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Here is this month’s Byte Size Coaching Newsletter. We’ve left it late, but what’s new? Good job we’re not in the daily newspaper business.
But we’re not. And our purpose is to inform, and hopefully entertain, on a monthly basis. And give or take a day or two that is what we do.
This month we have an interesting article out of the Prairies from Hugh Swan, the Director of Coaching for the Winnipeg Youth Soccer Association. He uses a “new way†of coaching his players. And it appears to be working.
My own personal learning experience at the great Liverpool Football Club is another of our articles. And I think you will have a little chuckle at what legendary coach, Bill Shankly, thought about one of his players' injuries.
Our featured club is Whistler, where the city (village) will be the center of the world when the 2010 Olympics is hosted there in three years time.
The Principles of Play article in the earlier April World of Soccer Newsletter sparked of a reaction. Good stuff. We talk about this topic in this issue and will continue to do so in the May newsletters.
The shock of Alan Ball’s death last week does not diminish. I knew him as a friend and a colleague from when he first came to Blackpool as a 15-year old. I will write a long article about Alan in the next World of Soccer Newsletter that will give you an insight in the type of person he was. Many know his accomplishments. Unfortunately, not too many had the privilege I was afforded to know the less public figure of Alan Ball.
Enjoy our Byte Size Coaching Newsletter April edition. We welcome all feedback.
A good friend of mine, Hugh Swan, is the volunteer Director of Coaching for the Winnipeg Youth Soccer Association which services almost 30,000 players in the greater Winnipeg area.
I first met High when Bobby Lenarduzzi, former Canadian World Cup Coach, now President of the Whitecaps, put him in touch with me. As a consequence we then met over a couple of pints in North Vancouver, 10 years ago. Hugh was seeking better ways of coaching his girl’s team. I don’t know if I helped, but we have shipped many videos his way since that meeting. Not that I was doing the selling. He would be regularly on the phone.
The best “learning†experience in my soccer life was the 18 month I spent with the Mighty Reds – Liverpool Football Club – where I was the youth development coach in the early 70’s.
The manager-coach was the legendary Bill Shankly, but it wasn’t just him. Bob Paisley later to succeed Shanks in a spectacularly successful way was the trainer and Joe Fagan, who succeeded Bob Paisley and out-succeeded both Shankly and Paisley results-wise, was the reserve team coach.
Two things among many others left a lasting impression. Shankly would say, on a regular basis: “The giving and taking of passes is the essence of footba'!†And he would spit it out in his Scottish brogue. His team philosophy was: "Give it to the nearest red shirt!†Simple passing and support would deny the opposition access to the ball for extended periods and contribute to their frustration.
