What's your toughest lesson learnt from coaching?

Hi Everyone, thank you for joining me on another edition of the coaching insight newsletter. The inspiration for this week’s title is from a thread on Twitter which you can find here. Konnor Beste asks “What was the toughest lesson you’ve learnt from coaching?” For me personally, it’s that development isn’t linear. What I mean by that is just when you think a team or player has just started to get a concept they can then regress or get something “easier” totally wrong. We tend to think development would be get’s step 1, then get’s step 2 then gets step 3 etc etc. What I’ve noticed is Get’s step one, stall step 2, get’s step 3, regresses back to step 2. In our perfect world of coaching courses, manuals, and books this just doesn’t happen. Go through the thread to see if you’re feeling the same as anyone else in your toughest lesson. Let me know by replying to this email or sending me a message on Twitter… right on to the top ten

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The Top Ten Of The Week

1. Really interesting article from The Training Ground Guru about Dundee United and their development process. I know a few other clubs focus on the “super strengths” something to think about when you’re creating player specific development plans.

   Training Ground Guru @ground_guru

   “In Academy football, there’s a risk of trying to improve absolutely everything and ending up with an average player. Instead of that, we want to develop their super strengths.” @AndyGoldie85 @dundeeunitedfc

   

   trainingground.guruTraining Ground Guru | Dundee United and the quest to develop unique playersWHY Dundee United are investing heavily in individual development at their highly-productive Academy.

2. Brighton manager Graham Potter talking through how he’s had to adapt his training methods throughout his career.

   CV Academy @academy_cv

   How has Graham Potter's training changed over the years? #AskTheCoach

   

3. Follow the thread on the coaches voices interview with Graham Potter. Always liked the fact he went abroad to realise his ambitions. Some wonderful insight here in the thread too.

   The Coaches' Voice @CoachesVoice

   Updates to follow, here... #CVlivePotter

   

   CV Academy @academy_cv

   🚨 Graham Potter is going live in 5 minutes! 👉 https://t.co/emtXonPtBw https://t.co/eMOkp6cwz6

4. Harvard Business Review has an article here from its leadership section. They outline their 4 C’s from great leadership. Confidence, commitment, connection courage

   https://hbr.org/amp/2018/07/great-leaders-are-confident-connected-committed-and-courageous

5. Currently play or want to play against a 4-3-3. Eric Laurie has a quick thread on principles and how the formation breaks through the different block.

   Eric Laurie @EricLaurie

   A look at potential principles and solutions for a 4-3-3 in: •Build-Up •Progression •Creation •High Block •Mid Block •Low Block Thread👇

6. If you’ve been on the English FA’s coaching courses then you’ll know all about the four corner model. Here player development project takes you through its limitations, why it was built and how to apply it in the best way for your players.

   Player Development Project @PlayerDP

   The FA’s Four Corner Model can be a useful tool for coaches. But to use it effectively, we need to understand both its purpose and its limitations, and learn how to apply it in a way that supports our coaching without governing our approach: buff.ly/33DGAIv

   

7. A thread explaining more about scanning. The act of looking to see your environment. How do you coach scanning at your club?

   Roshan Rao @thefieldofgreen

   The difference between 'Active' and 'Passive' scanning [Thread] Scanning in football is like reading, or crossing a road, or driving a car. Context is important. It must utilise the brain, not just the eyes. It is intellectual, and not just mechanical

   

   

   Roshan Rao @thefieldofgreen

   Playing in the centre requires lot of positional awareness which is achieved by constant quality scanning. Notice the timing, speed and coordination of @Miralem_Pjanic's scans playing as a 'comodine' or joker in a positional game, and how it influences his decision making: https://t.co/HA1RmcKYxl https://t.co/bjEltzzwNL

8. If you like tactical insight articles then this is on for you. David Selini goes through a new trend of teams using two “number 10s” with examples and explanations as to why, and the advantages it brings to those teams.

   https://runningtheshowblog.wordpress.com/2021/05/22/tactics-number-ten-tactical-theory-analysis

9. The concept of third man run is nothing new but is the terminology we use easy for younger players to understand. Jonas Munkvold thinks not, so gives, in his opinion, a more player-friendly explanation. What do you think? How do you break down the use of third-man runs to your players?

   Jonas Munkvold @CoachMunkvold

   If we can't penetrate to the right player facing forwards, "build a bridge". A method for finding the 3rd man using concepts such as: - Play the way you face. - Move the ball to move the opposition. - Change tempo of attack varying amount of touches.

   

10. What’s your feedback to players like? Do you plan how you’ll get your coaching points across? Nick Levett here with some key themes when giving feedback to players.

    Nick Levett @nlevett

    Being precise in feedback to a player is crucial & this links to planning. Consider what you may need to talk about based on possible session outcomes. From watching coaches that don’t plan interactions, they waffle more, repeat 2 or 3 times as they try & clarify for themselves!

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Thanks again for joining me. If you know anyone who would enjoy the newsletter whether they be a coach, colleague, parent, or enthusiast use the share buttons below to pass it on. Have a great weekend and week.