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When your session doesn’t go to plan it’s time to be adaptable. Youth girls coach Paul Robinson explores how to ensure your players ’get’ the idea of an activity - and what to do if they don’t.
We’ve all been there: you plan the session, set out all the cones and feel prepared. Then, things do not go as you expect.
Some, if not all, of your players are confused. A number are muddling through, while others are not involved and have a vacant look on their face.
One or two constantly ask questions, while a couple take advantage of the chaos to just talk with each other. This was not part of the plan…
It can be frustrating when the session is going awry. In the heat of the moment, it can be tempting to blame the players. However, controlling your response is essential in trying to resolve the issue.
The first thing you should do when you notice the activity is not working as intended is to remain calm, observe and figure out exactly what is going wrong.
Being able to describe the problem is the first step towards fixing it. A key question is whether it is a lack of ability or a lack of understanding?
If the players understand the activity but are not being successful, then the STEP framework can help you remember the four aspects that can improve the outcome of the activity:
Space: The size of the pitch can vary the difficulty. You can set up multiple pitches to cater for different abilities.
Task: Simplify the rules or conditions to ease the difficulty.
Equipment: Change equipment to ease the challenge - a futsal ball can be easier to control, or use a larger goal/scoring zone.
Players: Change the number of players on each team or swap some players between teams to make the activity more achievable.
There is no specific order in which to adjust these aspects and more than one aspect might need changing at a time. Sometimes you can tweak something while the players are still playing, but others will require you to stop the practice to explain the changes to the players.
If the players just do not understand the activity, then the next consideration is what you can do differently.
Perhaps the players don’t understand the explanation, so try and make your instructions clearer.
You should consider the needs of the players to determine which of the multiple strategies is best to use.
The best strategy to use will change for different activities.
Plan what you are going to say before stopping the activity. You should also consider where you are going to gather the players around you when explaining the activity.
Getting the players to stand outside of the playing area will enable them to see the full layout without team-mates obstructing their view. Choose a point of view where the players can easily see key features of the layout.
It is likely that some players will be frustrated if they were unable to understand the activity, which can affect their motivation and disturb their capacity to learn, so it is important that you are reassuring and supportive to help the players reset and go again.
You can take ownership by saying: “I didn’t explain that well, let me try again”, or “There have been some really good questions that I think will benefit everyone".
Talk the players through how the activity works.
Keep this concise and focus only on what they need to know in order to start the activity. A quick overview of the rules is often all that is needed.
You can ask the players simple questions to keep them engaged and build their confidence in their ability to partake in the activity. These questions can help identify areas of confusion.
If there are lots of rules, try scaffolding the activity. This is where you start with a few rules or conditions to get the game going quickly and give the players time to get used to how it works.
Once the game is flowing, gradually add other rules and conditions. This approach prevents players from being overloaded with too much information.
However, just talking can be difficult for players to visualise, so some may struggle. For this you need to consider other strategies.
Make use of a tactics board or cones to assist with your explanation. This helps the players to process the information.
Getting the players to draw on the board or moving the cones gives them ownership, includes them in the explanation and helps them to feel engaged with the session.
"You can ask players simple questions to keep them engaged and build confidence..."
Make it clear how what is on the diagram relates to the pitch. It is beneficial to write the key points on the board, as this gives the players a quick reference and fewer things to remember.
Another potential issue is the area that was clear on the board now looks like some cones randomly placed on the pitch.
If someone struggles to identify the area, you can move to the reference point or ask other players to do so.
You can also use photos or videos to help players visualise the activity or the points you are trying to make.
Have the players stand in their positions and walk through the activity.
This approach gives the players more context, lets them see it from their own point of view and will help them understand how the activity is intended to work.
However, it can be difficult for some players to hear the explanation, especially if working in a large space.
The walkthrough can always be on a smaller scale, but then the players don’t get a true point-of-view experience.
There is a trade-off - you can do a small-scale walk through before moving to a larger scale, if this is beneficial.
You can also make use of some of the players to help explain things. If some of them do get the point of the activity, they can teach it to the other players.
Sometimes, hearing another person explain it in a slightly different way can be helpful, as they can use language their team-mates understand.
However, at other times, they can confuse the matter more. Some players, just like some coaches, can give very long-winded descriptions and explanations!
You should actively listen to the players’ attempt to explain the activity, as they might need some encouragement or support. You can also clarify if they get part of it incorrect.
Focus on the positives if needing to make a clarification, saying things like: "Nearly. On this bit…" or "That was great, only…".
If several players ‘get it’, you can set them off on the activity as one sub-group, while spending more time explaining it to the sub-group that is struggling.
The group that is playing can also be used as a live demonstration to the others.
How long to persevere with the activity is a judgement call.
It might all come together in a couple of minutes. Or it could be that they don’t quite ever get it, but they are still learning, playing and enjoying themselves, even if it was not what you planned.
At this point, you can continue the activity and try to scaffold from it the next time. It is possible that most of the players were just not in the right frame of mind and the activity might work on another day.
However, despite our best efforts, sometimes the players don’t pick up an activity and it doesn’t seem to be working out.
Either we have judged it wrong and the activity is just too complex for them to understand, or, although they understand, they are just not at the technical level required, so the activity breaks down. Either way, there comes a point when you have to cut your losses and do something else.
The need to keep ’coaching the activity’ rather than the players is a good indicator that the activity is not working.
"It could be that you run the exact same session again and the players will get it..."
’Coaching the activity’ means that you keep needing to guide the players through how the activity works, rather than guiding them to play better.
For most coaches, session time is limited, so time management is key. Recognising early that an activity is not going to plan can ensure that you and the players still get some enjoyment and learning out of it.
Since precious time has already been lost on an activity that did not work, I recommend replacing it with a familiar activity or a new one that is very simple to explain and set up.
Players can become frustrated and lose motivation if they are struggling with a session, so make sure you have a few ‘go-to’ activities that your players know and enjoy. This can help to re-engage the players and boost their motivation.
Even just a short time on a familiar or simple activity to keep them occupied gives them a chance to refocus, and you an opportunity to prepare for the next planned activity, if there is one.
It is important not to let one ineffective activity derail the entire session. However, when everything is going wrong, you always have the option to just play a game.
After each session, it is important to reflect. Just like the players, coaches can learn a lot from mistakes.
There is a lot to consider about how you introduced the activity and any changes that might need to be made to the session design.
Very few sessions need to be completely consigned to the bin, so there will most likely be aspects that could work. You will also learn a lot about what your players are capable of, so you can utilise this in your future session plans.
It could be that you can run the exact same session again and the players will get it, or they might understand it later down the line when they are more experienced.
Although planning is important, when things are not working out, it is just as important to be adaptable.
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