Game intelligence in team sports is hard to quantify, as top level players are noticed for their exceptional ability to read the game, anticipate the next play, and find solutions on the field. It is very difficult to isolate a single action, and then attribute it to game intelligence, but when we look at a player's overall ability, it can generally be categorized it into two parts. First, the ability to strategize and make intelligent situational decisions on the field, and second, the carrying out of those decisions with technical skill and speed. The foundation of game intelligence is found in part one; the decision-making and strategy component, but technical and physical skill, also play a part in decision-making. When I talk about game intelligence with soccer coaches, the majority of them do not want to hear about scientific studies, data and abstract theories. Coaches want logical and realistic training methods that work, which can be incorporated into their regular practices. This is why connecting the dots of game intelligence, with logical training methods is so important. For a number of reasons, I believe the most effective and direct way to develop game intelligence, is through game based trainings. These are the types of trainings where players are constantly playing, stoppages are limited, and coaches tend to speak to individual players, without stopping the game.

Are you looking to take your kids' soccer game (under 15 years) to the next level? Note: The author has coached teams to finals of national competitions - his teams have played at St George's Park, the home of English soccer, twice. He was invited to be a part of the expert panel when the Government re-wrote the curriculum for sport in school in 2010. He has coached across wide ages, but his main experience is ages 8-13, and within that 9-11. All of the drills are ones he has used; his teams were not selective, just normal school sides. All these drills can be adapted by a good coach for any age. Soccer is the most popular team sport in the world. It is perfect for kids to play. It is safe, simple and the skills required can be easily acquired. Becoming an expert player requires high levels of dedication, natural athleticism and innate skills. Any girl or boy can take to the sport and find enjoyment at their own level. It is for this reason that the game is escalating to such a rapid extent in the US. And it is why the need for coaches and players is growing continuously and rapidly. After all, who would not turn down the chance for their kids to keep physically fit, to allow their natural competitiveness to be channelled in an organized way, to be kept busy in a manner that is both productive and worthwhile? In addition to this, soccer develops dexterity, problem solving, collaboration, friendship, respect, self-discipline, team spirit and sportsmanship. All of which are life skills that are best acquired young. But there is so much to learn for youngsters who wish to become soccer players at a good club level. Shooting, defending, pressing, passing, controlling the ball, the laws of the game (even professionals struggle at times with the offside law as do, it sometimes seems, the referees themselves). And more important than all of these, children must learn about the spirit of soccer. Fair play and the sportsmanship mentioned above. This is especially so for today's youngsters facing all the pressures of growing up in a challenging world driven by the twin pressures of consumerism and social media. Here's What's Included In This Book: The 7 different kinds of skills that kids need to learn in soccer How Ball Control Skills escalate the level of your kids soccer game 6 Passing Drills that will improve team cohesion quickly Offensive Tips, Tricks and Drills that will make your team win 6 Drills that will make your kids get to defend in numbers and strength How to get kids to learn from the pros on TV 6 Drills that will make your kids get to defend in numbers and strength 5 Dribbling Tips and Drills that will make your kid stand out How the Mental Side of Soccer will improve your kids social and life skills What Parents must do during soccer practice and games Scroll up and Download Now

Packed with drills and tips for practice and game days The fun and easy way(r) to kick-start your soccer coaching skills Volunteering as a youth soccer coach can be a great experience, both for you and your squad. But what if you've never coached before? Don't worry! This friendly guide explains soccer rules, shows you how to approach coaching, and gives you practical pointers on improving your team's soccer skills and encouraging good sportsmanship. Discover how to Understand soccer rules Develop a coaching philosophy Teach soccer fundamentals Run great practices Lead your team during a game Communicate effectively with parents

There is no greater power on the soccer field than the game intelligence of the players. With a great variety of attractive and effective simplified games, specially designed to simulate the most important game situations that may occur on the pitch, Horst Wein shows how to stimulate most of the aspects which are involved in game intelligence in young soccer players as well as professionals. Remember, Playing soccer without thinking is like shooting without aiming.

In this installment of the Soccer iQ series, college soccer coach and best-selling author, Dan Blank, educates coaches and players on the most effective ways to implement a high-pressure style of team defending. Nearly 80% of goals scored are the result of three or fewer passes, and more than half of all goals scored begin when a team wins possession of the ball in its attacking half of the field. The numbers clearly indicate a statistical advantage to winning the ball in the opponent’s end of the field, and that’s exactly what high pressure is designed to do. High pressure is perhaps the most misunderstood term in soccer’s vocabulary. There are countless coaches who want their teams to play high pressure, but many of them aren’t always quite so sure about what that means. They tend to translate ‘high pressure’ into ‘run around like you stole something until we score.’ They only extract the urgency of which the term implies without much understanding of the nuance that makes high pressure a formidable system of team defense. Those coaches understand that high pressure requires a high work rate, but they don’t understand the tactical savvy that can maximize the output of that work. As a result, their teams feature only the madness but not the method behind successful high pressure. High Pressure provides an easy-to-follow blueprint for coaches and players so they know not only what to do, but why they are doing it. In this book, Dan Blank clarifies the differences between high and low pressure and explains the big picture of high pressure defending. You will learn the roles of each position, the importance of restraining lines, and how to set up pressure funnels to win the ball in the attacking half. Coach Blank also details the telltale cues that signal a team to step up or back off its pressure, and much, much more. High pressure defending requires more than just hard work. It requires organization, communication and an indefatigable team spirit. This book will show you how to create and implement these elements to get a maximum return on your team’s effort.

An Amazon #1 Best-Seller! Named the #1 Soccer Book by Football.com. Named a Top 5 Book of the Year by the NSCAA Soccer Journal! Soccer iQ is the first book for soccer PLAYERS! In a world saturated with books about how to coach soccer, Dan Blank finally gives players a book on how to think it. Standing on two decades of collegiate coaching experience, Blank has catalogued soccer's most common mistakes and provides simple, connect-the-dots solutions to help players solve their soccer problems. Soccer IQ is soccer's first text book for players; an almanac of smarter soccer decisions intended to flatten out the learning curve. It covers everything from hunting rebounds to the value of the toe-ball; from playing in the rain to the world's dumbest foul. Blank tells his story from the familiar and humorous voice of a coach who has endured years of stress at the hands of his players. Written in plain-spoken language, Soccer IQ is an easy read and a quick-fix to the most common yet critically important soccer problems. Includes a bonus chapter on the college recruiting process. " Finally someone wrote this book! If every soccer player read Soccer IQ, every coach would be a lot happier." Mark Francis - Head Coach University of Kansas "Dan Blank has just written soccer's first definitive text book." Colin Carmichael - Head Coach Oklahoma State University "This book has immediately become required reading for my team. I'll take 30 copies." Steve Nugent - Head Coach UNC-Greensboro "Soccer IQ may the best practical soccer book I have ever read. There's no fluff. Just nuts and bolts principles that we teach every day. It'll solve a lot of your soccer problems." Steve Holeman - Head Coach University of Georgia

"It's as if Dan was sitting right next to you with a dry erase board saying, 'See what I mean?' This is another must have book for the soccer lover." ~ Ray Leone, Head Coach, Harvard A follow-up to the Amazon #1 best-seller, Soccer iQ, Volume 2 is written in the same conversational and humorous tone as its predecessor. Volume 2 is an easy read that identifies more of the most common soccer mistakes and provides players with simple, connect-the-dots solutions that they can immediately implement into their games. It is another must-have book for any serious soccer player. "Soccer iQ Vol. 2 gives you way more than your money's worth." ~ Tony Amato - Head Coach, Arizona