Day 3 - The Battle of Littleheath - West Ham v Nantes (France)

Since 1066 the English have lived in the shadow of a French invasion and defeat. West Ham had already won a world cup for England, how about some revenge sur La France. Smashing idea.

Here is the day as it happened:

Breakfast. Restricted myself to Weetabix only as I feel cereal followed by English Breakfast may be packing my arteries with unnecessary gloop. Libya was still falling apart - I understand the complexities of maintaining national security but surely the Hammers back four can keep a clean sheet on Sunday...

We watched a U17 blend of ages including some reserves be put through their paces. One England international, a Polish international and a few other talented lads. Interesting to see how Nick and Paul took no prisoners regardless of who they are. It's fast paced with touch and vision orientated. The grids cut up quickly yet watching the level of skill on a slippery and bumpy surface was impressive. It was interesting to watch each player and know who has been offered a contract. It may not be as effective a motivational tool as one think. One or two players may feel they have made it and my require a reminder. One tale of old was offered on this: a worried player once asked why he was being spoken to about getting back on track - the coach replied 'when I stop talking to you is when you should worry, son'.

West Ham U15 v Nantes (France). The Hammers won 4-2 but should have been 6-0 up by halftime. The Nantes team improved in the second half but were always inferior. Their coach explained after that West Ham played too fast. He should spend time coaching his players to kick the ball rather than opponents and wait to exchange shirts at the end rather than stealing them during play.

Our mission as Academy coaches was to identify talent. We picked out 4 players, Diamond, who scored a couple of goals, Courtney, who looked smooth as a center back and a wonderful Kevin Keen 'look-a-like' in center midfield. Player 4, Kieron, held the whole thing together in midfield. The coaches said Kieron played at 70% of his potential and you could tell there are great expectations for the lad. Day 3 and we'd found our next potential star.




We met Greg, the sport scientist. He talked real-time heart rate monitoring (to make sure work rates are up), pre and post session activities and nutrition. Players have a carb-protein based electrolyte drink following each session. Sometimes a banana is thrown in for good measure.





The afternoon was spent being coached by Paul Heffer. It really is a simple game and as Paul coaches us we see it. Great drills for small and large groups. Emphasizing vision, awareness and lots of touches on the ball. I think we did OK as Paul coached us - although video evidence may prove costly to my reputation as 'nearly' sane. Details on the drills will come in later blogs. But, again we are pushed mentally.

At Chadwell Heath we talked to Nick Heycock, the Education Office and watched more talented kids. There were less than 30 players working inside but at least 7 coaches were present. Others stood to the side and discussed player progress and simply watched their colleagues work. Once again, attention to detail and sessions that made players think as hard as they physically worked. Nick's session on education was revealing and demonstrated the frustrating nature of a marriage between schools and soccer. It's perfect on neither side of the Atlantic.

An excellent discussion developed on the primary differences in education systems with respect to student involvement in non-school sport. I suspect Nick's background as a PE teacher enables him to work more efficiently than most. Interestingly, the more I watch Paul and Nick work the more see 'good practice' from a purely educational perspective. They would be effective in school or academy. Part of the success of the academy is based upon teaching ability and understanding the children you are working with. Both US & UK soccer governing bodies should base their coaching courses with simple good practice in the classroom. It's core to success in coaching any sport.

And so to Upton Park, inspired, impressed and knackered - Bobby Moore was still outside my window. Lovely. I am still working on how to get on that pitch this Sunday. Latest plan is to disguise myself as a corner flag. It works like this: go on a cabbage water diet, lose 100 lbs and put some heavy books on my head - paint body white - attach a small claret flag to my now pencil like head - sneak outside and kidnap existing flag - replace said flag - stand really still for a couple of days in that spot.




To add the element of reality to my 'corner flag replacement plan' I have spent a few hours each day standing on the tube and not holding the danglely things. Hoping I'll achieve a bendy corner flag post-ness in time for Sunday. Oh by the way, that's Nantes warming up in the background. Figured I could break the law just a little bit.

Day 3 dinner was cracking. Sticky toffee pudding - see evidence below. I took an extra one for bedtime. Only 2,398 calories per serving. Not sure how many servings one pudding constitutes.




One never knows when an extra pudding will come in handy. If the social unrest in North Africa spreads to Europe - I could survive for a week or so on one pudding. So I put in my spare pudding in the bedside drawer...