In this second blog in a series of four, Pete Sturgess, our early years specialist, discusses how you can begin to improve your observation skills, help players with their decision-making and develop a sense and feel for the game.  

I hope you enjoyed the recent blog looking at the development of skill and some things for us all to begin to “notice”. In the second of this series, I want to use another clip with some slightly different things to look for. Remember, it’s great when coaches comment on the blogs and in the past, we have had some great discussions so I look forward to your feedback. 

Have a look at this clip:

This clip is quite short and begins with a slightly miss-hit pass from the GK that causes the ball to land at the feet of an opposing player. This player is facing the right way so doesn’t really have to scan the immediate environment but he is aware that there is an opponent nearby. The pressure from this nearby player seems to cause a poor first touch (he may have taken his eye off the ball to check on the advancing opponent). And suddenly his individual possession is compromised – or is it? 
 
In relation to two of the comments made in blog one, there seems to be less evidence of any preplanning (as the ball is coming straight at him) or a delicate first touch that would signal a growing mastery of the ball under pressure. However, the player demonstrates that he possesses the ability to play in the moment. He instinctively reacts in an effective way to a situation that had suddenly changed because of pressure from an opponent and a poor first touch.  
 
In this situation, for whatever reason, his opponent has overcommitted and left a space to the side of him which the receiver can exploit. It is difficult to plan ahead for these situations so getting a “feel” for what might work is important and this can come from lots of game-like opportunities where the player develops their “game sense”. 
 
The game of football contains many random and unpredictable events. Team shapes, formations and tactics attempt to control these events but the chaotic nature of the game will always be there. The best players can react in the moment and can change their decision at the very last second.  
 
Do you see this in any of your players? 

Do you encourage this in your players? 
 
To react quickly to a situation in the game that has suddenly changed you need to have a very sound technical base, great movement skills and a variety of techniques at your disposal. When coaching, do you include practices and games that challenge the players to explore and discover new possibilities? or do you make all the decisions for the players? 
 
If we are to develop more skilful players then having a broader objective to the game might help. Something to consider is keeping the options for the practice or game as wide open as possible. This could start with the way you introduce the activity. There is a difference between saying:  
 
       “let’s see how creative we can be when attacking that goal and defending this goal”  
and  
       “In this game, we are going to practice playing with width” 
 
In the first one, no possibilities are excluded or prioritised. You want your players to be able to adapt and change to the many situations that will arise, and to explore possible solutions to game problems. In the second one, you are focussing your player’s attention on the idea of width so other options may not be considered. 
 
This is a very subtle difference in language and both approaches will obviously help players to develop but we want to challenge the player’s decision-making and be open to all possibilities. If we prioritise this approach it could result in the development of more players that are totally at home in a fast-moving and dynamic game like football. 
 
What do you think of Pete’s blog? What language do you use to set up a session? How do you help a player’s decision-making? We’d love to hear from you, please comment below!