Notes from the last Coaches’ Meeting.

A meeting for coaches was held on Thursday the 4th of May. Fred de Jong was the guest speaker.

Fred is one of New Zealand’s great players. He played for the All Whites, an NSL Championship winning Marconi side and in the Dutch Premier League. He is Sky Sport’s Soccer Commentator and a member of the board of Football New Zealand (previously Soccer New Zealand). Fred currently coaches youth sides at Ellerslie and is in the Elite Player/Elite Coach education program with Football New Zealand.

Here are some notes made during Fred’s presentation.

Keep the players in the game

It’s important to focus on Fun. The best outcome a coach can have is to have all your team members stay in the game. That’s a better goal to have than winning the league.

- Develop the players
- Rotate positions
- Plan to win each game, but not at the expense of player development and fun.

What to coach

-    Don’t coach too much
-    Focus on three or four things each season eg.
o    Running with ball (dribbling fast)
o    Turns (maybe 3 or 4)
o    Passing (accurate passing)

Fred’s Philosophy

-    Possession is golden (don’t kick the ball away)
-    Equal playing time for all players
-    Everyone should be encourage to beat their man (if appropriate)
-    Passing and playing as team
-    Use lots of small sided games at practice.