( U13 + CONTEXT ) GAME STARTS
ARE WE BETTER THAN THEM AND / OR IS THE GAME TIED IN TERMS OF PERFORMANCE ?
YES YES
FOCUS ON LEARNING
FIX THE ISSUE
IS IT FIXED ? Yes : Then focus on learning No : Continue to fix the issue
Once again , this might be very different for younger age groups as we get further from performance stages . I ’ m saying this in the context of my current U17 Boys MLS Reserve team , so the reference is specific .
All of this said , and this personal journey covered , I started wondering how I could coach a game in a methodical way and balance both aspects instead of constantly battling them and positioning them as opposites when they ’ re not . This is how I came up with this very , very simple approach that has been very effective for me .
The approach is simple , and it organizes my coaching during the game to remain focused , purposeful , and avoid randomness and constant reactive behavior .
The game starts and I observe our performance for at least 10 minutes . If I feel like the competition is even or we are better than the opponent and there are no major problems , I immediately switch my attention to favoring learning . What I mean is that I place my focus on aspects that we ’ ve been training and trying to improve . Let ’ s say it ’ s been playing out of the back . There we go then , all I focus on is how we are doing there , reinforce concepts , praise when we do it right , etc . If we make a mistake in the attacking third , I don ’ t care , that ’ s not the topic today . If I see it repeatedly , I ’ ll just write it down to work on it in the future , but I don ’ t allow myself to get wrapped up in it , avoiding randomness . This sounds basic ( and it is ) but can be very useful because in most games you will see fifty million mistakes ( and virtues ).
On the contrary , if within those 10 minutes of assessing performance I conclude we are having problems , it is my job to fix it . I can ’ t focus on learning unless it ’ s directly correlated . Imagine that learning today refers to bouncing the ball on the striker to attack the goal and we are having major issues defending on the flanks or with our pressing approach . The players would look at me like “ Coach , what are you talking about ? Do you not see that ?” Again , I can ’ t focus on learning without first honoring their desire to win the game and putting them in a good spot to do so . And trust me , as you start training good older players , they know soccer and what they ’ re talking about . If you say something stupid twice or miss a couple big problems that are obvious to them , you lose the group because that initial foundation breaks . So , the approach is simple in that way — focus on fixing the problem , take some actions , observe again and then ask yourself the same initial question : “ Are we better than them ?” If the answer is yes , you know what to do , and if the answer is no , keep your focus on fixing the problem .
I ’ ll wrap this up with a comment . This is not scientifically proven but purely an approach I ’ ve developed through experience . Far from rocket science ( does it need to be anyway ?), but if you ask me that question : “ Can you try to win the game while focusing on developing players ?” I ’ d say yes , and this is how I do it . n
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