As the rain clouds finally parted, the U11’s girls were preparing for their first football match. An in-house game was organised to ensure their first enjoyable experience.
The 6v6 game lasted for around 45 minutes, with the coaches splitting it into 3x15 minutes to enable opportunities to rotate the positions they were playing in. The first third looked as expected: slow, uncoordinated and with lots of crowding around the ball. There were three or four players who caught the eye and upon asking if they’d played previously, I was informed that three had previously attended Wildcats. Speaking to the fourth player during her ten-minute turn in goal, she shared with me that her older brother plays, which explains her strength and dominance.
As the game progressed, the eagle-eyed coaches would, however, be able to spot some glimpses of skill from other individual players. One was really taking her time to try and find a pass to a teammate; another was working hard to try and tackle the ball from the opposition, and a third was attempting to carry the ball forward with a dribble at every opportunity. The majority of the group were also doing their best to stop the ball first upon receiving it before making the decision of what to do next. Whilst the execution of these wasn’t the most aesthetic, it was clear that the thought process was there.
The role of the coaches during these moments was also crucial. We agreed that rather than focusing on the bigger picture of what it looked like, they would instead try and spot these instances of brilliance and ensure this was communicated to the individual for all to hear. The coaches started praising the action and encouraging them to keep trying. Along with bringing smiles to their faces, this positive reinforcement approach also helped to boost the girls as they continued to do the things they’d been praised for, whilst others in the group also started trying similar things.
During one of the breaks, the coaches encouraged the players to try and communicate, suggesting they could try shouting someone’s name to let them know they were ready to receive a pass. At this point, a girl put her hand up and shared that she felt shy when saying people’s names, so didn’t want to try that. This was a stark reminder that despite all the positives from the game, this was still accompanied by a lack of confidence for some. Upon further conversation with the player, I discovered that one of the reasons for this shyness was that she didn’t know everyone’s name on her team and was worried she would get a name wrong. Another reminder that having only played together as a group for a month, there was still a need to invest some time in supporting the girls to get to know each other and trying to help them learn the game.
In addressing the crowding round the ball, the coaches reminded the team of something one of the girls had said in a previous training session. “Let’s try and spread out, like butter on toast!”. This use of visual language and memory recall encouraged the girls to try and find more space. Despite both teams trying to spread out regardless of whether they were in possession or not, like with many examples that day, the fact they had tried something was a start; choosing the right moment to execute it could be worked on.
By the final third of the game, the game looked so much different from how it started, a result of the calmness and reinforcement of the coaches, unlocking the opportunities for the players to try things in their own time, at their own pace. As the final whistle blew, the girls received a roar of cheers and applause from the sideline parents. It seemed that the coaches had set an example to them, too in encouraging and praising the things that the players were doing well. Curious to see what the next game might look like, I also left the pitch smiling, knowing that this group of girls had experienced their first football match in a positive environment thanks to the adults who were overseeing it.
I would be interested to hear if you do anything similar or different to create a positive environment for your players. Please let me know in the comments below.