Soccer Coach Weekly Issue 86

We are all about multi-sport coaching this week.

Firstly, we begin what will be a three-part series on futsal from Russell Fryer, who is a Uefa B qualified coach in both the short-sided indoor game and 11-a-side soccer.

In the first article, he covers the history of the game, how it can improve technique on the ball and why it might provide a useful tool for any coaches where winter is biting hard at present.

Russell has also designed three futsal drills, which he presents on page five.

Next week, he will expand further on the transferable skills between futsal and soccer.

Someone else who dons different coaching hats at various points is Dublin-based primary school teacher Shane Smith.

He has plenty of experience with youth soccer but his main sporting interest is Gaelic football, the 15-a-side sport immensely popular in Ireland.

He recently had a chat with Scott Mowberry, from our friends at the Soccer Coaching Podcast, about what good coaching looks like, irrespective of the sport.

Given his teaching background, Shane also has some relevant input into engaging and retaining young players, as well as interaction with parents.

We print some of the best bits from the interview on pages 9 and 10. To hear the full podcast, click the link at the bottom of page 10.

Finally, one of Europe's most important players of this century, Wales star Gareth Bale, retired this week.

To inspire those on your team who want to play like him, we have two practices that promote the skills that once made him the world's most expensive player.