10 top-tips: how to communicate effectively with young players
Coach | Behaviour | 17.11.2022
Technique Journal contributors provide their 10 top-tips for communicating effectively with young players. Image: Getty Images / Getty Images Sport
Learning:
- Make the language you use memorable
- Repeat and revisit key messages during a session
- Develop player understanding by explaining why
1. “Shut down, slow down, sit down”: making your coaching memorable through language
“Shut down, slow down, sit down, stay down, showdown” is how Dick Bate, former FA elite coach manager and national coach, helped coaches and players understand some of the key detail involved in 1v1 defending.
“Nowadays people think it's new and sexy to look outside of football for ideas,” explains Steve Rutter, who worked with Bate during two spells at the FA totaling nearly twenty years.
“But Dick always did it. He would reference the news. He would say: tell people things in threes, because the newscasters always tell you what they're going to tell you in the headlines, then they'll tell you the news and then they’ll summarise it. So, they always tell it three times.”
“We have a duty as coaches to bring energy and enthusiasm to each session. We must praise the players and create an environment where they feel they can express themselves and where positive behaviours are celebrated”