80: Grow Coach Newsletter
Football Coaches: Develop your Coaching Craft.
Welcome from JustCoachMD. We are happy to have you on board and look forward to providing you with helpful content.
Here is What to Expect:
Coaching Craft: Establishing player roles and identities.
Full 60-Minute Practice: Exploiting the Half Spaces.
A player who knows their role can play with freedom. – Pep Guardiola
🎯 Player Identity & Role Clarity: Helping Each Player Understand Their Purpose
💡 Introduction: Confusion Kills Confidence
Have you ever had a player who seemed hesitant, inconsistent, or unsure on the pitch? 🤷♂️
Often, it’s not a lack of ability—it’s a lack of clarity. When players don’t understand their role, they second-guess themselves. When they are unaware of their strengths, they shrink under pressure.
But when players are clear on:
✅ Their strengths
✅ Their role within the system
✅ What success looks like for them
…confidence, consistency, and contribution soar. 🚀
As coaches, our job isn’t just to design sessions—it’s to help every player understand:
“Who am I for this team, and how do I bring my best every game?”
Here’s your framework to build that understanding.
🧭 The Identity & Role Clarity Framework
Identity = Who the player is at their best (strengths, personality, mindset)
Role Clarity = How their strengths fit the team (position, responsibilities, success markers)
When players own their identity and understand their role, they play with:
✅ Confidence
✅ Accountability
✅ Team alignment
Let’s break down how to build this.
5 Steps to Build Player Identity & Role Clarity
1️⃣ Start with Strengths
Confidence stems from clarity; players must first understand their best attributes.
💪 When a player knows what they bring to the table, they bring more of it!
Coach Actions:
Use individual feedback sessions to highlight strengths
Create simple player profiles (3 key strengths, 1 growth area)
Reinforce strengths during training and games
Ask Players:
“What do you believe your top strengths are?”
“How do those strengths help the team?”
“Where do you feel most confident on the pitch?”
You must fit the system to the player, not the player to the system. – Jürgen Klopp
2️⃣ Define Roles Within the System
Clear roles = clear expectations
Principle: Every player must know their responsibilities
🗺️ Confusion creates hesitation—clarity creates action.
Coach Actions:
Have one-on-one role conversations
Use video or diagrams to show their tactical role
Link role clarity to team success
Ask Players:
“What is your main job for the team?”
“How does your role change in possession vs out?”
“What does a successful game look like for you?”
3️⃣ Adapt Roles to Fit Strengths
Systems serve players, not the other way around.
Principle: Maximise individual impact within the collective structure
🛠️ Flexibility creates buy-in and better performance.
Coach Actions:
Adjust positions or tasks to suit strengths (e.g., inverted full-back, false 9)
Discuss role evolution as players develop
Celebrate unique qualities, don’t force clones
Ask Players:
“How do you feel this role brings out your best?”
“What adjustments help you perform with confidence?”
“Where do you feel most effective for the team?”
4️⃣ Create Psychological Safety
Safe spaces grow brave players.
Principle: Players need freedom to ask, explore, and fail
💬 Players who fear mistakes hide; players who feel safe contribute fully.
Coach Actions:
Encourage questions during team talks and reviews
Normalise making mistakes as part of growth
Celebrate effort, learning, and self-expression
Ask Players:
“What are you curious or unsure about in your role?”
“What risks are worth taking for your development?”
“How can I help you feel more confident to express yourself?”
5️⃣ Revisit & Refresh Roles Regularly
Clarity is ongoing, not one-off
Principle: Player identity evolves—keep pace with it
🔄 Roles and confidence grow with communication and feedback.
Coach Actions:
Hold regular short check-ins (every few weeks)
Update player profiles as they progress
Show examples of their growth through video or stats
Ask Players:
“What’s improved most in your game recently?”
“How has your role developed this season?”
“What’s the next step for your impact on the team?”
✅ Coach’s Autonomy Checklist
Before every training block or game:
🔲 Do players know their top strengths?
🔲 Is each player clear on their role within the system?
🔲 Have I adapted roles to suit individuals where possible?
🔲 Have I created a safe space for questions and growth?
🔲 Am I regularly checking in to refresh player understanding?
🏁Final Thoughts
Your players aren’t mind-readers. Without a clear understanding of their identity and role, even talented players hesitate. But with simple conversations, tailored roles, and ongoing support, they grow into their best selves, for themselves and the team. 🚀
Confused players hesitate. Clear players contribute. Empower your players to own both their identity and their role. 💡
📝 Player Profile Template: Know Your Strengths, Know Your Role
🔑 Top 3 Personal Strengths
What makes you unique and valuable to the team?
🎯 Your Role Within the Team
What’s your job in possession, out of possession, and in transition?
In Possession:
Out of Possession:
Transition Moments:
🚀 What Success Looks Like for You
How do you know you’ve had a good game? Focus on controllable actions.
🧠 Growth Area
One focus to develop over the next month.
💬 Coach-Player Conversation Prompts
✔️ What’s one thing you’re confident about in your role?
✔️ Where do you want more support or clarity?
✔️ What’s one action that helps the team every game?
Confidence is knowing exactly what your job is. – Carlo Ancelotti
The Practices: Exploiting Half Spaces
Possession Practice | Movement Infield
⚽️ Created On: @TacticalPad
Aim:
Move infield with the right timing to receive the ball.
Set-Up:
24 by 18 playing space split in half. Add in 2 x 4 by 3 central boxes.
👕Teams: 🔴’s vs ⚫️’s, 🟢 Support players
How to Play:
The defending team cannot enter the central boxes; they can only defend around them.
Both teams score 🔴’s vs ⚫️’s by passing into and out of central zones.
🟢 Support players can score by making runs into central zones at the right time.
🚧 Constraints:
🏆 Reward: Double points for a first-time pass into and out of the central zone.
👨🏫 Review: Timing of run: Players should not wait in central zones; they should arrive to play out quickly.
🚫 Restriction: 2 touches and 3 3-second limit in the central zone, or possession is turned over.
3v2 | Exploiting the spare player in wide areas
⚽️ Created On: @TacticalPad
Aim:
Finding the spare player in wide areas.
Set-Up:
Section off the field as shown and place a pair of mini goals facing toward the sidelines.
👕Teams: ⚫️’s vs 🔴’s play 3v2 down each side of theplaying area.
How to Play:
⚫️’s look to combine and score in the mini goals with a cutback cross from outside of the 18-yard box or a first-time finish from inside the 18-yard box.
The 🔴’s look to regain the ball and break over the end of the pitch via a dribble or pass into a waiting 🔴.
🚧 Constraints:
🏆Reward: 1 touch combinations that lead to goals are worth double.
👨🏫 Review: How players find space, is it wide or inside?
🚫 Restriction: One attacker is fixed in the half space, and they can only support from that area.
Half Space | Phase of Play | Creating Scoring Chances
⚽️ Created On: @TacticalPad
Aim:
Work on game-based decisions to exploit the half spaces and set up scoring opportunities.
Set-Up:
Half pitch as shown. Funnel the lines towards 3 x mini goals at one end of the pitch. At the opposite end, place a GK.
👕Teams: ⚫️’s vs 🔴’s 🟢 (GK)
How to Play:
🔴’s lineup in a 4-3 plus 🟢 (GK).
⚫️’s lineup in a 2-3-3 (FBs offer late runs in wide areas)
⚫️’s try to break down 🔴’s and score in the large goal.
🔴’s regain possession off the ⚫️’s and score in any of the three mini goals.
🚧 Constraints:
🏆Reward: If a team scores and uses half space in the build-up up it’s worth double.
👨🏫 Review: Decision making on the ball to play into half spaces. Support play around the ball to move into the half spaces to receive.
🚫 Restriction: Time limit on attacks, if the attacking team does not attempt a shot within 30-45 seconds of play, possession is turned over to the opponent.
When players are clear, they play faster—even if they’re not faster. – Xabi Alonso
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