24/10/07

On reflection from the past few games, it became clear that competition for the league title would be contested by no more than 3 teams. This realisation came as results established that many of the other teams in the league were unable to resist the attacking footballing threat posed by the stronger clubs. As our previous wins read 14-1, 15-0 and 16-1, the manager and I felt that, although the performances were of excellent quality, the long-term progression of the players skills and understanding of football required the team to experience a more competitive aspect of the game. Several options were made available; replacing the more skilled individuals with fringe players, switching positions, ie. Defender-attacker, and another was to practicing drills explored during training until they were perfected. The problem found with some of the ideas was that they were simply not practical, or were unfair. For example, should a gifted individual be dropped from the team for another who is not starting due to the fact that he is either not as gifted, or being punished, then he may question the methods and rebel against the reasoning.
The tactic chosen in order to benefit the players development, was simply to play with restrictions, such as limited numbers of touches before passing, or number of passes made before a shot was taken (Vickers et al, 1999). It was made clear to the players that this style of football was to be used only when instructed, and it was essential that under no circumstances were the opposition to be told about the tactic. The danger of the opponents gaining knowledge would be a physical reaction due to what they may see as ridicule or lack of respect. A management decision determined that this system would only be used when a game looked as though it would result in a demoralising defeat for the opposition. As several games this season had been ended prematurely by the referee due to the score-line, it was felt that utilization of this method would be beneficial to all parties.
Subsequent to explaining the additional instructions to follow in future games, the remainder of the session consisted of maintaining the general fitness of the players, and geared them towards being primed for the coming match. This area had been somewhat neglected the previous game due to it being prematurely cut short. Focus of the drills was on anaerobic endurance, agility and flexibility, which are the main components I felt had been ignored because of the short match duration.
As a reward for playing beyond expectations, and professional behaviour during the session, we decided that after intense bouts of exercise by the team, we would allow half an hour of free-time for the players. This free-time was to be used constructively, and was decided by the players, to stage a skills contest, by which their flair skills, such as ball juggling, was the focus. Lynch (2001) sees rewarding players for good work an important step in nurturing their talents. Allowing certain games that children deem as a pleasure rather than a chore is one way to ensure this will happen.
The players reacted well to the inclusion of an element which they view as fun, and the response was that future sessions could benefit from using such ability-based contests as a bargaining tool should the players demonstrate uncooperative behaviour.

Bibliography;

Lynch, J. (2001) Creative Coaching: New ways to maximize athlete and team potential in all sports. Champaign Ill: Human Kinetics Publications

Vickers, J.F., Livingstone, L.F., Umeris-Bohnert, S., Holden, D. (1999) Decision training: The effects of complex instruction, variable practice and reduced delayed feedback on the acquisition and transfer of a motor skill. Journal of Sports Sciences. 17, 357± 367