How to prepare your Football Team

A coach for the most part is like a salesman. They have to sell their systems and motivate their team to perform and make them feel that they are getting the best deal in town. A coach likes to be in control of the game and if you're in control you usually are having a good day.

But, what about the uncontrollable?

For instance, how talented, big, and good is your next opponent?

How do you prepare your team?

Well, you have to emphasize to your players the controllable. Like, be disciplined, play the system, limit your mistakes. Don't take bad penalties to give them any extra advantage and most importantly choose to outwork and out hustle at all times.

Talented teams play the game with ease and if you let them have time and space they'll hurt you. But when you force them to work for that time and space it can close the talent gap and keep things close and give your team a chance.

Finally, emphasize to your team, that you cannot control how good the opponent is, or their size, or their team record. You can only control how hard you work, whether or not you choose to execute your assignment, and the fact that hopefully,their talent will challenge your athletes and will bring the best out of your players.

Cheers

Team Selections

Try-outs or Training camp can be a complicated process. Player evaluations can be tough at times and stressful for both the parents and players involved. But it is part of the process needed in order to choose and shape your team and your practice plan should reflect this. Meet with your coaching staff and manager prior to the first practice. Assign one or more the job of running the practice sessions. Plan to either sit up in the stands or on the bleachers with your pen and clip-board. Pay attention closely to the each player's skill level by evaluating them when they do drills emphasizing fundamentals. Evaluate how hard they work in drills. Pick out the ones that seem to struggle in the different individual skill drills that you have scheduled and make a note of them, as well as the ones that do the drills with ease. Watch them closely during team drills when they have to work in tandem with other players. How do they respond? Does it appear that they could play within a system or do they struggle? As well, note their effort in drills where they are pressured and have to battle, do they battle hard, or do they shy away, this will measure their character. Finally, after practice, meet with your staff once again and discuss each player individually. Some will stand out immediately while others will have you wondering what they can do. Talk about their strengths and their weaknesses and what they would bring to the team. In the following practices pick the tempo up and evaluate them once again. You should soon start to see the separation begin and you will start to get a pretty good idea of how the team will shape up. Keep a log of your players during this process. This will help you in the end with your selections. Also, if you are challenged by a player or parent on your selections you can refer to your log on the player in question. Usually, o a challenge once you dig out your log this puts an end to any sceptics.

Cheers