Coaching Corner: The Craft of Coaching (Part 1 of 2) 
By Jeff Tipping, NSCAA Director of Coaching Education
  (from the NSCAA Coaching Newsletter - July 20th, 2005)

The Playing Environment: Modeling and Culture

It would be disingenuous to assert that a player’s sole means of improvement is through good coaching. Coaches take too much credit for producing good players and too much criticism for producing poor ones.

Playing with and against better players is, ultimately, what improves a player. Players also improve from modeling, i.e. watching and imitating good players. Improvements are accelerated for players immersed in a soccer culture where good play is appreciated and the game is revered.

Player improvement also does occur, undeniably, from participating in focused, dynamic and well-structured practice sessions. The objective of the NSCAA Academy is to explore the coach’s role in the development of players and to explore coaching and teaching as a craft, a highly prized skill.


Managing and Coaching

It is important to highlight the difference between managing and coaching if only to distinguish the difference between winning trophies and improving players. Many successful programs emerge because the coach is a good recruiter, scheduler, fundraiser, negotiator and manager of people. The management of a team or club is a vital task in winning and building a winning culture. The managerial aspects of coaching are critical and are receiving greater attention in our Academies. It is possible, however, for programs to have exceptional winning records and players who do not improve. I am not entirely surprised, any more, to hear of players from winning programs who are dissatisfied with the quality of coaching they receive on the training ground. They have been recruited for their ability but they stagnate as players due to a lack of interest or lack of skill on behalf of the coach to help them. How much better would it have been for the player previously mentioned, to hav e won trophies and improved as a player? How much more rewarding would have been the player’s experience if the coach had taken player development as seriously as managing the program? The very best coaches we have, obviously, do both.


The Coach as a "Craftsman”

The craft of coaching players comes down to four basic tasks. The end results are carefully designed and focused practice sessions in an environment which closely resembles the competitive pressure of a game, and in which players improve. The four basic tasks are:

1. Observation
    
2. Organization
    
3. Instruction
    
4. Motivation

Observation-Match Analysis

To discover what the player’s need to practice the coach must observe them play in a game. The game tells us what the player’s need. The observations the coach makes at the game will give the practice session a focus.

Consequently, the soccer coaching model on game day is quite different from football, basketball or lacrosse which encourages a high degree of interaction between players and coaches. Possibly baseball or ice hockey are better models for soccer wherein the coach quietly observes the game, writes notes and occasionally exhorts players to perform.
 

• Match observation and analysis is possibly the most difficult skill for a coach to acquire. Young coaches, even former professional players, find that analyzing the big game is difficult. It takes time and practice to develop good match analysis skills. It is hard to keep emotions under control and think logically. Some useful tips to develop this skill include:
  • Watching a lot of soccer games.
  • Sitting quietly with a pad and pen to note down observations. Some coaches have an assistant do the writing while they observe.
  • Developing the ability to look away from the ball. This is difficult as the ball is a magnet for attention. Here are three classic scenarios where looking away from the ball might be important:

  1. If midfielders get caught in possession, you may accuse them of indecision. Had you looked away from the ball at the forwards, however, you would have seen that they had not checked, made runs, etc.
      
  2. Your forwards have the ball outside opponent's penalty box. Are your backs pushed up to ½ way line to compact the team defensively?
      
  3. Your team plays a 4-4-2. When the right flank has the ball, does left flank come inside to become a third center forward, or does flank stay wide? Has implications for getting into penalty box if a cross is delivered or leaving space for overlapping left back.
      

• Compartmentalizing observation into categories:
  1. Individual
     • Evaluation of your players’ technical, tactical, physical and psychological performance.
  2. Small Group
     • Observation of backs, midfielders, forwards, etc.
     • Observation of vertical thirds, left flank, central, right flank
     • Observation of players within 12yds of the ball
     • Observation of 1st and 2nd Attacker
     • Observation of 1st and 2nd Defender
  3. Team Does team exhibit ability to apply principles of game?
      

  Attack	Defense
  Penetration	Pressure
  Support	Cover
  Mobility	Balance
  Width	Compactness
  Creativity	Predictability

The scope of match analysis is way beyond the limits of this article but is covered more fully in the NSCAA Advanced National and Premier Diplomas. Match analysis provides the development of the themes that must be developed in practice.

Part 2 of this article will appear in the Aug. 3 edition of The Technical Area
 

Coaching Corner: The Craft of Coaching (Part 2 of 2) 
By Jeff Tipping, NSCAA Director of Coaching Education
  (from the NSCAA Coaching Newsletter - July 20th, 2005)

• Facilitating Learning “The Game is the Teacher,” is a phrase that we constantly hear. This maxim in practical terms means that the soccer coach organizes conditioned soccer games to improve players. The kind of conditions the coach puts on the games will help teach the players. This process is called facilitating learning. Part of the skill of an advanced coach is to design exercises that specifically address problem areas. The conditions the coach puts on games are examined in detail in the NSCAA Academies but basically fall into the following categories:
   
  • Numbers of players (e.g. 4v2, 8v8, 6v6 + 1, etc.)
  • Size and shape of field (narrow and long for vertical passes, short and wide for shooting or crossing.)
  • Goals or methods of scoring (shooting into a full goal, dribbling across a line, 6 passes equals a goal, etc.)
  • Numbers of touches (1 touch to encourage passing and support play, 2 touches to encourage receiving)
  • Zonal Games (Field marked off by cones with restrictions as to who can go into certain zones)

  The methods a coach uses to improve the players depend on such factors as age, ability, and ultimate purpose of a practice. The methods of a coach of 7 year olds uses are completely different than those of a college coach. A coach preparing to play an opponent m ay be more concerned about the future game than the one which is past.
  
  
  All coaches, however, are encouraged to follow basic guidelines of teaching:

  • Focus: Improvements will more likely occur when concentration is on 2 or 3 concepts.
  • Progressive: Sequencing of exercises follow logical progression. The coach may work with the back four versus two center forwards before putting them into 11v11 game. Having a 9 year old practice dribbling in 1v1 may precede playing in a 5v5 game.
  • Duration: Practices should be about the same length as a game. Very little quality learning happens in the final ½ hour of a 2 ½ practice.
  • Practice Plan: All coaches are encouraged to write down a practice plan regardless of age group of the players. Practice plan should delineate practice sequencing and duration of exercises.
     
• Practice Sequencing
   
  • Practices consist of 4 main components:
    1. Warm-Up—20% of time. Should be related to theme and focus of practice (e.g. passing in pairs, circle routines)
    2. Teaching Exercises—50% of time. 2 or 3 exercises that focus in on observations coach makes in a game. Coach may split team up (e.g. goalkeepers and defenders in one end, midfielders and forwards in other)
    3. Final Game—20% of time. 11v11 or even numbered game. Coach accentuates those issues the teaching exercises focused on.
    4. Warm Down—10% of time. Players jog, stretch together; led by captain, assistant coach. Some coaches will do fitness between final game and warm down. The coach may meet with players prior to session to explain what they will be doing in practice.
        
  • Some coaches will show video clippings of the previous games to highlight their observations. This is also helpful in changing the players frame of mind and preparing them, psychologically, for practice.
    
    Instruction -  “The Teachable Moment.”
    Possibly the biggest difference between skilled coaches and novice coaches is in the quality and quantity of their instruction. There are certain “teachable moments” which occur in a practice session when the skilled coach speaks and addresses a player or group of players. The number of instructional stoppages and the timing will be very much a matter of choice for the coach. It will also depend on the age group..14 year olds will need more instruction than pros.
    
    The “teachable moments happen at fairly predictable times:
     
    • When something is done incorrectly
    • When something is done correctly
    • Between exercises, during water-breaks
    • When the players are clearly fatigued and will welcome a rest and instructional moment
    • Ball out of play
       

    Instructional points can be made to an individual, group or a team. They can be made while play continues or play can be stopped. Most importantly THEY MUST FOCUS ON THE ACTUAL TEACHING THEME!
    
    Let me offer a few different instructional examples to improve players:
     

    • Tony DiCicco-US Women’s National Team 1998 Conducting a practice session for the Women’s National Team, Tony’s stoppages almost universally came at the moment a player did something right. He brought the players attention to what it looked like when done correctly, praised them and moved on. He never made any corrections to address mistakes the players made.
       
    • Bob Gansler-Kansas City Wizards 2002 Conducted a practice session that contained 3 dynamic exercises each lasting 20 minutes. Never stopped any of the sessions once. Made all of his coaching points during water breaks and between changeovers in exercises. A true proponent of “the game is the best teacher.”
       
    • Helmut Schoen-German National Team Manager, World Cup 1974 Paul Breitner relates how Schoen walked over to the 2v2 exercise Breitner and Beckenbauer were engaged in. Schoen never said a word but Breitner related how Schoen’s presence burned a hole in the back of Breitner’s neck. He redoubled his efforts in the exercise. Sometimes silence can be the coach’s greatest ally.

    Clearly there are no absolutes as to how the coach gets improvement out of players. Coaches must understand what is best for their environment and fits their personality.
    
    The two extremes to be avoided are:

    • Too many stoppages which prevent any flow from developing and
    • No instruction at all. The coach merely supervises exercises which have no meaningful focus and in which the players receive no guidance.

    Motivation
    One of the great rewards of coaching is helping to energize a player and stimulate a player so that they want to improve. Players will improve only if they want to improve but the coach can offer extrinsic motivation that lights a spark in a player. The coach does this in a number of ways.
     

    1. Quality Practices: Practices that are organized, focused and facilitate clear improvement.
        
    2. Specific Instruction: Coaching points that specifically relate to the focus of the session.
        
    3. Mixture of Positive and Negative Reinforcement: Coaches must be demanding at times. The best coaches understand how to mix praise with honest observation in such a way as to challenge the player to improve.
        
    4. Appearance and Participation: The coach should have a modicum of physical fitness and dress like a coach. Players like it when a coach occasionally joins in a practice…(make yourself the +1 who cannot be tackled!).
        
    5. Realistic Expectations: The prudent coach sets realistic goals and targets for the players. They keep the game within the context of how good the team is compared to who they are playing. The coach is wise to forewarn players, parents and supporters that, in soccer, nothing is ever guaranteed.
        
    6. Humanity: Personal honesty and integrity is respected by players. Players will clearly respond to a coach who displays an interest in them aside from their soccer ability. Enjoy your coaching.
        

  Web Administrator    Ken Gamble