MY TAKE ON EFFECTIVE COACHING AT LOCAL CLUB LEVEL

There is nothing more exciting than watching the likes of Tom GUTTORMSEN, Brad LACEY, Nick KUYPER, John STEVENSON, or David THOMAS explode through a gap in an opponents defence, then check, turn, twist and side step before firing a shot at goal.

I get a thrill out of watching Jamie AUSTEN, Michael BROWN, Adrian NITSCHKE and Adam BENNETT getting up high and winning a header which they direct to the feet of a supporting midfielder like Alistair PASE, Keita FURUIE, Clayton MACKENZIE-ROSS or the outside backs in Schon HANSEN, and Daniel SHEPHERD who in turn start a swift counter attack and release the likes of Josh PURTON or David FORSHAW with an accurate pass. Many spectators will get to see this sort of play on match day and perhaps not realise how much work these lads put in at training, and how much practice goes into perfecting such movement.

One of the difficulties for coaches in Brisbane is that they have their team for training just twice a week and then for only a few hours. Many up and coming coaches study and attend courses which are based on full time coaches working with full time teams. Often coaches with limited time with their team will “Cram” too much into a training session feeling that they must cover all the drills or training aspects that they may have seen on a DVD of some Professional club at training. I have personally observed coaches, coaching every single ball from the side line on match days. How off putting would that be to players? During the game is not the time to teach skills.

Coaching is about having an intricate knowledge of the players in your squad and knowing what makes them tick, and knowing what to say at the right time to an individual. In my opinion managing personalities is the key to coaching effectively.

Another key factor in coaching is being able to identify and then correct player mistakes/errors. I think it was in 1971 when Steve PALMER of Watford F.C. explained this best to me. He said, “There are two types of playing errors that players make. They are learning errors and performance errors”.
1. Learning errors occur when players do not know how to perform a skill.
2. Performance errors occur when players make mistakes in trying to execute a skill.

From that I learnt to observe my players during game time, and take notes which would then help me plan my next training session and address any “Skill errors”.

With “Performance errors” it is a little different in that such errors need to be corrected during the game. Performance errors occur in the main because players lose concentration and switch off momentarily. How many times do you hear coaches saying, “We let in a soft goal”. That is generally a lapse in focus at the task at hand. One method I use to correct performance errors is by “Offering” a water bottle from the side lines to an individual that I want to talk to. All my players now know that when they offered this gesture from me it is usually because I want to make some tactical change or to address in individual error with the player. In my teams a sure way of knowing that a player has lost concentration is when I offer the water bottle only to be told that they are not thirsty. I of course immediately respond, “YES YOU ARE!”

In my opinion as a coach you should not always just track the players on the ball in a game, but observe others off the ball to ensure that they are well positioned so that when your team loses possession your defensive pattern is activated. Often the last action, or inaction immediately prior to letting in a goal is not the sole cause of conceding, and one has to go back three or even four plays leading to the goal in order to address the matter.
I am not a believer of the yelling and screaming at players on the pitch or in the dressing room. I think that only serves to increase tension. What you need is to release any tension by offering words of encouragement.
I am not a believer of laying the blame at individuals, I subscribe to the “We win together-We lose together” principle.
 I will never put an individual on the spot in front of his/her team mates, I prefer to get him or her aside at the first training session after the match and discuss any issues and provide a solution to any individual error.

Every coach develops his/hers own methods for defending and attacking in their quest to build a good team. A good team is a team that plays to a pre-determined match plan where players are versatile enough to be able to make changes to that match plan in accordance to the manner in which a game develops, in other words a team has to be tactically conversant.

Joe Fenech