 
Thoughtful Soccer: The Think First Approach to Playing and Coaching
Average Rating: 3.0 Total Reviews: 8
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 On: 2007-11-16
I have coached youth soccer for over twenty years, from the basic recreational level to State Champions. In addition, I have been involved with establishing soccer education courses. I was first exposed to the authors ideas six years ago and to his book three years ago. I have read his book and corresponded with him at length.
To me the purpose of a review is to help a purchaser decide if the book is worth the money or if another book or source is a better value.
The book has a number of flaws. First, it is written with the assumption that all people, regardless of age, learn in the same manner. That is wrong. Generally, children younger than eight learn differently than children who are twelve, and they in turn learn differently than adults.
Today, coaching courses across the world emphasize age specific learning. While every child is different and some are able to learn concepts and skills far earlier than others, the vast majority need lessons tailored to their age. There are many resources designed for beginning coaches targeted to the players age. For example, the Novice Coach Series DVDs produced by US Youth Soccer split instruction into three age groups: 6 to 8; 8 to 10; and 10 to 12. A search of Amazon offers many books targeted at players by age.
A second flaw is the books "multiple theme" approach, an approach that offers a few minutes of a skill and then moves to another activity with another skill, then to another and finally another that includes tactical instruction. At best only a few minutes are spent on any skill.
No matter the age, beginning players need to learn ball skills first. Once players develop a satisfactory level of ball mastery, the coach can move to elementary tactics. This book starts with tactical soccer from day one.
Research demonstrates that players who are skilled will enjoy soccer more than unskilled players and stay in the sport far longer. It is imperative that players learn basic skills, like "first touch." This research indicates that an average player requires six hours to gain enough proficiency to perform a skill in a game with a reasonable chance of success. With most recreational programs having only one practice a week lasting about an hour, a multiple theme practice diminishes the time players have to gain proficiency with any one skill. The result is players who know a little about a lot, but cannot perform any skill successfully.
A practice for beginning players that focuses on one skill and then encourages players to work on that skill within a practice scrimmage results in far faster learning. A single theme practice does not limit players to only one activity in the practice. The theme may be how to receive the ball; however, players still pass the ball and dribble. The focus of the coach, the corrections made, and the scrimmage, are each designed to increase opportunities to perform the desired skill. The next practice is then planned to introduce a complementary skill: e.g., one week is dribbling; the next is how to tackle. This allows the coach to reinforce what was learned the previous week, while focusing on a new skill. A good coaching book will show the coach how to construct such a practice. This book fails in this regard and suggests a format that will slow your players learning.
A third flaw is the books suggestion that a coach need not know skills to teach them. Rather a player can repeat the skill multiple times, without instruction, and learn through repetition alone. This is the hoary idea that "practice makes perfect." As one coach I know likes to say, "Practice only makes permanent". If you are practicing correctly, repeated tries will reinforce the correct technique. If you are practicing poor technique, you are cementing bad habits. Nothing in this book guides the coach on what is correct technique, how to recognize flaws in technique or how to correct the flaws when they are spotted. A recommended coaching book that approaches how to plan a practice is "Developing Youth Soccer Players", by Horst Wein.
A fourth, and a serious flaw in a book that seeks to be thoughtful, is the robotic nature of the drills, called "thoughtscrims". Soccer is a players game; not the coachs. There are no time outs, few stoppages in play, and a constantly evolving situation. Coaches can rarely influence a game during play. This means the players must learn to analyze play and think for themselves. When players move to basic tactical play, the best coaches teach the players to see and select the best options. Rather than fixed solutions, the good coach teaches fundamental principles of the game so the player learns how to think and can exploit those principles to control the game.
This book does not do that. Rather it suggests a problem, and then a single solution that mandates the players to act without thought. Teaching players to think is the essence of being a good soccer coach. Giving a fixed solution harms a players development for the player does not learn to adjust as the game changes. A far better book that offers examples of how to coach players to think from the earliest ages to more advanced levels is "The Principles of Brazilian Soccer", by Thadeu Goncalves.
Finally, many of the exercises in Thoughtful Soccer are little more than recipes for disaster. No one other than the author has reported any success with the exercises and strategies he suggests, such as the Triangle Three. Also, situations where the author claimed his systems were used turned out not to use his systems of play.
There are some valid activities in the book; activities that have been used for years by others. There is no reason to purchase this book for these few activities. They can be found elsewhere.
If free this book would not be worth the purchase price.
On: 2007-06-25
Sometimes books written by a parent coach without a great deal of experience playing or coaching the sport can provide a fresh and valuable perspective. However, this is not one of those books. I went into the book with an open mind but learned that it has some serious flaws. The Triangle Three defense is a figment of the authors imagination and is just not workable in the real world. The author states, "The Left and Right Fullbacks mustnt be too far apart. If one is beaten the other must cut across to break up the play." Anyone who has played or coached soccer knows that this is a ridiculous statement. How can a full back on one wing cover the full back on the other wing? The most natural thing is for the middle player in a 3 man back line to cover the outside full backs. Where is the 3rd player in this Triangle Three defense? Ahead of the full backs! I dont know of a single team in the entire world that plays a 3 man back line this way. There are many better books than this one.
 On: 2007-03-30
I have coached youth soccer for five years. Age groups U-10, U-12. This book is the best soccer coaching practice planning book that I have read.
The Book contains many different games that are used to teach individual soccer techniques and tactics. The games used are also set up to be competitive, repititious and lead the players to think about what is happening in the game. The book is written so that the first time and experienced coach can understand and setup a successful practice session.
Most importantly the games are fun to the young soccer players which should be paramount to all youth coaches that want what is best for young players.
After using the games in the book practices are much more FUN, focused, active and I can see the players individual improvement.
The book also shows examples of how to practice effectively when just a few players show up for practice which is a real world situation. The book has been well thought out. The players can remember the names of the games and can play them without the help of the coach in some cases.
On: 2007-03-07
Just a word of caution from the author. The previous two reviews show little evidence of having read or even opened the book. The activity is "Run the Gauntlet" and not "Gauntlet Course." Also, "Space Cowboy" is a completely unique way to practice breaking through an offside line; youll find nothing like it anywhere. The book describes my Triangle Three defensive system to show how a system should derive from logical criteria, and this is a very small part of the book. In a soccer forum I visit, there have been some heated discussions about this system, and perhaps thats where the reviews originated. I respect the right of someone who hasnt read the book to warn readers about ideas they find objectionable. However, such a person should perhaps clarify that he/she hasnt actually read the book.
On: 2007-02-22
Written by a soccer dad with almost no real coaching experience, this book is full of cutely "re-named" old worn-out soccer drills, like the Gauntlet Course and Space Cowboy. Additionally, the author further confuses things by creating a whole new "soccer vocabulary". And the book is full of controversial ideas, like the triangle 3 defense, which is just bad soccer. If you are looking for something to give you new and fresh ideas for coaching your team, I would keep looking...
On: 2006-11-12
The author attempts to lead inexperienced coaches down a path of genious only to complicate the subject. The triangle thing is not a good method.
On: 2005-08-19
This is one of the best books I have seen for coaching kids. This book will help new coaches understand the game and how to get their players thinking while having a lot of fun. Many experienced coaches could also learn a great deal about improving the efficiency of practices. Mr. Carrington focuses on keeping practices fun and realistic. His coaching style avoids boring drills and emphasizes understanding and intelligence about the game. The book does a very good job of teaching pressure and cover defense and transistion play into attack.
 On: 2003-02-11
Thoughtful Soccer is good for the relatively inexperienced coach who finds themselves coaching a U8 to U11 age team. The book provides a good overview of technical and early tactical elements of the game. These elements can be transmitted to the kids in game related activities included in the book. No real soccer knowledge is needed to apply these concepts. The book tries to take a common sense approach to elements of the game that dont require you to have outstanding personal soccer skills to teach the kids. It wont teach you to teach kids how to "bend" a ball. It helps you put kids in soccer related activities so they can learn the basics by doing it. Im not a big fan of the authors terminology, but I recommend it as one of the first few books you buy as a beginner coach.
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