Taking Note: Why Coaches Should Keep A Journal

One of the finest football books of recent years is Simon Hughes’ Secret Diary of a Liverpool Scout.  It tells the story of Geoff Twentyman who was Liverpool’s Chief Scout between 1967 and 1985, an era that was marked by the club’s unprecedented success built largely on an exceptional ability to identify talent.

What marks this book out is how it was written.  Rather than being based on the recollections of Twentyman himself (sadly, he passed away way before work on this book had started) it uses the meticulous notes that he used to take during every one of his scouting trips.

This was an extension of the practise within Liverpool’s fabled boot room of noting down different aspects of their work from training, recovery and tactical approaches in varying situations.  These dossiers eventually became the reference point whenever the club was faced with similar situations allowing them the luxury to judge whether to take a similar approach or not.

Bill Shankly took over at Liverpool in 1959 and the boot room was established shortly afterwards.  It is testament of how visionary that group of people was that the practices that they adopted are still as effective today as they were more than fifty years back.  

Essentially: every coach should be journaling regularly, documenting decisions taken and the reasoning behind them.

Never Trust Your Memory
To appreciate why that is there is the need to move away from sport and into the realm of psychology.  People act in the manner that they do because over the years their behaviour has been shaped by their own experiences.  The problem, though, is that those experiences and memories might not include all the details; they might be inherently biased.  There will be occasions when a positive result influences one’s recall of a choice or vice-versa.

Imagine if someone were to ask you to think back to a time when you missed the train and describe your experience.  The odds are that you will recall a negative experience.  This will also contaminate any future thoughts that you have and, if that same person were to ask you to imagine how you would feel the next time you missed the train then the likelihood is that you would predict a bad reaction.

All this is not conjecture but precisely what Dr Carey Morewedge and his colleagues from Harvard University found in 2005.  During their study they asked a set of people to recall the last experience of missing the train, another to recall their worst experience and another to think back three past experience.

Their findings showed that those who had been given free reign to think of one experience made the most negative prediction.  Further studies strengthened this theory that people tend to make overly positive or negative predictions if they were to rely exclusively on their memory: they fall prey to their memory bias.

This, clearly, has a number of implications in a football environment.  Let’s say that your team was thinking of bringing over a new player who has a particular character trait that might cause issues in the harmony of your squad.  If you’ve just come from a good season then you might be swayed into thinking that this too will work out well and that you’ll manage to integrate that player.

That might well turn out to be the case but, regardless, that decision was not made on the right basis.  Awareness is key to overcome any bias.  In such a circumstance, if a manager has records of previous transfers and thoughts before they were completed then he might notice instances that might be similar to his current situation.  Reading them and thinking of how they turned out would probably allow them to make a better informed decision.

It makes it harder to justify a certain decision when you have a divergent piece of evidence in front of you.

Accurate And Honest Feedback
Michael J. Mauboussin is an unikely source to find inspiration for football coaches.  He has no history with the game (as far as is public knowledge at least); he is instead the managing director and head of Global Financial Strategies at Credit Suisse and an adjunct professor of finance at the Columbia Business School.  

He has, however, also authored a number of books that look into decision making.  And it is the research that he has put into the latter that is influential

In an interview with The Motley Fool, he said, “when you’ve got a decision-making journal, it gives you accurate and honest feedback of what you were thinking at that time. And so there can be situations, by the way, you buy a stock and it goes up, but it goes up for reasons very different than what you thought was going to happen. And having that feedback in a way to almost check yourself periodically is extremely valuable. So that’s, I think, a very inexpensive; it’s actually not super time consuming, but a very, very valuable way of giving yourself essential feedback because our minds won’t do it normally.”

There might not be many parallels between those investing in stock markets and people who work in football but both have one feature in common: there are strong emotions in play which might lead one to make terrible moves unless they are fully conscious and aware of what they’re doing.  That is why Mauboussin argues over the importance of noting decisions.

It is a philosophy based on a discussion with Daniel Kahneman, one of the most brilliant men of our lifetime and who gave birth to the new science of behavioural economics.  In particular, Kahneman’s work helped to bring to light a number of biases that influence people’s actions.

“Many years ago when I first met Danny Kahneman…when I pose him the question, what is a single thing an investor can do to improve his or her performance, he said almost without hesitation, go down to a local drugstore and buy a very cheap notebook and start keeping track of your decisions.”  Mauboussin said in that same interview.

“And the specific idea is whenever you’re making a consequential decision, something going in or out of the portfolio, just take a moment to think, write down what you expect to happen, why you expect it to happen and then actually, and this is optional, but probably a great idea, is write down how you feel about the situation, both physically and even emotionally. Just, how do you feel? I feel tired. I feel good, or this stock is really draining me. Whatever you think.”

“The key to doing this is that it prevents something called hindsight bias, which is no matter what happens in the world. We tend to look back on our decision-making process, and we tilt it in a way that looks more favourable to us, right? So we have a bias to explain what has happened.”

Do It Yourself
While football is a simple game, the decisions made by those who coach or run a club are often extremely complex.  Often managers’ reactions during games are quasi-instinctive and heavily influenced not by rational thought but by past actions.  Unraveling why a decision was taken can be just as complex.

Writing is a way of facilitating that process.  The simple act of forcing yourself to put thoughts into words actually helps in giving them clarity and shape.

The journal that a coach maintains does not have to be a work of art.  To all extent and purposes it can be illegible to anyone but the person who wrote it.  There is no need for any jargon or deep, insightful thoughts.  Don’t feel under pressure to write something that is great, just write you’re your thoughts.

What there should be a modicum of organisation (so that when you want to look back to a particular decision you can find it with ease) along with clear, direct writing that avoids any vague thoughts.

Initially it might feel like an unnatural act, it can feel like pretentious rubbish.  Push past that resistance and eventually, after a few weeks you will come to appreciate just how important a tool this can be for a coach.

After all, if it was good enough for the likes of Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley, it should be good enough for the rest of us.

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Cowley Culture: An Inside Look At The Duo Who Have Shaken Non-League Football

by Kevin Graham

This has been a magical season for Lincoln City.  Not only did they reach the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup but they won the Football Conference National League, hitting ninety nine points and marking their return to League Two in style.  The main architects of those successes were the management team made up of brothers Danny and Nicky Cowley.  Kevin Graham had the opportunity to spend a day with them them as they went about their coaching duties.  These are his observations.

It’s not often that non-league managers become household names but Lincoln’s incredible success this season has projected Danny and Nicky Cowley’s profile into orbit.

The first time that Danny Cowley came to my attention, however, was earlier than most, specifically in February 2016 following an incident during Cowley and his Braintree Town team’s game away at one of my old clubs Guiseley. Guiseley had inadvertently scored after an uncontested drop ball should have been given back to Braintree. 

Unfortunately no action was taken at the time by Guiseley to put this right, the goal stood and the non-league world soon became aware of the injustice. Cowley’s dignified if disappointed response to the matter was lauded - the way he spoke made a big impression on me. I made a mental note and followed him on Twitter – he followed me back, something he might subsequently have regretted!

After leading Braintree to 3rd place in the Conference National despite their part time status and limited resources, the in demand Cowley brothers chose to give up their teaching jobs and joined Lincoln City on a full time basis. The rest, as they say, is history.

Lincoln hadn’t finished higher than 13th in the Conference since dropping out of the football league six years previously, and in that time had struggled to manage the financial burden of running a fulltime, ex-league club with an infrastructure to match, in a league where visitors can regularly bring less than 50 travelling fans. 

The Cowleys literally turned the whole football club around and after a season that almost unquestionably defines them as the greatest non-league side in history, Lincoln City are once again a football league club.

I contacted them in October to ask if I could go in and observe training – I’ve done this at a few clubs over the years but this time, I was hoping to get a deeper insight than just the innovation on the training ground. Given their background – Danny started in the Essex Senior League at step 5 of the non-league pyramid and juggled management with a full time teaching job and a young family – I felt if there was ever going to be someone who I could aspire to emulate, he was probably that man.

At this stage I was lucky enough to start dealing with Alan Long, Lincoln’s Community and Player Liaison Officer. Alan is Lincoln City mad and was incredibly warm, helpful and accommodating, arranging for me to visit in early December. 

One of the initiatives the Cowleys had put in place saw fans who were willing to pay for the privilege granted access every Thursday to watch the players train, have lunch with them and get to meet Danny and Nicky. This transparency highlights the confidence Danny and Nicky have in their methods. Of course, certain tactical information remains sacred but their method is not something they feel the need to hide. As they both acknowledge, they tend to borrow ideas from other coaches or resources and use them or adapt them if they see fit – there are very few new ideas on football, and the Cowleys are not visionaries as such in that sense.

I arrived on the Thursday after Lincoln has beaten Oldham 3-2 in the FA Cup at home live on BT Sport, and was met by Alan who showed myself and the three lucky, and longstanding, Imps fans around the ground, the changing rooms and the various facilities at Sincil Bank, stopping to introduce us to whoever we came across on our way. It is fair to say everyone was very bubbly, friendly and, more than anything, proud of what they saw happening at the club. “Oh I’m sure Danny will look after you” and “Danny will make sure you have a good day” – just two of the comments from staff around the stadium. 

It wasn’t the first time the foot soldiers would refer to the guy they clearly see as their general in glowing terms.

We were ushered into one of the hospitality suites where the management team proceeded to deliver a video analysis session on the Oldham game. The brothers had prepared 93 annotated clips of the game. The key messages focused on how well they played for the first hour – mixing controlled possession with targeted direct play, the need for them to recognize the fact that they largely dominated against a League One side who play possession based football and to take more belief in themselves from that, and probably most important, not to drop off and allow opposing teams to come on to them. 

At 3-0 and cruising, they naturally dropped a little deeper instead of being progressive, and this allowed Oldham back in the game. It wasn’t a fitness thing, it was a mental thing – a natural reaction for an underdog that find itself in that position. The message was clear – you guys are better than you think you are. 

We sat next to the goalkeeping coach, Jimmy Walker during the video session and he clearly lightens the mood whenever needed. A cult hero at West Ham and Walsall as a player, and still back up to goalkeeper Paul Farman at the time, it’s fair to say he is a larger than life character but one who takes his profession no less seriously.

After an hour and only 58 clips, Danny recognized that the players needed a break so he left the video session there and explained that we’d all move on to training which would start at the nearby army barracks in 45 mins. The club train at 3 different venues depending on availability – not ideal but not something anyone seemed to be too bothered by. One of Danny’s many mantras is that Lincoln City lives by a “no excuses mentality”.

Alan kindly gave me some insight into how much things had changed under the new regime as he gave me a lift to training and it was clear that the impact was about far more than just coaching. Maximising resources is clearly a strength of the Cowley brothers and Alan went into detail explaining how they had harboured links with the local university, lecturing and supporting students there in return for access to facilities and sports science resources. Just one example to underline why the Lincoln board got real value for money when they appointed the Cowleys.

They plan training in cycles, gradually increasing the physical load on players over 4 weeks before having a recovery week and then starting again. This was week 2 so the load was not too heavy. The detail and influence of the Sports Science team was clear though – the players had undertaken “prehab” exercises tailored to their individual needs in the tiny gym at the ground before heading to training. The activation session, or warm up if you like, was lead by Sports Scientist Luke Jelly and the players then went into some passing patterns.

Nicky took the lead with the organization of the session and was the guy who clearly has an obsession with cones – a habit I’m sure many coaches can identify with! The passing patterns were done in two groups, working around poles set out in a hexagon. The emphasis was on the receiving angle, quality of the first touch, and the weight and direction of the pass. Standard stuff, with some competition introduced on quality of execution, so a breakdown in the chain meant the other group got a point, requiring concentration and focus rather than physical exertion.

After 20 mins of that, the players went back to Luke and did some controlled sprints through a course not longer than 40m, building the intensity to finish with explosive acceleration. The attitude of the players, who were jovial and cracking jokes between practices but very focused on quality when engaged, was really noticeable.

They then progressed to an opposed small sided game, a version of which I use quite regularly. On a square pitch roughly 40x40, Nicky set out 4 target areas, one in each corner. The aim of the game is to keep possession but score points by receiving the ball in one of the target areas in the four corners. In teams of 6, the practice is a great all-rounder in that it requires combination play and intelligent movement off the ball, lots of spatial awareness and there are lots of transitions so lots of defensive recovery work and also opportunities for quick attacking penetration. The third group of 6 players did specific work with Luke when they were not involved.

I watched this part of the session with big Jamie McCombe, the vastly experienced centre back who is now a player coach. McCombe was used sparingly throughout the campaign and now has more than one eye on coaching – so much of this season has seen him learning his trade by working with the Cowleys. Not a bad place to learn, I’d say.

Talking to Danny during the session, he explained that both he and Nicky are always adding to their repertoire of practices and that they scour many of the same resources as I do. Diego Simeone’s sessions on defending and focus on transitions were one such example he felt really benefitted the team.

After 25 mins of the four corner game, the players came in for water and a stretch before the session finished with a conditioned game on a ¾ pitch. With a 30x40 area set out in the middle of the pitch, the idea was to achieve a set number of passes in the central area which freed up players to create an attacking overload. Danny was particularly keen to see full backs recognize the attacking transitions and deliver from wide areas. The intensity levels were quite sporadic – you could recognize the bad losers out there but there were quite a few interventions and so the tempo never really went past 75%, though the quality at times certainly did.

The session ended with a structured cool down and I joined Alan for the journey back to Sincil Bank. On reflection I probably learnt less from the training session than the other aspects of the day – it was fairly standard stuff in terms of the set up, preparation and structure. The delivery and coaching points were clear and concise, and the how, when and why of the decisions players had to make was identified or challenged. I’m quite certain it was good enough to pass a coaching practical but that’s not where the Cowleys are different. Their connection with the players and the culture they have created enables everything else they do. They are no coaching geniuses or magicians from what I could see, though that’s not to say they are not amongst the very best I’ve seen. Everything they do is impressive but what differentiates them is about more than just a coaching session.

Lunch was taken back at the ground and I watched as the players were served by the catering staff. The way players behave with others says a lot about them as people and they engaged on a level with staff who served them, and were polite with it. These details are important to me and what I saw reflected the standards the Cowleys set. I can’t help but think that the way the team stuck together and kept going when their bodies were failing them in the final games of the season was a reflection of the respect they have for each other but also the people at the club who supported them – Danny repeatedly acknowledged the role everyone at the club played. It’s one thing to say something sentimental in an interview, it’s entirely another thing to be able to show you mean it.

As I ate my food, the fact that the catering staff had been asked to get more beetroot into the players’ diet to aid recovery demonstrated another tiny example of the detail that goes into the Cowleys’ method.

The final part of the day saw us invited into their office to ask the management team some questions. Alan played a blinder for me here as he had already arranged to oversee the questions from the 3 supporters who were with me before taking them and leaving me to have a bit more time with the brothers.

I watched an interview with Danny after the Arsenal game in which he said how grateful he was to have had the opportunity to spend such a long time with Arsene Wenger in his office at The Emirates, that he learnt so much and that he will never forget that. What transpired in the next 90 mins or so for me that day left me feeling exactly the same way about the Cowley brothers.

We covered an awful lot including
- How they track players’ performance over time both in games and training, using a rating system and individuals’ self-assessment
- How they plan training, both tactical and physical periodization (and how we all felt about Raymond Verheijen’s work)
- How they analyse the opposition
- How they analyse their own team’s performance and what they look for to feed into planning training 
- The transition from part time to full time coaching
- The merits of possession based and direct football
- Playing styles as you progress up the pyramid
- Our love of non-league football and comparisons with Premier League football

Yes…I was like a kid at Christmas.

I thanked them for their time and left, popping in to see Alan on my way out.

I don’t mind admitting I was on a slight high for days after visiting Lincoln, and I left feeling like I’d been in the company of people who were destined to achieve great things. I took my own training session that evening, making reference to one or two Cowleyisms but no more. I spoke to good friends in the game about what I saw and explained why I felt they should keep an eye on them and anything they can read about them in the media.

It’s fair to say though that the 5 months since that day in December have seen Lincoln City achieve beyond even the most confident young manager’s wildest dreams. We listened to the Burnley game on the radio as I drove to our own fixture that afternoon and the sleepy village in East Yorkshire we were driving through must have had quite a shock as Joe my assistant, George my son and I all let out a collective scream as Sean Raggett’s header went over the line. We’re Middlesbrough fans in our family but George will always look out for Lincoln City from now on.

It really has been fairytale stuff. The poignant memories of Graham Taylor, the way the Cowleys have lifted and inspired a whole city and many more beyond, the money that they have earned as a club to pay off debts and then secure the club’s future, the incredible mentality to keep going and keep accumulating league victories after an unprecedented FA Cup run, being guests on Match of the Day….I could go on.
For two kids who grew up making their own dug outs in their bedroom to play Championship Manager on, who followed their beloved West Ham home and away, who played all the sports they could together in the school holidays until it was time for bed, who probably weren’t good enough to be professional footballers themselves but who had careers to be proud of in non-league football and who this time last year were throwing their heart and soul into teaching kids and making a difference to their lives…..it’s not your typical success story.

So why are they so successful?

Firstly, they outwork their opponents. These two work 80 hour weeks – they used to combine full time teaching with coaching in the Conference. So they don’t see 80 hours spent on football as work. They simply love the game. They are so hungry and so motivated because they appreciate every chance the game gives them. The sense of entitlement some managers portray as a result of having been in the professional game for 30, 40 years plus is conspicuous by it’s absence. The Cowleys’ humility is born out of their gratitude for this opportunity.

Secondly, they are incredibly organized and pay attention to so much detail. Their work ethic allows them to cover so much ground. They run a Championship set up on a Conference budget.

Third, they are intelligent guys. Their teaching career has afforded them the chance to learn about sports science, sports psychology and the science being learning and coaching.

Fourth, they treat people well. Not just their players. Everyone. Even the guy who wants some of their time to further his own learning. Their values are cast in stone, a reflection of their family’s values and worth ethic. They don’t recruit players on ability if the character is largely flawed – they want good human beings in their dressing room and around their club. The bond between the brothers is incredible and that is the starting point for the way they treat others.

Fifth, they have confidence in their own ability. They hate losing but they’ve known little of failure in 9 years since Danny became a manager. When you are used to winning as a manager, it is easier to get your players onside and bought in to your methods.

Sixth (and final – though there are probably more), they are incredibly consistent. They refer to their method all the time, they are process orientated. That’s not some attempt to sound clever – they know that if their players pay attention to every aspect of their preparation for games and repeat that process thoroughly, the results will come. They don’t change their method just because they lose a game or two, nor will it affect their core values, their work ethic or their communication. 

I must have watched 50 Danny Cowley interviews this year and when you watch them as much as I do, you could say he is pretty boring! The same responses, the same words, the same steely determination and the same polite and well-mannered rapport with the media is evident in every single interview. Their players always know where they stand because they can rely on this consistency.

Danny in particular is an outstanding leader – a role he recognizes comes naturally to him. Leadership in any organization is critical and I’ve never come across one as impressive in the game. When he speaks people listen, and everyone who listens recognizes this guy is pretty special. He’s also smart enough to realise that his interviews are an opportunity to gain more support for the club and also speak to his players to reinforce his expectations to them – put him in the Premier League tomorrow and any Chairman would be glad to have a guy with his communication skills representing his club.

This interview after the Arsenal game is particularly impressive

To those who might suggest these two are laptop coaches without enough understanding of the game, you couldn’t be more wrong. The culture of the dressing room and the way the game really works in that world fans don’t get to see is something they’ve been a part of for years – they are old school football men who embrace modern methods….in fact any methods young or old if it gives them more of a chance of success.

So it’s fair to say I’m a fan, and unashamedly so. A good pal of mine who is also a coach often ribs me about my “Cowley crush” but frankly, this isn’t some sort of passing craze. This is just a case of doing the basics incredibly well – there’s no magical mystique or science behind their approach.

Danny Cowley with author Kevin Graham's son George

Despite all that, there are aspects of their approach that mean not everyone sees them as the next incarnation of Christ in footballing terms.

Danny and Nicky are winners – and during games they are not averse to questioning the officials. Not in an abusive way, but in a way that all coaches will recognize needs to be done at times during games. I’ve witnessed a couple of managers take serious umbrage at this – nothing new and not something that is exclusive to the Cowley brothers. There are those in the game who would have you believe they are not as angelic as some would have you believe. There is indeed a fine line when it comes to seeking to gain small advantages during games – invariably those who do it well and achieve success whilst doing so are going to be maligned by their opponents. 

This will happen more and more, but I very much doubt they care what other people think because they are focused on winning. “Managing” games is part of football and these two do it incredibly well. They also expect to shake hands and move on at the end of games but some managers may not be so keen to do so. This is life, not just football!

They do hate losing – I’ve seen it up close, having watched from a couple of rows back as York came back from a goal down to beat Lincoln 2-1 in the first leg of the Trophy semi final at Bootham Crescent. Tensions ran high and Lincoln had to accept defeat. Danny, visibly annoyed, had to face the media and also an 8 year old who wanted a photo with this guy he’d seen a lot on TV recently. Of course he was obliging and friendly as he made young George’s night, consistent as always.

And what of the future? They start next season in the Football League, and they have earned the right to manage there. It is a personal milestone but not one they will dwell on for too long. I can’t see anything other than a successful first season back in the football league for Lincoln City. The club is in a great place, well set financially so able to operate on a competitive budget, with the average home gate at Sincil Bank likely to be double what it has been in recent seasons and a squad that is now well developed and familiar with the methods that the Cowleys introduced last season. 

The first couple of months of this season will have seen the players feeling their way and gradually getting used to what the new regime wanted. They should only get better as a result of hitting the ground running in late June.

It is only a matter of time though before bigger clubs come knocking. Danny has spoken of his love of working at a club where he can get the players, staff and fans well connected, where the money and profile doesn’t create a barrier between them. However, he is also ambitious and I’d guess Championship clubs have already made enquiries about their availability. I have no doubt they can go right to the top of the game, mainly because they are lifelong learners. They will never rest on their laurels and will adapt to the challenges their progress will present. 

I do think their method will have to change – managing at a big club in the Championship or Premier League requires much more delegation. At present the size of the club combined with the Cowleys’ work ethic means they can cover a lot of disciplines themselves but at a bigger club the scope and responsibilities will expand and a much larger team will be required to manage the work load. It will also be interesting to see how the brothers’ unique working relationship will adapt, but frankly I can’t see any of that being a problem. Neither, I am sure, would they.

I can’t claim to really know the Cowley brothers – they have been great to me during a time when the whole world wants a piece of them. They don’t take themselves too seriously and lack any semblance of self-importance, yet have the confidence and belief in their ability to rub shoulders with the best. They are still young, still learning and have yet to face any sustained period of failure which will inevitably happen at some stage. But the foundation of their success seems to be based on old fashioned hard work, the love of a supportive family and very good values as people. I love that.

Alan said to me when I walked into one of the executive boxes at Sincil Bank that morning, “Watch these two, we think Danny will go on to manage England one day”. I was inclined to be somewhat dismissive at the time but I now think there’s a chance Alan and the people of Lincoln could be proven right. 

After making over 200 appearances for a number of clubs in the upper reaches of the non-league pyramid - Whitby Town, Guiseley AFC and Goole AFC - Kevin Graham ended his career playing for St Martins AFC and the Guernsey's national team having returned to the Channel Islands where he had grown up.

Once that career had come to an end, he took on new roles helping out in managing Guernsey Athletic FC as well as scouting for a number of non league teams.


His most significant appointment, however, came in February of 2012 when he was appointed as manager of the Guernsey national team whom he led consecutive Muratti vase wins in 2012/2013.  He is also a tactical analyst for Evening Gazzette in Middlesborough and can be found on Twitter.

A Goalkeeper's Life: Influence, Anxiety & Normality

Most often what people remember of goalkeepers is their mistakes.  Of all the positions in the game of football it is undeniably the harshest because one error can overshadow all the good work that one might do through the rest of the ninety minutes.  

And yet, for those called to the role, there is nothing better.   “I wanted a better chance to influence whether my team won or lost,” says Justin Bryant a former professional goalkeeper, current goalkeeper coach and author of the book 'Small Time: A Life in the Football Wilderness.' 

”When I was a young player, I got tired of losing games because whoever had reluctantly gone in goal kept letting the ball dribble through his hands. After that happened two or three times, I volunteered, and never looked back.”

This interview talks about why he kept on going in goal, what he learned and his ideas on coaching for the role.

Blueprint for Football: When did you decide that this was something that you wanted to do for the rest of your career?
Justin Bryant: It didn’t take long. I immersed myself in goalkeeping almost immediately. I would say that by the time I was fourteen, it was my identity. I never considered anything else.

BfF: What level of coaching did you receive?
JB: None, at first. I grew up on an island on the east coast of Florida in the 1970s. Nobody in that area had any appreciable background in the game. When I got to the high school level, I was lucky enough to have an expat Englishman, John McGeough, as a coach. His goalkeeping background was limited, but he knew enough about the position to help me understand the basics. 

I got a lot from reading interviews with Ray Clemence and Peter Shilton in old ‘Shoot’ magazines, and from watching professional goalkeepers in the league we had in the States at that time, the NASL.

BfF: You've written a book about your experiences playing in a number of leagues.  What brought that about?
JB: I’m not really an ex-player who wrote a book; I’m more a writer who just so happened to have been a goalkeeper when he was young. By the time I wrote ‘Small Time,’ I’d already published a novel, had a dozen short stories and essays in journals, and earned a Masters in Creative Writing from New York University. So, as a writer with a footballing past, it only made sense to write about my experiences as a player. 

BfF: In the book you write in detail about the stress and anxiety.  Is that part and parcel of a goalkeeper's role more than other players?
JB: I think some element of stress and anxiety is unavoidable. The potential for catastrophic, humiliating mistakes is there. Just look at YouTube. I skewed to the more extreme end of the anxiety spectrum, although my problem wasn’t simply pre-match nerves. I had them, but so does everyone else. My problem was much bigger and more overriding. I put huge pressure on myself to succeed, because the only identity I could imagine for myself was professional goalkeeper, and anything short of that would be not just professional but also personal failure. That was a pretty heavy burden to live with every day, and long term, it took a toll.

Outfield players have to deal with pressure too, but they have more opportunities to make up for mistakes, as they’re generally more involved in the flow of the game. 

My anxiety is not gone. It’s much less severe now, and I know how to manage it far better, but it’s still there, even at age 50 and with the pressure of chasing a career in professional football decades in my past. So it’s not something I can blame on goalkeeping. Indeed, going in goal these days is an absolute joy. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to do it, so I treasure it now.

BfF: Going by your own experiences, what do you tell other goalkeepers today who struggle with anxiety?  How important is getting the mentality right and do you think you developed that aspect of the game?
JB: If someone gets to the level of anxiety I had, they really need the professional help that I didn’t get at the time. If it’s the more standard pre-match nerves, or fear of mistakes, my preference is to focus on the positives of nerves. That adrenalin coursing through your body can help you make saves you simply can’t make in training. Pressure also helps you narrow your focus. So I try to help them accept the nerves, and make them work for you, rather than against you.

Getting the mentality right is at least half the battle. If a goalkeeper has the ability but not the mentality, you are not going to see consistently good performances. More and more, I think of these things in a holistic way. If a goalkeeper is struggling mentally, I ask them what it is they want from the game, what they hope to achieve, why they play. Is it fun? Okay, then have fun. Is it an identity, a calling, like it was for me? That can drive you to higher levels, but almost inevitably comes at the price of peace of mind.

I think I did develop the proper mental approach to goalkeeping, but it took time. I didn’t have the right balance until the last year or two of my playing days. 

BfF: How does a goalkeeper deal with letting in a goal largely because of a mistake he made?  How do you recover?
JB: Well, there’s how a goalkeeper recovers, and how a goalkeeper should recover. Many goalkeepers - young ones, especially - will dwell on the mistake. This will either negatively affect their confidence, or force them into acts of crazed bravado, in an attempt to ‘make up for it.’

A far better reaction is to allow yourself a natural moment of disbelief, anguish, and regret, and then file it away to be dealt with later, getting on with the game in the meantime. It’s not easy. You might, after all, have ten or twenty minutes with little else to do following a mistake, so it’s natural to dwell. It’s not a bad idea to have some sort of ‘move on’ trigger, like saying “That’s it” aloud to yourself, to refocus.

BfF: What is harder a match where you are constantly in action against a superior team or a game where he rarely touches a ball but is then called into action?  And how does one prepare for both?
JB: For me, the latter was always much more difficult. The longer you go with nothing to do in a game, the further you get from the time when you were handling shots and making saves in the warm-up. That’s one reason I admired Ray Clemence. In his and Liverpool’s prime, he often had just one save to make in games, and he would usually make it.

BfF: What are the biggest misconceptions that pundits say or fans think about goalkeepers?
JB: For a start, there’s the myth that getting beat at the near post is somehow worse than getting beat anywhere else. In some cases, such as from very tight angles, it is, but commentators and pundits use this as a catch-all critique, and it is generally nonsense. 

Put it this way: if a keeper gets beat at his near post, by a shot just two steps to one side, it would be just as bad if he got beat to the far post by a shot just two steps to his side. The mistake isn’t that it was at the near post, but that it was a shot well within reach.

‘Goalkeepers are crazy’ is also largely a myth. I have personally known hundreds, perhaps close to a thousand, goalkeepers in my life. The overwhelming majority are perfectly normal men and women who just so happen to enjoy diving around trying to catch a ball.

A surprising number of pundits and commentators don’t seem to understand direct free kicks. If a goal is scored, they will question the goalkeeper’s positioning, even when it is perfectly orthodox.

I also cringe when I hear a pundit say that every ball inside the six-yard-box should be the keeper’s, taking no account of how many players may be obstructing or challenging the keeper, the pace and trajectory of the ball, etc. Along these same lines is ‘dominate the box.’ Who dominates the box these days? The game has changed. 

Some people use the phrase ‘good shot stopper’ in a pejorative way, with the implication being that shot stopping is not what really matters. This is ridiculous. Goalkeeping will always primarily be about making saves.

I could probably give you a very long list of answers to this question!

BfF: You're now a goalkeepers' coach.  First off, what does your day to day job entail?
JB: There is no typical day, really. Often, at UNC Wilmington, we have a morning team training session, followed by some time in the office with the rest of the coaching staff, sorting out administrative tasks. I get into the gym most days, and do session planning and coaching education stuff in the afternoons. While you can watch goalkeeper training sessions from all over the world on YouTube, I firmly believe a goalkeeper coach should come up with at least some of their own drills and activities. Otherwise, you’re using someone else’s drill without really knowing what the coaching moments are. So I spend some time every day on the white board, experimenting with new ideas. Two evenings a week, I train youth goalkeepers for a local club, Wilmington Hammerheads. The schedule is different on match days and the off season.

BfF: Why do goalkeepers need their own coaches?
JB: Goalkeepers need to be trained to perform specific tasks in a consistently repeatable way under match pressure, with almost no margin for error. This needs to be done by someone who understands the technique needed for these specialist tasks, and can train, coach, and correct as needed. That’s the dry, factual answer. But beyond that, most goalkeepers benefit from spending time with a coach who understands and can relate to the unique physical and psychological demands of goalkeeping. Put simply, goalkeeping can be a lonely pursuit. Most of us can use an ally.

BfF: Do the coaching needs of someone who is largely a reserve goalkeeper and the regular keeper change?
JB: I think so, yes. I think you prepare a reserve keeper to be able to represent their best form when needed, but you’re flying blind, to a degree, since, without games, you don’t really know what their current form actually is. You also often have to be a little more encouraging, since they aren’t getting the games most players thrive on. You have to guard against them feeling unloved or sorry for themselves, and thinking that putting in hard work isn’t worth it.

With the first-team goalkeeper, you can tailor training to what you’re seeing from them in games. I like to find ways for them to have success with aspects they may be struggling with, while reinforcing what they’re already doing well, to keep their confidence high.

It should go without saying, though, that every goalkeeper is different, and you have to train the individual in the manner that is most effective for them. I can put a goalkeeper I don’t know through a decent training session, but once I get to know them, their personality, and what motivates them, I can put them through a much better session. 

BfF: How does one go about ensuring that there is a good understanding between the goalkeeper and his defenders?
JB: They have to train together as a unit, under match-realistic pressure from attackers. Nothing else can replicate that. Ideally, you overload them a little - give the attackers a numerical advantage, award them free kicks in dangerous areas, etc - but not so much that the defensive unit has no chance of success in training. I know most people think defensive football is boring, but I love the sight of a goalkeeper and back four coordinated in their thinking and actions.

BfF: What skills are essential for a modern goalkeepers?  And how have things changed from the past?
JB: It’s mostly the same skill set as always: good handling, reflexes, agility, power, and explosiveness, along with the mental skills of judgment, decision making, and emotional control. The biggest change from the past is being comfortable receiving and passing the ball under pressure, and of course, dealing with back passes, which a goalkeeper could pick up when I started playing.

There are some more subtle differences, too, borne from changes in the game as a whole. Compared to decades past, the ball is lighter and moves more unpredictably in the air, the pitches are better (at least at the professional level), leading to less direct, more possession-oriented attacking play, and referees are inclined to protect goalkeepers a little bit more. All this has combined to see a gradual shift away from big, bulky goalkeepers who were relied upon to deal with aerial bombardment, to leaner, more athletic goalkeepers valued for shot-stopping ability.

BfF: Do you see any changes or evolution to the role in the coming years?
JB: A lot of people seem to think Manuel Neuer is revolutionizing goalkeeping, and that his ‘sweeper-keeper’ style, by virtue of being modern and different, is inherently the best way to keep goal. I don’t. This is nothing against Neuer, who is a fantastic goalkeeper. He plays in a way that suits his skills and his team’s needs, but it’s not for everyone. Thibault Courtois and David De Gea don’t spend much time playing passes outside their box, and they’re both quite a few years younger than Neuer. So I haven’t seen a trend towards it, at least from top pros. 

Perhaps the next generation will take it to a new level, but I think we are close to being at a point of diminished returns regarding the sweeper-keeper. The value a team gets from the goalkeeper making successful interventions outside the box is balanced by the risk of those interventions. It only gets riskier the further from goal the goalkeeper takes touches, and most managers are risk-averse to begin with. So I don’t think we’re going to see the sweeper-keeper role evolve much more than it already has.

If there’s further evolution coming, it may be in response to another big change in the laws of the game, like we saw with the back pass law in the early 90s. Whatever it is, it will be designed to increase scoring, so goalkeepers will need to change and adapt along with the game itself.

Special thanks to Justin Bryant for taking the time to answer Blueprint for Football's questions.  Enjoyed this? Want more?  Sign up to Blueprint for Football Extra and as a free bonus you'll get a copy of our exclusive e-book Blueprint According To...Volume 3 that features interviews with six football coaches on how they go about their building their knowledge.

A Passion For Technical Coaching

Blueprint According To...Ben Trinder

Three years ago I spoke to Ben Trinder about his blueprint for the game.  At the time he was still relatively early in his coaching journey but had delivered an important tool to coaches worldwide with the establishment of the Coaching Family twitter feed.  That is still going strong (there are now more than 50,000 followers) and, happily, so too is Ben himself although time and experience have helped shape his views even further.

Blueprint for Football: A little bit more than three years ago we spoke about your Blueprint. What has changed since?
Ben Trinder: I like to think I’ve evolved and progressed with my coaching. I passed my UEFA B Licence in 2014 on a reassessment. The course was brilliant but if I’m being totally honest I wasn’t ready for the assessment days when they arrived, I hadn’t been able to practice enough with the players I was coaching. Ben Bartlett and Ted Dale did my reassessment and their support gave me great confidence to put over my ideas in my session. 

I listen to more coaching themed podcasts and audiobooks in my car. I’m not a fan of sitting and reading a book and don’t get much free time to do so, so audiobooks are a blessing. I’ve also recently started my own business, LTG Technical Football Coaching. I’m focusing on delivering 1 on 1 and small group technical coaching to kids aged 5-11 years old in my area, it’s an area we don’t pay anywhere near enough attention as a nation. Away from football, I got married in summer 2014. 

The following year my wife gave birth to our little boy, who is now 18 months old. Being a dad is the most amazing feeling and I try to make the most of every minute I get to spend with him.

BfF: How has your philosophy for the game developed since then?
BT: I am more focused on individual development rather than the team. I plan my sessions to challenge the different personalities and abilities I’m working with, whether that’s a hyperactive 6 year old who loves to run and dribble the ball or his lazy friend who needs a lot of personality and encouragement from me to get him engaged. 

I’ve developed a passion for technical coaching and believe this has to be the foundation for any young player wanting to play professional football in the future. That belief is based on my experiences coaching and watching youth football for the last 10 years. In England, too often we throw kids into kits, arrange them on a pitch and expect them to know how to play the game, poor kids. It’s setting them up to fail. Kids that young need a balance of free play (no instructions) and technical unopposed coaching. If a child cannot pass the ball against a wall from 5-10 yards how will they pass or share the ball in an opposed game situation? 

I’ve spent time researching the benefits of technical coaching, speaking to coaches from different nations and reading up on different ideas from the likes of Ricardo Moniz (ex-Spurs), Rene Meulensteen and Pepijn Lijnders among others. It’s a culture topic for me but I do feel like more coaches are coming round to the idea. I’ve also taken a keen interest in street and playground football. 

I’ve even done a few of my 1 on 1 sessions on those concrete basketball/football courts you see everywhere these days. Players need a mix of environments and as many different experiences of football as they can get.

BfF: At the time, you mentioned Michael Beale as one of your mentors.  At the time few people knew about him yet he has just joined Sao Paolo as assistant coach.  How closely have you followed his career since then?
BT: You can only admire what Mick is doing in the game, he’s an inspiration to hundreds of coaches, including myself. We first met in 2011 when he invited me in to Cobham to watch some sessions at Chelsea’s Academy. I put a tweet out about going to observe coaches and luckily he responded. Mick got me involved in the pre academy development centres there just before he left for Liverpool’s academy in 2012. 

I’ve kept in touch with him since then and went up to Liverpool in 2013 to catch up with him and watch him coach. He’s one of the good guys in football, Mick is really genuine, honest and very supportive of my coaching and ideas, when we speak or swap messages it feels like he always has time for you. It’s great to see him doing so well out in Sao Paulo after such a successful spell at Liverpool. I’d recommend his “Just Kickin It” podcast as well as his “Inspire Coach Education” presentation to all coaches. Mick’s experience and knowledge is phenomenal – he’s probably forgot more than I know.

BfF: How hopeful does it make you feel to see someone develop like that?
BT: It’s massively positive and inspiring for all of us but I don’t think people fully appreciate the commitment, risks and hours on hours of hard work it has taken Mick and his family. He’s created his own pathway from putting out the cones at Chelsea all the way through to coaching the first team at Sao Paulo. For me it sends a positive message to youth coaches, hard work combined with networking and taking your chances can lead to fantastic opportunities. 

We’ve seen the likes of Brendan Rodgers and Paul Clement, who both coached in the academy at Chelsea, step up to do first team duties. It’s great to see Mick following a similar pathway and I hope it inspires other coaches to take the step up. We’d all like to see more British coaches working in the Premier League.

BfF: Are there more people who have played an influential role since then?
BT: In the last few years I’ve started to build my own opinions and views based around my research into technical coaching. I speak to Louis Lancaster now and again, he always inspires me to think away from the conventional routes. His ideas, his innovation and his enthusiasm for youth development really rubs off on you when you speak to him. 

Another big influence in terms of setting up my business is Saul Isaksson-Hurst from my personal football coach. He’s an experienced, inspirational and very knowledgeable coach, he has been very supportive of what I am trying to do. 

To be honest, I take little snippets from everyone I speak to either face to face, on the phone, via email or on twitter. I enjoy meeting new people and I’m big believer in talking, engaging and networking with as many different coaches at different levels of the game as possible.

BfF: You have become a big advocate for 1 on 1 coaching.  What do you think is the special benefit of this approach?
BT: The benefits cannot be ignored for me, both with beginners and advanced players. Technical sessions allow young players to develop their technical confidence on the ball away from chaotic opposed practices where they might only touch the ball a few times in a 10 minute practice. The 1 on 1 coaching helps players learn at their own pace and also allows for 100% attention from the coach. Intensity of a session is a big thing for me, once a player has got the basics embedded it’s so important to try and stress him and test his technique. 

I focus my 1 on 1 sessions around building the player and the person on and off the pitch. Building the player is something they can see and identify with on the pitch. Building the person is an area I try to hide within my sessions, this takes time and creating good people has to happen in the right environment with a good role model or coach leading the way. As I have said previously, for me, too often coaches ask kids to play in opposed game situations where they often struggle to thrive. You see it all the time, a player receives the ball and can’t control it so it runs away from them. Or a player dribbles and overruns the ball, or worse a player goes missing in a game because they lack confidence and are over run by more advanced players. 

Young players, 5-11 especially, need to be working on ball mastery, dribbling, passing, turning and striking the ball from a young age. I see some 1 on 1 coaches running kids through speed ladders and jumping into hoops which has it’s uses but I prefer to do everything with the ball. People in the game don’t always appreciate that ball mastery also works to build ABC’s as well as the various other technical benefits.

BfF: It is an approach that encourages individual development of technical skills.  Do you think attitudes towards such skills is changing in England?
BT: I’ve definitely seen a positive change towards unopposed coaching and ball mastery lately, more coaches are embracing and recognising the benefits of technical unopposed coaching. I’d never say it’s THE way to do things, it’s another form of coaching to run alongside opposed practices, game based practices, strength and conditioning, movement coaching and so on. 

I’ve looked into and researched coaching methods in Spain, Holland and Portugal, they do a lot more unopposed technical work with their young players. Particularly in Holland, they aren’t afraid to spend a 20-30 minute block of their sessions on ball mastery/unopposed work. They’ll do it in their sessions, after their sessions, individually away from a group or even a coach. I honestly believe if you have got 11 technically gifted players at 16 and older then tactics, game plans and so on become a whole lot easier to coach. 

It’s a shame the Football Association don’t cover the technical area of the game in detail on their coaching courses, if coaches were educated on the different topics like ball mastery, unopposed technical practice, 1v1, 2v1, 2v2, 3v3 etcetera then I’m convinced we would have a bigger talent pool coming through our academy system in this country.

BfF: You work a lot with young children.  What is your views around kids specialising in one sport against them being able to play a number of sports?
BT: I am a believer in helping young players gain as many different experiences as possible as they are developing their skills and techniques. Playing different sports and physical activities is a great way to challenge a young person both mentally and physically. In my experience, I think early specialisation is often parent led, which can be unfortunate and counter-productive for the child. 

That said, I know of several local players who have gone through the academy system having been solely focused on playing football. Playing multiple sports develops more creative players, better sports confidence and improves cognitive/decision making skills in my opinion. I wouldn’t advise a young players to specialise in football at 7 or 8 years old.

BfF: You were the founder of Coaching Family.  How has the environment around social media - Twitter in particular - changed since then?  Do you still find it useful?
BT: It’s changed slightly. These days, people are a bit more wary of what they post knowing that potential employers may be watching. Back in 2010, when we started The Coaching Family, we helped to encourage a sharing culture on Twitter where coaches and people in the game could share their sessions, blogs, articles and ideas. We try to encourage coaches to take what’s relevant to them and build on it. For example, a coach sees a great 1v1 practice and screenshots it on their phone. We say, instead of just using that session as it is – can you add something, even if it’s a simple progression. 

I see Twitter and The Coaching Family account as a place to help make people think and not just become robots who clone the same sessions they see online, that would be a waste of time. Twitter is still and always will be massively beneficial to coaches at all levels of the game. There is something for everyone on there. Coaches need to follow the right accounts on there to access what is most relevant to them.

BfF: What do you do to get new ideas? Where do you look?
BT: For me, my own coaching has become less about what I coach and more about how I deliver my sessions. I often use YouTube to aid my session planning for a technical coaching session. As an example, if I want to pin down the technical detail for teaching a young player to turn with the ball I’ll sit with my notepad making notes on videos of Scholes, Iniesta or Messi. 

Mainly I listen to coaching podcasts and audiobooks, I use youtube for TedTalks and research on different academies/coaches. Coaching websites like Player Development Project and Inspire The Game have been very useful in my coaching too. 

For me though, there’s nothing more useful than watching another coach work and speaking to different people in the game.

BfF: Do you follow what happens in other sports, coaching wise?
BT: I’m into my Rugby Union and follow the English and Welsh national teams. One of my earliest coaching inspirations was Sir Clive Woodward who won the Rugby World Cup with England in 2003. I have a DVD at home showing all his team meetings, interviews and behind the scenes footage from their 2003 six nations’ grand slam. The overriding message I took from researching his ideas was the level of detail he would go into to plan for every eventuality. His book called Winning is one I’d recommend to all coaches. I also enjoyed listening to, and reading up on, Sir Dave Brailsford from Team Sky and British Cycling. There are lots of transferable messages from coaches in different sports and we’d be foolish not to ask questions and learn from these inspirational people. It’s great to see England manager Gareth Southgate in the papers recently when he visited England Rugby headquarters to speak with Eddie Jones. There is lots to be learned from other sports for sure!

BfF: How important is it to look at what is happening overseas and in different footballing cultures?
BT: It’s very important. Recently, I’ve been looking at player development in countries like Chile, Uruguay and Argentina and how street footballers like Alexis Sanchez, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez develop and learn their skills. It’s not always to do with the coaching these guys have received. We can learn lots from the culture and environments these boys grow up in. 

I have strong views on the crazy amounts of technology kids play with in the UK. Kids aren’t kids long nowadays; they soon have Facebook on their iPhone while they listen to music on an iPad while they play FIFA on their playstations. It’s a parenting problem for me as well as a “keeping up with the Jones’” attitude to Christmas and birthday presents. 

Technology is fantastic but not when it’s stopping kids playing world cup doubles, climbing trees, building dens and so on. Kids in this country are getting lazier and lazier but as coaches we have to inspire them to get out and play with friends again. 

BfF: Do you feel the urge to test yourself in a different environment?
BT: I always want to test myself and do things that challenge me. My wife and I have been speaking about moving to different countries for a while now. It’s a dream of ours to have a taste of American life at some point in the future. We spent 3 weeks in Florida on honeymoon a couple of years ago and loved everything about the area. I like meeting new people, learning new things and travelling to different places so I’ll never rule out a new challenge in a new country at some stage in my career. I’ve been learning Spanish for the past 6 months and would encourage every coach to learn a new language

BfF: What are three books that you think any coach should read?
BT: James Kerr - Legacy
Carlo Ancelotti – Quiet Leadership
Mathew Syed – Black box thinking

BfF: What do you want to achieve in the future to be happy with what you've achieved?
BT: I used to be focused on the next coaching course but these days my priorities have shifted. I am enjoying what I do. I love working with the under 6’s and 7’s at the development centre, I’m learning about myself and the age group with every single session. Long term, I want to grow LTG Technical Coaching enough so that I can go full time. That’s my dream, to concentrate almost all my energy on improving the technical ability of the very youngest players in the area, and then on to the rest of the country. 

Ultimately, I want to see the boys I work with go on to do well in the game at whatever level they can progress to. 

For more coaching tips from Ben, make sure you follow him on his Learning The Game twitter feed.

Want to hear what fellow coaches think about football, how they learn and build their philosophy? Check out our Blueprint According To... series of e-books here (and here for US readers).