A Rotational Player Development Model
This blog explores the benefits and implications of a rotational player development model. This type of model involves young footballers having the opportunity to explore multiple positions within a team, for as long as realistically possible, i.e. until they reach ‘competitive’ football, depending on the coach’s opinion on when the teams’ focus switches to competition and results. In youth football at a grassroots level, some coaches very quickly pigeon-hole players into set positions based on their characteristics at a very young age, i.e. speed, strength, and whether they are perceived as a good or bad player. A rotational player development model gives players the opportunity to experience a wide range of positions, and there are a number of benefits which come along with this; Playing in a range of positions, players can gain an insight into opposition players’ roles. For example, if a young player has ambitions of playing as a centre-half in the future, then playing in a multitude of positions can help with their development. Knowing how a striker thinks, and what they are trying to achieve can aid in calculating how to counteract these actions. By gaining experience playing as a striker, the individual will begin to think as a striker, and understand the decisions they have to make, and what results may come as a result of those decisions. Upon returning to playing centre-half, the individual may have a better understanding of how to defend against a striker, as they now know a small amount of what they are thinking and trying to achieve. Developing a wide range of skills and techniques is another large benefit of a rotational system. Some positions on the field have to use certain techniques far more regularly than others. For example, a centre-half will be required to carry out many more defensive headers (height and distance) than a winger would during a game. Although it may be argued that a winger will never need to perform a defensive header, there may be a small amount of occasions when this is required of the winger. By having the winger practise at centre-half then they will gain experience of practising defensive heading, and develop their technique and level of execution. A rotational system will give young players a much more well-rounded set of skills and techniques, and when placed under pressure and difficult circumstances will be more likely to be capable of executing the skills that are required of them. As well as the two benefits which are noted above, the rotational player development system can also heavily contribute towards creating a balanced team environment. Mutual respect will be enhanced as players know each of their team mates are capable in multiple positions, and may therefore be regarding as better and more versatile players. Players’ levels of trust between each other may also increase as they know that their team mates can cover them if they need to, and can trust that they are capable of carrying out a wide range of skills. Also, this system will not result in the perception of some players being ‘favourites’ with the coach, and being allowed to play in their preferred position every week, as they will be being regularly rotated. To counteract the positive points raised, there are also some possible implications of introducing a rotational player development system. The main negative implication is that players have a lack of specialism in a single position. Some coaches may argue that it is better to ‘throw all your eggs into one basket’ and focus on developing a player in a single position in order to become excellent in one position, as when they reach competitive football, the likelihood is, is that they will generally be playing in a single position for the majority of their competitive careers. Although I totally understand this concept and opinion, I cannot help but believe that as grassroots football coaches, we have a lot of responsibility and impact on a young players’ career. To gamble on focusing the whole of a young player’s development on practising in a single position, potentially at the consequence of being able to play in other positions in the future. Especially as coaches we could quite easily misjudge a player’s characteristics at a young age, and we are almost totally unsure of how a player might grow and develop. A rotational player development model is most certainly worth considering for grassroots football teams. Perhaps you may have misjudged a player in the past? Or a player’s morale may be boosted by being given an opportunity in a new position? You will never know until you’ve tried, so take a leap of faith, and see what the effects of this type of model are with your players. It's time to think, Think Coaching. The Hidden Benefits of Coaching With coach development being an aspect of the game that The FA are now heavily emphasising as an incredibly important aspect of developing the game, many volunteer grassroots coaches are now dramatically stepping up the level of quality of local coaching. This has also been aided by the use of social networking sites, which allow coaches to openly discuss relevant coaching issues, bounce ideas off each other, and fluently share content and resources. Coaching is slowly moving away from ‘one of the kids’ Dads with a bag of balls’ to a specific area of expertise in which more and more individuals are beginning to excel. It seems to me that this level of coaching grassroots football is generally undertaken for one of two reasons (or both) 1. Love of the game, and desiring continual involvement in the sport, and 2. Genuinely wanting to offer young players the best possible opportunity to develop in a good environment. Coaching is looked upon as the process of improving players through a variety of methods, however I believe it is far more than that, I believe that coaching can be an incredibly powerful tool on a much wider and varied basis. Rather than simply viewing coaching as the methods by which we improve players, can it be considered a vehicle which players can use to better themselves? Out of the possible roles that there are within football, players generally only utilise playing and being fan as options to improve their game. By being a fan I mean watching the game being played at a higher level, taking an interest in local football etc. Is it a possibility that players could improve themselves further by experiencing other roles within the football world – for example coaching? Coaching can offer a view of the game that is far different from that of the players on the pitch or training field, and requires a high level of thought, analysis and critique to be conducted at the highest level, arguably a level which is not required by all players. If players were to break up their playing time with some experience of coaching, than would the insights they gain be valuable when they return to playing? A good example would be a player gaining the understanding of ‘why’ they might do certain actions, as opposed to doing things ‘because it’s what they are supposed to do’ or ‘because it’s what they’ve been told to do’. Coaching other players may spark them to consider the reason they asking other players to carry out an action, as opposed to just passing on a generic instruction because they think it’s the right thing to say. Perhaps I’m wrong, and players should stick to playing, and coaches should stick to coaching, but I feel that by altering the players’ perspective on the game, they can gain a valuable insight into the decisions they are required to make, and more importantly, why they should make them. Not only do I believe coaching can be a valuable tool for player development, but also for young individuals who are desperate to be involved in the game, perhaps young people who have fallen out of education, or not been allowed to play football because of their attitude or behaviour when they were younger could, one day, develop into fantastic coaches. Of course, it requires a lot of time, effort, and commitment to achieve such a turnaround from being unaccepted as a player/student to taking a responsible role as a teacher/coach. Coaching can give young people an extremely powerful tool to develop their knowledge and experience of the game, their communication skills, their experience as working as part of a coaching team and many other skills that are directly applicable to skills they are going to require in the real world, for the rest of their lives.
I truly believe in the power of football, and the power of coaching, to be used as an incredibly valuable tool to develop the performance of players, and to enhance the life skills and career opportunities of young people who simply love the game. It's time to think, Think Coaching. I'm not normally one to post about events in the world of elite of football, but after the events of gargantuan clash between European giants Manchester United and Real Madrid last night, I just can't help myself. I think we all know the event that I'm referring to, the moment Luis Nani of Manchester United was sent off by the match referee (Cuneyt Cakir) for a 'debatable' high footed collision with Madrid's Alvaro Arbeloa. Even if you weren't watching the game, I'm sure the news stream on the social network of your choice was inundated with comments such as; 'the ref's ruined this game', 'the ref's had an absolute shocker', 'what a joke'. Writing this as a fan of Manchester United, I find it difficult to hold back my feelings of embarrassment when viewing some of the comments made regarding the decision. At this point let me make some things very clear: 1. I do not believe Nani should have been shown a red card. 2. I follow Manchester United. 3. I am a qualified referee. 4. I think the referee made a mistake. I am not writing this article to attempt to excuse Cakir of making mistake, and essentially that is all that he did. Was there any malice towards any party when making his decision? No. Did he believe he was making the correct decision at the time? Of course he did. Rather than players, managers, fans, and the rest of the football world directing their disgust and hatred towards the match referee, perhaps they should stop and consider the bigger problem. The rate at which football has grown in recent years is undoubtable; financially, viewing numbers, television coverage etc. This being said, the importance of football has also arguably increased, especially as such vast financial implications rest on the outcome of so many elite level matches. However, the methods which we use to officiate matches has actually changed very little. Of course match officials can now communicate more smoothly (headsets), have more technological aids (alerts for referees if linesman flag, electronic numbers boards for substitutes), and a larger team of support staff (fourth officials etc). But all of this aside, how many people are responsible for making the big pressure, key decisions during football matches? One. Just one individual. Referees need more help. A number of rules within football are far from black and white, or yes and no, which means at some point, somebody's opinion comes into any decision making scenario. And as soon as we are viewing somebody's opinion, somebody is bound to disagree or be disappointed. Referees need more help.
In any sport, the person responsible for making the majority of decisions (referee, umpire, match official) should be the individual who is in the best possible position to make judgement on the events within the game. In many sports this is the case, for example; how many wrong decisions are made in American Football? Very, very few, as the referee has a team behind him with the opportunity to view footage of an incident which is unavailable to fans, coaching staff etc. Similar to tennis, which uses the hawkeye system to clarify whether balls are 'in' or 'out', the technology is extremely accurate, and provides the umpire an opportunity to review a decision; few mistakes are made. Whereas football, who is in the best possible position to make a judgement on an incident? The people who are sat in front of a television screen watching the match, who get to see replays, slow motion, various angles and heights. Does the referee have this opportunity? No, he gets one view, at live speed, from whichever angle they happen to be at. Referees need more help. So next time a decision doesn't go your teams' way, rather than bombard an individual with a barrage of abuse and hatred, stop and consider who is really to blame, is it the referee who has made a genuine mistake? Or is it the fact they do not have the level of support (time, replays, technology, advice) that is required to accurately make the correct decision on a 100% basis? Referees need more help. It's time to think, Think Coaching. Making Football Simple Football is the greatest and simplest game in the world, if we want it to be; two groups of players, each trying to kick a little white ball between a set of posts. However, the football industry often over-complicates the game, and the intricacies become overwhelming, especially for young players with little experience. When coaching, it is my intention to paint a very simple picture for my players, one that offers them with lots of decision making opportunities, but with simple choices within those decisions. In the paragraphs below I will share the simple decisions which I believe are the most important for young players to consider when playing in match situations. Your team in possession. (When one of your teammates is in possession) Basic response: Find a space where you can receive the ball. Details: - Find a space on the pitch where there is NOTHING between you and the ball carrier. - The space must be somewhere that the ball carrier can realistically get the ball to your feet. You in possession. (When ‘you’ the individual has control of the ball) Basic response: Space in front of you? Dribble. No space/time? Pass. Details: - If there is space on the pitch then be confident enough to dribble with the ball close to your feet. - If the space is then taken away (by a defender for example) then make the choice to attempt to take them on, or pass the ball. - If there is little time/space on the pitch, then pass the ball. - With VERY little time, take minimal touches. - With SOME time, have a touch, get the ball out of your feet, and then play. Your team defending. (When your team are not in possession, but you are not personally pressing the ball carrier) Basic response: Mark an opposition player. Details: - Get tight to a play. - Mark them goal-side. -Ensure all your team-mates are doing the same. You defending. (When you are personally pressing the ball carrier, or directly defending the ball) Basic response: Don’t let them play. Details: - Press the ball player. - Make play predictable with your body shape. - Be proactive (make the attacker do want YOU want them to do, not what THEY want to do). When written in a list it may appear that there is an awful lot for a young player to remember, however these points will delivered over time by coaches, and regularly reinforced at training sessions. If a young player can take in the four ‘pictures’ above (you in possession, team in possession, you defending, team defending), then their basic decision making cannot go too far wrong. By breaking the game down into four different scenarios, the young players can visualise a picture n their head of what their options are on each occasion. Of course the coach would not show the players a sheet with all of this information as it would baffle and confuse them, but these points would be continually reinforced whilst players are participating in match related sessions (i.e. small-sided-games, possession games, attack vs defense etc.), in order to etch these basic decision making processes onto the minds of our young footballers. It goes without saying that painting these pictures and decision making processes is almost totally void if our young players do not have the range of techniques that it requires to carry out the physical action that their mind has decided upon. i.e. it is no good a player knowing the best decision is to dribble, but being incapable of dribbling whilst maintaining possession of the ball and being comfortable with it.
The four pictures which are painted above are only the most basic formats of the decision making processes which we want our players to go through. As they get older and develop, and their maturity and techniques improve, then we allow players to begin to decide upon the various possibilities for a given situation. For example: if going strictly by the guidelines above, when one-on-one against a defender, our players would pass the ball (as there is no space in front of them), but this is not necessarily the correct decision. You may have considered that I havn't mentioned shooting throughout this article. As we all know, most children are already quite capable of deciding when and where to shoot, and it is often an aspect that doesn't require additional encouragement, as they will naturally acquire the initiative to shoot. We need to offer our youngest players these decision making processes, and as they develop and learn the game, we must nurture their own decision making processes and support them, the best way for them to figure out the best decision is to allow them to make mistakes for themselves, and as the gain more experience in the sport they will naturally do this. The four processes above are for the young or inexperienced players, to give them a basic insight into the game. It's time to think, Think Coaching. Behaviour Management in Coaching Behaviour management styles are often ill interpreted as ‘how to punish players’, however behaviour management actually refers to how the coach deals with all kinds of behaviour within the session, whether this be negative aspects, or positive. So not only must we consider discipline, but also praise, and how to best manage each individual and the group as a whole. Through my experience in studying coaching and teaching, I have learnt various styles and methods of behaviour management in great depth, with many aspects considered in high levels of detail. However, my experiences in coaching and teaching tell me different to what a lot of research and texts say. This topic, like many in coaching, can be analysed in as much or as little detailed as required, so rather than over complicating things, let’s make things as simple as possible. The examples below use mini-soccer age grassroots coaching, and coaching KS1 and KS2 after-school football clubs. If we desire to look at this topic simply, we can relatively easily divide coaches into two categories, those who resort to shouting at their players to command respect, and those who do not. The example I’m about to use may seem bizarre and a little distant from the coaching world, but just go with it... Let’s take a well trained dog; a well trained dog has respect for it’s owner, and this respect is often mutual. The owner takes care of the dog, but the dog does it’s asked, and told, because this is what has learnt to do over time, and recognises that the owner treats it well, and in return, the dog follows it’s commands. Alternatively, we could look at a well loved, but untrained dog. Who, most of the time, behaves ‘okay’ but pushes it’s luck relatively often. It barks at the television, it barks at the door, it demands to be taken for walks as and when it wants. The owners grin and bare it, and leave the dog to do as it pleases for as long as they can, until they get fed up, at which point the shout back at the dog, yelling instructions such as ‘shutup’ ‘get out’ or ‘will somebody sort the dog out’. Coincidently, this is a dog, not a human, and unfortunately doesn’t understand the human language, therefore this ends up in an alpha-male style clash of attitudes and a ‘who can shout the loudest’ battle, until eventually the resolution is to shut the dog out in the garden. Not much of a resolution is it? Hopefully you’ve started to notice the relevance of the slightly outrageous analogy; if a coach can develop a level of mutual respect with their players, then it is much less likely that problems will arise, resulting in a smooth relationship between the pair. Of course, this level of mutual respect is one that all strive for, but very few reach, due to the size of the challenge and the extreme patience required for the task. To summarise; be as patient as you can be, give your players ownership of their development and the sessions they participate in, make them believe in themselves, show your players respect and avoid any 'I'm in charge' scenarios. Coaches and players are on a reciprocal path of development, and both parties need the other in order to succeed, one party cannot enjoy progress without the others' efforts. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DuaV6UKtP0s
Please watch the video via the link above. Mutual respect? Player enjoyment? Behaving because of fear? How long until they quit? It's time to think, Think Coaching. Working Within The Four Corners The four corner model was developed by The Football Association in order to aid coaches with their planning and delivery of grassroots coaching sessions. The aim is not for the affects and aims of sessions to dramatically change, but to encourage coaches to break down their sessions more intricately, and consider the impacts which their coaching has on the players they work with. In order to make the model accessible and usable for all levels of coaching , the four corners are broken down simply and colour coded; Red - Technical Green - Psychological Yellow - Physical Blue – Social The four aspects can be relatively easily be defined; Technical – Football skills ‘on the ball’; control, passing, dribbling, shooting etc. Psychological – Mental attributes; decision making, enjoyment, spatial awareness etc. Physical – Movement within the game; sprinting, turning, jumping, acceleration, agility etc. Social – Interactions with other participants; communication, teamwork, friendship etc. Below are two examples of the use of the four corners to breakdown sessions, (the boards below are for matches as opposed to training sessions). One four corner board below is for a U14s group, the other is for a U8s group, can you work out which is which, and why? The four corners offers coaches an interesting tool which gives them an opportunity to break down the benefits of the session which they plan to deliver. Rather than planning and coaching a session ‘for the sake of it’, a coach needs to create a session which has specific outcomes for the players involved, and are highly beneficial for them.
An interesting conundrum for coaches is to decide which aspect of their session they plan first – either the content of the session, or the outcomes they want from the session. In my experience, a vast majority of coaches often use the first option, to plan their session, then consider what the outcomes will be. However, is this necessarily the best way to go about planning our coaching sessions? Should we not be deciding exactly what our players need to get out of the session, and then designing a session plan to meet those required outcomes? This is an interesting hurdle which coaches must cross, and it is clear to see that the planning the session first, and then considering the outcomes is often an ‘easier’ option, which potentially requires less effort. That being said, planning the outcomes, and then designing a session to meet those outcomes, may take more time and effort, but as we know, the hard work of today, reaps the benefits of tomorrow. It's time to think, Think Coaching. Let The Children Play
This will be the first in a series of coaching blogs, designed with the intent of offering a small insight into the logic behind some of our coaching methods. Hopefully the information and debates contained within these blogs will be beneficial to parents & players, and senior & junior coaches alike. The information which I present to you is neither definitive nor fact, but gives you the opportunity to be critical and analytical of the multitude of methods of the development of young players. The phrase ‘let the children play’ should immediately initiate thoughts of pure enjoyment through football, an atmosphere in which children have a significant input into the methodology of their development, and essentially having the opportunity to enjoy their football in a comfortable and relaxed environment. As grassroots coaches, some of us are often guilty of stifling young players creativity and belief through a range of typical coaching misbeliefs. It is too common that we witness coaches on the sidelines of mini-soccer games across the country bellowing commands and putting extreme levels of pressure on the players to perform well, but more importantly – win. It is often the placing of importance onto winning which instigates these attitudes, and creates a horrible environment in which young children struggle to develop, let alone continue to participate in the sport. In order to create a good environment for young players to flourish, we, as adults, have to consider why and how we began on our journey into football. For many of us, it was on the streets, at the local park, or in a car park with mates, without the need for bibs, and cones, and extensive equipment. Teams were created by ‘choosing numbers’ or ‘doing captains’, and any imbalance in the teams was rectified by trading big for small, or strong for weak, or mate for mate, until the teams were almost fair – and that was good enough. Jumpers were the goalpost, and any refereeing decision was settled by a quick debate between friends, which may or may not have ended up in a falling out. But essentially, as children, we took ownership of our sport, and tweaked and tampered with whatever equipment and facilities we had until it was good enough. Unfortunately, we are now of an age where many children do not experience the outdoors upbringing that many of us did, and their knowledge and experience of football is based around FIFA on the Xbox, or matches on a television screen, instead of getting out there and discovering it for themselves. This can be put down to a number of reasons; cultural laziness, technological developments, health and safety, and uncertainty of the outside world, but whatever the reasoning is, it is happening, children are not enjoying the ‘jumpers for goalposts’ upbringing that many of us did. That being said, it is now our job as coaches to instigate the ‘jumpers for goalposts’ environment within our coaching sessions. Did our football upbringing do our development any harm? I don’t think so, so as coaches we shouldn’t be afraid of allowing players ownership of sessions, by allowing them to have a significant impact on what they do, with the role of the coach being to create a safe environment in which they can do it. Some coaches are guilty of over-coaching and stifling players’ development. It is difficult, but sometimes we have to stand back and admit that sometimes (only sometimes), the kids might (just might) know best. It's time to think, Think Coaching. |
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