Community Coach Development Manager Neil Gray, in a past life was a High Performance Soccer Coach and that gives him the luxury of being invited to attend the Oceania Football Confederation Coaching Conference. At this conference Neil was taking copious notes from the Speakers and over the next week or so he will share them here structured in a way that is relevant to the Basketball Australia Coaching model.
The keynote speaker was Arsene Wenger, who many of you will know from his time as Arsenal Manager but he now holds the role of FIFA Chief of Global Football Development and he spoke on his passion of Youth Player Development.
In Arsene’s mind, there are 3 stages of development;
- 5 years old to 12 years old – This is where players should acquire basic technique. He described it as “me and my ball”
- 12 years old to 17 years old – This is where players begin to specialise. It is still “me and my ball” but now you have teammates and oppenents. Where is your space?
- 17 years old- The development of a player from here is influenced heavily by the quality of opposition they face.
He went to great pains to point out the talent development is not linear. Coaches need to remember to be patient and observe. In many cases bad coaching can be worse than no coaching.
The key characteristics away from the game his research had identified were Stamina and motivation and maintaining control of their social environment. As a coach it is impossible to affect the social environment but you can inform and educate and support in that space. With regards to stamina and motivation, Arsene believed that the players who demonstrate the most tenacity are the one who can successfully transition from youth to senior level but their love of the game has to be grow incrementally with the pressure of the situations they face or they will burnout.
When asked to describe what the most important thing a coach can teach is his response was, “ Educating people is to educate the quality of their judgement. This is developed through the game and assessing situations. I call it improvement by analogical situations. Never forget the game is a good coach”
His own coaching philosophy echoes this idea. “Coaching is to influence peoples lives in a positive way. A coach is in essence a guide”
He believes the biggest challenge now facing youth coaches is keeping players priorities right as well as constantly looking above you to the see what you need to advance the players under your care too. The responsibility of a coach at a youth level also includes respect for the body, life and how to behave. When asked for the one piece of advice he would give any youth coach he replied, “ Don’t miss the opportunity to influence the player of tomorrow”.
The final message to take away was a powerful one that echoes through all team sport. Sport is love not a business. Focus on what makes people strong and help express their dominant quality. Look at what they have not what they don’t and help them survive with that.
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