Pushing your teammates and making a better team

This is an odd title for a piece on Liverpool and team training, but in the process of reading a biography on Shankly, and watching my squad train and play a game this week, I considered what are a players obligations to their team, their team mates and themselves.

Shankly was reported to have said to a player who reported that he had injured his knee, "No son, that's not your knee, it belongs to Liverpool Football Club".
Now as harsh as that sounds it is correct. The true player is responsible to his club, squad and team mates. He owes it to them to be fit, to play fit, to play their very best at every occasion,  to report injury to allow other players to fill in, and most of all to push and encourage their team mates to be the best.

An example of this is readily seen at Liverpool in its present set up. Kuyt, Saurez, and Carroll, and to a lesser degree N'gog, all play in the same positions. But in any give day only two of the four will start. How do they push each other? They train hard, and push each other. They test their defenders, to test themselves and to to make better defenders. They train at game speed. And what does this accomplish? It gives the coaching staff options in making team selections. It improves the players abilities, it keeps them competitive, and it makes them better team members, because it is all for the overall improvement of the entire team.

Team members are obligated to train and play their hardest, at all times. It just makes for better players. In the run of a season, a good fullback will make a striker team mate quicker with the ball, and a smarter passer. A fast striker, will train a defender to become smarter, more patient when jockeying, and more pragmatic in their tackling. Each part will improve the other. Players do not like to be shown up individually, and by being repeatedly pushed, and sometimes outplayed,  they will get better, bit by little bit.

My keepers, and I am blessed to have two keepers, each and every practice, take one another on with penalty kicks, little games involving free kick techniques, throwing games, as well as making suggestions to one another in how to work with their defenders and what to do in certain game situations. What they really want to do is be the #1 goalkeeper for their team, AND they want to know that if they aren't in net for a game that the other keeper is good enough to play in their place.  They are both good enough to #1 because they push each other so well. More players could learn from their example.

The training session below is one that represents the ethos of Liverpool football, and I think football in general. It encourages hard, fast passing, penetrating runs, lots of touches on the ball, defending and shooting.

The rules are as follows:
1. No forward passes, only lateral(sideways) or backwards
2. A ball may not be passed higher than 6 feet in the air.
3.The field is 45 long x 25 wide.
4. 5 players per side
5. Last player back is the keeper.

The game encourages challenging defenders, supporting movements/position  to receive passes, and because of the small pitch, many touches and lots of running (fitness). As Shankly said"Great to be alive, all you need is green grass and a ball!"