The Player Development Project advocates game based coaching and a constraints approach. Football is often over-complicated by coaches and it’s easy to forget how much can be taught within small-sided games where players have to deal with the three key elements of the game – attacking, defending and transition. Academy Coach, Dave Wright has used this session with players from aged 7 through to 17. In this blog post, Dave takes you step by step through this possession vs. progression practice, from the organisation to the different…
teaching games for understanding
Dave Wright discusses the power of play and how a learning environment that allows play and creativity but challenges players to grow through adversity and failure is key to long term success. In issue 1 of Player Development Project Magazine, I wrote an article called Fighting the Fear Factor, challenging the environments that many coaches still create despite the knowledge we have in modern football and coach education. It’s an absolute passion of mine to develop environments for players where they can be free, to learn,…
Encouraging a growth mindset and emphasising the learning journey is a key component of Player Development. In this article, Founder of TOVO Institute, Todd Beane shares his thoughts on how you can ensure a learning environment. Do you want your players to learn? The night was cooling down as the players were warming up. These young footballers, fresh from primary school, sprinted on to the training ground with boundless energy to play like their heroes. Messi, Iniesta and Neymar were merely a short ride up…
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…
Youth soccer needs to base the development process on “play” and then find the right moments to encourage technical and tactical information, says Tom Turner. Coach Developer, Mark O’Sullivan interviewed Turner to get a more detailed understanding of his views on US player development. Tom Turner is director of coaching and player development at Ohio Youth Soccer Association North, USA National Instructor and member of the US Soccer National Coaching Committee. “I consider myself a teacher who coaches soccer,” says Tom. “The primary objective with young…