There are many ways to coach. Different techniques, visions, goals, values and communication methods. The end results of whatever coaching methods we use is usually measured in the success of the pre determined goal at the start of the season. In senior footy this is usually measured in a Premiership Flag, for juniors it should be about development.
So how do we try and develop junior players so they can move into senior footy, whatever level that may be, so that they can help bring success to their club. Well according to an article written in the In Daily, an independent newspaper in Adelaide, it’s about creating players who think more.
Creating players that think more drastically improves a players ability to impact a game of footy. We need to create thinking players throughout junior footy by mixing games based decision making activities throughout training sessions. The following articles explains this theory.
“The development of ‘thinking’ players will create better team performances and ultimately make Australian Rules football a much safer and enjoyable game for juniors, according to sport experts at Flinders University.
Game-based coaching and game-play practice sessions give junior and senior players alike the chance to be more tactical, to play with purpose and respond more adeptly to the dynamics – and hazards – of the game, says Flinders University coaching analyst Associate Professor Shane Pill, who advises AFL and other leagues around the country.
“Compared to traditional training, which focuses on repetitive drill-based practice, the game sense approach gives players the skills to make better moment-to-moment decisions in a complex and dynamic sport,” says Associate Professor Pill, co-editor of Advances in Australian Football, a new in-depth look at the Great Australian Game.
“Drill based ‘off the line’ training can develop inattention ‘blindness’ that limits players’ perception decision-making and ability to play according to the realities of the game,” says Associate Professor Pill from the Sport, Health and Physical Education (SHAPE) Research Centre at Flinders University.
Now acknowledged as the preferred approach of the AFL coach development department, he says Hawthorn’s award-winning senior coach Alastair Clarkson is a great supporter of the game-sense approach.
“The view of the three-time premiership coach is that young footballers right down to under-10s are being subjected to far too many training drills and not enough football. As a result, young footballers being drafted into AFL clubs not having adequate decision-making skills.
“But the game at the elite level is not the only concern.
“Teenagers should be learning how to play the game by playing it – and learning to enjoy it,” Associate Professor Pill says.
These tactics, along with advances in player selection, player movement, sport medicine and nutrition, are adding to the evolution of the great Australian game, says SHAPE Research Centre director Professor Murray Drummond, co-editor ofAdvances in Australian Football.
“Over time, the game of elite Australian football evolved from a community-based sport to what is now – entirely professional amidst a billion-dollar industry that has enormous social and cultural influence,” Professor Drummond says.
“This book is unique in that it delves into the social, scientific and coaching aspects of Australian football, from elite player level to community ‘grassroots’ engagement and junior player, Indigenous and women player development.
“It explores, challenges and highlights the significance of Australian football in Australian society, as well as the enormous changes that have occurred within the sport since the early 1900s when clubs were starting to emerge.”
The role of elite football in defining masculinity and football club culture is examined in another chapter by fellow Flinders University Sport, Health and Physical Activity lecturer Dr Deb Agnew.
“My chapter, ‘Becoming a star: life as an elite Australian footballer, identity construction and withdrawal from the spotlight,’ is based on research with 20 retired footballers,” Dr Agnew says.
“There is strong evidence to support the influence of Australian football in the development of masculine identity.
Throughout the year, players should be encouraged to kick on both sides of their body. A player who can do has a significant advantage when it comes to playing at a higher level. Even if your player’s goals is not to play AFL, it is still important to teach both sides as it is a key skill in modern football at all levels.
If you are a coach or a parent who wants to help their child develop, it would be a good idea to try and implement the following either at training, or the back yard.
Throughout the week you should be encouraging your players to kick on their opposite side throughout your activities, especially when pushed to that non-preferred side. Developing this tool will make that player so much better as a whole.
Think about players such as Sam Mitchel, who can get out of trouble from either side. They can also attack from either side of his body, making him a great player even if he may give away some six and speed than some other AFL Footballers.
During a Game
You may not necessarily want to set KPI’s for this as the occurrence may vary. However, you would want to let your players know that they should keep their own tally of opposite foot or even opposite hands handballs. Your players will know when they should be using their non-preferred side, therefore try to get them to tell you after the game how many times they did so when they had the chance.
After the game, have a discussion about why it is important to develop this skill and therefore try to get your players to understand the “why”. You can then use this feedback to take into your training session throughout the week, and reiterate the important of the opposite side.
In the upcoming School Holidays, we will have a Master Skill Development Program which will have a heavy focus on kicking skill development. If you want your child to improve their kicking, check out the link below to learn about the program and how it could improve the kicking of juniors.
Over term four 2018, we ran some programs for most junior levels and abilities. One of the takeaways from them was that a high number (not all) players were not hand-balling the ball very well. The main concern is that players were throwing and punching the ball out of the air and hurting their wrists, therefore they didn’t want to handball over long distances.
As coaches, we need to make sure one of the simplest skills is up to scratch.
From experience is running footy camps, weekly programs and doing private footy lessons, players should be able to handball the ball properly even at a tackers level.
Spending extra time in your session dedicated to skill acquisition with all levels and ages will see your players improve at a much faster rate. Below there are some suggested activities to implement more handballing. If you have any further questions please contact us and we can help. Have a great week!
Technique Tips.
The following technical points are crucial to enable your players to handball effectively. As your players progress, you can choose more of these points to work on.
– Hand under the ball
– End of the ball pointing slightly up
– Punch the ball with a downward motion of the back top of the ball
– Contact arm should be bent, almost to a 90-degree angle
– Punching hand to finish in holding hand
– Step forward with opposite foot when contacting the ball
Very soon we will see the first official Women’s AFL season. What a great thing for AFL Footy and women in particular. For too long girls had to stop playing at a certain age as it was considered a man’s game. Not now! Over the last year Vida Footy has begun putting time and effort into helping grow the women’s side of the game, and now our Holiday Program and Skills Session have plenty of girls participating. Furthermore, we have provided girl specific training programs to junior clubs in Melbourne to try and encourage more girls to sign up for the 2017 season.
Over the summer, we received an email from a young lady named Claire. Initially, we thought it was someone signing up their child for a skills session. Well, it turned out Claire wanted to improve her kicking and skills for the 2017 season. Claire has worked with Vince for about 6 sessions, mainly working on her kick technique so she can take back to her local club. As you can see from the video below she made some huge improvements over a small amount of time! Well done Claire, and good luck this season.
Claire was also nice enough to write the following after her experience with Vince and the Vida Team.
“After playing AFL for 5 years, I felt that I had reached a point where my skills, particularly kicking, were holding me back. I was frustrated by the fact that, despite my best efforts, I was unable to make improvements in this area.
My decision to get in touch with the VIDA team has helped me to become a more versatile footballer. Even during my very first session, I was able to see significant improvements.
Vince is a knowledgeable, enthusiastic and passionate coach. In 6 short sessions, he was able to completely re-program my kicking technique. Vince genuinely believes in your ability and will work hard with you to improve and find consistency in your skills.
Vince uses an open and transparent approach to player development; at all stages of the process, he provided clear, accessible steps and regular feedback. Vince showed me how to use video analysis as an empowering tool to help self-evaluate my technique. He also provided me with a program so that I could continue my development outside of our one on one sessions.
These resources have equipped me with the skills I need to continue fine tuning my skills during the season.
The VIDA team will happily tailor individual or group sessions and are invested in helping you find improvement and reach your goals. I can’t thank Vince enough for the guidance and support he has shown me.
I’m looking forward to the upcoming season!”
Again, for more information about how Vida can help the women of Footy, please contact us with through the form below.
Congratulations to Matthew Signorello for getting drafted to the Adelaide Crows at pick number 62. Matthew has a great life opportunity which footy has given him, and we wish him all the best.
How did he get there? Matthew, a 184cm tough, quick and athletic midfielder started his junior footy at West Preston Lake Side and then onto South Morang. He also played for Ivanhoe Grammar where he attended school and won this years Best and Fairest. In amongst these clubs, Matthew also starred for the Northern Knights when available and also played a trial game for Vic Metro. After being over-looked for the National Championships this year, Matthew continued to work hard and this may of been a blessing in disguish as he really stood out at TAC Cup level and School Level, catching the eye of Adelaide recruiters. All of the clubs Matthew has played for have contributed a huge role in the development of him as a player, and ultimately got him a chance in the AFL.
Picture Shawn Smits.
How was Vida Involved? Vince Dattoli has played a large role in helping Matthew get to where he is today. After meeting Matthew as a 12 year old back in the West Preston days, Matthews father asked Vince to do some individual work with him to help in his development. Vince worked with Matthew and suggested some other strength and conditioning training as well as skill work. Vince has also done some boxing work with Matthew to increase his strength and improve his toughness which has become a real asset in his game.
Here are some of the stats of Matthew from the Adelaide Football Club Site.
Signorello was the third onballer selected by Adelaide, joining Jordan Gallucci and Myles Poholke. The Club also bolstered its key-position stocks by drafting the versatile Elliot Himmelberg.
An energetic midfielder, Signorello played most of the season for Ivanhoe Grammar but averaged 23 disposals per game in eight TAC Cup appearances with Northern Knights.
After the draft Vince stated that “I am really proud of Matthew” and that “he worked really hard and maximised his talent”.
Skill Development and Vida – As previously mentioned, much of the recognition of Matthews success has come from himself and the clubs he has played for. However, the extra work on his skills through Vida definitely helped. The main components work on with Matthew were;
Kicking efficiency
Kicking accuracy
Strength through boxing
Quick decision making with fatigue
Mental toughness
All these skills and more make up the core principles in our Skill Development Sessions that Vince and Sav Rocca run. All players are welcome to get involved and work on their game and maximise their individual talent.
Does positive youth development have a place in football coaching?
From coaching, parenting and players there is a growing interest in bringing learnings from positive psychology to the sports field. Before we talk about how to facilitate positive sports environments though, we need to address the issue of why we should do this in the first place. Should coaches even play a role in facilitating positive youth development? Should they build character in their young athletes as well as technical skills? After all, coaches are primarily (and in some cases solely) trained to impart knowledge that leads to game competence (e.g. learning new technical and tactical skills, game awareness and fitness), not psychological and social skills.
A 2011 study from University of Wollongong on the role of coaches in facilitating positive youth development offers insights into why coaches need to move beyond purely developing game competence in young athletes. The study provides an understanding of the challenges coaches face and the complexities of their role, such as:
Helping players deal with frustration on the field
Teaching players how to lose well
Teaching players how to play in the right spirit, e.g. fair and not dirty
Dealing with interpersonal issues on the team
Teaching players to respect teammates, the opposition and officials and the importance of mutual respect
Helping players with core life skills such as goal-setting, communication skills, leadership skills and interpersonal skills
Ensuring that players enjoy their training and matches
Building confidence, self-esteem, self-worth, self-belief and self-respect in young players
Creating a culture that cultivates positive team morale, team harmony and team cohesion
Teaching optimism, resilience, perseverance and forgiveness
In some instances, these issues were deemed by coaches as more important than dealing with technical aspects. They also relate strongly to key areas of research for positive psychology such as: character strengths, positive relationships, resilience, positive teams, positive emotions, engagement and flow. Character strengths include concepts such as fairness, social intelligence, perseverance, optimism, forgiveness, self-regulation, leadership, teamwork, bravery, creativity and love of learning. These can be used in unique ways to address the challenges coaches face. Therefore, positive psychology can provide a rich ground for coaches wishing to apply a solution-focused approach to complex individual and team issues. So, whether coach education provides training or not, some coaches do see themselves as playing a role in facilitating positive youth development. They want to build character in their young athletes as well as game competence skills.
If we accept there is a need for coaches to manage the psychological and social issues that arise in their teams, it raises the question as to whether this is too onerous a burden to place on them. Coaches, after all, only have limited time with their players and often coach education does not equip coaches with the skills required to navigate these issues. Adolescence is a complicated and sometimes vulnerable stage in a player’s development. Would it not best to leave such issues for parents and positive education programs within schools to deal with?
The current direction that positive psychology is taking points towards a whole systems approach. In other words, the education of character and wellbeing in young people should be addressed by whole communities, parents, schools and anyone involved in the lives of young people. Coaches are, therefore, part of the picture. They are, in a sense, role models for young players and should demonstrate the behaviours they desire in their young athletes through their own behaviours. They should also cultivate these behaviours in their players. Programs such as TOVO training do incorporate character building. The key is clearly defining what the desired behaviours are and the ways to develop them. How should this be approached though?
In an ideal world, the identification, development and nurturance of desired behaviours would occur through formalised training programs for coaches. Where coach education falls short of equipping coaches with these skills, initiatives such as the Player Development Project can provide a rich ground of ideas and strategies for coaches to implement. Evidence-based positive psychology literature, especially around positive education can also be useful. A cautionary note should be made though that the science in this field is emerging and not well established.
Coaches need to become conscientious consumers of the science. They should beware of pop psychology literature that is not supported by scientific evidence. The compliment sandwich would be an example of such practice, whereby feedback is given in positive-negative-positive fashion. A 2013 study in the Advances in Health Sciences Education journal bemoaned the lack of evidence to support this technique. The study indicated that students think feedback sandwiches positively impact future performances when in reality this can be quite the opposite. In a learning environment these sandwiches may even be harmful to students’ ability to critically self-assess their performance. It is prudent to approach any method that espouses ratios or generic formulas with caution. Building human strengths and potential is a person-specific and context-specific endeavour, not a one-size-fits-all venture. In essence this means that coaches need a nuanced understanding of what makes individual players tick.
Beyond written resources, coaches can seek advice from qualified sports psychologists (although admittedly this is not a feasible option for many outside of elite settings). Practitioners who holds a qualification in sports psychology and are registered as sports psychologists should be approached (this is not the same as a regular psychologist from a mental health background working with athletes). Some sports psychologists will run short courses for coaches that draw on positive psychology principles. When applying positive psychology to coaching settings, it is important for coaches to remember that they are not qualified to diagnose or treat mental health conditions in their young players; boundaries should be established.
With all of these points in mind, a coach can proceed in selecting areas to explore. The following list is a summary of some potentially fruitful areas to begin. It is acknowledged that many of these have their origins outside of positive psychology, but that the field has contributed to a scientific understanding of their effectiveness.
Where to Start:
Start to build a language around strengths. Take the free VIA character strengths survey athttps://www.viacharacter.org/survey/account/register (a youth survey is also available). Reflect on how these strengths might help encourage positive behaviours on the sporting field and build performance. For example, forgiveness can be used when a team mate makes mistakes; perseverance can be promoted to remove a player’s focus from failure and mistakes.
Explore the role of positive emotions. Positive emotions have been shown to broaden peripheral vision. Try building fun and enjoyment into training sessions. Observe whether this leads to any difference in the player’s decision making.
Get curious about the role mindfulness in sport. Mindfulness plays a role in self-regulation, performance and attention. Phil Jackson’s book, Eleven Rings, is a great resource for anyone wishing to see how mindfulness can be used in a high performance setting. The book also promotes teamwork over individual brilliance. Mindfulness is also attributed to be part of the recent success of the Seattle Seahawks. See more here.
Learn to write player development goals. Ensure that players always have clear player development goals. These goals should ideally be ones they are intrinsically motivated to achieve, rather than driven by extrinsic rewards such as money, fame, team selection. Clear feedback around these goals should also be given regularly. Sonja Lyubomirsky’s book The How of Happiness contains information on how to structure goals that we are likely to stick to and are more likely to increase our happiness.
Explore the concept of flow with players. Help them identify when they are in ‘the zone’? When are their skills and challenge in balance? If the challenge is too great, players may experience anxiety, if it is not enough, they may experience apathy or boredom. When their skill and challenge is just right players may experience flow. Their action and awareness may merge, they’ll lose their sense of self, time may either speed up or slow down. This can lead to peak experiences.
No matter where a coach chooses to start, knowing why they are introducing any strategies aimed at addressing psychological or social issues is an important first step. Ensuring that chosen approaches are evidence-based as well as having clear outcomes and boundaries established is also key, especially in the absence of formalised training. Exploring positive psychology can be energising and lead to personal growth, but like an exotic flower its beauty should be regarded with healthy blend of curiosity and caution.
