To set the scene for the following discussion on socio-cultural constraints, we start with Ruben Jongkind’s comments made during May 2016’s NextGen Talks. Ruben is the former Head of Talent Development at Ajax Amsterdam, and after working with Johan Cruyff on ‘Plan Cruyff’ he is regarded as a leading authority on Johan’s philosophy. Ruben Jongkind’s comments give a clear example of how socio-cultural (macro) factors influence player development within academies. While most of us are well aware of the problems with a ‘win-at-all-costs’ mentality, Ruben’s…
Psychology
The science of behaviour and mind. A collection of content focused on better understanding our players.
Edu Rubio is a UEFA PRO License holder and the Technical Consultant at Crystal Palace F.C. He has previously worked for MK Dons FC, Chelsea FC, Nike Academy and The FA among others. Edu also has a degree in Sports Science and studies in Sports Psychology. His mantra is work with passion, stay committed and be consistent with both; and he truly believes in Team work and a holistic & multidisciplinary day to day environment. MK Dons are developing a reputation for nurturing thinking football…
Carol S. Dweck The Big Idea A good number of years ago the American educator and philosopher, John Dewey, wrote a little, sticky sentence when talking about learning. It was this sentence: “We must have lions in our path.” In a general sense, Carol Dweck’s literature research review turns nicely on exactly that sentence. Dewey was arguing that progressive human development depended upon facing challenges. How we respond to those challenges largely defines the extent to which we become all that we can be. Dweck’s subject…
What is the Future of Academy Coaching? PDP Lead Researcher, James Vaughan discusses his experience from a trip to the Applied Psychology in Football Conference in Bilbao earlier this year. James shares some of the key questions and notes from the event. Earlier this summer I was lucky enough to attend the AIPAF III International congress of Applied Psychology in Football, held in Bilbao, Spain. This blog is based on the notes that I took at the congress, which were transcribed from discussions translated live from Spanish. The reason I…
How do we manage our own bias in coaching and player development? Founder of Fit Across Cultures, Susan Salzbrenner discusses this difficult topic that is inherently part of human nature but manageable if you invest time with learning to understand your players. Every coach has a favorite player. Although most of them would never admit that. Giving all players a fair chance to prove their worth is a quality many coaches pride themselves with. But is there really such a thing as being a fair…
How do emotions dominate performance when it comes to football? President of New Edge Performance and regular PDP contributor, John Haime discusses building awareness of your own triggers and how managing them can aid performance. The lessons in this blog apply to both playing and coaching. Emotions Run the Show in Football Performance All performance areas are similar, if you can manage your emotions when the pressure rises, you have a chance to do well, if you can’t you probably won’t. If you don’t…
Are there secret ingredients to effective coaching? John O’Sullivan, Founder of Changing the Game Project discusses some of the key elements that can make you a great coach. “I just can’t figure it out,” an exasperated coach said to me recently. “One day we are flying around the field, and the next it looks like we’ve never played together before. Why does this happen?” “Do you think your players lost all their skill?” I asked? “Do you think they forgot how to play?” “Of course not,”…
Carol S. Dweck and Ellen L. Leggett The Big Idea This paper is a continuation of the line of research by Carol Dweck and others on behaviours that are characterised as adaptive or maladaptive. In other words, there are patterns or tendencies in children that are identifiable by way of the choices made with regard to achievement opportunities. While sport is not mentioned in this paper, it is an easy pivot to see how it is that some players truly thrive on challenges and obstacles;…
Sarah Ullrich-French, Meghan H. McDonough, and Alan L. Smith The Big Idea We moderns are sometimes seduced into believing that our remarkable, collective technological progress and improvement is equivalent to human progress and improvement. But this is not necessarily so. Creating and sustaining positive individual and even national character is one heck of a social problem that befuddles us still, no matter our technical wizardry. The growing interest in creating positive youth development (PYD) programs most certainly is one international effort to help the youngest…
Play is a fundamental human right for children. It is even recognised in article 31 of the UN Convention of Rights of the Child. So, why is it that adults feel the need to interfere with this? John Haime from New Edge Performance discusses the impact of parents and coaches living vicariously through young players and outlines a few steps to make positive change. In my work, I see a lot of games, a lot of athletes and a lot of interesting coach and parent behaviour….
Jean Cote The Big Idea Early in the 21st Century support for children of families with a parent who was deployed in the United States Military was identified with the slogan “We Serve Too.” The big idea of this research paper on families of elite athletes by Jean Cote could easily be captured by the same slogan—only in this case it is the families of deployed athletes Who Serve Too. Families are often forgotten as having significant influence on the social context of developing athletes. Cote…
Check Your Level of Mental & Emotional Muscle in Football Consider each of the statements below and determine your level of Mental/Emotional Football Muscle: 1. I get frustrated on the pitch and it impacts my play. Yes No 2. I get angry on the pitch and it impacts my play Yes No 3. I criticize myself when I make mistakes. Yes No 4. I allow a poor play to affect the next play….
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.
What does it take to build and sustain football confidence? Regular PDP contributor and President of New Edge Performance, John Haime provides some practical advice for this crucial element of player development and performance. Every week in the top leagues in the world, you’ll see fantastic displays of skill – players trying things in the middle of games, taking calculated risk and using their great abilities. Recently, I watched Marcelo of Real Madrid put on a confidence clinic – trying things in the game that…
Carol S. Dweck The Big Idea “I’m quitting,” says one youth sport participant. “I give up,“ says another. What youth sport coach hasn’t faced the frustration of dealing with a child who has difficulty facing failure? Over time, a child who fails either in sports or in other life pursuits can become so affected they suffer from what is called “learned helplessness.” This study confronts this problem, one that can have untold negative impacts on an entire childhood. One approach to dealing with this kind…
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.
Player Development Project Technical Advisor, Dan Wright discusses the importance of knowing your player, building relationships and coaching the person. Building trust between coach and player is vital for success at all levels. If your goal as the coach is to aid development of youth players or to win the Premier League it is impossible without the relationship between athlete and coach. The intangible bond between athlete and coach is very noticeable, at training sessions, in conversations and at games and yet at the same…
Paule Miquelon and Robert J. Vallerand The Big Idea The good news coming out of the general field of psychology since the beginning of the 21st Century is what is called positive psychology. Instead of primary preoccupation with the pathology of mental illness, understanding human well-being and happiness is attracting increasing numbers of scholars and practitioners. In particular, and related directly to this research paper, there is continuing empirical interest in learning more about the relationship between various psychological factors and improvements in physical health. In…