Day three of the UEFA A licence (part 2) was broken in four parts; a morning lecture and on-field practical, two afternoon lectures and an evening lecture. The morning lecture and on-field practical was delivered by Kevin McGreskin, who has acquired his UEFA A licence from three separate football associations. Kevin is an elite performance specialist, and is the Technical Director of SoccerEyeQ. McGreskins session was entitled Developing Game Awareness, and centred on the idea that the technical, tactical and physical difference between elite players is often minimal; the thing that separates the best from the rest is that the best players consistently make better decisions while under pressure. The execution of skilled performance in football involves three stages: perception (the input of what the player sees), decision-making (the processing or thinking that the player does) and action (the output of the player doing). In a 90-minute game, elite players spend less than two minutes in possession of the ball. They take less than two touches per possession and have between 40-50 interactions with the ball. Over the course of a game, 98 per cent of a players time is spent in the perception and decision-making stages - yet very little time is ever spent developing a players ability in these areas. The three levels of situational awareness in a game are basic perception (the ability to take in information), realization of relationships (putting context and meaning to the information) and anticipation (recognizing patterns of behaviour). The five things that dictate the roles and responsibilities of players on the field are the ball, teammates, the opposition, the area of play and the state of play. The first three are dynamic variables (always changing), while the final two are semi-static variables (sometimes changing). The on-field practical session focused on the dynamic variables - and it was one of the best sessions Ive ever seen or participated in. McGreskin used visual overload to train the players abilities in perception and decision-making. He did this by introducing colours; coloured gloves, bibs, footballs and tennis balls. McGreskin started with a very simple passing drill; two players 20 metres apart, each with a ball, with a player in the middle. The middle player received a pass from the first player, played it back and turned to get the ball from the second player. McGreskin then increased the visual stimuli to overload the players visual perception and decision-making process. He did this by getting the players to wear one red glove and one yellow glove. When the player in the middle received a pass, he had to look over his shoulder to see the opposite player (who was instructed to hold up one coloured glove as the pass was struck). The player in the middle then had to call out the colour of the raised glove, before playing the return pass and going to receive the second ball. Adding more and more variables increased the difficulty; shouting out the colour of the glove being raised, tapping the inside of the opposite foot from which the coloured glove was on, introducing coloured cones around which the ball had to be carried before playing the return pass, etc. McGreskin then proceeded to introduce interactive passing drills, where two teams of eight players (one team in green bibs and one team in blue bibs) passed two balls in a 30x30 grid, alternating passes from a green-bibbed player to a blue-bibbed player. Again, more and more variables were introduced to increase the difficulty; recognition of an external player holding up a coloured glove, calling out the colour of the glove before receiving the pass, introducing coloured footballs to correspond with the bib colours of the external players, introducing coloured tennis balls that had to be released to a teammate before receiving the pass, etc. It was an incredible session, and put paid to the myth that training perception and decision-making skills cannot be done. The morning session was adequately captured by a quote in McGreskins lecture, from Abernathy, 2008: "Coaches should consider routinely using demanding secondary tasks concurrently with the practice of primary sports skills as a means of stimulating the continued automation of primary skills and the refinement of multi-tasking skills of athletes." The first lecture of the afternoon was delivered by David Platt (not the former England international), who is a UEFA A licence coach, a performance coach for the Team GB Olympic squad and a regional scout for Manchester United. Platts lecture was entitled, The Winning Mentality: Recruiting, Assessing and Building Mental Toughness. Platt explained that of the four components of player development (technical, tactical, physical and mental), only the mental side of development has yet to be fully explored. He gave numerous examples from his previous work, including as a coach at Liverpool FC. In his work with Team GB Cycling, he outlined the core values that the team has created: commitment (sacrifice), ownership (its up to you), responsibility (benchmarks) and excellence (do your best). An interesting area of discussion surrounded the recruitment and retention of players. Platt stated that off-field behaviour reflects on-field behaviour - you simply cannot flick a switch and expect a players behaviour to change. So how a player behaves off the field - on social media, for example - often impacts a clubs decision to recruit or retain that player. Platt ended his presentation by advising the coaches to identify and be clear on their cultural and generic criteria for mental toughness. These core values should then be central to their recruitment, retention and development processes. Phil Abbott, from Academy Soccer Coach (a session planning software company that the Irish FA uses for all of its coach education courses), delivered the second lecture of the afternoon. While Abbotts session was very brief, he outlined the many areas in which technology plays a role in the modern game. He outlined the criteria for professional club academies in England to enter the EPPP (Elite Player Performance Program), as well as the funding that is involved for clubs in that program. Abbott presented some other interesting bits of information: 65 per cent of the population are visual learners; the brain processes information 60,000 times faster than text; and visual aids can increase retention of information by nearly 400 per cent. The message to the coaches was clear - technology can aid in your ability to get information to your players. How you choose to use that technology is entirely up to you. Desi Curry, the Technical Director of the Irish Football Association, delivered the evening session. His topic was Modern Trends in Football, and was an extension of the lecture delivered the previous evening by Phil Melville and Nigel Best. There were five topics that were discussed and debated by the coaches: - What are the key technical aspects that are increasing/decreasing in the modern game?- As a coach, which tactical formation would you choose to play, and why?- How, as a coach, would you plan to counter the counter attack? - What are the key factors affecting set plays?- As a coach, how do you prefer to defend/attack corner kicks? I wont go into to detail about the discussions that took place, as it would likely fill a book! But I will leave you with this quote from the evening lecture that I found especially pertinent to Canadian soccer: "Leaders take people to where they want to be; great leaders take people to where they OUGHT to be!" Clarence Weatherspoon Jersey . -- An ugly goal by Nick Bonino helped the Anaheim Ducks overcome the defensive-minded Phoenix Coyotes on a night when their ragged power play continued to struggle. Maurice Cheeks Jersey . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. http://www.official76ersproshop.com/kids-markelle-fultz-76ers-jersey/ .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Joel Embiid Jersey . The 29-year-old Baines has established himself as one of the top attacking full backs in the country and was the subject of two bids from United during the last off-season. Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that keeping Baines at the club is a "massive boost and exciting for the future" because he brings "maturity and football knowledge in a very specialized position on the pitch" and an "infectious and positive influence to the rest of the squad. Dana Barros Jersey . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain.OAKLAND, Calif. -- Derek Norris scored on a passed ball with two outs in the seventh inning and the Oakland Athletics beat the Chicago Cubs 1-0 on Thursday. Dan Straily (5-2) gave up a hit over seven innings after being recalled from Triple-A Sacramento earlier in the day. He made the start to allow a sore Jarrod Parker to get two extra days of rest. Straily walked three and struck out six. Norris walked with two outs and went to third on Seth Smiths single. Matt Guerrier (2-4), making his first appearance with the Cubs since being acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers, threw a strike on the outside part of the plate. Pinch hitter Eric Sogard swung at the pitch and Cubs catcher Wellington Castillo had the ball glance off his mitt, allowing Norris to score the unearned run. Cubs starter Travis Wood allowed three hits over six innings. He walked one and struck five in recording his third consecutive no-decision. Alfonso Soriano got Chicagos lone hit off Straily. Wood extend his winless stretch to six starts despite an ERA of 2.58 over that span. Ryan Cook pitched the eighth and Grant Balfour recorded the final three outs for his 21st save in as many chances. In the fourth, Yoenis Cespedes threw out Starlin Castro trying to score from second on Sorianos single to left field. Soriano was later thrown out by Norris attempting to steal second, ending the inning. Castro walked to open the inning and advanced when Nate Schierholtz grounded out. The As also had a potential run thrown out on the basess.dddddddddddd Against Matt Guerrier, Chris Young singled with one out in the seventh but was caught stealing by Castillo. Norris drew a walk and went to third on Seth Smiths single prior to the passed ball. Pedro Stroup also made his Cubs debut with a scoreless ninth as the Cubs matched their franchise record for players used before the All-Star break with 41. The Cubs also extended their franchise record by using 23 pitchers before the break. NOTES: Cubs OF Brian Bogusevic left the game after the top of third inning with left hamstring tightness. ... The As optioned C Stephen Vogt to Triple-A Sacramento to make room for Straily. ... The Cubs announced that RHP Carlos Villanueva (2-4, 3.45) will start Sundays game against Pittsburgh, filling the spot vacated when RHP Scott Feldman was traded to the Baltimore Orioles. Villanueva started the year in the rotation, but went to the bullpen when RHP Matt Garza came off the disabled list. ... RHP Jeff Samardija (5-7, 3.34) will take the mound Friday night against the Pirates at Wrigley Field. Hes 4-2 with a 1.56 ERA against the Pirates all-time, though just 1-2 against them this year. ... LHP Tommy Milone (7-7, 4.17) will start for the As in Kansas City. Hes 1-2 with a 5.96 ERA over his last four starts. ... Giants LHP Barry Zito is donating $500 for every strikeout in the major leagues on Thursday. ... According to Sports Features Group, the last time the Cubs lost a 1-0 game, with the lone run scored on a passed ball, was July 1, 1962, in Milwaukee. Cheap Adidas Hockey Jerseys Wholesale College Jerseys Cheap Nike Basketball Jerseys Cheap Football Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Baseball Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Nike NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Soccer Jerseys China Cheap NCAA Jerseys China Stitched NFL Jerseys Cheap Custom Jerseys China Cheap Basketball Jerseys Authentic NFL Jerseys China Cheap College Jerseys Wholesale Football Jerseys ' ' '