From the Technical Director.
Having watched a number of training sessions recently, I am intrigued to see how some
youngsters can be so easily switched off.
Last night, standing with an independent coach observer, we saw some kids stop concentrating
within seconds when an instructor stopped training to make a point.
Why, we asked ourselves, especially as the practice was a good one, involving challenges and
decision making.
My colleague made an interesting point.
The players, he perused, are not in control, something many of them find increasingly annoying.
Kids, he said, are immersed in technology which gives them instant gratification.
What’s more, he contemplated, when that technology is in their hands they are totally in charge.
If they are playing a video game, for example, they control it and can immediately switch if off if
they become bored and move to something else of their choice.
Totally the same scenario with television, internet, music, whatever.
When it comes to social media, the users again run the show and can pretty much say what
they want, to who they want, when they want.
They make up the rules and change them to suit their needs.
More importantly, we concluded, they do all this without any interference whatsoever from
adults.
In fact, adults often know very little about what youngsters are doing on-line.
Conclusion. This is the free play of today.
So much is written about the absence of street soccer, pond hockey, kids playing in the parks
on their own. The lack of kids literally just getting outside with friends and having adventures.
Free play now often consists of chatting with their pals on I-phones, texting, posting
photographs, swapping music.
Now, carry that over into a sports training session.
Suddenly an adult has taken over their world and operates the rules and the environment.
It can start off fine, but the moment the adult does or says anything one or more of the
participants does not like, they shrug their shoulders and lose focus.
Someone else is in charge of the on-off switch.
Don’t believe me?
Well, even in the best of training sessions, the moment you say: “Now we are going to play a
game,” faces light up and the level of interest jumps.
This happens with older players, but with kids it is even more apparent.
I have contemplated this before: Two groups of equally capable players. One group spends six
months, even a year, having three typical coach led practices a week. The second group
spends the same time playing various small sided games.
It would appear from observing today’s youngsters that provided the small sided games varied,
the second group would concentrate more and be happier.
Unless I am very much mistaken then, that extra interest and joy would result in a bigger
improvement over the players taking part in the traditional practices.
Some years ago I was the Technical Director for Tasmania.
We had trials for the Tasmania under 14 state team.
By sheer chance, we ended up with eight players from the south of the island and eight from
the north.
Due to distance, the two groups trained separately three times a week and came together on
Saturday’s to play in a south based league one year above their age group.
As such, the biggest game the kids ever had in training was four v four.
Result. The team finished second in the under 15 league, one point behind the champions.
At the Australian state championships the team was the first one from Tasmania to have a
winning record, three wins and two losses (both to New South Wales, the most powerful state),
and scored more goals, 19, than any other state.
The eventual state champions, NSW, played against an all-star team selected from the
remaining states.
The all-stars won that game 3-0 and all three goals were scored by players from Tasmania.
The proof of the experiment that year - all be it that it happened by necessity - was in the
pudding that followed.