The strategic potential
Targeting both strengths and weaknesses in a player is key to their development. Our 1-2-1 private coaching gives players
of all abilities the chance to improve their all round game. Each player is different and will have different expectations and
achievement goals. Listed below are some examples of the different aspects covered in our private coaching sessions.
- Developing both feet
- First touch
- Fitness level
- Shooting
- Passing
- One on one situations
- Mentality
- Agility/Balance/Coordination
We would always discuss with both parent and player to establish their requirements and expectations prior to the start of our 1-2-1 private coaching sessions.
The blind side
In football one of the most underrated and yet most important aspects is perception and how it affects decision making and the execution of actions in all phases of the game. However the importance of perception is inherent given that every action on the field is influenced by what the players perceive. The most important and most commonly used dimension of perception in football is vision. Whilst players at times use other senses, the ability to view things such as the ball, team-mates, opponents and their positions on the pitch is vital.
Humans have a field of vision ranging from about 180-200 degrees horizontally which is arrived at through a combination of the foveal and periphal visions. This means that at any given time there are between 160 and 180 degrees that a player is unable to view. With the range of degrees that a player cannot see being almost equal to the range that they can, the part of the field a player cannot see is also a key facet of the game. This area that a player cannot see is what is known as the “blind side”. How teams manipulate its qualities to their advantage is a key aspect of the game that impacts several phases in different ways.
Blind side positioning
One key characteristic of effective offensive play is knowing what an opposing defence focuses on to function effectively and making it as difficult as possible to focus on these things. This is why quick and effective ball circulation is more important against a zonal defence whilst quick and effective player movement is more important against a man-oriented one. This ability to make defensive reference points difficult to focus on, is the main strength of blind side positioning. As the name suggests blind side positioning is simply where one positions themselves on the blind side of an opponent.
Regardless of their defensive system, the players in a defending team need to be able to see the ball. The position of the ball including its proximity and the speed it is travelling at gives various cues for defenders in terms of their positioning, the timing of their actions and the level of danger an attack poses. Direct view of opponents is also important for defenders giving many similar cues to the ball. Although this is more system dependent given that it will be more important for a man-oriented defence than a zonal one, it is still important for all defenders.
Football Facts
Fact #1
On December 8 1863, Association Football and Rugby Football finally split onto two different organizations. Later in the year, the first ever soccer match was played on Barnes common at Mortlake, London on 19th December 1863 between Barnes Football Club and Richmond Football Club. The game ended in a 0-0 draw. The 1954 World Cup was the first to be televised
Brazil’s first ever official match was against Exeter City in 1914.
fact #2
Clive Allen ended the 1979/80 season at QPR and began the following campaign at Palace, after Arsenal had made him the costliest teenager in football during the summer.
Having scored 28 goals for QPR in the Second Division, Arsenal paid £1.25m for Allen, but he played three pre-season friendlies before being moved on to Selhurst Park. He later joined Tottenham in 1984 and enjoyed huge success including scoring 49 goals in one season.
fact #3
Mark Hughes once played for Wales and Bayern Munich in the same day
Hughes had just signed for Bayern and was due to play for Wales against Czechoslovakia in Prague in a Euro ’88 qualifier. “I had dinner with Uli Hoeness who asked me what time the Wales match was,” he said. “I told him it was around midday and he said: ‘That’s OK then, you can play in the evening as well.’” Hoeness watched the game and then flew him to the Bayern game on the other side of the Czech border where Borussia Monchengladbach were the opponents. “We actually flew over the ground and missed the first half, but I got there at the start of the second half.” Bayern won.
fact #4
India once qualified for the 1950 World Cup but refused to play because FIFA wouldn’t let them play barefoot.
Alvin Martin once scored a hat-trick against three different goalkeepers
The defender achieved the feat playing for West Ham against Newcastle in 1986. His first goal came against Martin Thomas, who was an actual keeper, but was forced off with injury. Martin then scored against defender Chris Hedworth, who also injured himself meaning Peter Beardsley was next. The Hammers won 8-1.
fact #5
AC Milan was actually founded as a cricket team
There has been at least one Bayern player on the pitch in every World Cup final since 1982.
fact #6
Diego Maradona once played for Tottenham Hotspur.
The semi final of the 1968 Euros, between Italy and the Soviet Union, was decided by a coin toss because penalties weren’t used in the competition back then.
fact #7
Former Tottenham Hotspur captain Ledley King holds the record for the quickest Premier League goal. He scored 10 seconds after kick-off in a match against Bradford in the 2000/01 season
fact #8
England came up with the word soccer. It’s a shortened version of “Association Football” which got changed to “Assoc Football” which then got changed to “Soccer”. In 19th century England, it was popular to add the “-er” sound to shortened words.
fact #9
There are only two football teams in the Isles of Scilly – The Gunners and the Wanderers. They play each other every week in the league, the only break being when they meet in the Cup. Talk about boring!
fact #10
Birmingham City were the first English club to play in Europe (1955–58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup on 15 May 1956). And the first to reach a European final (the 1960 Fairs Cup final).