Talking Tactics Night

Technique vs. SkillPart 2

New Jersey Youth Soccer Coach Lou Mignone

Who are Grassroots Players?

Who are the Coaches of Grassroots Players?

Big Picture• 75% of youth players

drop-out of soccer by the age of 13

• Primary reasons for leaving - not having fun and not developing the skills to advance

• First generation to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents – less active lifestyles, obesity

Aspen Institute - Project PlayA Closer Look

• Average age to quit soccer = 9.1 years of age

• Average years of participation = 3 years

• Only 5% of youth ages 5-18 meet the recommended 60 minutes of moderate physical activity each day

• Sedentary hobbies / average screen time each day = 4 hours, 44 minutes for children ages 8-12 and 7 hours 22 minutes for those 13-18 –CommonSenseMedia.org

Technique vs. SkillTechnique

• Is a form of movement

• Focus is upon the movement mechanics

• Performed within standalone / isolated environment

Skill

• Player actions aimed at solving problems

• Used to execute a decision based upon reading and understanding the game

• Is contextualized within the game – “Why am I doing something?”

Technical vs. Skill TrainingTechnical Training

• Emphasis upon how to perform a movement

• Aim is to have an ideal technique

• Coach corrects errors

• Players depend upon coach to instruct and demonstrate

• Players are copying

Skill Training

• Emphasis is upon having an effective outcome to solve problems within the game

• Players explore, discover, sample, and learn through the Learning Cycle

• Meaningful learning moments connected to the game

• Coach facilitates independent learning, players do not depend upon the coach

Which environment offers more skill learning?

WildEvery day is differentHunt, find water, protect ProblemsChallengesObstaclesChangeStruggle

ZooEvery day is the sameFood, shelter, water providedNo problemsNo challengesNo obstaclesNo changeNo Struggle

Fixed vs. Random

Bus DriversSet pathPre-determined stops (location and times)No uncertaintyNo change No problems to solve

Cab DriversEvery ride is differentFull of uncertaintyFull of unpredictabilityConstant changeConstant problem-solving

Not Fun / Not Developing Skills

Line Drill for Shooting

Dribbling Drill with a Marked Pattern

What are THEY saying?

Who is in front of us and what are their needs?

Importance of FUNDr. Amanda Visek – FUN Maps

Fun is the single largest predictor of sport commitment and sustained participation in childhood and through adolescence

More Engaging for the Masses3-4 Million Youth Players

Technical Training Skill Training

10,000 Hour RuleMalcolm Gladwell - Outliers

3 hours each day for almost 10 years?

Our Common GoalMake soccer the preeminent sport in the United States

✓ Most Played

✓ Most Respected

✓ Most Engaged

✓ Most Beloved

✓ Most Fun

What are the best methods to develop players? Respective time periods have offered different

paradigms of thinking

Late 1960s through 1970sSeparate Training – Technical Game

• The game was viewed fundamentally a Technical game

• Technique was trained in isolation from other components through drills

• 4 Components were separated (lines, laps, lectures)

• Players would play after a technique was mastered

1980s through 2010sEconomical Training – Integrated Approach

• The game was viewed as an interaction between multiple components

• Components were paired our grouped for training such as Technical + Tactical or Physical + Mental

The PresentPlay-Practice-Play – Holistic Approach

• The game is fundamentally viewed as a Tactical game

• Decision-making is of the highest order

• Every action is a certain response to a situation created within the game

• All actions will permanently and simultaneously have manifestations of all 4 components

• It doesn’t make sense to separate these components –They must always be tied together

• Train the technical aspects within game situations to make it a skill

Why Play-Practice-Play

• Addresses basic needs of players, FUN + Development

• Player-Centered

• Each phase replicates the complexities and free-flowing nature of the game’s 4 moments

• All components (Technical, Tactical, Physical, and Mental) are activated during every player action to make it a Skill

Self-Determination TheoryHow Motivation Works Through the Meeting of

Basic Psychological Needs

1. Autonomy – belief that one’s actions are self-directed, level of personal freedom, player can make his or her own decisions

2. Relatedness – we are all part of a group, we focus upon collaboration of efforts toward goals

3. Competence – feeling successful in response to challenges linked to current level of mastery, this brings confidence

Self-Determination Theory and

Play-Practice-Play

Autonomy

Game-Like Environment – freedom to make decisions and problem solve within the context of the game during all phases

Guided Questions –asking, listening, stimulating independent thought, and valuing input

Self-Determination Theory and

Play-Practice-Play

RelatednessGoals and Objectives -

achieved through collective Player Actions and Team Tactical Principles

Two Teams – each phase involves a game between two teams, each collaborating to achieve success

Functional Groups –interaction between goalkeeper, backs, midfielders, forwards

Self-Determination Theory and

Play-Practice-Play

Competence

Observing and Adapting – coach adjusts teams and/or conditions to ensure optimal levels of repetition and challenge

Core, Less Challenging, More Challenging –coach plans activities of varying levels of difficulty to find the appropriate balance

FUN + Challenge

Players become more Competent (includes ball mastery), have a sense of Relatedness with the team, and are guided along a path to Autonomywhen we place them within a FUN environment that has the appropriate level of challenge

Supporting their basic psychological needs

Challenge as Motivation

• Making own decisions

• Taking initiative

• Being responsible

• Experiencing appropriate level of challenge

The Most Powerful Learning Environment for Skill Acquisition

• Allow players to experience and look for solutions

• Decisions are based upon reading and understanding the game – Information dictates action

• Mistakes offer a great learning opportunity –encourage players to try, take risks, fail, reflect, and try again

• Create environments that encourage creativity, fun, decision-making, and ultimately build self-esteem and instincts for problem solving

6 Key Qualities of a U.S. Soccer PlayerWhat Makes a Skillful Player?

1. Read and understand the game and make decisions

2. Take initiative / Be proactive

3. Demonstrate focus

4. Optimal technical abilities

5. Optimal physical abilities

6. Taking responsibility and accountability for one’s own development and performance

The Talent CodeDaniel Coyle

“No time plus no space equals better skills.”

“Futsal compresses soccer’s essential skills into a small box; it places players inside the deep practice zone, making and correcting errors, constantly generating solutions to vivid problems.”

Skill Training + Technical Training

Acknowledgements

• U.S. Soccer Coaching Education Department – Director of Coaching Barry Pauwels and Grassroots Coach Educator Zach Crawford

• Dr. Amanda Visek and Colleagues at George Washington University – FUN Integration Theory and FUN Maps

• Dr. Edward Deci and Dr. Richard Ryan – Self-Determination Theory• Aspen Institute Project Play• American Development Model• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services • Common Sense Media.Org• Dr. Malcolm Gladwell – Outliers• Daniel Coyle – The Talent Code

Talking Tactics Night

Technique vs. SkillPart 2

New Jersey Youth Soccer Coach Lou Mignone