk onto the park and play ninety minutes of kick ball.

We train hard before the start of the season. 

We play friendlies to iron out the cob-webs and to try out players in different positions, shape the team differently and find out who has the bottle for the matches ahead. 

All season long we train each week and coach players to make them that little bit better. We don't rely on the pre-season work several months earlier.

Small steps which when taken over the course of the season will add maybe 10% to each player’s performance.

There is so much sport can learn from business. However, there is also an awful lot that business can learn from sport, even at an amateur level too.

Dribbling and Beating An Opponent

 This week's blog takes a look at what dribbling is and how I train it. As ever, please leave your feedback in the comments section below.

Second only to scoring goals, dribbling is a skill players enjoy the most. For many fans of the game, passing, especially since the success of Spain and Guardiola's Barcelona, is the most important aspect of teamplay. However, dribbling has always been the essence of the game- since its earliest forms; football has been about dribbling the ball from one end of the field to the other. In football, the ball must be dribbled with the feet and for many the joy in dribbling is to dribble past another player.

Warm-up

As one of the core skills of the game, I ensure that all of my coaching sessions start with dribbling. Each player gets a ball each to familiarise themselves with the feel of the ball at their feet and I encourage them to get as many touches as possible. While dribbling around the pitch players are using other skills such as vision/awareness of event s around them and also working on their fitness as they move continually without stopping.

Players should be encouraged to use both feet so as to make it changing direction easier and also more unpredictable when facing an opponent. Next, I encourage players to dribble with each foot; so we'll do right foot only and then left foot only before alternating right-left-right-left for a couple of minutes each. Finally I finish my warm-up with some footwork patterns such as:

• Inside-outside on one foot/alternating feet
• Inside/outside only on alternating feet
• Laces-laces-sole-sole
• Inside-outside-laces-sole on alternating feet

These patterns encourage players to develop quick feet, familiar with the ball in a range of movements.

Key Coaching Points

When I work on a dribbling session at training I give these key coaching points:

• Keep the ball in 'your space' (the ball should be no further than arm's length from your body)
• Lots of little, soft touches
• Use both feet
• Keep your head up for awareness

And for dribbling to beat an opponent I encourage:

• Change of speed
• Change of direction
• Change of feet

*Dribbling at speed, with bigger and fewer touches, I distinguish as 'driving'. Dribbling should be about closeness to feet with lots of touches.

Drills

As with any coaching session I will avoid queues and straight lines of players. I like to throw down lots of markers and gates/slaloms for players to make their own way around. I tend to use two main dribbling sessions- the 'network' and one with gates for driving and slaloms for dribbling. I think that having these freeform sessions encourages players to make decisions for themselves while experiencing lots of repetition which helps to learn the skill.

Network

Gates and slaloms

Players may only dribble between cones of the same colour i.e. red to red Players may dribble between alternating colours i.e. red to blue Coach may use as many different colours as possible Encourage players to move in straight lines from cone to cone For younger players I let them be cars driving on the 'blue/red road' or bees going to 'red/blue flowers'

Players may dribble freely between obstacles but must use small touches to dribble through blue slaloms After each slalom players should drive through a red gate at pace Emphasise the change in pace between dribbling and driving

Game-related

As with any training practice I follow a drill with a game-related practice where player face opposition and have to then react as they would in a game. I often use channels where players must simply try and dribble past a defender to score a point. I also use a small 'rondo' game where the team must keep possession with passing before dribbling between two defenders to score. Both games encourage bravery and decision making on the offensive player's part.

   

Red player passes the ball to the blue player Blue player then attempts to dribble past the red defender to score a point Coach should use a broad, short channel to help the attacker enjoy more success, with a narrower channel increasing difficulty as required Remember to encourage change of pace, direction or feet

Blue team retain possession until the red defenders are drawn far enough apart A blue attacker should then attempt to dribble between the red defenders to score a point A bigger area will allow more success for attackers, as will more attacking players

Here are some more dribbling ideas:

http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottishfootball.cfm?page=2590

http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottishfootball.cfm?page=2591

In recent blogs I've spoken about training sessions and the development pathways at the club but for this edition I thought I'd look at the development of the club itself, so I spoke to Jim McMillan about his time as Club Chairman. Many of you may know Jim as a coach at the 2003 and 1995 age groups but Jim served as Chair for over 5 years, between 2004 and 2009. Here's what Jim had to say:

When I joined the club an enthusiastic John McDonagh was the chairman and the club had around 150 players. John was driving everything at the club but four years later we had grown to around 250 players but and John felt it was time to hand over the reins. As a club we had developed a superb ethos and discipline that all of us believed in, but John was doing almost everything on the committee himself with little help.  I took on the roll to allow John to step back, as I felt he deserved it and we may have lost him altogether if things carried on.

I took the view that we needed to get some motivated people into the key rolls and remove some of current committee; who had done a great job for the club but their lives had moved on and they didn’t have the time to apply themselves. Introducing guys to the committee like Brendan Murphy, Stewart Daniels, Bernie Airlie, and Tom Shearer, and ultimately, our current Chairman Joe McKerns, all who have maintained and promoted the same strong ethos has seen dramatic changes in the club.

When I took over I was aware of some scepticism towards the role of governing body within the club and this would hold us back. So, after discussions with the new committee we all agreed that we wanted to grow, with the help of the Scottish FA and Scottish Youth FA, and also to unify or rebrand the club; it was at this point that we agreed the new club colours and badge, as well as having all teams in the same kit. We also embraced SFA/SYFA initiatives such as Quality Mark, Positive coaching and minimum qualification criteria, all of which make the club the success it is today.

There were a few members that were worried about the rapidly increasing numbers, and when you look at the club as a whole it looks pretty daunting, but from the inside however it is less so.  When everything is broken into separate units and each unit is taking care of itself, it isn’t quite as daunting. Like building a house, you need a plan; although the task seems huge, focusing on one stage at a time until each task is complete makes the job much simpler. The key is managing the task and this is where the committees and in particular our current committee are excelling. Fortunately they are still all hands on but the key is that they do recruit very well indeed. This part is the key to the success of the club over the last 10 years.

The initial approach to meet with Jim Fletcher and the proposal for our new 3G Astro pitch was undertaken on my watch. When standing down after 5 years, I found it difficult not to be a part of things and unfortunately in the end I let this fade and didn't pursue being involved. None the less, I am very pleased that it wasn't allowed to drift and I think Bernie and Joe have done a superb job in realising what we set out to achieve. Bernie in particular attended the early meetings with me and in my opinion he is Giffnock SC’s strongest asset- in every department!

Giffnock SC is something I am very proud to be a part of. I originally got involved to help out and coach and being involved has taken up a huge amount of my time but the experience has given me knowledge in areas that just never occurred to me at the start. From my close relationship with my own boys to so many new friendships, I am truly grateful for the experience.

If I was asked to highlight the one change in my time as Chair that has had the biggest impact, it would be the introduction of the mini kickers (P1) at the Soccer Centre. I moved on with the teams from the original 2003s, but I believe this idea has had the biggest impact above anything else. The fact that it has been nursed along, year after year, by some of the clubs most committed people, such as Stewart Daniels and Tom Shearer, has made it the backbone of the club. The club should never take their eye off of this because if we get it right at this stage, we will always reap the benefits in the following years.

Sometime the amount of time and commitment can really get to you. However sitting thinking about all of this out has brought a smile to my face and forced me to think about the past and everyone involved with the club. We have created something absolutely unique and very special indeed. We have so many fantastic people involved and I am very proud to have played a part along the way.

As ever, please post your comments below. What did you think of this week's entry or what would you like to feature in the blog in the future?

Why do we keep players in mixed ability teams?

 

It's a question I've been asked regularly by parents and coaches over the past couple of years- 'why does Giffnock SC not stream players into teams by abilities? Surely putting the best players together will benefit them, and putting the weakest players together will benefit them also?'

Personally, I think that the club's size and success shows that the current approach of keeping players in mixed ability groups at a young age is the right one for our club. With this in mind I decided to tackle this question in this week's blog. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the approach in the comments section at the bottom.

Giffnock SC has long held the belief that all teams at 4 and 7-a-side football should be of mixed ability; with players being 'streamed' into teams based on ability at final year of 7s in preparation for 11s.

Being in mixed ability teams ensures that players and coaches focus on training and player development and not just results. Many coaches and parents get carried away when their 6 year-old's team wins a couple of games, unfortunately what a child achieves at 6 is no indicator of what they will achieve at 16.

In fact, a situation where players win regularly at a young age is possibly detrimental; losing is part of the game and learning to handle the result is an important part of the game and also life. If all the 'best' players were grouped together and won every week they would not be learning all aspects of the game.

Furthermore, I've seen many talented players at 7s fall foul of 11s football, which is a very different game. At small-sided games (4/7s) players can succeed with their own skill, dribbling is often a very successful tactic. However, at 11s the game becomes more tactical and physical- players have to run further and harder, and passing the ball becomes ever more important. An 11s team requires players to understand their position and role in the team as much as they can demonstrate individual technique.

Back to coaching- the focus at children's level (4/7s) is on learning the game and focusing on technical development. It is not the coach's role to develop tactics and formations- anyone can pick the 4 or 7 best players and beat weaker teams but to take a group of kids, of all abilities, and teach them skills and attitudes is a much more challenging role; a role which our coaches relish. Although challenging, the coach should make sure that any drills or practices are layered so that players of different abilities can develop as required.
When I'm training my team I challenge players on an individual basis within a team session by giving them goals such as 'after 10 successful passes make the playing area smaller so that passes have to be even more accurate or I'll make small blue gates and larger red gates in a dribbling drill- I can then allow player to pick their own level or I can suggest which gates a player should use.

Finally, as a club it is important to develop an ethos: a way of playing, of coaching and behaving. The 'football for all' message at Giffnock SC, where we aim to give as many players as many opportunities to be as good as possible is working. We have Scotland's biggest and best club and we attract players of all abilities and backgrounds. 

Inevitably players will leave for other clubs and a coach might well ask themselves- what have I developed in a player who has now left? But in my experience of players arriving from other clubs, I'm regularly told that my players have sold them on how challenging training is and how much we do for our players; or they have seen how we speak to and coach our players in games and decide that the way our club plays is the right way for them. So, as a coach, we are not just developing the best players to be even better at the expense of others and by looking at the longview our approach, our ethos, works.

For further details on what players should be working on at each level of children's football see the Player Development Plan on the Soccer Centre webpage.

January 20th - A Coaching Session

Hello again, hopefully you're enjoying a great start to the new year and looking forward to the next holiday which isn't until the middle of February. As ever, I'm looking forward to reading some feedback in the comments section at the bottom- so, if you've got a question, a point of veiw, suggestion for February's blogs or just to say 'George, great blog!' remember to leave a commnet below.

 

After looking at what constitutes 'Control' as a football skill, this week I'd like to look at how a coaching session should be structured. I've included a section from the upcoming Giffnock SC club handbook which will be distributed to all players in the coming weeks. So, whether from a coach or parent's point of view- does your session contain all/most of these elements?

Training Explained

A training session should include all of the following:

•  Making the player’s movements faster and better SAQ (Speed/Agility/Quickness)

•  Linking movements efficiently and wisely. Coaches constantly ask the player why they use a certain move in a certain situation DECISIONS

•  Using the weakest foot. Coaches will develop specific sessions to work on weaknesses in the player’s game SECOND FOOT

•  Technical exercises with high reoccurrences DRILLS

•  Games with the possibility of many choices and reflections GAME-RELATED

•  Simple tactical exercises forcing the player to make a quick decision SHAPING

•  Realistic activities which make the player feel as if he were in a real game CONDITIONED GAMES

Training therefore is done with this context in mind: 

• Quantity

• Quality

• Consistency

• Demands of the game

•Simplicity

Johan Cruyff, while at Barcelona, stated that the coach who gave his player more than two options does not understand the game of soccer.

Session Timings

A Training Session should be 1 hour for 4s, 1.5hours for 7s and 2hours for 11s.

A 1 hour (4s) session should be:

15 - warmup (always with the ball)

15 - drill/skill practice

15 - game-related practice

15 - small-sided games (10 minutes coached and 5 minutes free)

A 1.5 hour (7s) session should be:

15 - warmup (always with the ball)

15 - passing practice

15 - SAQ (physical training)

15 - drill/skill practice

15 - game-related practice

15 - small-sided games (conditioned to the session's theme)

Our website has a long-term planning schedule and a bank of drills and game-related practices which can be used and adapted.

Giffnock SC on the web

Giffnock recently featured in the excellent One-Two Magazine January edition- http://www.onetwomagazine.org.uk/magazine/ 

We're also due to feature in the February edition of FC Magazine, which I'll link to when that's off the press.

The BBC are also featuring us on their website as part of their Get Inspired sports and acitvity programme:

Soccer Centre- http://www.bbc.co.uk/thingstodo/activity/giffnock-soccer-centre/occurrence/351986

Girls- http://www.bbc.co.uk/thingstodo/activity/giffnock-sc-girls-football/occurrence/352016

Have you spotted Giffnock SC on the web or in the news?

Football Festival Update

We've got our Czech friends from Ricany confirmed to visit us and taking part in our Giffnock SC Football Festival 2014. The Fetival which will be held in Pollok Park, Glasgow 24-25th May 2014, and will be bigger and better again this year! We've also got our Danish friends from Albertslund confirmed and some  teams from Germany and France just to be confirmed. Keep up to date with all the updates on our @GiffnockSCfest on twitter, check the trend with #giffnockfestival and the website at www.gscfootballfestival.co.uk

Are you coming along to our Festival?

Other news

I will be out coaching some more girls' football at Thornliebank, Giffnock, Robslee and Braidbar Primary Schools throughout January and February; continuing Giffnock SC's excellent community programme.

What other school's would parents/players like us to visit next?

Giffnock SC has been starring in our very own meme after a twitter follower pointed out the similariyt between the Giffnock SC coach kit and the crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation's uniforms. Obviously, our coaching is out of this world!

 

Thanks for reading, don't forget to sound off below!

Hello and Happy New Year to you all. After finishing last year's blog on the high that was chatting with Guillem Balague, I'd like to start this year's with a new feature. Each fortnightly blog (every second Monday) will contain a wee feature on technical or tactical skills. These may be useful for coaching, as a parent who wants to monitor and help their child, or even for players to think about the skills they practice.
As usual, please leave your feedback in the comments section- what do you think of running a feature on skills? Which areas would you like to see a focus on? 

• FOOTBALL SKILLS- CONTROL
  
  
  I'd like to define 'control' as the first touch upon receiving the ball. As such, this 'first touch' sets up every touch and movement thereafter and as such is pivotal to the whole of the rest of the game- a good first touch should be positive; putting the player on the front foot to pass, dribble or shoot.
  
  For me, being able to control the ball 'buys seconds' for players and allows for better decision-making as well as increasing the opportunities for that player to receive the ball. In order to become a player who is more likely to receive the ball a player should practice controlling the ball with all parts of their body; as well as in low and high pressure situations
  
  
  When training the skill, a coach should ensure that control drills FOCUS on the FIRST TOUCH and not any other skill. The term should not be confused with dribbling. A good example of a control drill would be 2 partners feeding one another a ball to different areas of the body- it may resemble a passing drill but a good coach will be clear in praise and feedback that they are scrutinising the aspect of control.
  Key coaching points for control sessions would be:
  ·         The player should be alert, on their toes and ready to move in any direction
  ·         The first movement the player should make is to move into the line of the ball
  ·         The player should also recognise the pace, height and speed of the ball and adjust their position accordingly
  ·         The player should quickly decide and select the most appropriate control surface
  ·         Relax the control surface on contact with the ball and cushion the ball in the chosen direction, within playing distance and away from any defenders
  ·         Head up to select next option, pass, shoot etc
  
  
  Here's some drills/practices to inspire you!
  
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrunm8EECSQ
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IjX9RKYfhA
  
  
  http://www.footy4kids.co.uk/ball_control_drills.htm
  http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottishfootball.cfm?page=2590
  http://www.mysoccerresource.com/
  
  
  
  

• GIRLS FOOTBALL
  
  
  As we head into the New Year, we approach the new girl's season which starts in March. Our aim is to have girls' teams registered for U9/11/13s this season which means we need a few more players to sign up. Our hope is to eventually have girls playing, as our boys do, right from 4s to 11s, which for girls starts at U15 level. We will be working closely with the Active Schools Co-ordinators and local primary and secondary schools in the next couple of months and hope to become the first girls football team in East Renfrewshire to play competitive and organised football.
  
  
  If this sounds up your street, whether you'd like to coach, organise or play, please get in touch with me at giffnocksc.footballdev@gmail.com for details.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  IN OTHER NEWS
  One-Two Magazine ran a feature on Giffnock SC in their January edition: http://www.onetwomagazine.org.uk/magazine/
  
  
  The Soccer Centre starts back this Saturday (11th January) 9am, the full season's calendar is available here: http://soccercentre.giffnocksoccercentre.com/development_program
  
  
  The Soccer Centre (S1-4) boys will be taking part in our pilot 7s programme, ensuring more boys play more football and hopefully these boys can graduate to full 11-a-side teams with some hard work.
  
  
  The Giffnock SC Amateurs (the big, grown up boys) hope to continue their season, if it ever stops raining and they can get a game played! Follow Jacky and the lads here: http://amateurs.giffnocksoccercentre.com/news

Exclusive Guillem Balague interview with Giffnock SC

Guillem Ballague, author/journalist/pundit for Sky Sports Spanish football, recently visited Glasgow as part of his UK tour talking to audiences about his new book 'Messi' and other football topics. Guillem very generously agreed to chat with me before the show and I asked him some questions about developing styles at clubs and growing players for the game.

George: Joe Habib asked: 'would it be possible or how would it be possible to implement a football model and youth system in Scotland similar to the Spanish set-up? Choosing players based on technique and skill rather than just strength and athleticism. Would this work in Scotland?Can Scotland learn to play like Spain, with an emphasis on technique over physique, and if, so how would it be possible?'

Guillem: Scotland, England and other countries, need to stop looking to abroad. Whatever you want to do, whatever style you want to play, it is all about the coaching; teaching the kids how to play with the ball. Although there is perhaps a culture of 'play it long' or 'be physical', this can change and it may take a generation or two but coaches must try to teach the kids to understand the game and the technique required to play the game.

In Spain, Barcelona pick small, technical players and Espanyol pick big, physical players- neither is right or wrong. Around about 10 - 12 years old is where the process of selection starts and there are differences and the important thing is: who is making the decisions on the players being picked.

George: Is it fair to say that Messi is a product of Barcelona, or could Messi have developed in to the player he is anywhere else in the world?

Guillem: Messi has one move and it would work everywhere- he is like a rock falling down a hill, he just picks up speed and goes past or through obstacles. He picks the ball up in the last third and runs at players towards the goal- Barcelona have not changed this, it's what he has always done, rather Messi has changed Barcelona. In Britain, he would have been a winger but perhaps coaches would have misunderstood his talents- it was Guardiola who recognised his talents and put Messi at the centre of the team. Barcelona is a team built around Messi's talents and not the other way around.

George: All the best teams: Milan, Liverpool, Barcelona have had an identifiable style with their success. Would you agree and how important is having a style/philosophy to being not only successful but hailed as a great side?

Guillem: I completely agree. However, you don't always get it right the first time, you have to make mistakes to learn, and what you need is a philosophy to work toward- that allows you to get players and coaches who fit your team.

With Barcelona it wasn't 'A-B-C: things all worked', they got it right, got it wrong and got it right again. What Barcelona did get right was having all the youth teams, right through to the first team, playing in the same way. They also got the best players around. When you get this right you end up winning.

But a philosophy is not something that you get today and it starts to work tomorrow, you will be tested when things go wrong and you have to stick with your philosophy, your plans. This is what Barcelona has done.

George: With that in mind: if you were to manage a team, how would they play?

Guillem: You have to want to be the protagonist, you want to entertain people. To do this, you have to build from the back. You need centre-backs who can pass and centre-midfielders who get into the opposition box. Although, I'd like my team to play with a bit more pace than certain years of Guardiola's team.

George: At my club I work with youngsters and wonder is it more important to emphasise learning or winning? And at what age should results start to matter?

Guillem: Results always matter. Even from five years old the result counts BUT it is not, cannot be, the most important thing. You need to strike a balance, which is difficult to do, but you have to look at it like this: are you a professional club who trains professional players or a club that wants to develop people?

Being a professional player is something completely different but as a young player you learn so many things, for example discipline and delivering your ambitions. Even at Barcelona, coaches want their teams to win.

George: Finally, with it being the festive season- what are your favourite memories of Xmas/New Year?

Guillem: I love the tradition, to be with my family and seeing the start of a new year. Although, I remember one year I was working in Liverpool and everyone goes out of the pub before coming back in at midnight- I thought this was crazy but good!

Guillem and his guest Albert Ferrer (ex-Barcelona) and Gab Marcotti were kind enough to sign a Giffnock SC shirt for us.

What do you think of Guillem's thoughts? Sound off in the comments section!