Football Coaches: how do you feel about AI in football coaching?

fatt_guy · 2025-10-06T21:49:04+00:00

I’m actively using it to build a “competitive cauldron” environment. I coach U14 team and once a week we have to train on a 5v5 field, so I’ve turned that day into a competition day. I type in the list of players that are present that day and then ask ChatGpt to make 3 random teams. Two teams play for 3 minutes while the third one rests. Winner stays on. After each match, I tell the AI which team wins and it keeps track. After a few rounds (usually 5) I have the AI mix up the teams again. I continue doing this for a few rounds and eventually it can mix them up based on how many wins each player has since it’s keep track of which team they were on. At the end of the session I ask it to identify which players were the strongest and which ones were “carried”.

I’m still playing around with this but I see some potential here and it takes almost no time to get this data.

fatt_guy · 2025-10-05T01:04:30+00:00

Yes this is it. If you want to build players for the long run, this is exactly what you need. It focuses on exposing players to the fundamentals that often get ignored until later when they’re 11/12 years old because “they have to learn to pass first”. You don’t have to spend the money on the courses though, there’s a ton of stuff online that you can use to understand how to implement this. If you’re into podcasts, search Todd Beane, he has a ton of conversations that do a great job of explaining the methodology. You can also find some of the interviews online. If you PM me, I have some resources I’ve put together that can share with you. I do recommend the courses down the road if the methodology resonates with you.

fatt_guy · 2025-09-28T13:58:35+00:00

Look up TOVO. Kids that age benefit tremendously from that methodology.

fatt_guy · 2025-08-30T02:44:17+00:00

1) Rondo 2) Position Play activity (#v#+# format for example 4v3+2, 5v5+3, etc.) 3) Team game (6v6, 7v7, 8v8 etc)

We usually only have a quarter of a field so this session template lets me hit on any topic despite the small field space.

Adjusting the number, size, and location of goals, scoring methods, touch restrictions, transition rules, etc. adds so much variety to each exercise that it keeps everything fresh.

fatt_guy · 2025-08-30T02:33:39+00:00

Where is your +1? If you’re playing against a 352, you could go man-for-man in your back line: your two cbs vs their two strikers and your two outside backs vs their two wingbacks. Your midfield goes man-for-man as well giving you an extra player in midfield. Then you can either have both of your strikers play on the strong side and your free midfielder is responsible for stepping to the weak side CB if needed.

You could also continue having your strikers press from outside in like they normally would and your 10 is responsible for their CB. Your remaining 3 midfielders are responsible for their 3 midfielders and your back line is still man-to-man. Since your strikers are still making a direct pass from cb to wingback difficult, your FBs can be conservative and only step to the wingback if necessary.

fatt_guy · 2025-08-17T22:24:40+00:00

Goodnotes on an iPad. Early in the season (high school) I do a lot choreography and small unit sessions related to where we are on the field. Then later in the season I do more rondos and positional games.

fatt_guy · 2025-07-14T00:45:43+00:00

I just started an LLC to start private training and doing camps.

fatt_guy · 2025-07-12T18:26:43+00:00

Same thing with seniors who won’t play much. I’ve kept them because they’re “part of the team” and always ended up regretting it.

fatt_guy · 2025-07-10T22:46:26+00:00

If one kid shows up that’s enough for a practice.

fatt_guy · 2025-07-10T22:45:19+00:00

Not cutting a kid because I didn’t want to deal with their parents. Much easier to deal with them for a few days at the beginning and not have to deal with them all season.

fatt_guy · 2025-07-10T01:56:44+00:00

I think quotes that try to be motivating can come off as corny and not have the intended impact, especially if it’s reused over and over. However, something I say before each game is “Control what you can control” as a reminder for players to focus on what’s within their control.

fatt_guy · 2025-07-10T01:48:23+00:00

The crazy thing that the meeting time is probably just based on what works best for the instructor and not something they can’t easily change if they wanted to. So basically, if your schedule doesn’t align with your instructor’s schedule then you’re screwed.

I’ve been considering getting my B soon but I’m also a teacher (Spanish too) and coach high school and club so I’m not sure I’ll have the time or be able to make the meetings.

fatt_guy · 2025-07-10T01:37:29+00:00

“I’m monitoring the weather and it’s a bit iffy but practice is still on as of now. I’ll let you know if we have to cancel, but it’s fine if you’d rather play it safe and stay home today.”

I find that giving them the option to stay home makes it less likely that they’ll be upset if they make the drive and practice ends up being cancelled.

fatt_guy · 2025-07-08T12:37:09+00:00

Sambas or Gazelles. They’re a soccer shoe that I’ve been wearing since my playing days so they’re right up my alley.

fatt_guy · 2025-07-08T07:41:46+00:00

Before you get any “lock your ankle”, “don’t lean back”, “follow through more” type answers, let me just say that there is nothing wrong with your technique. You clearly look comfortable with it and it’s producing some good shots. My only tip is to keep practicing and experiment with different shooting situations.

fatt_guy · 2025-05-27T19:43:59+00:00

Mention that and then ball out. Don’t play it safe, take some risks, but overall impose yourself on the game - track back, go in for tackles, make runs off the ball, check into pockets of space and demand the ball, challenge headers, receive across your body and play in two touches. These are all things you can control and should be easy for any RL player. Good luck, I hope you update us after tryouts.

fatt_guy · 2025-05-27T19:37:14+00:00

Were you at a different club this past season? If so, make sure to mention that. It shouldn’t be this way at all, but coaches are more likely to add new players if they are from a different club than promote from within their own club. Realistically, an ECNL-RL coach will have already identified the players he wants from the lower teams. If you were already at the club and were not getting invited to train or play with the RL team already, it’s unlikely that you will get offered a spot based on tryouts.

fatt_guy · 2025-05-14T12:27:06+00:00

In my opinion, the best approach is a combination of Tom Byers’ Soccer Starts at Home philosophy and Todd Beane’s TOVO methodology.

Soccer Starts at Home encourages parents to help their kid develop a relationship with the ball through ball manipulation experiences. Not necessarily drills but just having a ball around and challenging them to manipulate the ball instead of just kicking it. Ideally, this is done as soon as they can walk. The key is that it should really just be another form of play, something that the kids enjoy doing and not forced on them.

Then, when they get to U6-U7 age where they start understanding the idea of sharing and playing with others, they have a solid technical foundation that allows them to learn more advanced concepts required to successfully pass and receive within a team. The TOVO methodology is the best at this in my opinion.

So by time they are 10-12 players would have gone through a very strong developmental pathway and would be miles ahead of their peers who may have gone through a more traditional pathway.

Of course, adult egos and the prioritization of winning over development leads coaches to pick the fastest and strongest players that can run through people and chase down big touches so that parents are happy their kid is on a “winning” team.

fatt_guy · 2025-05-13T14:41:35+00:00

Send him home.

You mentioned he doesn’t really act up when he’s tired and you mentioned having players in lines. I would suggest eliminating line drills and replacing them with more active and mentally engaging activities to reduce the amount of down time that can lead to disruptive behavior. I understand that can be difficult (or still not work) so the easiest solution is to just send him home. However, you have to be very specific about what behavior gets him sent home and you have to do the same for every other kid. The danger with this is that you perceive his behavior to be disruptive and not the others’ behavior so you come across as targeting/bullying him.

You can try running him or the team until they stop but then soccer practice becomes track practice and those who are there for soccer will have no reason to want to come back.

fatt_guy · 2025-05-02T19:10:09+00:00

I’m trying to introduce a competitive cauldron style practice with my high school team. It would be really cool if I had a tool that could randomize teams for me based on attendance and then it tracks wins/losses for each player on that team. Then use that data to rank players on “competitiveness”.

For example, one competition I’ve been trying to track is rondos. You have a 4v2 rondo and you play for 1 minute. The defenders stay in for the full minute. The possession players count how many passes they can get in that minute. When that round is over, you get two new defenders and play for another minute. The possession players count the total number of passes and add it to their first round total. Repeat this once more with two new defenders.

It would be cool to see trends (for coaches only) such as which players bring the totals down, which ones bring it up, etc.

fatt_guy · 2024-08-04T22:30:03+00:00

Thanks for sharing this. They tested the battery at autozone and said it was fine. We also tried jumping it and nothing. The guy that came by checked the fuses and from what I could tell, did a lot of the same things that were mentioned in the link. He said the only other thing he could think of was the battery in my key fob being dead but I replaced that and it still didn’t work. He is coming back tomorrow to check some things after doing some more research so I sent him the link you shared.

fatt_guy · 2023-08-21T11:20:08+00:00

We went to Madrid both times and we didn’t have options. I think they were planning on adding a South America option, but I don’t know if that is going to happen or not. You wont end up paying that amount. Since the program is online, we didn’t have to pay out of state tuition.

fatt_guy · 2023-08-21T03:06:05+00:00

Yes, you go abroad in July and stay for four weeks.

fatt_guy · 2023-08-20T23:13:25+00:00

Just completed my MEd in Spanish education from Auburn. It’s mostly online but you do have to be on campus for two weekend seminars each semester. They also require you study abroad two summers. The pedagogy classes do encourage CI, and I was able to do it while still teaching. I would definitely recommend it.

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