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…
Latest Research
Stay up-to-date with key player development research. Our resident Professor, William A. Harper, breaks down research papers into simple, easy-to-read articles with takeaways for coaches.
Pam Richards, Dave Collins & Duncan R.D. Mascarenhas The Big Idea The USA National Football League Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning once said this about high pressure situations: “Pressure is something you feel when you don’t know what the hell you’re doing.” The subject matter of this research paper aims to help coaches help athletes learn how to be pressured and know what the hell they’re doing. Takeaways Making quick and good decisions—collectively and individually—under pressure in team invasion sports is often the difference-maker in any competitive experience. One way…
Kenneth Aggerholm, Ejgil Jespersen, Lars Tore Ronglan The Big Idea In the 2010 Champions League football final, Diego Milito fooled Daniel van Buyten for his second goal, leading Internationale to defeat Bayern Munich 2-0. A writer for The Guardian described Milito’s second goal this way: “The Argentinian feinted as he twisted Daniel van Buyten this way and that before turning back inside, opening his body and guiding a shot with his right instep past Butt’s left hand.” The writer went on to sum up the meaning of Milito’s two goals: “Vision,…
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…
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…
With the help of Pro Soccer Development, Dave Wright examines whether Jamie Vardy is a football anomaly or personification of a problem in elite player development. Unless you’ve been living in total football isolation, away from the world of social media and headline news, it’s fair to say that by now, we know that Jamie Vardy has experienced a meteoric rise over the last eight years. This has culminated in seeing him go from striker for the Stocksbridge Park Steels (in the eighth tier of English Football) to the…
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…
PDP Editor Dave Wright provides his report from the 2015 Norwegian Coaching Convention in Oslo. Known as the Cupfinalseminaret, this is one of the largest gathering of coaches in Europe and an event PDP highly recommends. The Cupfinalseminaret 2015 got into full swing on Friday afternoon. After the opening ceremony where a number of domestic coaches were given awards for their service to Norwegian football, the main hall of the Ullevaal Business Centre was full of coaches who were waiting in anticipation for the arrival…
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…
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…
Critically acclaimed and widely accepted as the most effective performance enhancing mental skill by high-performance athletes, CEOs, actors, public speakers and authors, ‘visualisation’ is often undeveloped and largely under-used in player development settings, as well as other educational environments. But why is this the case? PDP Lead Researcher, James Vaughan discusses. Similarly, while ‘vision’ is regarded as the cornerstone of organisational, leadership, or long-term development structures, minimal emphasis is placed on players’ vision for their own future. American author Stephen Covey sees vision as an…
Creativity involves putting ideas together in new and useful ways. Lara Mossman, Positive Psychology Researcher, football player, and mother of three, offers a refreshing and practical view on creativity. What is it, and how can we prime our young players to become more creative? Dutch legend Johan Cruyff, inventor of the ‘Cruyff Turn’ and the man behind the ‘phantom goal’, epitomised the creative footballer in the 1970s, as does today’s global superstar Lionel Messi. Cruyff was a king of improvisation, throwing out the rulebook on positioning and producing…
Throughout his tenure as head coach of FC Barcelona, Pep Guardiola prioritised one message above all others, a message that built a dynasty, defined a generation and changed a game. PDP Lead Researcher James Vaughan discusses the value of a style of play and how Pep Guardiola has influenced a generation of coaches and players. The message was simple: ‘The target is not to win titles; the target is to achieve a unique style of play.’ The simplicity and eloquence of this message are as profound…
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…
Many world-class performers tell stories of discomfort, rejection and failure at some point in their past. Is this coincidence? Or do these uncomfortable experiences lay the foundation for long-term development and, ultimately, success. PDP Lead Researcher, James Vaughan discusses the importance of discomfort on the learning journey. American scholars such as Brene Brown and Robert Horner (researchers into education, development and vulnerability) have led us to the following question: if curiosity marks the start of the learning process and vulnerability is the birthplace of creative connection, is…
The difference between a good player and a great player can often come down their ability to consistently show creativity under pressure – to be able to move beyond tricks and flicks, to a new level of control which makes them truly illusive. James Vaughan, expert in the area of creativity in football, breaks down the subtle, instinctive characteristics that separate the legends from the rest. Imagine a player has just received the ball from their goalkeeper and is attempting to play forward (task) against a high press…
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…
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…