Junior/Youth Trials

[Slide Tackle]

For coaches, who conduct trials for u12s - u16s, what kind of drill's do you do and what do you look for in a player to select them in either a JPL or JSL side?

[matty2323]

For coaches, who conduct trials for u12s - u16s, what kind of drill's do you do and what do you look for in a player to select them in either a JPL or JSL side?

Keep trials basic: Allow them to warm up with some 4v2 in a 10x10m square then move on to some Small Sided Games. Keep it around 5v5 with small goals if you can. Very quickly tell who the smart players are with good skills in tight areas. If you want to expand you can run 7v7s in a lightly bigger area. Try not to have any kids 'waiting around'.

This year (u13 JPL A) i judged players over 4 trials. I looked for ability in the 4 core skills of the skill acquisition phase (1v1, first touch, RWTB & ball striking (passing)). I also looked for game understanding - players who had good movement, good positioning and correct body shape. Then i looked at attitude, intensity, commitment etc. Finally i looked at Dates of Birth. Studied what month of the year the players were born. Kids 9-10 months older at u13 level can have quite a big advantage physically and can often stand out at trials.

If theres one thing i learned its not to get obsessed with 'execution' of skills. A lot of kids have acquired good skills and get picked solely on this. But very few know how to apply them. This means players who have really good game understanding but not the 'execution' yet fall between the cracks. I see plenty of forwards at junior level who make 'great runs' and generate 10-12 shots per game for themselves, but lack the finish. These kids get overlooked. A good coach can teach both the acquiring and application of skills and should judge all players on both.

[Coach_Mulatinho]

For coaches, who conduct trials for u12s - u16s, what kind of drill's do you do and what do you look for in a player to select them in either a JPL or JSL side?

Keep trials basic: Allow them to warm up with some 4v2 in a 10x10m square then move on to some Small Sided Games. Keep it around 5v5 with small goals if you can. Very quickly tell who the smart players are with good skills in tight areas. If you want to expand you can run 7v7s in a lightly bigger area. Try not to have any kids 'waiting around'.

This year (u13 JPL A) i judged players over 4 trials. I looked for ability in the 4 core skills of the skill acquisition phase (1v1, first touch, RWTB & ball striking (passing)). I also looked for game understanding - players who had good movement, good positioning and correct body shape. Then i looked at attitude, intensity, commitment etc. Finally i looked at Dates of Birth. Studied what month of the year the players were born. Kids 9-10 months older at u13 level can have quite a big advantage physically and can often stand out at trials.

If theres one thing i learned its not to get obsessed with 'execution' of skills. A lot of kids have acquired good skills and get picked solely on this. But very few know how to apply them. This means players who have really good game understanding but not the 'execution' yet fall between the cracks. I see plenty of forwards at junior level who make 'great runs' and generate 10-12 shots per game for themselves, but lack the finish. These kids get overlooked. A good coach can teach both the acquiring and application of skills and should judge all players on both.

Do you coach?

[Coach_Mulatinho]

For coaches, who conduct trials for u12s - u16s, what kind of drill's do you do and what do you look for in a player to select them in either a JPL or JSL side?

Keep trials basic: Allow them to warm up with some 4v2 in a 10x10m square then move on to some Small Sided Games. Keep it around 5v5 with small goals if you can. Very quickly tell who the smart players are with good skills in tight areas. If you want to expand you can run 7v7s in a lightly bigger area. Try not to have any kids 'waiting around'.

This year (u13 JPL A) i judged players over 4 trials. I looked for ability in the 4 core skills of the skill acquisition phase (1v1, first touch, RWTB & ball striking (passing)). I also looked for game understanding - players who had good movement, good positioning and correct body shape. Then i looked at attitude, intensity, commitment etc. Finally i looked at Dates of Birth. Studied what month of the year the players were born. Kids 9-10 months older at u13 level can have quite a big advantage physically and can often stand out at trials.

If theres one thing i learned its not to get obsessed with 'execution' of skills. A lot of kids have acquired good skills and get picked solely on this. But very few know how to apply them. This means players who have really good game understanding but not the 'execution' yet fall between the cracks. I see plenty of forwards at junior level who make 'great runs' and generate 10-12 shots per game for themselves, but lack the finish. These kids get overlooked. A good coach can teach both the acquiring and application of skills and should judge all players on both.

Do you coach?

[matty2323]

For coaches, who conduct trials for u12s - u16s, what kind of drill's do you do and what do you look for in a player to select them in either a JPL or JSL side?

Keep trials basic: Allow them to warm up with some 4v2 in a 10x10m square then move on to some Small Sided Games. Keep it around 5v5 with small goals if you can. Very quickly tell who the smart players are with good skills in tight areas. If you want to expand you can run 7v7s in a lightly bigger area. Try not to have any kids 'waiting around'.

This year (u13 JPL A) i judged players over 4 trials. I looked for ability in the 4 core skills of the skill acquisition phase (1v1, first touch, RWTB & ball striking (passing)). I also looked for game understanding - players who had good movement, good positioning and correct body shape. Then i looked at attitude, intensity, commitment etc. Finally i looked at Dates of Birth. Studied what month of the year the players were born. Kids 9-10 months older at u13 level can have quite a big advantage physically and can often stand out at trials.

If theres one thing i learned its not to get obsessed with 'execution' of skills. A lot of kids have acquired good skills and get picked solely on this. But very few know how to apply them. This means players who have really good game understanding but not the 'execution' yet fall between the cracks. I see plenty of forwards at junior level who make 'great runs' and generate 10-12 shots per game for themselves, but lack the finish. These kids get overlooked. A good coach can teach both the acquiring and application of skills and should judge all players on both.

Do you coach?

Yes: Im joint Head coach of the u13 JPL team at Playford City Patriots.

[Old Redback]

Yes: Im joint Head coach of the u13 JPL team at Playford City Patriots.

Influencing the soccer world gradually then....next stop Barcelona?

[Rookie]

For coaches, who conduct trials for u12s - u16s, what kind of drill's do you do and what do you look for in a player to select them in either a JPL or JSL side?

Keep trials basic: Allow them to warm up with some 4v2 in a 10x10m square then move on to some Small Sided Games. Keep it around 5v5 with small goals if you can. Very quickly tell who the smart players are with good skills in tight areas. If you want to expand you can run 7v7s in a lightly bigger area. Try not to have any kids 'waiting around'.

This year (u13 JPL A) i judged players over 4 trials. I looked for ability in the 4 core skills of the skill acquisition phase (1v1, first touch, RWTB & ball striking (passing)). I also looked for game understanding - players who had good movement, good positioning and correct body shape. Then i looked at attitude, intensity, commitment etc. Finally i looked at Dates of Birth. Studied what month of the year the players were born. Kids 9-10 months older at u13 level can have quite a big advantage physically and can often stand out at trials.

If theres one thing i learned its not to get obsessed with 'execution' of skills. A lot of kids have acquired good skills and get picked solely on this. But very few know how to apply them. This means players who have really good game understanding but not the 'execution' yet fall between the cracks. I see plenty of forwards at junior level who make 'great runs' and generate 10-12 shots per game for themselves, but lack the finish. These kids get overlooked. A good coach can teach both the acquiring and application of skills and should judge all players on both.

Great summary Matty, well done.

[matty2323]

Yes: Im joint Head coach of the u13 JPL team at Playford City Patriots.

Influencing the soccer world gradually then....next stop Barcelona?

No need to head to Barca, they already know how to develop young footballers.

[Slide Tackle]

Yes: Im joint Head coach of the u13 JPL team at Playford City Patriots.

Influencing the soccer world gradually then....next stop Barcelona?

Stupid post.

Ps matty, thanks for the very informative feedback on trials.

[Fact Hunt]

Yes: Im joint Head coach of the u13 JPL team at Playford City Patriots.

Influencing the soccer world gradually then....next stop Barcelona?

Stupid post.

Ps matty, thanks for the very informative feedback on trials.

Why call it stupid? It's hardly the most dazzling resume......

[Fact Hunt]

Yes: Im joint Head coach of the u13 JPL team at Playford City Patriots.

Influencing the soccer world gradually then....next stop Barcelona?

No need to head to Barca, they already know how to develop young footballers.

This is the same Barcelona that keeps spending money on players? $130m this year by the way. Ajax is a far better model and has been successful over a much longer period of time.

[matty2323]

Yes: Im joint Head coach of the u13 JPL team at Playford City Patriots.

No need to head to Barca, they already know how to develop young footballers.

This is the same Barcelona that keeps spending money on players? $130m this year by the way. Ajax is a far better model and has been successful over a much longer period of time.

Barcelona model is built on the Ajax one. Ajax admit they're a football factory now, where Barcelona contend for major trophies and therefore spend quite big to supplement their squad. Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Fabregas, Pique, Pedro, Roberto & Deulofeu are in the squad. Add to that the likes of Samper, Grimaldo, Dongou, Halilovic in their B squad, i think they have a pretty reputable youth development program.

Why call it stupid? It's hardly the most dazzling resume......

At no stage did i 'promote' myself or state that i was a good coach. i simply offered information on coaching forum in response to a question... to which i might add you're yet to provide any information.

[Old Redback]

Relax Coach Carter - surely you would realise by now that if you put something out there on this forum you would expect to get challenged fairly or unfairly. By the way another quality of a coach is thick skin.

Barcelona's perceived success is only really in the last 10-15 years and as such could still be attributed to having a 'golden generation'. It could even be argued that this 'golden generation' has under achieved given the world wide infatuation - particularly in Australia and its desperation to base a whole curriculum for coaching on it. There is nothing new in teaching players - of any age - to keep possession. What Australian coaching also lacks is the need to make kids realise, as they get older that this is also a physical game also. I see countless talented kids out there that are desperately underprepared for the transition between junior and senior football. Personally I prefer to see kids play and enjoy football for life and not just until they are 16 and if you don't prepare them for the reality of senior football when there will be big bad men ready to lump them one the first time they make contact then that is equally a disservice to these kids.

[Socca]

I thought the curriculum was Dutch ?

[Fact Hunt]

I thought the curriculum was Dutch ?

Why can't we have an Australian one where we think independently with innovation?

[Socca]

We do, it's called AFL

[Coach_Mulatinho]

Relax Coach Carter - surely you would realise by now that if you put something out there on this forum you would expect to get challenged fairly or unfairly. By the way another quality of a coach is thick skin.

Barcelona's perceived success is only really in the last 10-15 years and as such could still be attributed to having a 'golden generation'. It could even be argued that this 'golden generation' has under achieved given the world wide infatuation - particularly in Australia and its desperation to base a whole curriculum for coaching on it. There is nothing new in teaching players - of any age - to keep possession. What Australian coaching also lacks is the need to make kids realise, as they get older that this is also a physical game also. I see countless talented kids out there that are desperately underprepared for the transition between junior and senior football. Personally I prefer to see kids play and enjoy football for life and not just until they are 16 and if you don't prepare them for the reality of senior football when there will be big bad men ready to lump them one the first time they make contact then that is equally a disservice to these kids.

harry kewell, messi, ronaldo, robben at 16/17 didnt had any body for senior football, but they played and theyr r better than vidukas, emertons etc. even tim cahill doesnt have that much of a body

[The Kings Jesta]

It's not about the size of the body, it's being taught how to use it. So it doesn't matter how big Kewell, Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo were or weren't at 16/17, they were fully aware of how to fight for a ball. Sometimes it can't be coached. Some players have an internal pride that means they will never give up, even if others would consider it a lost cause.
If you watch young versions of the 3 previously mentioned players, they all knew how to use their body to retain possession in a 1v1 whether they started with the ball, or had to win it back.
This is what makes them the stars they become. Technically gifted, but with the correct mentality.

When looking at young players, I look for not just the technique side but the attitude as well.
I have found it far easier, with the limited resources our clubs have, to coach technique over attitude. Of course there will be players you pick thinking "I can add this to their game" and it just doesn't work. The great attitude kid just can't grasp the technique, or the technically gifted player just refuses to change his behaviours.
I feel that if your team is capable of winning the ball back from a good ball playing team then you are half way there, but if you can't win the ball back, and the opp team is better at keeping the ball than you then what do you do?

[Coach_Mulatinho]

It's not about the size of the body, it's being taught how to use it. So it doesn't matter how big Kewell, Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo were or weren't at 16/17, they were fully aware of how to fight for a ball. Sometimes it can't be coached. Some players have an internal pride that means they will never give up, even if others would consider it a lost cause.
If you watch young versions of the 3 previously mentioned players, they all knew how to use their body to retain possession in a 1v1 whether they started with the ball, or had to win it back.
This is what makes them the stars they become. Technically gifted, but with the correct mentality.

When looking at young players, I look for not just the technique side but the attitude as well.
I have found it far easier, with the limited resources our clubs have, to coach technique over attitude. Of course there will be players you pick thinking "I can add this to their game" and it just doesn't work. The great attitude kid just can't grasp the technique, or the technically gifted player just refuses to change his behaviours.
I feel that if your team is capable of winning the ball back from a good ball playing team then you are half way there, but if you can't win the ball back, and the opp team is better at keeping the ball than you then what do you do?

the point of saying that does players werent that big is to counter argue that some players couldnt adapt to senior football due to physical aspects that was mention previously.

[Fact Hunt]

Spot on Kings Jesta. A great attitude cannot be coached.
The other bloke seems to be confusing himself - not surprised though, was probably playing football instead of going to English class.

[The Kings Jesta]

It's not about the size of the body, it's being taught how to use it. So it doesn't matter how big Kewell, Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo were or weren't at 16/17, they were fully aware of how to fight for a ball. Sometimes it can't be coached. Some players have an internal pride that means they will never give up, even if others would consider it a lost cause.
If you watch young versions of the 3 previously mentioned players, they all knew how to use their body to retain possession in a 1v1 whether they started with the ball, or had to win it back.
This is what makes them the stars they become. Technically gifted, but with the correct mentality.

When looking at young players, I look for not just the technique side but the attitude as well.
I have found it far easier, with the limited resources our clubs have, to coach technique over attitude. Of course there will be players you pick thinking "I can add this to their game" and it just doesn't work. The great attitude kid just can't grasp the technique, or the technically gifted player just refuses to change his behaviours.
I feel that if your team is capable of winning the ball back from a good ball playing team then you are half way there, but if you can't win the ball back, and the opp team is better at keeping the ball than you then what do you do?

the point of saying that does players werent that big is to counter argue that some players couldnt adapt to senior football due to physical aspects that was mention previously.

But it wasn't said that the physical aspects were overall body size, just unprepared physical aspects. This is what led me to clarify that the smaller players need to be taught how to use their body, but also need an internal motivation to achieve success in a 1 v 1 situation vs a physically stronger player. No different to the bigger player who is slower but taught to read the game better, but also requires an internal level of spacial awareness and overall logic processing that not all people have.

[Sven]

For coaches, who conduct trials for u12s - u16s, what kind of drill's do you do and what do you look for in a player to select them in either a JPL or JSL side?

Keep trials basic: Allow them to warm up with some 4v2 in a 10x10m square then move on to some Small Sided Games. Keep it around 5v5 with small goals if you can. Very quickly tell who the smart players are with good skills in tight areas. If you want to expand you can run 7v7s in a lightly bigger area. Try not to have any kids 'waiting around'.

This year (u13 JPL A) i judged players over 4 trials. I looked for ability in the 4 core skills of the skill acquisition phase (1v1, first touch, RWTB & ball striking (passing)). I also looked for game understanding - players who had good movement, good positioning and correct body shape. Then i looked at attitude, intensity, commitment etc. Finally i looked at Dates of Birth. Studied what month of the year the players were born. Kids 9-10 months older at u13 level can have quite a big advantage physically and can often stand out at trials.

If theres one thing i learned its not to get obsessed with 'execution' of skills. A lot of kids have acquired good skills and get picked solely on this. But very few know how to apply them. This means players who have really good game understanding but not the 'execution' yet fall between the cracks. I see plenty of forwards at junior level who make 'great runs' and generate 10-12 shots per game for themselves, but lack the finish. These kids get overlooked. A good coach can teach both the acquiring and application of skills and should judge all players on both.

Excellent stuff.

[chuck norris]

Relax Coach Carter - surely you would realise by now that if you put something out there on this forum you would expect to get challenged fairly or unfairly. By the way another quality of a coach is thick skin.

Barcelona's perceived success is only really in the last 10-15 years and as such could still be attributed to having a 'golden generation'. It could even be argued that this 'golden generation' has under achieved given the world wide infatuation - particularly in Australia and its desperation to base a whole curriculum for coaching on it. There is nothing new in teaching players - of any age - to keep possession. What Australian coaching also lacks is the need to make kids realise, as they get older that this is also a physical game also. I see countless talented kids out there that are desperately underprepared for the transition between junior and senior football. Personally I prefer to see kids play and enjoy football for life and not just until they are 16 and if you don't prepare them for the reality of senior football when there will be big bad men ready to lump them one the first time they make contact then that is equally a disservice to these kids.

Another fisherman