As I say farewell to the year gone by these are my New Year’s resolutions to make 2018 my best coaching year ever.
As I say farewell to the year gone by these are my New Year’s resolutions to make 2018 my best coaching year ever.
Make your training sessions more fun this year like Real Madrid!
1 DEVELOP YOUR PLAYERS
If you develop the individual, you are developing your team. Make it a resolution to work out individual plans for each player and set clear goals with an action plan to help each one realise those goals. Jot down points about each player at the end of every game.
2 CREATE ALL ROUNDERS
Make a resolution to play every player in every position on the pitch during the course of the year. You might have the next Sergio Ramos in your squad, but if he only plays up front for the team how will you ever discover him?
3 BE A ROLE MODEL
Promise yourself that you will set an example on and off the field throughout the year. Be friendly, respectful, confident, understanding, disciplined, responsible, timely, sporting, and committed. Be the ideal pitch-side coach who always encourages players – whether they win, lose or draw.
4 TARGET SUCCESS
Select one aspect of play at the start of the year that you want to work on in order to help with the development of your players. For instance, your target could be improving set pieces with a view to broadening their variety and increasing their success rate
5 IMPROVE YOURSELF
Make a promise that you will continue to learn and develop as a coach. You can add to your knowledge base by going on courses that increase your understanding of the game. There is always more you can learn and new ideas that you can take onboard to help expand your coaching influence.
6 INSPIRE AND ADMIRE
As a coach you can aim to inspire your players at training, prior to games, at half-time and after the game. Make sure you are giving your players the kind of messages that will motivate them to give their best and help them to love the game.
7 TAKE YOUR TIME
Whatever resolutions you make, celebrate each milestone and phase of success as it happens, be it letting in fewer goals, making a first tackle or scoring a first goal. Success doesn’t happen overnight – you must work hard for it and plan for it, and believe it will come.
8 DON’T FEAR FAILURE
Every failure is a chance for you to improve – and for your players to improve too, otherwise how do they learn, develop and attain their goals. Create an atmosphere where mistakes are not seen as something wrong. Make it a resolution to stress that it is okay for the coach and the players to make mistakes.
9 DEVOUR FEEDBACK
Resolve to give challenges to your players that make training fun and educational. Listen to their feedback, as it is invaluable advice that only they can give you. They will tell you if the session works or if it is boring.
10 HAVE FUN
It may sound obvious but make a resolution to make your sessions fun as that is the best way to get your coaching points across. It will also make sure players return the following week and it will make them think you’re the best coach they ever had.
NEW YEAR COACHING QUESTIONS
As we look ahead to the New Year and think about what we want to achieve, it is important that we look back at 2017 and ask ourselves these questions…
> What were my three biggest achievements last year?
> What lessons did I learn from them?
> What were three of my biggest failures last year?
> What lessons did I learn from them?