COACHING TACTICAL SOCCER HOW TO
COACHING TACTICAL SOCCER PROFESSIONAL

My college soccer coach, Butch Lauffer is one of the best coaching minds. Coaches and players will walk through any possible game situation and tactics on the pitch, for the first 20-30 minutes of a practice.Whether you are an attacking minded or defensive minded coach or player, defensive tactics in soccer needs to be thought of. In many sports, a so called “Walk Through” is an integral part of each training session before game days. Doing this is crucial, because there is no point in preparing tactics as a coach, if the knowledge is not transferred to the players. The entire game day tactic plan should be handed out to the players, in order for them to prepare sufficiently for the upcoming opponents. Corners and free-kick variations should be set up and documented as well. Possible changes of tactic assignments during the course of the game can be coded with different terms. In this manner, different strategies should be prepared that will work for your team in different situations, for instance when falling behind or being outnumbered due to a red card. Note – sometimes it can be beneficial to think outside the soccer box. Once the coach has found answers to those and other crucial questions, the development of a game day tactics plan can start. What is the adjustment after falling behind? How is the team adjusting to immediate defensive pressure after a change of ball possession? However the first step, after establishing a basic strategy, is to make “scouting your opponents” the foundation of your tactical assignments: There is no perfect guideline to creating a tactic plan. But not only coaches who are shy of tactics should be rethinking, because it is a crucial ability to present strategies to players readily understandable. Digital tools, like video analysis and the aining management tools, that counteract the problem of tactical complexity, definitely are in existence. And yet it is more a fundamental problem of preparation than a technical one. But it seems, that while physical abilities, shooting techniques, balls or even soccer boots get over-optimized in a way, tactical aspects of the game are almost completely ignored. Preparing for such tactical scenarios comes with a high amount of extra effort. Game situations in soccer can be highly complex – 11 opposing players that can basically move across the field in hundred different ways. So why is soccer lagging miles behind in the tactical area? 'While other areas like soccer boots or ball get over-optimized in a way, tactical aspects of the game are almost completely ignored.' Game situations and tactics will be analyzed, planned and determined with the help of digital tools. Those documents are filled with tactics for the own team and scouting reports of the upcoming opponent. Almost every week players get a playbook from their coaches. Even for American Football youth teams in Germany tactical training is a consistent part of their weekly routine.

The main difference to soccer is that it seems like those sports have developed some sort of tactical culture across different nations and skills levels. In American sports, like American Football and Basketball, video analysis and scouting of opponents is the basis of tactical game plans and is an inherent part of training, for several decades now. Scouting opponents and preparation of tactics – more than half the battle

COACHING TACTICAL SOCCER HOW TO

It might not apply to all coaches, there are a bunch of exceptions out there, just as other sports have shown for many years how to develop players on a tactical level. Neither have they received any kind of tactical game plan from their coaches. Most coaches’ organization of tactical documents is bad and a lot of players have never seen a well-wrought set play on a piece of paper or let alone on a digital display. On an amateur level the tactical education of players mostly doesn’t go beyond basic knowledge, like starting formations. The lower the level of play, the more tactical aspects of the game get neglected.

COACHING TACTICAL SOCCER PROFESSIONAL

Unfortunately that mostly only applies for the highest stages of professional soccer.

You would think that up to the present day the tactical quality of soccer would be extremely high, across all skill levels. The first soccer tactics and formations were developed as early as the late 19th century and ever since that time coaches keep puzzling over new tactics. A team can be as talented and technically adept as it gets, if they are not up to par on the tactical part of the game, they will most likely lose that game. They hear some of the coach’s terms for the first time. He’s shouting the new tactical instructions all across the field, which ultimately brings even more confusion to the own players. The next scene starts with the coach making wild gestures. The team is trailing and then there is a red card for the best defender, on top.

Coaching tactical soccer