The IFS coaches have recently begun reviewing the updated FFA National Curriculum, which in essence states it’s objective as: “to make Australia a world leader in the world game” and to do this “a fundamental transformation is necessary”.
To make that happen, we must maintain and develop the traditional Australian strengths, such as determination, winning mentality and a ‘never give up’ attitude. But a whole range of other changes and improvements are essential to make the big leap forward.
We must then study the styles of the most successful teams in the world to identify where we might improve. Studies show that a pro-active, possession based playing style is the one most successful teams employ. This style is based on a strong collective team effort with the cutting edge in ball possession provided by unpredictable, creative individuals.
A brief summary of what this entails is as follows;
– Dominating/controlling the game through effective possession;
– Getting the ball and our players into goal scoring positions in a controlled manner
– Breaking down compact defences through individual skill and creative combination play
– Trying to win possession back ASAP through collective coordinated defending.
As we follow the National Curriculum in our training sessions, this updated version has provided even more of a road map for us and we are very pleased to know that we are already incorporating many of these fundamental principles. It has also provided criteria for player/team evaluation.
In 7 short weeks of training however, I feel that some of these fundamental principles have already been adopted by our players. I’ve been watching some of the friendly games that IFS has been playing against local teams and the comments I hear attest to this. Most onlookers agree that our players all play really well and they are also impressed with the communication, movement and passing of the ball.
There is much to do but we have the time and resources to get it done. I believe we have come out of the starting blocks well placed.
By Julie Dolan
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