The new Falmer Stadium is coming along nicely from what I can see - which isn't THAT much really. I'm in the car, you see, driving past on my way to work every day; but now we approach winter, the leaves are coming off the trees and I am starting to get a clearer view of this exciting project.
To get a really good look, it's worth checking in on the Albion website at the Stadium Gallery pages where you can see great images of the construction of this long awaited Home of The Albion.
The skeletons (and some of the meat on the bones) of two of the stands have already gone up and a few of the old University buildings are now being demolished to make way for the other two stands. The large, signature Arch arrived on site a couple of weeks ago now and is being painted ready to top off our very own "Jewel In The Downs".
Opening in August 2011, I'm pretty sure there'll be a bit of a dash for season tickets. Of course the club management have, rightly, said first refusal will go to existing season ticket holders - so, the question for me, as an active coach, is, do I get a season ticket NEXT season (2010/11) so that I'm in pole position to renew for season 2011/12 (which, incidentally, will be 14 - count 'em FOURTEEN years since the last game at The Goldstone; I was there !!)
I was especially impressed to see guys working on the structure this morning on my way to work, BEFORE 7am !!!
Way to go, guys !!
I really hope the club gets you guys there for the first game when they do "The Big Reveal" ("and now you should meet the design team and the guys who made it possible....") "Move that Bus, Move that Bus....."
Thursday 5 November 2009
Tuesday 22 September 2009
So, Which Way IS the Right Way?
Give Us Back Our Game, The Dutch ‘Way’, 4v4, Coerver Coaching, Futbol de Salao, ABCs, FA Age Appropriate Coaching, Horst Wein, NLP, 101 Youth Soccer Drills, 7v7, competitive leagues, Turn up and play, 9v9, SkillRhythmics, SAQ, The van Dijk Method, 11v11, Academy/Centre of Excellence, Sports Psychology, Grass Roots Club and so it goes on - a veritable plethora of ideas, philosophies and approaches to teaching The Beautiful Game.
I guess we’ve all asked the question, having been through various stages of the coach education process and have, at times, scratched our heads as we wonder, what really IS the best way forward for the kids I coach?
I have been fortunate to have had the time to research, observe and use quite a few of these different approaches. I have my own views.
Coerver Coaching has had its critics. Techniques that don’t transfer to the game - ‘tricks’ is how I have heard it described. Possibly there is some truth that, in the past, Coerver Coaching did concentrate on ‘moves’ but with some justification.
The theory being that it is the creative skills, unpredictability and imagination that will help a player to win a game.
However, I have seen the international director, Alfred Galustian become animated and passionate about ‘building a bridge’ from the practice to the game. The new age of practices certainly works on skills in the game and involves players in game-like situations. He is also convinced of the value of helping young players become two-footed.
But how do YOU, as the coach, facilitate and encourage two-footedness when you may only see the players for an hour and a half of practice each week and then a match at the weekend?
4v4 with conditioned games has grown in favour with staunch supporters of the benefits of the format including the number of touches, tackles, shots and so on. This exposes the young participants to a much healthier environment than static line drills.
On the other hand the number and type of decisions are relatively limited, it is physically very demanding and what about all that time players don’t have or are not immediately in the vicinity of the ball when they start to play “mini-soccer” at 7 a side, progress to 9 a-side (how many actually do that?) or play in the full sized format?
The new FA Youth Award, Age Appropriate Coaching, to coin a phrase, is two-thirds the way into communicating a coaching approach specifically designed for the younger player. Based upon sound educational and child development principles, it proposes much more player ownership, discovery through mistakes and the development of practices with a specific eye on ‘the game’ that help the players develop football memories/pictures and game craft/sense even from a young age.
Two-footedness came up as a topic when I was an attendee on a recent FA Youth Award Module 2. It was generally agreed that it was difficult to achieve, especially with an hour and a half a week. There was a point of view that, in business, working on people’s weaknesses as part of their development generally achieves a standard of, at best, mediocrity - so why would we think it is different in football?
On the other hand, if a player can’t clear a goal-bound shot off the line because they can’t use their ‘other foot’ how does that help the player enjoy the game? Perhaps we should just encourage use of the ‘other foot’ enough so that they can ‘just tidy up’ with it? Makes sense to me…..but,
Stanley Mathews, in his autobiography, talks about putting stakes in the ground and dribbling around them and using both feet, in order to become a better player. But then, that was his choice, not the coach’s….
So, back to the original question, which way is the right way?
My point of view is that all of the above (and a whole bunch of stuff I haven’t even mentioned) forms part of our ‘coach’s toolbox’. Each and every one of those approaches, philosophies, disciplines and ideas give us a wide range of options from which to choose as we encourage and provide development opportunities for our young charges.
Of course, we have an absolute duty of care to ensure that we nurture players and that we do not unintentionally chase youngsters from the game by being too bombastic, too dictatorial or by coaching / managing as though we are in charge of a full-time professional outfit where the result determines our very livelihood.
But, we do have an opportunity to be as creative as we need in order to engender a love of the game and help young participants learn and develop as they grow.
In business, it is often said that there is “no one ‘right’ way” to lead.
If we can maintain flexibility, imagination and an open minded approach to the practices we provide for players, in similar vein, I am absolutely convinced that there is also no one “right” way to coach……but, then again, perhaps the Brazilians may have stumbled across something!!
I guess we’ve all asked the question, having been through various stages of the coach education process and have, at times, scratched our heads as we wonder, what really IS the best way forward for the kids I coach?
I have been fortunate to have had the time to research, observe and use quite a few of these different approaches. I have my own views.
Coerver Coaching has had its critics. Techniques that don’t transfer to the game - ‘tricks’ is how I have heard it described. Possibly there is some truth that, in the past, Coerver Coaching did concentrate on ‘moves’ but with some justification.
The theory being that it is the creative skills, unpredictability and imagination that will help a player to win a game.
However, I have seen the international director, Alfred Galustian become animated and passionate about ‘building a bridge’ from the practice to the game. The new age of practices certainly works on skills in the game and involves players in game-like situations. He is also convinced of the value of helping young players become two-footed.
But how do YOU, as the coach, facilitate and encourage two-footedness when you may only see the players for an hour and a half of practice each week and then a match at the weekend?
4v4 with conditioned games has grown in favour with staunch supporters of the benefits of the format including the number of touches, tackles, shots and so on. This exposes the young participants to a much healthier environment than static line drills.
On the other hand the number and type of decisions are relatively limited, it is physically very demanding and what about all that time players don’t have or are not immediately in the vicinity of the ball when they start to play “mini-soccer” at 7 a side, progress to 9 a-side (how many actually do that?) or play in the full sized format?
The new FA Youth Award, Age Appropriate Coaching, to coin a phrase, is two-thirds the way into communicating a coaching approach specifically designed for the younger player. Based upon sound educational and child development principles, it proposes much more player ownership, discovery through mistakes and the development of practices with a specific eye on ‘the game’ that help the players develop football memories/pictures and game craft/sense even from a young age.
Two-footedness came up as a topic when I was an attendee on a recent FA Youth Award Module 2. It was generally agreed that it was difficult to achieve, especially with an hour and a half a week. There was a point of view that, in business, working on people’s weaknesses as part of their development generally achieves a standard of, at best, mediocrity - so why would we think it is different in football?
On the other hand, if a player can’t clear a goal-bound shot off the line because they can’t use their ‘other foot’ how does that help the player enjoy the game? Perhaps we should just encourage use of the ‘other foot’ enough so that they can ‘just tidy up’ with it? Makes sense to me…..but,
Stanley Mathews, in his autobiography, talks about putting stakes in the ground and dribbling around them and using both feet, in order to become a better player. But then, that was his choice, not the coach’s….
So, back to the original question, which way is the right way?
My point of view is that all of the above (and a whole bunch of stuff I haven’t even mentioned) forms part of our ‘coach’s toolbox’. Each and every one of those approaches, philosophies, disciplines and ideas give us a wide range of options from which to choose as we encourage and provide development opportunities for our young charges.
Of course, we have an absolute duty of care to ensure that we nurture players and that we do not unintentionally chase youngsters from the game by being too bombastic, too dictatorial or by coaching / managing as though we are in charge of a full-time professional outfit where the result determines our very livelihood.
But, we do have an opportunity to be as creative as we need in order to engender a love of the game and help young participants learn and develop as they grow.
In business, it is often said that there is “no one ‘right’ way” to lead.
If we can maintain flexibility, imagination and an open minded approach to the practices we provide for players, in similar vein, I am absolutely convinced that there is also no one “right” way to coach……but, then again, perhaps the Brazilians may have stumbled across something!!
Wednesday 5 August 2009
I'm So Excited, OO-EE, I Just Can't Hide It, OO-EE.....
The new season is almost upon us. Another sojourn into the light and optimism of a brand new season, where our team will always prevail, play exciting and enlightened, expansive football and give the fans tons to cheer about.
The sun will be shining, the grass will be green, clipped and edged in pristine white lines and the players will take the field with as much enthusiasm, joy and apprehension as your average fan.
The brand new, bright, clean strips will stand out against the canvas of the field as our very own artists attempt to create a work of art memorable enough for the paying public to hang in the gallery of their minds' eyes, to be recalled and eulogised over whenever similar minded individuals shall congregate together.
A new manager, two thirds of a new team, a new stadium under construction and there is a feeling that over the next couple of seasons The Albion will actually be making real and lasting progress.
I can't wait for the fans forum on Thursday and I can't wait for Falmer!
I LOVE football !
The sun will be shining, the grass will be green, clipped and edged in pristine white lines and the players will take the field with as much enthusiasm, joy and apprehension as your average fan.
The brand new, bright, clean strips will stand out against the canvas of the field as our very own artists attempt to create a work of art memorable enough for the paying public to hang in the gallery of their minds' eyes, to be recalled and eulogised over whenever similar minded individuals shall congregate together.
A new manager, two thirds of a new team, a new stadium under construction and there is a feeling that over the next couple of seasons The Albion will actually be making real and lasting progress.
I can't wait for the fans forum on Thursday and I can't wait for Falmer!
I LOVE football !
Saturday 1 August 2009
Problem Based Coaching
Age Appropriate Coaching from the FA & Problem Based Coaching
Continually seeking to become a better coach and to learn as much about the topic as I can, I embarked on the FA’s new Age Appropriate Coaching courses and have so far completed the Introductory Course (1 day) and the Modules 1 and 2 (4 days each).
I was interested to see an alternative approach to coaching - one that places the player / pupil / PERSON at the centre of the process.
This seems only right given that it is the player, not the coach, who takes the field in a game situation.
The courses initially work upon “Developing the Environment” (Module 1) and looks at how to create games and practices that allow players to use techniques, movements and decisions that are required in the game of football (soccer) but which are not necessarily ‘The Game’ itself.
The course looks at involving players in determining the size and shape of the area to be used, the rules for the various games they can play with rewards / points decided by the participants.
It looks very closely at why children, especially, play football (or any sport come to that) and, as we all know, when asked, they will say it is for fun, to be with their mates and to learn something new.
It is rarely about winning championships or cups although, rest assured, in the games the children will nearly always strive to win (strangely, without being hollered at by a het up group of spectator-parents/grandparents / associated others from the sidelines).
Coaching has been identified as ‘Looking for what you do not wish to see and listening for what you do not wish to hear’ (Vince Lombardi).
In Module 1 we were consistently encouraged to ‘Catch them doing something well/good/correct’.
In Module 2 (Developing the Practice) we look at how the practices can be developed to be football-like and how players can get the opportunities to build football game-specific memories and enhance their assessment, interpretation, tactical and predictive skills. It looks at small sided games, but not always of even sides - overloads and under-loads where players have to work as they do in a competitive game and where the ebb and flow of competition does not always bring you face to face with equal numbers.
Decision making and planning for what may happen next and what they (the players) can do to counteract what is happening is at the heart of the course.
Questioning by the coach to guide discovery by the players to think about what they are doing and why and what the problems that face them is a key to helping to develop players that will be able to understand the game better and, as a result, become better tacticians, able to deal with a multitude of changing patterns and problems as they get older.
Google this…
Discussing the topic of questioning, we were recommended to investigate (for investigate I always substitute the word “Google” !) “Bloom’s Taxonomy”.
This is a categorised structure of questioning which requires increasing application of ‘brain power’ to arrive at an answer.
So, when I ‘Googled’ I discovered a mine of information about Mr Bloom and his findings.
In 1956 Benjamin Bloom, with other educational psychologists, identified that over 95% of test questions encountered by students required them to think only at the lowest possible level - the recall of information.
Bloom then identified that there were 6 levels within the “cognitive domain” (i.e. what the brain perceives), moving from low to increasingly high and more complex abstract mental levels: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis and Evaluation.
Classroom or Practice Field?
From here I discovered something called Problem Based Learning, primarily aimed at Teachers in traditional education. This seeks to apply the increasingly complex mental skills to allow (school) students to actively participate in their own learning and so become better as problem solvers in today’s (and Tomorrow’s) world.
The concept takes what is described as an “ill-structured problem” and requires the classroom teacher to become a ‘facilitator and coach’ rather than merely an instructor.
An “ill-structured problem” can be recognised as challenges with more than one possible solution. The pupils are encouraged to discover the solutions to the problems and as such, become much more aware of how they arrived at a solution and are therefore more likely to recall it in future, when the need arises.
So, from what we explored on the FA courses, the game of soccer is clearly an “ill-formed problem”. It ebbs and flows and changes constantly in a game based upon predictive skills and pro-active intent within a competitive structure (i.e. there is a “reason” to need to understand how to play the game).
“Tell Me and I Forget……….”
I read somewhere once that people forget AT LEAST 60% of what they are told.
The rest of the quote above is “…..show me and I will remember, involve me and I will understand”.
As coaches, we are often so desperate to help the players develop that we can be tempted to just give them a list of things that they need to know and remember.
But if the 60% ‘rule’ above is true, they will forget most of it anyway.
If we can engage with the principles of Problem Based Learning and set games / practices which help replicate the ‘problems’ the players face in a game and then plan our questioning at appropriate times to draw reasoning and thought, evaluation, understanding and prediction from our players, I believe that we will all help to develop more imaginative, creative and unpredictable players for the future.
If, at the grassroots level we can improve the quality of the base of the pyramid, surely it must percolate up to the higher levels of the game and eventually provide us with an international team of which we can be proud.
My view of the professional game is that whilst the ‘English’ game is (mainly) linear, predictable and two dimensional, I see continental players who are able to create and exploit space through imaginative movement supplemented by the decision making of their team mates who recognise where and when to support, when to pass to players and when to use ‘space’ as an extra player and which is almost always more attractive to watch.
As a grassroots coach, if I can influence the way players are able to play the game and to become artists rather than automatons, then I will be happy that I have ‘done my bit’ for the English game.
Continually seeking to become a better coach and to learn as much about the topic as I can, I embarked on the FA’s new Age Appropriate Coaching courses and have so far completed the Introductory Course (1 day) and the Modules 1 and 2 (4 days each).
I was interested to see an alternative approach to coaching - one that places the player / pupil / PERSON at the centre of the process.
This seems only right given that it is the player, not the coach, who takes the field in a game situation.
The courses initially work upon “Developing the Environment” (Module 1) and looks at how to create games and practices that allow players to use techniques, movements and decisions that are required in the game of football (soccer) but which are not necessarily ‘The Game’ itself.
The course looks at involving players in determining the size and shape of the area to be used, the rules for the various games they can play with rewards / points decided by the participants.
It looks very closely at why children, especially, play football (or any sport come to that) and, as we all know, when asked, they will say it is for fun, to be with their mates and to learn something new.
It is rarely about winning championships or cups although, rest assured, in the games the children will nearly always strive to win (strangely, without being hollered at by a het up group of spectator-parents/grandparents / associated others from the sidelines).
Coaching has been identified as ‘Looking for what you do not wish to see and listening for what you do not wish to hear’ (Vince Lombardi).
In Module 1 we were consistently encouraged to ‘Catch them doing something well/good/correct’.
In Module 2 (Developing the Practice) we look at how the practices can be developed to be football-like and how players can get the opportunities to build football game-specific memories and enhance their assessment, interpretation, tactical and predictive skills. It looks at small sided games, but not always of even sides - overloads and under-loads where players have to work as they do in a competitive game and where the ebb and flow of competition does not always bring you face to face with equal numbers.
Decision making and planning for what may happen next and what they (the players) can do to counteract what is happening is at the heart of the course.
Questioning by the coach to guide discovery by the players to think about what they are doing and why and what the problems that face them is a key to helping to develop players that will be able to understand the game better and, as a result, become better tacticians, able to deal with a multitude of changing patterns and problems as they get older.
Google this…
Discussing the topic of questioning, we were recommended to investigate (for investigate I always substitute the word “Google” !) “Bloom’s Taxonomy”.
This is a categorised structure of questioning which requires increasing application of ‘brain power’ to arrive at an answer.
So, when I ‘Googled’ I discovered a mine of information about Mr Bloom and his findings.
In 1956 Benjamin Bloom, with other educational psychologists, identified that over 95% of test questions encountered by students required them to think only at the lowest possible level - the recall of information.
Bloom then identified that there were 6 levels within the “cognitive domain” (i.e. what the brain perceives), moving from low to increasingly high and more complex abstract mental levels: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis and Evaluation.
Classroom or Practice Field?
From here I discovered something called Problem Based Learning, primarily aimed at Teachers in traditional education. This seeks to apply the increasingly complex mental skills to allow (school) students to actively participate in their own learning and so become better as problem solvers in today’s (and Tomorrow’s) world.
The concept takes what is described as an “ill-structured problem” and requires the classroom teacher to become a ‘facilitator and coach’ rather than merely an instructor.
An “ill-structured problem” can be recognised as challenges with more than one possible solution. The pupils are encouraged to discover the solutions to the problems and as such, become much more aware of how they arrived at a solution and are therefore more likely to recall it in future, when the need arises.
So, from what we explored on the FA courses, the game of soccer is clearly an “ill-formed problem”. It ebbs and flows and changes constantly in a game based upon predictive skills and pro-active intent within a competitive structure (i.e. there is a “reason” to need to understand how to play the game).
“Tell Me and I Forget……….”
I read somewhere once that people forget AT LEAST 60% of what they are told.
The rest of the quote above is “…..show me and I will remember, involve me and I will understand”.
As coaches, we are often so desperate to help the players develop that we can be tempted to just give them a list of things that they need to know and remember.
But if the 60% ‘rule’ above is true, they will forget most of it anyway.
If we can engage with the principles of Problem Based Learning and set games / practices which help replicate the ‘problems’ the players face in a game and then plan our questioning at appropriate times to draw reasoning and thought, evaluation, understanding and prediction from our players, I believe that we will all help to develop more imaginative, creative and unpredictable players for the future.
If, at the grassroots level we can improve the quality of the base of the pyramid, surely it must percolate up to the higher levels of the game and eventually provide us with an international team of which we can be proud.
My view of the professional game is that whilst the ‘English’ game is (mainly) linear, predictable and two dimensional, I see continental players who are able to create and exploit space through imaginative movement supplemented by the decision making of their team mates who recognise where and when to support, when to pass to players and when to use ‘space’ as an extra player and which is almost always more attractive to watch.
As a grassroots coach, if I can influence the way players are able to play the game and to become artists rather than automatons, then I will be happy that I have ‘done my bit’ for the English game.
Wednesday 29 July 2009
A season of discovery awaits me as I have just changed recreational clubs for the forthcoming 2009/10 season.
I come from a small, but professionally run outfit, the players of whom I have tried to serve to the best of my ability over the last 4 years. I have started coaching at a new club, similarly recreational in outlook, but one with a membership the size of the population of a small village!
I have been coaching for two weeks and have enjoyed it immensely - I hope the players have enjoyed it, so far, as much as me!
I come from a small, but professionally run outfit, the players of whom I have tried to serve to the best of my ability over the last 4 years. I have started coaching at a new club, similarly recreational in outlook, but one with a membership the size of the population of a small village!
I have been coaching for two weeks and have enjoyed it immensely - I hope the players have enjoyed it, so far, as much as me!
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