Michael Prunty

Husband, Father, Educator I Head Coach @HamlineWSoccer l Founder @ThirdPlayerInst

[Michael Prunty @CoachPrunt]

Having a clear identity - knowing how you want to play is something that separates coaches IMHO.

Contexts can be different as coaches work with other teams - but can you find the common thread?

Examples below include grassroots to players drafted in to MLS.

[Michael Prunty @CoachPrunt]

@CoachMeganK

[Michael Prunty @CoachPrunt]

These trainers run rampant in my area with cool social media videos as proof of their work…

[Erica Mulholland, MS CSCS 👸🏼 @fitsoccerqueen]

I'm tired of young soccer players wasting their time on bs busywork skills sessions.

Find a skills trainer who knows what they're doing. Who COACHES. Who doesn't just run you through an hour of random movements, a circus, and conditioning with the ball during the season.

There are good skills trainers (I know two in my area) who understand periodization, recovery, load management, and true skill acquisition for the game.

Find someone who write sessions that are actually transferable to ⚽️ , who focus on detail with a specific skill for your kid, and who incorporate small sided games and the IQ 🧠 side of soccer, and who DO NOT do general eye wash sessions with a random jumble of hurdles, box jumps, ladders, then dribbling, followed by a quick tap in a ring then a pass.

Worse yet, the trainer is standing there saying "good job." 😂

Wait, what was good about that??

And whattttt are we even working onnnnn.

I know this may come to a surprise to many of you on here because this is exactly what your kid is doing, but it's really that bad out there.

[Michael Prunty @CoachPrunt]

@kestrelpsych Working on a book... "The Quarter Field Coach." There is a huge market here in MN 😂

[Michael Prunty @CoachPrunt]

“…favor our players…”

Must know the (in)abilities of your players when making these decisions.

Must consider context and the team you are playing against.

[APFCourses @ApfcSoccer]

Against a mid block: Do I want to draw the opponent into pressing me, or force them to drop back?

Both have pros and cons, but as coaches, we need to understand what context we want to attack in, what situations favor our players, and decide based on that.

[Michael Prunty @CoachPrunt]

Learning how to win / manage game is a skill that can be developed, taught.

Agree or disagree?

[Michael Prunty @CoachPrunt]

Just finished this great read by @TPiMBW!

Another piece of writing from him that I will continue to revisit.

[Michael Prunty @CoachPrunt]

Usually one of my early points of emphasis w any new group I work with.

[APFCourses @ApfcSoccer]

One of the worst habits after winning the ball back: Not moving it away from the recovery zone.

Defenders there are organized and ready to press immediately.

Best way to transition? Play a pass out of the zone, dribbling only gives them time to recover.

[Michael Prunty @CoachPrunt]

@Jgidney88 @olliewalsh_ Tell me more over beverages!

[Michael Prunty @CoachPrunt]

@kestrelpsych Potentially - I only see them as a parent and I have completed my latest version.

Likert scale on how the coach represent clubs core values, has my child improved, has the team improved, would you want your child to play for this coach again.

[Michael Prunty @CoachPrunt]

Reductionism in football reaches its peak when formation is treated as either the problem or the solution.

Development lives in the complexity of the game.

Everything that will be is connected to what is and what has been.

[Michael Prunty @CoachPrunt]

:

The Myth of the Formation

A quick reflection from a recent match with the youth team I currently work with. We faced a strong local opponent that challenged our group in all phases of the game.

[Michael Prunty @CoachPrunt]

- How do we place them in environments that allow them to express their best qualities?
- How do individual qualities and limitations interact to form the strongest collective on the day?

[Michael Prunty @CoachPrunt]

@BernatME6 The use of the GK inthe early moments can then create better conditions in the final moment.

Progression of the +1.