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The Blog

The Beyond Sport Foundation is a charity which supports inspirational people and projects that are using sport to make positive social change around the world. Since 2009, Beyond Sport has awarded over 150 projects for their social impact through sport. Beyond Sport hold an annual marquee event: The Beyond Sports Awards, a global awards ceremony supported by Sport Relief. The 2014 winners of the Beyond Sport Team of the Year was Charlton Athletic Community Trust, who were shortlisted on the back of their work in…

Mindset. Is it just another buzzword or could it be the final frontier of player development? Do different mindsets affect player development in different ways? Research certainly suggests so. James Vaughan explores the latest research around mindset and imagination, and explains how this can make all the difference in high pressure situations. Research suggests that we need to change the influences that affect a player’s mindset, to unlock the possibilities and harness their full potential. In this article we will explore how mindsets come about, why we…

As well as being an ex- professional player, and player development expert, Todd Beane is the proud father of two young footballers in the making: Jordan and Shae. Beyond the analysis and coaching of football, Beane reminds us of a fundamental truth; order finds its way in an environment of chaos.   Chaos on the pitch. Training is about to begin and a few kids have already bombarded the grounds, managed to muster up a ball and have begun doing what they do best – play. My…

Coming from a position of influence in young players’ lives, we continually aim to create ‘perfect’ environments for development. Mark Upton co-founder of myfastestmile, explains the organic learning curve that occurs without our involvement, and often beats all of our over-engineered solutions. I believe things get more interesting in player learning and development when we take a much broader view and consider it over longer periods of time and factor in the experiences young people have in their daily lives, inclusive of (but certainly not restricted to) coach-led practice…

Using Barcelona’s dynamic attacking trio of Messi, Suarez and Neymar as the example, PDP Lead Researcher, James Vaughan examines the impact of a positive organisational culture. How do we create value driven organisations that allow creativity and a shared understanding to thrive, both on and off the field?   Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr and Luis Suarez are the attacking trident spearheading FC Barcelona’s charge towards a 2015 treble. They looked unstoppable in their Champions League demolitions of Manchester City, PSG and Bayern Munich. Tormenting defenders, each…

Anthony Hudson has travelled the world on a mission to develop himself as a coach. He is a thoughtful character who is tasked with taking one of the world’s smaller footballing nations, New Zealand, to Russia in 2018. We caught up with Anthony in Auckland to discuss his story, his philosophy, his mentors and how he went from West Ham Academy player to New Zealand Men’s coach via the Middle East and picked up the UEFA Pro License along the way. It’s a warm, sunny…

TOVO Institute Founder, Todd Beane looks at the way we view weaknesses on the football pitch. How can we create an environment that encourages players to develop their weaknesses rather than play to hide them? It might sound a bit crazy to encourage weakness. However, as coaches we must encourage weakness by applauding players when they fail for the right reasons. Keep in mind that coaches are trained to correct errors that they see. These are called “coaching moments” and it works like this: a training session is being…

The FIFA saga is not a long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away. It is here and now. Our game is being used and abused for personal gain, but what does it all mean, who is to blame and should we be surprised? We’ll look at the motivational systems involved in football’s governing body, as well as the impact of power and money – the sport’s very own dark side. Is it time for a rebellion?   At the moment it’s easy to…

Youth soccer needs to base the development process on “play” and then find the right moments to encourage technical and tactical information, says Tom Turner. Coach Developer, Mark O’Sullivan interviewed Turner to get a more detailed understanding of his views on US player development.   Tom Turner is director of coaching and player development at Ohio Youth Soccer Association North, USA National Instructor and member of the US Soccer National Coaching Committee. “I consider myself a teacher who coaches soccer,” says Tom. “The primary objective with young…

Football in the USA is on the rise, with increased participation, international success on the pitch and big names playing in MLS. Yet producing world-class talent is what separates the USA from the world’s elite nations. In his regular column, TOVO Institute’s Todd Beane discusses how the USA can cross the final hurdle of player development in a nation focused on physicality.   Let me be politely blunt. While the USA is doing wonderfully with respect to growing the game in terms of participation, the country still has…

DC United’s Chris Rolfe speaks exclusively to PDP Editor, Dave Wright about his career and early development years from college soccer to US international and the Danish Superliga along the way. Find out what makes Chris tick and what influenced his development in this wide-ranging look back at his career so far. Chris Rolfe is an 11-year veteran of MLS. After beginning his college career with the Dayton Flyers in Ohio, Rolfe was a third-round pick by the Chicago Fire in the 2005 MLS Superdraft….

Interest in women’s football is at an all-time high and on the surface it appears to be flourishing. Coverage of the Women’s World Canada 2015 is a testament to this. However, as a parent of both male and female youth players, it is evident that the gap between the women’s and men’s game is huge; a gap that exists from grassroots right through to the top level.   At youth level, I see coaches with higher qualifications assigned to boys’ teams and parent coaches allocated…

Defending is an art form and easily overlooked when the focus in youth development can often be around exciting, attacking play. PDP Technical Advisor & UEFA A licensed coach, Dan Wright shares a session on defending around the box. The main aims of this session are: – Lots of repetition of the key principles of delay, deny and deflect – Progressing from defending 1 v 1 to defending as a unit – Repetition of blocks, headers and clearances – Developing the decision-making of the key…

Why are we always in a hurry to turn children into mini-adults? The topics of premature professionalism and challenging parents dominate youth football. Former US Men’s U17 Coach, Erik Imler shares his thoughts on the upside of a long-term approach. Recently, I found myself in a conversation with a group of youth academy (U9/U10 age group) directors from a neighboring club…a big club. We were discussing the new US Soccer youth initiatives – the number of players on the field format – to be more…

Founder of Changing the Game Project, John O’Sullivan discusses the attributes of great teams, building culture and the importance of service an accountability. “Coach, can I talk to you?” “Sure,” I said. “What’s on your mind today Michael?” “Well, I just want to know what I can do so I get to start more games and get more playing time as a center midfielder. I don’t think I am showing my best as a winger, and my parents tell me I am not going to…

What are the challenges creativity poses? PDP Lead Researcher James Vaughan challenges the place of this important ingredient in human development. The problem with creativity is that our world is not designed for it…however, before we get into that, a few disclaimers: 1. This blog post may be viewed as controversial, confronting and a bit annoying (but it is all evidence based). Therefore, when I want to make an important point, I’ll use an academic reference (peer reviewed) and, where possible, I’ll include a full…

How do groups shape our identity? Founder of Fit Across Cultures and Cultural Intelligence expert, Susan Salzbrenner discusses the impact of groups on social identity. Do you mock people that are showing up in their favourite team jersey the day after a victory? Or those with a bunch of bumper stickers telling you all you need to know about their life? Think twice next time! Did you know that cheering publicly for a team is a great boost for your self-esteem? …Well, given the fact…

In June 2015 I visited Gulu United, the only full time football academy in Northern Uganda. The driving force behind the academy is Adrian Bradbury, a Canadian who lives in Gulu with his wife and two sons. In this post, Owen (12) and Issac (15) give you an insight to an ‘away day’ in Uganda, as the boys travelled to Kitgum a 102 KM journey across dusty, uneven roads. Hi my name is Owen Bradbury and I am 12 years old. In January, my family…

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