Canadian Soccer – Hands on

While Canadians love their hockey, in many areas of Canada, soccer is very popular. I had the pleasure of hosting a coaching clinic near Vancouver last week and then had the privilege of hosting a practice for a group of 5th and 6th graders the following night.

It all started a few years ago when a coach named Terry Hamilton brought the single wing offense to British Columbia and the Vancouver area. Terry’s team went 16-0 that season and won the coveted Provincial Championship. Others took notice of Terry’s success and the following year there were about 25 Canadian coaches at my Seattle coaching clinic. The following season, Terry’s team again went undefeated and won the Provincial Championship, winning the title game 72-14. The real surprise that season was the Chilliwack Giants, who shocked everyone by going to the playoffs for their first provincial title in 5th-6th grade. Chilliwack is the team that came to Nebraska and played us last season, Single Wing versus Single Wing.

Lawrence Smith, the Chilliwack organizer for that trip, kindly invited my family to stay with them, host a trainer clinic and spend time with his family in the incredible beauty and friendliness that is British Columbia. They almost seem to take for granted the beautiful views of the snow-capped mountains that can be seen from their backyard. Ditto for a huge breathtaking waterfall and a state park complete with bear watch signs just 5 minutes from home. A further 10 minutes we spend some time in a quaint mountain village with a public swimming area and great local dairy and ice cream. More on that later, let’s talk about some nuances and changes that make sense for Canadian youth soccer.

The Canadians play on a larger field, the Canadian playing field is 110 yards long by 65 yards wide, instead of 100 yards long by 53â…” yards wide as in American football. Canadians are 10 yards deeper than Americans so are Canadians Canadians are allowed only 3 downs to make a first down and the defense must line up at least 1 yard from the line of scrimmage.

Chilliwack offensive coordinator Lawrence Smith pointed out this difference and then asked why we go down when we shoot. We step down to create room for the throwing lineman to throw, but also to open his hips in the direction he’s running, while keeping our shoulders parallel to the line of scrimmage so the shooter can spy on the linebacker he’s trying to hit. hit. block. Since there is a full yard between the offensive and defensive linemen, there is really no need to create space and the footwork for the pull may need to be rethought. In football, we have our linemen a bit on the back side and we are constantly able to play on the defensive side of the ball due to superior technique and the painstaking work we put in to get our first 2 steps down faster than our opponents. But with a yard full of space, does a drop step make sense? I’m still debating that.

One point that doesn’t need to be debated is the angle of attack of offensive linemen. In the US, we preach an inside first step at a 30-degree angle. But since the Canadians have that 1-yard cushion, I found the angle of attack had to be adjusted a bit. Using the GOD rule, the “inner gap” mapping block had to be done at a 45 degree angle of attack for the first 2 steps, while the “ignition” mapping had to be done at about a 60 degree angle. Some things just can’t be figured out without some hands-on experience in the field.

The wider field makes the pressure option on the Spinner 26 or Flash 26 a play that makes a lot of sense and these guys executed it pretty well. The Canadians also allow you to move multiple players and the movement can be towards the line of scrimmage. If I was training in Canada, that would mean a series where 2 backs were moving downhill from opposite directions and meshed into a spinning fullback.

Congratulations to the organization and the Chilliwack team. They showed up en masse to practice despite the fact that the entire area was in a frenzy because the Vancouver Canucks NHL team was playing on TV at the same time we were practicing. Vancouver is trying to win its first Stanley Cup and more than 50,000 people were watching the game in downtown Vancouver on giant outdoor screens. Every house in every neighborhood seemed to have 5-6 cars parked in the driveway, gathering to watch the game. However, this group of dedicated soccer enthusiasts showed up ready to practice and we chased after them. Thanks again to all the great people in the Chilliwack area, good football and friendly football people.