Soccer Coach Weekly Issue 169

Welcome to your latest issue of Soccer Coach Weekly!

This week, we start with some tips from me on delivering a half-time team talk. 

If we’re not careful, that crucial period can pass us by. But, by planning ahead and knowing how we’re going to approach it, we can help the players get the most out of the break, which can be a really key moment on a matchday.

The main focus of this issue, though, is transitions.

Firstly, we’ve got an article which, for newcomers or the uninitiated, briefly explains the four phases of play – attacking, defending, the transition to attack and the transition to defence. 

We then dive in to four practices that all work on transitions.

The first – 'Mission transition' – is a 2v2 game which works on quick turnovers in play. 

The second – 'Attack-defend-attack' – uses an overloaded attacking team to replicate a transition to attack. 

The third – Transition to defend – works on what to do when your team loses the ball.

And the fourth is actually a three-part session, from Buffalo-based coach Jason Milne. 

The warm-up, practice and small-sided game all encourage players to switch the point of attack in order to transition at speed. 

On another note, I wanted to say a big thank you to those that attended our most recent webinar with Skye Eddy, of Soccer Parenting, which looked at engaging parents throughout the season. I really hope it was useful. 

Look out for more from Skye and Soccer Parenting in future issues and at future events.