As part of our new campaign #BeTheCoachTheyNeed, we have invited a number of experienced and highly-regarded coaches to review sessions on our platform, and explain why they think the content represents the gold standard in soccer education
Sherlen Lindsay is a foundation-phase coach at Fulham FC, working in the Foundation phase with u-9s and u-10s. He is a UEFA B licence coach, and previously worked at Arsenal and Crystal Palace.
In this article, Sherlen was speaking about a session delivered by Danny Maye about ball mastery in and around the box, filmed at Southampton FC - view the session here. Specifically, Sherlen spoke about two of the sessions's three practices.
Practice Name: Ball Mastery In The Final Third Technical Practice
"I know there have been a lot of debates about opposed versus unopposed practices, and these debates will continue, but I am a big fan of these types of unopposed practices.
"As coaches, we're not going to be the ones on the pitch, so sometimes it's good to get their feedback. As much as they are striving to be players, they can be treated as small coaches too.
"When they're on that field they have to make those decisions, and having this type of practice in that type of environment - where there's not too much pressure - they can also be very relaxed in what decisions they make going forward. It gives them room to think individually and collectively. Their decision-making becomes more relaxed when they are in a game-day situation.
"Another thing that was pleasing to me - and something I really enjoy - is players giving their feedback. It's something I'd like to do with my players - get their ideas.
"The practice, overall, was on point. I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the players' participation. At the end of the day, children love putting it in the back of the net and no matter who you are on the pitch it's the ultimate goal.
"I enjoyed the way it was simplified for the viewers and I love the way that the players understood it, and there wasn't too many complications, and I'm a big fan of hearing what the players think of it and want to do. It's always good to pluck their minds. You can always take their ideas and develop it into another session further down the line."
Practice name: 5v5 Ball Mastery and Shots in the Penalty Area
Sherlen said: "I think the exercise is very important because it builds on what Danny has been doing from the beginning. What I notice from this practice is that it's more of a pressurised environment. It's more fast paced, it's not as relaxed as earlier, which is a good sign, because having the first practice to work through it unopposed, and get the feedback from the players, allows them to move onto this type of practice.
"Regardless of what moment of the game, having that 1v1 element is absolutely vital, so for me personally, that practice is set up to provide the finer detail for their player you get to have the finer detail. It also depends on your environment too, because you're not going to have the amount of space to see on some coaching websites. Getting that input from the players, and having that direct 1-to-1 conversation to understand what they see at that current time, enables you to show them that they are responsible for their decision -making."
What do you think about this particular session, or any session on our platform? Take a look around and let us know what you think. You can watch the full session here and come to your own conclusions.
The original conversation with Sherlen was part of our Coaching Focus series and can be found here.