Stephen Fraser The first part of this series of articles on the academy system in Scotland discussed the issues and problems with the academy system in Scotland. In particular it focused on the environment which the system in Scotland creates and the challenges this brings to developing high level young footballers. It can be read here. The Club Academy Scotland system can be regarded as a highly pressurised, cut throat environment. Players are discarded by clubs left, right and centre with limited opportunity to develop and fulfill their potential. We need to provide kids with a more developmentally focused environment which is conducive to unlocking potential. In reality, it is very difficult to progress to become a professional footballer. Rather than focusing solely on developing football players, we should look to develop all-round athletes that can transfer to other sports and can be good citizens. In the long run a system such as this will provide a bigger pool of all-round athletes, which will make better use of our small population. This is in direct contrast to the all or nothing scenario which exists in football at present. Players and parents become so focused on their kids making it as a professional footballer. This can be regarded as counter-productive to development. We would develop players of a higher level if we produced an inclusive, developmental environment which creates healthy, multi-functional athletes who are socially confident. This article will explore the potential solutions to the current problems which exist in the Scottish academy system.
Solution 1: Don’t Over coach Perhaps the biggest issue faced within the academies is the coaching methods used to develop players. Too many coaches speak for too long and do not allow opportunities for young players to develop through actually performing the necessary skills and techniques in scenarios and situations which occur in the game. Players are not afforded the freedom to make mistakes and to learn from them. Good coaching allows kids the freedom to play a variety of games where the constraints lead to different skills and techniques being developed. The game alone is not the teacher, as suggested by a number of people. The coach needs to guide the learner through observation, analysis, questioning and then providing corrections or alternatives. It is important players are exposed to game-like scenarios where they are building up their contextual knowledge and understanding.
More 1 vs 1 games, 2 vs 2 games, 2 vs 1 games, 3 vs 2 games, 3 vs 3 games, 4 vs 3 games and 4 vs 4 games with different outcomes are required to develop contextual knowledge. Repeated exposure to different scenarios leads to the brain acquiring a wealth of knowledge on how to produce solutions to different problems faced in a game. Solution 2: Not Just Football Kids should be encouraged to play a range of sports and take part in school sport. At present, many clubs ban their young players from it. We should be providing hundreds of sporting opportunities from school sport, to club sport, to specialist sessions where the children are allowed to lead their own games. Child-led sessions allow the players to develop ownership of their performance and progress. Clubs need to be more integrated into communities where there is cooperation with other sports. This would provide greater opportunities for children and young people to play a range of sports. This would ensure there is less chance of players burning out and allow us to produce more all-around athletes. We can have pro clubs work with other sports clubs and provide players the opportunity to take part in other sports rather than just go to football training 3 or 4 times a week. This will contribute to creating athletes with better agility, balance and co-ordination which can only help sports such as football when coaches are looking to develop sports specific skills and techniques. Solution 3: Winning Comes Later Games need to be seen as a development tool up until age of 16. Then you can teach about how to win games and more about game management. We have it the wrong way around at present. We teach players to win games without teaching basics which would increase the probability of actually winning games. There is too much focus on winning or simply not losing games. Coaches focus on team shape, tactics and set-pieces for a significant duration of training. Aspects such as set-pieces are irrelevant in the development of young footballers. They are team-orientated and focused around winning the actual game and not developing the young players. Time should not be wasted on telling players where to stand for a set-piece as often clubs have very little time to work with young players. Instead, time would be better spent focussing on developing player’s skill, game awareness and decision-making.
It is very evident how competitive the game becomes as soon as kids move to 11 aside football. We want to encourage kids to individually strive to win and do their best to improve but not emphasize team winning and scoreboard winning. That is not saying just participating is fine, it is saying we want kids to strive and seek to be the best they can be, get the better of their opponents and out think their opponents. Kids are naturally competitive so we don’t need to put pressure on them to not make mistakes to ensure their team do not lose. If you put a ball down and pick two teams the game will be naturally competitive, so we do not need adults shouting and screaming when kids fail to score a chance or let a goal in by making a mistake. Instead ask them what they could have done better to ensure every scenario and situation is used as a learning experience. That is where the skilled coach comes in- they are there to guide the players and they have the knowledge to guide players in the correct direction. Simply just leaving players to play without any guidance will not produce players. Solution 4: Teach Decision Making Skills It is important we focus on developing the correct tools required to produce intelligent and creative players as opposed to creating winning teams at under 14. Kids do not need to be taught how to play 4-3-3 or 4-3-2-1 formations. They need to be taught how to create space, how to angle for a pass, how to provide width, how to provide penetration, how to provide depth, how to time movements & runs, how to read opponents body shape & movements, how to close spaces to ensure they can’t be bypassed, how to make the correct decisions like when to pass-when to dribble- where to pass- where to dribble. Formations are tools used for adult teams to win games, they do not have any real relevance to developing players until they are older. If players are technically good, intelligent, make good decisions and are quick and athletic then they are more likely to win games. Rather than coaching a team how to play 4-4-2 or 4-3-3, we should be focusing on developing player’s brains to ensure they make good decisions, quickly and frequently. Formations are a starting point to balance out the space on the field and provide a bit of structure to a team. We do not need to coach players on the nuances of the 4-3-3 formation at a young age.
Solutions 5: Relaxed Approach Another potential solution may be controversial with some members of the footballing community. Over the years we have become so focused on creating teams at professional clubs starting from a very young age. This leads to early specialisation for many of the players where they only play football and have a very focused regime from a young age. This can lead to burnout very quickly and does not provide kids with the freedom to develop as kids. To counter this problem we could have training groups up until the age of 13 where players train a couple of times a week with a pro club but do not play competitive games. They can play friendly/festival games with the club but do not play in focused matches every single week. This would allow players to play with boys club and play a range of other sports throughout the week. This approach is less cut throat and more relaxed. They would still have plenty of access to games with friendlies and playing for boys clubs. Players can then be taught the necessary skills, techniques, decision-making and game understanding without being put in team shape and coaches coaching to win games as opposed to developing players. Pro coaches could also take sessions with boys clubs in their local community to ensure all kids are provided with access to good coaching, not just the ones that mature early or show early promise. Solution 6: Pay For Coaches It is time we treat coaching as a profession like any other and pay for full-time coaches to work with kids at young ages. Instead of spending thousands of pounds a week for mediocre professional players, pay a few thousand a year for a highly skilled, qualified and experienced coach to develop players. This in turn will make the club more sustainable and will provide a good product on park. It is feasible to get 2/3 players through to 1st team every year with the correct investment, correct environment and clubs providing more opportunities to young players. If we keep wages lower in general then clubs will not need to panic about being relegated and there would be less pressure on managers. This would create more stability at clubs and allow managers to gradually develop the club and the team.
At present, mediocre players are being paid unbelievable salaries compared to doctors, nurses and other normal jobs. It is a waste of money to pay vast salaries to players who are not top level. It can also de-motivate players and stop them from working as hard to improve and fulfil their potential. With lower salaries players may become more focused on reaching the next level and they would still be able to live very comfortable lives with lower salaries. Rather than paying players £40/50k a year, clubs could halve that amount to allow them to pay a full-time youth coach £20/25k a year. This would ensure clubs have more full-time professional coaches at the younger ages with the correct skills, experience and qualifications. Solutions 7: Age Suitable Game Formats At present the Scottish FA have adapted the format of the game to suit the age and development of players but this could be developed further. It is important we use incremental steps which fit in with way kids learn and the number of solutions and scenarios their brains can process. Moving to a full size pitch and playing 11 vs 11 too early can be detrimental to development. At present the SFA are suggesting kids play 4V4 up to under 8. This is a great step and exactly what should be used at very young ages. The next step in the development pathway sees players play 7v7 from 9-12 years of age. Rather than move straight to 7v7 we could let the kids play 5V5 at under 9, 6V6 at under 10 and then 7v7 for under 11 to under 13. This aligns better with child development and the way the brain and body develops. Moving too quickly to 11v11 and introducing too many variables too quickly can confuse players and can be overwhelming to some. This can cause a lack of creativity, as players are so confused with the amount of variables they cannot make a decision when in possession. The immediate reaction is to think of why it couldn’t or wouldn’t work in terms of pitches and logistics. Perhaps we need to start thinking about how we could make it work. We could use small goals and cones for pitch markings. It does not have to be all official at a very young age. As long as there is a ball, two goals and two teams then it is a competitive game when children are playing. With this new format kids would play 11v11 either halfway through under 13 or at under 14. A potential step of 9v9 could be introduced between 7v7 to bridge the gap. This could be feasible but would require portable goals to ensure the pitches were made smaller length wise. Professional clubs may be able to do this but boys clubs playing in local parks may find it a bit tricky. However, if the collective will is there then a lot can be achieved to change the game for the better.
Solutions 8: Collaboration Pro clubs work with each other and with boys clubs and don’t be so ‘us against them’. It will benefit everyone, as there will be more & better players to choose from. Players naturally find their level in time. Clubs do not need to go around poaching players from other teams. Instead, their time would be better spent if they worked with the players they had to make them as good as they possibly could be. The better players would eventually gravitate to the better teams in time. Clubs could also work together more to learn from each other rather than compete against each other. They could do in-service events where other clubs came to watch their coach’s work with their teams. This would hopefully ensure we can develop a best practice model throughout the country. Also, if a kid wants to leave a club then clubs should let them leave rather than stop them playing football and making life difficult for them. Surely, we want kids to be happy in the long run. An approach such as this also provides an opportunity for other players to come into the club and develop. The potential solutions highlighted in the article are designed to provoke thought and generate ideas. They are not aimed at being definitive answers to the problems faced in Scottish youth football. It is important action is taken going forward to try to come up with solutions to the problems we currently face. We need to produce more skilful, intelligent and creative footballers to allow us to reach a major finals for the first time since 1998. If there is a collective will and desire to work together then who knows what can be achieved in the future. One thing is for certain, if we continue with the same methods then we will drift further into footballing oblivion.
Stephen Fraser is a qualified football coach who was worked in Scotland with St Mirren and America with Seacoast United. His blueprint for football can be found here and he can be contacted on Twitter.
Our highly regarded Blueprint According To... interviews are collected into three Volumes of e-books that are available from Amazon (US Versions here). To receive a free copy of the third book in the series, get in touch on Twitter.
Stephen Fraser This is the first in a two part series. The second part of will look at potential solutions to the issues we face in Scottish youth football. There has been lot of debate recently regarding the academy system within Scotland and whether it is actually working. The national team manager Gordon Strachan has suggested clubs should scrap the academy system and replicate the past where players were developed in boy’s clubs and in schools. Although there is merit in such a set-up, life has changed and there are too many distractions for kids now. We need to find the balance between the old ways and the modern advancements in coaching and player development. A system which replicates play scenarios similar to street and park play can provide many benefits. However, it is crucial players are provided with guidance to unlock their potential. Many pundits and coaches have stated their opinions with a number in favour of scrapping the pro youth system all together. They are fully justified in questioning the system as we have failed to produce enough top level players for a number of years. However, being a high level ex-pro or adult coach doesn’t mean you know how children learn and develop. Nor does it automatically mean that you know how to teach kids from a young age through to adulthood. The same way as being a primary school teacher doesn’t qualify you to be a secondary teacher; being a good doctor doesn’t mean you are a good paediatrician or being a criminal lawyer doesn’t mean you are a good immigration lawyer. Although the subject or sport is the same, the audience, the methods, skills and knowledge required are vastly different. We should be questioning the academy system and looking for ways to improve it. However, it would be a monumental mistake to scrap youth academies in Scotland altogether. This would lead to far fewer players being produced and would leave the game in Scotland in dire straits. The actual system of academy football is not the problem, it is the environment we create which is the problem.
The academy environment within Scotland is highly competitive. Clubs need to understand they are working with kids and not mini adults. Players are not allowed to make mistakes and are not afforded opportunities to just act as kids. We need to let them have fun, be curious and work out their own solutions with guidance from qualified, experienced and skilled coaches. We need to work with players with a development focus in mind, rather than releasing players when they appear to be struggling. Usually clubs get rid of players because they are not winning games so they correlate that with not having the correct players in their system. However, this is often not the case. It may just be the players are not as quick learners as players from other teams. Talent identification needs to be better to ensure more suitable players are signed by clubs in the first place. Clubs need to get away from focusing on players who make the biggest impact in games. This is usually down to early physical and psychological maturation and has very little relevance to future potential. Similarly, clubs need to place more emphasis on movement mechanics and the mind-set of young players. We need to focus on creating more all-around athletes which will produce a bigger pool of players to choose from. If players are well balanced, co-ordinated and can move explosively in multiple directions then it is easier for coaches to teach them the required skills and techniques in football. It is also crucial players have a growth focused mind-set and are able to embrace mistakes and learn from them. It is ludicrous to suggest you are born with specific ‘talents’ or genes for football. Genetic attributes like fast twitch and slow twitch fibres are significant in developing physically and do play a part in player development. However, we learn to walk, talk and run through imitation and trial and error. In reality it is a mixture of environment mixed with initial physical traits. Without the correct environment then you cannot make use of physiology.
In his recent book Black Box Thinking, Matthew Syed explores in depth the way major industries and professions have progressed through the years. The main tenet of the book is related to making mistakes and learning from them. He highlights potent examples such as the medical profession, aviation and the criminal justice system. In particular he discusses how, often a culture exists within particular industries, where they are so ingrained in doing things a particular way because it has always been done this way. Syed highlights, many so-called leading experts do things in a particular way even although it leads to poor results. The positive examples he discusses highlight how making mistakes is crucial to learning for individuals and industries but only if they analyse them and learn from them. He uses the aviation industry as a prime example, as they have learned from a number of aviation mistakes to ensure the safety record is of the highest standard. This example is very pertinent to the system within Scottish youth football for two reasons. Firstly, the way players are developed is usually based on the previous experience of coaches and practioners and not on evidence based coaching. Clubs tend to coach in a particular way because they think it is the correct way to develop skill but in reality a lot of the work is counter-productive. The second reason the issues highlighted in Black Box Thinking are pertinent to Scottish football is concerned with allowing kids the freedom to make mistakes and learn from them. The environment within Scottish football is very negative and making mistakes is seen as a criminal offence. Young children are often lambasted for making mistakes, when in reality, making mistakes is the only way they will learn.
Syed concludes, many of the great developments within top industries and professions are made through trial and error. Therefore, we need to let players make mistakes, analyse them then come up with better solutions next time. The only way they are going to learn is if we give them the freedom to make mistakes and discover solutions via guidance from coaches. This way of teaching, is the polar opposite from instructing them what to do all the time. The debate around the academies in Scotland has mainly centred on players being over-coached in highly structured academies. It is very difficult to argue with this point, as a lot of the development work focuses on telling the players what to do all the time rather than let them discover the solutions themselves. However, one can argue with the issue regarding academies being too structured and this being a negative. Clubs such as Barcelona, Ajax & Southampton have very structured academies where players are highly coached. Southampton in particular look upon themselves as teachers of football and look towards improvement as the key aspect of their club. It is extremely difficult to argue with the proven track record of these academies. They have consistently produced high level players who have played in their first team and those of other top clubs around the world. It would be a challenge for anyone to say that is incorrect. I would argue, it is the type of environment and coaching which needs to be improved, not the structured environment which academies produce.
Nations such as Holland and Iceland are very much ‘coaching nations’ where they believe good coaching will improve players. They coach players correctly, with the correct type of interventions and the correct types of practices. Over the years Holland has produced top coaches and top players. Recently, Iceland has risen to the Elite of European football by qualifying for Euro 2016. By all accounts, they have achieved this through good coaching by well-educated and qualified coaches. Iceland has a population of nearly 330,000, which is considerably lower than Scotland. This example gives hope to smaller nations and proves that the correct coaching environment with well-educated coaches can lead to significant progress in player development. Stephen Fraser is a qualified football coach who was worked in Scotland with St Mirren and America with Seacoast United. His blueprint for football can be found here and he can be contacted on Twitter. Our highly regarded Blueprint According To... interviews are collected into three Volumes of e-books that are available from Amazon (US Versions here). To receive a free copy of the third book in the series, get in touch on Twitter.
The biggest revolution in football writing came about in the eighties when fanzine culture got hold of the game and, suddenly, people were writing about it like never before. Whereas the establishment considered it to be a diseased sport and the media threated it likewise, fans started showing that there could be studied, intelligent debate about what was going on. Eventually this way of seeing things took over the mainstream. Despite this, however, any talk of tactics was frowned up and people who did so were viewed as pretentious. It took even more time for those ideas to start gaining a foothold. One of those who worked to make such conversations more acceptable was Jonathan Wilson. It was his fervour for the topic – as well as his knowledge – that helped kick it all off. Wilson eventually took this knowledge and packed it all into Inverting the Pyramid, a book that talks about the history of football tactics and how these were shaped by different eras. Given that Wilson is a fine writer who can pick up any topic and make it interesting, it goes without saying that this is a great read that will be enjoyed by anyone who follows the sport regardless of their interest in coaching (although the latter will probably have more reason to pay closer attention). What is particularly masterful is the way that Wilson has managed to link together various footballing schools of thoughts, identifying how different modes of viewing the game influenced each other. Throughout the history of the game there have been few ideas that have been completely original and most of the changes are the fruit of evolution; they are the result of managers carrying out the tweaks needed for a system to work better. This means that there is little that managers can do in the future that hasn’t been done in the past. It is why they have to know how tactics have evolved since in that knowledge lie the seeds for any future evolution.
By Kevin Graham Guille Fernandez hit the headlines in the UK when he signed for Ryman League South team Guernsey FC back in July. The Spaniard has been a big hit with the Channel Islanders in his first few months there and, given my more than passing interest in Guernsey football, I was keen to catch up with Guille to find out about his experience so far, and dig a little deeper into his thoughts on how English football culture compares with the Spanish football
Blueprint for Football: How have you settled into life in Guernsey? Guille Fernandez: I’ve been very busy so I haven’t yet had the chance to really experience many parts of the island lifestyle! My family visited the island recently and it was the first time I had been able to explore the coastline and some of the historical sites of interest.
I work at a local hotel, I play and train for Guernsey FC and I also coach in the GFA’s academy. My employer is very helpful allowing my working hours to fit around my football.
In terms of adapting to life here, my team mates, coaches and the many people involved in Guernsey FC and GFA football have really helped – they are very friendly and I am lucky to play with a group where the spirit is so strong and supportive. It helps that the Guernsey FC environment is such a strong organisation – the coaching staff are very good, all the support staff and volunteers do a wonderful job, the club is run very professionally and has a great media presence locally too. It is very impressive for a club that is not professional, and I have been made to feel very welcome.
BfF: Can you tell us about your background? GF: I was born in Madrid but moved to Benidorm where I grew up from the age of two. I grew up playing football there before moving back to Madrid to become part of Atletico Madrid’s youth system, where I stayed until I was 19. I then played in the Divisions 4 and 5 of the league system in Spain for Villalba and Las Roczas, during which time I enjoyed three promotions as well as playing in the play offs for promotion to the 3rd Division. This was all part time and, though we were paid, due to the financial crisis the money was not enough to live on and so I also worked as a coach as well as in the football media.
I did some coaching work for Real Madrid and that was how I came to be in Guernsey, whilst doing some coaching in the summer of 2014.
BfF: So how has your experience been of playing Ryman league football in the English non-league pyramid, and how does that compare to your time in the Spanish lower leagues?
GF: Firstly, the pitches are generally bigger and better. In Spain, many of the pitches are small and of poor quality, so the football often adapts by being more direct and teams playing off the second ball in the opponents’ half. The best teams did play good football and as you went up to the Third and Second divisions, the facilities were better so all teams played more of a passing style of football.
Ryman league football is ok, some teams do play good football but the game is quicker, less patient and also more aggressive when teams are out of possession –the defensive aspects and challenges are more physical.
BfF: How about the culture and behaviours you see? GF: There is more respect in the English game. Despite the game being more physical, the individual duels are forgotten straight away – players show respect to each other and after the games there are no problems. Maybe the coaches are not always the same, particularly during the game from the sidelines, but the players I think are very respectful of the game compared to Spanish players.
BfF: How about Guernsey FC? How do you see their style of play and compare that with your opponents? GF: We have good technical players, and Tony (Vance, Guernsey FC Manager) likes to play attacking, possession based football – other teams sometimes do but sometimes are more direct.
Playing for Guernsey FC is difficult sometimes though as we never have the same team for away games due to player availability and even training is affected because the players have to give up so much time from work to play the games. If we had the same team and had more stability we are a very good footballing side. We could develop more together with our style of passing and movement.
BfF: And how about English football in the media? How does that compare to Spain? GF: I love Match of the Day! It is much better than what we have on terrestrial TV in Spain. The analysts are good, I like that they stop and pick out key moments in the game, it’s great! Our (Spanish) football shows have too many analysts and they all have their own favourite teams so it is not a balanced view. Spanish people also focus on the celebrity lives of the players too much – it should be about the game! Monday Night Football on Sky Sports is also good to watch – very detailed.
BfF: You coach kids in the GFA Academy – how is your experience of coaching in English football? GF: Well I think in Guernsey we are lucky, and maybe have better options for kids than in England perhaps (outside professional academies). The coaches and facilities here are very good for children.
I do think that the players should play together more though – from ages 12-16 teams in
Spain train together 3 times a week and play matches too. Here the players train two or three times but with different groups and coaches (for instance club, school, academy and performance group). I think a player learns and improves more from September to May if they work in a group and stay together. The next season it can change and a different coach or team mates can help the development but not when it is changing every week. But I know that is difficult here because we live on an island and the possibilities are not the same as they are in Madrid for example. BfF: So let’s talk philosophies and playing styles – you are a central midfielder who likes to get on the ball and dictate possession and are always calm when you have the ball. I can draw comparisons with some top Spanish players here like Xavi, but is that how you think the game should be played? GF: For me, Pep is the man – I am a Real Madrid fan but Barca under Pep, that was something! I think you need to ensure the team is constantly moving, that passing options are always there and that when you lose the ball you get it back quickly – press, press, press! That team was beautiful, probably the best ever for me. Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets – so simple but so much better than the others. Real Madrid have no footballing identity – so for me it’s all about Pep!
BfF: But nothing in this game is new, right? Guardiola’s way isn’t completely new surely? GF: Maybe not the principles, parts of which had been used before by great teams, but put it all together his way and wow! I played the football against teams that Barca B played against but they were so good, so much better. And he had the confidence to put Busquets straight in, replacing big players like Yaya Toure, straight from the 4th division? He knew how good he was.
And now at Bayern he is playing with two at the back – always making things better and being different.
BfF: Do you have any other coaches you admire? GF: I liked Benitez at Liverpool – he is not the same as Pep but their pressing game under him was excellent, I mean the team with Alonso, Kuyt, Gerrard...lots of energy even if Rafa is not in the same style as Pep.
I also love Paco Jemez at Rayo (Vallecano) – he is crazy but does things his way. He takes a team to the Camp Nou, gets beat 6-1 but does it his way – crazy high press, very ambitious and very attacking but it works against the teams lower down and he doesn’t just park the bus against Barca and Real. I love that!
BfF: So you wouldn’t play a deep block like maybe Mourinho’s Inter against Barca in the CL semi final a few years ago? GF: (smiling) If I was boss? No, never. Kevin Graham made more than 200 appearances for a number of clubs in the upper reaches of the non-league pyramid (Whitby Town, Guiseley AFC and Goole AFC). He is now working as a coach and a football writer. You can follow him on Twitter here.
Blueprint According To...Alex Trukan Alex Trukan was coaching at a Dutch academy in his native Warsaw when received the offer to join Nottingham Forest’s academy staff. That was two years ago and he has since continued his development in England where he not only teaches players to develop a growth mindset but lives that idea on a daily basis. Blueprint for Football: Let's start with the basics: what got you into coaching and how long was that? Alex Trukan: No one from my family has ever been involved in football in any way so when I started to be interested in football it was a bit of surprise for everybody. As most of the coaches, I started playing at a local club when I was 13 and played there for couple of years. I then progressed onto bigger academy and played there for some time. At the same time as I was playing, I have received an offer to assist with a local U13's team. I was thinking about coaching even before that so I liked the idea and agreed. As it became difficult to coach and train at the same time, after a couple of months I had to make a decision and went onto the coaching pathway, resigning from playing. At that time I was 16 years old. Since that time, I have never regretted that decision and absolutely loved the coaching which has became my full time job 2 years ago and still is at the age of 20. BfF: Have you had any mentors in your career? AT: I had a pleasure of always having great people around me and have been always finding it vitally important to listen and learn from others. I think the most important mentors
in my life would my parents, who have not only thought me the basics of how to live but have been also very supportive in my career. Specifically in football I had different mentors throughout different stages of my coaching pathway. Some of them have been close from the very beginning and still are, others just at a particular time. I guess it's a good thing and it's nothing personal to change mentors as the career goes by and the views and philosophies change. BfF: What is your coaching philosophy? AT: Coaching philosophy is something that should come from within the coach and is a crossover of his experiences, values, beliefs and behaviours. I think every coach that wants to become a great coach should start with analysing himself and getting to know his own personality. That's the only way to have unique coaching philosophy and be the best version of it as any other philosophy than your own personal is already taken. My coaching philosophy is based around personal development, rather than the culture of 'talents'. I strongly believe that three essential ingredients are needed for the player to develop: passion (fuel), deliberate practice and master coaching. I have been also a great believer of developing a 'growth mindset', which ensures that learning process is valued not less than performance and is placed in the centre of coach's attention. My coaching philosophy is based on being passionate to inspire young people, positive as well as professional and organised. BfF: Is winning important for you? AT: Winning is an essential part of the game and regardless of the age of the players you coach, it should be valued and understood. For most of the kids, winning will mean scoring more goals than the opponent but winning for a youth coach will always mean development
of the players. I think a lot of modern academies went a bit too far in resigning from playing competitive games and taking the pressure out of the game and that now results in many players coming through into older and senior teams not being able to cope with the pressurised environments and playing to win. That's why some of the focus in the coaching programme should be given to learning 'winning mentality' understanding what does winning mean at different stages and for different players as well learning to cope with pressure. BfF: What are the most important attributes of players in your teams? AT: The things that matter the most and underpin other behaviours of the player are usually hidden and not easily visible for the coaches and scouts on the pitch. Using the iceberg metaphor, the attributes I highly value are hidden under the water for most of the time and only bits of these can be seen from time to time. The starting point for me is the desire and passion for the game, not things surrounding the game like fame, money or recognition but love for it in a pure sense. Intensity of the motivation is obviously essential but what can be learned from many stories of the players is that stamina of that passion is even more important. It helps the players to be resilient and battle through hard times, which will inevitably happen throughout lengthy process of development. The second most important attribute is the desire to learn. That does not necessarily mean being responsive to coaches and teaching but rather than that being keen learner of the game, whether it's in a conscious way or more in an uncontrolled 'street diamond' fashion which is self-taught. Only after those two fundamental traits, the other ones come which are more visible on the pitch: physicality, technical ability, game understanding. BfF: How much is learned from attending coaching courses and how much is learned by observing other coaches and reading about coaching? AT: That's an interesting one. I have personally went through different stages of that. There were times when reading and watching coaches was the only available thing to do as I
didn't have players to coach and was too young to go onto coaching course. And then more recently, I have been finding increasingly difficult to read and watch others as I have been coaching all the time! The golden mean seems to be an answer to that. Coaches need both the theoretical knowledge gained by reading, watching others and attending course as well as practical one when they are actually doing it. What is important to realise is that the coach is as good as the work he can do on the grass, not in the classroom! BfF: You write a bit about coaching. What attracts you to that aspect? AT: I have a pleasure of writing tactical and conditioning articles for World Class Coaching. It is not only great because of the opportunity to share the knowledge with others around the world but also it is a great tool to develop as a coach and deepen your own personal knowledge. Knowledge not only in a sense of content of the articles but also ways of presenting it to other people, what clarifies the way you think and makes you simplify a lot of the stuff you write about! BfF: You're a coach at Nottingham Forest FC Development team. What exactly is your role? AT: At the moment I am coaching academy U9s team as well as pre-academy U7s and U8s. The role involves delivering coaching sessions 5 times a week, planning, evaluation (PMA) as well as managing a game on Sunday. Occasionally, I am also involved in some scouting and talent ID. BfF: Forest is a club with a rich tradition and a proud history. Do you think this helps you as a coach? AT: It's a great honour to work for such a club and represent it. I think knowing history of the club you're working for can help to see your role as more purposeful and make you even more committed to it. This was the case for me at every club I have played or coached at so far and it has definitely improved the standards I was aiming to show. BfF: What do you want to achieve to be satisfied with what you have done in your coaching career? AT: Long term I would like to coach Polish national team and win the World Cup with it. It is an optimistic and quite distant goal but I can't see any reason why it wouldn't be possible to happen. Football has an amazing power to change lives and I think such an achievement would contribute not only to people related to this sport but to the whole country. In a more short term perspective, I would like to help my U9's become more technically proficient players and better learners with a passion for the game. I would also like to make my pre-academy players more familiar with academy standards and identify as many players with the greatest potential as possible. Follow Alex Trukan on Twitter. Previous Blueprint According To... interviews are collected into three Volumes of e-books that are available from Amazon (US Versions here). To receive a free copy of the third book in the series, join our free mailing list.
Vital Tool For Coaches Research has shown that coaches recall around 45% of incidents within a game. This means that they miss more than half of what happens which is a significant chunk. Having a backup in the form of a video of the match provides one with the possibility of calmly re-watching a game and the luxury of noting down what worked or what didn’t during the game. These pointers can then be shared with the players – again with the aid of video – highlighting areas which need to be worked on with the visual element being a key teaching tool. Look At Other Teams If you want your team to press the ball like Bayern Munich, then video provides you with the
opportunity of highlighting exactly the movements that players make at different moments of the game. This helps you when you are out on the training pitch because players already have a mental image of what you want them to achieve. Music Is Important For most ‘adults’ music in video – particularly highlights packages – might seem like an afterthought yet for kids this is a vital component. In research it often comes up how the music influences their actions and the impact that it has when coupled with a video of themselves playing (for example). There are two sides to this. The first is that if you really want young players to get into such analysis then you have to make sure that there is music they like couple to it. The flip side is that you have to be careful that it doesn’t pump them up too much, especially straight before a game, as they could go on to the pitch over-excited. Experiment With Technology As with most technology, recording equipment that once used to cost thousands of dollars can now be bought for a couple of hundred at most. This means that the technology to implement video analysis is within most people’s budgets. It also means that people
shouldn’t necessarily limit themselves to the traditional means of having a parent or volunteer record games. There is more scope than ever before to be creative in one’s approach. Cameras like those that are available by GO Pro can be put up at certain key points on the training pitch in order to view each action from different angles. Similarly, these can be worn by players to provide them with the ability to rewatch footage from their training session and, as a result, the ability to discuss their performance (and the options that were open to them) from their point of view. Those are just two ideas but it requires a coach who can think up of new ideas in order to come up with new ways to utilise the power that is now available to them. Find Help in Editing Games In Blueprint for Football’s interview with Simon Middlemas, the author of “The impact of video-based practice on the development of elite youth footballers” (his doctoral thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University) he put forward an idea that many should look into. “The best practice I have seen recently has been in New Zealand where I am currently based. We run a graduate diploma in performance analysis. The students film and code domestic rugby competitions and load the coded highlight videos onto a publically available forum.” “The coaches get free feedback from their games, and their opponent’s games, in the form of coded highlights (e.g. tries, scrums, lineouts and so on) and can chose to do what they want with that (e.g. feed it back to players, analyse their opponents, analyse parents’ behaviour etc)." “Every local club has a local university or college and an untapped resource of sport science students looking for placement hours.”
Despite it being increasingly used to assist coaches, there has been surprisingly little research carried out on the impact of video analysis in football. One of that limited set of research documents was compiled by Simon Middlemas who wrote “The impact of video-based practice on the development of elite youth footballers” as his doctoral thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University. That paper is essential reading for anyone interested in the subject as it looks at video analysis from the points of view of coaches as well as players. It is a document that is full of insight in what works and what doesn’t (and why) allowing those who intend to use such technology to avoid a lot of pitfalls. Currently a lecturer at the Otago Institute of Sport and Adventure in New Zealand, he has clearly kept on thinking about this subject as evidenced by the added insight he provided in the replies to a set of questions Blueprint for Football put forward to him. Blueprint for Football: What are the greatest benefits of video analysis? Simon Middlemas: As an ‘objective’ source of information which stimulate new learning between the coach and athlete, and as a piece of feed-forward, to show the athlete what they are truly capable of in the future.
BfF: A clear danger that a player is influenced negatively rather than positively. How can coaches diminish this risk? How important is it that coaches analyse the way that players are taking to video analysis to ensure that it doesn't do harm rather than good? SM: The best way to understand how an athlete is responding to video feedback is to take the time to understand how they work. I believe that some coaches make snap judgements about players characters (e.g. mentally weak), and wait to be proven wrong. Good coaches invest the time to observe and listen to players, especially early on in their relationship, and use this information to structure how they deliver feedback in public settings. One-to-one sessions with the video can help accelerate this process, by building trust. Reading players responses in sessions is difficult because some athletes can become experts at masking their feelings (often having experience a bullying coach at some point in their development, and not wanting to risk embarrassment). Encouraging senior players to follow up with junior players after poor performance can be helpful too, as some players won’t talk to the coach as a first resort. Negative responses to video feedback are not necessarily a bad thing, but after this initial ‘hot’ response to a mistakes or error, the coach need to be make sure they take the time to talk to the player when everything has cooled down, and to help the player get their mindset right and move on. Often this secondary process doesn’t take place and the athlete lingers on it too long or develops bad habits in their thoughts.
BfF: Would you agree that it is essential that coaches know how to teach players to develop a growth mindset by working more with those who lack the confidence and knowledge to analyse their performance to see what they can improve rather than simply what they did wrong? SM: Yes, I agree with this. I am a huge advocate for growth mind set and think my research provides evidence of the negative culture created when coaches solely take a critical approach. Knowledge of result and performance are key aspects of learning, and there is plenty of evidence to support this approach. I would put a caveat on that, however, by saying that in my practical experience there are
significant individual differences in their preferences. Some athletes do prefer to be given more objective feedback, regardless of whether it is negative or positive. The context matters too. Mid-competition is probably not the time for lengthy, reflection on performance and this may change the way it’s delivered. I have seen very powerful evidence of this at elite level at key moments in competition, but away from these situations, I think most athletes (especially those lacking in confidence) can benefit from growth approach.
BfF: Do you agree that video analysis works best when tied to other techniques like setting individual goals? SM: Intuitively, as a sport psychologist, I see the benefits of using mental skills such as goal setting, imagery and pre-performance routines alongside video feedback work to help prepare athletes better for performance. Apart from visualisation, there is little evidence (beyond anecdotal) to suggest that these have a direct benefit or not. Both have support separately but not much recent research into the combination.
BfF: Your analysis was focused on professional academies where there are analysts who edit it for the coaches. What about coaches at non-elite levels who do not have this luxury? What can they do? What are the best practices that you have observed of such coaches? SM: Video feedback is universal. Most coaches can access a video camera and ask a parent to film the games. Many parents now do this without being asked. iPads, smartphones and similar equipment have removed many of the accessibility issues around getting hold of footage. Having said that, there is no guidelines for coaches on how to analyse, what to feedback at the levels below elite. The best practice I have seen recently has been in New Zealand where I am currently based. We run a graduate diploma in performance analysis. The students film and code domestic rugby competitions and load the coded highlight videos onto a publically available forum. The coaches get free feedback from their games, and their opponent’s games, in the form of coded highlights (e.g. tries, scrums, lineouts and so on) and can chose to do what they want with that (e.g. feed it back to players, analyse their opponents, analyse parents’ behaviour etc). Every local club has a local university or college and an untapped resource of sport science students looking for placement hours.
BfF: Would coaches benefit if occasionally it was their performance that was analysed? How they react during the game, their voice levels during training and so on? SM: In short, the answer is yes. It’s an important area of development for coaches, and I think it goes a long way to building trust between the coach and athlete if the coach demonstrates the qualities (e.g. self-reflection, self-awareness) they are hoping to develop ion their athletes. There are several conditions which would make this more effective: an experienced coach educator/mentor/psychologist who has a relationship with the coach, a framework/assessment tool which has been validated (e.g. CBAS, see paper attached) and a coach who is buys into this process for the right reasons (e.g. doesn’t just see it as a hoop they have to jump through for accreditations etc). There are probably other conditions but if these were in place it could be a worthwhile process for all.
Eventually this way of seeing things took over the mainstream. Despite this, however, any talk of tactics was frowned up and people who did so were viewed as pretentious. It took even more time for those ideas to start gaining a foothold.
