The Coach Diary Football Blog

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  • Workshops

    Workshops

    Changing the Game (August 2014)

    • Friday 29th August
    • Talk Time: 7pm
    • Venue: Carlton Hotel Dublin Aiport
    • Early Booking Rate €22.50 includes book.
    • Late Booker rate €25.00 (Does not include book)

    John O’Sullivan is the author of the bestselling book Changing the Game: The Parent’s Guide to Raising Happy, High-Performing Athletes and Giving Youth Sports Back to Our Kids.

    He is the Founder of the Changing the Game Project, and his writing has been featured in the Huffington Post, Soccer America, and The Soccer Wire. John is also a nationally known speaker and coaching educator, working with schools and youth sports organizations, as well as speaking at TEDx Bend in 2014. He teaches parents and coaches how to create a player-centered youth sports environment, be better leader for our children, and create model youth sports organizations that put our players first.

    John spent nearly three decades as a soccer player and coach at the youth, college and professional level, most recently as the Central Oregon Regional Training Center Director for the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer. He holds a USSF A License, USYS National Youth License, and NSCAA Advanced National Diploma. He is a 1994 graduate of Fordham University and received his Masters degree from the University of Vermont in 2003. He currently resides in Bend, Oregon where the majority of his coaching duties consist of working with his 8 year old daughter Maggie and 7 year old son Tiernan.

    Buy Your Ticket Now for John O’Sullivan’s Talk and get a copy of ‘Changing The Game’ for 60people to book

    (This offer will expire in August 2014)

    TICKET PRICE



    Join the Facebook Event Page for John’s talk 

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    Steve Biddulph Talks (September 2014)

    *******EVENT CANCELLED*******

    • Raising Boys: Friday 5th September @ 7pm
    • Raising Girls: Sunday 7th September @ 2.00pm

    Steve Biddulph is one of the world’s best known parenting authors. A psychologist for 25 years, he is now retired but continues to write and teach. His books, including The Secret of Happy Children, Raising Boys, The New Manhood and now RAISING GIRLS are in four million homes and 31 languages. They have influenced the way we look at childhood and especially the development of boys and men. Today though, the exploitation and misuse of girls and young women globally are his major concern. Steve’s live talks have had a remarkable public response, reaching 130,000 people over almost 30 years.

    Many people express surprise at how moving and emotional these talks are, as well as how much fun. Steve has sold out a number of theatre tours across the UK and will return there again in 2014. Steve also led and funded a human rights project – the SIEVX Memorial Project that was part of a (sadly, brief) sea-change towards more compassionate government in Australia’s 2007 election. He also supports ChilOut (Children Out of Detention) and Sanctuary Refugee Trust. He was voted Father of the Year in 2000 for his work encouraging the role of fathers, and is Adjunct Professor in the school of psychology and counselling at Cairnmillar Institute, Melbourne. He has two grown up children, and lives in Tasmania with his wife and co-author Sharon, and assorted wombats.

    -End

    I always like to hear your opinions and views. If you feel you have something to say, please comment below or email meinfo@thecoachdiary.com If, you don’t have anything to add then please forward this on to a friend. As always, thanks for reading.

    I’m also on twitter  @Coachdiary

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  • Touches and then, more quality touches!

    Touches and then, more quality touches!

    If I want to be come a better writer I must read more books. If I want to be become a better footballer, I must get more touches of the ball. Well, that’s how it use to work.

    For many years now we have been comparing every promising young footballer to the talents of Roy Keane but we need to go back as far as 1999 Ray Houghton and 1996 Ronnie Whelan to find Irish players with great talent (technical) that were able to compete at the highest level. Under the current climate, as we look to the future it is highly unlikely that we will ever see players of this calibre playing for Ireland again.

    My view on last nights game (Ireland v Portugal 1-5)….

    I think we did ok on occasions and tried to at least play from the back. Ireland had a weakened team but Portugal also have 4-5 starters on the bench. Portugal’s passing in tight passes compared to ours was exceptional and this is the part of the game that we are light years behind in. The biggest problem is education, it’s culture, it’s mentality but most of it’s how many people really and truly care.

    Educating the parents (who are mostly the coaches) and the ‘coaches’ who do develop by doing their coaching badges. The current coaching pathway teaches you nothing about the athlete. They don’t focus on the player coach relationship, teaching the player to play over winning, which it the most important area for the young player. Most of the FAI tutors have been the same tutors for many years. The content of the course may have changed but the delivery is still very much the same. In Spain and Portugal the tutors are also working with the best Academies in that area. So, not only are they current they are working with various age groups within those professional academies. They understand the child and whats required at different age groups in a professional environment and the focus is on coaching the player to play. They also have a philosophy, which every coach buys into too. These same tutors are able to pass this information onto the rookie coach just starting out, which is hugely valuable to the grassroots coach and the game.

    No point in comparing!

    We aren’t and won’t ever get that level of tutoring (no disrespect to these tutors), so it’s up to each individual coach to find his own way after he completes a course and everyone is doing something completely different. Soccer in Ireland is a recreational sport so we will only ever get a recreational standard.  The question is,…. Are we expecting too much? The biggest concern is players aren’t touching the ball enough and when they do it’s organised coaching, so they consistently have adults telling them what to do and where to go. We teach them what we see but the player does not see what you see!!

    988365_595997677104474_1080675562_nMajority of kids are getting on average 150 touches of a ball per week (if even), based on 2x1hr training session and 1 hour match. This is not enough to develop players like they can in Europe. How many times do we see kids playing football on their own, how many carry a ball with them at all times, how many small sided recreational football pitches do we have around Ireland for kids to just play on their own. If you throw a stone in some of these countries it will land on a football pitch. If we throw a stone in Ireland it lands on a green with a sign saying, “No football allowed”, we aren’t providing enough spaces for kids to play and maybe that’s why they don’t play.

    “Another issue we face is coach burn out. The volunteer coach can only do so much. We can’t keep asking coaches to give up all their spare time and give nothing back in return. If we really want to challenge in the football world we need professional coaches. Unfortunately the game of football and the coach is not taken seriously enough in this country” – Me

    Last weekend I spoke to two coaches from Sligo and Mayo who are also involved with ETP. They have kids who only play ten games a year and might go 2-3 months without a game. Most of these kids will end up leaving the game to GAA sports because they can provide a challenge every weekend and soccer can’t. Irish players are going backwards, they are far less intelligent on the pitch to how they were 15-20 years ago and why??? They don’t get enough touches of the ball and they are getting less and less as the years go back not to mention that they are being coached on positional sense and tactics instead of ball retention, control and delivery.

    Play Like Spain

    “Let’s play like Spain, two touch football” people forget that to play like Spain you have to be playing like that from at 7. If we only encourage our players at a young age to only take two touches then they will never be able to go 1v1 in a game. Iberian kids are encouraged to go 1v1 at a very young age, they are encouraged to dribble and take risks. There is a lot more to the way Spain and Portugal play and it starts at a very young age. They also play Futsal from age 6 to 12 and can continue all they way up to professional senior Futsal if they prefer. Futsal is the most technical game in the world (the closet thing to street football) and all the best players have started with this game. The Irish mentality of “get rid of it or pass, pass, pass” needs to change. Which won’t happen anytime soon but we won’t stop trying.

    “We need to change the attitude of the people who think getting kids playing 11v11 as quick as possible makes sense. Most of these people are involved with the Grassroots governing body the SFAI, who’s combined age reaches tens of thousands. That’s how far removed they are from the needs and wants of a 9 year old kid” 

    We have far too many parents coaching kids (and without them we wouldn’t a game) and not enough qualified coaches with the right philosophy. We need to decide what we want, do we want to be a footballing nation challenging at the biggest and best tournaments in the world or would we rather just make up the numbers??

    Ultimately, the environment must be Safe, Fun and kids need to be challenged whilst learning something every-time they train. They must be getting better every week but how many really are? Can we change a society that loves to win at all cost to one that focuses on improving the athlete? With the focus on Playing over Winning. I know I’ve been here before because every-time we are on the end of a big defeat, everyone comes out ranting and raving on what needs to be done but nothing ever gets done. 14 years ago we were able to compete with the best European teams, now we are 14 years behind them and still waiting  for a plan. Let’s hope one comes soon!!!

    A few ideas that could get kids on the ball more:

    We know that smaller number, smaller pitches = to more touches, more goals and more fun.

    • National Plan where everyone is doing the same thing.
    • u8s to u12s should be playing Futsal or least weekend blitzes where they get at least 1.5 hours of football not 3 hours of travel time to play 30 minutes of football.
    • December to March should be Futsal for everyone.
    • League to start futsal sections.
    • Roll out Futsal in Schools across Ireland.
    • No league or cups until u13
    • No national cups until u14s
    • Tournaments and Blitzes for all ages up to u12s
    • 5v5 to u9s (Size 3 light football)
    • 7v7 to u11s (Size 4 light football 250gram, with an option to continue 7v7 to u12s in parts of the country that don’t have the same level of participation)
    • 8v8 or 9v9 to u13s (size5 light 350gram balls)
    • 11v11 at u14s (with the option to play 9v9 for lower level teams) (Size 5 410gram footballs)

    Marketing the game: 

    Just looking to how the GAA promote in schools could be a solution.

    • LOI players to visit local clubs.
    • Maybe even take a PE session.
    • Bring the trophies and prizes into schools.
    • Allocate local clubs certain schools to target, that way clubs aren’t fighting for the same schools.
    • For instance in D15 we have over 26 junior schools, all have been targeted by the GAA but many have never had an FAI personal enter the school. FAI headquarters are in D15.
    • When was the last time an Irish international player went to a local school to promote the game?
    • The only way to get kids interested is to get them interested at a young age.

    At the end of the day, whether we like to believe it or not we are a recreational football nation with a professional international team. It’s what we do down at worms eye view that will ultimately be the basis of what we produce at the top.

    Please share your views below.

    -End

    Worth a read Pete McDonnell Blog and his views on last night’s game.

    I always like to hear your opinions and views. If you feel you have something to say, please comment below or email me info@thecoachdiary.com If, you don’t have anything to add then please forward this on to a friend. As always, thanks for reading.

    I’m also on twitter @Coachdiary

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  • Belgium’s Rise To the Top..

    Belgium’s Rise To the Top..

    This fascinating article about Belgium’s rise to world football. What hits home the most is that we could never achieve this in Ireland with the narrow-minded people running the game. There are very few people who are really interested in developing the game in this country. Unfortunately most have their own agendas and financial benefits are much more important.

    Never the less this article in the Guardian on Friday 6th June,  gives you a sample of what could be achieved with a plan and involving schools & clubs all around Ireland. We could do no worse then to at least try and implement even a fraction of this. We have to try something to improve the quality of player we are producing.  I’m also well aware that Belgium has a professional league that includes teams that have some of the best academies in the world. We also don’t have resources across the Island and many counties lack facilities; the coaches and the players aren’t getting enough contact time with the ball. A lot would need to change. Coach education would need to improve and a big sum of cash would be needed to put the right structures in place across the country. We can dream!!!

    Who is Ireland’s answer to Michel Sablon?

    Below is a video which shows some of the work (Cognitive Training) Michel Bruyninckx has been doing with the Anderlecht Academy. This video is not part of Stuart article but I felt it was worth adding as it’s relative to player development in Belgium.

    Belgium’s blueprint that gave birth to a golden generation

    By @StuartJamesGNM

    The team of stars travelling to Brazil as fifth favourites are the result of a coaching revolution that started in 1998.

    Not everything that Michel Sablon writes down goes to plan. At Italia 90, Sablon was part of Belgium’s coaching staff, and a couple of minutes before the end of extra time in their last-16 match against England, he compiled a list of the penalty-takers. He had just finished scribbling the names when David Platt, in one of those iconic World Cup moments, spectacularly hooked the ball past Michel Preud’homme. “A great goal by Platt. But I was so disappointed,” Sablon says. “I threw the list away.”

    A little more than a decade later Sablon started with another blank piece of paper, this time with the intention of revolutionising Belgian football in his role as the federation’s new technical director. At its headquarters in Brussels, Sablon proudly hands over a copy of the original blueprint, dated September 2006 and titled “La vision de formation de l’URBSFA”. He smiles when asked whether going to this summer’s World Cup finals as fifth favourites was what he had in mind. “For sure, no”.

    Go here to read the rest of the Article

    -End

    Download the Belgium Vision on Youth Development

    I always like to hear your opinions and views. If you feel you have something to say, please comment below or email me info@thecoachdiary.com If, you don’t have anything to add then please forward this on to a friend. As always, thanks for reading.

    I’m also on twitter @Coachdiary

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  • Mental Toughness

    Mental Toughness

    Former Green Beret Mike Martel focuses on helping individuals, entrepreneurs, and small businesses get results and improve productivity. Here he discuses Mental Toughens and what separates the best from the rest.
     
    Toughness as we know it, is always gaged on how tough you are or if you come from a certain background. We have a tendency to fear teams on their reputation. Anyone who studies or reads about sport psychology will know that is total nonsense.  Mental Toughness can be taught but very few are taught it. 
     

    Mike’s post starts here>

    Time after time you see a promising athlete come out of college and go into the pros only to bomb out. He or she had the best athletic ability, yet could not cut it at the professional level. Others might not have great athletic ability, get picked late in the draft and go onto become super stars. Tom Brady comes to mind as someone who wasn’t particularly outstanding in college who has gone on to be a probable first time inductee into the NFL Hall of Fame.

    Personally I have seen the same. I spent many years in the US Army Special Forces. We would have tryouts who while in the best physical shape just could not make the grade to be a Green Beret. Others, who would seem to be nondescript, would pass the Special Forces Qualification course with flying colors and go onto to be an outstanding soldier.

    You are probably asking yourself by now what is the difference? What do you need to perform at the highest levels, which is even more important than physical ability?

    Mental Toughness

    Mental toughness is what separates the superstar from the merely good. It separates the musicians that play small party gigs from the rock stars. Someone without mental toughness can have all the natural talents or ability and not make it as far as someone with mental toughness with average ability.

    The key to mental toughness is applying consistently the traits of self motivation, positive attitude, emotional self control, calmness under fire, and being energetic and ready for action. Consistency is important. Through applying these traits day in and day out, you will be able to reach new heights in whatever endeavours you seek whether it be a sport, playing a musical instrument, coding a computer application or writing a novel.

    “Frustration, setbacks and hardships are necessary for you to develop strength, skill and endurance. You don’t learn to get tough without going through tough times. Frustration and disappointment are simply temporary road markers on the highway to your dreams.
    Parents: Do not try to protect your child from hard work, disappointment, failure and frustration. These experiences make them stronger and form the foundation of their motivation and ultimate success. Frustration and setbacks make athletes “hungrier” for mastery and success. It’s the struggle that builds character, resilience and toughness. Do NOT take that away from them!” – Dr Alan Goldberg

    Let’s look at each of the traits of mental toughness:

    Self Motivation

    While some sports are team sports and other pursuits are done in conjunction with others life is pretty much played alone. Your motivation must come from within. The intensity of your motivation is determined by how badly you want to perform well.

    Motivation can be strengthened many ways. Think back to a failure. That feeling can provide the motivation to keep going, keep practicing. A time of victory can also provide the motivation to reclaim that winning feeling. Use time as a motivator. While others relax you can be gaining on them increasing your skills.

    Positive, Realistic Attitude

    You are not going to be able to do everything. In Special Forces we always looked for what someone was good at and focused on that. By focusing on strengths, you gain confidence and inspiration from them. You can create your own positive attitude. For example, smaller pro basketball players do not try to go head to head with others over seven feet tall, they focus on their speed and ball handling skills. Focus on what your natural strengths are.

    Emotional Self Control

    People who are not in control of their emotions get upset when the something doesn’t go as expected. They alienate spouses, co-workers, teammates by petty, childish behaviour. Mentally tough people have tough skins and don’t let outside circumstances affect them. There will be many times whether in a game or in life that things happen outside your control. A mentally tough person keeps their emotions in check and keeps on with the game plan they had in mind from the beginning.

    Calm Under Fire

    Anything worth going for is going to be high pressure one time or another. Mentally tough people are at their best under pressure. Calmness under fireisn’t something you just switch on. The key here is to seek out pressure situations working up from low pressure to medium pressure to high pressure situations. Perform in front of larger and larger groups. Seek out better and better opponents, games top participate in. What seemed like high pressure before will become the new normal for you.

    Energetic and Ready For Action

    Mentally tough people get themselves fire up and ready to go for the battle, performance, game or whatever it may be. It might be the middle of the night, you might have played two other performances the same day or you might be under the weather. The pride you get from doing your best in less than optimal circumstances makes it that much easier to succeed in all circumstances. The third performance of the day might not be your best ever, but it should be the best you can possibly give. The next time when conditions are better you will play better for times you pushed yourself to give it all.

    Conclusion

    The great thing about mental toughness is that you are not born with it. You don’t have to learn it at a young age. Mental toughness comes simply from the decision to consistently apply the traits I have talked about. You can start today and reach levels of your game, relationships, and success that you never thought possible. Outstanding athletic prowess, superior intellect, musical talent will take someone so far. Without mental toughness they will not reach their full potential.

    We would like to thanks Mike for this post. A really interesting insight into Mental Toughness. Have you got Mental Toughness?

    You can follow Mike on twitter @MichaelMartel

    -End

    Worth a read this week: Interview with Fredrik Sundqvist by Footblogball

    I always like to hear your opinions and views. If you feel you have something to say, please comment below or email me info@thecoachdiary.com If, you don’t have anything to add then please forward this on to a friend. As always, thanks for reading.

    I’m also on twitter @Coachdiary

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  • Lusk United Improving Coach Education

    Lusk United Improving Coach Education

    In order to improve we must be prepared develop. In order to improve the standard of player we are producing, we must improve the standard of coach.

    The biggest issue we have in Ireland is we have very few qualified coaches working with kids and many of the ones that are qualified are not current and what I mean by current is they attained their badges many many years ago and never attend workshops to continually develop. A child 10 years ago is very different to a child today. How we coached 3 years ago is completely different to how we should coach today. We must be prepared to learn from others, good or bad, but we must continue to develop our coaching skills & philosophy. There is no better gift than getting educated. Making sure our coaches do the required courses to improve can have long lasting benefits on the kids that play.

    Lusk United are introducing a scheme that will set a side funds for coach education. An easy but effective idea that will improve coach education at the club.

    “In order to improve the standard of player we are producing, we must improve the standard of coaching” – tcd

    Press Release Starts here>

    Lusk United AFC

    With a new coach education initiative in place, Lusk United aims to improve the standard of coaching at the club and subsequently improve the players and give them a better footballing experience.

    Lusk United AFC has been at the heart of the community since it was founded in 1969. In November 2013 a brand new facility was opened that boasts a clubhouse with a bar and a full size floodlit pitch. The club now has approx. 300 players across 19 teams; 3 senior teams including an over 35’s, a girl’s only academy, and a kid’s academy, catering for 4-7 year olds. The club is actively involved in coaching within the local primary schools, as well as holding various FAI soccer camps for children, FAI workshops, and general community workshops for parents. The club recently implemented a new coach education initiative, which would see all memberships increase by €10. The use of the funding gained from the increase in fees will be set aside specifically and solely for coach education.

    “Having a qualification doesn’t make you a great coach but it shows that the coach is determined to continue their education and has met certain standards of assessment at the very least”- Royal Spanish Football Federation

    The club has 19 teams with 300 players in total.

    • Net annual gain: 300 x 10 = €3,000.
    • €3,000 will go towards the funding of FAI coaching courses on an annual basis.

    An example of what could be achieved with this money:

    • 6 x 4v4 Small Sided Games Workshops at €25 each (€150),
    • 6 x 7v7 Small Sided Games Workshops at €25 each (€150),
    • 5 x Strength & Conditioning Workshopsat €25 each (€125),
    • 8 x Kickstart 1 Coaches at €45 per course (€360),
    • 6 x Kickstart 2 Coaches at €75 per course (€450),
    • 2 x Youth Certificate Coaches at €300 per course (€600),
    • 1 x UEFA B Coach at €1,250 per course (€1,250).

    luck_Street_Skills_2It’s worth noting that in Feb 2013 after a survey of all managers and coaches (34) at the club only 35% had a Kick Start Level 1 or higher with only one coach with a Youth Certificate level of coaching.

    In the space of one year after a concerted effort to get coaches to attend coaching courses and with the club paying 50% of the cost of coach education courses the club now has 44 coaches & managers with 77% having attained their Kick Start 1 or higher.  While there’s still more work to be done, the new coaching initiative (will fully fund coaching courses) will go a long way to achieving a standard where all coaches will have a minimum of a KickStart 1 before getting involved with a team at the club and see more coaches attain Youth Certificate and UEFA B level courses.

    While there are a million and one things to be done at sports clubs we should all remember that the focus should be on the players and ensuring their time spent playing football can be looked back on with great fondness. Our goal as coaches should be to help them develop into well rounded young men and women and fulfill their potential whatever that may be, and the better the standard of our coaches, the greater the chance of that happening.

    Thanks to Ciaran Russell and Niall McGuirk for this sending in this piece. The FAI Coaching Festival 2014 starts Wednesday 2nd to Monday 21st July at the AUL see more here> FAI COACHING FESTIVAL

    Follow Lusk on twitter @LuskUtd 

    -End

    I always like to hear your opinions and views. If you feel you have something to say, please comment below or email me info@thecoachdiary.com If, you don’t have anything to add then please forward this on to a friend. As always, thanks for reading.

    I’m also on twitter @Coachdiary

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  • Respect

    Respect

    Just back from a trip of a life-time. The Champions League final in Lisbon, after getting an invite from UEFA media partners, I won’t go into it other than to say, it was a glorious experience.

    One thing that really got to me about the game was the lack of respect the players and coaching staff showed toward each other and the referee. I’m not going to go into to much detail, but when players start to celebrate a victory before the game has ended, shows a lack of respect and class.

    The professional game is the entertainment business and the players are paid to perform and entertain but they can still show class and respect. The development Zone is the grassroots game and it is here we can teach the players about values including respect. If they don’t make it to the top at least they will have learnt about being respectful.

    Ronaldo’s show boating at 3-1 was disrespectful and showed once again that he lacks class. He was conducting himself in a fashion that is simply a display of arrogance, behaving in an egotistic sort of a way.

    The spirit of the game has changed in recent years with the influx of the million pound wages and the governing bodies are tolerating cheating, players being disrespectful towards the officials and opponents. All these types of belittling the opponent etc show a lack of respect.

    As youth coaches we need to try and change this. We should be teaching our athletes to go out and work hard, play hard, and compete hard in sports and in life without having to attract attention to how we perform. There is nothing wrong with jubilation, but excessive is disrespectful, especially during the game.

    The game wasn’t even over the other night and the Real players were continuing to celebrate whilst the game was still on. This showed a complete lack of class and respect. The great John Wooden said to his players during a time out

    “Now, remember when this game is over to behave in an appropriate manner. Do not make fools of yourself. Let the alumni and student body do that if they choose. Don’t you do it!”

    He went on to say..

    “your reaction to victory or defeat is an important part of how you play the game. I wanted my players to display style and class in either situation –  to lose with grace, to win with humility.”

    It’s very important to keep things in perspective. Not doing this will harm your peace of mind and affect your ability to prepare and perform. This is possibly why Ronaldo had such a bad game. During the warm he was showboating, he was being disrespectful to the opponent to showing off to the fans. He did not prepare himself well, he prepared in the wrong fashion and it showed in the game. At the end it showed that he and some of his team mates lacked class and respect towards the opponent even when the game was out of sight.

    Neither I, nor anyone else is more or less entitled to be here.   Neither I, nor anyone else is better or worse.   Neither my way, nor anyone else’s way is better or worse.  Neither I, nor anyone else is more or less able.   There is no judgment.  We are equal. To respect is to recognise, accept, and honour that idea.  To respect is to honour each of our right to BE. – Unknown

    Conclude

    It’s important as coaches that we teach youngsters to be considerate of others. This doesn’t mean you can’t work hard, we know that hard work will bring desirable results. Being respectful towards the opponent (COACH & PLAYER) and being alert to consequences of your actions, this is just as important. You must practice what you preach. Every decision you make, will affect others, make sure you pick the right one.

    So the next time you see a player showing respect, why not applaud him or her for it. We are quick to ridicule and show our anger but rarely do we show our appreciation towards a player that shows a bit of class (RESPECT). Children learn by imitating adults. Studies have continued to show that this has not changed in recent years. Children have brains like plane paper.

    We can say that it is true that children learn best by observing the behaviour of adults and they try to copy it. It is the adults who should watch their behaviour and try becoming a good influence and example for the children. As coaches we can affect a positive or negative change working with children, the effort will be the same. Teaching them about Respect should be an important value to always consider.

    How about you? What does respect mean to you? What were your own defining moments that helped shape that meaning?

    -End

    I always like to hear your opinions and views. If you feel you have something to say, please comment below or email me info@thecoachdiary.com If, you don’t have anything to add then please forward this on to a friend. As always, thanks for reading.

    I’m also on twitter @Coachdiary

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  • CoachTalk: Ray Power

    CoachTalk: Ray Power

    This week I spoke with Irish Coach Ray Power. Another Irish Coach making his way across the water.

    Ray is a 31-year old, A Licence football coach. Although from Waterford, Ireland he is currently based in Nottingham, England.

    He is currently working as an Academy Manager full-time with under-19 players at Conference/Football League level and he is also a coach education tutor for the English FA.

    TCD: When did you start coaching?

    RP: I came to England in 2007, following two years as a teacher in Switzerland. I had dabbled in grassroots coaching prior to arriving in England, but once here I began working in the Academy system.

    Love this quote “Otherwise I’m a bit of a magpie – I pinch ideas and traits from others that I incorporate into my work”

    TCD: What is your coaching style and how did you develop it?

    RP: That’s a difficult question to really pin down. I suppose it has evolved through the years and I guess it is still evolving – I think it has to. My style comes from me as a person I guess. I like to create a positive environment where the focus is on the players learning, so is player-centred rather than being all about the coach. Therefore I like to use methods like Q&A and Guided Discovery where possible, as well as Skilful Neglect. If it’s optimal for player learning to be more command-like, I’ll use it, but this is very occasional.

    All the work we do is based around the game. That sounds a little obvious but you would be amazed at the amount of coaching sessions where players are involved in activities that are barely football-specific! Everything involves a ball, and puts players in situations they will find themselves in come match-day.

    TCD: Have you any mentors and if so, who?

    RP: Loads – whether they know they are mentors or not! When I fist came to England, Steve Welsh at Boston United gave me my first opportunity to coach academy players and I learned lots from Welshy – about the game, but also about presence and manner with players. The one that comes straight to mind however is Dick Bate. Dick is now at Cardiff City but was the head tutor on my A Licence. He was so knowledgeable and immersed in the game that you felt that if you could get anywhere near his level then you were on the right track. Otherwise I’m a bit of a magpie – I pinch ideas and traits from others that I incorporate into my work.

    TCD: What are the most important traits of the modern coach?

    RP: I devoted a whole chapter of Making the Ball Roll to this, but the traits are virtually endless. We all know – or should know – that we as coaches are role models and teachers, but being a modern coach is that and more. First of all you need to know the game – the modern game. We need to produce players that can cope with the evolving nature of football. So, for example, rather than coaching strikers to play in a 1980s style ‘big man, little man’ system, they need to be able to play as a lone striker, be more multi-purpose – added to evolutions like false 9s, inverted forwards etc.

    Coaches also need to embrace technology (this is the world of our young players), use appropriate learning and coaching styles etc.

    “SKILLFUL NEGLECT” The art of knowing when to do or say NOTHING. Because YOU know that THEY know the answer and they will work it out!

    TCD: What part of the game do you prefer to coach?

    RP: In recent years I’ve adopted a model known as Tactical Periodisation – something we speak about in the book. This involves practices and games that are simultaneously technical, tactical and physical. Simply because the game involves exactly that – all at the same time.

    Players need to be worked with in all areas – attacking, defending and transitions so I suppose if I favoured one area I wouldn’t be doing my job correctly. If they leave the system having improved across all areas then I’m satisfied.

    TCD: What kind of player to you prefer to coach. A technically gifted one who lacks work rate or a good player with excellent work rate?

    RP: For too long we have prized the worker over the technician. Hard working ones were praised (and rightly so!) but any tricky players get lambasted for doing too much. Obviously to be successful a player needs both. Every individual though will have different needs, and therefore a different programme of work, targets etc. As a team game you need both. Look at Jordan Henderson. He’s a decent technician but is vital to Liverpool as his work rate allows the technically gifted players like Suarez and Coutinho the freedom to express themselves.

    It’s easy maybe to teach a young player to run around all day, but he’s obsolete if another player has work rate AND technique.

    TCD: What’s the future of the grassroots game in the England and what changes are happening or need to happen in order to develop players with game intelligence?

    RP: Youth coaching in England gets a lot of stick – and maybe justifiably so in some parts. But change is afoot. There are lots of good people leading a drive for a better standard of grassroots coaching, through coach education, mentoring and books like Making the Ball Roll.

    Like I mentioned above, players need to be put in game situations. Game intelligence can only come from constantly solving real-game problems. We have a big issue in this area. Players are often put in sessions where they warm-up by running laps of the pitch, then stand in queues to either pass or shoot. There’s very little decision-making involved in unopposed ‘drills’ like these so when players are in games, they can’t solve problems once opposition are in place and a game is going on around them at 100mph. I also believe we are ‘two-touching’ the flair players and dribblers out of the game by constantly putting ALL our players in two-touch games, when they need it or whether it’s their style or not.

    At youth level if we can take focus away from match results, allow players the true freedom to express themselves and place them in game situations regularly, this can only improve.

    MAKING THE BALL ROLLTCD: Tell me about your book, what is it about and what inspired you to write one?

    RP: When I started coaching I had to go to hundreds of different places to find what I wanted – books around technical practices, tactics, physical development – others about psychology and communication; conferences around Talent ID and goalkeeping. What I wanted was a “one-stop shop” that included it all! So I wrote it!

    The book has 15 distinct chapters that relate to different aspects of youth development – and added to by some wonderful stories from youth coaches. If the reader wants further information on psychology for example, then the chapter signposts them to the best sports psychology resources available.

    See chapter breakdown:

    • Chapter 1. Understanding the Argument for Development Over Results
    • Chapter 2. Understanding the Modern Youth Development Coach
    • Chapter 3. Understanding Teaching and Learning in Soccer
    • Chapter 4. Understanding Psychology in Soccer
    • Chapter 5. Understanding Communication in Soccer
    • Chapter 6. Understanding Leadership and the Team
    • Chapter 7. Understanding Age-Specific Development Needs
    • Chapter 8. Developing a Coaching Philosophy and Syllabus
    • Chapter 9. Understanding Technical Development and Skill Acquisition
    • Chapter 10. Understanding the Tactical Development of Soccer Players
    • Chapter 11. Understanding the Physical Development of Youth Soccer Players
    • Chapter 12. Understanding the Modern Goalkeeper
    • Chapter 13. Understanding Talent Identification and Assessment of Players
    • Chapter 14. Understanding Parents
    • Chapter 15. Looking in the Mirror First

    Where can TCD readers get your book?

    The book is available in the UK and US through amazon and via bennionkearny.com/power and The book depository website also distributes worldwide with free delivery.

    -End

    The Coach Diary would like to thank Ray for this interview. You can follow ray on Twitter  

    Right, I’m off to buy my plane ticket to Lisbon…… Thank You UEFA!

    I always like to hear your opinions and views. If you feel you have something to say and want to be the next coach on COACHTALK,  Please comment below or email me info@thecoachdiary.com If, you don’t have anything to add then please forward this on to a friend. As always, thanks for reading.

    I’m also on twitter @Coachdiary

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