Blackburn Rovers’ John Prince: why young players should leave practice sessions ‘smiling, thinking and sweating’

Practice | Sessions | John Prince | 31.03.2022

Players in the youth development phase (12-16yrs) should leave practice sessions ‘smiling, thinking and sweating’ says John Prince, Senior Youth Development Phase Coach at Blackburn Rovers (pictured above). Image: John Prince via Coaches Voice.

Learning:

-   The ingredients of effective practice sessions

-       The importance of praise and support when working with teenage players

-       How to deliver physically challenging age-appropriate sessions

Players in the youth development phase (12-16yrs) should leave practice sessions ‘smiling, thinking and sweating’ says John Prince, Senior Youth Development Phase Coach at Blackburn Rovers.

“When it comes to the end of a session, I like to think about it in three areas,” says Prince, who also coached at Burnley, Preston North End and the English Football Association before joining Rovers in May 2021.

“The players should leave the session smiling because they've enjoyed it, they should have been made to think about something that will help them improve as a player and sweating because they have worked hard.”