Diving. Professional fouls. Time wasting. These are extremely divisive things in the world of football. Why is it so? Shouldn’t we applaud players who manage to deceive referees? After all, isn’t this simply “winning at all costs” – a foundational idiom in today’s sporting environments? Aren’t “noble” players…
Culture & Leadership
A topic at the heart of PDP content. The culture of our team or club can shape the development of our players.
Is the FIFA saga corrupting our coaching? This blog is adapted from PDP Lead Researcher, James Vaughan’s article in Issue #8 of PDP Magazine. With the FIFA saga rumbling on, the team at PDP hope this post can shed some light on the game’s current corruption and the influence it’s having on our coaching. 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 financial gain, but what…
Caleb Porter is a young coach with a decorated resume. Voted the 2013 MLS Coach of the Year after the Portland Timbers accrued 57 league points, Porter has brought a sense of stability to the club on the back of his time as USA Men’s U23 coach and a 12-year tenure in the American college soccer scene.
Believe it or not, but every interaction and communication you have had today happened to more than 70% non-verbally. In a multicultural team, with players from different backgrounds coming together, how can you ensure that everyone receives the same message you are trying to communicate? Can non-verbal communication in international sports teams work seamlessly? As humans, we rely on our eyes and visual sense when decoding any message we receive (83% seeing, compared to 11% hearing, 3% smelling, 2% touch, 1% tasting). As an athlete…
What characteristics do the world’s best coaches have in common? PDP Lead Researcher, James Vaughan shares insight from a study at the University of Queensland on the key attributes required to be the most effective coach. Last Friday, I was lucky enough to attend a presentation by Associate professor Cliff Mallett at the University of Queensland. Cliff is actually my academic supervisor, and a bit of a gun. On UQ’s website they describe Cliffs work saying: “This staff member is a UQ Expert in the…
Dan Senda is an example of someone who has always worked exceptionally hard for everything he has achieved. Desire and determination are traits that you easily identify in the man when you spend time with him. He hasn’t played in a World Cup, and he hasn’t played in the Champions League, but he personifies classic British hard-graft. What Dan Senda has done in his time in football is persist, and with that he’s managed to achieve what few do – sustain a long career as…
This blog is an excerpt from the ebook, Performance Soccer Coach: A Guide to Positive Player Development by PDP Editor, Dave Wright. Click here to download your copy. Find Dave on Twitter @davewright07. Chapter 2: The Best in the Business “I’ve never played for a draw in my life.” – Sir Alex Ferguson If you examine some of the great coaches in sporting history, the likes of Vince Lombardi, Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Sir Alex Ferguson, and Sir Graham Henry, all of these men are…
In this Live Webinar replay, Founder of Changing the Game Project & TEDx Speaker, John O’Sullivan & Former US U17 Assistant Coach & Men’s International, Erik Imler join us to talk Player Development in the USA. PDP Editor, Dave Wright & PDP Co-Founder, Adam Wright host a discussion with John & Erik on how we can change player development for the better with a particular focus on the challenges that parents, coaches and players have in the USA. We discuss a range of topics including: Positive…
In this Live Webinar replay, Founder of Fit Across Cultures, Susan Salzbrenner & UEFA Pro licensed coach, Mads Davidsen discuss the idea of cultural intelligence and the benefits of coaching abroad. PDP Editor, Dave Wright is joined by PDP Lead Researcher, James Vaughan as they discuss Cultural Intelligence in Football with Susan & Mads. Susan is an expert into the impact of cultural difference & transition in sport, has written the book, Play Abroad 101 and founded Fit Across Cultures – a consultancy for athletes…
The road to success in football is not always straightforward. Now regarded a Premier League stalwart, West Bromwich Albion were a club once derided as the ‘Boing Boing Baggies’ for their succession of relegations and promotions in the early 2000s. Now a stable club under the guidance of Tony Pulis, the club’s academy are producing some exciting young footballers. PDP Editor, Dave Wright spoke to Jimmy Shan, the Under-21 coach at The Hawthorns, about his career and got an insider’s look at the WBA Academy….
A recent study showed that more than one third of athletes were expatriates in 20141, with almost half of all active professional footballers having experienced international migration during their football career. But mentioning cultural intelligence and professional football players in the same sentence often raises eyebrows or question marks. Why should football players have to worry about working across different cultures? If we take a closer look at the industry, it becomes clear that players are finding themselves in multicultural teams, surrounded by diverse staff,…
Regular PDP Contributor and Founder of TOVO Institute, Todd Beane explains the importance of a ‘less is more’ approach to communicating with players on the pitch and asks: Are you at peace on the sidelines? Johan Cruyff changed the way FC Barcelona played football back in the early 1990s. He did so in the same Camp Nou stadium that people travel from around the world to visit and in which some of the best football on the planet has been played since that time….
Forged by a history of social injustice, the beautiful game is inseparable from the rebellious spirit and deceptive artistry of its people. In this article, James Vaughan explores the development of the beautiful game by highlighting the fundamental role of culture. Football is not the beautiful game; the beautiful game is only one form of football – a form devised within a particular movement culture and shaped by a unique combination of socio-cultural constraints and movement opportunities. In Brazil, poverty, unstructured street play, samba and…
There has been a lot of past research focusing on developing the reflective skills of coaches through a technique called reflective practice. However, there’s now a growing body of evidence that suggests the use of reflective principles and frameworks will contribute towards the successful development of players. But what is reflective practice? In essence, these are mental practices through which individuals revisit and learn from their own experiences. Reflective practice pioneer Donald Schon defined the reflective learner as someone who explores their own experiences of…
A trend can be seen in the top echelon of the European transfer market, with hundreds of millions of pounds (and euros) spent on players from South America. But what do these South American footballers have that others don’t? Flair? Creativity? Arguably yes, but then why are these attributes developed so successfully in South America, or is it more important to ask why isn’t creativity developed in other cultures around the world? Sir Ken Robinson’s TED Talk ‘How schools kill creativity’ gives a unique insight into this…
The life of a modern, top flight football manager can be short lived. With club and supporter expectations bordering on perfection, for a manager to successfully negotiate the gauntlet of public pressure requires skill, knowledge and perhaps above all, luck. Sean Douglas, Football Federation Australia’s Advanced Coaching Manager, explores the criteria most often used to judge coach success, and offers a new context with which to assess performance. “Half the season gone, half the coaches gone; forget the Tasmanian devil – the A-League coach is…
What is coaching? PDP Editor & UEFA A licensed coach Dave Wright talks about the ups and downs of his career as a football coach. From technical and tactical lessons to the spoils of victory on the field, the real rewards come from shaping the lives of young players in whose reflection we often see ourselves. Since 2002, I have only gone one season without coaching a football team. Throughout that time, I can remember nearly all of the players I have coached, many of…
Manager of the New Zealand National Women’s Team, the Football Ferns, Tony Readings has come up against some giants of the women’s world game. Taking on the likes of the USA (#1) , China (#14) and Brazil (#6), the Ferns have performed well beyond expectations. Tony and his team have created a truely unique team culture, which seems to be the key ingredient in the Ferns’ ability to consistently produce world class results. PDP: How would you describe the culture of the Football Ferns? TR:…