What Can I Work On Coach?

The question I am probably asked the most, “what can I work on coach?” I understand the question. It is always from very well intended parents, sometimes children, it is definitely not the wrong or worst question to ask. However, it is formed in the wrong context. I say in the wrong context because learning to play any sport shouldn’t be work. For anyone, me or you, but especially children! 

There are unintended consequences of the term work. the emotional; reaction to the term is littered in negativity. Work is hard, about labor and grafting. It is that horrible feeling on a Sunday night when you know you’re about to dedicate 50 hours plus of your next 5 days to a job you may or may not like or want. Work is an adult concept. These are adult ideas. Ideas which should be the furthest thing from the children’s minds when it comes to life and sport. Adults work, professional players and aspiring college players need to work, children do not need to work. They need to play!

To get better, to improve, to develop an understanding of the game and acquire new skills in any sport, but especially an invasion game like soccer, the children need to play and adults, we need to encourage playing. At the youngest ages and the entry level of the sport, play and learning go hand-in-hand. I “work” in the week with many brilliant children, wonderful personalities, with many different reasons to come to classes, friends, fun (hopefully), exercise etc. A couple days a week I have the fortune of coaching 1 fantastic child in particular. He is bright, bubbly, inquisitive and loves to play. He has made clear to me a number of times in our 1-1 classes in particular, the playing of the games is fun and what he wants to do, even if they seem very far from traditional practice. 

When this child and his dad first arrived at my classes, I explained that everything we do is a game, one-to-one or groups of six, games, games, games. Play for points, within time, earn time, score goals, bonus goals, target setting etc. Nothing technically isolated or out of context, just different challenges, different difficulties, similar to the structure of a video game. Learning layered within these games. I have found games to be successful in helping children enjoy playing, especially in a difficult setting like a 1-1 primarily because kids understand games, real life games like tag or video games, games resonate with children, because they are naturally enjoyable and instantly spark curiosity and excitement. Children love and learn through playing games. Coaches we have all been here:

You have researched and worked for hours on the next session. Toiled and struggled, been excited getting to class, setting it up and running it through your head in every successful way possible, its flawless. This is going to be great. Then, that question, 10 minutes into a session where you may look at turning or dribbling, this perfect, awesome, fun amazing session which would put Pep on his backside gets the response from the kids, “When are we going to play a game?” And it is there  where we all need to get to. We need to have that feeling. “This practice, class, session, is not for me. Its for the kids.” We need to remove the ego, the “I think we need to work (horrible word) on this”. The traditional – isolated technical – practice model is far from dead, but it ought to be dying, its the model that has caused the question. Not you.

So why? Why is this feeling bad? Why stay away from traditional practice. After all traditional practice has been around for decades and probably will be (hopefully not) be around for many more to come. By traditional practice, and definitely when it comes to the 1-1 classes, I mean the set up you’ll see driving passed or walking through most parks. technique taught out of context. all the technical terms we think of and apply them to the center of the kids learning. A coach, a bunch of hurdles, sticks and hoops, some element of soccer in there maybe they score a goal or maybe they slalom through cones. Kids “working” through a circuit, more appropriate for an elite athlete in the later stages of rehabilitation. Coach screaming “go”, “Come on! That’s not playing. That’s robotic. Programmed. Leave the slalom on the slopes. Hurdles belong in the Olympics and call someone important if a coach is strapping a parachute or weighted vest to a child. That’s an adult’s idea of working. Devoid of decision making, reflection and fun.  Fundamentally flawed and just cringe. That’s copying something from YouTube or on Facebook from a Premier League clubs feed to build up excitement for this weekend game. This is not for your 7 year old.

But how can you just play all the time? My answer here is simple. You can. You should. And you must encourage it.

Encourage playing. Encourage them to play all the time. Set up random pick up games, jumpers for goalposts, Wembley, heads and volleys. Encourage copy catting, encourage and guide them to watch and recreate goals in their garden from Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappe, Neymar, Grealish (I know). Set them challenges in practice. Want to work on ball striking? Play soccer golf. Want to work on ball control? Layer it within their games. Ball goes out? skill test it (Throw it up high and kill the ball dead.) Skills? Scissor it back in. Create a “skills and turns” scoreboard. Implement it within a 3v3 to score more goals and points. Get the kids to keep track of their goals. Finishing? Free shot to the other team from where it goes out. Change the parameters of the game.

Set challenges, how many goals can you score in 3 minutes but to start you must skill test it first. Want to work on skills or turns? Ask them, involve them, let them lead on what they want to do, what they could add or take away from these games. I guarantee you, kids are more fun and imaginative than we are.

So what’s the message here? My message to you is, as adults, parents and coaches our job honestly is:

Get out the way. Let the kids play!

ENCOURAGE them to play, encourage the pick up game sin the park away from structure, take away lines and boundaries, encourage them to  pretend they’re scoring the winner in a Champions League final or to recreate Messi’s mazy run and goal vs Getafe or Zidane’s side volley vs Leverkusen. Run away like Alan Shearer, hand a loft after scoring a belter against them in goal Hear them play the commentary before imagining they David Beckham vs Greece. Or a modern day alternative, writing this I realize how old I sound. But the point remains. So coaches when you are writing your evaluation for Zach aged 7 or a mom approaches you and asks “What do we need to work on coach?” If your answer doesn’t revolve around playing and playing more, you are stealing an opportunity to inspire and create a love and passion for the game, we are robbing the children of their innocence of just playing. Our aim should not be turning the game in to work. Parents, if you child wants to improve and is passionate, encourage it. If they want to play let them play. If they don’t, that is ok too! Fun comes naturally, work is enforced.

If we all do our part, by getting out the way, letting them play, be engaged and interested in their passions, guiding them to find out more and inspire a curiosity for the game it will be a case of “how can I stop them playing so much”.

Let us put the hurdles, sticks and slalom of cones away. Keep work away from playing. Keep the kids not just IN the game but IN LOVE WITH THE GAME!