Monday

Work. Harder or Smarter?

I have often said it is difficult to find fault with the quantity of effort a player gives. On any given day, players tend to give you the best effort they have that day.  The quality of that effort can be another matter.  As a coach, one of my primary responsibilities is to teach athletes how to give smarter or more efficient effort.

Work smarter not harder.

You will get out of something what you put into it.  Too many people equate this to quantity of work and believe the problem can be resolved by "doubling down" and working harder.  The truth of the matter might well be they need to work smarter.

"I love your effort!"

"What do you have to show for it?"

This is an exchange I will sometimes use to get a player to think about the quality of the effort they are giving.  We have all seen players who pursue the ball relentlessly. I have overheard coaches implore players to "be first to the ball!".  The objective is to beat opposing players to the ball.

The objective should be to win possession of the ball.

There is a difference between being first to the ball and winning (possession) of the ball.  This is where working smarter becomes more important than working harder. We do not want to lessen the effort given.  We want to improve the quality of the work being performed.

Think of it in terms of using a system of pull-ups and or levers to move a heavy object.  The work amount of work to be done doesn't change, but we can make the work being done easier or be more efficient in performing the work.

Matthew was a player who gave tremendous effort on the pitch. No one would dispute that, absolutely no one. One type play epitomized Matthew's style of play.  A ball rolling towards the touch line with Matthew and an opponent in hot pursuit.  Mathew arrived first to the ball!  His first touch played the ball out of bounds.  "Great effort, Matthew!  What do you have to show for it?"

I reviewed such plays with Matthew. We watched them on tape.  It took a few tries before Matthew began to understand that he had far too little to show for the amount of energy he was expending. Yes, he was first to the ball but his efforts resulted in the opposing team gaining possession of the
ball. Essentially a lot of effort given towards a lost cause.  Prompting Matthew towards a better, more efficient use of his effort / energy proved an exercise in patience as well. Eventually Matthew caught on to the idea that allowing the opposing player to "win" the ball if the likely result was the opponent was going to lose the ball out of bounds. This was a very foreign concept to a 17 year old who had been praised for many years for simply being first to the ball.  Once the objective changed to gaining possession of the ball Matthew became an even more productive player.

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