As the weeks go by it is getting harder to accept there is no coaching or games to go to – but we all know that this is only going to get better if we all try not to go out – unless it’s an emergency.
The fitness gurus are telling us to get into the garden and do star jumps – but our brains also need feeding and being kept active because that is one very useful way of passing the time.
So this week I have focused on things to read and listen to that will get your football brain ticking over and add to your coaching knowledge ready for when the lockdown is lifted and sporting occasions are back on the agenda.
Listen to my podcast with Rick Meana about his coaching education programme that covers philosophy, methodology and how the youth players are educated with fun, a sense of belonging, development and the best way to discipline out of line players.
Also another interesting podcast features Steven Drinkell, a goalkeeper coach at the Westminister School in Atlanta, Georgia. I spoke with Steve to gain an insight into the secrets of coaching what is probably the most difficult position in the team.
The mental side of things comes into play at the moment as it can be easy to just give up when facing another day locked in the house. Mentally strong people have healthy habits. They manage their emotions, thoughts, and behaviours in ways that set them up for success in life. Check out these things that mentally strong people don’t do.
Learning is something I try to do as often as possible. One course I really enjoyed was how to get coaching points across without bombarding players with instructions. Coach using actions not words is a great way to keep player concentration throughout training sessions.
in Coaching Classroom, Email newsletters
It is a very difficult time to be coaching our players around the world. So to help you I have created the Coaching Classroom where you can download lessons to give to your players online. Here I have focused on Compactness and Penetration MORE
in Blog, Team Management
Where I coach in the UK the youth game has been put on hold – we cannot train and we cannot play matches. How long that will last for is not entirely clear but it does mean that I am putting my coaching on hold. MORE
in Ball Control and Footwork, Email newsletters
I was out walking on the local golf course where I live this week and in the distance I saw a child running from what seemed miles away at top speed. As the child got closer I realised that it was someone dribbling a ball. Of course on the fairways it was like being at Wembley on a well cared for football pitch! It was great to see a child enjoying dribbling a ball, chipping over the bunkers and swerving around the patches of heather that catch out an unwary golfer. MORE
in Email newsletters, Tips and advice
At the United Soccer Coaches Digital Convention yesterday I was in the presentation by Dan Abrahams on performance of your team with well being in mind. He explored three environmental approaches and combines them to help you establish a healthy and safe coaching environment for players of all ages and levels. MORE
in Email newsletters, Psychology
I'm usually high up in the sky on my way to the United Soccer Coaches convention in America at this time of the year – last year I was at the convention in Baltimore and there was loads of coaching education on offer. Yet it is still exciting to be entering the United Soccer Coaches Digital Convention 2021 on my computer in the home office. MORE
in Ball Control and Footwork, Email newsletters
Turning with the ball has always been a skill that draws names from the great players through the ages – think of the Cruff turn or Zidane spin turn. It used to make me wonder how players like Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta, Zinedine Zidane or Johan Cruyff could turn their opponents inside out, game after game – I now know it needs practice and from a young age. MORE
