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1. DOWNLOAD: Roles and Responsibilities in a 4-4-2 System of Play
   Randy Hanson
   There are many ways to help get our players "on the same page". One method I consistently use is a one-page, printable "Roles and Responsibilities" sheet ... . . . keep reading
   
   
2. Easily Plan and Document Your Training Sessions
   Randy Hanson
   As coaches, we all have our different styles when it comes to planning out our training sessions. Some like to write them out meticulously and bring the sheet laminated to practice. Others may plan on paper just to get things organized in the mind before training. Regardless, this training session planning sheet was designed to be effective for most coaching styles, plus a little more . . . keep reading
   
   
3. Wall to Wall - Exercise for Speed of Play, Passing and Support
   Randy Hanson
   A very simple exercise to set up and use. Progressively adding specific objectives makes for a great environment to improve your teams possession, speed of play, passing and support! . . . keep reading
   
   
4. Crossing & Finishing
   Randy Hanson
   A very traditional crossing and finishing set up with a few simple conditions to help emphasize crossing technique and timing of runs. There are many coaching points included. . . . keep reading
   
   
5. Player Evaluation Simplified
   Randy Hanson
   Having filled out many player evaluation forms over the years, I have found them to be very general and time-consuming. Since consistent, meaningful player feedback is important, I decided to create my own form to hopefully simplify and target the process . . . keep reading
   
   
6. MOTIVATION: Are You Using "Slideshow Movies"?
   Randy Hanson
   One way to connect with your players is a version of a highlight video I refer to as a "Slideshow Movie". It is relatively easy to make and can help you take advantage of one of the "social networks" your players are most likely already using.... . . . keep reading
   
   
7. QUOTE: "What I do today is important because ..."
   Randy Hanson
   Our days can get hectic, filled with lots of activities that keep us busy. Sometimes we just need a reminder to make sure those activities count and are moving us in the right direction ... . . . keep reading
   
   
8. Using Technical Cool-Downs
   Randy Hanson
   When coaching in the academy and camp environment, we would add skills competitions to the curriculum. When following cool-down protocols with my teams, I noticed that the jogging portion prior to stretching was getting a bit mundane. I recalled one of the skills competitions and wondered if I could combine a few ideas to make the cool-down more enjoyable and add some technical training as well. . . . keep reading
   
   
9. Thoughts On Team Leadership
   Randy Hanson
   For competitive teams, developing leaders can be very important and could even be said to be a necessity. A teams internal leadership will affect it's success potential and a coaches overall effectiveness. Also, if you are a coach who believes that there is more to sports coaching than wins and losses, developing leaders brings more significance. You have the opportunity to teach your athletes skills that can positively impact themselves and others for the rest of their lives. This article discusses three important areas for athletes to focus on to be an effective team leader. . . . keep reading
   
   
10. Euro 2008 - Part 2: Observations, Trends & Tactics
    Randy Hanson
    Teams in Euro 2008 used different variations of specific trends and tactics. Please see video to find out if you can utilize these trends or even adapt to your team ... . . . keep reading
    
    
11. Relationship Math - Who Are You Going To Choose To Be?
    Randy Hanson
    Any accomplishment of significance is rarely, if ever, done alone. In the case of a soccer team specifically (and many times also including the teams parent group) how people interact with each other is paramount to success. . . . keep reading
    
    
12. Are Your Players Performing to Their Potential?
    Randy Hanson
    One of my very favorite things to do is study a performance concept in any area and then put it through the soccer coaching and people development "filter". This not only gives me a new perspective on common issues, but also can provide a fresh way to go about solving a problem. So it goes with the "Theory of Constraints". The theory basically contends that . . . keep reading
    
    
13. Coaching Wisdom from Responsible Sports
    Randy Hanson
    This is the time of year where many coaches are in the midst of tryouts and others are in their "off-seasons".  For me, these times are perfect f . . . keep reading
    
    
14. EXERCISE: Target to Target
    Randy Hanson
    A great all-around exercise for possession, penetration and teaching the principles of play. Our players even choose to use it for the possession portion of our pre-game warm up ... . . . keep reading
    
    
15. 12 Possession Games
    Randy Hanson
    Coaches may not agree on everything, but one thing most tend to agree on is that you can never work too much on possession. Possession of the ball allows a team to score goals and also keeps the ball from the opponent, allowing a team to control the game. What follows are 12 of my favorite games to work on possession, arranged from simpler forms for younger players to more complex games for the more experienced. . . . keep reading
    
    
16. TALKING TACTICS: Applying Attacking Tactics in a 4v2 And 5v2 Exercise
    Randy Hanson
    4v2 is one of the most commonly used exercises on soccer fields across the world. In my experience it is used as a warm up, an exercise for passing technique and to also improve a teams possession. But are there more tactical applications? . . . keep reading
    
    
17. EXERCISE VIDEO: 3 Zone Game
    Randy Hanson
    Trouble dealing with direct teams? Need to get a bit better at long range passing and receiving yourself? This short video will help your team develop in these areas... . . . keep reading
    
    
18. 3 Types of Finishing, 2 Points of Emphasis, 1 Exercise
    Randy Hanson
    This "old favorite" exercise allows players to train 3 types of finishing - power, placement and heading - and can also cover two areas of emphasis within each type. 3-Tiered Shooting trains many areas of finishing all in one exercise and is great to use between the warm up and the first small-sided game. . . . keep reading
    
    
19. A Winning PreGame Warm Up
    Randy Hanson
    A member inquired about the length of warming up before a game, so I thought I might address the anatomy of a pregame warm up. For me, the pregame warm up serves two purposes . . . keep reading
    
    
20. 4-3-3: Tactics for 3 Forwards, Part I
    Randy Hanson
    For me, coordinating team play is a blend of a system of play that matches the players abilities, honoring soccer's principles of play and also includes player understanding of positional play. Three forward systems are no different. Three players up front will be much more effective if their abilities complement each other and if they have an understanding of their roles as they relate to each other and soccer's principles of play. This coordination of players positions does have some preference involved, so these are more suggestions from observation and experience than hard-and-fast rules. . . . keep reading
    
    

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