Feeling Part of the Team by Nigel Reed

Maintaining Team Spirit is often a big challenge for any coach, particularly of junior players who have not reached the maturity and don't have an understanding of the importance of the team. One thing that is vitally important is to make everyone feel as though they are contributing. Sometime this is not as easy as it sounds, because you will find the lesser skilled players feeling that they are not contributing because of their lack of ability. This puts added pressure on these players because they will feel the frustration that is felt by the more experienced and better players.

It is so important to get the team to function as a unit and there is no doubt that if you can instill a good team spirit between your players, the team will function much better as whole.

One method that I use and continually utilise is to take a good player aside and explain the importance of team spirit and his role as an experienced player in developing team spirit. So I ask the player "What is the outcome you want for the team?". More often than not the answer is along the lines of "I want the team to play to its best and to win more games than we lose"

With the outcome in mind it is far easier to explain to the experienced player the importance of their role as a mentor to the lesser skilled players and with their help, they will have a far greater impact on the team than just their individual performance,

If a senior player in the team takes on a mentoring role, the inexperienced players generally respond well and start to feel more involved as a team player.

Being a mentor for lesser experienced players basically comes down to leading by example and showing encouragement to players that are struggling. When a player makes a mistake, a reaction of abuse or negativity from other players rarely helps the confidence or demeanor of the offending player, where as simple words like, "Come on Johnny, don't worry we all make mistakes lets just try harder not to make any" will help the player through to wanting to play better and as a consequence probably will.

Also it is up the experienced players to ensure that other players adopt this kind of attitude and ensure that everyone feels part of the team and want the team to succeed.

Here is a gem that for you to send to your players as food for thought

Zvzn though my typzwritzr is an old modzl, it works vzry wzll - zxczpt for onz key. You would hardly think that with all thz othzr kzys functioning propzrly onz would hardly bz noticzd, but thz onz kzy out of whack szzms to ruin thz wholz zffort.

You may say to yourszlf, 'Wzll, I'm only onz playzr. No onz will noticz if I don't do my bzst'. But it dozs makz a diffzrzncz bzcausz to bz zffzctivz a tzam nzzds activz participation by zvzry onz to thz bzst of thzir ability.

So thz nzxt timz you think you arz not important rzmzmbzr my old typzwritzr.

You arz a kzy playzr...

Nigel Reed is a qualified soccer coach and has had great success using the Coerver Soccer Coaching system combined with motivational and team organization
See his review of Coerver by Clicking Here
http://TheSoccerHelper.com

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English Football League Predictions by Mick Burrows

The big kick-off is upon us again and those experts in the know from the world of TV and press have been busy telling us how it all ends, even before it has begun! As usual fixed odds in focus have joined in via their e-zine service Tipped at the Post.

In the Premiership, although Liverpool have spent big, they are not quite there yet and consequently are likely to fall short of Man Utd and Chelsea again. The Blues will be keen to regain their crown, but United still appear to have the edge. Arsenal are perhaps, one season away from being genuine challengers again; however, in Van Persie they do have a player capable giving the likes of Rooney, Ronaldo, Gerrard and Drogba a run for their money, with regards to player of the season. Spurs are getting closer to the big 4, but they are still not close enough and are more likely to be battling for the UEFA spots with Portsmouth, Villa, West Ham and Newcastle.

The likes of Reading, Everton, Sunderland and maybe surprisingly Derby can all make mid-table finishes. Most people will have the Rams as certainties to make an instant return to the Championship, but in Billy Davies they have a talented manager capable of keeping their heads above water. At the bottom Blackburn and Man City can stay out of trouble - just; with the rest in a real battle. Wigan have signed a lot of players, but too many of them have a lot to prove and Middlesbrough - with some un-inspiring signings - could join them in the bottom two. Of the remaining 3 teams, Bolton might struggle to cope post Allardyce and slip out at the death, leaving Birmingham and Fulham breathing huge sighs of relief.

Charlton, with a good manager and plenty of cash, are more than capable of jumping straight back up from the Championship and taking Wolves along with them. Last season will have been a good experience for the black country outfit. Sheff U have an impressive forward line, but defence is a worry and the play-off's look a more likely option together with Watford, Cardiff and one from Norwich, Coventry and Southampton. West Brom may well suffer a Wembley hang over and just miss out. Mid-table is probably the best Sheffield Wednesday, Ipswich and Palace; with Leicester, Hull and QPR improving on last term, but not significantly. Colchester did remarkably well in their first year up, but are likely to find it a great deal tougher second time around and Preston are likely to suffer from the loss of David Nugent. Bristol City and Blackpool are more than capable of consolidating, but the others look vulnerable. Barnsley can just about survive, likewise Plymouth; leaving Stoke Burnley and Scunthorpe fighting the drop.

In League One, Forest are everybody’s tip for promotion, but they look destined to miss out again. They have brought in Neil Lennon, but it’s a very tough division and you have to wonder about his legs. Tipped at the Post's two for automatic promotion are Doncaster and Millwall. The Yorkshire club are very ambitious and James Hayter is a cracking signing at that level. The Lions young side finished well and Willie Donachie will have them spot on. Huddersfield, Oldham and Luton are taken to fill the play-off places with Forest; just ahead of Carlisle, Swansea, Yeovil and Southend. Bristol Rovers can have a brighter season than many are suggesting, as can Hartlepool and Walsall, all 3 coming up together. Brighton, Tranmere, Crewe and Port Vale seem set for pretty uninspiring seasons; and Gillingham and Leyton Orient look certain to be bottom half material. Leeds need some luck with their appeal against the 15 point penalty, otherwise they could slip straight through. Swindon can stay up at their expense, but Bournemouth, Northampton and Cheltenham look to have it all on to avoid the drop.

In League Two Paul Ince can get one over Fergie - Darren that is! MKD can just pip Peterborough at the top, with Shrewsbury joining them. Notts County, Darlington and Rotherham are taken to make the play-off's along with surprise packages Bury. Chesterfield, Bradford and Rochdale should all go close; with Hereford, Wycombe and Mansfield not too far behind. Lincoln have probably missed their chances over the past 5 years and Terry Butcher will not find life easy at Brentford. The two newcomers can hold their own, but the rest might struggle with Chester and Accrington Stanley making way for the return of Torquay and Oxford, who are taken to make their League comebacks.
Mick Burrows writes for http://www.fixed-odds-in-focus.com

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Planning Soccer Practice Effectively by Scott Carlson

Many youth soccer coaches have coached multiple seasons and they feel comfortable with their knowledge about soccer and coaching. This comfort leads them to believe they know everything they need to know about coaching soccer and they become far too complacent simply “winging it” during practice.

If you are one of these coaches, you are doing your players a great disservice because the simple fact is, your players will not learn as much if you don’t plan practice beforehand. A plan will allow you to put together a list of topics you hope to teach your team and cover as much ground as possible during the season.

Your time will be utilized to the fullest if you operate in this fashion. This will greatly increase your chances of achieving soccer coaching success as defined by two factors: 1. Did your players learn and improve their game 2. Did they have enough fun to play soccer again next season. It all comes back to your practice designs.

Considering your team is made up of kids, some of whom will have very short attention spans, a fluid practice where you move seamlessly from drill to drill will decrease the chance your players will get distracted. It will also show them that you “know what you are doing,” making it more likely that they will listen and learn.

Your kids will not have fun and will not improve if you lose control of practice and you are much more likely to get to the point of madness when you are winging it. If you plan everything out before the time arrives, practice will go much smoother and the kids will learn and love the game, and you will look like a superior coach.

I also know that not everyone has the time or the ability to plan out practice, so I have put together a book with 20 original and pre-designed soccer practice plans, made up of my most effective drills. If you are short on soccer or coaching knowledge or insanely busy, these practices can be the blueprint to your entire soccer season.
Scott Carlson has a soccer website with free resources at http://www.coachsoccer101.com You can check out his soccer practice plan book at http://www.soccerdrillbook.com

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Christiano Ronaldo Fit And Raring To Start The Next Premiership Season With Man Utd by Matthew Tutt

Manchester United star Portuguese midfielder Christiano Ronaldo says he is raring to go and is as fit as ever ahead of the start of the 2007/2008 Premiership football season as Man Utd prepare their defence of the Premiership title.

Man Utd manager Sir Alex Ferguson has made many big signings ahead of the new season, strengthening the squad somewhat with the acquisitions of Anderson, Nani, Owen Hargreaves and (eventually hopefully) Carlos Tevez.

When asked about the new signings Ronaldo stated that they are all fantastic signings, they will be great for the club and the team – and that he hopes they never leave.

Cristiano Ronaldo meanwhile has been in terrific form at the start of the pre-season, with many dazzling performances on Utd’s 4 day tour of the Far East. Sir Alex Ferguson will surely be a lot happier with the progress the players have made fitness wise this pre-season, after having to endure many of his star players performing tirelessly at least seasons World Cup finals in Germany.

This season around the likes of Rooney, Ronaldo and co will all be fully prepared for the coming up season, after admitting last season that they started feeling the effects of a prolonged season last time around.

Manchester United will be facing nearest rivals Chelsea on Sunday in the Charity Shield football match at Wembley, and the weekend after they will open their Premiership account with a home match against last seasons surprise package Reading.

Ronaldo can’t wait for the new season to begin, and is already looking to build upon the success of last year – which has already seen him crowned PFA Young Player and PFA Player’s Player Of The Year.

"Things are going very good for me," Cristiano Ronaldo told MUTV. "I feel fit and I'm very happy with the way our preparations have gone so far. But I must keep my form going. The Premier League starts soon and I must be ready for that. I hope to play well. My ambition is still the same - I want to play well, score goals and provide assists. I tried to do the same last year and I worked hard to do that. I hope things come good for me."

It remains to be seen how Cristiano Ronaldo can really improve on his performances last season around, but with just a few weeks away from the kick off of the new Premiership season we can’t wait to see how the new-look Manchester United team performs, and whether Christiano Ronaldo can really build on his success of last season.