Just Let Them Play
Depending on how long you are coaching it is very likely you'll have heard the 'just let them play' phrase. The phrase is one that suggests training should simply be adults or kids playing football and nothing more, the notion that simply throwing a ball into a pitch is good enough to allow development occur. Sounds hard to believe that some people believe this right? Well, it's something we at Keepitonthedeck have read very often lately across out social media channels. A recent example came on a post we placed featuring a 4v4 Plus 3 practice. The user, who'll we'll call MR X for now wrote the following. QUOTE " These sessions are a complete waste of time, what do they achieve? why not play a small side 5v5 plus 1 match instead of this rubbish, too many coaches today making training boring". Where do we even begin in our response to that?
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐏𝐞𝐩 𝐆𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐚
— Keepitonthedeck (@Keepitonthedeck) February 21, 2021
The 4v4 Plus 3 has a variety of set up structures. Excellent for working fundamentals of possession based football. pic.twitter.com/IJNyAgap5w
At the Youngest Age Groups Just Allowing Them Play is Fine
We would agree that at the foundation phase, allowing as much free play as possible to occur is fine to a certain extent. With that said the responsibility of a coach at those age groups should be developing a love and attachment to the game. Simply playing does not guarantee fun for all kids, and so the coaches still must be creative in their ways to engage children that are fun yet challenge them to develop the technical aspects of the game at the same time.
The Just Let Them Play Approach at Older Age Group’s is Not Coaching!
The ‘Just let them play’ approach is a very interesting point of view that many coaches today seem to take up. We see a lot of coaches today who take the view that absolutely everything that is not a game is irrelevant for training. Let’s take for example the following practice:
3v3v3 Possession Set Up. pic.twitter.com/hVlZuEIr54
— Keepitonthedeck (@Keepitonthedeck) March 16, 2021
The practice above is what is known as an objective session. That means the practice is deliberately structured in such a way as to challenge players decision making. Expecting players to simply learn by just throwing a ball into play without deliberate practice is not coaching, anyone could do that. In this session a coach has structured the game to challenge players' decisions in relation to:
1. Decision making when playing between the lines or playing a forward pass.
2. Screenplay.
3. Pressing angles.
4. Transitions.
5. Angles of support.
6. Movement to receive.
And those just some of the examples constantly challenged by structuring the session as it is above. Because it's a deliberate practice, topics like those mentioned above are challenged far more frequently than they would be in a simple 4v4 or 5v5 for example. It becomes clearer for players to focus on the key points mentioned above. When players begin to improve on the topics listed, then comes the time to move into the game itself and see do players apply the habits/lessons gained or focused on. Think of it like stabilizers for a bike. You don't just throw kids on a bike and expect them to cycle perfectly.
What Makes a Good Coach?
The best coaches at all levels of the game are those creative enough to constantly restructure and break down the game in a manor that will improve players performance and knowledge of the actual real game itself. Sessions like those above are crucial learning aids for players and learning aids to help a coach guide players within that learning journey.
