Coach Workshop - Match Day

MATCH COACHING
Sandringham Coach Workshop
1 June 2013
• THANK YOU
– For your commitment to coaching and improving as a
coach (football always progresses so we need to keep up)
• WORKSHOPS BRING COACHES TOGETHER
– Not just to learn from the presenter but from each other
too which doesn’t happen very often
• PRESENTER IS AN FFV COACH EDUCATOR
– Messages and concepts are the same as FFA/FFV, and from
the national curriculum
• THIS IS NOT A COACHING COURSE
– Concepts like CHANGE IT will not be covered so we can go
into the greater details coaches often ask for
An Australian Philosophy
The traditional strengths of Australian football players must be
preserved
(Winning mentality, ‘never give up’ attitude, willpower, etc)
But these characteristics are not going to make Australia
competitive enough to challenge the best of the world.
To make that happen other changes and improvements are
essential and a fundamental transformation is necessary.
“Don't die wondering. If you believe in doing something, do it, there are no
guarantees of success in sport.”
- John O'Neill
“Only those who attempt to do what they cannot do will grow.”
“It is easier to demolish a house than to build one.”
- Ruud Gullit
"I want my team to win, but to me it matters how we do it. I want to do it
playing well, ending up full of pride for the way we did it.”
- Alfio Basile
"I was always told to win, but never to play well."
“HOW?”
HYDRATION
• If you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated
• Even minor hydration will impair performance
• Most people only drink 30-70% of what they need
because of water not being tasty and quenching
thirst before you have what you need
• Keep a water bottle in your hand at all times on
game day so you keep sipping from it without
thinking about it
• If you drink Gatorade, wash out your mouth with
water to avoid rotting teeth
PRE-GAME BRIEFING
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Travelling to venue: cards, ps3 etc
Is a discussion necessary?
How much info?
Group based, individual, a bit of both?
Whiteboard, video, just talking, walking through positioning?
Can players contribute? Do they have tasks to perform in
preparation e.g. write down goals or positive traits?
• Confidence is key to performance
• Don’t underestimate anyone, because when you realise you
were wrong it is too late to change anything
MOTIVATION
• Do players really need motivation at this level?
• Maybe they actually need to relax
• Not every game is a grand final, too much pressure
can put fear in a player
• Every player is motivated differently – maybe
individual chats will be effective
• Visualisation is effective e.g. imagine scoring, 1v1 etc
• Simplify things
“I don’t think about playing for four hours, I take one shot at a time”
– Roger Federer
“I was never motivated by any coach when I was a player, simply because I
didn’t need to be and that it would have been an insult to me if they
thought I did.”
– Ferenc Puskás
“Was Chelsea’s season a success as Avram Grant suggests? That depends
on your philosophy of leadership. In my philosophy it was a very bad one
because in football 'almost' means defeat, and Chelsea almost won the
Carling Cup, almost won the Champions League and almost won the
Premier League. Almost is nothing. After two titles per season for the last
three years there were zero titles this season, which in my philosophy
means a really bad season. Maybe in the philosophy of a loser this was a
great season, which I respect."
- Jose Mourinho
“Winning is nice, but it doesn’t make you happy. The problem is that we
live in a culture obsessed with success. We fool ourselves into thinking we
have to do our best and make sacrifices to succeed. But why? Trophies
come and go. Once you’ve retired, it will all be gone, they’ll just be
numbers in an almanac. And, except for Maradona and Pelé and maybe a
couple others, nobody will remember you or what you’ve won. What is
truly important is being happy now. I know I haven’t given 100 per cent
physically or mentally to this game. At best, I gave 50 per cent. Maybe a
tiny bit more in the good years. But so what? Thanks to my talent, I live like
a king, I play football and I have a great time. If I had wanted to give 100
per cent, I would have stayed at Real Madrid, sacrificed lots of things, done
my very best and I probably would have succeeded. Instead, I’m here at
Sampdoria and I love it...
...my talent is like a Ferrari. To get the best out of such a car, you
need to be on the open road, pushing the engine to its limit, roaring along
at 150mph. I’d be driving my Ferrari through the centre of town in third
gear, window down, arm out, smiling happily.”
- Antonio Cassano
WARM UP
• What space will you have?
• What kind of content will be most effective?
– Q. What do you need to warm up?
– A. Passing, first touch, movement, communication, tackling, running
with the ball, 1v1, positioning etc
– What have you been working on in training?
– A. Play small sided games with rules/conditions to get players thinking
about your tactics and performing the same actions in the warm up
• Re-warm as individuals up after
entering pitch and waiting for k.o.
GOALKEEPER WARM UP
• Goalkeepers should do any passing and small
games too
• Who will warm them up in terms of handling
and shot stopping? (parent, sub, assistant coach)
• No shots from strikers (don’t want
them to concede lots of goals before playing, plus
too many players standing waiting for a shot)
DURING THE GAME
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Coach, don’t commentate (help them figure out their own solution)
Example: you conceded a goal because a player lost the ball
– Instead of criticism or telling them what they should’ve done, ask them how to
fix the problem “what can you do next time?”
– Big thumbs up if they get it right next time
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When players do well, thumbs up, well done
Specific praise
Talk to subs (but don’t coach everything)
Pass on information through other players if they are too far away
Make use of breaks like substitutions, injuries etc
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Sit down, body language
“The coach’s face is the mirror to the health of the team” - Arsene Wenger
OBSERVE THE GAME
• Trends: where we lose the ball, when they attack
down the wings, number of consecutive passes we
manage etc
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Strengths: what is working well for us
Weaknesses: what we are struggling with
Opportunities: their weak players and tactics
Threats: their key players and tactical strengths
BE SPECIFIC
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Playing out of defence
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Attacking
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How often ball is successfully played into attacking half
How many passes used to get into attacking half
Where ball is lost when unsuccessful
How many times unsuccessful
Number of plays that result in a chance to score
Number of passes in attack before chance to score
Where ball is lost in attack
How many times ball is lost
Shots
– Where shots are taken from
– On target or not
– One touch shot or more touches
TEAM ASSESSMENT
TEAM
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MATCH
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CRITERIA
Played out of defence
Kicked the ball long
Players take a first touch
Players boot the ball
Number of successful passes
Number of unsuccessful passes
COUNT
TOTAL
HALF TIME
• Where to sit: can players see the board?
• Where do other people go? (should not be walking around
while you talk)
• Only talk when everyone is listening
• One-on-one (effective) talks vs. group discussions (too much info)
• Players can talk to each other in groups, come up with ideas
• Can players contribute to group talks? (helpful or problematic?)
• Plan everything, never ask players or assistant “do you want
to say anything” (any contributions should be useful and planned)
• Focus on second half
AVOID...
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Saying heaps of stuff that sounds good
Mentioning a random list of events from the first half
Listing mistakes players or the team have made
Criticism
Too much emotion
Talking about training
Wasting your words
1-2 points for the whole group maximum
• “Talking too much is a big danger for a coach” - Alex Ferguson
CONSIDER...
• Individual tasks, cues, objectives, reminders etc
• Have you changed player behaviour?
• How do you want them to feel when they go back
onto the field?
• Do the players believe what you are saying?
• Effort vs. Desire (e.g. “we need to run more guys” vs. “work hard to win
the ball back as a team” – which is relevant? Which will they actually do?)
YOUR TEAM OR OPPOSITION?
• What will really make a difference to the
outcome at this level? What can you affect?
• Jose Mourinho’s main adversary:
– “I think I'd say myself. Thinking alone, asking questions to
myself, studying reactions I had, studying decisions I made,
studying what happened during the match, what I felt
during the match, what I thought during the match…
Trying to devise training exercises to work on things we
need to explore… I think it’s me against myself.”
NUTRITION
• Avoid acid (oranges) at half time, instead
have watermelon, bananas, honey
sandwiches and lollies
• 30 minutes after a game have a light snack
high in carbs (50-160g), moderate in protein
and drink lots of fluid – eat a big meal later
TRAINING / FRIENDLY MATCHES
• Everyone plays (i.e. no subs) or don’t play at training
(ok for official friendlies but no one ever sits out at training)
• Still coach players
– Stop the game to highlight things
– Coach on the run on the field
– Don’t stand and instruct from the side – it’s training
• Emphasis on tactics not effort
• Mix teams up and/or challenge your team
• Try different positions, tactics etc
CLUB CULTURE: PLAYERS
• It’s just a game… but it can achieve more
• Coaches to lead by example, and emphasise /
ensure players commit to:
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Fair play
Respect for referees, opponents, teammates and officials
Good manners, behaviour and presentation
Winning with grace
Losing with dignity regardless of the circumstances
Playing as a team
Playing with skill, not putting ‘their body on the line’
INJURY MANAGEMENT
• RICER for first 48 hours of injury
• Ice 20min on, 1 hour off, 2-3 times
• Avoid using tape, players become reliant on it, not
necessary if injury is healed
• HEM after 48 hours
– Hydrotherapy: move in water, progress to football specific
movements
– Exercise: flexing muscles of ligaments affected with small
resistance, then strengthen resistance
– Massage: depends on injury, not deep massage
“I have to set an example for the group and for the
whole of De Graafschap. After seeing the TV images
of my dumb foul (an elbow), I was really shocked. I
have decided to hand in my captain's band. This
cannot be resolved with words. I normally never do
such fouls and I understand that I let down my teammates and the club. I have offered them my
apologies. I rightly got a fine from the club, this will
be donated to KIKA (a children's cancer fund). By this
declaration I also want to offer my apologies to
everybody that has a warm heart for football, such a
foul can't be part of a sports field, I truly regret it.”
- Joost Volmer
CLUB CULTURE: COACHES
• The number one reason anyone plays?
• Coaches to:
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Fun!!!
Coach with a positive attitude (everyone has a difficult group!)
Look to reward and highlight good behaviour of players
Ensure all players receive fair game time in every game they play
Ensure all players receive roughly equal game time over the season
Provide (sub-juniors and juniors up to U15) players with experience at
2-3 different positions over the season for their development
– Genuinely challenge their team with position changes and tactical
targets when clearly stronger than the opposition
– Awarding the captaincy and/or vice captaincies to players with the
potential to develop from the opportunity and responsibility
SUBS / GAME TIME
• Make more subs at the same time, at half time,
same time as other team etc to avoid lots of
interruptions and losing team balance
• Give players longer stretches of game time rather
than on and off
• Have a system or at least have team manager
record time for you
• Positive team talk after game with parents
listening in reinforcing philosophy (style of play,
development mindset etc)
HAVE COURAGE
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To not criticise referees when they make mistakes
To have a development over winning philosophy
To let players play, not dictate
To give everyone even game time throughout and
reasonable in every game regardless of results
• To give your assistant a go at coaching a match
“If we deprive a player of the right to make mistakes,
we'd best just hang up everything and go home”
- Giovanni Trappatoni
“Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes the stand,
the spines of others are often stiffened.”
"You must love the game and want to share with the players a
certain way of life, a way of seeing football.”
- Arsene Wenger
"Football is about emotions, especially the emotions you give.”
- Michel Platini
“This is football, you win or you lose. Failure is losing without
having done anything. If losing was a failure then nobody
would play against Roger Federer, who beats them all.”
“Coaches are not referees, and they have no interest
in justice, only in maximising their chances of getting
a result. As I reminded the SBS audience after
Australia was cruelly beaten by Italy in the 2006
World Cup, football is not about justice. Sport is not
about justice and never has been. It’s about fair play,
which is a very different thing. We all want perfect
refereeing, but we also have to accept that referees
are as much part of football as are players, coaches
and spectators, and they too have a right to make the
odd mistake.”
- Les Murray