This is what every student athlete needs to learn.

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Barcelona start pressing (hunting for the ball) the instant they lose possession. That is the perfect time to press because the opposing player who has just won the ball is vulnerable. He has had to take his eyes off the game to make his tackle or interception, and he has expended energy. That means he is unsighted, and probably tired. He usually needs two or three seconds to regain his vision of the field. So Barcelona try to dispossess him before he can give the ball to a better-placed teammate.

It’s easy for Barcelona to be compact, both when pressing and when drawing up their wall, because their players spend most of the game very near each other. Xavi and Iniesta in particular seldom stray far from the ball. Cruijff recently told the former England manager Steve McClaren, now with FC Twente in Holland: “Do you know how Barcelona win the ball back so quickly? It’s because they don’t have to run back more than 10 metres as they never pass the ball more than 10 metres.”

If an opposing player gets the ball anywhere near Barcelona’s penalty area, then Barça go Italian. They apply what they call the “3-1 rule”: one of Barcelona’s four defenders will advance to tackle the man with the ball, and the other three defenders will assemble in a ring about two or three metres behind the tackler.

But when a Barcelona player wins the ball, he doesn’t try for a splitting pass. The club’s attitude is: he has won the ball, that’s a wonderful achievement, and he doesn’t need to do anything else special. All he should do is slot the ball simply to the nearest teammate. Barcelona’s logic is that in winning the ball, the guy has typically forfeited his vision of the field. So he is the worst-placed player to hit a telling ball.

The logic of possession is twofold. Firstly, while you have the ball, the other team can’t score. A team like Barcelona, short on good tacklers, needs to defend by keeping possession. As Guardiola has remarked, they are a “horrible” team without the ball.
Secondly, if Barça have the ball, the other team has to chase it, and that is exhausting. When the opponents win it back, they are often so tired that they surrender it again immediately. Possession gets Barcelona into a virtuous cycle.

These principles can be applied to floorball and if every player in the team can understand them, the team will be formidable. However, for developing players, the big picture of tactics will be useless if the basic skills are absent. My advice is to keep practicing hard on the basic skills and always be conscious about implementing these tactics in your game.

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Even this man’s claim that “I knew about football, I could do the on-pitch things” is dubious. Does Rijkaard, or Diego Maradona, know more about football than Jose Mourinho, whose total experience as a player was a few minutes in Belenenses reserves? Did Keane’s knack for geeing up teammates on the field translate once he had become a jockey?

Asked once why failed footballers often became great coaches, Mourinho replied: “More time to study.”

In my opinion, playing experience is no guarantee of coaching success. The experience of playing at a high level will only help to a certain extent, provided that while playing, one constantly delves deeper into the rationale behind the training activities. I have seen novice coaches implement drills just because it was done when he/she was a player. When questioned, the coach simply has no answers on to why he/she conducted the drill, or could only provide a sketchy response.

As players, this article translate to the need for your mind to always be active on the court, to understand the logic of the various skills and tactics that are taught. It will do wonders to improve your level of play if you can integrate both the physical and cognitive aspects of the game.

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‘B’ Division Friendly
Catholic High School vs Temasek Junior College
CHS Indoor Sports Hall
5-8 (0-2, 2-1, 2-1, 1-4)

The opponents took the lead with two goals in the first period without reply. Despite the early setback, the team battled hard in the second period and Jie Ying drew even with two good goals. However, TJC managed to put one in to maintain the lead. In the third period, Warren and Han Keong chipped in with a goal each while TJC could only manage one. With the score level, both teams were looking to win the game and Hao Yuan gained the advantage by scoring in the fourth period. However, it was not to be as TJC capitalized on several lapses to score four goals in succession to seal the win.

It was a commendable effort by the team against older opponents and the players were more aware of their mistakes as a result. Keep working hard!

‘C’ Division Friendly
Catholic High School vs Raffles Institution
CHS Indoor Sports Hall
3-9 (2-2, 0-5, 1-2)

The match started off brightly, with Zheng Yang and Ee Chan scoring in the first period. However, Raffles Institution matched up with two goals of their own to level the scores. The second period was a walkover as the opponents dominated the match to score 5 goals. The result was a tongue lashing by the coach for losing their shape and lacking court discipline.

The final period showed some improvement with Yu Le scoring a goal followed by the opponent. It was also unfortunate that the opponents were aided by an own goal from the team.

It was a lesson for the boys not to be complacent and to remain focused and disciplined even in times of trouble.

‘B’ Division Friendly
Catholic High School vs East Spring Secondary School
CHS Indoor Sports Hall
5-2 (2-0, 2-2, 1-0)

The senior team did well to take the lead with Joshua and Yee Chen scoring a goal each. However, they lost their shape in the second period and allowed East Spring to draw level with 2 goals before Nigel and Joshua put the team ahead. The players did not look back and Hao Yuan sealed the win with a goal in the final period.

‘C’ Division Friendly
Catholic High School vs East Spring Secondary School
CHS Indoor Sports Hall
2-4 (0-0, 1-2, 1-2)

The match began on an even note and it was only in the second period that Zheng Yang managed to score a goal. Swiss Cottage replied with two goals to overcome the deficit and did the same in the third period with Donavan scoring the second goal for the team.

There were many positive signs from the matches but with time running out, both teams will need to step up quickly if they wish to do well in the tournament.

‘C’ Division Friendly
Catholic High School vs Swiss Cottage Secondary School
CHS Indoor Sports Hall
6-4 (1-0, 0-0, 4-1, 1-3)

It was an even game for the junior team in the first two periods after Vincent scored in the first period. In the third period, Keith extended the scoreline with two well-taken goals. Vincent undid his good work earlier when he unwittingly deflected a shot into his own goal. Ee Chann and Clement made up for the error by scoring a goal each. However, in the fourth period, the team lost concentration and allowed the opponents to score 3 goals, after Joshua made it 6-1 at the start.

‘B’ Division Friendly
Catholic High School vs Swiss Cottage Secondary School
CHS Indoor Sports Hall
6-4 (2-0, 1-1, 1-1, 2-2)

The senior team showed more composure by taking a quick lead with goals from Derek and Hao Yuan. Hao Yuan hit the target again in the next period after Swiss Cottage threatened to come back with a goal. Jireh scored 5 minutes into the third period but the team allowed Swiss Cottage to counter immediately after the face-off to negate the advantage. In the final period, Yuan Rong and Jireh both scored, but Swiss Cottage was equal to the task with two goals as well.

Although both teams registered another victory, the performances were far from convincing yet. Nevertheless, there were positives to take from the games and the players must keep their focus to train hard.

‘B’ Division Friendly
Bedok South Secondary School vs Catholic High School
BSS Indoor Sports Hall
1-2 (0-0, 1-0, 0-2)

It was a tough and even game for the senior team as both sides battled it out on the court. Both teams came close on many occasions but it was only in the second period that Bedok South managed to score their first goal. However, the players were not fazed and kept their spirits up to score two goals in the third period with Warren and Charles scoring near the end of the match.

‘C’ Division Friendly
Bedok South Secondary School vs Catholic High School
BSS Indoor Sports Hall
4-2 (2-1, 1-0, 1-1)

In the next game, Bedok south drew first blood by scoring first before Donavan equalized. However, it was not enough as the opponents scored another goal to take the lead. Bedok South continued to play hard and got 2 goals for their efforts while Joshua put in another one for the team. The game ended with the junior team unable to overcome the deficit at 4-2.

The performances of both teams were much better today and both teams must continue working hard to improve.

‘B’ Division Friendly
Victoria School vs Catholic High School
VS Indoor Sports Hall
21-2 (8-0, 5-1, 5-1, 3-0)

The senior team played first, but in a terrible first period, Victoria School scored 8 goals without reply. The second period was another sorry affair as the team succumbed 5-1 with Hao Yuan scoring the single goal. The team did not learn from their defensive mistakes and the same scoreline resulted in the third period with Han Keong tapping in from close range. In the final fourth period, Victoria School took their foot off the pedal to score 3 goals, but the team was still unable to make headways in terms of the scoreline.

‘C’ Division Friendly
Victoria School vs Catholic High School
VS Indoor Sports Hall
11-4 (4-1, 2-0, 1-1, 4-2)

The junior team put in much effort in the first period with Keith scoring the first goal of the game, but eventually letting in 4 goals to drop behind. The players stepped up in the next period to concede 2 goals. Andre managed to score in the next period but Victoria School was equal to the task and the gap remained. In the final period, the opponents put in another 4 goals while Zheng Yang and Yu Le made the scoring chart with a goal each.

The performances by the senior team leaves much to be desired and it proved that history counted for nothing if the players do not put in effort. The junior team will have a lot to learn from the game and hopefully they will pick up from there.

‘C’ Division Friendly
Catholic High School vs East View Secondary School
CHS Indoor Sports Hall
3-2 (0-1, 1-0, 2-1)

Donavan made the most of a defensive lapse shortly into the second period to draw level and the score was to remain as such until the final period. The last period was a tight affair as Donavan once again scored for the team to take the lead before the opponents equalized. The match was finally settled when Keith Tay took a long shot from inside the opponent’s half to score the winning goal.

The team should have done better in this game and there are many learning points that the players would do well to bring back to the drawing board.

‘B’ Division Friendly
Catholic High School vs East View Secondary School
CHS Indoor Sports Hall
0-4 (0-1, 0-1, 0-2)

The senior team was expected to make a decent showing in the game today, but the players made a mess of it as their defence was breached time and again by the opponents. It was a disappointing game by their standards and they were instructed to reflect on their performances by the coach.

Both teams were still under-performing as the season approaches. The players must learn to put their differences aside for the benefit of the team.