The idea that soccer coaching can be done in a problem/solution format is new for many parent coaches. Their concept of coaching will be drawn from their experience with "gym class and physical education." This results in a picture of coaching where the emphasis is on technical development, knowledge of the rules and rudimentary tactics. With this as the goal of the PE class the use of lines and isolated technical moments is appropriate, even preferred.

Teachers can teach to an accepted norm, a textbook idea. When the children can duplicate or approach this idea they get a passing grade. The teacher is only responsible for a learning phase in the children's education. Learn it, do your best and that is good enough. However athletes and coaches outside of the class room face a different evaluative criteria. For them the competitive phase, the match, is also a part of the learning process. Simply doing your best just might not be good enough on game day. For coaches and players these two phases are inseparable. Each provides a guide for and feedback about the other and in terms of learning they are both equally important.

Inside the competitive phase are the three main moments and the three team functions. They provide the most basic structure for observation. Which moment holds the biggest problem? What problems did the opponents present? What problems did you give them? The section on Reading the Game goes into greater detail about how to find the most important problem and supplies the first step in building a small sided game.

Click on the image to see some scenes about the game from the "Street Soccer" DVD in a Real Time video.
Purchase an online copy from TotalVid.com here.

	Problems - video
	Players - video
	Goals - video
	Field - video
	Rules - video
	Ball -video

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