In this Masterclass Discussion, FA National Women’s Coach Developer, Amy Price shares her unique approach to player development with Dave Wright & Dan Wright in a highly engaging conversation.

Amy shares research on how coaches can use the principles of video game design to engage young players in their own development, setting challenges, designing tasks and encouraging problem-solving. Amy outlines how players can take ownership of the task and you can ‘level’ up the challenge as you go. This is essential viewing if you want practical advice around session design and ensuring you’re making the environment as enjoyable as possible for young players from one of England’s top young coaches.

Show Notes

0:00 – 4:00: Introduction, Amy’s background and coaching experience.

4:10 – 6:50: Amy’s coaching experiences in America.

7:00 – 16:30: Amy’s current role as FA National Woman’s Coach Developer and experiences with current and previous coach education.

16:30 – 18:20: Coach education discussion, knowing the ‘Why’.

18:20 –  19:45: Analysis of interventions.

20:30 – 38:40: Video game concept & design, how we can learn from them & how we can implement them within our coaching.

38:40 – 53:25: Reaction/feedback from players based on session design & discussing levels and levelling up.

53:30 – 57:00: Feedback of Amy’s presentation at the Birmingham City FC Learning Tribe’s Conference from Dan.

58:00 – 1:06:00: Experience from coaching U18 male team using video game design as well as experiences with using the method on other teams.

1:06:00 – 1:07:35: Discussion around winning and how the video game model it setup to promote winning. 

1:07:35 – 1:09:45: Practical advice from Amy on how to continue on a progressive coaching journey.

1:10:00 – 1:13:10: Continued discussion around the value of winning. 

1:13:10 – 1:14:55: Key characteristics of an effective coach.

Key Takeaways

6:25 – 30:30: Amy talks about the principles of video game design and how they can be used in a football context.  

32:50  – 35:00: Using the ‘Pause Button’. 

58:00  – 59:40: Two very different environments. Players rating coaches, are we vulnerable and open enough to try this?  Would we like the feedback we may get?

1:04:00 – 1:05:00: ‘Rest & Digest’. Do we give players enough chance to learn what we want to coach?

1:06:00 – 1:07:35 & 1:10:00 – 1:13:10 : It’s ok to win – winning is not a bad word! It’s a big factor of why we play the game.

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