Firstly, when devising coaching programs, one must remember that all players differ in terms of age, ability, development, physical status and mental attitude. Programs must motivate players through providing interest, incentive and stimulation and be matched to the both the individual and group of players. For example, the amount of time and level the coach works at will differ between a learner developing a new technique and a top level player whose aim is to maintain and perfect an existing technique. The coach must also set the level of practice which should not be too low whilst allowing plenty of time to develop the necessary technique and confidence.

There are several important points involved in technical training for both amateur and top level training which coaches may want to introduce, for example:

For beginners - Development and continued development of individual technical skills (heading, passing, controlling...), correction of technical weaknesses, gradual development of skills and techniques for individual positions and during game situations such as corners and free-kicks.

For higher level players - continued development and mastering of new and existing techniques and skills especially in one on one situations and using both feet/all parts of the body and development of other skills not necessarily required for the individual position (e.g. the development of attacking skills for fullbacks) to turn the player into an all-round footballer.

Below are several tips for implementing technical training although it is important that when correcting mistakes, the coach should firstly establish whether the problem is of a technical or skilful nature. As mentioned in the first part of this article, game situations are useful in identifying specific problems. Once the coach has diagnosed the particular weakness, he should set up the appropriate session after having provided good explanations and demonstrations. Indeed, actions can often quickly learned and improved through watching and listening to a coach and implementing further practice.

1/ Encourage players to practice their new or existing techniques individually, before the training session begins, especially without opposition. Fatigue affects player co-ordination thus new techniques should be taught at the beginning of a session, straight after the warm-up. This practice allows them to gain confidence and master the techniques through improving their motor skills. In the early stages of learning, practice should be simple and distances, speeds and situations should be close to a game situation but without any interference. It may be necessary to reduce the speed and difficulty of the action to allow for correct performance. Newly acquired techniques must be practised constantly. Example Practice: Simple receiving and passing exercise between two players.

2/ Once the player shows improvement, then the player can be placed under more stress through different methods: Increasing the tempo and number of repetitions or introducing technical competitions and encouraging the use of both feet and different body parts. Example Practice: Simple receiving and passing exercise but with increased delivery rate and passes coming from different angles.

3/ Once players have advanced, then they must be placed in more complex situations where both team-mates and opponents are involved. Targets can be introduced such as direction and space limits. This will help not only develop the specific technique but the decision making skills of the players. Coaches may be advised to let players experiment (trial and error) as they will learn from both success and failure. It is also important to teach a player when not to use a particular action. Example Practice: Simple receiving and passing exercise between two players in restricted zones with defenders pressuring the controlling player from different angles (defenders positioned behind, in front or at the side). To visualise this particular drill, click here.

4/ It may be useful to finish off the practice session with a conditioned game to analyse the newly acquired techniques. Half of this game can be coached (where coach may stop play for coaching purposes) and the other half left to the players. Example Practice: Two touch game with normal rules to practice passing and receiving skills.

Finally, as mentioned earlier, there are several points to respect when correcting technical mistakes. Players, especially beginners, will often make mistakes of a technical or skilful nature. These need to be quickly identified and immediately corrected to prevent the player developing "bad habits". Even top level players may suffer at certain moments and a going "back to basics" attitude may help. The first factor when correcting mistakes is to identify the problem: Is it of a technical or skilful nature ? The coach must then provide the corrective measures to address the specific reason. Figure 2 outlines the different steps:

There are often many different reasons for technical mistakes. These may be due to poorly co-ordinated movements, timing, not knowing how to strike the ball, balance, strength and general physical ability. Mental factors may also play a major role: confidence, awareness, motivation and composure... Furthermore, tactical abilities such as knowing when to make a run or making an important tactical decision may also be lacking. Finally, poor coaching methods such as incorrect demonstrations or going too quickly too soon may also lead to further difficulties.

All corrective measures must be carefully chosen once the problem has been diagnosed. From a technical point of view, there are various methods which can be employed: Repeated demonstrations and explanations of both the right and wrong technique, breaking down and simplifying the action, specific and repeated technical exercises which concentrate mainly on the action itself, active coaching where the coach holds the player and guides him through the movement, once improvement has been noted, eventual progression to more realistic type practices/games and finally regular praise and encouragement to make the player feel confident.

This article has looked at the importance of skill and technique. The coach should make sure the player has not only mastered techniques in training but has developed the other skills required in successful real match soccer play. The coach has an important role in helping players improve their level of play by providing the optimum ways and means of coaching. He must educate players to make correct decisions and to provide them with the skills to carry out these decisions. Testing player skills may also be useful as is analysing performance in real match conditions.

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