morning Barry

match days are really difficult in the fact that as coaches we can never have all the answers to all the problems.

But to be able to drop subtle hints so the players can figure them out is more important.

Personally i try to have an overview of their team performance but concentrate on 1 or 2 players that i can coach with their own personal development and goals. And that is jusr gentle reminders of what their trying to acheive during their performance because they CAN do it because "their brilliant". and they are the kind of words i will use.

As i team their wont be one player out of the 13/14 that play that wont here positive comments from me.

and thats how it should be you will ultimatley get a better response, a smile on their face and more confidence.

I can be really critical by only giving praise for example if their was a player that had stayed in thier position, i would say "remember in pratice when you did that amazing thing and ghosted past those 3 players"? "you can definatley do that in this game"

Hi Barry. Seems like there are two questions in one here. How do you get the most of matchdays in terms of language and what can you take from practice to matchdays in terms of what you say?

As you coach multiple age ranges, do you find yourself saying the same things to different age groups? If so, what do you tend to praise or critique players on? Also, if you have seen a player do something incredible that you've never seen before, do you praise them more or hive them the same praise you would everyone else?

What I do when coaching is I select a topic and make sure I focus on what I want to get out of it. So for example, just this week, I worked on defending and every time I saw a good tackle from a player I work I gave them a lot of praise. In tomorrow's game, I may look for those moments of defending and either be loud when praising the player so everyone can hear or wait till half time so they can get a good feeling within their peer group of what they did well. The language might differ but so will the tone of voice as well.

Great approach Jamie,  its taking a great deal of time over the years to try and remember what age I'm am coaching regarding age appropriate communication, but I do slip up sometimes still lol , thank you for replying 

Hey Lee, hope your well ,great ideas , you raise a good point in regards to 1 or 2 players . Its sometimes difficult to manage everybody's individual challanges on matchdays  but normally at this age foundation they all require the same attention to the four corners ,now alot of the focus and sylubus is based around staying on the ball ,protecting . 

Barry, a great post and something I believe all coaches struggle with. I am currently having parents complain that their child 'isn't receiving enough praise' or 'he isn't getting enough attention'. So adjusting and balancing these issues within games can be difficult.

I think its important to understand your communication within a game should be classified as 'helpful' or 'unhelpful', And importantly, we stick within the helpful category. Is is that your are offering praise 'I like what you tried there', or confirmation 'you made the correct decision' or critique 'Do you think you could have tried something else in that moment?'. If you can answer that your communication was helpful to a player - I don't think you can go far wrong? Keep messages short and sharp - direct the messages to individuals, units or full team. But ensure your messages are consistent. If you want your tricky winger to 'take people on' allow him to do that.

Your comment regarding not instructing players is interesting and a style that has been lost recently. Its important to know that some players may need direct instruction. If you can classify the instruction as 'helpful' to that player then don't avoid using this technique. There may be moments when you need to 'over coach' a specific skill you are trying to achieve. But ensure you give players that autonomous time to reflect and put into practice.

Hi paul . Thank you . Great feed back and information .

Just picking up on direct instructions ,I agree some children do react better if told what to do , but we also need to find away has coaches to encourage these players to learn to problem solve , and support them to allow the process of decision making through repetition and sit back and reasure them im here if you need me . Other than jump right in and try and correct this will not support thier Ltpd . But just alow them to play and explore (fun) build a love for the ball ,