Soccer Coach Weekly Issue 102

As part of some recent continuing professional development, I went to the final of the Capital Women’s Senior Cup, which is contested by a number of London's leading women's clubs.

Arsenal Women’s academy took the trophy, beating the seniors of AFC Wimbledon Women 2-1.

We were given the task of picking one of the players and analysing their performance, identifying two things they were doing well, and two things they could look to improve on. 

It was a really enjoyable exercise, and one I’d encourage any coach to think about doing. 

Head to a game near you, pick a player, and do some analysis. You could even take a friend with you to share your thoughts. 

It is a good chance for me to remind you to go out and watch soccer at all levels, not just the top tier stuff!

In the UK, our season is drawing to a close, meaning there are a lot of important games across the country that are welcoming supporters.

One thing you might pick up on as part of your analysis is a player’s ability to receive effectively. 
Receiving is a core skill, and one which we cover on pages 7-10 this week. 

Cape Town-based Moritz Kossmann offers incredibly useful detail on what receiving is and how we might coach it, and shares a favourite practice for doing so.

There are two other practices in this issue, found on pages 5 and 6, and they focus on shooting.

Finally, Ian Barker is back with another tactical dilemma on pages 3-4, plus his thoughts on the one he shared last week.

It is great to see so many of you engaging with these – please keep doing so!

Have a brilliant week – and get to a game if you can!

Steph