In part two of his blog looking at performance models, The FA’s Steve Dorey, looks at how to ensure the content of your model links to your context and how to keep the conversation going with parents and players.
In the first blog, we covered:
- Creating a mental model.
- Identifying a vision of target performance across the FA four corner model with an elite team.
- Calibrating that vision to the players you work with.
What now?
So, what does that mean now? Well, you’ve established a vision of how you would like the team to play. This is known as a ‘top-down approach’, where the vision is established from above and given to people on the ground.
This can be very effective, particularly in the short-term, but I would strongly advocate getting the players (and, depending on the age of the players, their parents too) involved at this stage and share your vision with them.
Another reason for calibrating your vision with your context is that everyone needs to be able to understand it. Try to use words and phrases which are appropriate for the players you’re working with.
Asking for their thoughts and opinions can be daunting. But a crucial element of bringing a performance model from paper to the pitch is obtaining ‘buy in’ from the people who will be carrying it out.
By inviting comments and suggestions from stakeholders, you’re working in a ‘bottom-up approach’ – providing you’re willing to accept their comments and suggestions. This is crucial insight and will help make your performance model something that everyone’s excited about and feels proud to be part of because they’ve been part of its creation.
Continuing the conversation
Congratulations, you now have a performance model for your team. But not so fast. This isn’t set in stone. A performance model will change and evolve over time so keep the conversations going with parents and players.
You might want to consider scheduling in some reviews with everyone to check in on the progress you’re making towards your targets. A couple of times a season is plenty, perhaps at the beginning, middle and end. This might be a good opportunity to get your players to think creatively and work together to present their own ideas to each other. For example: all the defenders could come up with some examples of outstanding performance when out of possession.
How are you going to use your performance model?
So now you have a performance model, what are you going to do with it? You can use it as a navigational device to direct your session and matchday planning, keeping your topics personalised and connected to the model you’ve all created.
You’ve already identified how you’d like the team to play and what the ‘key enablers’ are, now you can bring them to life every time you work with the players.
You have the ingredients you need to help your players work towards your performance model but putting those into a curriculum/syllabus is by no means straight forward. However, what a good place to start.
Top tips for developing a performance model with your team
- Keep it simple: start with a mental model to describe how you see your sport.
- Observe a team you really admire and note down what they do in each component of your mental model.
- Dig a little deeper: what do they do across each section of The FA 4 Corner Model?
- Calibrate this to your own context:
- What are your players currently capable of (current performance)?
- What would you like them to be able to do in the future (target performance)?
- How far into the future does your target performance exist: by the end of next week, by the end of the season, in several years?
- Share your vision with parents and players: ask for comments and suggestions.
- Finalise your top-down/bottom-up performance model.
- Bring it to life in your sessions and matchdays.
- Schedule in some review sessions: at the beginning, middle and end of the season with parents and players to see what progress you’re making.
For similar content, check out these two articles on The Boot Room: