
I am going to be bold and say this was my best session on a Friday night at Inside Football. I am incredibly proud of the boys in the way that they carry themselves, respect they show, good attitude and effort they apply in training.
Tonight was a night for reaping the rewards for their efforts and there are flashes of my training days at Bristol City emerging in these training sessions I am pleased to say.
That being said, of course this is just the beginning and there is a great deal of potential for further improvement on all parts of the boys' game. Certain individuals are, however, beginning to shine. I think now it's time for those individuals to continue to shine and try to show us, the coaches, what they can do. They must try to push and challenge themselves.
I came in to this session with the motto in my mind; "Do your best, try your best, be your best." So my aim was to push these boys that little bit further by encouraging them to be sharper off the ball/on the ball, quicker in their decision-making and sharper in the pass. After the one or two drills I got them to do (triangles in pairs, please enquire for details) and eventually leading in to the 4 v 2 skill drill. Playing out from the back, making four passes around the defenders, before dribbling in to the end zone.
The players were asked to think about where they were going to pass before receiving the ball as well as where and how they received the ball. Make runs to create space! Make runs to make your self an available option for the man on the ball.
Can we make on touch passes? One group when I asked them do this, kept the ball (mainly one touch) for 1 whole minute!! When Joe finished the fantastic team play of keep ball he did a little flick through his legs to a team-mate - I had to clap and cheer in genuine admiration. That move alone made me immensely proud if my team :)