Mark Pearn has represented Great Britain in hockey at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games, playing 246 games for England and Great Britain, scoring 74 goals, and is a European Championship winner at club level with Reading HC. Player Development Project spoke to Mark about his player development journey, transition to coaching and his philosophy when it comes to helping young players maximise their potential. After a long and decorated career as a player that included ten years as the player-coach of East Grinstead…
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Steve Lawrence is a consultant to Cruyff Football and Ajax. With a Masters in International Sports Management, Steve is at the forefront of research into the topic of Relative Age Effect. Here Steve gives Player Development Project readers an exclusive look behind the scenes at Ajax’s brand new academic education centre, a building he worked on as a consultant architect. The project for the new academic education centre at Ajax football club came about following discussions about the nature of pedagogy in the elite youth…
Jose Barcala Garcia is the Head of Coaching at Spanish giant Real Club Deportivo de la Coruña S.A.D. His career as a development coach has taken him from Spain to Australia and back again, via a short stint as Physical Coach of the National Fustal Team of Libya. As well as his role as Head Coach, Jose is a Lecturer on Football Skills and Methodology at the Deportivo School of football coaches. In this interview, we discuss Spanish methodology, Jose’s lessons from his experience and…
Co-founder of Myfastestmile & regular PDP contributor, Mark Upton discusses learning dynamics and the challenges of making change within any existing system citing examples from performance sport. I was recently asked for a reflection on my experiences in performance sport. After some pondering what came to mind was how learning (for all involved, not just players) needs to be a constant given that there will never be a blueprint/recipe/formula that can be settled upon with any permanency. Over time this becomes easier said than done,…
Head Coach of Auckland City FC in New Zealand’s National League, Jose Manuel Figueira discusses the core principles around his methodology. Jose outlines ideas as to how you can create high quality practices that are demanding for your players and ensure a positive learning environment. Recently I have gone through a major development in terms of my coaching philosophy and also in the way I plan, develop and deliver my coaching sessions. With all the fantastic resources accessible to us and the community of forward…
Deliberate practice: What is it? How is it defined and how can you ensure your coaching incorporates this key element in player development? Ray Power discusses this and the topic of talent…Is it born, or is it made? Over the last decade, the world of talent development literature has blossomed. The ‘industry’ is booming with theories about how talented people came to be. There is a tremendous appetite to find out what makes successful people, successful. Everybody wants know how to become a top…
Join us for a video discussion with National Coach Education Manager from Football Federation Australia, Sean Douglas. PDP Editor Dave Wright is joined by Lead Researcher, James Vaughan in a wide ranging discussion. We cover topics including: Image Source: depositphotos.com
Regular PDP contributor, Dan Wright gives us an excellent insight into his 3 month journey from the comforts of West London to the challenges of coaching in Africa. In this insightful article, Dan outlines the value of people in any organisation. Driven kids, challenging facilities and some surprising results. This blog examines the Football For Good Academy, Uganda’s only full time football program achieving results against the odds. For the past 3 months I have been coaching in Gulu, Northern Uganda. There have been many new experiences…
Nick Levett, former Talent ID Manager at The FA discusses the void in football that leaves foundation phase (age 5-11) coaches as the under-appreciated heroes in the world of player development, challenging why the top coaches are always seen to be involved in senior football. Whilst at St. George’s Park, (our national football centre) for a couple of days recently, an FA Advanced Youth Award was taking place. This course currently is the pinnacle coaching award for youth coaches in England, a Level 4 course,…
PDP Lead Researcher, James Vaughan examines the influence of corporations on football. Highlighting the danger of economic incentives he looks at how Leicester City’s story could be catalyst for a revolution in the global football story. Where do you think future of the game (football) is going? Question posed by Eduardo Rubio (Head of Academy Coach Development at MK Dons, England) at a panel discussion entitled “Building a learning culture in a football club” at the 2016 AIPAF: III International congress of Applied Psychology in…
Part of the coaches role is to inspire. Children at all levels have a right to play and enjoy their sporting experience. Founder of Changing the Game Project & PDP contributor, John O’Sullivan discusses three ways to help inspire your athletes at all levels. Recently, I went to a graduation. Not a high school or a college graduation, but one far smaller, and far more personal. In fact, there were only seven kids, one of which was my 9-year-old son TJ. He and six others were…
Ruben Jongkind worked alongside Johan Cruyff implementing ‘Plan Cruyff’ – an overhaul of the Ajax player development system. He is in an expert in talent development who has gained first hand experience of the Cruyff philosophy on player development working alongside Johan Cruyff for many years. Join Dave Wright in a 1-on-1 conversation with Ruben covering the following points:
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…
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…
Sean Reed is a coach who epitomizes a lot of people working in professional football in England. Sean is a man who has quietly gone about his work over the last 16 years in two of London’s top clubs from academy to first team level resulting in a wealth of knowledge and experience. We caught up with Sean to discuss his experiences in football fitness, cognitive development and coaching in the Championship. Sean grew up playing locally and at the school of excellence of Wimbledon…
Spanish football is constantly seen as a model for success in player development. Regular PDP Contributor & Founder of TOVO Institute, Todd Beane examines what elements of Spanish culture and football contribute to their consistent success in developing top players. Why Spain? “The ball is an essential part of the game.” – Johan Cruijff Take this quiz. Why does Spain produce such skillful footballers? A. They watch quality football every weekend.B. Club loyalty is a family tradition.C. Children are comfortable on the ball.D. All of…
PDP Lead Researcher, James Vaughan examines the core values of FC Barcelona after a recent seminar with Joan Vila Bosch in New Zealand. James discusses intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in a player development context as well as challenging the now corporate juggernaut that is professional football. *This is the first in a series of articles based on notes taken at a day long seminar with Joan Vila Bosch, director of methodology at FC Barcelona. This series is not a definitive guide to the seminar itself…
The NextGen Series came to it’s conclusion on Monday May 16 with a great turn out of local football fans, eager to watch the home team, Ajax and check out some of the excellent young talent on display. The day started with Galatasaray taking on PSV followed by a semi-final clash of arguably the two form teams of the tournament in Ajax vs. Tottenham Hotspur. The intensity of the match was noticeably higher with Spurs trying to press and play with real speed. We…