Learning to reinforce good decisions, not just correct mistakes, changes how a player sees their own game. It sounds simple. Most coaching, and most parenting from the sideline, does the opposite without ever meaning to. Watch any training session for twenty minutes and you will notice something. The session stops the moment something goes wrong. …
Walk past any grassroots pitch on a Saturday morning and you will hear it before you see it. A parent or a coach calling out what a child should do with almost every touch of the ball. The intention is good. Nobody stands on a cold touchline at eight in the morning because they do …
The Loudest Sideline Rarely Produces the Sharpest Player Read More »
Most players only start thinking when the ball arrives. And most of the time, by then it is already too late. The space that was there a moment ago has gone. The defender has closed the gap. What looked straightforward in training suddenly feels chaotic in a game. And parents on the touchline are left …
The Decision Window: Youth Football Decision Making Explained Read More »
Most parents measure youth football player development by goals scored and games won.The players who develop most consistently show signs that never appear on a score sheet.Here are three of them and why they matter more than any statistic. Picture the end of a match. Your child’s team has lost. They made a mistake in …
3 Signs Your Child Is Developing as a Footballer That Most Parents Completely Miss Read More »
I remember the conversation clearly. We were at the end of a session, most of the football parents had already headed to their cars, and one dad asked if he could have a quick word. His son had been starting on the bench for a couple of games. Not dropped, rotated. The player was good, …
If you’ve ever watched a kids’ football session, you’ve probably seen it before. A coach shouting instructions from the side. Repeating themselves over and over again. Getting louder… and more frustrated. And the players? Still not listening. Still distracted. Still doing their own thing. If you’re looking to improve focus in young footballers, here’s the …
How to Improve Focus in Young Footballers (Without Shouting) Read More »
Mistakes in youth football are often seen as something negative, something players should avoid. But in reality, mistakes are one of the most important parts of how young players learn the game. I remember watching a school football tournament a few years back, and one moment has always stayed with me… A young goalkeeper made …
Why Mistakes in Youth Football are Important (And How Parents Should Respond) Read More »
If you watch youth football regularly, you’ll see it all the time. A player gets the ball… And within a second, it’s gone. Cleared.Rushed.Forced into something that wasn’t really on. From the outside, it can look like a lack of ability. But I’ll be honest… Most of the time, it isn’t. It’s panic. What Panic …
Why Young Players Panic on the Ball (And How to Fix It) Read More »
And What That Means For Player Development If you watch enough football, you start to notice something interesting. The best players are often the hardest players to read. Defenders struggle to predict what they’re going to do next. Sometimes they pass when you expect them to dribble. Other times they dribble when everyone expects a …
“Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Involve me and I will understand.” – Laozi I’ve come back to that quote many times over the years. It resurfaced again recently while I was reading some of Horst Wein’s work on developing footballers with game intelligence. His ideas around small-sided games …
Developing Game Intelligence in Young Footballers! Read More »