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Frank, in the past I have kept track of 1 touch turnovers for a half/game, which was a good way for me to evaluate how well the team, or even certain players were taking care of the ball. I simply had a chart with all the players that was divided into two columns – one for each half, and they got a hash for each 1 touch turnover.
There is an art to this because you don’t want to squash some of the necessary risk taking and creativity that is required to unlock certain situations, but as a baseline I found it was a good tool.
And it begins…
I think the harsh reality is that only the most amateur/recreational coach would fail to talk about hard work, commitment, family, etc. etc. These are only buzz words without the day in and day out art of leadership. In my opinion, what separates coaches and leaders when it comes to culture is their…
1. Self-awareness of philosophy and standards. Knowing what you believe, why you believe it, and being confident that it’s the right way to build a team.
2. Shaping ability. The art of when and how to confront a behavior that is unacceptable.
2. Energy level. Every time you confront an unacceptable behavior (attention, attitude, effort, etc.), it takes energy, and over the course of a session, season, or career coaches lose the energy necessary to enforce the standards in their culture. Everybody knows when they slip, and it erodes the team in many ways.
In my experience I’ve also found that adults in general tend to underestimate how perceptive children of all ages can be. Kids pick up on who is honest, who is acting and communicating in authentic ways, and who truly respects and values them for who they are and their role in the group. In fact I think many times they do this better than adults.
Brian said all the right things here, but I think much more valuable to judging his ability to build a certain type of culture is the opportunity to watch his players play. Clearly he has walked the walk with his other teams, and the smart money is on similar success with this group.
Hope the kids appreciate what they’ve got.
Paul. What has your experience been using video with the girls? When I was on the girls side I had mixed results using negative sequences (things to fix) until there was a lot of belief built up in the team. I almost exclusively used positive sequences (when we executed properly), as we worked on imprinting a style of play. Once we had an identity I could mix in more of the moments when I was going to address errors, breakdowns, and when other choices were present and better.
Jed. I recently read your book, and I admire the work that went in to it. The process of original research and the ability to follow where it leads while also maintaining a deliberate focus on the questions you want to answer is difficult but hugely rewarding.
I have a question about a statement you made in a reply on this post. Here is your quote, “I’ve been experimenting with new coaching methods to see if I can get players to think they’ve taken ownership of the ideas that I’ve actually manipulated and shaped through the session etc.” I was wondering if you can clarify what you mean here. I’m trying to understand if these methods are designed to manipulate and shape the players into thinking they’ve come up with the ideas, convince and refine ideas in a way that the players can understand them, take ownership of them, and then implement them, or something else completely.
Just scanning through the comments and saw this. If you have time/desire I’d be interested to see what you’re getting at.
Thanks.
John, great product. I worked a lot on the girls side for several years and I appreciate the awareness and confidence you’ve developed. Those are big hurdles on the girls side even for players with talent.
I was wondering if you have any cues or rotations for the wide forward to come inside and create overloads, which would give you the chance to spring players behind centrally and also let you bring the outside backs all the way to their back line. This keeps a lot of pressure on the back line, as they have to either…
A: get compact to prevent combination play in the middle of the field – this allows outside backs to receive and attack in space out wide.
OR
B: stretch a little to respect the threat of the wide outside back – this creates bigger gaps centrally for your 1/2s, slipped passes in behind, etc.I think there are a couple rotations that you could add in this part of the field that could create more fluidity and interchange, and with a little choreography they would be really effective at getting your players in behind.
Ryan-
Thanks for the link. I am going to request the book through our local library and check it out. I can already see that it is focused on many of the themes I’ve tried to apply. I’ve been teaching off and on for the past 13 years as part of various coaching positions, and grew up in a family of teachers. I like that the 3four3 curriculum is unapologetically inline with more proven methods of instruction.
I agree that discovery learning is a huge waste of instructional time on the field or in the classroom. Looking at the big picture, I see educational theory and philosophy as a huge issue in the coaching situation in this country. Coaches don’t take seriously that they need to know (have mastery of) content themselves, and/or that children aren’t just going to magically become world class players if they do a little coerver work and are told to “express” themselves.
Ryan, is what you refer to as explicit instruction the same as direct instruction? My understanding is that research is continuing to show that this is the best means of instruction despite the popularity and emphasis on guided discovery or other child-centered instructional methods.
I’ve always tried to make sure that the kids who are giving their full effort and concentration get mine. The kids acting up are energy sappers. You end up spending your focus and energy on them, and it isn’t fair to the other kids.
When I have had issues in the past, typically early on in a season when boundaries are being tested or in a camp/clinic setting where I have a wider range of personalities and less of a rapport, I just ask the player to step out of the exercise or game and either stand or sit out. Then when there is a natural pause or break in the session for water or change of activity I address it 1 v 1, make my expectations clear, and then allow the player to tell me whether they choose to join the group again or not. I try to be dispassionate and put the ball back in the kid’s court. You have to be age appropriate with your warnings, communication, and follow through, but I think if you add this approach to the kind of well structured sessions that are being described in this thread you can avoid all but the most serious of behavioral issues. In team settings especially I’ve had a lot of success with this, as the vast majority of kids enjoy the structure and accountability. It’s a little harder with camps, clinics, or try-outs, but I have done it. Just have to be prepared to stand your ground with the parents if necessary.
