Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Curricular and Methodological Proposal
For Youth Soccer Players
Leonardo Santin
Professional Soccer Coach CBF License B
leosantin@coachleonardosantin.com
Table of Contents
1. About Leo Santin
2. Presentation
A Systemic Vision applied to Football (Soccer)
3. Grassroots
From Under‐6 to Under‐10
4. Youth Player Development
5. Contents of Player’s Development Manual
From Under‐11 to Under‐20
6. Individual Technique
7. Proposal of Game Model
8. Player’s Characteristics/Position Profile
9. Fitness Sessions Applied to Football (Soccer)
10. Plan to Recruit and to Develop Goalkeepers
11. Tactical Platforms
12. Example of Tactical Platforms
Citations
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1. About Leo Santin
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About Leonardo Santin
Leonardo Santin was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He holds a Brazilian Professional Soccer Coach License.
At the age of 5, he began his soccer career at Collegium Campos Sales playing futsal. When he was 12 years
old, he began to play soccer in a small town called Franca, coincidentally at the same club as he began his
coaching career , A.A. Francana. After many years playing for clubs such as E.C Taubate, Moreira Sports,
among others, he decided to move to United States, to play soccer under
an athletic‐scholarship and obtain his bachelor’s on Sports Management.
He first played for Northwest College in Wyoming and in 2011 moved to
his Alma matter Union University. The third place in the NCCAA
championship and the scored goal in the regionals semi‐final were the
highlight of his moments playing overseas. As mentioned before, his
coaching career began shortly after his graduation, as a professional
assistant coach of a former A.S Rome goalkeeper, Julio Sergio.
Leo also worked as assistant coach for the Alabama A&M University, Botafogo‐SP, Comercial F.C,
Batatais F.C and A.A. Francana. In Barcelona, Spain, Coach Leo Santin spent a month as an intern of Barcelona‐
B along with Coach Jordi Vinyals, learning the philosophy that made F.C Barcelona's Youth Academy one of the
greatest of all time.
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2. Presentation
A Systemic Vision Applied to
Football (Soccer)
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Systemic Vision Applied to Football (Soccer)
The systemic thought is generated by the interaction, organization, overall and the functionality of the
system.
Interaction
Organization
Systemic Overall
Thought
Functionality
(Garganta, Grehaine,1999)
Bringing these thoughts to our reality, which is football, it is characterized by a great chance of
unpredictability and by an oppositional relation between complex systems, and therefore we conclude that
practicing each aspect of the game, in separated, will not be the best way to achieve success.
Times ago, when we used to think in practicing football, our thoughts were that the game was
divided in four different parts: the fitness, the technique, the tactic, the emotional aspect. Within these
thoughts, there was a straight thought that “everything is equal the sum of the parts”.
Nowadays, the TACTICAL ASPECT of the game is even more studied and applied to the game. The
player’s action and the behavioral patterns, which are the organizational identity of the team, are more
valorized. These actions will reveal the truth essence of the game, characterized by the interaction between
the elements acting in the system. (CASTELLO,1996).
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Assuming that Football is a TACTICAL game, characterized by the fight to control spaces, along the idea
that moving the pieces correctly is extreme important, we can assume that The tactical aspect of the game
never can be disassociated from the other aspects of the game.
Therefore, the Tactical Aspect of the game is considered the unifying dimension which will give sense
to the other dimensions.
The Game
Along all these ideas, arises a new methodological proposal and a new trend for the practices of team
sports, followed by the concept of “ A game should be like practice, and practice should be like a game”
(SCAGLIA,2010).
In order to this concept to become truth during the practice sessions, we as coaches, should work
always based in the especificity of the exercise, by practicing as we wanna play, with unpredictable
environments, where the problems should be solved at any moment by the players, creating an autonomy
among the players, and contributing to the formation of the smart players (BARROS, 2014).
Game Environment
The game is surrounded by many different aspects. It is ludic, because the players are free to choose.
It is serious, because always that we play, we play to win the game. It has specific rules, independently the
context, which can be wide and varied. Thus, the game consist in many different things, that are all linked, and
all the aspects that surrounds the game end up creating an environment, which should be characterized by the
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imbalance, by the challenge, by its representability among the society and the players, and lastly, by
the unpredictability.
Ludic
Serious Rules
The
Game
Context Everything*
Game Mode
After the creation of the game environment, we seek to put the state of mind of the players, in what
Mr. Alcides Scaglia defined as a “Game Mode”, which consists in the player’s mindset to be high concentrated
in the games (practices), allowing the player to seek the highest goal of the game, which is to win. Within this
context, due to the high level of concentration, the knowledge is absorbed easier by the player, as well as the
levels of intensity, which consequently, will be higher.
Seems easy to generate this environment and this state of mind, but many times, what we know and
call as “game” is not relevant to the players.
Preparing to the game through the game: Everything, the game and the practice.
***“Practice your game model, the structure, and the form, that is wanted”.
(BARROS, 2014)
***“The game reflects the practice, thus to the game become a real game, the practice cannot be
anything else but, GAME”
(OLIVEIRA, 1991)
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3. Grassroots
U8 to U10
Importance
The grassroots of a soccer club are the most important stages to develop a player. It is the start of the
process that will lead to the expected final stage. In this stage the young players will begin to develop the
loyalty to the club and it will carry as they become older. It is also in this stage that some limits must be
established, such as the relationship between the parents and coaching staff as well as the interference
between the parents during the game.
It is known that the parents have the habit of giving instructions to the players as well as trying to
make the young players believe that they are above a certain level. Therefore, the club must establish the
limits at the first practice, so it will interfere less in the development of the young players.
U6‐U7 Guidelines
No competitive games should be played. EX: Friendlies, tournaments, etc…
No refereeing
Each kid should have a ball
Ensure the drills are age appropriate
Coaches should give clear information
Start from simple to complex
Coach should make sure the training area is safe and appropriated
The demonstration is key to obtain success from the young players
Playing Guidelines
Sample Practice Format
1. Warm‐up 8 min
2. Drill 1 ( Shooting Exercise) 8 min
3. Drill 2 ( Dribbling Exercise. EX : Play tag with every kid dribbling the ball) 8 min
4. Drill 3 ( One on One dribbling) 8 min
5. Games 3v3 28 min
Allow water breaks between the drills.
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U8‐U9 Guidelines
This stage will require the players to play some tournaments and more competitive games. At this age
the coach should teach the young players:
Dribbling to all sides with both feet
Dribble out of pressure
1v1 Dribbling
Shielding and protecting the ball
Receiving and controlling the ball
Proper shooting technique
Proper Passing technique
The players should be able to do a lot of repetition with the coach correcting and demonstrating the
proper technique to perform the action. At this age, is also highly recommend to the coach to introduce in
almost every activity the possibility to the players to score goals. EX: Pass, receive and finish.
Playing Guidelines
No
Goalkeepers Start the
4v4‐40x30 Throw‐ins
Ball Size 3 in U8/ concep of
Yards allowed
Goalkeepers positions
in U9
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Sample Practice Format
1. Warm‐up 8 min
2. Drill 1 (Passing and Receiving Exercise) 8 min
3. Drill 2 (Dribbling Exercise. 1v1 to goals) 8 min
4. Drill 3 ( 2v1 to goal ) 8 min
5. Games 4v4 28 min
Brazilian School of Football/Soccer
With all these aspects laid out for the players, the coach needs to follow a north to develop the
practices for the young kids. This north should be base in one of the different “schools of soccer” such as:
Italian
Brazilian
Dutch
Argentine
German
British
French
It is good to have the best from each of the above, however, we as a north in this program, will follow
the Brazilian School of Soccer.
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It will require the coach to be familiar with these aspects of the game:
Offensive
1v1 Dribble Unpredictable Creativity
Style of Play
To develop this kind of skill, the coach will need to create drills and activities to simulate the
environments that most fit the possibility to perform some actions. It is in the grassroots stage that the coach
will have the chance to implement this method and develop it, in a way that eh players will become more and
more comfortable to execute what is asked. Therefore, when they reach the competitive level, they will
present a style of play that will reflect the Brazilian School of Soccer.
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4. Youth Player
Development
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The logics of the Game
It is the guideline for the process of formatting a football player (soccer), and it is divided in the
following themes:
The logic of the formal game
Can be approached by games that are closer to the logic of the game:
‐ Score more goals than the opponent team, in the same amount of time as a serious game would
have;
‐ The presence of formal references
To apply the logic of the formal game
‐ Contextualize the concepts of the game along with the logic of the game, even in games that are
not specifics for the sport
Necessary skills of the game
All these skills are necessary for any team play, and the better its manifestation, better is the level of
the game. The skills are divided into:
The relation with the ball
‐ To be experienced in the fundamentals required in football;
‐ To be able to use the arm‐leg not dominant;
‐ Play offensively and defensively without the ball;
Fill in the spaces of the field
‐ Different field sizes;
‐ Fill in the spaces in offensive form;
‐ Fill in the spaces in defensive form;
‐ References (goal, ball, opponent, teammate, the region in the field);
Communication in the action (to be able to read the game)
‐ The act of taking a decision;
‐ Anticipating an act;
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‐ Offensive actions with all the players;
‐ Defensive actions with all the players;
References of the game of Football
To dominate all the game references, it is crucial, and contribute a lot to the orientation of new forms,
as well as fulfill the Logics of the Game. This content contains as the main themes:
Game Platforms
‐ It is fundamental to experience with all the players, all the game platforms wanted by the coach, or
the model that the club follows;
‐ To apply the game platforms in games with reduced number of players (Small‐sided games) ;
‐ To experience many different rules of action in the same platform;
‐ Learning variations from the basic platforms or from the club’s model of play;
References to operating
The references to the functional level (which make the game flows) have as a main reference the ball
possession, in order to orient the team to follow the logics of the game.
Offensive Organization: ‐ To maintain the ball possession;
‐ To progress towards the opponent’s target;
‐ To attack the opponent’s target
Defensive Transition: ‐ To recovery the ball;
‐ To avoid the opponent’s progression in the field;
‐ To protect our own target;
Transition Attack to Defend: ‐ To recovery the ball possession immediately after the lost;
‐ To come back to the line of reference;
Transition Defend to Attack: ‐ To maintain the ball possession;
‐ To take the ball away from the recovery zone in vertical and horizontal forms;
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Offensive
Organization
Transition Transition
Offense to Deffense to
Deffense Offense
Defensive
Organization
Spatial References
It is understood by the comprehension of the field in different regions, areas, lines, in order to organize
the offensive and defensive actions of the team.
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Attitudinal Reference
The opponent’s attitudes might demonstrate some signs that will orient the team to realize a team action
towards the fulfillment of the logic of the game. For example:
Attitudinal Reference Team’s Answer
The left back passed the ball, in the central zone of The team goes up in the field, together, to pressure
the field, to the defender. the opponent.
Tactical Strategies of the game
The strategy offers applications pre‐defined by the game model and the tactical component, due the
emergencies (problems) of the game, and are presented by the themes described below:
Offensive Strategies
To attack without references
To attack in zone with fixed structures (midfielder will always be a midfielder, wing will always be a
wing)
To attack with mobile structures (Must have a striker, but doesn’t matter who is)
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Defensive Strategies
Man to Man marking mode.
Man to Man marking mode inside the specific zone.
Zone marking.
Ball Replacement
To be aware in the goal kicks and free throws when it happens in the defensive side of the field.
To create situations to play through short passes and to keep the ball possession.
Set Pieces
Defensive and offensive corner kicks
Free kicks in the defensive side of the field.
Free kicks for the opponent team in the defensive side of the field.
To practice set pieces with small groups, medium groups and with everybody.
Structural Principals
It refers to the actions that will happen in the game in an emerging way, but that can be taught to the
players, the way to teach these actions can be divided in:
Structural
Principal of
ofensive
organization
Structural Structural
Principal of Principal of
ofensive defensive
transition transition
Structural
Principal of
defensive
organization
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Core Tactical Principles of the Offensive Phase
The principle of Width and Length:
The goal is to open gaps in the
opponent’s defense, to create space to
the team’s progression.
The Principle of Depth Mobility: To
always have players playing as deep as
possible in the field, trying to bring the
defenders with them.
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The principle of Penetration: The goal is
to attack behind the back of the
defenders, receiving the ball in a good
condition.
The principle of getting away from the
defenders: The goal is to make the
players to understand that is necessary
always to seek opportunities to be free
from the defenders, in order to create
opportunities to act.
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The Principle of Mobility: The players
must move constantly with or without
the ball seeking to create gaps in the
opponent’s defense.
The Principle of Offensive Coverage:
The goal is to help the teammate, by
giving to him/her more passing options.
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The Principle of One‐two’s: This principle has
the goal of make it harder to the defender to
follow up the players, and to disorganize the
defense line. It is through passes and quick
movements towards the opponent’s goal.
The Principle of Overlapping: This principle
seeks to hamper the defense through
progression and numerical superiority in the
sector where the ball is located.
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The principle of Offensive Unity: This
Principle seeks to concentrate the
players in the offensive side of the field,
involving the opponent with ball
possession. It also allows the team to
quickly press the ball after an eventual
lost.
Core Tactical Principles of Defensive Phase
The Principle of Defensive Unity: This
principle seeks to approximate the
players vertically and horizontally, in
order to avoid the ball penetration.
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The Principle of Coverage: This
Principle seeks to give support to a
teammate, while the opponent is
attacking.
The Principle of the Delay: This
Principle seeks to delay the
opponent’s attack, through forcing
the opponent to switch the ball side,
as well as through tactical fouls.
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The Principle of Balance
It is the Horizontal movement of the team, according
with the ball’s position. It has to be through teamwork
and organization.
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The Principle of Defensive unity in blocks:
It is the Vertical movement of the team,
according with the ball’s position. It must be
through teamwork and organization.
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High Defensive Block (High Pressure) lines 1 and 3.
Mid Defensive Block (Mid pressure) between lines 2
and 4.
Low Defensive Block ( Low Pressure) between lines 3
and 5.
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The Principle of forcing the ball: This
Principle seeks to force the opponent team to
play the ball to determined region of the field.
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Functions in the Game
Allows the player to experience, through the process of development many different rules of action as
well as functions in the game.
To play in one specific position
o Specific Rule of action, in the following functions: Goalkeeper, Fullback, Defender, Defensive
Midfielder, Midfielder, Wing and Striker.
o To vary the rules of action accordingly with the game model, and the strategies of the team.
o To experience games in small sizes, medium sizes and full field.
To perform another rules of action
o To gain experience playing in a different position
o To experience games in small sizes, medium sizes and full field, but only in a conceptual level
To play in more than one position
o The exceptions are the goalkeepers
o To dominate more than one function in the field
o To experience games in small sizes, medium sizes and full field, in conceptual levels and
specified levels.
The Relationship between Teammates
It consists of a relationship between the teammates involved in an activity, and the specific player
should be stimulated by different kind of games, as well as functions.
To Play in small groups ( Max. 3 players)
To Play in medium groups ( 4 to 7 players)
To Play in Big groups (more than 8 players)
To Participate in Competitions
It is crucial to the players to experience competition along the process of development. The older they
get, more important is the outcome.
The Staff needed for High Performance
Fitness Coach
o To know the muscle groups
o To now the body of the athletes
o To know how to perform a gym session
o To know how to perform preventive exercises
Nutritionist
Physiologist
Psychologist
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Medicine
Orthopedists
Physiotherapist
Performance Analyst/Scout
Didactic Support
Specific activities that will provide support to the field work. Also contribute in the process of teaching
the concepts to the players.
Speeches about the game model
Speeches about professional games
Speeches about the team’s own game
Speeches about the opponent’s game
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