This article was originally included in Blueprint for Football Extra. Get your copy now (for free)
If you ever find yourself watching a game involving Ajax and the camera pans to where their coaches are sitting, it is like catching the who’s – who of the club’s former greats. Ronald and Frank de Boer are there, as is Denis Bergkamp and Edwin Van der Saar. It is the same when it comes to their youth sides where the presence of former players is there throughout.
Barcelona are the same, particularly with the youth sides where the top jobs invariably go to former players. In Italy it is common practise too, as exemplified by AC Milan’s recent appointment of club legend Paolo Maldini as their technical director joining the likes of Franco Baresi, Filippo Inzaghi, Mauro Tassotti and Filippo Galli who have all remained within the club..
For sure, it is a much more dignified way of former greats earning a living than having them host corporate functions on matchdays which is what very often happens in England.
Yet such appointments a rarely charitable ones and it is a practise that has its reasons, the main one being ideological. When you’re a club like Ajax, that has a very particular style of playing then it pays you to employ people who have playing in that manner and who have done so to great effect. These players know what it means to play for Ajax and know how to play like Ajax, so they’re the ideal people to ensure that the tradition gets passed on.
That these coaches can command instant respect is an added bonus. No one would dare question a decision made by Bergkamp for the simple reason that this is Denis Bergkamp, one of the most accomplished players of his generation. You would imagine that what he says should be accepted without too many complaints (although every coach, regardless of how illustrious his career, should take time to explain the motivations behind everything that he does).
Yet, just as it has its benefits, it also has his pitfalls. It is important to preserve a club’s playing ethos but football changes and if you do not change with it then you get left behind. Employing people who have experienced the system does not mean that they are the best individuals to ensure that the blueprint gets updated to incorporate any recent changes or incorporate some variation in popular tactics.
In fact, it could be that these appointments actually hinder those who have the right ideas. Knowing that the best jobs will always be taken by someone else – someone who probably has done little to really deserve such a role.
Perhaps that is why it works so well at Ajax. Historically, Ajax have seen their biggest assets move elsewhere meaning that most of their players eventually experience different leagues and countries. Often, this opens up their way of thinking and they’ll incorporate these new ideas, constantly changing and adapting the blueprint.
The overall philosophy remains the same but it is continuously freshened up to ensure that it remains a point of strength, rather than being allowed to devolve into a major weakness.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Monday, December 9, 2013
No Benefit Early Focus on Physical Side of Players
He might not have joined the club in the easiest of periods but most Liverpool fans will have fond memories of Darren Burgess, the man who served as Head of Fitness and Conditioning between 2010 and 2012. He had previously gone to the World Cup with Australia as their Head of Sports Science of the Football Federation of Australia and fitness coach of the national team, and during his time on Merseyside he further enhanced the fine reputation he built there.
Darren is currently working in the Australian Rules football as High Performance Manager at Port Adelaide Football but, despite the busy schedule, he kindly agreed to answer a few questions about the physical aspect of the development of players.
At what age should coaches start focusing on the physical side of their players?
I think this needs to begin during the maturation process. Prior to this it should be co-ordination and skill development.
Are there any dangers of starting too early? Or any benefits?
There is great research that suggests that starting prior to this can impede the natural maturation process, cause decreased participation rates and offer no physical benefit to the young athletes.
Based on these three points there’s probably not a lot of benefit in starting prior to maturation.
What should coaches be on the lookout for? For instance, are there signs that might indicate that a player needs to alter something that he is doing in order to avoid injury? Or when a player has a growth spurt?
Certainly, coaches should be aware of when a child is growing through a growth spurt as this can cause increases or decreases in co-ordination and growth related injuries such as shin splints and heel pains.
Generally, young players who are experiencing pain should avoid training and return once advised by an appropriate medical professional and certainly not train or play through any pain.
To what extent can anyone predict how much a player will grow?
I’m not too sure you can. The parental height will give some indication but unless you have a wrist MRI scan handy it is pretty hard to predict!
Finally, a question that is a bit more personal: professionally, how important (and why) was it for you to work in different sports and countries?
I think it provides a greater awareness of alternative, holistic training and treatment methods. Too often people can think that one culture, sport or method is the only way to train players. However, if you are exposed to many different methodologies and training practices it allows you to learn from each one.
Darren is currently working in the Australian Rules football as High Performance Manager at Port Adelaide Football but, despite the busy schedule, he kindly agreed to answer a few questions about the physical aspect of the development of players.
At what age should coaches start focusing on the physical side of their players?
I think this needs to begin during the maturation process. Prior to this it should be co-ordination and skill development.
Are there any dangers of starting too early? Or any benefits?
There is great research that suggests that starting prior to this can impede the natural maturation process, cause decreased participation rates and offer no physical benefit to the young athletes.
Based on these three points there’s probably not a lot of benefit in starting prior to maturation.
What should coaches be on the lookout for? For instance, are there signs that might indicate that a player needs to alter something that he is doing in order to avoid injury? Or when a player has a growth spurt?
Certainly, coaches should be aware of when a child is growing through a growth spurt as this can cause increases or decreases in co-ordination and growth related injuries such as shin splints and heel pains.
Generally, young players who are experiencing pain should avoid training and return once advised by an appropriate medical professional and certainly not train or play through any pain.
To what extent can anyone predict how much a player will grow?
I’m not too sure you can. The parental height will give some indication but unless you have a wrist MRI scan handy it is pretty hard to predict!
Finally, a question that is a bit more personal: professionally, how important (and why) was it for you to work in different sports and countries?
I think it provides a greater awareness of alternative, holistic training and treatment methods. Too often people can think that one culture, sport or method is the only way to train players. However, if you are exposed to many different methodologies and training practices it allows you to learn from each one.
Friday, December 6, 2013
The Blueprint According To... Volume 1
If you’re a football coach, an aspiring one or merely retain an interest in coaching there has never been as good a time as this.
Extensive television coverage of the game means that you can study, and be inspired, by what is happening all over the world. There are innumerable blogs and sites that talk about the various aspects of coaching. On social media you will find people sharing the methods used by the finest teams in the world. And it is easier than ever to find books that detail every aspect of coaching.
For all the information that is out there, however, there’s nothing like a chat with another coach to really appreciate what he’s doing and what can be done differently. There is nothing like hearing someone else’s experiences to compare with your own; analysing what you can learn off them.
It was that belief that inspired me to start the “Blueprint According To…” series of interviews where each month I spoke to coaches about their beginnings, experiences and how their ideas had been shaped, thus getting to the blueprint that was at the basis of their work. The ultimate aim was to display as many different ideas as possible.
The first six interviews of the series achieved that more than I expected. They put forward the ideas of coaches from five countries; people who have worked at different levels and have accumulated varying experiences. They spoke, among others, of the benefit of futsal, how to get the respect of players and the importance of having a philosophy that forms how you work.
Now these first six interviews of the series have been brought together in an e-book that also contains original cover artwork by the extremely talented Dave Williams and a special foreword by former Scotland U21 midfielder Craig Easton, these days a budding coach himself.
This e-book is available as PDF, e-Pub and Mobi here for just €0.99. Alternatively, you can get it from Amazon (UK version here).
Extensive television coverage of the game means that you can study, and be inspired, by what is happening all over the world. There are innumerable blogs and sites that talk about the various aspects of coaching. On social media you will find people sharing the methods used by the finest teams in the world. And it is easier than ever to find books that detail every aspect of coaching.
For all the information that is out there, however, there’s nothing like a chat with another coach to really appreciate what he’s doing and what can be done differently. There is nothing like hearing someone else’s experiences to compare with your own; analysing what you can learn off them.
It was that belief that inspired me to start the “Blueprint According To…” series of interviews where each month I spoke to coaches about their beginnings, experiences and how their ideas had been shaped, thus getting to the blueprint that was at the basis of their work. The ultimate aim was to display as many different ideas as possible.
The first six interviews of the series achieved that more than I expected. They put forward the ideas of coaches from five countries; people who have worked at different levels and have accumulated varying experiences. They spoke, among others, of the benefit of futsal, how to get the respect of players and the importance of having a philosophy that forms how you work.
Now these first six interviews of the series have been brought together in an e-book that also contains original cover artwork by the extremely talented Dave Williams and a special foreword by former Scotland U21 midfielder Craig Easton, these days a budding coach himself.
This e-book is available as PDF, e-Pub and Mobi here for just €0.99. Alternatively, you can get it from Amazon (UK version here).
Thursday, December 5, 2013
The Blueprint According To...Guido Seerden
This article forms part of the monthly Blueprint According To... series. Join here to make sure that you never miss an issue.
When you’re writing something where the aim is that of sharing coaches views – as with the Blueprint According To… series – then the trickiest part is ensuring that there is a variety in the views you present. And the best way to do that is by talking to people who have worked in as diverse conditions as possible.
Guido Seerden certainly fits that bill. A Dutchman who got his coaching badges at his local FA, he’s gone on to work in different countries most notably Saudi Arabia. It is this range of experience – as well as the enthusiasm for his job that shines through in his replies – that makes him the perfect person to share his blueprint.
Blueprint for Football: What attracted you to coaching?
Guido Seerden: It all started when, aged 5, I wanted to play football for a club because I was absolutely addicted to the game. It was a small club and the youth teams were playing in the lower leagues. Therefore, I did not have access to many quality coaches. I can remember that when I was playing for the U13s, I was also doing football camps in the summer to enhance my skills. I wrote almost all the exercises down in a notebook and gave those notes to my U13s coach so that he could use them during the season. It's a shame that I forgot to ask for that notebook back when the season finished but, anyway, I tried to help my coach to put down better sessions.
A few years later, I was playing for the U19s when I was 14 because our U17 team fell apart but we had to merge with another club after that season. The youth teams at the other club were playing at a higher level than I was used to so I was really looking forward for our clubs to merge (the other club was the one that I wanted to play for when I was 5 because my best football mate was playing there but my dad did not let me as that was his rival club, he wanted me to play for the club he used to play for) because playing at a higher level would mean that I could develop myself as a player but, also, I would have access to more quality coaching.
At least that was what I was hoping for. So I started playing in an U17 team again with a better standard of players than I was used to but the coaching had let me down. For example, our coach put down a small sided game and he went home to put his kids to bed and returned when we were almost finished.
Being a captain for a very long time at my former club, I was new that year so therefore not a captain during that season. I got frustrated more and more because I could see that this was not the way to improve the team and my own skills. We got relegated as a result of that and our coach quit, thankfully! So we got a new coach during my second year at the U17s and this coach triggered me to start coaching myself. He never used the exact same exercise twice, all season long! Unbelievable!
I have always been coaching on the pitch, as a captain, to help my teammates and I loved it. So during that season, when I was 16, I started coaching because I wanted to give players the education I have never had.
Another thing that influenced my decision to become a coach was the fact that I tore my ACL when I was 17. It took almost a year for the 'specialists' to find out that it really was my ACL that was causing the problems; I twisted my knee three times during that season. To cut a long story short, 6 years of recovery and after having 4 surgeries in that time, I did not enjoy playing anymore so I quit at the age of 23. Therefore, I focused on the coaching side as I did enjoy that, even when I was injured, and I knew that I would reach a higher level as a coach than as a football player.
BfF: Have you had any mentors in your career?
GS: Yes, I have had a few but not many. It all depends what your definition of a 'mentor' really is. Is it someone that takes you by the hand and guides your through it? Or is it someone you've learned a lot from by watching him coach?
I've only had the latter to be honest. The first one was the U17s coach I have been talking about before; Andries Bemelmans, the one that never used the same exercise twice. It is not that he was a true mentor for me, as we were not coaching a team together, but I looked at the way he coached and the way how he put that many details in one exercise. So I started using some of his exercises (other people might use the word 'drill' but I am just not a fan of that word) and amending those exercises a bit because I was coaching teams at another level. I was happy that I could play for that coach again at reserve team level, after having a dramatic season at the U19s. He still is by far the best coach I have ever had.
The second one is Igor Hameleers. I have met Igor at one of my internships during my first year of my Bachelor study in Sports and Movement. It was during a football camp and apparently I was doing something right because a few weeks later, Igor asked me to join his football school and become one of the coaches. That is how I got involved with Coerver Coaching Belgium and this has now evolved to the Total Soccer Method.
I have been working with Igor for quite some time now. He has taught me more about how to set up sessions with a focus on the technical aspect and how to approach players of different age categories.
I am currently working alongside other Dutch and Belgium coaches and I am surrounded by some knowledgeable people. So it's up to me to make the most of it and to learn as much as possible.
BfF: What is your coaching philosophy?
GS: Do you have a spare few hours? Or maybe days? I will try to keep to it short! For me, it's all about the learning process and if you get that right, results will follow later on. Therefore, focus has to be on individual player development first before focusing on the team.
On senior level, I would work on team development first and then try to work on the individuals on alongside the team periodization.
I am also a strong believer of training as specific as possible and thereby making almost every exercise match specific. I do not really believe in completely unopposed exercises, as that is not game realistic to me. Players will have to execute tactical and technical skills whilst anticipating on the opposition's movement. Therefore the decision making process has to be completed with some kind of opposition. This does not mean that every exercise is executed with 100% opposition, not at all.
I try to set up conditions in which there is decision making based upon an opponent and whereby the goal of the exercise is still fulfilled. For example, if I want the players to get better at passing, I choose a 3 v 1 instead of an unopposed passing 'drill' thereby making it easier for the attacking team as they have an overload of players compared to the defending team. If that goes well, I progress to a 3 v 2, 3 v 3 and I try to play with the rules of the game to challenge the attacking team or to make it easier for them (if needed).
For example, starting with a GK+3 v GK+2 and the last defender is only allowed to enter the pitch when the striker touches the ball. So the other two players are less pressured when they play out from the back.
Even though I am a strong believer of match-like activities, I am not saying that I would not do an unopposed (passing) exercises at all. It's all depending on the age group. For example, if I would be coaching a first team and I would like to work on some patterns of play the day before the game, which means that I got to keep the intensity low in this kind of exercises because the high intensity will be done during the warm up (short, sharp sprints, with a lot of rest) and the small-sided game (short and sharp) on that day. In this case, I would go for an unopposed passing exercise.
So I do have some exceptions to the rule but if I have the opportunity to play with opposition, I will rather do that than letting players dribbling across mannequins. In conclusion, unopposed exercises only improve the technical skills whilst opposed exercises improve the technical skills AND the cognitive, anticipation and decision making skills which are important in a game like football.
Also, I like the guided discovery approach instead of the prescriptive type of coaching. This means that I set up practices in which the players will have to discover how to the deal with the given tasks. For example, if I want the players to get better at changing direction with the ball, I let them start on one side and tell them that they can earn two points by changing direction and score on that same side. I do not tell them how to change direction, they got to figure that out themselves. I might give some examples how to change direction on request but it is up to them which moves to use and I challenge them to use as many moves as they can.
A question that you have to ask yourself in this case is: "How did Johan invented the Cruyff turn? Did he invent it by playing games? Or did someone teach him how to do 'his' turn in an unopposed manner?"
I also challenge the players by asking open-ended divergent questions and let them come up with something new. So instead of telling players what to do, I guide them through it.
BfF: What is the most important attribute of the players in your team?
GS: That would be a high level of responsibility and ownership. The players take matter into their own hands and are the leader of their learning process. How? At first, by letting the players come up with the team rules for the season. For example, let the players come up with a rule of how to deal with players that are late for a session. Why do I use this approach? So that the players will be responsible for each other's behavior and if someone does not act according to their code of conduct, the players will correct each other based on their agreements.
So then you'll have about 16 people correcting each other instead of two coaches running around like sheep shepherds. Secondly, I set up meetings with the players to discuss their personal development plan. I ask the players to evaluate their performance and come up with two or three things that they want to enhance during the upcoming period.
I evaluate the players as well and see whether the things that they want to improve on, correlate with the things of which I think they'll have to improve. This will correlate most of the time but some players need to have some eye opening feedback from coaches or from a video before they realize where they have to improve. So by the time the meeting is finished, the players have set clear goals and have set up a plan how to work towards their goals.
Other people might answer this question with 'technically skilled players', 'tactical intelligent', 'mentally though' or 'physically strong', for example, but those attributes are environment dependent and ever evolving. Those factors depend on the age group that you are working with and the culture of the club, county, country and maybe even the continent you're working in. I am not saying that I do not care about these factors but these attributes will improve as a result of a high level of responsibility and ownership.
BfF: Different players and those of different ages develop differently. How should a coach handle this? And how does a coach stimulate the learning process?
GS: The key is to differentiate; making sure that every player is working on his own level.
Firstly, you've got to know the age specific characteristics before you start working with a specific age group. Secondly, the tactical and technical level of the player is always leading the process but biological age has to be measured as well. The biological age is a key factor in a player's physical and mental development and this has to be taken into account whilst developing the team and individual periodization.
A coach can stimulate this learning process by taking these factors into account and develop a team and individual periodization based upon this. The key facilitator for the learning process is responsibility for the players, like I have said before. The players will have to take matter into their own hands and be and feel responsible for their own learning process. A coach is just like a captain on a ship, he may decide whether to go left or right (to focus on the age specific characteristics) but it's the players that really make the ship tilt.
BfF: You have a Masters in Human and Movement Sciences. Why was it important to get this degree? And has it helped in your coaching?
GS: At the time that I was trying to recover from my ACL reconstruction, I was training 5-6 days a week with a personal trainer. She had a degree in Human and Movement Sciences as well and I trained with her for almost a half a year but it didn't help due to bone issues in my ankle (which we didn't know at that time). That's how I got interested in Human and Movement Sciences as I wanted to know more about the human body to make sure my players did not get injured like I did.
I was training 4 days a week and playing almost three games at the weekend: an U19s game and Futsal on Saturday and then a game with the Reserves on Sunday morning which I could not take any longer than 70 minutes due to the physical activity on the day before.
If I look back now, I think: 'How stupid was that?!' but I could not help myself from playing that much because I was only 17 and totally addicted to the game.
My parents sometimes asked me: 'Aren't you playing too much?' but, as every kid of that age would say, I said: 'No of course not.'. Kids at that age do not like to listen to their parents; true rebels. I know where it went wrong though, except the fact that I did know **** about recovery and I was also delivering the newspaper six days in the week at 6 in the morning because I did not have the time to work after school due to football commitments, there was no coach at my club who had warned me that I was playing too much. Oh wait… right, someone did tell me… after I tore my ACL!
Talking about proactive vs reactive coaching, you got an example of reactive coaching behavior right there. So there was no one who protected me from getting hurt because I was in no way going to play less, unless my coach told me to. So I wanted to know more about the physical and mental side of the game as I was already working on the technical and tactical side, as a coach. I needed to have more in-depth knowledge about the human body in relation to physical activity. Hence, this degree has helped me a lot in my coaching especially as I spent a whole season in Liverpool, working on my research internship at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU). LJMU has a bachelor study in Science and Football and that was the reason I wanted to go there.
During the last season, I was working as a fitness coach at Tranmere Rovers FC First Team, for a half a year whilst working on my research about 'the role of feedback within the use of key practice activities in English professional youth football'. So that was the ideal combination of practice and theory. So I have learned a lot about the theory and application of the key performance indicators in football: Technical, Tactical, Physical and Mental. I needed to know about these indicators to understand the game of football and to become a good coach.
For me, this degree was the quickest way into professional football as I knew that it might have been a long, long road if I had to rely on my coaching career solely (as I am not a former pro footballer) but now I am able to put science into practice and vice versa.
BfF: You're currently in Saudi Arabia. What exactly is your role?
GS: I am the head coach of the U9s and U10s but I am also assisting the sessions of the U11-U14 whenever needed. The U9 and U10 are the youngest age groups starting at the academy and I got to make sure that we select quick learners with a basic (or more than basic) level of football skills. On the other hand, the best football players at a young age are not always the best football players at an older age. Therefore, it is important that we select players that learn quickly as that seems to be an indicator of talent.
BfF: What are the main differences - if any - between European kids and those you're currently coaching?
GS: At first I would say that the level of physical development is maybe less than in Europe. This is due to the fact that the kids do not have physical education in the schools and I think that they play less on the streets due to the hot environment (it's still 33 degrees in November). You might say that this is an ideal temperature to play outside but I do not think that this is actually happening. That's why we are training 4-5 times a week but we're not only putting focus on the football skills but also implementing multi-skill sessions, in which we try to enhance the players' overall movement and try to prevent early specialization.
Secondly, the players are more emotionally involved in the game. I can remember times when I was coaching in the Netherlands that I really had to encourage some players to win the ball back and 'fight' for it, but over here, I really need to slow the players down in order to not make a foul. That's one of the reasons why I introduced tennis balls within my sessions. Before a 1 v 1 starts, the defender has to pick up two tennis balls and carry them whilst defending so he is not able to pull the attacker's t-shirt. The players love it and this gives me the opportunity to focus on the players' agility as well.
In third place, I would say that we are two years behind of Europe in terms of football development. As I said before, the players will enter the academy at an age of 8 whilst the most clubs in Europe are starting at an age of 6. Therefore, I am still working on the fundamentals at the moment but hoping to progress with the U10s to 'small sided teamwork' in the second half of the season but it will depend on the players' progression.
I think I will have to split that group up in terms of learning process because I have a group of early/normal mature players and a group of late mature players. The latter group is mainly born in the last part of the year and therefore a little bit behind the early/normal mature group in terms of physical and mental development. Therefore I got to make a within group differentiation, in order to make sure that the players are working on their individual goals.
On another note, amateur clubs are less organized than in European countries. So that's also a reason why the kids that enter the academy do not always have a high level of basic skills compared to an European kid at an age of 8.
At fourth, the players have a different eating pattern than the kinds in the EU. Over here, they get up at 6 in the morning , pray, go to school till one or two in the afternoon. Maybe eat and then come to the academy at three. They will train from four till half past six and then they will have food at the club's restaurant but I have noticed that the kids do not like veggies and we really need to teach them how to eat properly. I have had a few U10s starting a session without having any lunch. Thankfully we have got a doctor who is checking upon the players' eating habits every time they eat at the club. So it is improving but there is still a long way to go.
And finally, sometimes I have to put more effort into the players' understanding of the exercise to make sure that they know where to go to after they finish at one station but that may be a result of the language barrier. I cannot really have a dialogue with the players because either I do not speak their language well enough or they do not speak English well enough but you learn quickly whilst coaching the younger ones as they sometimes forget that you do not speak their language and then they still try to tell you a story. So I am learning fast.
BfF: What do you want to achieve in order to be satisfied with your coaching career?
GS: I will be satisfied with my coaching career if the players that I used to coach will say that they have become a better player because they have learned a lot from me. Of course, you cannot please everybody but I hope that the majority of the players will remember me because I have stimulated their development and performance.
I haven't figured out what my next step will be and I have learned that it's hard to really plan a next step, sometimes it just happens. Anyway, it's all about player development at a youth team level, women's football has a strong social characteristic and men's senior football is more about man management. I am not quite sure where I want to end up (yet) as every category has its charm and I enjoy working with every one of them but hopefully it will result in a job as a men's First team (head) coach with a solid background in Sport Science.
When you’re writing something where the aim is that of sharing coaches views – as with the Blueprint According To… series – then the trickiest part is ensuring that there is a variety in the views you present. And the best way to do that is by talking to people who have worked in as diverse conditions as possible.
Guido Seerden certainly fits that bill. A Dutchman who got his coaching badges at his local FA, he’s gone on to work in different countries most notably Saudi Arabia. It is this range of experience – as well as the enthusiasm for his job that shines through in his replies – that makes him the perfect person to share his blueprint.
Blueprint for Football: What attracted you to coaching?
Guido Seerden: It all started when, aged 5, I wanted to play football for a club because I was absolutely addicted to the game. It was a small club and the youth teams were playing in the lower leagues. Therefore, I did not have access to many quality coaches. I can remember that when I was playing for the U13s, I was also doing football camps in the summer to enhance my skills. I wrote almost all the exercises down in a notebook and gave those notes to my U13s coach so that he could use them during the season. It's a shame that I forgot to ask for that notebook back when the season finished but, anyway, I tried to help my coach to put down better sessions.
A few years later, I was playing for the U19s when I was 14 because our U17 team fell apart but we had to merge with another club after that season. The youth teams at the other club were playing at a higher level than I was used to so I was really looking forward for our clubs to merge (the other club was the one that I wanted to play for when I was 5 because my best football mate was playing there but my dad did not let me as that was his rival club, he wanted me to play for the club he used to play for) because playing at a higher level would mean that I could develop myself as a player but, also, I would have access to more quality coaching.
At least that was what I was hoping for. So I started playing in an U17 team again with a better standard of players than I was used to but the coaching had let me down. For example, our coach put down a small sided game and he went home to put his kids to bed and returned when we were almost finished.
Being a captain for a very long time at my former club, I was new that year so therefore not a captain during that season. I got frustrated more and more because I could see that this was not the way to improve the team and my own skills. We got relegated as a result of that and our coach quit, thankfully! So we got a new coach during my second year at the U17s and this coach triggered me to start coaching myself. He never used the exact same exercise twice, all season long! Unbelievable!
I have always been coaching on the pitch, as a captain, to help my teammates and I loved it. So during that season, when I was 16, I started coaching because I wanted to give players the education I have never had.
Another thing that influenced my decision to become a coach was the fact that I tore my ACL when I was 17. It took almost a year for the 'specialists' to find out that it really was my ACL that was causing the problems; I twisted my knee three times during that season. To cut a long story short, 6 years of recovery and after having 4 surgeries in that time, I did not enjoy playing anymore so I quit at the age of 23. Therefore, I focused on the coaching side as I did enjoy that, even when I was injured, and I knew that I would reach a higher level as a coach than as a football player.
BfF: Have you had any mentors in your career?
GS: Yes, I have had a few but not many. It all depends what your definition of a 'mentor' really is. Is it someone that takes you by the hand and guides your through it? Or is it someone you've learned a lot from by watching him coach?
I've only had the latter to be honest. The first one was the U17s coach I have been talking about before; Andries Bemelmans, the one that never used the same exercise twice. It is not that he was a true mentor for me, as we were not coaching a team together, but I looked at the way he coached and the way how he put that many details in one exercise. So I started using some of his exercises (other people might use the word 'drill' but I am just not a fan of that word) and amending those exercises a bit because I was coaching teams at another level. I was happy that I could play for that coach again at reserve team level, after having a dramatic season at the U19s. He still is by far the best coach I have ever had.
The second one is Igor Hameleers. I have met Igor at one of my internships during my first year of my Bachelor study in Sports and Movement. It was during a football camp and apparently I was doing something right because a few weeks later, Igor asked me to join his football school and become one of the coaches. That is how I got involved with Coerver Coaching Belgium and this has now evolved to the Total Soccer Method.
I have been working with Igor for quite some time now. He has taught me more about how to set up sessions with a focus on the technical aspect and how to approach players of different age categories.
I am currently working alongside other Dutch and Belgium coaches and I am surrounded by some knowledgeable people. So it's up to me to make the most of it and to learn as much as possible.
BfF: What is your coaching philosophy?
GS: Do you have a spare few hours? Or maybe days? I will try to keep to it short! For me, it's all about the learning process and if you get that right, results will follow later on. Therefore, focus has to be on individual player development first before focusing on the team.
On senior level, I would work on team development first and then try to work on the individuals on alongside the team periodization.
I am also a strong believer of training as specific as possible and thereby making almost every exercise match specific. I do not really believe in completely unopposed exercises, as that is not game realistic to me. Players will have to execute tactical and technical skills whilst anticipating on the opposition's movement. Therefore the decision making process has to be completed with some kind of opposition. This does not mean that every exercise is executed with 100% opposition, not at all.
I try to set up conditions in which there is decision making based upon an opponent and whereby the goal of the exercise is still fulfilled. For example, if I want the players to get better at passing, I choose a 3 v 1 instead of an unopposed passing 'drill' thereby making it easier for the attacking team as they have an overload of players compared to the defending team. If that goes well, I progress to a 3 v 2, 3 v 3 and I try to play with the rules of the game to challenge the attacking team or to make it easier for them (if needed).
For example, starting with a GK+3 v GK+2 and the last defender is only allowed to enter the pitch when the striker touches the ball. So the other two players are less pressured when they play out from the back.
Even though I am a strong believer of match-like activities, I am not saying that I would not do an unopposed (passing) exercises at all. It's all depending on the age group. For example, if I would be coaching a first team and I would like to work on some patterns of play the day before the game, which means that I got to keep the intensity low in this kind of exercises because the high intensity will be done during the warm up (short, sharp sprints, with a lot of rest) and the small-sided game (short and sharp) on that day. In this case, I would go for an unopposed passing exercise.
So I do have some exceptions to the rule but if I have the opportunity to play with opposition, I will rather do that than letting players dribbling across mannequins. In conclusion, unopposed exercises only improve the technical skills whilst opposed exercises improve the technical skills AND the cognitive, anticipation and decision making skills which are important in a game like football.
Also, I like the guided discovery approach instead of the prescriptive type of coaching. This means that I set up practices in which the players will have to discover how to the deal with the given tasks. For example, if I want the players to get better at changing direction with the ball, I let them start on one side and tell them that they can earn two points by changing direction and score on that same side. I do not tell them how to change direction, they got to figure that out themselves. I might give some examples how to change direction on request but it is up to them which moves to use and I challenge them to use as many moves as they can.
A question that you have to ask yourself in this case is: "How did Johan invented the Cruyff turn? Did he invent it by playing games? Or did someone teach him how to do 'his' turn in an unopposed manner?"
I also challenge the players by asking open-ended divergent questions and let them come up with something new. So instead of telling players what to do, I guide them through it.
BfF: What is the most important attribute of the players in your team?
GS: That would be a high level of responsibility and ownership. The players take matter into their own hands and are the leader of their learning process. How? At first, by letting the players come up with the team rules for the season. For example, let the players come up with a rule of how to deal with players that are late for a session. Why do I use this approach? So that the players will be responsible for each other's behavior and if someone does not act according to their code of conduct, the players will correct each other based on their agreements.
So then you'll have about 16 people correcting each other instead of two coaches running around like sheep shepherds. Secondly, I set up meetings with the players to discuss their personal development plan. I ask the players to evaluate their performance and come up with two or three things that they want to enhance during the upcoming period.
I evaluate the players as well and see whether the things that they want to improve on, correlate with the things of which I think they'll have to improve. This will correlate most of the time but some players need to have some eye opening feedback from coaches or from a video before they realize where they have to improve. So by the time the meeting is finished, the players have set clear goals and have set up a plan how to work towards their goals.
Other people might answer this question with 'technically skilled players', 'tactical intelligent', 'mentally though' or 'physically strong', for example, but those attributes are environment dependent and ever evolving. Those factors depend on the age group that you are working with and the culture of the club, county, country and maybe even the continent you're working in. I am not saying that I do not care about these factors but these attributes will improve as a result of a high level of responsibility and ownership.
BfF: Different players and those of different ages develop differently. How should a coach handle this? And how does a coach stimulate the learning process?
GS: The key is to differentiate; making sure that every player is working on his own level.
Firstly, you've got to know the age specific characteristics before you start working with a specific age group. Secondly, the tactical and technical level of the player is always leading the process but biological age has to be measured as well. The biological age is a key factor in a player's physical and mental development and this has to be taken into account whilst developing the team and individual periodization.
A coach can stimulate this learning process by taking these factors into account and develop a team and individual periodization based upon this. The key facilitator for the learning process is responsibility for the players, like I have said before. The players will have to take matter into their own hands and be and feel responsible for their own learning process. A coach is just like a captain on a ship, he may decide whether to go left or right (to focus on the age specific characteristics) but it's the players that really make the ship tilt.
BfF: You have a Masters in Human and Movement Sciences. Why was it important to get this degree? And has it helped in your coaching?
GS: At the time that I was trying to recover from my ACL reconstruction, I was training 5-6 days a week with a personal trainer. She had a degree in Human and Movement Sciences as well and I trained with her for almost a half a year but it didn't help due to bone issues in my ankle (which we didn't know at that time). That's how I got interested in Human and Movement Sciences as I wanted to know more about the human body to make sure my players did not get injured like I did.
I was training 4 days a week and playing almost three games at the weekend: an U19s game and Futsal on Saturday and then a game with the Reserves on Sunday morning which I could not take any longer than 70 minutes due to the physical activity on the day before.
If I look back now, I think: 'How stupid was that?!' but I could not help myself from playing that much because I was only 17 and totally addicted to the game.
My parents sometimes asked me: 'Aren't you playing too much?' but, as every kid of that age would say, I said: 'No of course not.'. Kids at that age do not like to listen to their parents; true rebels. I know where it went wrong though, except the fact that I did know **** about recovery and I was also delivering the newspaper six days in the week at 6 in the morning because I did not have the time to work after school due to football commitments, there was no coach at my club who had warned me that I was playing too much. Oh wait… right, someone did tell me… after I tore my ACL!
Talking about proactive vs reactive coaching, you got an example of reactive coaching behavior right there. So there was no one who protected me from getting hurt because I was in no way going to play less, unless my coach told me to. So I wanted to know more about the physical and mental side of the game as I was already working on the technical and tactical side, as a coach. I needed to have more in-depth knowledge about the human body in relation to physical activity. Hence, this degree has helped me a lot in my coaching especially as I spent a whole season in Liverpool, working on my research internship at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU). LJMU has a bachelor study in Science and Football and that was the reason I wanted to go there.
During the last season, I was working as a fitness coach at Tranmere Rovers FC First Team, for a half a year whilst working on my research about 'the role of feedback within the use of key practice activities in English professional youth football'. So that was the ideal combination of practice and theory. So I have learned a lot about the theory and application of the key performance indicators in football: Technical, Tactical, Physical and Mental. I needed to know about these indicators to understand the game of football and to become a good coach.
For me, this degree was the quickest way into professional football as I knew that it might have been a long, long road if I had to rely on my coaching career solely (as I am not a former pro footballer) but now I am able to put science into practice and vice versa.
BfF: You're currently in Saudi Arabia. What exactly is your role?
GS: I am the head coach of the U9s and U10s but I am also assisting the sessions of the U11-U14 whenever needed. The U9 and U10 are the youngest age groups starting at the academy and I got to make sure that we select quick learners with a basic (or more than basic) level of football skills. On the other hand, the best football players at a young age are not always the best football players at an older age. Therefore, it is important that we select players that learn quickly as that seems to be an indicator of talent.
BfF: What are the main differences - if any - between European kids and those you're currently coaching?
GS: At first I would say that the level of physical development is maybe less than in Europe. This is due to the fact that the kids do not have physical education in the schools and I think that they play less on the streets due to the hot environment (it's still 33 degrees in November). You might say that this is an ideal temperature to play outside but I do not think that this is actually happening. That's why we are training 4-5 times a week but we're not only putting focus on the football skills but also implementing multi-skill sessions, in which we try to enhance the players' overall movement and try to prevent early specialization.
Secondly, the players are more emotionally involved in the game. I can remember times when I was coaching in the Netherlands that I really had to encourage some players to win the ball back and 'fight' for it, but over here, I really need to slow the players down in order to not make a foul. That's one of the reasons why I introduced tennis balls within my sessions. Before a 1 v 1 starts, the defender has to pick up two tennis balls and carry them whilst defending so he is not able to pull the attacker's t-shirt. The players love it and this gives me the opportunity to focus on the players' agility as well.
In third place, I would say that we are two years behind of Europe in terms of football development. As I said before, the players will enter the academy at an age of 8 whilst the most clubs in Europe are starting at an age of 6. Therefore, I am still working on the fundamentals at the moment but hoping to progress with the U10s to 'small sided teamwork' in the second half of the season but it will depend on the players' progression.
I think I will have to split that group up in terms of learning process because I have a group of early/normal mature players and a group of late mature players. The latter group is mainly born in the last part of the year and therefore a little bit behind the early/normal mature group in terms of physical and mental development. Therefore I got to make a within group differentiation, in order to make sure that the players are working on their individual goals.
On another note, amateur clubs are less organized than in European countries. So that's also a reason why the kids that enter the academy do not always have a high level of basic skills compared to an European kid at an age of 8.
At fourth, the players have a different eating pattern than the kinds in the EU. Over here, they get up at 6 in the morning , pray, go to school till one or two in the afternoon. Maybe eat and then come to the academy at three. They will train from four till half past six and then they will have food at the club's restaurant but I have noticed that the kids do not like veggies and we really need to teach them how to eat properly. I have had a few U10s starting a session without having any lunch. Thankfully we have got a doctor who is checking upon the players' eating habits every time they eat at the club. So it is improving but there is still a long way to go.
And finally, sometimes I have to put more effort into the players' understanding of the exercise to make sure that they know where to go to after they finish at one station but that may be a result of the language barrier. I cannot really have a dialogue with the players because either I do not speak their language well enough or they do not speak English well enough but you learn quickly whilst coaching the younger ones as they sometimes forget that you do not speak their language and then they still try to tell you a story. So I am learning fast.
BfF: What do you want to achieve in order to be satisfied with your coaching career?
GS: I will be satisfied with my coaching career if the players that I used to coach will say that they have become a better player because they have learned a lot from me. Of course, you cannot please everybody but I hope that the majority of the players will remember me because I have stimulated their development and performance.
I haven't figured out what my next step will be and I have learned that it's hard to really plan a next step, sometimes it just happens. Anyway, it's all about player development at a youth team level, women's football has a strong social characteristic and men's senior football is more about man management. I am not quite sure where I want to end up (yet) as every category has its charm and I enjoy working with every one of them but hopefully it will result in a job as a men's First team (head) coach with a solid background in Sport Science.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
A Different Kind of Success
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Fifteen years ago, one of the finest British players of his generation made his professional debut. The story goes that Gerard Houllier went to watch Liverpool’s U18 team played and promptly picked a scrawny teenager by the name of Steven Gerrard as someone he wanted to put into his first team.
Put that way, Gerrard’s selection might seem fortuitous but people within the game had long predicted that he was going to be quite a player.
“We’re all aware of how many games he [Gerrard] has taken by the scruff of the neck in his career. Well, he was doing that from an early age. Technically his ability was second to none but probably what separates players like him from the rest is that they've got the drive and inner determination to go on where they want to go.”
So says Mike Yates who knows something about Gerrard having grown up playing alongside him in Liverpool’s youth teams.
“When I was young, I’d always found goals easy to come by and there had never been a defender who could stop me from scoring. I hope that this doesn’t come across as arrogant but that was how it was for me.”
“I’d heard a few things about Gerrard and the first time I saw him I knew that he was a player by the way he struck the ball. When I played against him it was the first time that I’d found it hard. He nudged me, tugged at my shirt and did anything in order to get an advantage even though he was eight years old and add to that he could play!”
Like Gerrard, Yates had been spotted some time earlier by Liverpool’s network of local scouts. “I was spotted as an eight year old playing for Burscough Dynamo. It was Tommy Galvin, a local scout who had links with Liverpool, Everton, Blackburn and other clubs in the area who recommended me to Liverpool.”
“Hughie McAuley came to watch a game which we lost 8-1 but I scored the only goal and after the game he asked me whether I was interested in going for a trial at Liverpool. I immediately accepted, the trial went well and I joined Liverpool.”
His was a well-trodden path that mirrored those of Steve McManaman and Jamie Carragher who spurned their youthful allegiance to Liverpool’s neighbours. “Actually, my family were all Evertonians! In fact, my biggest worry was about how my big brother was going to accept the fact that I had joined Liverpool.”
“It was also difficult for me to find a football shirt to wear for the trial because all I had was Everton shirts! Eventually, I found a Real Madrid one which I wore.”
Those loyalties were quickly forgotten as Yates started progressing through the system, eventually coming within touching distance of the first team.
“My first year YTS happened to be after Euro ’96 and a lot of the players hadn't come back so there was an opportunity for us to train with first team. I did well and managed to get into the reserves, played a game for them and did well. In my own mind there was an opportunity to push on.”
“My parents always told me to be prepared if it didn't happened. Mum and dad always encouraged to look at other things.”
“That said, I always believed that I was going to make it. It is important that you get the balance, that you keep your feet on the ground, however you always believe that you’ll keep on progressing. When I was 16 we saw Jamie Carragher making it into the first team and it becomes more real for you.”
“Unfortunately I broke my arm and that was a real sliding doors moment. I don't think I ever recovered from that. The others pushed on during those two and a half months and I struggled to catch up, I made it to the reserves but I couldn’t make the next step.”
“There was a Youth Cup game and I was left out of that, which was strange for me. Then Steve Heighway told me that he wanted to come round to my house and immediately the alarm bells started ringing.”
“On the day I went to Melwood, cleaned the kit of the staff members and then went for training. Afterwards I rushed home to wait for Steve to come around. When he did, he told me that they felt that I wasn’t going to make it and they weren’t going to offer me a professional contract. I was in a daze to say the least. For ten years I had been working really hard and suddenly it was all gone. There had been plenty of sacrifices, not just by me but also family, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be.”
A key figure in Yates’ story at Liverpool is Steve Heighway. Sadly, there are those who belittle Heighway’s time at Liverpool’s academy, choosing to remember him instead for the battles that he had with Houllier first and Rafa Benitez later over the control of the academy. That, however, overlooks his work in overhauling the whole youth system putting in place the structures that helped produce a host of Liverpool’s finest players of the past two decades; the likes of Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen.
More than that, however, he was a man who managed to find a balance between the club’s best interest and that of the kids that had been put in his charge.
“In my opinion, Steve has done nothing but good for LFC and for a lot of players, not only players who have gone to play professionally but also those who didn’t will tell you that. There are a lot of players doing other jobs who still thank Steve for what he did. He gave them skills for what they did in life and not just for the football pitch.”
“As soon as I set foot I was immediately made to feel at home and there was a real family feeling. It didn't take me long to feel part of the group. The likes of Hughie McAuley, Dave Shannon, Frank Skelly and Heighway himself made sure that everything was fine and that there
weren’t any problems.
I was also lucky in that my parents instilled in me certain values such as the importance of looking the part and of time-keeping. Those were values that the people at the club also made sure you observed. And along the way I played alongside some really great players.”
He had also acquired other skills, as the club was very adamant on the importance of their youth charges doing so. They also insisted that they had to do their coaching courses and it was this that led to Yates being offered a new opportunity on the day that his dream of playing for Liverpool had been shattered.
“Steve told me ‘we've seen you coaching and we'd like you to stay on board as one of the first five academy coaches’. Rather than be a player Steve wanted to keep me within Liverpool FC. I was devastated not to be progressing as a player but it was a confidence boost. Part of the deal was that I could keep on playing non-league football and so I accepted. A lot of young players can say ‘thanks, for offer but I’m going to prove you wrong’, but I’m glad that I didn’t have that reaction.”
Although he admits that he was confident that he was going to make it, Mike was one of the lucky ones who had people telling him that there was the possibility that this would not be the
case. “I think that it is really important,” he says of this awareness. “There is a statistic that 98% of players after age of 25 won't be playing football. The dreams and rewards are huge, so you think that you’re going to have a great career.”
“However I do think that seeds need to be planted so that they are prepared. Is there another avenue you can move into? Today there are loads of other jobs in football: analysis, sports science, loads of ways to be involved in the game.”
It was this desire to pass on a message that not making it does not mean the end of the world that led him to write his story in the form of a book; “Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen…and Me”.
“Original idea was to give something back for my mum and dad as they’ve made so many sacrifices for me. Dad had kept loads of scrapbooks and I wanted to give him something back.”
“Also with me being a coach I was becoming aware of players who were staying and those who were leaving. Eventually you come across players who completely disappeared. You have chat about somebody and nobody knows if they're still in the game or what happened to them.”
“I wanted to highlight just how hard it is but also highlight that because you could not make you can't have a happy life or be successful. The ‘me’ in the title refers to me but it can be any of the many, many players who can't succeed. If parents can read it, if it helps one youth player or a parent then the job's done.”
“That’s the purpose of me writing the book; I wanted to send a message to those who are in the academy system. I've got a great family, I’m married, have an amazing wife and I am enchanted by our beautiful daughter. My point is that not making it as a professional is not the end of the world. There are many people who would love to be in the position I am in.”
“The book was ghosted by Keith Miller. I was on holiday on Barbados and he heard that I was on the island. We met, had a few drinks and told him that it was my ambition to write a book. He told me, ‘you see those books on the table? Well, I wrote them. I'd love to help you do it’. At first it started as a labour of love. Our first port of call was the PFA and we spoke to Gordon Taylor who thought that it was essential to get a book like that out there. He actually ended up endorsing the book. When I spoke to all the other players they were pleased and flattered. The PFA have been very, very supportive and hopefully it will help some young players and their parents.”
“One thing else the book does, I think, is that it raises some questions for the young players. If you think you're doing enough, it makes you ask ‘am I?’ There are many interviews and comments which provide food for thought.”
His experiences have given him a unique perspective on the continuous debate about the state of grassroots football in England.
“From a Liverpool perspective, I think that our programme is doing a really good job.
As for grassroots football, facilities is a big one for me. We've got academies, and that is great, but lower down I don't think that there is enough where young players can go to play football. I’m not simply thinking of purpose built areas but the possibility of getting on your bike to go to a park and play. That is what I did as a kid and we could develop outside of a structured environment. By where I live but there is a grass area where a lot of kids meet to play. However, they’re now going build houses on it.”
He also has a clear idea of what it takes to make it to the very top, and it is not always skill, citing Jamie Carragher as an example. “Some have to work hard but he's had to go the extra yard to get there. It is one thing knowing where you want to go and another to do what is needed to get there. When he got a professional contract he wasn’t celebrating but thinking ‘well I've got this but now I need to get to the first team’.”
As for Mike, himself, he did eventually get to play professionally.
“I was playing for Burscough and with me coming out of Liverpool there was a lot of local media attention. I did really well, breaking a record in scoring 12 goals in 10 games. Manchester City and Oldham came to have a look but Dundee wanted me to go for a trail. Steve was very good about it and told me to go for the trial. I did well there and Jocky Scott eventually said ‘we'd like to sign you’.”
“It was a tough decision but ultimately my dad told me ‘well, what have you always wanted to do?’ The answer was to play professionally so I answered my own question. Again, Steve was great and told me that if things didn't work out the door was always open for me.”
“My time in Scotland was great. I played in the Scottish Premier League and scored there, which had been my dream. I ended up with the surreal experience of playing with Claudio Caniggia who joined when Ivano Bonetti was manager. Unfortunately, he brought in a lot of foreign players and a lot of British players got forced out. I was told to find a new club so travelled back home after trialling at Stockport and Hartlepool.”
“Eventually I spoke with Steve (Heighway) and he gave me a job at the academy. It was brilliant to get back and be involved.”
Today, Mike has moved on from coaching at Liverpool’s academy since then and today he is their International Academy Programme Manager. “When we see coaches or players act in certain way it is instantly recognizable, a philosophy we call ‘The Liverpool Way’ the football club will always be here and people will transfer through the club, but that has to be a defining thing. Liverpool Football Club consider all players a success, whether they make it to the top professional league, play in the lower leagues, become a football coach or whatever they decide to do. In my opinion the development of footballers is important but the development of people is paramount.”
“I believe I owe this club a lot. I'm happy that I took the opportunity to stay in the game. Just because you don't reach the top doesn’t mean that you can't have a happy life.”
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Fifteen years ago, one of the finest British players of his generation made his professional debut. The story goes that Gerard Houllier went to watch Liverpool’s U18 team played and promptly picked a scrawny teenager by the name of Steven Gerrard as someone he wanted to put into his first team.
Put that way, Gerrard’s selection might seem fortuitous but people within the game had long predicted that he was going to be quite a player.
“We’re all aware of how many games he [Gerrard] has taken by the scruff of the neck in his career. Well, he was doing that from an early age. Technically his ability was second to none but probably what separates players like him from the rest is that they've got the drive and inner determination to go on where they want to go.”
So says Mike Yates who knows something about Gerrard having grown up playing alongside him in Liverpool’s youth teams.
“When I was young, I’d always found goals easy to come by and there had never been a defender who could stop me from scoring. I hope that this doesn’t come across as arrogant but that was how it was for me.”
“I’d heard a few things about Gerrard and the first time I saw him I knew that he was a player by the way he struck the ball. When I played against him it was the first time that I’d found it hard. He nudged me, tugged at my shirt and did anything in order to get an advantage even though he was eight years old and add to that he could play!”
Like Gerrard, Yates had been spotted some time earlier by Liverpool’s network of local scouts. “I was spotted as an eight year old playing for Burscough Dynamo. It was Tommy Galvin, a local scout who had links with Liverpool, Everton, Blackburn and other clubs in the area who recommended me to Liverpool.”
“Hughie McAuley came to watch a game which we lost 8-1 but I scored the only goal and after the game he asked me whether I was interested in going for a trial at Liverpool. I immediately accepted, the trial went well and I joined Liverpool.”
His was a well-trodden path that mirrored those of Steve McManaman and Jamie Carragher who spurned their youthful allegiance to Liverpool’s neighbours. “Actually, my family were all Evertonians! In fact, my biggest worry was about how my big brother was going to accept the fact that I had joined Liverpool.”
“It was also difficult for me to find a football shirt to wear for the trial because all I had was Everton shirts! Eventually, I found a Real Madrid one which I wore.”
Those loyalties were quickly forgotten as Yates started progressing through the system, eventually coming within touching distance of the first team.
“My first year YTS happened to be after Euro ’96 and a lot of the players hadn't come back so there was an opportunity for us to train with first team. I did well and managed to get into the reserves, played a game for them and did well. In my own mind there was an opportunity to push on.”“My parents always told me to be prepared if it didn't happened. Mum and dad always encouraged to look at other things.”
“That said, I always believed that I was going to make it. It is important that you get the balance, that you keep your feet on the ground, however you always believe that you’ll keep on progressing. When I was 16 we saw Jamie Carragher making it into the first team and it becomes more real for you.”
“Unfortunately I broke my arm and that was a real sliding doors moment. I don't think I ever recovered from that. The others pushed on during those two and a half months and I struggled to catch up, I made it to the reserves but I couldn’t make the next step.”
“There was a Youth Cup game and I was left out of that, which was strange for me. Then Steve Heighway told me that he wanted to come round to my house and immediately the alarm bells started ringing.”
“On the day I went to Melwood, cleaned the kit of the staff members and then went for training. Afterwards I rushed home to wait for Steve to come around. When he did, he told me that they felt that I wasn’t going to make it and they weren’t going to offer me a professional contract. I was in a daze to say the least. For ten years I had been working really hard and suddenly it was all gone. There had been plenty of sacrifices, not just by me but also family, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be.”A key figure in Yates’ story at Liverpool is Steve Heighway. Sadly, there are those who belittle Heighway’s time at Liverpool’s academy, choosing to remember him instead for the battles that he had with Houllier first and Rafa Benitez later over the control of the academy. That, however, overlooks his work in overhauling the whole youth system putting in place the structures that helped produce a host of Liverpool’s finest players of the past two decades; the likes of Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen.
More than that, however, he was a man who managed to find a balance between the club’s best interest and that of the kids that had been put in his charge.
“In my opinion, Steve has done nothing but good for LFC and for a lot of players, not only players who have gone to play professionally but also those who didn’t will tell you that. There are a lot of players doing other jobs who still thank Steve for what he did. He gave them skills for what they did in life and not just for the football pitch.”
“As soon as I set foot I was immediately made to feel at home and there was a real family feeling. It didn't take me long to feel part of the group. The likes of Hughie McAuley, Dave Shannon, Frank Skelly and Heighway himself made sure that everything was fine and that there
I was also lucky in that my parents instilled in me certain values such as the importance of looking the part and of time-keeping. Those were values that the people at the club also made sure you observed. And along the way I played alongside some really great players.”
He had also acquired other skills, as the club was very adamant on the importance of their youth charges doing so. They also insisted that they had to do their coaching courses and it was this that led to Yates being offered a new opportunity on the day that his dream of playing for Liverpool had been shattered.
“Steve told me ‘we've seen you coaching and we'd like you to stay on board as one of the first five academy coaches’. Rather than be a player Steve wanted to keep me within Liverpool FC. I was devastated not to be progressing as a player but it was a confidence boost. Part of the deal was that I could keep on playing non-league football and so I accepted. A lot of young players can say ‘thanks, for offer but I’m going to prove you wrong’, but I’m glad that I didn’t have that reaction.”
Although he admits that he was confident that he was going to make it, Mike was one of the lucky ones who had people telling him that there was the possibility that this would not be the
“However I do think that seeds need to be planted so that they are prepared. Is there another avenue you can move into? Today there are loads of other jobs in football: analysis, sports science, loads of ways to be involved in the game.”
It was this desire to pass on a message that not making it does not mean the end of the world that led him to write his story in the form of a book; “Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen…and Me”.
“Original idea was to give something back for my mum and dad as they’ve made so many sacrifices for me. Dad had kept loads of scrapbooks and I wanted to give him something back.”
“Also with me being a coach I was becoming aware of players who were staying and those who were leaving. Eventually you come across players who completely disappeared. You have chat about somebody and nobody knows if they're still in the game or what happened to them.”
“I wanted to highlight just how hard it is but also highlight that because you could not make you can't have a happy life or be successful. The ‘me’ in the title refers to me but it can be any of the many, many players who can't succeed. If parents can read it, if it helps one youth player or a parent then the job's done.”
“That’s the purpose of me writing the book; I wanted to send a message to those who are in the academy system. I've got a great family, I’m married, have an amazing wife and I am enchanted by our beautiful daughter. My point is that not making it as a professional is not the end of the world. There are many people who would love to be in the position I am in.”
“The book was ghosted by Keith Miller. I was on holiday on Barbados and he heard that I was on the island. We met, had a few drinks and told him that it was my ambition to write a book. He told me, ‘you see those books on the table? Well, I wrote them. I'd love to help you do it’. At first it started as a labour of love. Our first port of call was the PFA and we spoke to Gordon Taylor who thought that it was essential to get a book like that out there. He actually ended up endorsing the book. When I spoke to all the other players they were pleased and flattered. The PFA have been very, very supportive and hopefully it will help some young players and their parents.”“One thing else the book does, I think, is that it raises some questions for the young players. If you think you're doing enough, it makes you ask ‘am I?’ There are many interviews and comments which provide food for thought.”
His experiences have given him a unique perspective on the continuous debate about the state of grassroots football in England.
“From a Liverpool perspective, I think that our programme is doing a really good job.
As for grassroots football, facilities is a big one for me. We've got academies, and that is great, but lower down I don't think that there is enough where young players can go to play football. I’m not simply thinking of purpose built areas but the possibility of getting on your bike to go to a park and play. That is what I did as a kid and we could develop outside of a structured environment. By where I live but there is a grass area where a lot of kids meet to play. However, they’re now going build houses on it.”
He also has a clear idea of what it takes to make it to the very top, and it is not always skill, citing Jamie Carragher as an example. “Some have to work hard but he's had to go the extra yard to get there. It is one thing knowing where you want to go and another to do what is needed to get there. When he got a professional contract he wasn’t celebrating but thinking ‘well I've got this but now I need to get to the first team’.”
As for Mike, himself, he did eventually get to play professionally.
“I was playing for Burscough and with me coming out of Liverpool there was a lot of local media attention. I did really well, breaking a record in scoring 12 goals in 10 games. Manchester City and Oldham came to have a look but Dundee wanted me to go for a trail. Steve was very good about it and told me to go for the trial. I did well there and Jocky Scott eventually said ‘we'd like to sign you’.”
“It was a tough decision but ultimately my dad told me ‘well, what have you always wanted to do?’ The answer was to play professionally so I answered my own question. Again, Steve was great and told me that if things didn't work out the door was always open for me.”
“My time in Scotland was great. I played in the Scottish Premier League and scored there, which had been my dream. I ended up with the surreal experience of playing with Claudio Caniggia who joined when Ivano Bonetti was manager. Unfortunately, he brought in a lot of foreign players and a lot of British players got forced out. I was told to find a new club so travelled back home after trialling at Stockport and Hartlepool.”
“Eventually I spoke with Steve (Heighway) and he gave me a job at the academy. It was brilliant to get back and be involved.”
Today, Mike has moved on from coaching at Liverpool’s academy since then and today he is their International Academy Programme Manager. “When we see coaches or players act in certain way it is instantly recognizable, a philosophy we call ‘The Liverpool Way’ the football club will always be here and people will transfer through the club, but that has to be a defining thing. Liverpool Football Club consider all players a success, whether they make it to the top professional league, play in the lower leagues, become a football coach or whatever they decide to do. In my opinion the development of footballers is important but the development of people is paramount.”
“I believe I owe this club a lot. I'm happy that I took the opportunity to stay in the game. Just because you don't reach the top doesn’t mean that you can't have a happy life.”
For a collection of great articles that are updated daily, subscribe to the Blueprint for Football Flipboard magazine. Alternatively, join Blueprint for Football's Facebook page or follow me on Twitter.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
The Lessons of Tiki-Taka
One of the founding tenets of Blueprint for Football was that of shying away from the coaching side of things and for one simple but fundamental reason: I am not a coach. My interest in the development of players arises from a fascination with the process rather than an interest to replicate the coaching drills that led to it. I’ve always been more attracted by in the ideas behind a certain style of play and the philosophy that went into developing that way of playing.
As a result the attention devoted to that area has largely been a passing one. It is for this reason that there are no coaching tips on the site; there are much better qualified people who do a great job of sharing their ideas (if that is your area, I strongly recommend that you follow The Coaching Family on twitter). And that is why coaching books haven’t been featured. So far.
Because with “Coaching the Tiki-Taka Style of Play” I’m making an exception and there’s a reason for that: this is much more than a coaching manual.
In fact, I’d go so far as saying that the real juice of the book lies away from the coaching pages. That should not be seen as a slight on that part of the book because the coaching drills are well explained and brilliantly illustrated. With fifty drills, there is more than enough to satisfy those for whom that is the prime focus.
For me, however, the really interesting aspect of the book was the work that Jed Davies has done to thread the evolution of tiki-taka. His is not a knee-jerk reaction to Barcelona and Spain’s domination of world football but has used that as the catalyst in order to identify what led to this philosophy evolving in the way that it did.
He has achieved this by studying both the work and the background of the people who helped build this system. More than that, he has spoken to a number of established coaches in order to get their views on the different systems and ideas that he talks about, helping form a picture of how a style evolves according to the environment in which it is being implemented.
There are far too many people who talk about the need for a ‘philosophy’ without knowing just what needs to be done in order to get to a point where a club (or a country) has a clearly identifiable style of play. That is the process that this book highlights and that is why, for me, it is such an important book.
Jed Davies can be found on Twitter and is always a great source for coaching tips.
Full disclosure: A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher
As a result the attention devoted to that area has largely been a passing one. It is for this reason that there are no coaching tips on the site; there are much better qualified people who do a great job of sharing their ideas (if that is your area, I strongly recommend that you follow The Coaching Family on twitter). And that is why coaching books haven’t been featured. So far.
Because with “Coaching the Tiki-Taka Style of Play” I’m making an exception and there’s a reason for that: this is much more than a coaching manual.
In fact, I’d go so far as saying that the real juice of the book lies away from the coaching pages. That should not be seen as a slight on that part of the book because the coaching drills are well explained and brilliantly illustrated. With fifty drills, there is more than enough to satisfy those for whom that is the prime focus.
For me, however, the really interesting aspect of the book was the work that Jed Davies has done to thread the evolution of tiki-taka. His is not a knee-jerk reaction to Barcelona and Spain’s domination of world football but has used that as the catalyst in order to identify what led to this philosophy evolving in the way that it did.
He has achieved this by studying both the work and the background of the people who helped build this system. More than that, he has spoken to a number of established coaches in order to get their views on the different systems and ideas that he talks about, helping form a picture of how a style evolves according to the environment in which it is being implemented.
There are far too many people who talk about the need for a ‘philosophy’ without knowing just what needs to be done in order to get to a point where a club (or a country) has a clearly identifiable style of play. That is the process that this book highlights and that is why, for me, it is such an important book.
Jed Davies can be found on Twitter and is always a great source for coaching tips.
Full disclosure: A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher
Monday, December 2, 2013
Barcelona's Growing Pains
This article was originally included in Blueprint for Football Extra. Get your copy now (for free)
On the face of it, everything’s going well so far this season for Barcelona. Leo Messi’s and Victor Valdez’s injuries might put a dampner on proceedings but they’re top of the Spanish league, have made it to the next stage of the Champions League with ease and (perhaps most importantly) beat Real Madrid in the season’s first classico.
Despite all that, however, not everyone is happy and at the heart of this discontent is an ideological debate.
Barcelona’s modern day success was built at La Masia and a youth system that has produced a generation of fantastic players. The heart of the current side grew up together playing a particular brand of attacking football and ended up dominating the world of football in the same manner. There was a fantastical element to their success and the idealist in every one of us wanted to believe that they could keep on producing team after team of home grown stars.
And, indeed, they might well develop such players but it is becoming increasingly unlikely that these players will get the same opportunities of their predecessors.
The reason for that is that Barcelona seem to have been shifting to a system that greatly resembles Real Madrid’s infamous ‘Zidanes Y Pavones’; a team made up of a mixture of world stars bought at huge expense along with a group local players. It is this (unstated) policy that has seen them spend heavily on Alexis Sanchez, Alex Song and Neymar these past couple of years.
At most other clubs, fans would see the arrival of those players as a sign of the club’s ambition; a statement of intent. Not at Barcelona, however, where they are looked at with suspicion, one borne of the belief that they are blocking the path of the next generation of stars.
That suspicion has been further fuelled by Martin Montoya’s rumoured refusal to sign a new contract at Barcelona and Christian Tello’s apparent willingness to move given the limited space that he is finding (even if he did sign a new contract last summer). Indeed there are many who believe that Gerard Deloufeu, currently on loan at Everton, will never again put on a Barcelona shirt.
The truth is that Barcelona, like so many other clubs, are finding it difficult to establish a balance between the pressure that comes with the expectation of winning and the desire to develop their own players.
All this is compounded by the arrival of Gerardo Martino as manager. His two predecessors had come through the ranks at Barcelona and, as such, knew both the importance attached to home grown players by the Nou Camp regulars and the quality of the players that there were in the B team.
Perhaps more importantly, however, their history at the club meant that any slips would be overlooked giving them greater scope to experiment.
Martino probably does not have that luxury and he’s pragmatic enough to know that. He might want to give a young player an opportunity but he’ll know that there are risks attached to doing so. Given the choice of starting with Dani Alves or Martin Montoya, for instance, he’s always going to go with the experienced Brazilian precisely because that experience makes him less likely to make a mistake. It will be the same in other areas as well, with experienced and established players getting the bulk of the playing time.
At this stage in his career as Barca manager he does not have the luxury of making the choice that will serve them best in the long run; he’s still trying to consolidate his position. If he sees any gaps in the squad, he’s more likely to ask the directors to buy him a readymade replacement than try to slowly give opportunities to a young player in the hope that he will eventually provide the solutions that he is looking for.
All of this goes to highlight just how important stability at all levels is for a club. Whilst having a good youth system is essential if you want players to come through, ultimately it is unlikely to do anywhere near as well as it should if there is constant uncertainty and changes at first team level.
Having a manager who is in a position to look three or four years down the line, rather than three or four games, is a crucial yet, surprisingly, often overlooked factor in the development of players. Something that clubs should (but most won’t) keep in mind.
On the face of it, everything’s going well so far this season for Barcelona. Leo Messi’s and Victor Valdez’s injuries might put a dampner on proceedings but they’re top of the Spanish league, have made it to the next stage of the Champions League with ease and (perhaps most importantly) beat Real Madrid in the season’s first classico.
Despite all that, however, not everyone is happy and at the heart of this discontent is an ideological debate.
Barcelona’s modern day success was built at La Masia and a youth system that has produced a generation of fantastic players. The heart of the current side grew up together playing a particular brand of attacking football and ended up dominating the world of football in the same manner. There was a fantastical element to their success and the idealist in every one of us wanted to believe that they could keep on producing team after team of home grown stars.
And, indeed, they might well develop such players but it is becoming increasingly unlikely that these players will get the same opportunities of their predecessors.
The reason for that is that Barcelona seem to have been shifting to a system that greatly resembles Real Madrid’s infamous ‘Zidanes Y Pavones’; a team made up of a mixture of world stars bought at huge expense along with a group local players. It is this (unstated) policy that has seen them spend heavily on Alexis Sanchez, Alex Song and Neymar these past couple of years.
At most other clubs, fans would see the arrival of those players as a sign of the club’s ambition; a statement of intent. Not at Barcelona, however, where they are looked at with suspicion, one borne of the belief that they are blocking the path of the next generation of stars.
That suspicion has been further fuelled by Martin Montoya’s rumoured refusal to sign a new contract at Barcelona and Christian Tello’s apparent willingness to move given the limited space that he is finding (even if he did sign a new contract last summer). Indeed there are many who believe that Gerard Deloufeu, currently on loan at Everton, will never again put on a Barcelona shirt.
The truth is that Barcelona, like so many other clubs, are finding it difficult to establish a balance between the pressure that comes with the expectation of winning and the desire to develop their own players.
All this is compounded by the arrival of Gerardo Martino as manager. His two predecessors had come through the ranks at Barcelona and, as such, knew both the importance attached to home grown players by the Nou Camp regulars and the quality of the players that there were in the B team.
Perhaps more importantly, however, their history at the club meant that any slips would be overlooked giving them greater scope to experiment.
Martino probably does not have that luxury and he’s pragmatic enough to know that. He might want to give a young player an opportunity but he’ll know that there are risks attached to doing so. Given the choice of starting with Dani Alves or Martin Montoya, for instance, he’s always going to go with the experienced Brazilian precisely because that experience makes him less likely to make a mistake. It will be the same in other areas as well, with experienced and established players getting the bulk of the playing time.
At this stage in his career as Barca manager he does not have the luxury of making the choice that will serve them best in the long run; he’s still trying to consolidate his position. If he sees any gaps in the squad, he’s more likely to ask the directors to buy him a readymade replacement than try to slowly give opportunities to a young player in the hope that he will eventually provide the solutions that he is looking for.
All of this goes to highlight just how important stability at all levels is for a club. Whilst having a good youth system is essential if you want players to come through, ultimately it is unlikely to do anywhere near as well as it should if there is constant uncertainty and changes at first team level.
Having a manager who is in a position to look three or four years down the line, rather than three or four games, is a crucial yet, surprisingly, often overlooked factor in the development of players. Something that clubs should (but most won’t) keep in mind.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Andre Villas Boas and a Coach's Ultimate Obligation
For a collection of great articles that are updated daily, subscribe to the Blueprint for Football Flipboard magazine. Alternatively, join Blueprint for Football's Facebook page.
Watching the debate that followed the accidental clash that left Hugo Lloris concussed but adamant on remaining on the pitch in Tottenham’s game away at Everton has been interesting. Sadly, a good portion of the discussion quickly turned into criticism of Tottenham’s Andre Villas Boas, something that is symptomatic of his inability to win some people over.
There is, in my view, no doubt that keeping Lloris on the pitch was a needless risk that could have ended badly. Yet, as this article brilliantly explains (more eloquently and with greater academic backing than I ever could) it isn’t simply a case of pointing at Villas Boas or trying to determine who made a mistake. The truth is that the decision was inevitable given the sports culture.
A coach’s ultimate obligation – particularly when he’s dealing with younger age players – is towards the health of his players. Some of the responsibility lies with the players themselves – a player might insist on being considered for a game despite feeling ill during the preceding night – but the coach will have more information than anyone else at the club so the call is wholly his.
That is something that all coaches need to remember because thereisn’t that much difference between Villas Boas’ decision to allow Lloris to stay on the pitch and a youth team manager pressurising his star to play despite having some injury. How many careers have been ruined by coaches overplaying a player or choosing to ignore his complaints about an injury?
It is hypocritical to say that Villas Boas was wrong but then ignore the little decisions that are routinely made and which put players’ health at risk. Many coaches in youth football claim that for them winning isn’t important but looking at the decision that they make when there’s an important game involved might perhaps indicate otherwise.
This article was originally sent out to the members of Blueprint for Football Extra. If you've enjoyed it, then you'd probably enjoy subscribing to it (at no charge!).
Watching the debate that followed the accidental clash that left Hugo Lloris concussed but adamant on remaining on the pitch in Tottenham’s game away at Everton has been interesting. Sadly, a good portion of the discussion quickly turned into criticism of Tottenham’s Andre Villas Boas, something that is symptomatic of his inability to win some people over.
There is, in my view, no doubt that keeping Lloris on the pitch was a needless risk that could have ended badly. Yet, as this article brilliantly explains (more eloquently and with greater academic backing than I ever could) it isn’t simply a case of pointing at Villas Boas or trying to determine who made a mistake. The truth is that the decision was inevitable given the sports culture.
A coach’s ultimate obligation – particularly when he’s dealing with younger age players – is towards the health of his players. Some of the responsibility lies with the players themselves – a player might insist on being considered for a game despite feeling ill during the preceding night – but the coach will have more information than anyone else at the club so the call is wholly his.
That is something that all coaches need to remember because thereisn’t that much difference between Villas Boas’ decision to allow Lloris to stay on the pitch and a youth team manager pressurising his star to play despite having some injury. How many careers have been ruined by coaches overplaying a player or choosing to ignore his complaints about an injury?
It is hypocritical to say that Villas Boas was wrong but then ignore the little decisions that are routinely made and which put players’ health at risk. Many coaches in youth football claim that for them winning isn’t important but looking at the decision that they make when there’s an important game involved might perhaps indicate otherwise.
This article was originally sent out to the members of Blueprint for Football Extra. If you've enjoyed it, then you'd probably enjoy subscribing to it (at no charge!).
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
The Man Who Made Barca
Interested in articles on development in football? Then join Blueprint for Football Extra (for FREE!)
In hindsight, it has to rank as one of worst decision in the history football. When San Lorenzo dithered about paying for the treatment that a kid by the name of Leo Messi needed, they were letting slip through their hands a boy who would go on to become one of the finest players in the history of the game.
That story is fairly well known but there was also a time when Messi wouldn’t have found an opportunity at Barcelona either. Not because of the expense involved in the treatment that he needed but because he wasn’t as tall as they expected players to be.
Johann Cruyff is often credited as the man who set up the youth focused philosophy at Barcelona but, in truth, he was building on what was already there. In fact, the man who began it all was Laureano Ruiz and one of the changes that he put in place was the abolishment of a policy where only players of a certain height were considered.
“When I arrived at Barça there was a sign on door of the coaches’ offices that said "if you come with a youth who is shorter than 1.80 meters, turn around!" he recalls. “This obsession with height wasn’t limited to one club but it was a general view. If they’d been born earlier none of Messi , Xavi or Iniesta would have made it to the first team.”
“And today it is still present. The shorter players have many advantages over taller ones when starting, turning, changing direction and so on. Movement in modern football plays a key role.”
“The tall players also have their advantages: longer steps, physical challenges, at headers, winning 50-50 balls. That is why the great teams in history were made of football players of very different sizes; the Madrid of Di Stefano , Puskas’ Honved , Santos of Pele, Zico 's Flamengo , Messi at Barca and so on.”
“Still, the best players are the shorter ones: Pele ( 1.70m) , Di Stefano (1.74m) , Puskas (1.67m) , Zico (1.71m) , Gento (1.65m) , Kopa ( 1.69m) , Seeler (1.69m) , Messi (1.69m) , Maradona (1.65m), Xavi (1.68m) and Iniesta (1.67m).”
Most of Laureano Ruiz’s playing career at Racing Santander and Gimnastica de Torrelavega before retiring when he was just twenty eight to focus on coaching. After a spell coaching Racing Santander’s first team, he began focusing on developing youth talent and it was for that purpose that Barcelona approached him in 1972.
Legend has it that a few weeks earlier Barcelona’s Juvenil A were playing the final of the Copa Catalunya against local outfit CF Damm (who were financed by a beer company). Spurred on by 15,000 spectators; they were expected to win and do so easily. But football rarely follows the set script and Barca lost 2-3. Agusti Montal, then Barcelona’s president, is said to have remarked “Something has to be done. This is unacceptable. I can accept a loss against a football team, but not to a beer company!”
Soon afterwards Ruiz was given the opportunity to work at Barca and what he did certainly impressed them because within two years he was in charge of the whole sector.
“Essentially, I arrived at Barçelona for what I had achieved. I was 34, but had been coaching since I was 15. What probably also played a part and influenced my move to Barcelona was that we beat them in the final of the Juvenil Championship.”
Whatever the reason, it was an inspired choice.
Ruiz, for instance, was the one who switched Barcelona to the 3-4-3 system. Talk of ‘switching’, however, seems to irritate him. “I did not change anything because when I arrived at the club there was nothing organized! It was hard work to create a footballing, social and human environment.”
Indeed, as with many other football men, Ruiz is not as impressed by talk of tactical formations that seem to fascinate those analysing the game. “Those numbers do not mean anything. A game system is everything that we have prepared. It is what happens in defense and attack, while the ball is "in motion" and refers to the strategy when the ball is "inactive"; the system when the game is becoming tactical and when there are delays in the match due to fouls, corners and so on.”
“So when I refer to my system of play, I stress: order, inspiration and fantasy.”
“That said, I introduced the system that today is widely used, with a broad front of three forwards - two on top and a "false striker" mostly operating behind those two. The players also got to know their position and tasks in the field simply by looking at the number on their shirt, for instance, "playing 9".
“I also introduced the pressing game for which I took inspiration from basketball. In fact my system of play was used even before I came to Barcelona, and it was already successfully practiced in the 60s for teams like Racing.”
Ruiz was also an advocate of having all the teams within a club should play along the same lines, an idea that was being popularised by Ajax. “First of all, I have to point out that youth teams do not have to train like the senior sides in the same way that teaching in primary and secondary school is different from that at university level.”
“What is important is that the style of play should be identical throughout.”
How is it, then, that children’s training should differ from that of adults? “In many ways, but I’ll mention only one: there are many coaches who believe that you should give children a great physical education and then, when they are 17, begin teaching them about football. It is a huge mistake.”
“Football technique depends on motor co-ordination, which starts forming much earlier than that age. For example, in a few months children learn the ability to "pronounce" correctly languages other than their own mother tongue, even if they’re unaware of its grammar and syntax. However, an adult, despite having studied deeply rarely ever achieved such perfection (the pronunciation depends on the phonetic co-ordination).”
“In short, football learning should begin early on.”
“My dream was, and I said this publicly at the time, that one day the all of Barcelona’s team would be made up of players from the "quarry" (cantera), working with my methods and with me as head coach.”
That final part of his dream might not have come true (even though he did coach the first team for six games when Heinnes Wesweiler was sacked in 1976) but otherwise his ambition was quite visionary. Seven of the starting eleven (and eleven of the match day squad of eighteen) that won the Champions League final against Manchester United in 2011 came through Barca’s cantera
Indeed, visionary is a phrase that you find yourself often repeating when talking about Ruiz. So much that there are aspects of his philosophy that are only just being accepted.
One of those is his insistence that youth players get a good education, something that many clubs seem to do begrudgingly. “It is essential that coaches worry for the education of the youth, not just their football. When I arrived at the club we had 147 youth players, 126 of them told me that they were neither working nor studying, they were simply focused on football.”
“I felt horrible and decided that everyone would have to work or study and do so at the best of their abilities. Otherwise, they wouldn’t continue at Barcelona.”
Given that his coaching and ideas helped shape the team that, in turn, has shaped how we view football, talking about what makes a good coach seems like a good point to conclude the interview.
“There are so many and they are all so different!”
“To mention a few: he must have knowledge of the game; judging situations and positioning of players). It is also essential to know if a player is worth the effort or not. And if it works, in what position he should be playing. Also, you have to know what problems there are and how you can correct them.”
“With respect to the tactical aspect, knowing how to put together the best team is vital. During games, analysing how it is working and deciding what corrective measures are needed like swapping players’ positions, varying the marking and generally altering the game plan.”
Analysing those final comments, it is possible to distil all that into two words: game intelligence. Because that aspect for which Barcelona’s players have become famous (among other things) is, essentially, also what makes their coaching so special.
For a collection of great articles that are updated daily, subscribe to the Blueprint for Football Flipboard magazine. Alternatively, join Blueprint for Football's Facebook page.
In hindsight, it has to rank as one of worst decision in the history football. When San Lorenzo dithered about paying for the treatment that a kid by the name of Leo Messi needed, they were letting slip through their hands a boy who would go on to become one of the finest players in the history of the game.
That story is fairly well known but there was also a time when Messi wouldn’t have found an opportunity at Barcelona either. Not because of the expense involved in the treatment that he needed but because he wasn’t as tall as they expected players to be.
Johann Cruyff is often credited as the man who set up the youth focused philosophy at Barcelona but, in truth, he was building on what was already there. In fact, the man who began it all was Laureano Ruiz and one of the changes that he put in place was the abolishment of a policy where only players of a certain height were considered.
“When I arrived at Barça there was a sign on door of the coaches’ offices that said "if you come with a youth who is shorter than 1.80 meters, turn around!" he recalls. “This obsession with height wasn’t limited to one club but it was a general view. If they’d been born earlier none of Messi , Xavi or Iniesta would have made it to the first team.”
“And today it is still present. The shorter players have many advantages over taller ones when starting, turning, changing direction and so on. Movement in modern football plays a key role.” “The tall players also have their advantages: longer steps, physical challenges, at headers, winning 50-50 balls. That is why the great teams in history were made of football players of very different sizes; the Madrid of Di Stefano , Puskas’ Honved , Santos of Pele, Zico 's Flamengo , Messi at Barca and so on.”
“Still, the best players are the shorter ones: Pele ( 1.70m) , Di Stefano (1.74m) , Puskas (1.67m) , Zico (1.71m) , Gento (1.65m) , Kopa ( 1.69m) , Seeler (1.69m) , Messi (1.69m) , Maradona (1.65m), Xavi (1.68m) and Iniesta (1.67m).”
Most of Laureano Ruiz’s playing career at Racing Santander and Gimnastica de Torrelavega before retiring when he was just twenty eight to focus on coaching. After a spell coaching Racing Santander’s first team, he began focusing on developing youth talent and it was for that purpose that Barcelona approached him in 1972.
Legend has it that a few weeks earlier Barcelona’s Juvenil A were playing the final of the Copa Catalunya against local outfit CF Damm (who were financed by a beer company). Spurred on by 15,000 spectators; they were expected to win and do so easily. But football rarely follows the set script and Barca lost 2-3. Agusti Montal, then Barcelona’s president, is said to have remarked “Something has to be done. This is unacceptable. I can accept a loss against a football team, but not to a beer company!”
Soon afterwards Ruiz was given the opportunity to work at Barca and what he did certainly impressed them because within two years he was in charge of the whole sector.
“Essentially, I arrived at Barçelona for what I had achieved. I was 34, but had been coaching since I was 15. What probably also played a part and influenced my move to Barcelona was that we beat them in the final of the Juvenil Championship.”
Whatever the reason, it was an inspired choice.
Ruiz, for instance, was the one who switched Barcelona to the 3-4-3 system. Talk of ‘switching’, however, seems to irritate him. “I did not change anything because when I arrived at the club there was nothing organized! It was hard work to create a footballing, social and human environment.”
Indeed, as with many other football men, Ruiz is not as impressed by talk of tactical formations that seem to fascinate those analysing the game. “Those numbers do not mean anything. A game system is everything that we have prepared. It is what happens in defense and attack, while the ball is "in motion" and refers to the strategy when the ball is "inactive"; the system when the game is becoming tactical and when there are delays in the match due to fouls, corners and so on.”
“So when I refer to my system of play, I stress: order, inspiration and fantasy.”
“That said, I introduced the system that today is widely used, with a broad front of three forwards - two on top and a "false striker" mostly operating behind those two. The players also got to know their position and tasks in the field simply by looking at the number on their shirt, for instance, "playing 9".
“I also introduced the pressing game for which I took inspiration from basketball. In fact my system of play was used even before I came to Barcelona, and it was already successfully practiced in the 60s for teams like Racing.”
Ruiz was also an advocate of having all the teams within a club should play along the same lines, an idea that was being popularised by Ajax. “First of all, I have to point out that youth teams do not have to train like the senior sides in the same way that teaching in primary and secondary school is different from that at university level.”
“What is important is that the style of play should be identical throughout.”
How is it, then, that children’s training should differ from that of adults? “In many ways, but I’ll mention only one: there are many coaches who believe that you should give children a great physical education and then, when they are 17, begin teaching them about football. It is a huge mistake.” “Football technique depends on motor co-ordination, which starts forming much earlier than that age. For example, in a few months children learn the ability to "pronounce" correctly languages other than their own mother tongue, even if they’re unaware of its grammar and syntax. However, an adult, despite having studied deeply rarely ever achieved such perfection (the pronunciation depends on the phonetic co-ordination).”
“In short, football learning should begin early on.”
“My dream was, and I said this publicly at the time, that one day the all of Barcelona’s team would be made up of players from the "quarry" (cantera), working with my methods and with me as head coach.”
That final part of his dream might not have come true (even though he did coach the first team for six games when Heinnes Wesweiler was sacked in 1976) but otherwise his ambition was quite visionary. Seven of the starting eleven (and eleven of the match day squad of eighteen) that won the Champions League final against Manchester United in 2011 came through Barca’s cantera
Indeed, visionary is a phrase that you find yourself often repeating when talking about Ruiz. So much that there are aspects of his philosophy that are only just being accepted.
One of those is his insistence that youth players get a good education, something that many clubs seem to do begrudgingly. “It is essential that coaches worry for the education of the youth, not just their football. When I arrived at the club we had 147 youth players, 126 of them told me that they were neither working nor studying, they were simply focused on football.”
“I felt horrible and decided that everyone would have to work or study and do so at the best of their abilities. Otherwise, they wouldn’t continue at Barcelona.”
Given that his coaching and ideas helped shape the team that, in turn, has shaped how we view football, talking about what makes a good coach seems like a good point to conclude the interview.
“There are so many and they are all so different!”
“To mention a few: he must have knowledge of the game; judging situations and positioning of players). It is also essential to know if a player is worth the effort or not. And if it works, in what position he should be playing. Also, you have to know what problems there are and how you can correct them.”
“With respect to the tactical aspect, knowing how to put together the best team is vital. During games, analysing how it is working and deciding what corrective measures are needed like swapping players’ positions, varying the marking and generally altering the game plan.”
Analysing those final comments, it is possible to distil all that into two words: game intelligence. Because that aspect for which Barcelona’s players have become famous (among other things) is, essentially, also what makes their coaching so special.
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Tuesday, November 5, 2013
The Blueprint According To...Ben Trinder
This interview forms part of the Blueprint According To... series, the bonus edition of Blueprint for Football Extra.
If you’re on Twitter and hold even a minimal interest in football coaching then it is virtually impossible not to have heard of The Coaching Family. This account set up on the social network aims to bring together football coaches so that they can share ideas, tips, advice and even sessions. It has grown into a very powerful tool for coaches to share their views and sound out others when they’re uncertain about anything.
Ben Trinder was the main man behind the setting up of this page. An FA Level 2 qualified coach from Berkshire, he is currently working towards gaining his UEFA B coaching licence while also working towards his FA Youth Award assessment, having completed all 3 modules of the course. Ben coaches at grassroots level with Ascot United under 14′s who play in the Surrey Youth League, he also coaches with a Premier League club in their Academy Development Centres on a part time basis working with children from 5 to 8 years old.
Blueprint for Football: Let's start with the basics: what got you into coaching and how long ago was that?
Ben Trinder: I always wanted to work with and coach kids, I planned to do my coaching qualifications when I left school at 18. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen due to work commitments because like many 18 year olds money was a big attraction.
I started out by helping my dad coach my younger brother’s team in 2002. He was managing as well as organising the team and wanted someone to do the football side. It was a perfect first step. I coached the boys for 3 and a bit seasons without any coaching qualifications but learned to look at the game from a new angle; I planned all my own sessions and really enjoyed the experience.
I then fell out of football until 2010 when I decided to get qualified and do my FA Level 1. Since then I have been on several courses to educate myself and continue getting my qualifications. I’ve just completed my FA Youth Module 3 and I am currently on my UEFA B Licence with some great tutors and candidates down in Southampton. I like to stay fresh and keep challenging myself.
BfF: Have you had any mentors in your career?
BT: Yeah, I have a few mentors. I don’t think mentoring has to be an official thing; a mentor can be any coach at any level of the game who is willing to answer your questions and point you in the right direction.
From when I started out with my dad I learned how to organise and manage a group of people. My dad is still someone I look up to and I definitely get my calm, relaxed temperament from him. He is a patient guy. More recently I have just finished working with a grassroots team called Kennet Valley in Reading. Two guys from there taught me a lot about the game; from desire, heart and passion to the tactical “chess” side of the game.
Over the last three years I have “adopted” a top level mentor who is a well-known youth coach in the UK, Michael Beale. He has been great with me, I feel like I can ask him anything and that’s important for me as a developing coach. I’ve been lucky enough to watch Mike coach in different professional academies on a few occasions and I learn new things every time I chat to him. He is always open and honest and is someone I really look up to. Mentors are important for us as coaches. It’s great to have someone to bounce ideas off, to be able to say “what do you think of this…” and then get some constructive feedback. There are a few guys at the club I’m working for who are really good to chat to and learn from as well. I am a true believer in surrounding myself with open, honest and knowledgeable people to develop my own skills.
BfF: What is your coaching philosophy?
BT: It depends on age and ability really. I coach a good standard grassroots under 14’s team at Ascot United at the moment. In general I am a 4-3-3 fan. The 4-3-3 is adaptable, you can switch to a 4-2-3-1/4-5-1 or a 3-4-3 relatively easily. I like adaptability. I like pace in wide areas – full backs and wingers. I like a midfield three who are comfortable receiving and distributing the ball under pressure and can rotate positions between them. I’m not a fan of rigid team set ups. I like my team to attack with flair, creativity, skill and pace.
I am a big fan of dribblers and creative boys and it’s important for them to be themselves: who am I to stop them doing what they do best? That applies to all the players I coach. I like to play a possession game, controlling the tempo of a game, but sometimes that’s not possible for whatever reason, for instance the pitch, the scoreline or the opposition. If that’s the case, I like the team to play on the counter attack, at speed with players interchanging positions. It’s unpredictable but that’s what I like.
I also like my players to play with heart and a “never give up” attitude. Of course the players I coach will dictate the way we play to a certain extent, and that’s my philosophy in a nutshell.
BfF: Is winning important for you?
BT: I want to win but winning will never be the main aim for me. As long as the players are having fun and challenging experiences during each game then we’re on our way. We all want to win, young players included, it’s a competitive game after all and as coaches we shouldn’t try to remove that. Every kid wants to score a hat-trick in every game but we know that’s not possible. I see my job as an educator; someone to teach them the benefits of hard work, team work and a good attitude, which lead to the team playing well and hopefully winning.
Kids, particularly in the early stages of their development, need to be supported, nurtured and guided – all of them. I’m a great believer in equal playing time and no favouritism towards so called more able players. Winning is important but we shouldn’t put any pressure on our young players to win.
BfF: What are the most important attributes of players in your teams?
BT: At grassroots level I like young players who are willing to learn and improve whilst a good attitude is important too. That’s all. As long as I can build a trusting relationship between myself and the players then the rest will come with time. I am there to develop their skills and help them improve regardless of their ability.
When the boys are over sixteen I would still place attitude and a willingness to improve above anything else. As I mentioned before, I like a variety of different attributes but my top 3 would be:
Pace (or a quick thinker)
Comfortable receiving and passing the ball under pressure
Good 1v1 skills (defending and attacking)
BfF: You set up Coaching Family. What gave you that idea and what is it all about?
BT: I wanted to connect coaches and to share good ideas and good practice. A central Twitter account seemed like a great way to do that. Although I founded the account, there were actually 20 odd coaches who I was speaking to about it back in 2010. I originally joined Twitter to see if any other coaches were using the social network site. After speaking to a few of coaches on there I decided to set up the Coaching Family account. The name actually came from one of my hashtags #coachingfamily and it does feel like a family on there sometimes.
There were some top youth coaches involved in the early stages who gave me the confidence to go for it, they know who they are. The account has grown so much in the past year and I’ve now got a really good guy helping me run Coaching Family, Liam Donovan. He has been brilliant and he’s one of the most helpful guys you could wish to meet.
BfF: What has the response been like?
BT: It’s been unbelievable. We have close to 17,000 followers on there right now. That’s great in itself, but we want to involve everyone and I think we are on the way to doing that. Each day we get hundreds of coaches from all over the world who tweet us, asking questions, posting sessions and debating various topics. We have also asked coaches to get involved in submitting their own sessions so we can produce session sharing booklets.
The booklets have been a hit, they are basic but they are templates for coaches to use and expand on. We also set up a website (coachingfamily.com) where coaches can read interviews, download our booklets and read various articles on coaching and the game. I think what’s made the idea work is the fact that it’s completely free. Where else can a grassroots coach, who is just starting out, contact a seasoned academy coach working at a professional club?
I would encourage coaches to get involved on Twitter. It’s a great learning tool and great for taking charge of your own CPD and personal development. There are also several really good coaches who can double as mentors on there. That’s how I came into contact with Mike. We have a great community on there and it’s a positive community of coaches who are open, honest and willing to share their work and experiences. The more coaches we can connect, the better.
BfF: How much is learned from attending coaching courses and how much is learned by observing other coaches?
BT: Courses are very important as that’s how we get our valuable qualifications. Each course teaches us how to coach in a certain style to suit a certain level of the game. I have learned so much (as you would expect to) from attending the FA courses and I have made some very good friends on the journey. I think courses are only a part of our learning though. That’s why I think Twitter is so useful and a CPD tool.
I think it’s important, if you’re serious about coaching, to read books, go and watch other coaches, talk to them and ask questions. It’s a valuable experience for any coach and you learn so much. I’ve been lucky enough to visit some top level professional youth academies in England, each experience is totally different and I have learned new things every time. It’s all about building contacts and speaking to people then taking the valuable information they give you to put into practice.
BfF: If you could change one thing about football in England, what would that be?
BT: The money clubs and players get in the professional game. I’d like to see some of that filter down to grassroots level to improve facilities and help fund the education of young coaches. With most coaching courses costing £200+ it’s difficult for some of these grassroots guys and girls to get qualified if they cannot get funding from their clubs. The FA are making steps to address that though.
BfF: What do you want to achieve to be satisfied with what you have done in your coaching career?
BT: I want to continue to enjoy helping young players develop their skills. I want to keep learning and developing myself as a coach. Coaching is a part time job for me at the moment and I would like to go full time somewhere soon. (At the moment I teach sport at a pupil referral unit in Reading full time) My aim is to one day work within a professional Academy set up in England, that’s the dream. I understand how competitive that area is though, and I have a lot of work to do before I can start thinking about a role like that. For now, I am happy.
I am working part time with a professional club coaching at their academy development centres, plus coaching with the grassroots under 14’s at Ascot United. I’m also practicing for my UEFA B assessment that is coming up soon. Passing this course has been my aim since I started coaching. I don’t like looking too far into the future, but after the B licence I want to do my FA Youth Award assessment. One day I would like to do the A licence and possibly go into coach education. I don’t like making too many plans though, as long as I continue to work hard, enjoying coaching and get a buzz from it I’m happy.
If you’re on Twitter and hold even a minimal interest in football coaching then it is virtually impossible not to have heard of The Coaching Family. This account set up on the social network aims to bring together football coaches so that they can share ideas, tips, advice and even sessions. It has grown into a very powerful tool for coaches to share their views and sound out others when they’re uncertain about anything.
Ben Trinder was the main man behind the setting up of this page. An FA Level 2 qualified coach from Berkshire, he is currently working towards gaining his UEFA B coaching licence while also working towards his FA Youth Award assessment, having completed all 3 modules of the course. Ben coaches at grassroots level with Ascot United under 14′s who play in the Surrey Youth League, he also coaches with a Premier League club in their Academy Development Centres on a part time basis working with children from 5 to 8 years old.
Blueprint for Football: Let's start with the basics: what got you into coaching and how long ago was that?
Ben Trinder: I always wanted to work with and coach kids, I planned to do my coaching qualifications when I left school at 18. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen due to work commitments because like many 18 year olds money was a big attraction.
I started out by helping my dad coach my younger brother’s team in 2002. He was managing as well as organising the team and wanted someone to do the football side. It was a perfect first step. I coached the boys for 3 and a bit seasons without any coaching qualifications but learned to look at the game from a new angle; I planned all my own sessions and really enjoyed the experience.
I then fell out of football until 2010 when I decided to get qualified and do my FA Level 1. Since then I have been on several courses to educate myself and continue getting my qualifications. I’ve just completed my FA Youth Module 3 and I am currently on my UEFA B Licence with some great tutors and candidates down in Southampton. I like to stay fresh and keep challenging myself.
BfF: Have you had any mentors in your career?
BT: Yeah, I have a few mentors. I don’t think mentoring has to be an official thing; a mentor can be any coach at any level of the game who is willing to answer your questions and point you in the right direction.
From when I started out with my dad I learned how to organise and manage a group of people. My dad is still someone I look up to and I definitely get my calm, relaxed temperament from him. He is a patient guy. More recently I have just finished working with a grassroots team called Kennet Valley in Reading. Two guys from there taught me a lot about the game; from desire, heart and passion to the tactical “chess” side of the game.
Over the last three years I have “adopted” a top level mentor who is a well-known youth coach in the UK, Michael Beale. He has been great with me, I feel like I can ask him anything and that’s important for me as a developing coach. I’ve been lucky enough to watch Mike coach in different professional academies on a few occasions and I learn new things every time I chat to him. He is always open and honest and is someone I really look up to. Mentors are important for us as coaches. It’s great to have someone to bounce ideas off, to be able to say “what do you think of this…” and then get some constructive feedback. There are a few guys at the club I’m working for who are really good to chat to and learn from as well. I am a true believer in surrounding myself with open, honest and knowledgeable people to develop my own skills.
BfF: What is your coaching philosophy?
BT: It depends on age and ability really. I coach a good standard grassroots under 14’s team at Ascot United at the moment. In general I am a 4-3-3 fan. The 4-3-3 is adaptable, you can switch to a 4-2-3-1/4-5-1 or a 3-4-3 relatively easily. I like adaptability. I like pace in wide areas – full backs and wingers. I like a midfield three who are comfortable receiving and distributing the ball under pressure and can rotate positions between them. I’m not a fan of rigid team set ups. I like my team to attack with flair, creativity, skill and pace.
I am a big fan of dribblers and creative boys and it’s important for them to be themselves: who am I to stop them doing what they do best? That applies to all the players I coach. I like to play a possession game, controlling the tempo of a game, but sometimes that’s not possible for whatever reason, for instance the pitch, the scoreline or the opposition. If that’s the case, I like the team to play on the counter attack, at speed with players interchanging positions. It’s unpredictable but that’s what I like.
I also like my players to play with heart and a “never give up” attitude. Of course the players I coach will dictate the way we play to a certain extent, and that’s my philosophy in a nutshell.
BfF: Is winning important for you?
BT: I want to win but winning will never be the main aim for me. As long as the players are having fun and challenging experiences during each game then we’re on our way. We all want to win, young players included, it’s a competitive game after all and as coaches we shouldn’t try to remove that. Every kid wants to score a hat-trick in every game but we know that’s not possible. I see my job as an educator; someone to teach them the benefits of hard work, team work and a good attitude, which lead to the team playing well and hopefully winning.
Kids, particularly in the early stages of their development, need to be supported, nurtured and guided – all of them. I’m a great believer in equal playing time and no favouritism towards so called more able players. Winning is important but we shouldn’t put any pressure on our young players to win.
BfF: What are the most important attributes of players in your teams?
BT: At grassroots level I like young players who are willing to learn and improve whilst a good attitude is important too. That’s all. As long as I can build a trusting relationship between myself and the players then the rest will come with time. I am there to develop their skills and help them improve regardless of their ability.
When the boys are over sixteen I would still place attitude and a willingness to improve above anything else. As I mentioned before, I like a variety of different attributes but my top 3 would be:
Pace (or a quick thinker)
Comfortable receiving and passing the ball under pressure
Good 1v1 skills (defending and attacking)
BfF: You set up Coaching Family. What gave you that idea and what is it all about?
BT: I wanted to connect coaches and to share good ideas and good practice. A central Twitter account seemed like a great way to do that. Although I founded the account, there were actually 20 odd coaches who I was speaking to about it back in 2010. I originally joined Twitter to see if any other coaches were using the social network site. After speaking to a few of coaches on there I decided to set up the Coaching Family account. The name actually came from one of my hashtags #coachingfamily and it does feel like a family on there sometimes.
There were some top youth coaches involved in the early stages who gave me the confidence to go for it, they know who they are. The account has grown so much in the past year and I’ve now got a really good guy helping me run Coaching Family, Liam Donovan. He has been brilliant and he’s one of the most helpful guys you could wish to meet.
BfF: What has the response been like?
BT: It’s been unbelievable. We have close to 17,000 followers on there right now. That’s great in itself, but we want to involve everyone and I think we are on the way to doing that. Each day we get hundreds of coaches from all over the world who tweet us, asking questions, posting sessions and debating various topics. We have also asked coaches to get involved in submitting their own sessions so we can produce session sharing booklets.
The booklets have been a hit, they are basic but they are templates for coaches to use and expand on. We also set up a website (coachingfamily.com) where coaches can read interviews, download our booklets and read various articles on coaching and the game. I think what’s made the idea work is the fact that it’s completely free. Where else can a grassroots coach, who is just starting out, contact a seasoned academy coach working at a professional club?
I would encourage coaches to get involved on Twitter. It’s a great learning tool and great for taking charge of your own CPD and personal development. There are also several really good coaches who can double as mentors on there. That’s how I came into contact with Mike. We have a great community on there and it’s a positive community of coaches who are open, honest and willing to share their work and experiences. The more coaches we can connect, the better.
BfF: How much is learned from attending coaching courses and how much is learned by observing other coaches?
BT: Courses are very important as that’s how we get our valuable qualifications. Each course teaches us how to coach in a certain style to suit a certain level of the game. I have learned so much (as you would expect to) from attending the FA courses and I have made some very good friends on the journey. I think courses are only a part of our learning though. That’s why I think Twitter is so useful and a CPD tool.
I think it’s important, if you’re serious about coaching, to read books, go and watch other coaches, talk to them and ask questions. It’s a valuable experience for any coach and you learn so much. I’ve been lucky enough to visit some top level professional youth academies in England, each experience is totally different and I have learned new things every time. It’s all about building contacts and speaking to people then taking the valuable information they give you to put into practice.
BfF: If you could change one thing about football in England, what would that be?
BT: The money clubs and players get in the professional game. I’d like to see some of that filter down to grassroots level to improve facilities and help fund the education of young coaches. With most coaching courses costing £200+ it’s difficult for some of these grassroots guys and girls to get qualified if they cannot get funding from their clubs. The FA are making steps to address that though.
BfF: What do you want to achieve to be satisfied with what you have done in your coaching career?
BT: I want to continue to enjoy helping young players develop their skills. I want to keep learning and developing myself as a coach. Coaching is a part time job for me at the moment and I would like to go full time somewhere soon. (At the moment I teach sport at a pupil referral unit in Reading full time) My aim is to one day work within a professional Academy set up in England, that’s the dream. I understand how competitive that area is though, and I have a lot of work to do before I can start thinking about a role like that. For now, I am happy.
I am working part time with a professional club coaching at their academy development centres, plus coaching with the grassroots under 14’s at Ascot United. I’m also practicing for my UEFA B assessment that is coming up soon. Passing this course has been my aim since I started coaching. I don’t like looking too far into the future, but after the B licence I want to do my FA Youth Award assessment. One day I would like to do the A licence and possibly go into coach education. I don’t like making too many plans though, as long as I continue to work hard, enjoying coaching and get a buzz from it I’m happy.
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