In Senior Football
Ever played alongside players who attempt to effect the confidence or reputation of teammates in order to increase their own chances of selection? You’ll recognise them as the type of characters who pass comments from sidelines at every opportunity they can to highlight mistakes or characters who pass insults off on game days or training disguising them as ‘banter’. Something that isn’t spoken about often in football is the selfish mentality of footballers. It would be surprising if any footballer admitted to hoping players in their own position fail or make mistakes regardless if it costs the team the match or not, but it’s a fact that this happens often. What a weak pathetic mentality that is, but what causes it? Perhaps the methods players are being taught to compete for places from an early age groups is to blame.
Being Taught to Compete
Is the approach to coaching young footballers to blame for developing individual mindsets? It’s a fact that there are coaches out there who preach to kids that playing well or training well will result in them standing a great chance to start football matches. What that approach does to kids is creates an environment in which they see their own team mates as competition. The result is some kids will secretly hope their very own team mates under perform if it means their own situation improves, that’s an example of what creating that sort of environment does. As the kids grow older that individual mentality sticks with them and the result is an absolute self centred focus that can be witnessed throughout senior grassroots football clubs today. Is a performance based selection process really the right culture or environment to create for kids? Have we even considered what it’s doing in terms of creating individuals and not team players? What is the solution?
Embrace Challenge
Perhaps a shift in how we educate kids to react to disappointment is the way forward for a team ethic. Teaching kids that disappointment will be temporary if improvement is consistent. How that translates to the game is how the kid see’s inclusion of a team mate ahead of him as an opportunity or challenge to grow and work harder rather than hoping or relying on mistakes. Instead of breathing a performance selection based environment perhaps selection should be based on the things which benefit the team the most. Who are the players trying the hardest, who are the players encouraging the most, who are the players working hard to help a team mate out of trouble, who are the players most dedicated, who are the players who’s decision making is all about the team firstly and not about his own gain?. Somewhere in those questions lays the potential to create an environment in which we start developing team players and not those who’s own name comes before any other including the club he represents.
It all look easy from a sideline
Next time a snake is mouthing about his or her own teammates from a sideline, behind their back or in a training environment perhaps remind them of the reasons they are doing it in the first place which is often an individual mindset. The team player looks beyond most mistakes to the intent because it’s the decision that can be the most constant thing in football not the execution, mistakes always happen. Leaders and team players can live with mistakes so long as the decision was for the team benefit and not the individual one!