Do you create player-led environments?

I was debating whether to send out the newsletter this week. I was watching the Denmark vs Finland game and was almost in tears. The stark images put into reality the fragility of life even when you appear to be at your strongest. My thought and prayers go out to the Erikson family and I hope he makes a speedy recovery.

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The Top Ten Of The Week

1. I've featured England Rugby coach Eddie Jones a few times in the top ten and here's another one. Experimenting on how to create leaders in the England Rugby squad. Do you do anything to try and create leaders in your group of players?

   Andrew Brownhill @AndrewBrownhil

   Eddie Jones on how to create leaders👇 🗣"We would set up team meetings and the coach's wouldn't turn up... We would see what happened, who would step forward, who would lead... We kept disrupting the environment and kept on developing opportunities for the players to lead."

   

2. Another player-led leadership video but this time from NBA championship-winning coach Steve Kerr.

   Andrew Brownhill @AndrewBrownhil

   Powerful words from Steve Kerr👇 🗣"It's their team... It's not your team, it's the players team. They have to take ownership of it. As coach's our job is to nudge them in the right direction and guide them. We don't control them, they determine their own fate.

   

3. A deep dive into current Chelsea Head Coach Thomas Tuchel. a fascinating journey to the coach he is today.

   https://breakingthelines.com/manager-analysis/thomas-tuchel-the-making-of-paris-saint-germains-great-hope/

4. Carlon's at it again and this time its videos about using width in attacks to create 1v1s. I personally love skillful dribblers in my teams so this has got me thinking of exercises in training to help our team create these scenarios.

   Carlon Carpenter @C_Carpenter14

   Using Width In Attacks/Overloads To Create 1v1 Scenarios: - Movements wide to bypass central pressing. - Verticality in possession to get behind opposition/compress them on one side of the pitch. - Varying movements from supporting players. - Finding free players on weak side.

   

5. Gary Galdwell taking a CV academy session emphasizing the importance of communication. how do you help your team communicate on the pitch better?

   CV Academy @academy_cv

   Gary Galdwell reinforces the importance of communication when defending 🗣️

   

6. Really love this video from Van Persie talking through the value of varying your runs. What I like most is that he spoke to his teammate who gave them advice on what they like and don't like and he used this knowledge to his advantage. How can we create this type of environment and inquisitiveness in our teams?

   Tim Lees @TimLees10

   Van Persie highlighting the importance of 7:1 movements and varying your runs constantly to be unpredictable & unbalance defensive organisation. Great learning moment for him that comes from a desire to improve and become a better version of yourself

   

7. Do you know what Premeditatio Malorum is? I didn't either until I read this great article. It's the practice of thinking of the negative things that could happen, but crucially, how you would then effectively deal with them. It might seem counterintuitive but the Article points to some scientific studies that back up this way of thinking. Either way an interesting and challenging concept

   https://theapeiron.co.uk/premeditatio-malorum-the-most-important-thinking-skill-that-nobody-taught-you-acdaa4743acf

8. Something for both you and your players. Tactics of mentally tough people. Polina Marinova has interviewed hundreds of successful individuals and she kept seeing some themes appearing. Have a read

   Polina @polina_marinova

   Want to become more mentally resilient? Mental performance coach @_laurenjohnson_ and I deconstructed the strategies of 7 mentally tough people to understand how they learned to perform under pressure. So many practical tactics in here:

   

   theprofile.substack.com7 Mentally Tough People on the Tactics They Use to Build ResilienceHere’s what you can learn from David Goggins, Courtney Dauwalter, Kobe Bryant, and more on how to perform under pressure.

9. What are your listening skills like? have you ever practiced active listening? did you even get taught it on your coaching courses? Well, it's a pretty important life skill and one that Dan Abrahams believes is even more important in coaching.

   https://www.amplifiedsoccerathlete.com/coachguide/the-listening-coach

10. Another interesting thread from Tovo Academy owner Todd Beane. Here he's talking through the fundamentals of picking up on cues. Do you think you train this at all or well?

    Todd Beane @_ToddBeane

    TOVO TUESDAY (Thread 1/6): Picking Up on Cues - - - The fundamentals. You know what the best athletes do? They pick up on cues. They read the signals afforded them by teammates and opponents to anticipate and act effectively. 👇

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Thanks for joining me this week. I hope you enjoy your weekends and the week to come.