Part 1 - Are you training Speed of Play or just telling them to move faster?
By Craig Lansing
In order for us coaches to work on Speed of Play we must first understand what it is and what it is NOT. As a coach, I cannot simply say 'play faster' and expect them to suddenly get Speed of Play. I think many newer coaches believe that it is just that simple.
I have coaches against several other coaches who would stand on the sidelines and yell things like "play faster" or "you need to play quicker". In my opinion, both of those statements (assuming the player even hears them) is based on the premise that the player is not trying to do it at full speed and has physically and mentally been trained to do so. So if they are not playing quick enough isn't it really a lack in the training?
What is Speed of Play?
Speed of Play (in soccer) is a players ability to recognize a opportunity (such as a passing lane) or anticipate what is about to happen (such as a run to goal) and physically execute the action with proper timing, pace and accuracy. When a team has good Speed of Play you can actually hear, see and feel the tempo as it happens.
What is NOT speed of play?
Speed of Play (in soccer) is NOT:
- Running faster
- Kicking the ball harder
- Trying harder
- Playing Out of Control
- Shooting more
Why do most players not understand Speed of Play?
- The coach has not taught them in SPECIFIC TERMS what it is and how to do it
- Coaches think the words make the action happen - say play faster and they will do it
- The players are not physically able to go as fast as you want them to
- Players technique will not allow them to go that fast without becoming sloppy
Warm-ups
Warm-ups are a great place to set the tone of practice but it is much more then just saying "go faster". As coaches we also do not want to try and go from 0 to 100 in no time. When you players hit the pitch they are not prepared to train at speed. Players physically and mentally must ramp up the practice to get it to a game speed environment - from warm-up to training speed to game speed. Do you plan the warm-up to get your players going or is it just a walk-through routine?
Warm-ups for Speed of Play:
1) Tag - I know this is not a genius idea but Tag can be a great way to warm-up and provide some fun while doing so. Start this is a larger space to really allow them to run then reduce the size of the area. How I play Tag: You can have a large square of Blue cones and a smaller square of Yellow cones in the middle of it or setup 3 different squares within the large square. The coach can then call a color such as Yellow and allow them to run to that color.
2) Tail Tag - It works for players from young to old as they all have fun. Have the players tuck a pennies into their shorts so it hangs down like a tail. You can very this in several ways to mix things up. Have the players that are IT run around and pull the 'tails' from the other players. You can have a game of every player for themselves where the winner has collected the most tails. Divide up into 2 teams and play team vs team.
3) Modified Box warm-up - Another basic warm-up but with a little more action. We have all setup the square for the players to dribble around, we call out a move and then wait for them to do it. I have taken this activity and added a thinking/moving modification. I put 4 different colored cones a distance from the box (one color on each side). I have them dribble using different touches and moves but when I say a color they must all leave their ball and run around the cone, then back to their ball. Or mix it up and make them go to a different ball. Have them dribble around a different color cone. Get creative. This makes them stay sharp while still warming up physically.
4) Cogi method - I will leave this for another post but in its simplest form it is making soccer movements combined with mental work. Most actions are done in the form of a large + formation.