The question this week comes from Michelle: “Sometimes I feel like I use Q&A too much in my communication style. Can you talk through the different types of intervention strategies and the benefits of them.” Your Turn: Ask PDP Anything Do you have a coaching question that we might be able to help with? We would love to hear from you! Here’s what you can do: 1. Tweet your questions to us @playerdp, or contact us on our Facebook page.2. PDP Members can chat directly with the PDP…
How We Coach
This is the PDP way, informed by years of coaching experience and the wisdom of our network of experts.
Are you conscious of the language you use with your players? Do you understand the difference between praise and affirmation? Professor Stephen Rollnick is a world renowned motivational interviewer and psychologist. In this Masterclass Discussion, PDP Lead Researcher, James Vaughan hosts Professor Rollnick to discuss his pioneering research in motivational interviewing, the importance of two-way, empathetic communication between players and coach & more. Don’t miss this excellent discussion with one of the most progressive thinkers in coach and player development. Image Source: depositphotos.com
Systems tend to dominate organisational thinking in the modern age. So how do these systems potentially harm player development and participation? Co-founder of myfastestmile & regular PDP contributor, Mark Upton discusses the dangers of a ‘mechanistic’ approach to sport and the risk we run when working to a one-size-fits-all approach. Amongst a long and enjoyable conversation with a colleague involved in rugby last week, there was a somewhat sobering moment. He intimated his love for the game, evident since early childhood, had eroded to the…
PE Teacher & blogger, Sporticus examines the subject of participation in youth sport, sharing a story about an inspiring young man who took his role of team reserve in the best possible way. But what damage can our own ego and a results driven focus do to young players? Whilst coaching my school football team today a reserve from the opposition side caught my eye. He was a tall lad, who clearly hadn’t grown accustomed to his new height. A bundle of raw energy, he…
The question this week comes from Simon: “How do I teach my U18s the importance of teamwork and work-rate?” Your Turn: Ask PDP Anything Do you have a coaching question that we might be able to help with? We would love to hear from you! Here’s what you can do: 1. Tweet your questions to us @playerdp, or contact us on our Facebook page.2. PDP Members can chat directly with the PDP team to ask questions, share ideas, and support each other on our exclusive Coaching Community. Start…
Enjoy this inspirational insight from Adrian Bradbury, Founder & Director of Football For Good in Uganda. With a wide-ranging background in business, basketball and charitable work, Adrian has founded the only full-time player development programme in formerly war-torn Northern Uganda. Thanks to his tireless efforts, the program continues to grow and FFG offers young local players an opportunity to receive quality coaching and education through the FFG program. We speak to Adrian about some of the progress FFG is making, the cultural challenges that…
What does it take to be a champion? Founder of Changing the Game Project, John O’Sullivan shares his article on the work ethic and mindset of arguably the NBA’s most effective player & relentless worker, Steph Curry. All-American. World-champion. Greatest shooter on the planet. Most Valuable Player…twice. Yes, I am talking about Steph Curry, the all-world guard for the Golden State Warriors. These are the things we all say about him – we all know about him – when the lights are shining brightly….
Renshaw, Duarte Araujo, Chris Button, Jia Yi Chow, Keith Davids, and Brendan Moy The Big Idea First off, let’s set the context for this commentary paper. As is the norm in most any profession, there are both historical and continuing aspects to its practice. In the profession of teaching physical education, such is the case. Two of the more popular approaches are Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) and the Constraints-Led Approach (CLA). Of the two, TGfU is older, having its origins in the 1960s. TGfU…
The environment surrounding the player must be understood to ensure we help players achieve their potential. PDP Lead Researcher and PhD candidate, James Vaughan discusses the holistic view of player development that the PDP team has been working on as a result of over two years of conversations, interviews, research and experience. Ruben Jongkind is the former Head of Talent Development at Ajax and now works for Cruyff Football. He and Johan Cruyff worked together to implement ‘Plan Cruyff’ at Ajax between 2011 and 2013….
Margaret Wheatley with Debbie Frieze The Big Idea Get ready for a wake-up call to the common among us—which is to say a call to all of us. In this short paper published in Resurgence Magazine (Winter 2011) Margaret Wheatley takes a unique position regarding leadership. She will argue that the place to look for true leadership in an age of complexity is inward, and not outward to the time-worn desire for heroes to come to our rescue. Early on, Wheatley refers to the opening line of the…
Edu Rubio is a UEFA Pro Licensed coach who works at MK Dons as the Head of Coach Development & U18 Manager. Edu joins the PDP team for an interactive discussion which covers a range of topics to help developing coaches. We question Edu on his personal journey, what coach behaviours he looks for in his staff, implementing a playing style, flexible formations and the importance of authenticity and empathy in coaching. This is a must watch for coaches of all sports as Edu brings…
How important is adaptability and context in your coaching approach? UEFA A licensed coach, Dan Wright discusses the idea of creating a flexible framework for players to explore and how coaching is never black or white. Coaches like principles when teaching the game, they are a quick and straightforward way to transfer your understanding of the game to your players, but are they dangerous? A few weeks ago, I posted a tweet which discussed a scenario around the passing options of a fullback in a…
In this excellent interview, PDP Editor, Dave Wright speaks with Head Coach of Team Wellington, Jose Manuel Figueira. Jose discusses his player development philosophy based around some four key learning pillars and also talks about the transition from overseeing one of New Zealand’s top academies to now being placed in charge of Team Wellington, a team that won the domestic title in 2016. Don’t miss this informative discussion around the football landscape in New Zealand and some excellent advice on player development. Jose Manuel Figueira is the…
Bert H. Hodges and Reuben M. Baron The Big Idea As any reader of PDP’s research summaries knows, the journal selections for these reviews favors fairly recent research. Also, the selections for the most part have an obvious relevance to sport in general and coaching/playing team sports in particular. So why would we give time and space to an oldish paper (1992) that appears by its title to have nothing to do with the subjects our readers are interested in? Because this paper has everything…
How does a teacher or coach transition to a learner-centric view where you can allow the learner to explore and develop within the environment? Co-founder of Myfastestmile, Mark Upton reflects on how coaches can facilitate this process. The image below appeared on my twitter timeline a couple of times today… It prompted retrieval of one of my favourite passages on teaching/learning… “Teaching is, in some ways, a myth. The greatest skill is learned, more than it is taught. And the great teacher realizes…
A handshake? How important is it in sport? Sporticus is a PE Teacher, blogger and advocate for positive player development. In this contribution, he discusses the role of the coach to go beyond the game and ensure that values and rituals are respected in the quest to develop better people, and better players. Today’s game turned sour due to a handshake. Or to be more exact, the lack of a handshake. My team had been beaten well in all areas of the game and the opposition had…
Jonathon Headrick, Keith Davids, Ian Renshaw, Duarte Araújo, Pedro Passos, and Orlando Fernandes The Big Idea The time and path of a major storm ravaging parts of Europe can be influenced by the flapping wings of a butterfly in the Amazonian jungle (“the butterfly effect”). So too can small changes in the sub-phases of a non-linear dynamic system of a football game have big later-consequences on the outcome of the game. In other words, small causes may have larger, later effects. In this research paper,…
PDP Lead Researcher James Vaughan and Research Associate Hanna Eggestrand explore the basic human values that shape coaching sessions and discuss some practical implications for coaches and clubs. Behind everything we do in life, there is a why. Why do people hold certain attitudes and behave in certain ways? Research shows a consistent but often overlooked factor at play here: our values. Essentially, when you ask yourself “why do I coach?” or “why do I coach like that?”, the answer comes from what you value deep down….