# How does your team practice building out of the back?



## WillJohn (Mar 22, 2017)

My son's team has had a few scrimmages and they have had a hard time passing the ball out of the backfield.  The coach does offer some pointers here and there during practice but I would think that they would focus on it more given how often we have to do it and our lack of success with it.  As a good parent (and still learning the game myself), I don't say anything but was wondering what are other teams doing to practice building out of the back specifically?  I've seen a little of the 3four3 stuff and it looks good but just seeing if there is any other advice/viewpoints out there.


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## Grace T. (Mar 22, 2017)

WillJohn said:


> My son's team has had a few scrimmages and they have had a hard time passing the ball out of the backfield.  The coach does offer some pointers here and there during practice but I would think that they would focus on it more given how often we have to do it and our lack of success with it.  As a good parent (and still learning the game myself), I don't say anything but was wondering what are other teams doing to practice building out of the back specifically?  I've seen a little of the 3four3 stuff and it looks good but just seeing if there is any other advice/viewpoints out there.


On our team: 1. keepers are discouraged from punting if they have an open man...to throw it or roll it to a defender who then is supposed to (preferably) pass it up...coach discourages AYSO kickball, 2. the "advanced star" in which the 7th kid in the obstacle course needs to pass it to the next kid who dribbles who then passes it to the next kid and only the last person in the line gets to shoot, 3. short sided 3 v. 3s where objective is for keeper to pass out to the defender to pass out to the third out of the back 1/2 of the pitch.  Building up the back is pretty important to the coaches on our club...they do other things my DS tells me on this but it's hard to make out and I'm rarely at practices...but that's what I can make out from what he tells me.


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## Dos Equis (Mar 22, 2017)

You can create elaborate drills, institute new rules like a "build out line" across the middle of the field, prohibit punts, there is a menu of ways to change the game to try to encourage it.

Or you can make sure your keeper knows how to play soccer -- trap/receive the ball with their feet comfortably, turn into space, and pass. And then teach every player to look over their shoulder before they receive the ball, play the way they are facing if they are under pressure, play away from pressure, and give the player in posession options.  In other words, no gimmicks, teach them how to  play soccer, and playing back to the keeper becomes natural.  

This is exactly why we are so behind in this country.  We look for the shortcuts, and ignore the obvious.


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## rainbow_unicorn (Mar 22, 2017)

What age?  This sounds cliche, but it really starts with the basics.  Look at development in this order:

Develop sound ball skills (Coerver drills)
Simple passing/trapping (sounds basic, but kids don't work on this enough)
Small sided keep away (3v1, 4v1)
Large sided keep away (5v2, 6v2)...start with unlimited touches/bigger space and eventually progress to 1-touch/tight space
Discourage kids from practicing shooting for those 15-20 minutes they always seem to have before practice/games.  Shooting is overrated...especially if a team can't move the ball and get into a position to shoot on goal.  Have them work on passing keep-away instead.  

If the kids play in an extra futsal league have them consciously work on passing and possession during the game.  No shots until, say, 10 passes in a row completed.


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## timbuck (Mar 22, 2017)

The most important part of learning to play out of the back or play possession soccer is to have a good first touch with the ball. It's much easier to play the "smart" or "easy" pass when you are able to trap a ball at your feet with one touch and be ready to play it with the next touch.  If your first touch is a donk and you need 3 or 4 more touches to get the ball "ready", it's hard to play with your head up and look for the open player.  I'm dealing with this with my team right now.  About 50% of them seem to "get it" and try to look to connect.  The other 50% panic and boot the ball without any clue where they are putting it.  
Then you have parents who clap and cheer when a kid launches a ball from inside their own 18 across midfield to an unpressured center back from the other team.


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## ajaffe (Mar 22, 2017)

Choreography. Lots and lots of choreography until cues, timing, and angles are locked in.


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## Supermodel56 (Mar 22, 2017)

For us it wasn't easy either - it really begins with players who have good solid foot skills, confidence on the ball, and a good first touch. If you don't have that, your players are going to panic and either lose the ball to an opponent or just punt it away/kick it out of bounds.

After that, I'd say a lot of choreography, being aware of where you're supposed to be and when, where your teammates are, and how you can support. practice playing from the keeper and getting wide so your keeper or center defender has lanes to choose from - spread out the defense.

Practice through balls so players know to look for the passing lanes as well as receiving players being able to receive on the positive foot.

Then practice this with pressure... start with two opponents, then three, four, etc...


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## rainbow_unicorn (Mar 22, 2017)

ajaffe said:


> Choreography. Lots and lots of choreography until cues, timing, and angles are locked in.


I have no idea what this means...


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## SuperNatural (Mar 22, 2017)

Grace T. said:


> coach discourages AYSO kickball,


I'm sorry but this is encouraged in Arsenal FC, and may I add one of the most if not expensive clubs out there.

It's hard to to come by good coaching and seriousness about the sport.


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## Grace T. (Mar 23, 2017)

SuperNatural said:


> I'm sorry but this is encouraged in Arsenal FC, and may I add one of the most if not expensive clubs out there.
> 
> It's hard to to come by good coaching and seriousness about the sport.


I reffed a U8 regular AYSO game.  Funniest game I saw was when keeper A grabbed hold of a ball and punted into the back third of team B.  Keeper B rushed out and picked it up and then punted it back.  Went back and forth five times that way.  Since there wasn't an offside rule, coach B finally figured out to stand all his players around keeper A.  Technically it was cherry picking but cherry picking was in the refs discretion.  Considering the situation was getting a bit ridiculous I allowed it.  Easy goal.  After much screaming about "cherry picking", coaches adapted and had the goalkeepers kick it out.  Degenerated into the most boring game ever with kids constantly kicking the ball out.


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## timbuck (Mar 23, 2017)

Grace T. said:


> I reffed a U8 regular AYSO game.  Funniest game I saw was when keeper A grabbed hold of a ball and punted into the back third of team B.  Keeper B rushed out and picked it up and then punted it back.  Went back and forth five times that way.  Since there wasn't an offside rule, coach B finally figured out to stand all his players around keeper A.  Technically it was cherry picking but cherry picking was in the refs discretion.  Considering the situation was getting a bit ridiculous I allowed it.  Easy goal.  After much screaming about "cherry picking", coaches adapted and had the goalkeepers kick it out.  Degenerated into the most boring game ever with kids constantly kicking the ball out.


Didn't the same thing happen at a tournament this summer?  I think it was surf cup when they had younger teams on really small fields.


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## Supermodel56 (Mar 23, 2017)

timbuck said:


> Didn't the same thing happen at a tournament this summer?  I think it was surf cup when they had younger teams on really small fields.


I think that was when they first started the smaller fields and not many teams had started playing out of the back yet. In fact, in Presidio at the youngers, I don't believe they played out of the back the entire season - all punting.


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## espola (Mar 23, 2017)

Grace T. said:


> I reffed a U8 regular AYSO game.  Funniest game I saw was when keeper A grabbed hold of a ball and punted into the back third of team B.  Keeper B rushed out and picked it up and then punted it back.  Went back and forth five times that way.  Since there wasn't an offside rule, coach B finally figured out to stand all his players around keeper A.  Technically it was cherry picking but cherry picking was in the refs discretion.  Considering the situation was getting a bit ridiculous I allowed it.  Easy goal.  After much screaming about "cherry picking", coaches adapted and had the goalkeepers kick it out.  Degenerated into the most boring game ever with kids constantly kicking the ball out.


Is cherry picking illegal in AYSO?


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## Grace T. (Mar 23, 2017)

espola said:


> Is cherry picking illegal in AYSO?


Some regions have a cherry picking rule for ULittles before the offside rules come into effect.  In our region, for U7 and U8, cherry picking can be called at ref's discretion.  It's to stop a team from parking a forward in front of the goal the entire game.  Coaches are told not to do it.

U6s in our region have a no goaltend rule.  But teams started to park a defender as a goalie.  So they created an arc kids couldn't enter.  But then coaches started to park a few defenders just outside the arc in a wall.


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## espola (Mar 23, 2017)

Grace T. said:


> Some regions have a cherry picking rule for ULittles before the offside rules come into effect.  In our region, for U7 and U8, cherry picking can be called at ref's discretion.  It's to stop a team from parking a forward in front of the goal the entire game.  Coaches are told not to do it.
> 
> U6s in our region have a no goaltend rule.  But teams started to park a defender as a goalie.  So they created an arc kids couldn't enter.  But then coaches started to park a few defenders just outside the arc in a wall.


Why not just teach them soccer?


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## chargerfan (Mar 23, 2017)

espola said:


> Why not just teach them soccer?


Because then they may not win every game


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## Grace T. (Mar 23, 2017)

espola said:


> Why not just teach them soccer?


You'd have to teach the coaches first.  The one dad coach that invented the wall in front of the arc seemed to know football....kept calling it the line of scrimmage.

Both sons were fortunate in AYSO that they got good coaches (I coached one year too but one year was enough).  YS's last AYSO coach was really great for development and we requested him even though he wasn't the best tactician and he didn't have a history of winning games (I worked with him as an assistant)...a bad draw of players (including 2 which kept trying to do hit and miss kickball) meant our team only had 1 tie and all losses for a season with DS responsible for more than 1/2 of the goals.  I've seen some bad club coaches already too, which is why I'm happy with our current team even though we declined a higher ranking squad and declined to renew on EXTRAs.


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## Supermodel56 (Mar 23, 2017)

espola said:


> Why not just teach them soccer?


Because they're parent coaches and don't know how. I coached my DD's rec team against another team where the idiot parent-coach did that - they were 5 years old and he parked 2-3 players (the least skilled/experienced) on the arc the entire game and instructed them to just kick the ball out of bounds anytime the ball came near the goal.  Throughout the game those girls kept asking him if they could go play and he said "No."  We still won. Many of our girls are playing in fairly strong clubs on their A teams now. His players have either stopped playing or can barely make the B teams at mid level local clubs now - it's too bad because some of them had potential and were great kids. This isn't to say I was a good coach - I knew nothing about soccer and played only one season as a kid growing up - the only thing I probably did right was to give all the kiddos a chance and worry less about giving up goals at that age but try to use skills to win the ball and build that confidence - make it fun so they fall in love with the game... 

What amazes me is that as club parents, we often think how crazy competitive soccer is but if you look at how the rec leagues are - I feel like that's actually where things really tend to get out of hand - parent coaches with ego issues coaching kids to win at all costs, teaching bad habits, no club policies on parents not coaching/yelling from the sidelines, etc... Those parents don't have kids who put in 2-4 days a week of hard work to become better players - it's just weekend entertainment. Not to say all parent coaches are bad - there are some really good ones - but you more frequently run into the other ones who have no idea what they're doing.


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## Grace T. (Mar 23, 2017)

Supermodel56 said:


> What amazes me is that as club parents, we often think how crazy competitive soccer is but if you look at how the rec leagues are - I feel like that's actually where things really tend to get out of hand - parent coaches with ego issues coaching kids to win at all costs, teaching bad habits, no club policies on parents not coaching/yelling from the sidelines, etc... Those parents don't have kids who put in 2-4 days a week of hard work to become better players - it's just weekend entertainment. Not to say all parent coaches are bad - there are some really good ones - but you more frequently run into the other ones who have no idea what they're doing.


It gets worse in EXTRAs and All Stars because even though the coaching knowledge goes up, they don't care about development because the team is only technically together for a year (though some do stay together and even transfer to club).  Plus, now medals get on the line.  

One dad's rec confession:

https://sports.good.is/features/geek-dad-soccer


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## watfly (Mar 23, 2017)

timbuck said:


> Didn't the same thing happen at a tournament this summer?  I think it was surf cup when they had younger teams on really small fields.


Correct.  Due to the postage stamp sized fields it deteriorated to keepers scoring on punts and shot attempts on just about every kickoff.  Credit to TFA for playing the game the right way despite the winning antics of the other teams.


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## jrcaesar (Mar 23, 2017)

Supermodel56 said:


> What amazes me is that as club parents, we often think how crazy competitive soccer is but if you look at how the rec leagues are - I feel like that's actually where things really tend to get out of hand - parent coaches with ego issues coaching kids to win at all costs, teaching bad habits, no club policies on parents not coaching/yelling from the sidelines, etc... Those parents don't have kids who put in 2-4 days a week of hard work to become better players - it's just weekend entertainment.


This is a good point. But it can be cleaned up if the AYSO Area or Regional leaders want it done. As a referee who works AYSO Tournaments in L.A. and O.C., this issue doesn't actually vary from coach to coach *but from Region (and Area) to Region* -- some Regions represent the game very well, while other sidelines and parents create chaos. It's the Regional leaders who could clean this up if they committed to do so.


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## Sheriff Joe (Mar 23, 2017)

rainbow_unicorn said:


> What age?    Shooting is overrated


No, it is not.


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## rainbow_unicorn (Mar 23, 2017)

Sheriff Joe said:


> No, it is not.


The play leading up to a goal is 99% of the game.  I'd rather have a team where nobody knows how to shoot but can do everything else and walk the ball into the goal as opposed to a team of great shooters but don't know how to do anything else.


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## Supermodel56 (Mar 23, 2017)

rainbow_unicorn said:


> The play leading up to a goal is 99% of the game.  I'd rather have a team where nobody knows how to shoot but can do everything else and walk the ball into the goal as opposed to a team of great shooters but don't know how to do anything else.


Agree completely. It doesn't matter how good your strikers are if you can't get them the ball...


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## Bananacorner (Mar 23, 2017)

I recommend lots of rondos in the beginning of practice as you are waiting for everyone to show up.  Instead of all the kids shooting on goal for 10-15 minutes, have rondos going.


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## Anomaly (Mar 23, 2017)

Passing patterns help with everything. It helps with the technique of a pass, weight of a pass, different turns, picking up your head, thinking quickly and efficiently, etc. Mix that with general possession drills, or rondo as Bananacorner said, and you're golden.

Kids can never be too young to start watching professional matches on TV, but consider analyzing film once they get older. If they can watch other teams build out of the back, they can start seeing for themselves why a player would play this pass instead of that one, play a ball to the left back instead of the right based on the other team's positioning, see why a ball played here would help with the development of play more-so than a ball played there would, etc. Get them thinking young and early and they'll be miles ahead of most.


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## jrcaesar (Mar 23, 2017)

rainbow_unicorn said:


> The play leading up to a goal is 99% of the game. I'd rather have a team where nobody knows how to shoot but can do everything else and walk the ball into the goal as opposed to a team of great shooters but don't know how to do anything else.


You are describing my son's 05 team: Winning at possession, but can't put enough shots on frame.


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## ajaffe (Mar 23, 2017)

rainbow_unicorn said:


> I have no idea what this means...


You have them set up in defensive shape, move into their basic offensive shape, and repeat movements based on where the ball is. Over and over again. Then you can get more in depth in regards to which phase of the buildup you are working on, which sets of runs need to be made and to exactly what spots, and when to make those specific movements.

When they grasp the recognition of where to go based on where possession is won, where to go in the early phases of buildup when the back 4 are in possession, and when to get to those spots, then you can move on. Until then, lots and lots of repetition at increasing intensity.

Building out of the back is like a dance, you have to choreograph it so the players know exactly what spots to get to based on the moments on the field.


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## Sheriff Joe (Mar 24, 2017)

rainbow_unicorn said:


> The play leading up to a goal is 99% of the game.  I'd rather have a team where nobody knows how to shoot but can do everything else and walk the ball into the goal as opposed to a team of great shooters but don't know how to do anything else.


How many of those team have you witnessed? I have not seen one.
A great big part of soccer is winning, again, enough with the beautiful game BS, this is not Europe.
It is great to see a few passes put together, but nothing like a shot in the top corner from outside the 18.
My Daughters team plays out of the back most of the time so I have seen both sides.
What position does your Daughter play?


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## timbuck (Mar 24, 2017)

ajaffe said:


> You have them set up in defensive shape, move into their basic offensive shape, and repeat movements based on where the ball is. Over and over again. Then you can get more in depth in regards to which phase of the buildup you are working on, which sets of runs need to be made and to exactly what spots, and when to make those specific movements.
> 
> When they grasp the recognition of where to go based on where possession is won, where to go in the early phases of buildup when the back 4 are in possession, and when to get to those spots, then you can move on. Until then, lots and lots of repetition at increasing intensity.
> 
> Building out of the back is like a dance, you have to choreograph it so the players know exactly what spots to get to based on the moments on the field.


Yeah, but if your players can't collect a ball, make an accurate pass on the ground, or beat a player 1v1 -  then you're not ready for choreographed patterns to be the core of your training.


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## Bananacorner (Mar 24, 2017)

timbuck said:


> Yeah, but if your players can't collect a ball, make an accurate pass on the ground, or beat a player 1v1 -  then you're not ready for choreographed patterns to be the core of your training.


 Couldn't agree more. The reality is not all teams can play this way -- they just don't have the technical skill to make it happen.  Clubs that play "pure" start at U9 focusing on this style, and the ones that refuse to compromise lose A LOT of games at U9, U10, U11 and even U12 U13.  It is only when they mature and get to 11 v 11 that you start to see the rewards of the hard work.


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## apmullaly (Mar 24, 2017)

Far more than beating a player 1v1, playing out of the back is about positioning, passing, receiving and movement.  All players can learn this.  Only here in the US is there a theory that you don't teach tactics until players are in their teens. 4v0, 4v1 and 5v2 rondos teach body position, angles, weight of pass, etc.  All things that build on first touch, quality of pass and movement.

Rondos can be expanded or compressed to teach the skills desired.  Basic patterns of playing from the back implement those rondos in different areas of the field.  Let them play does not translate to possessing the ball.  The goal of possession is to move the opponent so that your team can exploit a 1v1 or 2v1 overload. Players should learn to recognize the opportunity to make educated movements that drag the opponent where you want them so that a quick switch, wall pass, overlap, what have you opens an opportunity.

A team should have an identity. The coach should know how they want their team to play and then train the team accordingly.  On my team I want the players to have the confidence and "tranquilo" to hold the ball, to play quick intelligent passes and then to ruthlessly open up the other team.  If that means a series of passes through diamonds, or a long direct pass to a running forward (not aimlessly booting the ball and hoping we outrun the defense, it is the awareness of options that makes a quality soccer player. We worked on patterns out of the back and in the attack, not to create robots, but to provide a basic tactical framework to improvise from. Pattern recognition allows players to know how to react in certain moments, eliminating the processing time to make large scale decisions (macro) so they can apply microscale decisions at the immediate moment.


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## LASTMAN14 (Mar 24, 2017)

apmullaly said:


> Far more than beating a player 1v1, playing out of the back is about positioning, passing, receiving and movement.  All players can learn this.  Only here in the US is there a theory that you don't teach tactics until players are in their teens. 4v0, 4v1 and 5v2 rondos teach body position, angles, weight of pass, etc.  All things that build on first touch, quality of pass and movement.
> 
> Rondos can be expanded or compressed to teach the skills desired.  Basic patterns of playing from the back implement those rondos in different areas of the field.  Let them play does not translate to possessing the ball.  The goal of possession is to move the opponent so that your team can exploit a 1v1 or 2v1 overload. Players should learn to recognize the opportunity to make educated movements that drag the opponent where you want them so that a quick switch, wall pass, overlap, what have you opens an opportunity.
> 
> A team should have an identity. The coach should know how they want their team to play and then train the team accordingly.  On my team I want the players to have the confidence and "tranquilo" to hold the ball, to play quick intelligent passes and then to ruthlessly open up the other team.  If that means a series of passes through diamonds, or a long direct pass to a running forward (not aimlessly booting the ball and hoping we outrun the defense, it is the awareness of options that makes a quality soccer player. We worked on patterns out of the back and in the attack, not to create robots, but to provide a basic tactical framework to improvise from. Pattern recognition allows players to know how to react in certain moments, eliminating the processing time to make large scale decisions (macro) so they can apply microscale decisions at the immediate moment.


Sounds like Barcelona via TFA.


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## timbuck (Mar 24, 2017)

apmullaly said:


> Far more than beating a player 1v1, playing out of the back is about positioning, passing, receiving and movement.  All players can learn this.  Only here in the US is there a theory that you don't teach tactics until players are in their teens. 4v0, 4v1 and 5v2 rondos teach body position, angles, weight of pass, etc.  All things that build on first touch, quality of pass and movement.
> 
> Rondos can be expanded or compressed to teach the skills desired.  Basic patterns of playing from the back implement those rondos in different areas of the field.  Let them play does not translate to possessing the ball.  The goal of possession is to move the opponent so that your team can exploit a 1v1 or 2v1 overload. Players should learn to recognize the opportunity to make educated movements that drag the opponent where you want them so that a quick switch, wall pass, overlap, what have you opens an opportunity.
> 
> A team should have an identity. The coach should know how they want their team to play and then train the team accordingly.  On my team I want the players to have the confidence and "tranquilo" to hold the ball, to play quick intelligent passes and then to ruthlessly open up the other team.  If that means a series of passes through diamonds, or a long direct pass to a running forward (not aimlessly booting the ball and hoping we outrun the defense, it is the awareness of options that makes a quality soccer player. We worked on patterns out of the back and in the attack, not to create robots, but to provide a basic tactical framework to improvise from. Pattern recognition allows players to know how to react in certain moments, eliminating the processing time to make large scale decisions (macro) so they can apply microscale decisions at the immediate moment.


Part of the reason we don't teach tactics until older ages in the US is because kids aren't learning ball skills at home as part of their soccer culture.  I bet 5 year olds in Spain/Brazil/etc learn stepovers before a coach ever gets a hold of them.


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## Sheriff Joe (Mar 24, 2017)

timbuck said:


> Part of the reason we don't teach tactics until older ages in the US is because kids aren't learning ball skills at home as part of their soccer culture.  I bet 5 year olds in Spain/Brazil/etc learn stepovers before a coach ever gets a hold of them.


I am sure you are correct, but the good out weighs the bad in my book.
Things are changing all the time.
I would bet most of the people coming to the US as young kids will lose much of their soccer culture as well, there are far more options here to distract their attention.


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## MWN (Mar 24, 2017)

SuperNatural said:


> I'm sorry but this is encouraged in Arsenal FC, and may I add one of the most if not expensive clubs out there.
> 
> It's hard to to come by good coaching and seriousness about the sport.


@SuperNatural, as the father of an Arsenal Boys 2003 GK who is playing up on a 2002 team and has practiced with the DA team, I can emphatically state that I have not witnessed this, rather the opposite.  I have seen my boys coaches chastise the kid when he punts a 50/50 ball or does a GK that is not targeted at a specific open player.  Now, there are many coaches with every single club, some good, some bad and some great.  I'm sure that your experience is different, but Arsenal at the highest levels emphasize playing out of the back.  If a select few coaches don't follow the program, then bad on those coaches.


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## mahrez (Mar 24, 2017)

Lots of practice on passing, receiving, movement on/off the ball, positioning, pocession drills.

Have to be committed to using all those things done in practice during the games no matter the situations.  Evey one needs to buy in, all player's.

Takes time practicing just not 15 mins once or twice a week. Long term commitmint


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## rainbow_unicorn (Mar 24, 2017)

mahrez said:


> Evey one needs to buy in, all player's.


Totally agree with this.  All it takes is that one player that does not know how to pass (or is selfish) to consistently break down a team's buildup and rhythm.  



Sheriff Joe said:


> How many of those team have you witnessed? I have not seen one.
> A great big part of soccer is winning, again, enough with the beautiful game BS, this is not Europe.
> It is great to see a few passes put together, but nothing like a shot in the top corner from outside the 18.


I can tell that a person has not really played the game themselves when they don't understand the concept of 99% of play being everything else other than shooting.  What's more beautiful than an upper 90 shot?  Seeing a team string together 5 passes in a row leading up to a tap-in goal.  A fluid/dynamic team working together...that's the core of beautiful soccer.


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## Sheriff Joe (Mar 24, 2017)

rainbow_unicorn said:


> Totally agree with this.  All it takes is that one player that does not know how to pass (or is selfish) to consistently break down a team's buildup and rhythm.
> 
> 
> I can tell that a person has not really played the game themselves when they don't understand the concept of 99% of play being everything else other than shooting.  What's more beautiful than an upper 90 shot?  Seeing a team string together 5 passes in a row leading up to a tap-in goal.  A fluid/dynamic team working together...that's the core of beautiful soccer.


I have played soccer myself and I am not totally disagreeing with you, but when they show the best goals of the year what do you see? Exactly. Not arguing, just sayin.


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## Sheriff Joe (Mar 24, 2017)

rainbow_unicorn said:


> Totally agree with this.  All it takes is that one player that does not know how to pass (or is selfish) to consistently break down a team's buildup and rhythm.
> 
> 
> I can tell that a person has not really played the game themselves when they don't understand the concept of 99% of play being everything else other than shooting.  What's more beautiful than an upper 90 shot?  Seeing a team string together 5 passes in a row leading up to a tap-in goal.  A fluid/dynamic team working together...that's the core of beautiful soccer.


Let me know how many beautiful passes lead to beautiful tap in goals in this clip of the top 10 goals of the Premier League 2016.
_



_


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## rainbow_unicorn (Mar 24, 2017)

Again, short sighted to focus on the spectacular goals from across the top pro league's season (that are a byproduct of 99% of the work before it).  If we're going to post YouTube videos that focus on building from the back then this is more appropriate:


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## apmullaly (Mar 24, 2017)

timbuck said:


> Part of the reason we don't teach tactics until older ages in the US is because kids aren't learning ball skills at home as part of their soccer culture.  I bet 5 year olds in Spain/Brazil/etc learn stepovers before a coach ever gets a hold of them.


Tom Byer (TomSan) has written books about training touch on the ball from the earliest ages.  Learning to control the ball with the sole of your foot is one of the most important skills the youngest players can learn.  Many of the problems we have here in the US all come down to culture.  How the game is taught in the homes has a huge impact on player skills.


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## apmullaly (Mar 24, 2017)

rainbow_unicorn said:


> Again, short sighted to focus on the spectacular goals from across the top pro league's season (that are a byproduct of 99% of the work before it).  If we're going to post YouTube videos that focus on building from the back then this is more appropriate:


Far more important that the large circle rondo (usually just used as a warm up) are the practical rondos.  Here's a good introductory article.  http://thesefootballtimes.co/2014/09/01/the-allure-of-the-rondo/


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## Sheriff Joe (Mar 24, 2017)

rainbow_unicorn said:


> Again, short sighted to focus on the spectacular goals from across the top pro league's season (that are a byproduct of 99% of the work before it).  If we're going to post YouTube videos that focus on building from the back then this is more appropriate:


What position does your Daughter play?


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## rainbow_unicorn (Mar 24, 2017)

Sheriff Joe said:


> What position does your Daughter play?


Midfield


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## Sheriff Joe (Mar 24, 2017)

rainbow_unicorn said:


> Midfield


That might have something to do with our positions on the matter, I have a striker.


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## jdiaz (Mar 24, 2017)

WillJohn said:


> My son's team has had a few scrimmages and they have had a hard time passing the ball out of the backfield.  The coach does offer some pointers here and there during practice but I would think that they would focus on it more given how often we have to do it and our lack of success with it.  As a good parent (and still learning the game myself), I don't say anything but was wondering what are other teams doing to practice building out of the back specifically?  I've seen a little of the 3four3 stuff and it looks good but just seeing if there is any other advice/viewpoints out there.


You must have a keeper that can play with his feet. Or it won't work.


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## apmullaly (Mar 24, 2017)

Sheriff Joe said:


> What position does your Daughter play?


Currently she plays the 10.  My boys both played Center-back and right-back.  I'm not currently coaching but used to coach flight 1/2 boys. My teams spent at least part of every practice doing some variety of rondo progressions and a lot of work playing out of the back with CBs split and the 6 or 8 (or sometimes a dual 6) dropping into the middle.  POTB is all about movement off the ball, losing your man and making good decisions.


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## apmullaly (Mar 24, 2017)

jdiaz said:


> You must have a keeper that can play with his feet. Or it won't work.


Our last keeper originally wasn't very good with his feet.  He wanted to boot the ball to nowhere.  After a ton of work, he actually became very calm on the ball and pretty good at moving the ball around.


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## WillJohn (Mar 27, 2017)

Thanks all for the responses.  Some really good info/advice.  We're going to keep working on our first-touch, field awareness, positioning, and off-the-ball movements.


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## timbuck (Mar 27, 2017)

Anyone ever move from a team that tries to play out of the back to a team that plays direct?
Heard about a few this weekend with players moving to new teams.


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