References

BBC Sport [Online]
Available from:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/skills/4229090.stm
[Accessed 07/03/15]

Independent Coach Education (2014) [Online]
Available from:
http://www.independentcoacheducation.co.uk/blog/022470-constraint-led_approach_to_coaching_cricket
[Accessed throughout]

Liam Hendley (2016) [Photos]
[Accessed throughout]

Sam Snow (2011) [Online]
Available from:
http://www.humankinetics.com/products/all-products/Coaching-Youth-Soccer-5th-Edition
[Accessed 15/02/16]

Sports Session Planner [Online]
Available from:
http://www.sportsessionplanner.com/s/BojP/Risca-United-Academy-(U16s)-29-09-2014.html
[Accessed 01/05/16]

Football (Possession): Coaching Reflection UPDATED

Football (Possession): Coaching Reflection UPDATED

Warm Up

The warm up was a steady warm up, with not too much intensity, but with a few activities as to make it fun and not boring. The warm up went well, and the participants were highly active within the warm up, which lead well into the first drill.

The warm up was based on special awareness, ensuring the participants had space within the square, and when reacting to a whistle task they were able to complete with enough space and to a sufficient level. All of the participants took part and were all active throughout and understood the tasks clearly and there was no confusion involved.

Planning

In terms of the planning, levels of organisation were a lot higher when planning the possession based session. This is because I had learnt from the previous session and came to the decision that my organisation and planning levels needed to exceed those from before. This decision ensured that my plan was successful and that the entire organisation needed before, during and after the session was completed. A huge advantage I had going into this session was the fact I had delivered a similar session previously and this was to be an improved version, so I knew what I had done wrong previously and what I needed to improve on.

By ensuring that the plan was fail-proof it allowed me to be a lot more comfortable with the session overall, knowing I had a solid plan behind me and I know that every drill lead smoothly into the one that was to follow. This in turn made the quality of the drills, the session and my delivery a lot more professional in comparison to the first attempt.

Although there were many positives to take from the planning of the session there is one improvement I believe could be made. The session ran smoothly, but it was very close to being too little numbers to work, if this was the case then the session would not have run at all as well as it did. Making adjustments for the sizing of the group and maybe having back up drills is something to look at in the near future.

Communication and Demonstration

As discussed above, the plan I had made myself prior to this session was excellent. This then needed to be followed up by confident and decisive coaching. Because we were working on a possession based theme in football, this meant that everybody was involved majority of the time which meant I was always directing to the group and giving coaching points to the group and not focussing on individuals, which could also be a disadvantage that one to one coaching wasn’t implemented.

My communication levels were good, the participants were highly active within every drill I had delivered and seemed to understand the tasks and constraints they were asked to be a part of. One major advantaged I think I had which wasn’t present during the first session was my whistle. This meant I was able to stop play and communicate with people straight away and they would give me their attention and listen to the coaching I was delivering. The use of the whistle also came in big use during my warm up, using the whistle instead of shouting I believe was a huge positive, as I believe it reduced confusion and instruction.

Throughout the coaching session I was also keen to give demonstration, enabling the participants to see a demonstration of a task they need to perform I believe is always an advantage for them. This meant that during the session I was able to use verbal communication, visual communication as well as whistle communication.

I feel because of the delivery, planning and communication were all successful that the group felt part of a well organised session that provided clear demonstration and direction. Because they reacted well to the drills it created a positive vibe around the group which enabled them to be creative and really try in the session to succeed, no matter what the task in hand.

Delivery

My delivery throughout the session I believe was very good. The session went as planned, and it followed the planning as well I could have hoped for. I believe the drills ran smoothly into one another and the constraints brought about the behaviours I expected from the participants.

Coaching points to my thoughts were implemented well, and the participants had a clear understand of the coaching points through verbal direction, as well as visual demonstration. Both of these are important; as some participants learn better through being told, whereas some learn better through visual explanation.

Although my delivery was good and the coaching was solid, there is always going to be negatives at this level. As well as I feel I delivered the session on a whole, I believe that I could have intervened more throughout the session. For example; during the switching play drill, I was happy to let the play run and for them to keep going through the drill themselves. Whereas in that drill I could have halted the drill and reinforced coaching points, or even brought about tactics and strategies that could have helped either the attackers or the defender. If I can incorporate the coaching points and strategies midway through a drill and have participants implement them this will be a huge advantage to my coaching.

Below are two videos of the final drill being implemented by the participants, I believe these videos show that they were highly involved in the drill and they understood the task and the constraints fully.

Creativity and Game Realistic

The session I delivered I believe throughout was very game realistic. Within football a lot of different passes are being made, with short and long being used. Within my drills we worked on short passes, short passes under pressure, quick passes, pressured passes and long passes. I believe that all passes within football were covered within this session which would make the session game realistic. The most game-like drill would have to be drill three. With defenders closing you down, you having to make 5 quick passes in a small space and then switch play I believe is included heavily within a match scenario within football. This then moved into a game like scenario where defenders, midfielders and attackers were all separate looking for overloads, which is a huge thing within the game.

The drills could have been seen as basic, however they were solid and they extracted the correct behaviours from the participants which then allowed them to be creative themselves. So in turn, the drills being delivered as basic, but having the constraints to allow the participants to be creative was an advantage and it gave them the freedom to try new skills, whilst prioritising the task at hand. I feel this was a huge bonus to my session.

The final drill and the game scenario I feel were very creative, as they both linked into an overload feature that I had not developed first time around. This meant that defenders were outnumbered and attackers could also develop strategies and tactics in order to be successful. For this I think the foundations and instructions were laid out, it then just needed participants to be creative and use their initiative in order to be successful; which towards the end we began to see some high level results because of that.

Within coaching there is always going to be room for improvement. The only thing we can do as coaches, is focus on the positives we do have, continue to implement them into our sessions, whilst also striving to remove as many negatives as we can whilst we develop and progress.

Football (Possession): Session Plan UPDATED.

Football (Possession) Session Plan UPDATED

The following post is an updated and improved session plan for possession within football. The aim and objectives of this session are as follows:

·         Introduce passing within possession

·         Interchange short/long passing

·         Introduce awareness to passing

·         Introduce transitions of play which result in overloads

·         Incorporate all the above within a game like scenario.

Warm Up

Within a square, the participants are keeping on the move, nothing to strenuous. Lightly jogging around the marked out area; the participants are given the following instructions.

On the whistle, they will perform the following tasks in tandem with the correct number of whistles. For example, ONE whistle, each participant sprints round a cone on the outside and comes back in. The following are the tasks on the whistle

1.       Run around cone and come back

2.       Left hand down

3.       Right hand down

Including these, keeps the warm up fresh and enables the participants to keep warm and not stand about.

Following the warm up, static and dynamic stretches are introduced in order to prevent injury; with participants dictating stretches used.

Drill One: Passing

In threes, each group are given a ball. Standing in a triangle they are to produce passes between one another. The passes have no constraints as it gives the participants a chance to get a feel for the ball before the possession starts. This is a simple yet effective drill that is to give confidence to the participants about their passing skills.

Drill Two: El Rondo

In a circle, with one defender; the task is for the outside players to maintain possession away from the defender. Starting with unlimited touches and introducing constraints as they develop.

Aims – Introduce quick passing/passing under pressure, awareness and quick thinking.

Possible Constraints – Two touch, one touch, two defenders one defender, head height.

Drill three: Switching play, Possession & Overload

Within this drill the indoor pitch will be split into three sections. Either end will be known as the possession areas, and the middle section will be for the defenders. Below is a diagram of how the pitch will be separated.

The coach will pass the ball to either side of the possession areas, once they have taken their first touch; ONE of the defenders from the middle section will then proceed into the possession area and will attempt to win back possession. The possession area must then make five passes. If successful they then pass the ball to the other possession area, when upon their first touch another defender from the defender section will close them down. If the defender is able to gain possession or knocks the ball out of the rea, then the defending section swaps with the losers of possession. Play this out for a while, is this is the biggest part of the session.

Constraint One – this is where the amount of passes made by the possession areas can be increased to 10.

Once this constraint is made, this will increase the amount of passes being made by the possession areas. However it also gives the defender longer to intercept the ball.

Constraint two - Increase the amount of defenders from one to two. This makes the passing a lot harder for the possession area, move passes back down to 5 also.

This will ensure that the possession areas are careful with their passes, are aware of the defending two and think about their passes prior to receiving the ball.

Game Scenario

This time, keeping the same 3 sections the participants will be divided into two teams. Each team will have players within each section, defenders, midfielders and attackers. Each will rotate so it doesn’t matter what position they begin with.

The game will be played as normal, however if for example a defender passes to a midfield player, he can then move forward and join in with the midfield to overload that area, and visa-versa with midfielders to attackers. Once the move has broken down the players must return to their positions and only one player can move forward and attack at one time.

Constraints: Within the game scenario, the constraints are the sections that the participants are restricted to unless they play the ball forward and create an overload. Another constraint you can add is a two touch rule which limits the time that players have on the ball in each section. Altering the positions in this game scenario is key to involve all players in each section enabling them to develop skills in overloading, defending and attacking whilst also passing throughout.

Football (Possession): Coaching Reflection

Reflection of Coaching

First of all, I believe that the session lacked creativity and didn't have enough variety for a successful coaching session. The ideas were simple and basic and lacked any initiative from myself really. An advantage from the session would be that the participants will have engaged in the basics of possession within football, however without too much direction. There was no end goal within the possession and nothing to aspire towards with progression.

The passing itself worked well, the participants were responsive to the tasks at hand and produce some good results within the passing field. Participants seemed to engage in the El Rondo drill the most, which from the outside can be seen as the more fun component of the session and it also gives players the freedom, to be creative, whereas the other components can be seen as dull and boring.

The constraints I feel worked, but they were again very simple. The constraints changed the behaviour of the participants somewhat, however because the drills were simple and the constraints were limited it had little effect. Simply swapping feet or enabling one or two touch doesn't challenge the skill of the possession, it challenges the skills of the participant themselves which steers away from the possession aim of the session.

In terms of coaching, I feel communication was of a good level. Including demonstrations helped hinder confusion; and I believe the participants had a high level of understanding with the tasks and constraints that were used.

At the first attempt of the possession session I feel there is a lot to learn. I feel if I work on the creativity of the drills and expand the levels of constraints that it has the foundation for an excellent drill. Expanding the constraints and the tasks will allow the participants to introduce new skills and I can show them different strategies and tactics to cope with those constraints.

Football (Possession): Session Plan

Football Possession: Session Plan

This session plan is from the first delivery of the possession football session. This session was delivered in Chesterfield Tennis Centre. The aims of the session were to focus the participants on keeping possession of the ball as well as working on their passing and pressing of the ball.

Drill One

Begin passing the ball from cone to cone in pairs, progressing the distance as the session goes on. Alternate feet used, as well as one and two touch limits. This allows the participants to get a feel for the ball, whilst also introducing small constraints.

Coaching points – Standing foot next to the ball, knee over the ball (striking leg), effective communication.

Drill Two

This time the participants are separated into groups of three. In the groups they form a triangle and begin passing between one another keeping their positions. Rotate directions, feet used and touch count once again.

Coaching points – Same as Drill One, Be on your toes.

Drill three

El Rondo. This is where the participants from a circle with one defender in the middle. The aim of the game is to maintain possession of the ball whilst the defender pursues the ball looking for an interception. If the defender intercepts then they swap with the player who gives possession away.

Coaching points – pick your next pass, awareness, keep your head up

Drill Four

Split the group into two teams. In a square the two teams must try and keep possession from the other. Constraints such as one touch, two touch, and also adding a floating player who can play for either team.

Coaching points – Think of your next pass before the ball arrives, keep your head up, movement, special awareness.

Coaching with Constraints: Tennis 1 v 1

Coaching Constraints: Tennis 1 v 1

Following the constraints process within coaching, allows coaches to develop their coaching styles whilst also developing the athletes they are coaching.

One model/method of coaching constraints is the behavioural changing model. This model consists of constraining the task, human and environment in order to change the athlete’s behaviour.

To put into practice, I have designed a coaching session based on tennis that will constrain in turn of these aspects, which will then in turn alter the athlete’s behaviour.

1 v 1 constrained tennis session plan

The following session plan was created using a constraints method of coaching within a tennis environment. The aim of the session was to constrain the environment, task and behaviour of the participants within the drills and games provided. Following the constraints process whilst coaching; allows coaches to develop their coaching styles whilst also developing the participant’s skill levels.

Drill One

The first drill was a simple tennis drill with no constraints introduced. The drill was a simple 1 v 1 altercation within a full tennis court with a tennis ball. The aim was to introduce the participants into the game of tennis and allow them to have creativity and freedom with the shots they played and the tactics they followed.

Drill Two (Constraint)

The second drill was to introduce a sponge ball instead of an actual tennis ball. This would make participants think about their power and placement; whilst also slowing down reaction times in order for players to be able to pick any shot they felt right. This would also begin the changes in behaviour and tasks due to the constraints.

Drill Three (Constraint)

The third drill was similar to the first two, instead this time keeping the same ball the participants were only allowed in a service box each. This meant the length of play was a lot shorter and this time players had to focus on their shot choices. This is where passing shots came into play which lead onto the next constraint in drill four.

Drill Four (Constraint)

The final drill was still within the service boxes; however this time, to earn a point you had to produce a passing shot past your opponent within the cones provided. Once the participants got to grips with these constraints; they were able to introduce doubles, tennis balls and play their passing shots after building in a rally. Below is a video that shows examples of hitting the corners of the court from different distances and showing it changes behaviour at different lengths.

Basketball Lay-Up: Coaching Reflection

Basketball Lay-Up: Coaching Reflection

The aim of this particular session was for the participants to gain a basic understanding and learn the skill of a lay-up within basketball. The skill was broken down into three separate phases which would all be integrated later on during the session.

As mentioned, I had broken the skill down into three phases, which were all to be performed individually before including them all as one. Having the three phases I believe helped the participants work on the different techniques within the skill one after the other which reduced confusion. They were able to focus on one aspect of the drill before moving onto the other. This was an advantage, however I feel that because it was in a group environment, many people become bored and restless with the activities. Some found the tasks simple and some ha to work on the aspects of the lay-up, but for the sake of the drill I had to keep them all on the same levels.

Communication was a strong point, similar to the tennis serve; because the phases were pre planned and they weren't going to change they were easy to coach and explain to the participants. The progression was already there as they progressed from phase to phase before resulting in the completion of a full lay-up.

Again I feel as if because it was a group drill that participants were seen to be standing around and some getting restless. This could be helped by maybe splitting the groups into smaller numbers and using multiple nets; or maybe using this drill on a one to one basis.

Overall I think my communication and delivery of the session was good, with the participants understand the phases and developing the skills throughout to produce some good results. Maybe just the sizing of the groups and the way in which the groups worked could be worked on.