The Secret Sauce
This section contains crucial coaching advice that is not covered by traditional coaching courses or programs.
This stuff is not about the X’s and O’s of tactics; this is the secret sauce that will help you foster a better relationship with your players and it will also help them form better collective relationships with each other. Ultimately, that will positively impact their improvement and enjoyment over time.
Think of it this way; the exercises in this program are the hardware while this advice is the software. You need both to be successful.
Support your players. Don’t damage them.
A friend of mine is the father of one of the most expensive players in the world and he made this point about his son’s development.
“The best thing his coaches did was not damage him.”
That should be priority number one for every coach. Do not damage (emotionally or otherwise) the players that you are working with. Support them and guide them; if you do that, they can thrive.
Develop intensity.
There is one thing that I urge you to develop and be VERY strict with your players about. What is it? Intensity.
That doesn’t mean training has to constantly move at the speed of light; there are times when slowing the game down makes sense, so encourage your players to develop that understanding.
By intensity, I mean complete focus, discipline and dedication to the task at hand; doing it with 100% effort. This takes time to develop both individually and collectively as a group but it is something that you must place a focus on if you want your players to get the most benefit from this program.
Player numbers may change. Field space may change. Training session duration may change. But intensity does not change. That is a constant. Developing this is about being relentless as a coach and not allowing the intensity to drop for a minute; that’s a mindset, a behavior and it will create an environment that sets you apart from others.
Agree on standards in advance.
Push high standards in practice and agree BEFORE the exercise (or game) starts what it will look like. What will unacceptable look like? What will exceptional look like?
Often, what you see in your head as the coach will not be the same as what the players are seeing or hearing. That’s why it is so important to agree in advance on expectations, so that you have clarity. Everyone can then aim for exceptional and hold each other accountable.
When the level or standard drops, you and the players have to recognize it and communicate to immediately bring it back up. Do not allow poor standards to go on for minutes or worse, long periods of the session.
If you and the players collectively work together and address it every time the level drops below an acceptable standard, very quickly you’ll develop a culture within the team that allows everyone to maintain a very high standard, consistently. This will push improvement and development through the roof.
Focus on behavior.
Remind your players regularly that performance is a behavior (the process), not an outcome (the result).
You often can’t control the outcome (there is a huge element of luck or chance involved in every game and that is out of your control) but you CAN control behavior and that should be your focus as a coach.
Encourage your players to have a mindset of being consistent with their behavior (attitude, focus, effort) and that will give them the best chance of improving and having things go well as a collective group.
Place a big emphasis on players having the right attitude. A bad attitude is like a flat tire; you can’t go anywhere until you change it. If a player shows a poor attitude in training, remind them how much this is going to hold them back, not only in sport but in life. A positive attitude will have the opposite effect; it will help them get to where they want to go.
Encourage your players to be hard to play against but easy to play with. They should be a dream teammate but a nightmare for opponents!
Accountability starts with you.
How you lead and hold yourself accountable as a coach will be mirrored by your players. If you get something wrong or mess up, admit it and apologize. As a coach, you are not immune from criticism or scrutiny, neither should you want to be.
You need to lead by example with your behavior and actions; only then can you expect your players to follow suit. Get this part right and watch your team thrive!
Frustration is a good thing.
If you get to the end of a training session and your players are frustrated, don’t see it is a negative. Some of the best learning takes place during frustration and struggle, so it is inevitable that your players will sometimes end a session with some frustration and this will show on their faces.
If players are frustrated while working on one of the exercises in this program, don’t just move on to the next exercise. Stick with it, talk to your players about it (briefly, as you want to maximize time that they are training) and work through it. The frustration and struggle of not being able to keep possession or win it back or do what the exercise is asking of them, this will lead to adaptation and improvement over time.
Don’t give in and don’t take the easy way out. Your players will thank you for it later.
Training will sometimes look messy. That’s ok.
Training won’t always look perfectly organized. In fact, it should rarely look like this. Remember that the game is often messy and chaotic, so you should train in mess and chaos to prepare for the demands of a game.
If parents ask you why your training session looks messy; explain that you are preparing your players for what they are going to experience in a game. If you implement the work in this program, parents will soon realize that there is method to your madness!
Player first, player last.
When you stop training or talk at half-time during games, encourage players to go first and last.
You need to know what they are feeling and what they know and don’t know! Then you are better informed to give them your advice. After they’ve given feedback and you’ve offered advice or help, allow them to finish by telling you what they are going to do to achieve success (that doesn’t mean winning), whether in a training exercise or a game.
- Player(s) share thoughts, ideas and understanding first
- You listen with genuine interest
- You then ask questions to seek understanding and clarity
- Player(s) go last by saying what they understood and what they are now going to do
This is the player first, player last process.
Toughness is mental, not physical.
Being ‘tough’ is not about being physically strong. Of course, it helps to be strong physically, nobody is going to deny that. However, being ‘tough’ in sport is more of a mental attitude than a physical talent.
Work with your players to develop their mental toughness. When things go wrong or when you lose a game, how do your players react? Do they drop their heads and feel sorry for themselves? Or do they see the loss or difficult moment as a chance to improve and grow? The latter is what you want to encourage.
If you can hep your players develop mental toughness, being able to deal with adversity and difficult situations by maintaining a positive mindset, this will help them to overcome any physical challenge they face.
Be real with your players.
Are you hesitant to give players direct, honest feedback because you think you might lose them? Don’t be. Almost all players actively crave real, honest feedback; they just don’t often say it.
Don’t be afraid to be real with your players. The ones who don’t want the real talk are going to fall by the wayside over time anyway. Give your players the real talk and you’ll see them grow and progress.
Leadership and accountability create culture.
Team culture is built by the actions, attitude and mindset of you and your players. The collective TEAM.
“We don’t do that in our program.”
“That’s not good enough.”
“We need more from you.”
“We’re better than that.”
When you and your players start saying these things to each other, you’ll know you’ve got great leadership and full accountability. A strong culture and huge growth is inevitable.
It’s about the connection, not the equipment.
At your next training session, ask yourself, “What do I NOT need?”
Can I coach without cones? Yes.
Can I coach without fancy equipment? Yes.
Can I coach without a perfect field to play on? Yes.
Can I coach without a genuine connection to the hearts & minds of the players standing in front of me? No.
Congratulations; you’ve just figured out what coaching is all about.
Talk less, play more.
Make sure you emphasize time on task (actually training).
Sometimes we glorify great coaching as Hollywood style motivational speeches.
Effective learning happens when your players are training on task. Focused, disciplined and working to solve problems.
Resist the urge to interrupt training too often and talk too much. Talk less, let the players play more.
Enjoyment and player responsibility.
Imagine how enjoyable it is to coach training sessions where the players truly love being there and want to improve in every session. This is the type of environment that you will cultivate by implementing the detail in this program.
Over time, you can step back as the coach and give the players more responsibility. Basically, you will become almost redundant. Ultimately, that will be beneficial for your players and it will mean less stress and more enjoyment for you.
Enjoy this program and be proud as you watch your players improve!
Make sure you refer back to this page often as a reminder. For now, the next step is to move on to the first exercise module, the 3v1 Rondo. Go!
This section contains crucial coaching advice that is not covered by traditional coaching courses or programs.
This stuff is not about the X’s and O’s of tactics; this is the secret sauce that will help you foster a better relationship with your players and it will also help them form better collective relationships with each other. Ultimately, that will positively impact their improvement and enjoyment over time.
Think of it this way; the exercises in this program are the hardware while this advice is the software. You need both to be successful.
Support your players. Don’t damage them.
A friend of mine is the father of one of the most expensive players in the world and he made this point about his son’s development.
“The best thing his coaches did was not damage him.”
That should be priority number one for every coach. Do not damage (emotionally or otherwise) the players that you are working with. Support them and guide them; if you do that, they can thrive.
Develop intensity.
There is one thing that I urge you to develop and be VERY strict with your players about. What is it? Intensity.
That doesn’t mean training has to constantly move at the speed of light; there are times when slowing the game down makes sense, so encourage your players to develop that understanding.
By intensity, I mean complete focus, discipline and dedication to the task at hand; doing it with 100% effort. This takes time to develop both individually and collectively as a group but it is something that you must place a focus on if you want your players to get the most benefit from this program.
Player numbers may change. Field space may change. Training session duration may change. But intensity does not change. That is a constant. Developing this is about being relentless as a coach and not allowing the intensity to drop for a minute; that’s a mindset, a behavior and it will create an environment that sets you apart from others.
Agree on standards in advance.
Push high standards in practice and agree BEFORE the exercise (or game) starts what it will look like. What will unacceptable look like? What will exceptional look like?
Often, what you see in your head as the coach will not be the same as what the players are seeing or hearing. That’s why it is so important to agree in advance on expectations, so that you have clarity. Everyone can then aim for exceptional and hold each other accountable.
When the level or standard drops, you and the players have to recognize it and communicate to immediately bring it back up. Do not allow poor standards to go on for minutes or worse, long periods of the session.
If you and the players collectively work together and address it every time the level drops below an acceptable standard, very quickly you’ll develop a culture within the team that allows everyone to maintain a very high standard, consistently. This will push improvement and development through the roof.
Focus on behavior.
Remind your players regularly that performance is a behavior (the process), not an outcome (the result).
You often can’t control the outcome (there is a huge element of luck or chance involved in every game and that is out of your control) but you CAN control behavior and that should be your focus as a coach.
Encourage your players to have a mindset of being consistent with their behavior (attitude, focus, effort) and that will give them the best chance of improving and having things go well as a collective group.
Place a big emphasis on players having the right attitude. A bad attitude is like a flat tire; you can’t go anywhere until you change it. If a player shows a poor attitude in training, remind them how much this is going to hold them back, not only in sport but in life. A positive attitude will have the opposite effect; it will help them get to where they want to go.
Encourage your players to be hard to play against but easy to play with. They should be a dream teammate but a nightmare for opponents!
Accountability starts with you.
How you lead and hold yourself accountable as a coach will be mirrored by your players. If you get something wrong or mess up, admit it and apologize. As a coach, you are not immune from criticism or scrutiny, neither should you want to be.
You need to lead by example with your behavior and actions; only then can you expect your players to follow suit. Get this part right and watch your team thrive!
Frustration is a good thing.
If you get to the end of a training session and your players are frustrated, don’t see it is a negative. Some of the best learning takes place during frustration and struggle, so it is inevitable that your players will sometimes end a session with some frustration and this will show on their faces.
If players are frustrated while working on one of the exercises in this program, don’t just move on to the next exercise. Stick with it, talk to your players about it (briefly, as you want to maximize time that they are training) and work through it. The frustration and struggle of not being able to keep possession or win it back or do what the exercise is asking of them, this will lead to adaptation and improvement over time.
Don’t give in and don’t take the easy way out. Your players will thank you for it later.
Training will sometimes look messy. That’s ok.
Training won’t always look perfectly organized. In fact, it should rarely look like this. Remember that the game is often messy and chaotic, so you should train in mess and chaos to prepare for the demands of a game.
If parents ask you why your training session looks messy; explain that you are preparing your players for what they are going to experience in a game. If you implement the work in this program, parents will soon realize that there is method to your madness!
Player first, player last.
When you stop training or talk at half-time during games, encourage players to go first and last.
You need to know what they are feeling and what they know and don’t know! Then you are better informed to give them your advice. After they’ve given feedback and you’ve offered advice or help, allow them to finish by telling you what they are going to do to achieve success (that doesn’t mean winning), whether in a training exercise or a game.
- Player(s) share thoughts, ideas and understanding first
- You listen with genuine interest
- You then ask questions to seek understanding and clarity
- Player(s) go last by saying what they understood and what they are now going to do
This is the player first, player last process.
Toughness is mental, not physical.
Being ‘tough’ is not about being physically strong. Of course, it helps to be strong physically, nobody is going to deny that. However, being ‘tough’ in sport is more of a mental attitude than a physical talent.
Work with your players to develop their mental toughness. When things go wrong or when you lose a game, how do your players react? Do they drop their heads and feel sorry for themselves? Or do they see the loss or difficult moment as a chance to improve and grow? The latter is what you want to encourage.
If you can hep your players develop mental toughness, being able to deal with adversity and difficult situations by maintaining a positive mindset, this will help them to overcome any physical challenge they face.
Be real with your players.
Are you hesitant to give players direct, honest feedback because you think you might lose them? Don’t be. Almost all players actively crave real, honest feedback; they just don’t often say it.
Don’t be afraid to be real with your players. The ones who don’t want the real talk are going to fall by the wayside over time anyway. Give your players the real talk and you’ll see them grow and progress.
Leadership and accountability create culture.
Team culture is built by the actions, attitude and mindset of you and your players. The collective TEAM.
“We don’t do that in our program.”
“That’s not good enough.”
“We need more from you.”
“We’re better than that.”
When you and your players start saying these things to each other, you’ll know you’ve got great leadership and full accountability. A strong culture and huge growth is inevitable.
It’s about the connection, not the equipment.
At your next training session, ask yourself, “What do I NOT need?”
Can I coach without cones? Yes.
Can I coach without fancy equipment? Yes.
Can I coach without a perfect field to play on? Yes.
Can I coach without a genuine connection to the hearts & minds of the players standing in front of me? No.
Congratulations; you’ve just figured out what coaching is all about.
Talk less, play more.
Make sure you emphasize time on task (actually training).
Sometimes we glorify great coaching as Hollywood style motivational speeches.
Effective learning happens when your players are training on task. Focused, disciplined and working to solve problems.
Resist the urge to interrupt training too often and talk too much. Talk less, let the players play more.
Enjoyment and player responsibility.
Imagine how enjoyable it is to coach training sessions where the players truly love being there and want to improve in every session. This is the type of environment that you will cultivate by implementing the detail in this program.
Over time, you can step back as the coach and give the players more responsibility. Basically, you will become almost redundant. Ultimately, that will be beneficial for your players and it will mean less stress and more enjoyment for you.
Enjoy this program and be proud as you watch your players improve!
Make sure you refer back to this page often as a reminder. For now, the next step is to move on to the first exercise module, the 3v1 Rondo. Go!