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How We Coach

This is the PDP way, informed by years of coaching experience and the wisdom of our network of experts.

PDP Contributor, TEDx Speaker & Founder of Raising Excellence, Reed Maltbie delivers 10 practical steps on coach communication in the age of millennials who have grown up on social media. “One could change the world with 140 Characters”. February 8th, 2007 at approximately 6:57PM PST, Jack Dorsey “tweeted” this now famous line.  At the time, Twitter was still in its nascent stages as a company. These words changed Twitter forever. Even in 2007 they wielded a powerful effect on the company and its small group of rabid…

Player Development Project Assistant Editor, Jon Hoggard asks when is creativity deemed disrespectful?  Do coaches have double standards or show bias depending on who is brave enough to take the risks that lead to some of the great moments in football. Twitter went mad. Opinions flew all over social media. Newspaper columns were written, some praising, some condemning. Readers commented back and forth, for and against. What caused the furore? Barcelona scored a penalty in a run-of-the-mill 6–1 win against Celta Vigo. It was the…

PDP Lead Researcher, James Vaughan recently  attended a seminar by Joan Vila Bosch – Head of Methodology at FC Barcelona. Speaking in Christchurch, New Zealand – Joan described how and why FC Barcelona are breaking down the coaching language of war surrounding football. Moving away from what he called ‘the language of war’, Joan’s department is using scientific principles to define FC Barcelona’s game and crucially the language they use. Joan explained: “As people we are defined by our words” The language of football transmits the ideas, beliefs and values…

PDP Video Session Plans are adaptable sessions designed by academy coach, Dave Wright. All sessions show key focus points, set up, and progressions so you can use them in your next practice.

Simone M. Ritter, Rodica Ioana Damian, Dean Keith Simonton, Rick B. van Baaren, Madelijn Strick, Jeroen Derks, Ap Dijksterhuis This study discusses human creativity in relation to diversifying life experiences – the kind of experiences which shape character – early parental loss, having immigrant status, or even living abroad.  A fascinating look into the adaptability of the human mind, and especially how the brain reacts to these often extremely stressful and life changing conditions. Can creativity be a bi-product of these experiences?  How does sport play…

The sporting dilemma. Nick Levett, Talent Identification Manager at The FA, discusses the moral questions that sport can throw up. Whether it’s within or outside of the rules of the code, when does winning become the focus and should it be at all costs? The Moral Mankad Maze… It was one of those things that occurs occasionally in the world of sport that I love observing from a variety of different perspectives. The way people share their views from polarised positions, taking into account a whole host…

In this Live Webinar replay PhD Candidate & Researcher, Lara Mossman joins Player Development Project for a Masterclass on Positive Psychology in Coaching. Lara is a regular magazine and blog contributor to PDP and an expert in her field, currently advising on a number of football related projects for Football Federation Victoria & Football Federation Australia. Join PDP Editor, Dave Wright & PDP Lead Researcher James Vaughan as they discuss the concepts of positive psychology with Lara, examining it’s impact and how to apply it to…

Can standard office-based performance management models be applied to training football players? Player Development Project’s Jon Hoggard looks at a common basic performance matrix to find out.   First off, let me make a confession: I work in an office. I’m not a football coach; my everyday equipment are my computer, desk, phone, lumbar support chair and a never-ending in-tray. A world away, you might think, from the cones, tactic boards, whistles and boots of a coach. But are coaches always to be found in…

Dave Wright discusses the power of play and how a learning environment that allows play and creativity but challenges players to grow through adversity and failure is key to long term success. In issue 1 of Player Development Project Magazine, I wrote an article called Fighting the Fear Factor, challenging the environments that many coaches still create despite the knowledge we have in modern football and coach education. It’s an absolute passion of mine to develop environments for players where they can be free, to learn,…

Encouraging a growth mindset and emphasising the learning journey is a key component of Player Development. In this article, Founder of TOVO Institute, Todd Beane shares his thoughts on how you can ensure a learning environment. Do you want your players to learn? The night was cooling down as the players were warming up. These young footballers, fresh from primary school, sprinted on to the training ground with boundless energy to play like their heroes. Messi, Iniesta and Neymar were merely a short ride up…

Expert researcher and PDP contributor, Mark Upton of myfastestmile discusses the 7 principles of non linear pedagogy. Mark examines how to create an ideal environment for players to focus on task mastery using a constraints approach. How do players best learn to select & control their actions to meet the demands of a dynamic environment as found in football/rugby/hockey/basketball/netball etc? To help answer this question, below are my interpretations of the key principles from Chow’s (2013) notion of a Nonlinear Pedagogy. Considered through the lens of 15…

Founder of TOVO Institute & regular Player Development Project Contributor, Todd Beane discusses whether the Coerver Coaching model is in fact flawed. In this challenging post, Todd questions the value of skill acquisition in isolation versus the benefits of game-based learning in the dynamic environment of football by asking ‘did Wiel Coerver get it right?’   This blog may upset a lot of people in soccer. Having said that, this article may also resonate with some of you soccer coaches out there that somewhere deep in…

Building on the expert insight of University of Queensland’s Professor of Sport Psychology & Coaching Cliff Mallett, this update drills into the Key Characteristics of The Worlds Best Coaches. Like any decent update this post aims to provide a deeper user experience, particularly focusing on the process of knowing ourselves: Or in other words the process of hacking, updating and refining our operating system. At some point we all need to update our software, but its often niggly and almost always annoying. In the long run it (normally) makes life…

In this Live Webinar replay, UEFA A Licensed Coach, Kieran Smith joins us for a discussion on The Spanish Style & The Value of Rondos. We discuss possession vs. progression, how to implement rondos into your sessions, the benefits of coaching abroad & cultural styles plus much more. Kieran has been involved the coaching of football for over 10 years and has worked for some great clubs in that time. He is a highly qualified coach who has been educated in football in 4 different countries…

Player Development Project believes who we are is how we play. In this Live Webinar replay, UEFA Affiliate Tutor at The FA, Jonny Henderson joins us to discuss just how important the power of play is in youth development. Jonny holds a UEFA Pro License, an MSc in Coaching Science as well as a BSc (hons) in Sports Coaching. He is holds both a UEFA A Licence and the FA Advanced Youth Award. Jonny has been full time with Bristol Rovers for 4 years in…

US based Coach, Gary Curneen takes us through 9 key factors in successfully coaching the modern player in order to maximise their potential. Ask any coach today what their toughest coaching challenge is and they will most likely not respond with questions about false nines or gegenpressing. Instead they will probably tell you that working with, engaging, and attempting to get the best out of today’s generation is the biggest challenge in the coaching game. Armed with more tactical, training, and sports science information than…

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…

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