One of the best things about football is that its unpredictable. The sudden red cards, that creative bit of skill from your favorite number 10 or an unexpected through pass that only the number 8 can see, all are moments that cannot be scripted and what makes the beautiful game so fascinating.
It is this reason, I find it difficult to understand why as coaches we feel it’s best for young football players to learn in an environment where everything is predetermined.
It is clear that football requires thinking constantly on your feet, the game is chaotic and you are asked to make many decisions on what to do throughout the game. No situation is the same.
One of the most important skills that young players can develop is problem-solving not just in football but in life. Being able to analyze situations and come up with effective solutions is a valuable skill in all areas of life, and football provides a great platform for children to learn and practice this invaluable skill.
Creating an environment that encourages youth football players to be problem solvers on the field is key to helping them develop this important skill. Here are some ways to create such an environment:
Emphasize critical thinking skills
Encouraging critical thinking skills is crucial when developing problem-solving skills. As a coach, you can provide opportunities for players to analyze game situations and devise solutions with how you plan your sessions. This can be done by asking players questions, such as what they would do in certain game scenarios, and encouraging them to come up with their solutions.
Think about asking open-ended questions rather than closed ones to get more than a yes or no answer, remember we want the players to visualise what they should be doing in that moment and check that they truly understand what is required for them to be successful in that scenario.
Encourage creativity
Creativity is an essential aspect of problem solving. As coaches, It is important that we allow players opportunities to come up with solutions to various problems that can occur in match situations.
Now what I tend to find when coaches hear this is that they think it means you just set up a practice and then just leave them to it which is not that the case. Remember that we are still there to coach and help the players see solutions that they normally miss. Now good session design should make this process easier if the practice is realistic to the game, leaving the coach to add guidance with the occasional prompts if you see your players struggling.
Now there are also occasions where you will need to show them what you want from them because they are simply not grasping it and losing the ball frequently. You have to get good at recognizing when this sort of action is required as sometimes you just have to show them what they could do in that situation.
Set challenges
Another great way to encouraging problem-solving in youth football players is by setting challenges.
Setting challenges is a great way to encourage problem solving. when coaching set introduce challenges that require players to come up with creative solutions.
For example, you could set a challenge where players have to come up with a new tactic to surprise the opposition or use scenarios such as “your 2 nil down in a game, how would you normally play to get back in the game?” and then tell the other team that they are 2 nil up. This type of challenge encourages players to think outside the box and come up with innovative solutions.
The goal is to encourage the players to take more responsibility on the field and remove more of the reliance on you to instruct them on what to do in the game.
Provide feedback
Feedback is crucial in helping players develop their problem-solving skills.
At times throughout my practices, I like to give feedback either at the end of the exercise or I may also pull a player out during the exercise to have a chat with them.
The goal of giving feedback is to encourage them to reflect on their decisions and actions. Everything we do is geared towards improving their critical thinking skills and improve their decision-making abilities.
Encourage teamwork
I have to admit, for a while in the early days of my coaching career, this was an area I feel I didn’t give enough attention to when I first started coaching players.
At the end of the day, teamwork is a vital aspect of football, and it is also essential in problem-solving. You have to remember to not only set individual tasks with your players but also tasks that encourage them to work as a team and develop their football language.
We cannot get away from the fact that communication is an important part when developing a team. Yes, players need to learn how to handle situations without the aid of their teammates but to have everyone in sync and effectively deliver the teams game style, having a football language is essential.
Emphasize learning from mistakes
For me, my biggest lessons have come from the mistakes that I have made. This is no different when it comes to player development and we should do what we can to help the players learn from their mistakes.
Mistakes are a natural part of the learning process, and it is important for players to learn from them because the game of football is so unpredictable and no matter how good you are mistakes will happen.
As coaches, we can encourage players to learn from their mistakes by providing constructive feedback and encouraging them to reflect on what they could have done differently.
Model problem-solving behavior
Remember when I said sometimes you just have to show them? Modelling how you would approach certain situations at times can help the players visualise how the solution should look and come up with their own effective solutions.
You can also encourage players to discuss different solutions to game situations and provide feedback on each other’s ideas.
Encourage perseverance
Problem solving often requires perseverance, and it is important for players to learn this skill.
You can encourage perseverance by setting challenges that require players to work through obstacles and setbacks. Again this is all about helping them to visualize the solution and how to overcome it.
I remember one of my players once storming off at training because he was finding it difficult in a particular practice to keep possession of the ball. I admit this did surprise me because the child is 14 and it’s not something that happens often with this age group so I felt I needed to approach this differently.
I said to the player ” why have you left the pitch?” he responded “because I’m playing awful I keep giving the ball away” he said with a tear rolling down his cheek.
I asked him a question ” what could you do differently to help you keep possession? ” now in that particular session we had been working on possession so I expected him to have an idea of what he could do.
He said, “Find the gaps in between to receive the ball, make sure that I am in a position to see both goals (half turn), and constantly scan”.
I responded with ” Ok so let’s see if we can introduce one of those to your game now, can you find those gaps in between the lines to get the ball from your teammates”.
All I did was help him reflect on what he needed to do to improve his situation and help him see the solutions available. Once he could visualise it for himself he felt more comfortable with the situation and accepted that this was part of his learning process.
This can help players to develop their resilience and determination, which are essential skills in problem-solving.
Conclusion
In conclusion, creating an environment that encourages youth football players to be problem solvers on the field is essential in helping them to develop. as coaches, we can encourage critical thinking, creativity, teamwork, perseverance, and learning from mistakes, among other things. By creating such an environment, we can help players to develop their problem-solving skills, which will help them both on and off the field.