Look at the body language of these U8s.
Really it doesn’t matter what style of play you are trying to implement, or if you have no style at all (but please don’t be that person) — establishing a proper training environment and team culture is critical.
Easy to say. Much harder to do.
EXPECTATIONS AND ENJOYMENT
During my undergrad I minored in Sports Leadership. In nearly every coaching course I took we talked about how youth sports should be all about fun and enjoyment. We talked about how the number one reason children quit is because it stopped being fun, and therefore, our job as coaches was to ensure retention of players by focusing primarily on enjoyment. Low pressure. Low expectations. Let the game be the teacher.
That continues to be the primary narrative, especially in youth soccer. It goes hand in hand with the similar narrative of silent coaches and lawn chairs.
As an undergrad student it was easy to buy into these theories. They seemed like rational ideas. They were comfortable things to believe, and left one feeling warm and fuzzy.
An amazing thing happens, though, when one tests theories in the real world. Some theories, that sound great on paper, simply do not hold up to real life variables and environments.
I started my youth soccer coaching career prioritizing things like enjoyment, and thinking of the game as the teacher. My early training sessions were loose, I praised the hell out of the players for every little success, and made sure they were always smiling. I set aside time during trainings, and especially games, where I would say nothing. Just let them play.
Each session I walked away feeling proud of my work. I was doing what I was “supposed” to do.
The product on the field, however, was seriously lacking. And overall player achievement was minimal. The biggest thing lacking was a sense of competitiveness and tenacity.
This was big problem because, after all, soccer is a competitive game . How could I say I was properly preparing the players for the game if I was not fostering a competitive spirit? And the problem with competitive environments is that they are uncomfortable. There are winners and losers, and some days you are the loser.
Fortunately, I did not stop studying the craft after completing my undergrad. I continued, as I still do, to research, study, and experiment with my coaching methods. I recognized early on that there was a disconnect.
In reading Daniel Coyle’s book The Talent Code, and his blog of the same name, something stuck out to me. Coyle offers advice based on his experiences studying the biggest hotbeds of talent in the world. His advice to parents based on his observations is to “seek coaches and teachers who scare you a little.” He continues, “It’s easy to confuse pleasure and comfort with actual learning. But truly good coaches and teachers are about challenging you to get to the edge of your abilities, time and time again.”
This idea kept nagging at me. I’m currently in the process of completing my MAT (Master’s of Arts in Teaching), and this is what we talk about constantly:
- Setting clear expectations
- Building relationships with students (they don’t care what you know until they know that you care)
- Having high expectations for student achievement
As I reflect on the best coaches I have observed, these things are a constant:
CLEAR EXPECTATIONS
The coaches set clear, non-negotiable expectations and are consistent in the enforcement of those expectations. Brian Kleiban (3FOUR3/ Chivas USA Academy) starts out by telling players that there are just two things that players can control:
1) their focus, and
2) how hard they work.
He explains that mistakes are going to happen, and are not a big deal, as long as they are not mistakes due to lack of focus or lack of effort. If you make a mistake, be the one working hardest to fix it! Brian also sets consistent consequences for players that struggle with those controllables. Players know that if they lack in focus or effort that they might have sit out of training, go train with a younger squad, or might even be sent home. To some that sounds harsh, but it’s real. And the product of that environment speaks for itself.
Coaching clinic in Barcelona, Spring 2013.
In my first trip to Barcelona I remember seeing the veins popping out of the neck and forehead of a former FC Barcelona player and Spanish international, as he watched a group of U12 American boys lackadaisically participate in a passing exercise. “Mas intensidad!” he pushed, “con fuerza!!”
He then asked who the coach was. “Are you going to do some thing about this? This is awful.” He was disappointed with the coaches more than anything. The expectations were too low. Unacceptable.
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS
The first thing I noticed as I walked around the Cuitat Esportiva, the training facilities of FC Barcelona, was how players shook hands with every coach and director they passed as they walked through the complex. It was a clear expectation. American youth player Joshua Pyndath, now at Real Madrid, trialed at FC Barcelona before committing to Madrid. In his blog about his experience (which has since been taken down) he addressed the rule. He mentioned how every player shook his hand and greeted him when he arrived for his trial. He knew it was a rule the players had to follow, but expressed how comfortable it made him feel.
The first morning we arrived at the field for the coaching course in Barcelona the instructor was setting up for the days activities on the far side of the field. He saw us, dropped everything he was doing, walked the length of the field to greet us and shake our hands. He did this for every person that arrived at the field. It was genuine. And god-forbid you asked him a clarifying question during the clinic! He would grab you by the shoulders, get in your face and speak a thousand words a minute, his hands gesticulating wildly. He was passionate and wanted you to get it. There was no ego, no withholding of information. He wanted you to learn.
It is something that makes La Masia a very inviting place to be. There is a feeling that everyone cares. That feeling is necessary in order to lay a foundation where constructive criticism and high expectations of achievement can exist on a regular basis.
We are all more willing to take criticism when we know it is coming from someone who cares about us. True in the classroom and on the field.
HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR ACHIEVEMENT
I’ve wasted many opportunities to make my players better. Many times we have jumped to a huge lead on an opposing team, so I kick back in my seat and just watch. What else is there to say?
The truth is, a lot! Some of our sloppiest play happens when we have a big lead and the opponent is weak. The problem is that when playing a weak opponent you don’t get punished for your mistakes, so they don’t look like mistakes. Only if you have a clear idea of what the on field product should look like, and you have high expectations for achievement, do you recognize these as mistakes. And if you recognize it you should fix it.
Again, I have wasted a lot of opportunities to make my players better.
Claudia Reyna has been quoted saying, “At the best places, the youth coaches are sitting down. And if they get up to give instructions, they sit right back down again.” There is some truth to that. Coaches at La Masia do not typically pace up and down the side line. But that is not to say that they are silent and “let the kids play” either. They coach! They stand up and give feedback, or make corrections and adjustments. They have high expectations for achievement and even when they are up 12-0 (pretty common for the younger teams) they are prodding their team to do better. This is what they mean when they say the result doesn’t matter. Not that winning doesn’t matter, because a winning mentality is critical to player development. It’s that simply winning does not tell the whole story. It’s about HOW you go about it!
I highly recommend the book Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov (@Doug_Lemov). While it is written from an education perspective I believe coaches can learn a great deal about building relationships and establishing a culture of high achievement.
And what about Enjoyment?
Obviously enjoyment is important. It just seems that as the pendulum swings drastically to one end of the spectrum we lose sight of other critical factors.
It is in fact possible to create a training environment that is both enjoyable and challenging.
Remember, it is easy to be the coach that makes every training session “fun”, just like it is easy to be the coach that makes every session physically demanding. What is actually impressive is a coach that understands all variables and purposeful plans for them.
Other posts on COACHING POSSESSION
COACHING POSSESSION SERIES: Training the Defensive Phase
Christopher Cramer 