Observation is the Key in any Soccer Session

Simply, soccer coaching comes down to observation. 

• Inexperienced soccer coaches focus on themselves too much and attempt to interrupt play too often to put pre-planned points across that may not even be relevant to the situation. 
• Good coaches observe and analyse what is happening before deciding to stop the session to correct it. 
• Great coaches have the ability stand back, observe and forensically dissect any situation and conclude exactly what is going wrong, then correct it.  If nothing is going wrong, they do not interfere.  

It is extremely obvious to say, but nevertheless true, inexperienced coaches will only become experienced coaches by gaining experience. However in the early and initial stages (and even for more experienced soccer coaches) it can be very daunting and bewildering for a coach to pinpoint exactly what is going wrong. Therefore this article is written to assist coaches’ gain an understanding regarding what is happening and what they should be assessing.

Soccer Coaching Session Success

The success of a soccer coaching session can be judged on what the players have got out of it. Therefore as a coach you should be fully aware of what factors can influence the outcome of a session. It can be unsuccessful because it continually breaks down or because it is too easy. 

Soccer Session Breakdown

Many sessions will break down because mistakes are made, and mistake correction is the basis of any coaching.  So when it breaks down it could be because:

• The session is too difficult for the players undertaking it.
• The decision making of the players is wrong

An easy soccer session
The soccer session is a total success and very few mistakes have occurred this could be because:

• The organisation has lead to the session being too easy
• Players are performing better than expected

How to detect and rectify a session that is constantly breaking downIf the session is breaking down because mistakes are made, then it could due to;

• The players are not technically able to complete the tasks
• The session has been poorly explained to them
• The organisation of the exercise has led to the players experiencing too much pressure or unfair teams.

If however it is none of the above factors, their decision making may be the issue, in which case the following should be assessed to determine what is causing the poor decisions:

• Is it the players understanding (or lack of) which is leading to the poor decisions?
• Is it the way the session has been explained?
• Is it down to the technical shortcomings of the players?

Once the reason(s) for the session breaking down is/are revealed the coach is then in a position whereby they can make the required adaptations to get it back on track. The session could be:

• Regressed to focus on the technical aspects
• Re-explained to ensure complete understanding
• Tailored and altered to make it easier
  • More time / space
  • Less pressure
  • Removal of some of or all of the restrictions

An overly successful soccer session
If the session is developing well and there seems to be continual success, then it is essential that the coach does not sit back and consider this a ‘job well done’, instead they should be looking at why it is so successful and devise ways to make it more challenging so that the players can get even more from it.If the organisation has led to the session being too easy then it could be due to:

• Unfair teams
• Too much space available
• Too much time allowed

While if the players are performing better than expected or are of a higher standard than originally thought then this could result in:

• The session is too now easy and not as challenging as it was expected to be
• The players grasping the concept quicker than expected
• The players being allowed to look good due to the organisational factors

Once the reason(s) for the session success has been assessed and revealed the coach can then make the required alterations to ensure the players are adequately challenged:

Organisationally the changes that could occur include:

• Reduce space – more players, reduced area size
• Restrict time on the ball – more players, less space, less touches or a time limit in possession
• Alter teams – as the present line ups may be the reason for the unexpected success
• Impose restrictions – such as limited touches, no over head height etc

If the issues are a product of the players performance level then:

• Progress session
• Alter session type (i.e. from skill to functional)
• Impose any of the organisational changes to make the current set up harder and test their performance even more.