Stop Guessing at Performance Issues

by

{{cta(‘a44ae1e7-de66-4a0a-8b91-6f6ca8a727e3’)}}

So, you have a player who is not performing as well as you’d like, and it’s frustrating. They are among your most talented players, but they just don’t get it done.

You have your own theories as to why, and over time you convince yourself you are right – he’s just lazy, he’s too slow, he’s not aggressive enough.

But what if you are wrong? What if there is a simple explanation that neither you nor the player have considered? What a waste that would be.

“People make choices based on what they know, and if they don’t have all the information, they can’t make the best choices,” says Darcy Norman, AS Roma’s director of performance and a DRIVN user. “Collecting data helps you make a more informed decision.

[Read more…]

What If Player Development Was Your Only Job?

by

Every youth soccer club will tout player development as the cornerstone of everything it does.

But making player development the top priority rarely happens. In many cases, the club is exaggerating its commitment to player development. In most cases, they are wishing it was true but not doing a lot to make it happen.

There are a lot of reasons, of course. But one in particular is especially frustrating in youth soccer, and that’s when winning games is more important to the coach.

Coaches endure an internal argument between their naturally competitive impulses and the desire to do right by the players. Too many times, when the competitive beats development.

That’s why Noel Gillespie’s job is so interesting.

[Read more…]

The 4-Minute Mile and Player Development

by

 

In the 1990s, Lauren Gregg, the long-time assistant coach for the United States Women’s National Team, related a story about how the national team often used the example of the four-minute mile as motivation.

In the track and field world, the four-minute mile was a barrier every elite distance runner eyed as a measure of greatness. At the time, some scientists believed the human body was not capable of running one mile in less than four minutes. The goal, was silly, they said. The feat was unattainable. [Read more…]