19: Grow Coach Newsletter

Football Coaching: Raising standards.

May 02, 2024

A warm welcome from JustCoachMD. We are happy to have you on board. We are looking forward to providing you with helpful content.

Here is what to expect:

Education: Being a better leader
Activity 1: Three team switching play game
Activity 2: 4v4 switching play game
Session Commentary: Tips and advice on how to coach the shared activities.
Coach Project: Session design activity.

Are you a Slow Coach or a Grow Coach?

The Role Model

What does this look like?

It is the responsibility of all football coaches to be good role models. This means paying attention to small details, for example, turning up on time, and having practices set up and organised. It means using suitable language and dressing appropriately for the practices you are about to deliver.

Every coach must stay on top of their coaching qualifications and live by the expectations that they place on the players. You can’t ask the players to be calm and composed then shout and scream from the sideline each time a player messes up.

Setting a good example to the players is vital as a coach and a friend. Be polite, kind, and well-mannered. Communicate well, and be a team player. These are attributes that you expect of players, use them yourself to be the coach that the players look up to, idolise and respond to.

Tip: Take pride in being this person and take ownership of getting to know the players. Try to appreciate them beyond just the game of football. Recognise their academic skills, their personality their interests, remember their birthdays, etc.

The small details make a big difference.

Effective Leadership

Leadership is such a tough ask as everything you do will not be right by one person somewhere along the line. It is vital to be yourself and follow what you believe to be right.

Try not to be influenced too much by others. Get opinions and feedback, but you should weigh up all of this information and make the final decision. There are some traits that leaders possess and these traits will serve you well as a coach.

Communication, great leaders communicate their message quickly and efficiently, they understand that communication is a two-way thing and that they must always keep their lines of communication open.

A great coach is aware of their verbal and nonverbal actions. They appreciate how their communication can positively or negatively influence behaviour.
This means being approachable to speak to and then when you are speaking verbalise your comments clearly and understandably.
Repeat what someone has said back to them, and check you are getting it correct. Knowing you have the right information always helps.

Nonverbal communication such as facial expressions and body language are things that people listening to your communication will see.

If they are talking to you and you are standing sideways on and not facing them it suggests you do not wish to talk.
If you are facing someone and when they are talking and you nod your head when they are speaking this suggests you may agree with them.
Take note of how you communicate information verbally and non-verbally you may not be communicating as well as you think.
Take the time to communicate with, players, parents, staff members, and colleagues. What would you like to know if you were in their shoes? Find out this detail and share it with them.

Good leaders are good decision-makers. They weigh up the options and make a decision, they do not get paralysed by the moment and do nothing.

If a session is not going so well, they will step in and fix it. Many coaches leave it too long to intervene. They freeze and the opportunity to affect the session or the performer is gone.

Traits of Good Leadership

Taking action when it matters is something good leaders will do. They see a problem and try to solve it swiftly. Dealing with poor attitudes or behaviours is another tough decision coaches often have to make.

It is important for group morale that you tackle poor attitudes and behaviours because at some point players may challenge you. Make the correct decision to face these issues and resolve them.

Good leaders are passionate and committed. They know what their performers need and they give it to them. They lead by example putting in the work and being transparent about their intentions, vision, and ideas.

Good coaches have ideas and philosophies around how they want the team to play or perform and they plan activities and practices that mirror this vision.
The best leaders work tirelessly to help others and will commit to helping those who wish to be helped.
They will look for leadership qualities in their players. Leadership qualities should be celebrated and shared with the rest of the group.
A coach who cares about their work and their actions is so much more powerful than a coach who lacks commitment and passion.

Tip: Think about what you see in the face of the goal scorer from your favourite player or team when they have just scored the winner. That moment is passion and commitment. You need to find ways to demonstrate this in your coaching.

Can you be trusted?

Being trustworthy is an essential element of good coaching. If players, peers, parents, etc. do not trust you they will not give their all for you when you ask. They will resist and question you, they will hold things from you.

Players will not tell you things that may be useful to know to improve a relationship or situation. Trust is an essential ingredient for successful football coaching.

Trust is about building effective relationships and taking the time and interest in people as previously mentioned.

Be honest about your thoughts and opinions, this may upset someone. The difficult decisions discussed early are far easier to defend, than a lie about a performer you said was good, so to please someone.
How you handle relationships and things that build trust will be shared with others whether you like it or not. Therefore, it is best to be a coach whom people trust and feel they can talk to.
Players do not want a coach that breaches their trust. The player needs to know that there won’t be any comebacks later down the line or that other people will find out about your conversation who shouldn’t have.

Tips on Being a Grow Coach

Pay attention to small details.
Set a good example in the way you go about things.
Set high standards for yourself and others around you.
Be yourself and stand up for what you believe in.
Communicate clearly and concisely and use positive body language.
Be prepared to make difficult decisions for the good of the group.
Be passionate about what you do and commit to it.
Be honest with people, it can be difficult but in the long term, people will respect you for it.

Development of Professional Skills

It is every coach’s responsibility to take control of their professional development. You must continue to seek improvement and understanding of the game.

Just because you have completed a coaching badge it does not mean you are the complete coach. The learning begins once you are let loose on the players.

Take time to seek out information in the form of other coaching badges. If this is not possible then ensure that you attend a coaching masterclass event about topics you are seeking more clarity on.

Obtain books on topics of interest, ask coaches you admire about books they have read, and go and find them. Observe another coach working so you can see how they do things. The actions mentioned above will contribute to your coaching development.

Self Reflection

A reflective mindset in terms of what you are doing well? What do you need to change? And what do you need to know more about? This will help the coach to identify clear progressions to move them forward.

You do not always have to write everything down. However, this can help you remember. It could be a simple overview of these reflective questions in your head while on your journey home.

With reflection it is important to act, this is the part that will move you forward. A coach will complete the action to overcome a problem and then feel positive or negative about the outcome.
Be patient, I see so many coaches trying to rush through their badges and discredit the course they have been on because the organiser's views do not match your own.
Every course you attend will have messages in there, you just have to watch closely to find them.
If you disagree with something, don’t complain about it, acknowledge it and then either improve it or adapt it so it works for you.

Tip 1: Putting the time in on the grass. This is where most of your growth will occur. Most coaches want to work with older players and it becomes a race to the top. Take yourself out of your comfort zone and see how tough it is working with U7 players or total beginners.

The strategies you will find when trying to help players at a young age will serve you well if you get to work with older players.

Tip 2: Be patient, don’t worry if it takes a couple of years to progress in your coaching from a professional or status point of view. Ensure that you are getting better year after year. When opportunity does come knocking you are ready and have the experience to match.

Tip 3: It is good to be out of your comfort zone but it is not so good being there if you are yet to master the skills that will keep you there.

Here are some areas to reflect upon and build strategies for:

How do you communicate and deal with player and parent expectations?
Do you set player expectations? Playing positions, game time, and opportunities to progress.
What methods do you utilise to help players cope with adversity?
Coaching admin tasks: Organising fixtures, festivals, and tournaments for the players. Session planning and design. Report writing.

This is not an exhaustive list of tasks. It will give any coach clear ideas of a range of additional responsibilities to be aware of. You may not have thought these things were your responsibility.

Learn from the mistakes of others

Don’t underestimate the power of being second in command. You can observe and learn from others before you take charge. It is like an apprenticeship in coaching where you can see how everything works.

Take note of how things run and think about ways to make it better, refine it, or improve it.
Look how experienced coaches work, observe them doing things that you find difficult. Ask them their reasons about why they acted or dealt with an issue.
Discuss how they cope and act during difficult moments.

Tip: From personal experience, it is about being appreciative and understanding of people’s feelings and being empathetic about how your actions may affect others.

This is important in helping to build trust and a positive reputation. See below for additional tips on aspects of coaching you may not have considered important.

Check-in regularly with players and parents about how they would like difficult conversations to go if they have to occur.
Set boundaries of communication before difficult conversations. Emotions are usually inflated post-incident. Take a 24-hour cooling off period then discuss.
If you wish to cut a player from a team how do the parents/guardians or players want this done? Phone calls, meetings, letters, emails, etc.
What training activities do players enjoy most, give them more of this and adapt and change the less engaging things.
Small touches but the personal approach helps to build your reputation and trustworthiness as a coach.

This is the not-so-glamourous side of coaching but it is also vital to your development that you go about this in an organised and efficient way that’s right for the player’s development.

Coach Development Tips

Take control of your learning and be clear about what you want to learn and how you would like to develop as a coach.
Be aware that much of your coaching experience comes from doing therefore you must be prepared to get wet feet to hone and master your coaching skills.
Develop a reflective mindset to ensure you constantly progress, writing things down and remembering is helpful but ultimately taking action is vital for your progression.
Be patient with your development, there is no rush to be in charge, try to focus on skill development and the qualities needed to be a better coach as opposed to getting into something you are not ready for.
Develop an understanding of your responsibilities off the field and begin to have processes that manage these things reliably and responsibly.
Observe and learn from others’ mistakes before you take a lead coach position, think about what you want from coaching, and plot your route to success.
Check-in regularly with players, parents, and coaches. Discuss if communications could be better and ask how they would like things to be communicated for issues that may affect them.

positional play book — **Buy Now:** Learn, practice, and apply **Pep Guardiola’s exact attacking combinations and patterns of play** direct from his training sessions, to reproduce his magnificent style of play.

Activity 1: Three Team Possession | Switching Play

Created on: @TacticalPad
Aim: Secure possession then switch play
Space and Set Up: 30 by 30-yard pitch split into 4 equal 1/4s, plus a small 5 by 5-yard central zone.
Play the Game: ⚫️s and 🔴s maintain possession in a 4v2 against the 🔵s in the areas containing mini goals.
⚫️s complete 3 to 5 passes then they must transfer the ball via the side support squares into the 🔴s possession box.
Two ⚫️s then move into the side support squares whilst the 🔴s complete their 3 to 5 passes.
🔵s try to win the ball and score in any mini goal. The 🔵s can only enter the possession squares once the ball is played in.

Activity 2: 4v4 Game | Switching Play

Created on: @TacticalPad
Aim: Secure possession then switch play quickly to score.
Space and Set Up: 40 by 40 yards for the main playing area. Create a central triangle (each side 10 yards). Have a mini goal facing out on each tip of the central triangle.
Play the Game: The IN Possession Team must pass to a player in the central zone. Then pass to a player in any corner of the pitch, and finally score in any mini goal.
The OUT-of-possession team cannot enter the central triangle or the corners of the pitch they can only defend the space around them.
If possession is regained the team with the ball tries to achieve the IN-possession conditions. (pass centrally - pass into a corner - score a goal).

Session Commentary

Three Team Possession:

Player Intention: Spot the correct time to receive on their back foot and switch the ball.

Coach Pay Attention to:

The player’s body shape when they receive the ball. Do they know if the ball can be switched?
The speed and accuracy of the passing to transfer the ball between players. Is this fast enough?
The ability of players to change their minds if the picture changes. It may need additional passes before the ball can be transferred.

Notice how:

Players use different surfaces of the foot to manipulate the ball and open up passing options.
The attacking teams support players, creating passing lanes constantly so the ball can be switched.
The tempo changes when the ball is being transferred between zones.

4v4 Switching Play Game:

Player Intention: Constant movement and support play to create opportunities to switch play.

Coach Pay Attention to:

The player's decision-making to play around the pressure before playing through the central space.
Movement into the wide corner zones once a ball has been played through the central zone.
The number of touches players need to secure and switch the ball.

Notice how:

Players prepare their space, losing a marker to give an angle to receive the ball.
The attackers read the triggers to make runs or movements toward the corners or mini-goals.
The passing combinations to allow quick switches of play.

‘"I will forgive if the players cannot get it right, but not if they do not try hard.’’

(P, Guardiola)

Coach Project

Coach Helpsheet:

Objective: Design a session on switching play.

Practice Design: Use the activities above for inspiration, and create a full session for the topic of switching play. Think about different progressions you could add. For example, a 2nd ball, another player, a mini-goal, certain zones on the field.

Can you build up the session from start to finish? The session sequence could look something like the image below.

It could have the following sequence:

Technical practice: Unopposed activity that is repetitive.
Skills practice: Work on the topic with an overload or varied levels of pressure.
Possession: A directional practice that involves playing under pressure
Small-Sided Game: Get lots of full-pressure repetition of the session topic.

Coach Task :

Design the activity for around 6 – 12 players to work on switching play.

•Keep it SIMPLE

•Ensure it is REPETITIVE

•Include a COMPETITION

Note Down:

•The rules and organization

•Progressions and regressions

Please feel free to get in touch or share your ideas, actions, and interventions. We would love to hear from you. If you have any questions, post them here; we will do our best to answer them.