Best way to teach possession ball?

[Unregistered]

Agree with you on that regarding BSC. Just because your own a winning team does not mean you have a winning coach at U11 or U12 teaching possession soccer.

Bull. Get over the tired assertion that teaching "possession" soccer does not equate to winning. That is a myth. And the term possession soccer is a bad term. You either teach soccer to play the way that optimizes performance or you don't. See post 86.

[Unregistered]

Bull. Get over the tired assertion that teaching "possession" soccer does not equate to winning. That is a myth. And the term possession soccer is a bad term. You either teach soccer to play the way that optimizes performance or you don't. See post 86.

At young ages, especially, when up a get a phyical direct team, it's very hard to stick with the plan of playing possession ball. Possession ball takes more risk to play at young ages cause your moving ball back into negative space. Many of the winning teams don't do this on game day. Thats why younger teams who constantly focus on possession ball may get beat more often.

Possession ball takes dicipline to learn from players and coaches.

[Unregistered]

Question

At young ages, especially, when up a get a phyical direct team, it's very hard to stick with the plan of playing possession ball. Possession ball takes more risk to play at young ages cause your moving ball back into negative space. Many of the winning teams don't do this on game day. Thats why younger teams who constantly focus on possession ball may get beat more often.

Possession ball takes dicipline to learn from players and coaches.

What is negative space, for the layman?

[Unregistered]

At young ages, especially, when up a get a phyical direct team, it's very hard to stick with the plan of playing possession ball. Possession ball takes more risk to play at young ages cause your moving ball back into negative space. Many of the winning teams don't do this on game day. Thats why younger teams who constantly focus on possession ball may get beat more often.

Possession ball takes dicipline to learn from players and coaches.

The discipline is knowing when to take risk and when to play safe and pass it backwards.

Not sure what you mean by that possession balls takes more risk to play at a young age because you are moving the ball back into negative space. Possession ball you are passing to an open person. By definition you are taking less risk. Simply passing the ball backwards does not require that much skills and eventually you need to move the ball forward.

The issue is at the younger ages the kids have difficulties with field vision and moving without the ball. This makes it a challenge to move the ball forward.

Regardless of style of soccer, the object of the game is to score more goals then the other team. To do this you need to move the ball forward.

[Unregistered]

The discipline is knowing when to take risk and when to play safe and pass it backwards.

Not sure what you mean by that possession balls takes more risk to play at a young age because you are moving the ball back into negative space. Possession ball you are passing to an open person. By definition you are taking less risk. Simply passing the ball backwards does not require that much skills and eventually you need to move the ball forward.

The issue is at the younger ages the kids have difficulties with field vision and moving without the ball. This makes it a challenge to move the ball forward.

Regardless of style of soccer, the object of the game is to score more goals then the other team. To do this you need to move the ball forward.

The problem with such a focus on possession is it takes away from skill development. At early ages the kids need to focus on basic skills like first touch, well weighted passes, and 1v1's. Without being proficient in theses skills you kid will struggle with the possession style and be replaced by someone who has these skills at the older ages. Have seen it with 3 kids over the years. Without the basic skills they will not be able properly work in a possession system.

[Unregistered]

9/10

The problem with such a focus on possession is it takes away from skill development. At early ages the kids need to focus on basic skills like first touch, well weighted passes, and 1v1's. Without being proficient in theses skills you kid will struggle with the possession style and be replaced by someone who has these skills at the older ages. Have seen it with 3 kids over the years. Without the basic skills they will not be able properly work in a possession system.

Remember, possession is only nine tenths of the Soccer laws!

[Unregistered]

The discipline is knowing when to take risk and when to play safe and pass it backwards.

Not sure what you mean by that possession balls takes more risk to play at a young age because you are moving the ball back into negative space. Possession ball you are passing to an open person. By definition you are taking less risk. Simply passing the ball backwards does not require that much skills and eventually you need to move the ball forward.

The issue is at the younger ages the kids have difficulties with field vision and moving without the ball. This makes it a challenge to move the ball forward.

Regardless of style of soccer, the object of the game is to score more goals then the other team. To do this you need to move the ball forward.

Not sure if you meant to or if I read it wrong, but I read that you are implying that possession is simply easier than the alternative - boot ball. In my opinion it is completely the opposite, and I'll give just one example when. It is much easier for a defender to lump it when they are pressured than to keep possession and find an open player who might be another defender or even the GK. It also takes much more confidence to hold the ball until your teammates create the space you are talking about and then to deliver the ball when and where they need it.

About your "object" comment, I agree to an extent. The goal is to win but they need to be taught how to win with skill not with a heavy foot and a fast forward. 99% of the better players in the world grew up learning to play possession soccer which forced them to develop both technically and tactically which is where the majority of Oregon teams fail their customers, the players. Put it this way, if a defender only plays the ball long and bypasses the midfield (like so many teams do), how is this developing him/her for the future and how is this developing the midfielders of this team? In addition, it is only developing the large/fast forward to run onto a ball and shoot on goal which is only hurting their development as well.

I know many teams whose midfielders are just used to either defend the other team or to try and score off of missed chances from their forwards. The skill development is already lacking and will continue to erode the advantages of their once more aggressive players.

Finally, developing teams shouldn't be happy without results either, especially at U12 and above. At this point the physical attributes are starting to even out and the skill of the developed players should prevail. Starting at U12 the possession style teams should start to achieve more results over time. If not, some of the development on the mental side will be diminished. They need to learn how to win which will also differentiate players over time.

Just my two cents, hope its worth more than that...

[Unregistered]

Not sure if you meant to or if I read it wrong, but I read that you are implying that possession is simply easier than the alternative - boot ball. In my opinion it is completely the opposite, and I'll give just one example when. It is much easier for a defender to lump it when they are pressured than to keep possession and find an open player who might be another defender or even the GK. It also takes much more confidence to hold the ball until your teammates create the space you are talking about and then to deliver the ball when and where they need it.

About your "object" comment, I agree to an extent. The goal is to win but they need to be taught how to win with skill not with a heavy foot and a fast forward. 99% of the better players in the world grew up learning to play possession soccer which forced them to develop both technically and tactically which is where the majority of Oregon teams fail their customers, the players. Put it this way, if a defender only plays the ball long and bypasses the midfield (like so many teams do), how is this developing him/her for the future and how is this developing the midfielders of this team? In addition, it is only developing the large/fast forward to run onto a ball and shoot on goal which is only hurting their development as well.

I know many teams whose midfielders are just used to either defend the other team or to try and score off of missed chances from their forwards. The skill development is already lacking and will continue to erode the advantages of their once more aggressive players.

Finally, developing teams shouldn't be happy without results either, especially at U12 and above. At this point the physical attributes are starting to even out and the skill of the developed players should prevail. Starting at U12 the possession style teams should start to achieve more results over time. If not, some of the development on the mental side will be diminished. They need to learn how to win which will also differentiate players over time.

Just my two cents, hope its worth more than that...

Your two cents is not even worth two cents when you make a comment like 99% of the better players in the world grew up playing possession soccer. Most of the better players grew up playing a version of street soccer or small sided game where they worked on their skills by taking people on. A game where they can test their skills. They did not grow up playing possession soccer or boot ball.

Similar to kids playing smalled sided games of basketball... they are not focused on playing keep away, but to score.

Possession players are not any smarter than direct players. I have seen plenty of games where one of the offensive players have the ball in open space in front and you have a defender yelling for the player to drop the ball. Sure that is a safe pass, but what is the point?

I am not a fan of boot ball, but I don't get it when these soccer snobs like to brag that their kid's team play possession soccer. Soccer like any other sport is a possession game. Your first priority is to get in scoring position, if it isn't there then you do what you can to prevent the other team from getting the ball.

There are plenty of teams that play a more direct style of play and win at the older age groups, college, and professional level.

[Unregistered]

Your two cents is not even worth two cents when you make a comment like 99% of the better players in the world grew up playing possession soccer. Most of the better players grew up playing a version of street soccer or small sided game where they worked on their skills by taking people on. A game where they can test their skills. They did not grow up playing possession soccer or boot ball.

Similar to kids playing smalled sided games of basketball... they are not focused on playing keep away, but to score.

Possession players are not any smarter than direct players. I have seen plenty of games where one of the offensive players have the ball in open space in front and you have a defender yelling for the player to drop the ball. Sure that is a safe pass, but what is the point?

I am not a fan of boot ball, but I don't get it when these soccer snobs like to brag that their kid's team play possession soccer. Soccer like any other sport is a possession game. Your first priority is to get in scoring position, if it isn't there then you do what you can to prevent the other team from getting the ball.

There are plenty of teams that play a more direct style of play and win at the older age groups, college, and professional level.

Possession players are 100% smarter. True possession players are actually thinking and making decisions in the game. Direct players have 1 answer to all questions. Very little thought, if any.

You lose all credibility when you refer to College and MLS. They are NOT the gold standard of soccer. It doesn't matter what they do to be successful as it has not proven to translate into global success. It doesn't matter that your club soccer team wins State Cup playing direct soccer, because they will never be national talent, let alone WORLD CLASS players.

If you look at the BEST teams throughout history, a majority of them have been POSSESSION based teams. The best players have come from countries that value POSSESSION of the ball.

Talk to any player that has a left a direct-style team and joined a possession team. They will say things like:

I feel like I am learning the game for the first time.
I have never been asked to think about the game in this way.
I never knew there was this much to know about soccer.
It is so much more enjoyable to play this way. I can't wait until High School season is over so I can get back to playing club.
I feel so much more comfortable on the ball.

It's not about being a snob. It's about becoming more sophisticated. It's time to start seeing the game at a deeper level.

[Unregistered]

Possession players are 100% smarter. True possession players are actually thinking and making decisions in the game. Direct players have 1 answer to all questions. Very little thought, if any.

You lose all credibility when you refer to College and MLS. They are NOT the gold standard of soccer. It doesn't matter what they do to be successful as it has not proven to translate into global success. It doesn't matter that your club soccer team wins State Cup playing direct soccer, because they will never be national talent, let alone WORLD CLASS players.

If you look at the BEST teams throughout history, a majority of them have been POSSESSION based teams. The best players have come from countries that value POSSESSION of the ball.

Talk to any player that has a left a direct-style team and joined a possession team. They will say things like:

I feel like I am learning the game for the first time.
I have never been asked to think about the game in this way.
I never knew there was this much to know about soccer.
It is so much more enjoyable to play this way. I can't wait until High School season is over so I can get back to playing club.
I feel so much more comfortable on the ball.

It's not about being a snob. It's about becoming more sophisticated. It's time to start seeing the game at a deeper level.

Seeing the game at a deeper level? Possession Players are 100% smarter?

c'mon now. A team develops and evolves to a point where playing a possession style becomes part of their repertoire. There is no such thing as a "possession player" You can only play possession as a team, and there are times it fits and times it doesn't fit.

It all comes down to one of the old basics of strategy, Controlling the initiative is an idea that goes way back to the oldest thoughts on strategy. In it's most basic terms that is what a possession game is about. Go direct if you can...if you can't hold on to the ball, move it around until you find a crack. Always look for an opening, if it closes re-start and move some more. This requires a high level of skill, and a team has to function well together and have a high level of trust in each other, but it isn't rocket science. The best way to describe it is "Simple, but not easy"

Any one who has ever walked a course of mastery will realize the learning curve usually starts with basics, things become more complicated, the challenges become steeper, and then as you ease over the top everything seems to become simpler. This is when the world seems to move in slow motion and the ball seems larger, and all the passing paths open up. The field vision a player experiences at this level is what makes a possession game so beautiful to watch and experience.

Most of the players I have seen reach this point also develop a humble attitude towards other players because they know how difficult it is to get there, and they appreciate all the challenges. They know they can do it, so they don't have to prove it by being in people's faces etc...

[Unregistered]

Defense is 100% possession and offense is 80% possession.

The reason that people who understand soccer value possession is that the other team can not score if your team controls the ball period end of story. When a fan of direct soccer says that the goal is to move the ball forward they are ignoring the presence of the other team on the pitch. The longer the pass the more likely the ball is going to change control therefore the more opportunities the other team is going to have to score.

If you talk to the top coaches at any level they will tell you the game is first about defense and second about scoring. If your team possess the ball for 70% of the game the odds are that the other team is going to have limited SOG's and that your team is going to have more SOG's. Which is why nearly all teams at the higher levels attempt to play some degree of possession soccer.

Possession soccer when executed properly (See Barcelona) is comprised of shorter easier to make passes which reduce the likelihood of a turnover. This allows the possessing team to move the ball around probing for openings and taking advantage of superior passing skills to exploit the openings in the defense and create shots via close sided runs (See Messi) and multiple pass reverses of field (See Iniesta & Xavi). What this does is limit the wasted long runs onto long passes (See Rooney) which are exciting to watch but are progressively less successful as the payers age to the point where in the professional leagues they account for less than 20% of the goals. (I'll get the stats on that in a later post).

The reason I say that possession is only 80% of offense is that a teams defense creates scores with take-a-ways unrelated to possession.

The easiest way to think about direct vs. possession is that direct soccer is constantly throwing the long pass or trying to hit multiple base hits while possession soccer is more like getting runners on base and moving them around the diamond one base at a time with out getting any outs or throwing short passes or running the ball.

One thing needs to be mentioned in this discussion however and that is personnel. If you have a team of race horses direct soccer will be more fruitful than if you have a team of smaller quick players so the success at the higher levels is dependent on who is on the pitch BUT that is not the question of the thread.

[Unregistered]

Possession players are 100% smarter. True possession players are actually thinking and making decisions in the game. Direct players have 1 answer to all questions. Very little thought, if any.

You lose all credibility when you refer to College and MLS. They are NOT the gold standard of soccer. It doesn't matter what they do to be successful as it has not proven to translate into global success. It doesn't matter that your club soccer team wins State Cup playing direct soccer, because they will never be national talent, let alone WORLD CLASS players.

If you look at the BEST teams throughout history, a majority of them have been POSSESSION based teams. The best players have come from countries that value POSSESSION of the ball.

Talk to any player that has a left a direct-style team and joined a possession team. They will say things like:

I feel like I am learning the game for the first time.
I have never been asked to think about the game in this way.
I never knew there was this much to know about soccer.
It is so much more enjoyable to play this way. I can't wait until High School season is over so I can get back to playing club.
I feel so much more comfortable on the ball.

It's not about being a snob. It's about becoming more sophisticated. It's time to start seeing the game at a deeper level.

Wow... first you say that kids start catching up at U12 and the possession teams win. Now you are telling me that I am losing credibility because I said that some College teams and MLS teams win with a direct style. First of all, I said professional teams which includes European and South American teams. With that said both College and MLS is a higher standard then most of the kids in Oregon will ever play against.

[Unregistered]

Direct Style always wins!!

These teams kick it DIRECTLY into the goal avoiding the GK and get credit for a goal.

Teams that Directly stop the other team from kicking into their goal get shutouts.

Teams that do both of these things well end up possessing championships.

[Unregistered]

These teams kick it DIRECTLY into the goal avoiding the GK and get credit for a goal.

Teams that Directly stop the other team from kicking into their goal get shutouts.

Teams that do both of these things well end up possessing championships.

Ok, please tell me this was suppose to be funny. I pray if you really feel this way that you are not coaching any youth.

Direct players will win championships.... At recreational and select levels.

[Unregistered]

Possession players are 100% smarter. True possession players are actually thinking and making decisions in the game. Direct players have 1 answer to all questions. Very little thought, if any.

You lose all credibility when you refer to College and MLS. They are NOT the gold standard of soccer. It doesn't matter what they do to be successful as it has not proven to translate into global success. It doesn't matter that your club soccer team wins State Cup playing direct soccer, because they will never be national talent, let alone WORLD CLASS players.

If you look at the BEST teams throughout history, a majority of them have been POSSESSION based teams. The best players have come from countries that value POSSESSION of the ball.

Talk to any player that has a left a direct-style team and joined a possession team. They will say things like:

I feel like I am learning the game for the first time.
I have never been asked to think about the game in this way.
I never knew there was this much to know about soccer.
It is so much more enjoyable to play this way. I can't wait until High School season is over so I can get back to playing club.
I feel so much more comfortable on the ball.

It's not about being a snob. It's about becoming more sophisticated. It's time to start seeing the game at a deeper level.

Great post, totally agree. Have a U18 who has said exactly the same stuff in your post.

It really is not about being a snob. It took us many years to find the right team. If it's your first kid hard to know what team is good/bad. Many coaches at the younger levels really don't know how to coach possession ball.

Best thing is go watch some of the premier U18 boys/girls games. They give you a good idea where you need to be. Then go find the coach (that is hard part).