The Teaching Process
1. Learning
a. How Do Players Learn? What happens during the acquisition process?
i. Perception and Processing
1. Receive stimuli and process in order of importance
2. Block out unnecessary cues and attend to most important
3. When decision is made – all concentration on execution
4. Player receives ball, makes decision; then shoots, passes or dribbles
b. What does the Player need from the Coach?
i. Clearly defined goals (objectives, targets, etc.)
ii. Overriding-generalized or total application
1. Transitions
2. Positive mentality, i.e., attacking, defense, shooting
iii. Specific
1. Play of first defender in 3v3
2. Purpose of 6v4-8v8
3. If I win ball, can I play it forward?
iv. Correct progression - logical manner; from simple to complex; general to specific
1. First attacker progression -- individual tactics
2. 1v1 → 3v3 → 6v6 → 8v8 → 11v11 – total progression
3. Technical: fundamental, game related, technical-functional, game
4. Tactical: in space, directional, tactical functional, technical-tactical, game
5. Feedback about performance
a. Immediate and “specific” feedback
b. Corrections
2. How to Teach
a. Preview
i. What the coach is going to do
ii. Why?
iii. Where does this belong in the full game?
b. Explanation and/or demonstration
i. Making pictures
ii. Mechanism of exercise – rules of exercise or game
iii. Why (more specific)
c. Practice
i. Organization
1. Appropriate size of space, location of space, # of balls, balls in each goal, differing colors, realistic to full game
ii. Good exercise elicits optimal arousal – boring if too easy; frustrating if too hard
iii. Let players play for awhile to get feel of exercise or rules; get in mood and rhythm of playing; coach watches to see if goals (objectives and targets) can be achieved
iv. Starting and restarting exercise or game
1. By coach – incremental pressure
2. By players – when all players in exercise return to starting positions and are looking at player who restarts exercise
a. Coaching Points
b. Always have a goal (small goals -- hit the cones; full size goals – 10 passes equal a point, etc.)
d. Corrections (coaching)
i. Stopping exercise or game
1. Reason to Stop
a. “Teachable Moment”
i. A Question
ii. Occurrence in exercise or game
iii. Necessary correction
iv. Something Good
2. Freeze Concept
a. All players stop and remain in positions where they were when coach halts practice. I.e. they “freeze in position”
b. Coach conveys appropriate information
i. Gives quick, clear, correct information
ii. Take a “section out of the game”
iii. Restart exercise or game
3. Repeat trials correctly and successfully at slow pace – must have successful trials
4. Repeat trials at speed – add pressure
5. Put Back into Exercise -- Temporarily condition exercise to emphasize correction
a. Personality of the Coach
e. Evaluation
i. Did my coaching “have an effect” on the game (exercise) and/or the players?
ii. Does sweeper step up at correct times?
iii. Does combination play transfer into the game?
iv. Implications
v. Identify problems
1. Personal
2. Technical vs. Tactical
3. Level of Expectation
f. Put in Larger Game
i. Make more like a soccer game
ii. Transfer
