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.
Sports Science
How the human body responds to exercise, training, recovery and different environments during sport.
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.
Zlatan Ibrahimovich is one of the great characters and creative players of modern football. PDP Lead Researcher, James Vaughan examines some of the reasons why. Watch this… Zlatan is the best example of affordances in action. Ibrahimovic sees and plays passes that very few players can because he sees the opportunity to move in ways that most people can’t. This allows Zlatan to make passes and score goals that no one else can. He is one of the most unpredictable, innovative and therefore creative players of…
Are we measuring the stuff that really matters or focussing too much on hard data that neglects the human element of development? Former FA Talent Identification Manager & now Head of Talent & Performance at UK Sport, Nick Levett discusses the impact of sports science. So I was having a trip round a Professional Sporting Academy, being given the behind-the-scenes tour by the Academy Manager. We walked through the indoor area into the next room to “where the sports scientists live” I was told. And…
Steve Lawrence is a consultant to Cruyff Football and Ajax in the Netherlands. With a Masters in International Sports Management, Steve founded the Football Analytics Lab and is at the forefront of research into the topic of Relative Age Effects. In this article, Steve explains how the Relative Age Effect works and discusses the impact of this phenomenon. Relative Age Effects have become a well known, if slightly puzzling, phenomenon in youth football where players with birthdates at the beginning of the season have a huge…
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…
In this Masterclass Webinar replay, as we discuss the power and benefit of using video as a learning tool both in your own coach development and the development of your players. New Zealand based, Simon Mead is our latest guest expert and he brings a range of experience and knowledge to the discussion. Currently working as a Performance Analysis Consultant for Sportstec and Hudl, Simon has a Masters degree in Coach Development and is one of the best in his field. Simon has previously worked as the Football…
The Pschology of Coaching Are you a scientist or more of an artist? Is coaching an art or science? These were questions asked of UQ’s coaching and sports psychology research group last week and this post explores the possibility that science and accounting are hijacking football and slowly killing the art of coaching. The simple answer to the art vs. science question is that coaching is an ever-changing mixture of both, but after a little digging some additional and pretty fundamental questions emerge. Precisely, what…
In this Live Webinar Replay, PDP host Nick Levett & Steve Lawrence for an in depth conversation on talent identification and relative age effect. This discussion is honest and passionate as Nick and Steve debate various points. Our Masterclass Webinar discussion will include: Nick Levett is now the Head of Talent & Performance at UK Sport. At the time of this conversation, Nick was Talent Identification Manager for The FA in England where he has worked in a variety of roles. Nick’s philosophy is simple…
Mindset is a hot topic in youth development and education. Founder of Changing the Game Project, John O’Sullivan discusses the work of Carol Dweck citing the importance of developing a growth mindset in our players. “I lost my starting spot on the soccer team. I’m just not good at soccer.” “I failed my math test. I’m just not good at math.” Ever heard such a statement form one of your kids? From one of your players? If so, it is very likely that the single…
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…
Age appropriate learning is a vital consideration in coaching and positive player development. Children and adolescents aren’t just ‘small adults’. Understanding the various differences in learning processes that exist between the age groups gives coaches and managers the knowledge they need to be most effective. Understanding the differences in the thinking processes of different age groups is the natural starting point in helping coaches choose the appropriate technical and tactical activities needed to meet individual players’ needs. The process that a coach may adopt needs to…
US-based coach, John O’Sullivan, founder of Changing the Game Project and best selling author, provides a perspective on the potential pitfalls of the US development model. As our ability to accurately measure players’ tangible development statistics improves, are we losing sight of the intangible factors which can’t always be measured? The cost of focussing exclusively on the numbers may be greater than we imagined. In 2005, the coaches at one of the top English Premier League Youth Football Academies held one of their semi-annual meetings to…
By James VaughanBounce is the nature vs. nurture debate reinvented and super-charged for sports enthusiasts, coaches and parents. Award winning sport journalist Matthew Syed delves into his own past, unearthing the key elements that led to his success. Matthew was England’s #1 table tennis player and a triple commonwealth champion.Syed starts by painting a behind the scenes picture of his upbringing, reflecting on the unique opportunities and idiosyncrasies that shaped his earliest table tennis experiences. Using his story of lucky learning opportunities and random experiences…