25 Small Sided Games: Developing problem solving and decision making skills in soccer players

If coaches believe that an intelligent player is one who can make excellent decisions when under pressure in order to overcome the problems faced in the game, then coaches need to allow players to learn, practise and develop these attributes. This book is about using small-sided soccer games (SSGs) to enable players to experience and improve their problem solving and decision making skills. It is not about ‘rewarding’ players with a game at the end of training, but rather it is about using SSGs as a fundamental pillar of all coaching sessions in order to develop, challenge and improve players’ technical, tactical, physical, psychological and social qualities. This book features 25 original soccer games which have been designed by Soccer IQ and the International Street Soccer Association to place your players in realistic, motivating, enjoyable and challenging situations where they can develop their understanding of the game and become ‘thinking players’. The games will allow and encourage players to plan, experiment and evaluate their decision making and problem-solving ability. This is a book that helps a coach plan stimulating and purposeful coaching sessions based on a holistic approach to player development. In turn each game can easily be adapted to reflect the needs of your players and team. We hope you and your players enjoy the games which follow; and that they may help you to design your own games to help develop your players’ problem-solving and decision-making skills.