Soccer through ethics and expertise

Team creation

Tactics

Technique

Physical preparation of the team

What do you do as a coach

What others are saying about Niksi Dobre :

These differences are not reflected so much in the basic elements of technique as in the variety of tactical approaches and their realization, and physical preparation (selection of means of training, dosage of load, length of pauses between series, etc.) The methodological success of the trainer depends on the effectiveness of the approach on which he presents information. Although there are no standard programs, there are established biological frameworks that can be used to establish the present condition of every individual with the help of appropriate tests. These tests make it possible for every soccer player to acquaint himself with his present capabilities and achieve his maximum.

Technique and its implementation are a constant for the most part but tactics and physical preparedness are strongly interlinked and subject to change.

From the aspect of physical health it is indisputable that proper action by the trainer gives an individual the possibility of unobstructed physical development, a firm organism and a stable mental personality.

There are two basic elements for success in soccer – ethicality and expertise. Ethics without expertise can survive but expertise without ethics certainly cannot; the winning combination is when ethics and expertise are joined. The road to success, therefore, must be paved first of all by

• ethicality
• expertise
• work (diligence, persistence, determination)
• talent
• experience

As one can see from the order of qualities for success (for both trainers and players) experience is in the last position for the simple reason that it is my belief and conviction that if the trainer has enough talent and expertise with all ethical and human qualities, a diligent work experience will appear of its own accord as part of the complete picture of qualities already present. If we put experience in first place, in front of expertise, ethics and talent, we will be forced to constantly trot after (and behind) modern world soccer because experience, in fact, shows us the importance of expertise and ethics.

Despite all our love for soccer and the beauty of inspiration with which the game of soccer abounds, it is my responsibility to also point out all the sacrifices in soccer and emphasize that professional soccer is hard physical work. Regardless of the severity of these sacrifices, I believe that the top soccer players of the future will make the effort to overcome these difficulties with proper application of all factors essential for success.

Soccer through ethics and expertise
In the process of creating a soccer player there are a few mandatory phases such as selection, instruction, training, preparation for competition, and competition.

In addition to technique, tactics and condition in modern soccer increasing attention is being devoted to questions from the fields of educational and socio-psychological work. To create players, generations, plays and competitive results it is essential to dialectically unite the experiences of our trainers, educators, former national team players and scientists of different profiles of culture (doctors of sports medicine, sports training methodologists and others) into one coherent system.

Certain countries dominated in European and in world soccer as long as the basic characteristic of success was giftedness (talent) but their success began to fall rapidly when soccer began to develop as a highly organized sphere of work and professions or, differently said, when soccer training became work, the soccer field a flea market and soccer players a consumer product.

Every one of us at birth gets (inherits) a coded model of our development defined enough to bear the seal of the human species but also elastic and specific enough to offer possibilities for unlimited variation. The future young soccer player is a personality whose path of development can be interrupted at any moment. That is why it is essential that those who work with future soccer players, as well as intermediate level soccer players and already affirmed soccer masters are highly educated experts (IBID), people who are far above the average offered by our everyday soccer life. Sadly, we have seen large numbers of trainers, selected most often by people who are not a part of the true spirit of the soccer athlete (economists, political figures and power mongers) who perish in the flame of their unrealistic attempts to achieve personal success, thinking only of themselves and forgetting the soccer players, the tradition and the reputation of the club where they work.

The greatest virtue of sports, including soccer, is humaneness, where one forgets about oneself in the inspiration of the spirit of competitive sports and makes the effort to give as much as possible for others. Giving in order to receive is one of the basic principles of ethics and human qualities. Training success, its rich knowledge and possibilities for application in soccer depend to a large measure on the level of expertise and education of the trainer, his methodological skill and above all his intellectual powers.

The time in which we are preparing the young soccer player or building up the skills of an already affirmed one is always future time. Models in soccer are not and cannot be those from the world of the present, not even if they are the very best. In soccer the models are from the future and the foundations of success rest on experience and creativity from the past. That is why it essential that young, talented experts work with younger generations close to them, where their enthusiasm, strength and talent will overtake the experience of the older ones on their way toward a successful future. The future in soccer has no borders and they must not be drawn by older generations, either, with all due respect for their experience. Experience is acquired while talent is a gift of God and knowledge is their servant.

Modern soccer turns toward science to the greatest possible extent, thus forcing the contemporary trainer to follow the development of all innovative and revolutionary changes.

Such a trainer constantly searches for new truths, seeks answers to newly arisen questions, is open to new knowledge, practice and theory, trying to be objective and just towards himself, his profession and his colleagues.

Of course, it is necessary to have a broad intellectual horizon with knowledge of the principles of individual sciences and society, knowledge of foreign languages, educational and psychological scientific disciplines, etc.

My personal view of the future soccer trainer is reflected in the orientation toward the future without copying the past, a future that will bring new knowledge and discoveries. Whoever does not want to improve himself, to influence himself and others, does not know how to achieve results.

The characteristic of such a trainer is first of all determination and persistence in long-term work, and research that leads to his own success. Courage in factual opposition to authorities, independence in judgment, endurance in moments of difficulty and crisis, and speed in reacting in the search for the most rational solutions are just some of the factors of success of the future soccer trainer. All of these qualities can be considered a part of the concept of a mature personality or a well-trained trainer. Such a trainer is consummately professional, objective and tactical, determined and persistent. He controls his emotions and is completely independent in his professional, didactic-educational and comprehensive work as soccer teacher.

Whether the trainer will succeed in turning the athlete into an associate or whether he will remain self-taught depends first of all on the relationship between the trainer and the athlete, and the orientation toward what they will achieve in the future. The basic error in orientation is that athletes being taught to copy instead of to understand and discover. This is one of the ways of manipulating athletes as well as future trainers. The future of an ongoing relationship between the trainer and the athlete is largely dependent on the personalities of the athlete and the trainer, as well as the situations in which they find themselves.

The athlete’s heart is not infrequently like that of a child – if it is treated too roughly it may not react immediately but the treatment will rarely not have consequences. That is why it is important to note that trainers are not blacksmiths and athletes are not made of metal. The attitude of the trainer toward the athlete should be firm, but not rough and humiliating.

It is generally understood and accepted that the primary thing in sports is physical status and that the intellectual traits of the athlete are of secondary importance (here it is impossible to generalize about soccer and soccer players, or soccer trainers). Certainly every one of us chooses the scale of our own existence, as well as the path of our own humanization, based to our own abilities. Sports, including soccer, are one of the human activities that demonstrate that human capabilities are unlimited.

That is why it is essential from the very beginning to develop the spirit of the soccer player, not just to prepare him to achieve sports results.

Although the ultimate targeted purpose in sports is results (in comparison with the essence of sports, where it is the fulfillment of self and others, and the sports result is a goal of lesser importance), it is necessary to go beyond this and turn to the possibility of affecting the essence of sports. It is essential, therefore, to use one’s intellect in soccer and in sports in general to a maximum, which means achieving the full value of the sports life, and that is far more than a sports result.

One of the important factors in good planning is time, which is based on breadth of view, realistic prediction, accuracy of prediction, etc. Time is very important for the achievement of high results for both soccer players and trainers. That is why it is necessary to possess many things in one being: first of all, a strong personality. All for the purpose of justifying the old folk saying, "to be able to make time, run away and exist in a horrible place". One of the causes of subjugation of thinking and the relatively poorly developed intellectual activity among soccer players is that they are not required to think but merely to follow orders. This limits their ability to think for themselves. Probably one of the reasons is that the we usually enter the world of soccer free, while others take the right to influence and shape us, imposing their own methodological, organizational and doctrinal experiences, and usually neglecting what the soccer player (athlete) says without knowing that they, too, may be able to learn something from him.

In every line of work there are moments of weakness and lack of interest but if we were to succumb to them we would look irresolute, like those who are constantly changing their jobs and ultimately do everything badly.

Learning from each other is the basis for achieving a common goal. Believing in the future of soccer, modern soccer is increasingly turning toward science. The principle of causality is one of the principles of science, which is why I believe that ethics has a chance of transcending science and sports. A fish does not notice that it is living in water because it could not live anywhere else. By the same token, people involved in soccer do not think about the ultimate target purpose of soccer because by playing it they live in it and through it.

Sports that do not have an element of risk are not sports. In soccer it is reflected in outplaying, in the constant fear of defeat if one does not play a more aggressive game. Is courage a virtue? In sports in general, including soccer, a virtue (such a courage) is acquired, not inherited. To enter into a duel in the heat of the battle without thinking? Physical courage is not enough if it is not accompanied by intelligence to properly guide it and take advantage of it in appropriate fashion. Courage is getting up after every rough start and going on without paying attention to the pain, continuing after every defeat, courage is overcoming all doubts upon waking up in the morning with the same question: to go on or not. As long as we consciously believe in ourselves we live and exist. Courage is believing in ourselves in order to believe in others more easily. So you must believe! Believing in what we are doing, believing in the ability to improve, we also believe in people. By investing and constantly seeking what is better, critically examining doubt, and optimizing the will, we experience life optimistically.

The holiest of holies of the trainer’s job is in the opportunity to judge, weigh, and think. How long the cooperation between the athlete and the trainer will last depends on the talent on either side. Moreover, the greatest courage and skill on the part of the trainer is needed when discovering soccer talent. Those who are concerned with discovering talent and nurturing it must not belong to the world of mediocrity.

To be a trainer means to be a leader, which means acquiring many kinds of knowledge. The place and the role of the trainer should be in step with the times to protect the profession for a better future.

Contracts between players, trainers and teams must be honored for the good of the atmosphere in the club. Unnatural severances of contracts are like artificial mayhems. A good trainer knows how to recognize every form of average behavior that enables us to distinguish the talented from the untalented more easily. Thus, the trainer working with talented soccer players also improves himself, aspiring to top perfection. By leading wisely, we will drive away all the bitterness inherent in various problems that can appear because at the moment of choice, there is no past or future time. Struggling with outdated methods of work it is necessary to be able to persist in the new because every new position, form and approach is initially unacceptable because it is contrary to generally accepted practice. The trainer is faced with the difficult task of analyzing the soccer player with respect to the elements that come with him, such as mentality, environment from he is coming, material stimulation (which is most preoccupying in professional soccer), and the environment in which the soccer player is working and training.

The link between the trainer and the soccer player lies in their mutual acquaintance. Every form of brutishness is excluded. The speed in the transmittal of energy will depend on the skill of the trainer and the adaptability of talent to absorb.

In order to achieve their desired goal athletes (soccer players) and trainers, true connoisseurs of soccer, are responsible for protecting their work from amateurs who have chosen the wrong line of work, and for whom soccer is often a true love that arrived too late. All this does not prevent them from participating in it very aggressively without the least bit of true, expert knowledge and education, giving themselves the right to judge by tactless, frequently personal comments, and even to make final decisions.

It is not enough to have actively taken part in soccer for a length of time to have expertise in it. For this very reason, in order to achieve the clearest causal relationship between the trainer and the soccer player, it is necessary to aspire to perfection in all elements of expertise.

Team creation and selection of soccer players
Team creation

The process of team creation, which comprises a large number of psychosocial factors, is achieved during the course of training, enhancing, and to the end of soccer outplaying. Trainers most often carry out a good part of the team creation themselves but it is desirable that experts help them in this on occasion from other scientific fields, especially psychology. That is why it was necessary to state earlier that the trainer must have basic knowledge and skills in other scientific fields as well. We will begin from the supposition that creating a soccer team is something done primarily through different kinds of training, through the processes of playing with the ball and outplaying in which the trainer himself is forced to take part. In either process surprises and unexpected complications in the situation can occur. Since we know the cause and field where the mistake originates, its timely correction is expected.

During interpretation and demonstration of training material it is important that the trainer exercises great care that stage demonstrations are intended solely for players. This is also a basic characteristic of internal team communications. A similar procedure is used when scolding, a raised voice and even abuse of one’s position are unavoidable. None of this should go outside the immediate team framework. A high level of communication means a larger number of special ways of communicating within the team with specific expressions. They are so specific that they are incomprehensible to the broader environment. They are usually expressed under specific conditions when one wants to leave an impression, impose belonging or hide one’s own weakness.

We call such signals the team code. The essence is that the code at a given moment becomes a joint signal. It is necessary to wait for a real situation for a specific signal to be or to prepare it in advance.

Communication among players is conditioned upon numerous factors. First of all, upon knowing the participants in communication, their creativity, in a word, by intellectual domination capable of overcoming all obstacles, misunderstandings and intolerances. This is the cornerstone not just for coding but also for team outplaying as a whole…

Tactics
Secret tactics in soccer

The system represents the positioning of players on the field at a given point in time conditioned by the requirements and tactics of the opposing team. Changes in the system have been most influenced by changes in the rules of the game of soccer, as well as by enhancement and development of physical-technical predispositions. During the course of a single game several different system positioning of players will be used. The criterion for quality of any system is reflected in the success of the ultimate results the team achieves. All tactics are conditioned by the quality performance of technique and good physical preparedness, which in modern soccer has become the primary prerequisite for establishing the ultimate target purpose in soccer, which is – victory. In addition to system positioning, the development of play in a game largely depends on its rhythm, responsibilities and roles of the players on the field, the space, and the quality of the players and their successful execution of requirements.

From the very beginning children should be accustomed to responsibilities and requirements placed before them by the game of soccer. Faultless execution of the tactical requirements of the trainer largely depends on the intellectual capacities of the players, their adaptability, quick reaction, capacity of preventing the opponent from realizing his intentions, etc.

In soccer by tactics we mean the thought out and planned action of an individual or team for the purpose of creating good (favorable) preconditions during the course of competition in order to gain an advantage that will permit the quality of an individual or the team to be fully expressed, while preventing the quality of the opponent from being fully expressed.

Technique
Secret techniques in soccer

In an earlier chapter we discussed and emphasized the importance of the first year of involvement in soccer for children. This year is especially important because children of that age experience everything through playing. When they begin school and confront responsibilities an additional note of self-distinguishing and desire for independence is added. Soccer makes all this possible for them through playing. Their need to imitate and desire to one day become like one of their idols and models in soccer makes it easier for the trainer to guide them with a clear plan toward this same goal of becoming a top soccer player. Children 6-8 years of age should be given the opportunity for constant activity with various elementary games and exercise that will enable them to develop their desire to win and succeed (IBID). Children should be accustomed to order and given the opportunity to feel they are part of the team (providing equipment, markers and other essential requisites for marking the field).

Physical preparation of the team
Testing, intensity and scope of training

We introduce children-young soccer players to greater strain by increasing the intensity of their physical exercises.

In order to prevent damage to health during the course of training, it is desirable to have constant control (examination) by a specialist of sports medicine, testing of the level of physical capability, use of individual programs received after testing and control of program dosage.

All of these procedures require a serious approach to top soccer. In big and professional clubs today individual programs received after testing are largely in use with a personal trainer for each individual player.

With the advent of science (sports medicine) in sports we have the ability to follow development and obtain a clear picture of every successful future soccer player.

In addition to programming and individual dosage procedures such as EKG monitoring, physical composition analysis, aerobic capacity testing, energy balance evaluation and basic motor ability evaluation predominate.

EKG monitoring means monitoring the work of the heart with a under a load with classic tests – the Astrand test or PWC 130, 150, 170. A physical composition analysis enables a clear assessment of the quantity of fat tissue and muscle, an evaluation of the proportionality of physical composition and monitoring of changes in fat components as a result of exercise. Testing of the soccer players can be done under laboratory conditions or on the field. One of the most commonly used field tests is the 12-minute running test and the 2400 m test developed by Kenneth Cooper. This test enables us to test aerobic capacities in order to assess maximum use of oxygen (max VO2).

The trainer is the person who defines and plans the phases of a single training. The intensity of work depends on the plan and program established earlier, as well as on the dosage of earlier trainings and the form of the players themselves and their results.

In order to prevent injury that can throw a soccer player out of the training and competitive process for several weeks or months, it is essential to constantly strengthen certain groups of muscles. For example, as a result of the neglect of the abdominal muscles, primarily the oblique, because of the difference in the strength of the muscles of the buttocks and the muscles of the abdominal wall over time what can happen is the opening of the upper part of the inguinal canal – the so-called abdominal hernia or as soccer players call it, groin pain (symphysis syndrome).

WHAT DO YOU DO AS A COACH TO MOVE YOUR TEAM THROUGH THE STAGES OF TEAM DEVELOPMENT .

Every training process, which is conquered as a hindrance of some sort, will open up new possibilities. The ability of a soccer player to adapt to various training processes, must strive towards triumph which is seen in the ability to achieve something completely new. The spending of self power and energy for something more (than the awards) is compensated by a better tomorrow, happiness after a wave of sadness and charitable exhaustion. The world of soccer is like a mill wheel which is constantly grinding our successes and failures. The causality between the coach and the soccer player is in the acknowledging of the knowledge of one from the other.

Beotism of any form is not allowed. How fast the energy will be transferred depends on the skillfulness of the coach and the adaptability of the talent to accept.

The process of teaming up encompasses a large number of psycho-sociological factors and is realized during the course of training, perfecting and throughout soccer competitions.

The coaches perform the process of teaming up alone to a large extent, but it is desirable that they obtain help, at least occasionally, from experts from other scientific fields, especially psychology.

That’s why the coach is expected to, and should, posses basic knowledge and skillfulness in this and other science disciplines.

In order for a high level of teaming up to be achieved, it is important that there exists collectivism in the group.

Every group of soccer players in the psychological sense presents a working group, but it might not at the same time be a team.

A soccer team is much more. That is why, there is a need for a high level of motivation and an agile and well organized environment. For a successful organization, referring and managing of the team, there must be a hierarchy in the team, whose aim is to define roles, that is duties.

The coach is faced with difficult task of analyzing the soccer player, for there are certain elements that go with him: the mentality, the environment from which the soccer player has risen, the financial stimulation, the environment in which the soccer player trains and works.

Contemporary soccer, to the greatest extent, forcing the contemporary coach to follow the course of the innovations and the revolutionary changes. In every profession there are moments of weakness and disinterest. The attaining of common goals is achieved by learning from each other. Courage is to believe in oneself in order to be able to easily believe in others. A coach who does not wish to rise, to influence oneself and others, does not know the way to achieve success.
To the clearest pictures, basic elements for team development are:

• Team up process
• Psycho-physic elements of the players
• Coach skills and knowledge
• Plan and program for season or tournaments
• Psycho-physic and technical-tactical program through season
• Enjoyable and peaceful environment.

What others are saying about Niksi Dobre :

It is quite difficult to introduce Niksa both as a writer, i.e. a spiritual person, and a top athlete since these two professions seem to be incompatible at first glance. However, people who know him well are familiar with his personality, his insatiable hunger for knowledge and spirituality as well as for successful football career. One of the few who succeeded in bridging the gap between literature and sports, the latter sometimes being referred to as "a solely physical endeavor".

Prof.dr.Dragoljub Visnjic
University of the Physical Culture-Belgrade

To publish the first professional book at 29 and wind up with 5 other books within the next 5 years is a record of all literature and athletic communities that is worth praise and acknowledgement.

Niksa is one of the best young coaches today who promises better soccer for all of as…

I truly hope and believe that book Modern Soccer will assist the soccer professional and amateur vocation – trainers as a top-notch reminder, and new players and future national team members as the first and best designed primer on understanding the game of soccer.

Smiljan Banjac
Sports reporter and soccer commentator

Niksa has skillfully moved away from placing an equal sign between the modern and the high quality because the first does not necessarily presume the second. That’s why he has emphasized what makes the game supremely good, and that is the knowledge of individuals collected in the knowledge of the collective.

MIhajlo Todic
Sports journalist and publicist

In 15 years of my working carrier as a sports journalist I Have not seen any one who promising so much in coaching world of soccer.

Senka Tesic
General Director-Radio Golf

Working with Niksa is really pleasure. An Experience that brings soccer game on different level-professional and educated. Preparing a young soccer player for higher standard, from local amateur to future soccer stars with Niksa is always new and from different angle. His training programs make him different and for short time very successful than the other coaches.

It is pleasure to work with him.

Gjoko Tasevski
The Director of Goal Keeper World
www.goalkeeperworld.com

Modern Soccer" is a refreshment to soccer literature and a sure-fire future bestseller in world soccer literature.

Publisher Company BeoBook-Belgrade