Quality of play is never an accident;

Quality of play is always a result of 

high intention

sincere effort

intelligent direction

and 

skillful execution.

Quality of play represents the wise choice of many alternatives,

the experience gained from many hours mastering the craft.

Quality of play also marks the search for an ideal 

after necessity has been satisfied 

and mere usefulness achieved.

Quality of play is what makes the game beautiful. 

Experience.

I have this general idea for an article based loosely on gaining experience in coaching. It's not completely formulated so, we'll see where this goes.  lol.

As I watched a new coach conduct a training session my mind drifted back to my first solo practice sessions as a coach. I remember having spent the night before preparing. The head coach would be absent from practice the next day and his instructions were short and sweet - "We need to work on off-the-ball movement."   Well, okay then.  This was pre-Internet days and I was reliant on the coaching books and videos I had for ideas. I selected a basic three team transitioning drill that I felt fit my needs, I tweaked it a bit to better fit the team I was working with.  I know I put in at least 3 hours planning for the next day's one and half hour practice session.  I wanted to be prepared.

I have fond memories of that day in part because the smiles on the players faces told me they were having a good time and the exercises I had chosen, including the featured 3 team transition game, went smoothly. I had an idea of what I wanted to accomplish in the training session and prepared to achieve it.

(Hit the jump for the rest of the article)

Experience is the hardest teacher

 

because it gives first the test

 

then the lesson.

 

 

 

The Circle of Soccer Life

I woke up this morning with a distant memory of coaching soccer on my mind. I was coaching a team of U8's and had just introduced a foot skill to the group.  Delaney was working hard at learning it. I could see the concentration on her face and in her eyes as she set about attempting the move.  She completely botched it, but picked up her ball and ran over to me extremely excited with what she had accomplished!  I applauded her effort, patted her on the shoulder and gave her a big smile. Delaney went back to working on the move and it got a little better with each attempt. She eventually became pretty good at executing the skill.

Learning to coach is a lot like learning a new foot skill. The beginning effort needs to be applauded to encourage continued improvement.  As an observer, sometimes no matter how poor the result, you just have to smile in the moment and be content things will improve with experience and continued practice.

In that regard, the evolution of a coach is a bit like referring to a doctor "practicing" medicine.  We really don't want a doctor to practice at healing us, we want the actual real healing!  LOL. 

Do you want to be seen by Dr. Stone or Dr. Hogue?

In the 1991 classic Doc Hollywood newly licensed Dr. Benjamin Stone misdiagnoses a case of mitral valve regurgitation leading to late cyanosis in a young boy. The town's long-time doctor, Aurelius Hogue, order's Dr. Stone to give the boy a Coke. Shock full of confidence and self-importance, Dr. Stone dismisses Dr. Hogue's recommendation and calls for a life-flight helicopter to transport the boy to a large city hospital where he can be seen by a heart specialist for emergency surgery. Dr. Hogue arrives just in time to explain that the boy had gotten into his father's chewing tobacco again and the carbonic acid in the Coke would relieve the boy's stomach ache.  "That'll be 25 cents." LOL

There is no substitute for experience. And as Dr. Stone discovered experience is often gained through making mistakes. Sometimes the innocent are caught in the learning from mistakes another makes on the road to obtaining experience. When that happens, it's nice to have a Dr. Hogue around to keep things on course and mitigate the potential consequences.

When Plans Go Awry

Here is west central Ohio it has been a difficult winter to prepare for the spring soccer season. As we approached our first tournament we had been able to get outside exactly one time. Such was the snow and cold weather this winter.  I'm not complaining. We played indoors and practiced in gyms as we could.  As the weekend of March 15 & 16 approached I made formational, system and lineup plans as best I could.  They night before the tournament began I went so far to script the line ups and rotations for each of the three games we would play that weekend knowing full well I would not stick to the script.

Our first opponent had already played a few games so we were playing catch up from the start, so to speak.  Although they had a much better run of play early we found ourselves up 1 - 0 on a penalty kick.  The opponent quickly asserted itself and won the match 1-3.  They were certainly ahead of us at this point in the season so the loss itself was not disappointing. They way we played did concern me though.

To be honest, there were so many issues to address I struggled to find a starting point.  Thankfully we did not play again until the next day so there was some time to gather my thoughts.  I spoke with various team members and listened to their input, but still struggled with where to begin addressing things. So, I did what I often do in such situations - I said my prayers, went to bed and slept on it. 

When I awoke in the morning I did not go off script, no, I tore the script up and started over.

I had had it in my mind that we would play a 4-5-1 formation with a zonal system defensively and a wide open counter attacking style of play.  We have the wings to do this both in quality and in quantity.  It just didn't click in that first game and the question I ended up struggling with was whether to stick with the script or scrap it in favor of something else.

I had to consider the experience level and soccer IQ of the players we were dealing with.  I do not think I over estimated either, but I also did not factor in the rather limited experience playing in different systems.  "My" system was far different than what most, especially the new additions, were accustomed to. I allow a huge amount of freedom of movement and play. The exchange is the players must take on a huge amount of responsibility for this freedom. In hindsight, I was too ambitious too early in the process.

So, my solution was to scrap the formation while maintaining the zonal defending system. The freedom of movement remained but the rotations were also simplified by reverting to a 4-4-2 formation.  This is a formation predicated more on channels or lanes to align in than is the 4-5-1. It is far easier to understand and requires less thinking in the moment.

We begin clicking in the second game of the tournament.  Although we lost 0 - 2 it was light years better than the first game with credit going to the "new" formation and simplified play with in it.  I would go so far as to say, we were the better team in many facets of the game. Just not in the one that counts the most - the scoreboard.

The third match of the tournament went our way. We played our best match of the tournament against an opponent that had fared well against our two common opponent. We ended up winning 1-0 and generally controlled the run of play. The opponents generated too many chances for my liking, but our goal keepers were up to the task. Our attack missed too many chances but converted on the one we needed to for the win.

A week later we played our first league game.  We were able to practice outside twice and that undoubtedly helped. Still, I was nervous about the match.  To make matters worse we would be missing 4 key players for this match.  We came out strong and although the match was tied 0 - 0 at half there was little doubt about who the better team was that day. The second half things began to click as we scored 3 while maintaining the shutout. 

The point I seek to make to fellow coaches is simply this - when things are not going as expected you face two basic choices: 1) persevere with the belief that what you are doing will work with time or 2) go ahead and admit you might have had it wrong and change things up.

I recall a coaching mentor early in my career who never changed formations or systems of play. He steadfastly believed in "his" way.  Any changes he made were to try different combinations of personnel in an effort to find the right combination.  It quite literally took almost 4 years of discussions before he decided to finally change formations within his program. It didn't seem to matter that current personnel were better suited to playing something else.

I also witnessed another coaching colleague who changed formations and systems of play on a match by match basis which was no good either.  His players were largely inexperienced and his reason for the constant changes was in trying to find a competitive edge against each opponent.

My reason for change was grounded in the recognition that nothing was working as I had envisioned. Even when I narrowed it down to a few specifics to focus on improving I realized the players were likely lacking confidence in what I was asking them to do.  The formation and system were fine. They players are sound. The two just were not as good of match to one another as I had thought. No problem.  It was easier for me to change than to ask eighteen 17 & 18 year olds to do so.

A PROCESS must be 

 

EXPERIENCED before

 

a PRIZE can be WON!

Confidence is often the difference between a win and a loss.

A proper skill set and functional soccer IQ are certainly important ingredients to success on the pitch. Comparing and contrasting events of this past spring season and those of this fall season has led me to realize that the third point of the triangle would be confidence.

I was prompted to write of giving players your confidence as I watched player confidence eroded by negativity stemming from a coaching staff. I had long thought that no one could steal your confidence unless you allowed them to, but it has become clear that if the majority of the feedback a player receives from his coaches is negative - being substituted for after a mistake instead of having the opportunity to correct it or being constantly yelled at instead of encouraged - a players confidence can and will erode.

Today I read a Carl Lewis quote while taking a break from breaking down high school soccer film.

If you don't have confidence, you'll always find a way not to win.
 

A lot of pieces to a puzzle fell into place upon reading this. The film I was reviewing saw Team A absolutely dominate their opponents for the first 15 minutes of a match. No less than 8 quality scoring opportunities for Team A in those first 15 minutes but not a single goal to be had. One player could have and perhaps should have had a hat trick in the first 4 minutes of the game. For all intents and purposes this game should have been over at the 10 minute mark. Instead, Team A lost this match by a 0 - 3 score.
 

Why?
 

While the opportunities being generated were of very good quality it is obvious in watching the film that the attempts at finishing are not executed with confidence. I can state his with a fair degree of certainty because I know most of the players on both teams involved. I have seen them play with confidence, with swagger as the kids say... and this was missing from many on Team A during this game. The difference in finishing, and the game in general, was confidence. Team B played with great confidence even as Team A pounded them in the first half.
 

Team A played well but with hesitancy and restraint, as if they feared making a mistake. Team A looked to be trying to play perfectly, to fit a certain pattern or vision of play that they were not permitted to stray from without repercussions from their own coaching staff. The coach of Team A abandoned his normal rotations and inserted a little used player who proceeded to play a lot of minutes despite not playing particularly well. The message sent.... lack of trust, lack of confidence the coaching staff had in the players that had gotten them to this point. It was a demoralizing decision by the head coach at a point when his team needed to know he had confidence in them.
 

Team B just played. They made mistakes but adjusted, adapted and overcame them. They went with a 14 man rotation until the game was secured and then played everyone on their roster. Such is a luxury often afforded to a confident team.
 

There is another quote that comes to mind when pondering all this.
 

Experience tells you what to do; confidence allows you to do it

 

My own personal experience tells me there is truth in this quote, but it also tells me the quote does not hold true in every instance. I have been in situations where I knew the prescribed method or way of doing something simply did not make sense given the facts encountered. I also knew that if I deviated from the prescribed methodology I was risking reprimand for doing so including the possibility of losing my position. I followed orders despite my better judgment. I did not execute the orders with much enthusiasm or confidence. Perhaps that made the less than desirable results a self-fulfilling prophecy or simply the inevitable failure it was destined to be.
 

This is where the coach has to realize that if the team does not have confidence in what they are being asked to do, he risks losing the confidence of the team. When this happens, teams under perform or underachieve. They lose games they should win. The sum of the parts represents something less than the whole. No one is satisfied. Many feel under appreciated.
 

Negativity is contagious. Once it establishes a toe hold it can be difficult to root it out. Players who are constantly admonished more than they are praised become resentful and disenfranchised.
 

Positive Energy is also contagious. Sometimes a coaching staff, in its own frustration can lose sight of the fact Appreciation is the Currency of Success. Players tend to know when they have made mistakes, when they are not playing well. What they don't need is a coach yelling at them about the mistake they just made or being substituted for having made a mistake. No, what they need is to have their confidence built back up, to know that teammates and coaches have their back.
 

 

As I type this my thoughts are on a team that played a 1-4-3-3- formation despite a large contingent of team members believing they were better suited to playing 1-4-4-2. Of course, the players played the 1-4-3-3 prescribed by the coaches, but I wanted so to ask the coaches if they truly believed the players put all their hearts into playing 1-4-3-3 when they so obviously preferred 1-4-4-2. Was coaching stubbornness eroding team morale?
 

A significant part of coaching is the coach / player relationship. It is important that players listen to their coaches but wise coaches know it is of equal value for coaches to listen to their players. It should not be a one sided relationship. If it becomes one sided, chances are high that people will be disgruntled, unsatisfied and generally unhappy. That is not a recipe for success.
 

Bill Cosby once said,
 

In order to succeed,

your desire for success

should be greater than

your fear of failure.

 

I believe there is truth in this statement but it doesn't go far enough as it does not address the role confidence plays in success. A confident player plays freely and with great enthusiasm... with a pure joy for playing. They possess a passion for the game. A coach who gives his confidence to his players adds fuel to that fire making it burn brighter... making the player play harder, with more enthusiasm and more ....

Confidence