48: Grow Coach Newsletter
Football Coaches: Develop your Coaching Craft.
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Here is What to Expect:
Coaching Craft: The Six Core Capabilities
Full 60-Minute Practice: Finding the Spare Player
Coach Project: Positional Profiles
“I always tell my players that before receiving the ball, they should have already scanned the field at least twice. Awareness is everything in football.” -Pep Guardiola
The Hidden Game: Mastering the 6 Player Capabilities
What’s the difference between players who disappear in games and those who control them? They can use the 6 player capabilities.
Every footballer has a hidden superpower - some have superior scanning skills, and for others, it’s movement or deception, Like any skill, it needs to be developed.
The FA's six core capabilities offer a framework for analysing any player's action on the pitch, from passing and tackling to shooting. Mastering these capabilities can increase a player's chances of achieving a successful outcome during these actions.
Here's a summary of each capability and an example of how they can be used effectively:
1. Scanning: Involves consistently looking around to gather information about the position of the ball, teammates, opponents, and available space.
A midfielder scans before receiving a pass, allowing them to identify an open teammate and make a quick, accurate pass to keep possession.
2. Timing: Focuses on selecting the right moment to act. This relies on recognising cues and triggers, like an opponent's misplaced touch or a teammate making a run, and then making a quick decision.
A striker times their run perfectly to stay onside, receive a through ball, and get behind the defence to have a clear shot at goal.
3. Movement: This relates to how a player moves their body both on and off the ball. This includes creating space, evading opponents, and maintaining possession.
A defender positions their body to shield the ball from an attacker, preventing them from taking possession and allowing their team to keep control of the play.
4. Positioning: Refers to where a player places themselves on the pitch and their body position to the ball, teammates, and opponents. Intelligent positioning helps create passing angles, exploit spaces, and limit the opposition's options.
A defender anticipates an attacker's run and positions themselves to force the attacker towards the sideline, limiting their attacking options.
5. Deception: Involves disguising intentions to mislead an opponent. This can be achieved through actions like faking a shot, playing a no-look pass, or delaying a turn. Successful deception can wrong-foot the opponent, creating space and time for the player to execute their intended action.
A midfielder shapes their body as if they are going to pass in one direction, causing the defender to react and move to block that pass, before quickly switching the play to a teammate in a different position who is now unmarked.
6. Techniques: This focuses on the technical execution of an action. This includes skills like passing, shooting, tackling, and dribbling with precision and consistency. Players with strong techniques will likely deliver high-quality actions that influence the game.
A striker, having practised different finishing techniques, chooses the correct one for the situation, ensuring their shot is on target and has the best chance of going in.
The Art of Deception
Why Deception is Crucial in Football?
Deception is considered an essential core capability in football because it allows players to outwit their opponents and gain a crucial advantage.
Deception is a player disguising their intentions to mislead an opponent, creating an illusion of performing one action before surprising them with another.
This surprise can disrupt the opponent's anticipation and reaction, leading to more successful outcomes in various scenarios.
Here's why deception is so vital:
Creating Space and Opportunities: Deception can be used to manipulate defenders and open up passing lanes or create space for shots. For example, a midfielder might feign a pass in one direction, drawing the defender out of position, before quickly switching the play to the other side, where a teammate has an open lane to attack.
Wrong-footing Opponents: By using deceptive movements or techniques, players can cause defenders to react incorrectly, giving the attacker an edge. For example, a striker could fake a shot, causing the defender to commit to a block, before dribbling past them into a more advantageous position.
Enhancing Passing and Shooting Effectiveness: Deception can be used to disguise the intended direction or type of pass, making it harder for defenders to intercept or anticipate. Similarly, a striker can use deception to disguise their shot, increasing the likelihood of scoring.
Examples of deceptive techniques in football include:
No-look passes: Passing the ball without looking in the intended direction, misleading defenders about the destination of the pass.
Faking a shot or pass: Pretending to shoot or pass in one direction before executing a different action.
Delayed turns and movements: Waiting until the last moment to turn or change direction, wrong-footing the defender and creating space.
By mastering the art of deception, players can become more unpredictable and effective on the pitch, increasing their chances of success in both attack and defence.
“ A great player is not only about technique but also about intelligence. Sometimes, a feint or a change of speed is all it takes to beat your opponent.” - Zinedine Zidane
Full Practice: Finding the Spare Player
Fast Passing | Beating Pressure
⚽️ Created On: @SSPlanner
Aim:
Discover passing patterns to beat the press
Set-Up:
On a 30 by 20 pitch, with 4x mini goals and 2 x manikins.
How to Play:
⚫️s & 🔴s work through the passing patterns shown to work a shot at goal
Players work through the following patterns:
1️⃣ Wall pass then finish (wall passer moves around)
2️⃣ Overlap then finish (passer who set up overlap moves around)
3️⃣ Wall pass into a forward pass, then a set pass, followed by a finish at goal
🚧 Constraints:
🏆Reward: The first team to get 12 goals of a set pattern wins the round.
👨🏫 Review: Speed of the pass, the timing of the movements, disguise on the pass
🚫 Restriction: Add offsides: Aids the timing of run- It stops players getting ahead of the ball ⚽️ before receiving it.
2v2 | Exploiting Space Beyond a Press
⚽️ Created On: @SSPlanner
Aim:
Work on controlling possession and finding the spare player
Set-Up:
On a 30 by 20 pitch, with 4x mini goals and 2 x 6 yard shaded zones (Orange)
How to Play:
Alternate attacks on goal. The ⚫️s attack first (5 seconds to score, unopposed). As soon as the attack is over the 🔴s launch their attack vs the ⚫️s who just finished.
The sequence for the players to remember is 1) Attack, 2) Defend, 3) Leave the pitch.
Players must be in the shaded zone (Orange) for a goal to count
🚧 Constraints:
🏆Reward: Double goals for two-player combinations in the build-up to a goal
👨🏫 Review: Decision to stay on the ball or run with it and release it, Think timing and disguise.
🚫 Restriction: Time limit to score (Defenders unlock a time reset if they win the ball).
Small-Sided Game | Find the Spare Player
⚽️ Created On: @SSPlanner
Aim:
Finding the spare player in a small-sided game.
Set-Up:
On a 30 by 20 pitch, with 4x mini goals offset by around 5 yards and 2 x 6-yard shaded zones (Orange).
How to Play:
When a team is OUT of possession they must have a player locked into their shaded zone. This creates an overload for the IN possession team which can attack with all of their players.
Each team gets 5 balls to attack with (Alternate sides). If possession is lost during a team’s build-up, the game becomes a live 3v3 until a finish, where players are not locked into zones.
The game then resets for the next attack (build-up).
🚧 Constraints:
🏆Reward: Double goals if a team scores and goes from back to front without an opponent's touch.
👨🏫 Review: The decision to dribble or pass, the support options and player connections.
🚫 Restriction: If a team is still finding it tough to find a spare player, add a second player to the orange-shaded zone so only one player is chasing during the build-up sequence.
“The secret of my tricks is not to look where I’m going. Football is a game of illusion.” - Ronaldinho
Coach Project: Develop a Positional Advantage
Objective
To create a practical and actionable framework for two specific positions on the football field. The framework will help players gain an edge over their immediate opponents using scanning, timing, movement, positioning, deception, and technique.
Instructions
1. Choose Two Positions
Select any two positions on the field (e.g., fullback, winger, central midfielder, striker, etc.). Consider positions that are relevant to your team’s style of play or areas where improvement is needed.
2. Break Down the Key Components
For each position, create a framework using the following six elements:
Scanning:
Define what the player should be scanning for (e.g., space, teammates, opponents).
Identify specific triggers for scanning (e.g., before receiving the ball, after a pass, or when the ball is out of play).
Timing:
Detail when the player should make movements (e.g., timing of runs into space, or stepping out to press).
Highlight how timing influences the effectiveness of their actions.
Movement:
Explain the types of movement (e.g., checking in, dropping off, or diagonal runs).
Describe how movement creates separation from opponents or opens passing lanes.
Positioning:
Outline where the player should position themselves to the ball, teammates, and opponents.
Consider both defensive and offensive scenarios.
Deception:
Suggest ways to disguise intentions (e.g., body feints, fake runs, or looking in one direction while passing in another).
Describe how deception can unsettle their direct opponent.
Technique:
Identify specific technical skills that will enhance their impact (e.g., first touch, passing accuracy, or quick changes of direction).
Include details about how these skills support the other components (e.g., scanning combined with a good first touch).
Follow-Up Questions for Coaches
How can you integrate these frameworks into training sessions?
Are these frameworks adaptable to different game scenarios or styles of play?
What feedback would you give players during training to reinforce these concepts?
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