“PASS THE BALL!”
“FALL BACK… HELP THE DEFENCE!!”
“STAY TIGHT!!!”
Sound familiar? There’s probably a LOT of us coaches (and parents) who are guilty of this during training and matches, but it’s never too late to change. Research indicates that the more people try to remember what they’ve been told, the more rigid their performance gets and the more likely they are to fail when put under pressure.
That’s why understanding how young footballers learn is a critical element of coaching success. Effective learning involves observing, listening, thinking, visualizing, discussing and experimenting. Good coaching requires us to get all of these ingredients together in the right proportion and correct sequence.
