Fussing about the right stuff

We know that coaches are not all built the same. They worry about different things in training and games.

What do you worry about most? Is it winning, is it being fair to all the players, is it development?

Outwardly, we all probably want our players to develop. What that looks like might be different for different coaches, but everyone plays lip service to that ideal at least. Inwardly, we are all competitive. That can manifest itself in an extra effort to have the most developed players, do the most interesting and fun training with loads of exciting headbands, clickers and different shaped balls.

But there’s a whole bunch of details which need our attention if we want to achieve some form of progression in training, if not survival on days when the players aren’t on song.

When you start coaching, it’s hard to know which of these small things are the ones which need addressing, and which need to be let go. For example, what happens if a player swears at another player, or another player doesn’t put in the right effort in a training exercise?

First, I think we have to consider the level we are coaching at, and to a certain extent, the motivations that the players have to want to be in the team. At a professional level, when contracts are on the line, then you can expect promptness and adherence to stricter fitness and dietary routines. With grassroots players, you can pass on these as aspirations, so players who want to push on, can do.

Second, you should think about the environment that you and your players want to operate in. That can never be imposed. It must be agreed and then adjusted. Too many times I’ve seen lofty targets set only for them to be forgotten because they aren’t practical or didn’t get the right buy in. That can be demotivating too. Part of the team might still want to achieve those targets and find it hard when the others don’t.

Third, you have to think about your own sanity. I’ve spent too many sleepless nights worrying about the things I’ve said or done, which, when I look back on it now, I should have let go. You must set the bar high but manage your expectations down if you don’t reach it.

That sounds good on paper. For example, you might say: “Training will start at 7pm and if you don’t make it, then there will be consequences.” How often has that been the case at the start of the season? A month or two in and it’s a different picture.

Keep the bar high, insist on being on time, but in your own mind remember that the players are, in the end, responsible for their team and their progress. You are merely the conduit.