Soccer Coach Weekly Issue 81

One of the toughest parts of coaching is knitting together the various personalities that make up your team - and building a bond with them yourself. 

It isn't easy. A natural fit may not be possible with some, but the onus is on us to connect with as many of our players as possible.

In this issue, James Mayley - a lecturer on the football coaching and management degree course at UCFB in England - concludes his three-part series looking at coaching best-practice by studying the art of relationship building.

In it, he explores how coaches can foster trust and build a supportive culture with team harmony.

The Coach's Column is from Michael Curless, who writes about creating 'on-ramps' to provide novice players with a pathway to integrate them into competitive teams.

The author of Coaching Positional Soccer, Michael delves into the various ways his club went about elevating the skill levels of new players.

Our Q&A this week is with Southampton academy coach Michael Wright, who discusses 1v1 dominance in his interview with Steph Fairbairn.

To hear the full interview, click the link at the bottom of page 10, or subscribe via your podcast app.

We also have two practices around passing - one on the final ball and another on switching the play.