THE COACHING MAG Issue Four
May 2015
The y m e d Aca ue! iss
FREE Coaching session plans #TwitterDebate Psychological ownership in Football Exclusive Interview
Lee Peacock Things we've learned this time
Is there a perfect way to 'make a player'? (Grass Roots V Academy)
This time in 'The Coaching Mag'
15
Guest Blog
Power and Psychological ownership in football.
20
Free coaching session plan
8
How do we create professional players?
23
Lee Peacock
34. Top tips... 35. Things we've learned...
33
#TwitterDebate
28
Do you need professional experience to be the best coach?
Welcome Hi all and welcome to Issue Four of The Coaching Mag 'The Academy Issue'. This issue we talk to Academy coaches, guest bloggers and our wider community. Inside you will find another Exclusive Interview, this time with Lee Peacock, a guest blog from leading sports blogger Feras Suwan, a piece on How we create pro players and what influence as a coach we can have, an article on whether you need pro experience to be the best coach and another FREE coaching session created on the FA Coach's App. Also as always we have our #TwitterDebate, top tips for match days and what we learned this time. We hope you enjoy the read and come back for more in August with Issue 5. Until next time... Steve Hooper Editor
@
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Youth Football
Is there a perfect way to 'produce a player'?? We look at the argument for Grass Roots V Academy and make our own conclusions about what could be best for the national game. So with the recent rise of Harry Kane and other young English talent we look at what is really the best route to the big leagues. How do you go from grass roots park football to The Emirates, Stamford Bridge or Old Trafford? Is the Academy really the best route? Do players need a fully focused environment to develop the skills necessary for professional football? Can the work we do really effect players enough to make them players or does it all come from within the player?
So we will start with the benefits of the Academy system. At Category 2 the players from U9U14 receive 6 hours of training and 80 match minutes per week which totals up to approx 216 training hours and approx 30 hours of match time per season. If we compare this with grass roots football, players will receive approx 90 mins of training per week (54 hours per season) and approx 60 mins of match time (20 hours per season).
So as you can see approx 10 hours more match time and 162 In this article we will answer all of hours more training time would these questions and hopefully clearly suggest that the likelihood come to some kind of conclusion of players coming through the and maybe leave a few academy system would be much unanswered questions for you higher than grass roots. guys to discuss on Twitter using #PlayerProduction. So now if we look at the }
Youth Football attributes of the top players in the game, what do they all have? A desire to win and be the best, an inner steel that doesn't allow them to give up, an appetite for training and matches that see's them spend more hours practising and mastering technique than anyone else. All of these things come from within the player. Obviously they can be enhanced by clever coaching and good psychology work but if the player doesn't have that motivation, whether it be intrinsic or extrinsic, the chances are that they will not make it in the game. So if we go back to the hours, 216 hours of going through the motions compared to 54 hours of good, focused practice may mean that the grass roots player actually develops more over the course of the season than the Academy player.
Is he a leader? Does he have a desire to win?
Regardless of age I think a will to win and be the best is vitally important if the player is going to develop to be a professional player. Is there an argument that grass roots football can develop this will to win in some players, So that then leads you to think not all but some. The law of about recruitment for Academies. averages says that there are What is the criteria? Game players out there that will thrive effectiveness? Technique? Skills? in an environment where they Physical presence? Speed? Goal are challenged to win individual scoring? Or maybe the most battles, matches as a team and important 'Personality' leagues or tournaments. In some players this will come during the The characteristics of the player. Foundation Phase for others later Does he give up easily? Does he but for me you can see that work hard to win the ball back? competitiveness from an early }
Youth Football age. Which then leaves us with a problem, as the FA Long Term Player Development Plan states that we should not play with recorded results until Under 11. Not that the recorded results matter but this gets mis interpreted as uncompetitive football so the pressure from exteriors is less. For some players this is brilliant and allows them to enjoy the game and have fun, obviously that totally out weighs the few that may thrive in a competitive environment but if our friends in recruitment are finding the players with that motivation to be the best for the academies the question becomes, why do Academies not have 'competitive' matches and leagues until U18 age? Are we missing a trick and almost coaching those raw characteristics out of players without even realising it with a culture of almost 'no consequence' results? It could be seen as too late to develop the personality traits needed for the professional game and in turn we end up producing technically proficient players with lots of game understanding and little character. In effect creating very knowledgeable coaches!
So maybe the mix of the competitive, grass roots style, leagues and tournaments with the hours of training and match time offered by professional Academies could be an answer. Would we create more top level professional players with the mix? I am not sure but for the amount of players going into the system and leaving the system without a place in the pro game would suggest there may be a better way of doing things. Don't get me wrong the work done at Academies up and down the country is top draw by some fantastic coaches with a minimum of UEFA B License and FA Youth Award Qualifications cannot be denied but I just wonder if a change to the system might allow that work to bear more fruits for the national team and the national game. As in other issues I refer to the FA's own 4 corner model which shows that all four aspects are in equal measure. }
Youth Football So if the FA are suggesting that psych and social are just as important as tech and physical then maybe the Academy system should be set up that way. Surely if the players are recruited into the Academy system its because they have shown they can deal with the pressures of results and perform under them so why might we then take away that pressure completely? Why not have a mix of 'development' fixtures and 'competitive' ones or tournaments? With the hours on offer there is more than enough scope to do this and could produce more players able to make the step from u18/21 teams into the first team. The proposal may look something like this: Under 9/10/11: 3DF's 1CF/Tournament per month. Under 12/13/14/15: 2DF's 2CF's/Tournaments per month Under 16/18/21: Start to work towards the traditional fixtures and tables format.
With this kind of programme the players focus heavily on developing the tech and physical skills required early on in their academy life but still get an element of 'competition' where the result matters. As they mature into the Youth Development Phase the competitive element increases but there is still an equal balance of development based fixtures and training. Then as they enter the latter years of YDP and early years of Professional Phase it is more around building on the foundation of characteristics the player displays.
Youth Football Don't get me wrong I am not dismissing that children are naturally competitive in 1v1 battles regardless of the title the match is given and I strongly believe that every child goes on a football pitch to win anyway. In this instance I am talking about the external factors and pressures of consequence to result. The obvious solution is tournament football. Regular Academy tournaments within your own category. Now I ask, could we not do this in grass roots football and bring the two systems closer? Grass roots teams playing development fixtures with team, unit and individual challenges for players and then each month a tournament with other local teams. We could have clusters of teams and each team hosts once within a season at foundation phase age and twice at youth development age within a season. With U16/18/21 players starting to focus on the traditional format of fixtures and league tables. With Academies working on a similar format this would
make the transition from GR to Academy level easier for players and still continue to develop that competitive, pressurised environment. So in summary I believe a mix of both 'styles is vital for developing a complete player that is able to handle the pressures of the pro game. Obviously the extra hours of the Academy and the opportunity to progress in the game is much greater than at GR and this is why the majority of players have come through the system. The question still remains, is it the hours, environment and inner drive of the player that makes him a pro? How much can coaches really influence the path and ultimate success of a player. Maybe the ideas in this piece are a solution, maybe not. Let us know your thoughts on Twitter by using @TheCoachingMag and #PlayerProduction
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Guest Blog – Feras Suwan
Power and Psychological Ownership in Football Ask any player in any team this question: would you rather have possession of the ball or let the other team have it. The answer in most cases (and I can't think of any reasonable explanation to the contrary) is of course I would rather my team have the ball if we could make it so. It is a condition of our game that is set in place at a young age when a child first learns the game. Ask a young child to dribble to the edge of the box and shoot on goal and he will happily do it. Ask the same child to practice making late runs into the box without a ball and he will tire of it very quickly. Why is this? It is a known fact that any player
only has possession of the ball for around two minutes during a ninety minute match, so theoretically a player must be used to playing without the ball for the majority of the game. If this is the case, it begs the question why it is less desirable for a team to defend without the ball rather than have it themselves. I believe that ultimately it's related to the psychology of the human mind - specifically, the psychology of power. If you take a look at history it will keep telling you one thing - people will fight for freedom. Virtually every war or battle in human history are between two groups of people who are fighting
Guest Blog – Feras Suwan for independence or greater control. Whether it be the right to vote, a piece of disputed land, religion, greater control over law/finance/ etc. all battles are over who can control their own lives. Humans by nature want to have control over what they do with their body, where they go, what they do and who they want to be with. It comes as no surprise then that, since the ball is the object of the game, ownership of this central figure in the war between the two teams becomes paramount. It is not so much that either team sees the value in obtaining the ball, rather, that either team feels inferior if the other team has the ball. It is due to a natural human tendency to seek power for oneself and take away power from another. It is interesting therefore that sometimes the reason for seeking the ball is not with a purpose in mind for its use, rather it can simply be that the action of controlling the ball is the purpose itself.
The psychology behind control and domination is quite an interesting topic of discussion. It is rather intriguing when we think about an outnumbered army that has control of a relatively small amount of land fighting against a much more powerful enemy that seeks to capture this land. Historically, there are many examples where such odds has been overcome by the smaller and disadvantaged army. Perhaps the most famous example is the story of how an outrageously outnumbered Spartan army defeated the greatly more numerous Persian army on a very small piece of land. In comparison, we have such recent football examples as the second leg tie between Barcelona and Chelsea where Fernando Torres scored a memorable goal (not forgetting Ramires' memorable goal too) as the spirit of the Spartans seemingly helped the players in blue score a remarkable victory outnumbered against a superior enemy. This curious phenomena happens not often, but on a consistent
Guest Blog – Feras Suwan basis and can be explained by a concept called psychological ownership. The peculiar quirk commonly described as psychological ownership is a reflection of how an object or a state of affairs which is seemingly equal and identical in a legal or civil sense may have a disparate moral or emotional state to a particular party due to the perspective of the observation. In simpler words, the way we perceive an object or event can influence our judgement or perceived value of that object or event regardless of what we should logically be expected to feel about it. To state a simple universal example, most people would not care about a toy teddy bear that is old and ruined, where, by contrast, the adult who has owned this teddy bear since childhood would no doubt have a high perceived value of the object due to emotional attachment. The power of this perceived value is powerful enough to change the actions of a person, such as maintaining
the toy bear where it would otherwise not be cared for. Now imagine the benefits if this power of psychology can be directed into a positive mindset which produces favourable actions in a football team. I want to now expand on the phenomena of psychological ownership and examine in closer detail how it actually works in relation to football and to do so I want to focus on three specific points. The first point is that ownership increases our perceived value. This is a pretty simple idea which means that the mere fact of owning something, both tangible or intangible, increases how much we value it due to the emotional connection we develop. We see the effect of this in sport around the whole world, often termed as home field advantage. The simple fact that a team plays at their home ground means that they have an emotional advantage as they perceive that they have an added responsibility to protect their ownership of their home ground via not
Guest Blog – Feras Suwan allowing their opponents to win.It also relates to a sense of self identity and group belonging, a powerful peer led force that is obviously stimulated more playing at ones own home with their fellow kinship supporting from the stands. While certainly not the only factor, it perhaps is the greatest contributory factor in explaining home field advantage. The second point states that humans place a higher proportionate focus on avoiding loss rather than on gaining. This is important for the timing of goals scored in a game. If we take an inferior team playing against a stronger one, the scoring of the first goal becomes paramount. If the inferior team scores first, this second factor comes into play because the inferior team will now have something to lose which is more motivating to avoid (in theory at least) than gaining a goal for the stronger team. This motivation to hold onto a lead makes sense and can be often used to at least partially explain why we see inferior teams managing
to defend with absolute determination and doggedness against all odds and sneak a 1-0 victory. As an added note, scoring the first goal might conceivably increase the belief that the inferior team has a valid right to ownership of the victory, although this is a bit of an abstract and less important thought to consider. Thirdly, the more we work for something, the greater its value. If a team believes that it has put in a huge amount of effort in training, preparation and energy into a season or a match, it is more likely to perform at a higher level due to the increased value of that season or match. This takes a great team culture and belief in the work and more often than not a great leader to inspire this attitude - in most cases the manager. So what does this all mean? In my opinion, such psychological concepts is of great significance and advantage for young coaches who are advancing their learning and knowledge. It is no secret that coaches have a holistic role to play in
Guest Blog – Feras Suwan managing a team and that managers who are skilful in the art of manipulation can greatly increase the effectiveness of his messages. An effective coach can shape belief and affect behaviour. It is one thing which I believe to be the single most important thing in being a great coach the ability to make your players believe in you, your philosophy and methods. Not only that, if you know the reasons why your players have certain responsive traits or behavioural tendencies, you can increase the effectiveness of your communication. I do not pretend that I am an expert in the field of psychology; these are simply my thoughts on the deeper meanings behind the trends in our game. What I hope you will take away from reading this article is an appreciation that people do not often go deeply into questioning. Sometimes, a short and simplistic answer to an interesting question is not enough. Whether exploring these questions of deeper meanings, certainly in
football, is worthwhile is up to you to decide. For myself in any case, I find them quite interesting. Curiosity after all is one of the more beautiful things in life.
For more from Feras visit his blog at http://stoptalkingnonsense.blogspot.co.uk
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The Interview
*Exclusive*
LEE PEACOCK Former Swindon Town, Sheffield Wednesday, Man City and Bristol City forward Lee Peacock takes time out of his busy schedule to talk coaching with The Coaching Mag. TCM: First we would like to say thank you for taking the time to talk to us regarding your experience of coaching in the youth game and invaluable learnings from your time as professional. LP: No problem, it's a pleasure to be involved. TCM: So I guess our first question is where are you now and what are you up to? LP: I am currently studying for my UEFA A License and coaching at Eastleigh FC in the Youth Academy. TCM: Sounds exciting, so I guess our first question should be, do you have aspirations to coach within a professional academy?
LP: Hopefully where I am now the the role will grow into that but I would like to work under some good forward thinking coaches within the pro environment. The fact that right on my doorstep the 1 of best youth set up in the world (saints) makes me strive to be the best I can be and try to impress locally with the dream of someday reaching prem set up like that. TCM: So there is a lot of talk in this issue regarding coach mindsets, closed and growth, do you feel that this is more important than the coaches back ground (playing, education, etc)? LP: I certainly think the past can shape you to your current position and mindset ,whether that be a positive or negative thing. But you have to be
The Interview forward thinking and open to people opinions and ideas as the game is changing at such a dramatic rate and you have to adapt to keep up. What was last years great tactic only inspires good coaches to find solutions and throw a spanner in the tactics works. You can't be stubborn in your decisions or you can quickly find yourself out of a job. For me adaptability is the key and this where a lot of coaches both students of the game and ex pros can go well. You simply can't only teach tiki taka or direct football. You have to look at your crop of player and do what you feel will work best for them and try and mould them to reach a happy medium between your ideals and their abilities. My philosophy is Adapt,to my team,to the stage,the elements,opposition etc. Am I going to go and try out play Barcelona? No. Am I going to go direct against a team of giants,No. That's the thing I love about youth football, you can experiment and try all types of football without to much consequence while learning from your own mistakes in a non pressure environment.
TCM: So do you think a club playing philosophy can be a dangerous thing? LP: 100% dangerous unless your given 5 years without threat of losing your job. But the problem for me lies in when you come up against a much better team with the same ideals. I try to teach a he kids variety in play and how and when to play against different opposition and at different time within the game. End of the day if my philosophy is reliant on wide play to produce crosses and I've got Messi type in stature and ability as my striker I will have to adapt my philosophy to get the best out of him. You not think. I find it more exciting adapting right now. Don't get me wrong if the structure is already there that's fine but like I said good coaches are there to ruin philosophies ,that's their jobs surely,do you not think? TCM: We do, I guess the argument then is, should we not be trying to make other teams adapt to us instead of us adapting to them? LP: The game unfolds in different ways throughout,
The Interview and for me you have to give the players enough ammo,understanding and responsibility to affect it as it goes on. Your not going to win every game but its important we learn the right lessons from defeat. TCM: it's refreshing to read your thoughts as you clearly display a growth mindset. LP: Thank you, I'm still learning and always will be. I worked with some coaches with that same closed mindset and to be honest they are the ones who inspired me to go onto coaching ,thinking if these can get paid for this,surely I might have a chance. I fell out of love with football for along time while playing. But coaching has brought back the lice and the NOW ever changing game makes it such an exciting environment to be in both coaching and learning. I'm on my A License currently but want to have both FA Youth Module 1 and 2 by end of year. Bottom line for everyone's point is valid to them and you have to respect that,just because you don't agree
The Interview today doesn't mean you won't tomorrow. That's the beauty of this wonderful game,it changes SO quickly and keeps you on your toes. TCM: It certainly does. So knowing what you know now, who was the 'best' coach you worked with as a player? LP: This is going to sound weird but I was never really coached. Not technically,as most supporters could tell haha, but when Dennis Wise and Gus Poyet came to Swindon I could not wait to get to training every day as I learnt loads about the game and what they installed about togetherness on and off the pitch. The kids these days are so much better technical players than I ever was but some lack something whether it be true passion,work rate,bravery or even commitment to the trade. And that's hard to install in a player. I don't look at previous coaches for inspiration, I look at current coaches and what they bring to the table in various aspects. The past is the past and Games moved ,move with it or get left behind like a
lot of the relics are finding out. TCM: Your passion for the industry and coaching in particular is evident and we want to say thank you again for your time. LP: Any time guys! If you want to follow Lee's progress through his coaching journey then he can be found on twitter @LeePeacock76
Youth Football
Do You need Professional experience to be the best coach? It's been a question I'm sure coaches up and down the country have asked themselves privately after watching a CPD event, watching coaching sessions at elite level or experienced first hand playing various other coaches/managers. In many cases it's the guys that have played professionally make it into the top coaching jobs within English football. There may be a few exceptions though such as Jose Mourinho who played for Rio Ave, Belenenses, Sven-Goran Eriksson —played with Karlskoga and finally Arrigo Sacchi who stepped into a high-profile role at AC Milan after stints from Fabio Capello and Nils Liedholm. He faced severe scrutiny from the
press, and many didn't trust him due to his lack of playing experience, but his response to the journalists that questioned his ability is world famous: "A jockey doesn't have to have been born a horse." He almost singlehandedly abolished man-marking in Italian football, moved away from the 'libero' and instead introduced the zonal pressing we sometimes see today. Across the sea in the United States to become a head coach in the NFL you do NOT require professional playing experience for example in the 2014/15 season In the NFL, only 19 percent (six of 32) of the head coaches led their teams into the 2014/15 campaign. Vince Lombardi, who is widely considered the greatest head coach of all-time, never played in
Youth Football the NFL. Neither did Bill Walsh or Paul Brown. Its easy to overlook the type of mindset coaches possess whether they used to play professional football or not, it's important to understand as this may have a direct affect on the players they coach and their development. FIXED MINDSET Intelligence is static.. Leads to a desire to look smart and therefore a tendency to... - Avoid challenges - Give up easily due to obstacles - See effort as fruitless - Ignore useful feedback and sound advice from others - Threatened by others successes GROWTH MINDSET Intelligence can be developed.. Leads to a desire to learn and therefore a tendency to... - Embrace challenges - Persist despite obstacles - See effort as a path to mastery - Learn from feedback/criticisms - Be inspired by others successes I'm not dismissing the experience, talent or ambition of any former player that looks to get into coaching after hanging up their boots, it is a well known and documented fact that some explayers have made excellent
coaches and contributors towards the player of tomorrow. One such coach is Frank Lampard Sr. who would train the youngsters at West Ham United having an influence on the likes of Cole, Lampard, Carrick and Ferdinand to name a few who were starting their journey as schoolboy footballers, then eventually progressing to first team coach under Harry Redknapp in the Barclays Premier League. There may be possible draw backs to a Ex-player not having much coaching experience early on in their coaching career such as adopting a 'Coach-Centred' Approach where the game revolves exclusively around the coach (“pass here”, “dribble there”, “run here”, etc.) - Treats youth players like ‘miniadults’ - Plays his best team with the purpose of winning games - Criticises players who struggle, and substitutes players after mistakes - Uses command coaching style only (as that's the style used to as a player) - Focuses on team performances - Sets goals for the players - Produces players that are robotic, lack decision-making
Youth Football skills, are defensive, easy to anger, and prone to frustration - Produces players that may lack enthusiasm - Rarely listens to opinions or advice from players Sometimes having a coach stood in the same dressing room that has been though similar experiences at a professional level speaks volumes for a young player seeking to learn and develop, providing the coach in question can part his knowledge in the right way to those individuals. This brings me to the question of do ex-professionals who come out of the game as a player and go straight into coaching roles have an understanding of how different individuals learn, and realise that various coaching styles are required for children to learn. Usually with the help of organisations such as the PFA (Professional Football Association) players still playing can get certified as coaches, but still perhaps lack the experience of dealing with young players. There are some that really look to educate themselves and gain experience before undertaking new roles within football, one such person being Real Madrid first team coach Paul Clement.
A pathway in coaching other than that of a professional footballer is usually people who have worked with children (as we have explained) from within education and progressed through coaching in schools, district, grassroots and development programmes etc. Paul Clement began his career as a part time coach working in Chelsea's centre of excellence balancing his full time role as a PE teacher, then moving onto Fulham's Education and welfare lead. This is only one unique journey by one coach and I'm sure we all know others who have had struggles and successes in their own pathways. To summarise there are some real quality coaches out there some have important roles within professional clubs some do it for the legacy of football, simply looking to help and develop children, not only as players might I add but people. This much is clear some coaches have more experience at a playing level and others will have experience at a teaching or coaching level. I will say based on my own experiences with ex pros at premier league to grassroots is that very few ex-pros will have
Youth Football the desire, confidence or openmindedness to gain more information or experience in youth coaching especially, and accept new concepts and ideas that may be put across by peers, tutors or senior management. It's key to understand it all depends on the kind of person who wants to learn, achieve, educate, develop the players and be the best he or she can be. Without these factors you have perhaps a coach who adopts that 'coach centred' approach and finds if difficult to be more progressive with how they coach those that mean the most in the job...the players. Dean, whilst working within a category 2 professional football academy also works within youth Rugby as head coach at Future Stars Coaching and also in the community for Bristol Rugby. For more from Dean and to follow his progress his on Twitter @Parz25 If you have any views or opinions on this topic join the debate by following @TheCoachingMag, @InclusionFooty1 or using #TheCoachingMag.
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#TwitterDebate
@MickGraham: No, but thats what the majority of top clubs think.
@SoccerByOSM IMO no. Examples Mourinho and AVB
@LeePeacock76: Was just talking about it the other day, I think an ex pro and student of the game combo could be perfect.
@MyFootballCoach: No, academy football is full of Grass Roots coaches.
ng i y pla o r p a d e e e b n ou nce to ach in y Do erie l co u ? exp cessf ame suc pro g the
@MarksXJ: No. You can still learn/know the game without it.
@churchill_brian: Think it would be difficult, but if your a good coach you will earn respect regardless of background
Youth Football
Top Tips for MATCH DAYS Plan your team before you get to the venue.
Plan your substitutions so that players can get mentally prepared.
Design challenges for the players around the training topic.
Try to give equal opportunity to play.
Try not to keep young players in the same positions. They will get bored.
Give substitutes and activity to do.
Try to make a note of things players do well for half/full time.
Be positive all the time and encourage players to enjoy themselves.
If you do this spectators will follow suit! Its all about environment!
Youth Football ce of n a l a e a b pment b o t s need nd develo e r e ete l h a p T ' m e o v i ac etit 'comp s to develop . fixture player
Vince Lom bardi 'the greatest co ach of all t ime' never play ed profess ional
Things we've learned this time!
yers Academy pla 6 hours o t p u e iv e c e r week training per compared s at with 90 min grass roots
Mindset i s just as importan t as experien ce and qualificat ions!
Next time in 'The Coaching Mag'
GIRLS FOOTBALL COMES TO 'THE COACHING MAG' Next issue available August 2015