An Interesting Comparison
I coached soccer at the high school level where many of the players play basketball too. During practice, while they were having their break, I used that time to transfer information by asking questions. One of my favorites, was asked to solve an apparent contradiction. A basket is a little bigger than the ball. A […]
4,000 ball touches in 1 hour
4,000 (four thousand!!) ball touches in 1 hour instead of just 100!!!! Many times, in the past few years, I’ve underlined that in a 90 minute game it is proven that a player touches the ball for no more than 2 minutes! It’s really hard to learn something in 2 minutes. But one thing could […]
The A, B, C’s of Soccer
How many times during a soccer game, even at high levels, do we see players that still have problems in handling the ball? It’s not something really evident but, if you have a minimum of soccer experience, you’ll see that they don’t do the right thing that that situation could have permitted. To make a […]
We received the game of soccer as an inheritance. It’s our duty to pass it on to the next generation
by Coach Gianni Mininni Playing soccer is fun. But I don’t agreed when we continue to put a lot of emphasis on having fun. Soccer is clearly a game and consequently is fun by itself, otherwise, it would not be a game! But it’s not only about having fun. Soccer is something that was able […]
Really Understanding What a Soccer/Football Field Is
by Coach Gianni Mininni The air around our planet, moves as a unit and, sooner or later, we all breath the same air. The same is true for water. After evaporation, rain, rivers, seas and oceans, in our lifetime we all drink the same water. I’d like to believe that the same happens with the […]
The problem of having players on the team, that have a very different level of soccer skills
by Coach Gianni Mininni I recently receive this email. It underlines a problem that is very common. Considering how the American youth teams are formed, without try outs but just putting together a group of friends, probably all the teams have this problem. I think that it could be useful for teams and parents in […]
To be successful, you don’t have to do extraordinary things. Just do ordinary things extraordinarily well
by Coach Gianni Mininni This is a quotation of John Rohn. I like it very much, because it condenses a concept that I’ve tried many times to transfer to my players at practice. I’ve almost given up trying to put in their minds the concept of keeping it simple and just executing, during the game, […]
Standing in Lines
by Coach Gianni Mininni This is a very sad aspect that, unfortunately, is often present in the practices of youth teams that I’ve had the chance to observe. Many coaches, have the players, boys or girls, and sometimes men or women, wait in line to do something, in particular for shooting (the rare times that […]
Can the pleasure of playing soccer and being passionate about it be taught?
by Coach Gianni Mininni Can the pleasure of playing soccer and being passionate about it be taught to kids and adults? Yes, of course! Like everything else. How? By making them see the right things, listen to the right things and by being an example to them! Kids are like sponges. In particular in their […]
