HISTORY
Football is very old game in this Island.Great footballers in 1950's told us the stories of their achievement in those years.There are no old videoclips but only the pictures.But we beleived what they told us,but still we(as a Coaches now)are are asking ourselves of what method of coaching and playing they used.
Could they were using simple methods of defending and attacking because football was not complex game as it is today.Their body structures shows that they were physically well built.About their technicalities,we couldnt guess,we only heard from other people about their goalscoring records,good defending,dribbling skills or being best coustodian ever.
I started myself to play football in early age,just like those boys who plays around in street soccer.Normally,the kids develop technics without their knowing in these games.
I play under the Coach at the age of fourteen.In nowdays soccer ,its very unusual.He was not a real Coach,but he was older than us who owns the balls so we were just followed his comands.If he is not happy with us because of any reason,he took his ball and the game ends without any warning.
I remember we did some laps before we started playing.When you are late,those laps turn to be the punishment.We had only one ball and we were more than 20 players,so when we do the passing drill,we had to wait for minutes just to pass or head the ball again.The drills were all the same everyday but we never get bored because we beleived that the way it should be.
All the other teams did the same way in training ground.When we played a match,we were just using the ideas that we thought were right.The Coach was shouting from the start to the end.He was just motivating us to work hard but they were no any technical or tactical instruction or adjusment he could give .You could not shoot without his permission,but when you shoot and scored,he would run and congratulate you,it was funny,wasnt it?
When we reach 16 and start to play in the leagues and may be changed the team and the Coach,Physical intensity was growing.We all beleived that being Physical fitness was the only way to become a better player.We were running on the beaches everyday not less than three kilometers.This was normally routine even if you play the match in the same afternoon.We used many hours that we could use not to develop technics but just running and doing fitness.
I cant say that there were no good players,but I can say that there were very few Coaches who could do real task they are suppose to do,to make a player to play better football.I beleive that the passion of the game itself caused them to play better and be creative.
You could hardly saw the tactical build up in any session.Even the session itself was not planned as it should be.There were no game plan or formation used or trained,defending was just to stop someone to score against you,and attacking was the other way around.Many Coaches mention 4 4 2,but when you see his team you cant see anything like that.
Johan Cryff says
"Every team must have a structure to follow,when there is no plan,there are no mistakes" No Coach could read the game and tell you about the mistake and then gave you general or structural training to rectify the mistake.I knew these things when I started to read Coaching books myself,no one could never ever told me.So basically the players had the mistakes and carry on playing and doing the same mistakes.
There were no session particulary constructed in accordance to soccer problems occured in previous matches.In fact when the team is beaten,the only problem that the Coach saw was lack of stamina.So we were told to get prepared to tough fitness session next day,and at the same time that fitness stand as the punishment.
Because of the porverty,most of the players didnt use quality soccer shoes.Sometime the subtitute had to wait and change the shoes with someone who comes out.You could be given one pair of shoes per season,and when you change the team,you have to retain the shoes to your previous team.The list goes on for other things like soccer boots,gloves etc.
The popular misconception among the soccer society was, if we arrange the tournament for young boys in schools or Junior Clubs,we can improve the quality of the players.. This wrong notion is even alive today. We dont focus on the perfomance of the players and the Coaches who trained them,and think about how can we find the way to improve .The result is to see the hit and run game.There are hundreds of Junior Clubs in the Island,but not even single club is having the Coach who can teach the player to be better one.We didnt realise that the young players needs to have the good foundation because they are going to be National asset for the future.
Even the good players didnt have good academic knowledge .This could affect the players focus and concentration in the game,and not being good enough in grasping as well as making good decisions.
The language was and still another big obstacle when they come across with the foreign Coaches, even talking with referees.We see some other time the player needs to undestand the warning message or to apologise to the refeee.Any reason you could choose, the communication skills plays the front role.
Regarding laws of he game,I m not sure who we should put the blame to,but the awareness of the laws in players and referees perspective was and still not quite right.The referees are making errors in every match.They could use old rule of,lets say offside, and apply to nowdays game.When the law changes,they seems to be not aware.
The History shows how we lack proper Coaching in those formative years.The coaching that can transform simple players to perfom better and better.
WHAT CAN WE DO TO GO WITH THE PACE OF CHANGES?
To develop the technical players all of the sudden is very tall order.It needs lot of plans ,awareness,vision and people who can help in that process.
We will need people who have interest and passion of the game.We need people who can work hard to study the principle of Coaching modern football and try to apply with patience and not having fear of the failure in the process.They should be able to learn English language if they are not good enough,and these poeple should start to to learn about Coaching bellow 12 years an age players and come up with them.
They should learn about how to develop the players physically, technically,tactically and even phsycological,in an age apropriate methods.Their experience as former players would assist in many ways of course.They should be able to demonstrate technical execution by example and not by using the best player among them .This will build the confidence for the players to their Coach and this is the way to success.
Team officials,parents and player themselves should have collective trust to the Coach and his overall plans,and be patient when things goes wrong.They should support him and give time as is not easy play better within short time.Players needs to adapt themselves with the plan or system and slowly knowing each other when they perfome the task together,after all ,Football is a TEAM game.
The most important things is,Football Organisation should keep its VISION clearer,eg VISION 2018 ,that we will need to Qualify for famous tournament like Africa Cup of Nation,Africa Club Champions etc AND WIN THE TROPHIES,and they should start with strategic plans today,and not tomorrow.
I, as National Team Coach for U15,I do have seen alot of potential talents that need serious support to perfom that task successfully.Their natural instict talents justify that we have the asset,its our job now to wake up and think about these young talented kids and not 25 years and above players.
Famous countries in Football World today had clear VISION ten years ago.They didnt wake up one sunny day and found Drogba,Kalou and Etoo playing the way they play.We can produce Didier Drogbas provided we have strategic constructive plan to reach there.Why cant we start with these kids?Why there are always sponsors for Above 25 years players and not U15 or U12?We ignore these kids today and hope that we can get good players tomorrow.Its pity.
" I want players that can attack opponents before they are set - win the ball and attack in a fast break mode.
We need players who have all these skills by the age of 19." Jurgen Klismann
Just look on how Modern Football pays great attention about how crucial is to developing the players within the age they want. We are busy developing 27 years player, where we are heading to?
We must try to Copy how Angola, Togo, Zambia, Congo DRC and even Mozambique, which method they used to reach high FIFA Ranking quickly and left us behind ?
There is one famous proverb from big thinker that's says
"The height by the great man reached and kept, were not attain by sudden flight, but they, while their Companions slept, were toiling upward in the night"
ALEY MOHAMMED
U15 NATIONAL TEAM COACH
--
Aley Mohammed
BRACKING NEWS
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