We have been using the Soccer Development Model with two groups of U10 throughout the winter (our off season).
While we had some success with it and the boys had a great deal of fun, the coach needed to have a good grasp on soccer technique to provide as solutions to the "questions" raised through the drills. The Soccer Development Model beleives that we should spend less time instructing the children and let them learn through trial and error using the drills provided. However if the children have never had exposure to a change of direction using the outside of your foot, are they likely to try it during a practice.
Therefore, there is an element of guidance that is required from the coach that Horst Wein does not fully incorporate or explain. We ended up showing the various techniques being focussed on in the practice and then letting the boys experiment during the drills to see what worked best for them.
This program would work well for a group of 6 to 8 year olds just starting out because the drills can be quick, are fun and game like and keep the children interested. However, if you are looking at using the model to develop an older group of players and have a limited amount of playing time like we do in Canada, you will need to bring other skill development into the picture to ensure that they learn the basic skills behind the drills.
Remember that there is no perfect method of coaching - I truly beleive that the coach should select from various methods and approaches to build a philosphy that is his (or her) own.
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