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“Chaos provides players with similar situations they will find in a game...”The most effective way in which we can embrace chaos and use it in the development of players is to actually plan for it, so that it becomes ‘organised chaos’. To do this, practices should contain some of the key ingredients needed to produce chaos; freedom, traffic, multiple directions, and constant involvement. An example of how this can be achieved is on page 15. At first glance, this practice will look messy and chaotic, in that players will come and go as they please between different sections, some areas of the practice will be busier than others and there will be very little structure. However, what is actually happening, is that the players are being exposed to a wide range of experiences that are linked to the focus of the session, within a fun and competitive environment. Because the players are all being allowed to decide which area to enter, when and how, they will frequently come across other players, either those with a ball or those whose role it is to take the ball off them. Therefore, they will have to constantly manipulate the ball, change the direction in which they are going and alter the speed they are travelling at, all while scanning and looking for space to move into. Basically, the chaos is providing the players with similar situations they will find in the game of football, allowing them to practice relevant skills in a realistic environment.
“Adults like structure but during childhood we much preferred random and mess...”Instead, we should be looking to plan practices that first of all give the players the opportunity to do what they enjoy and, secondly, provides them with an environment that helps support and accelerate their development. We need to be able to trust the players and have the belief in them that they can cope with everything that these types of practices throw at them. In these instances, we can let the environment be the main source of learning, with our role being to provide guidance and support through encouragement, individual challenges and effective questioning. Therefore, instead of trying to prevent chaos within our practices, we should look to incorporate it and actually use it, as part of our long-term player development strategy. EMBRACE CHAOS PRACTICE Now use the Embracing chaos practice activity to harness chaos and give your players decisions to make...
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