Using the STEP principle to modify your practice

"The problem I’ve got is some kids are really good and some are just there to play with their mates..."

"She’s really good in matches but doesn’t try in practice and messes around..."

These are scenarios we have likely all faced with our teams.

You have worked hard to prepare a session in the week, put together a fun warm-up activity, found some good practices which address the areas you want to work on and then allowed plenty of time for a match.

Then the players arrive and all the planning is undone by a misbehaving child, calls of ‘this is too easy’ or your best player trying to dribble past everyone each time he or she gets the ball.

The solution could be a simple one. The STEP principle is a framework for making alterations to a game, practice or activity in order to make it more challenging and complex, or more simple and achievable, for the players you coach.

This is how the STEP principle breaks down:

Space: increasing or reducing the space the practice - or parts of it - takes place in.

Task: changing the task, or an element of the task, the players are trying to complete - for example, the task’s rules or conditions.

Equipment: altering the type or amount of equipment used - different-sized goals, for example, or the number of balls.

Players: adding or reducing the amount of interference and support from other players in the practice, such as changing from three 1v1 games to one 3v3 game.

The STEP principle allows you to observe a practice or game and identify simple fixes in order to make it easier or more challenging.

Consider a simple game of tag, where the taggers aren’t getting much success trying to catch the other children.

You could make the area smaller (Space) or increase the number of taggers (Players) to make it more challenging for the children trying to escape and allow the taggers a greater chance of success.

This might be a change you make to a game for the benefit of the whole group, because you have identified the practice is not quite working properly.

Perhaps the ball is changing possession too quickly; therefore making the area bigger will allow more chances for teams to keep it.

Alternatively, it could be that you have carefully considered something specific you want to achieve in the session and you are aware of how a change using the STEP principle will further challenge that element.