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by Horst Wein
Each epoch is characterized by certain tendencies or fashions. This applies also to soccer. While teaching and coaching soccer was orientated in the early 50's and 60's mainly on improving technical skills, the following decade focused mainly on the physical preparation of soccer players, an aspect which up to then had been underestimated. The World Cup 1990 in Italy initiated a tendency in which individual, group and team tactics were considered fundamental for achieving good results, especially against stronger teams. And now in the first decade of a new century, where is soccer going? What will become a tendency in soccer teaching and coaching for the years to come? Certainly, there are different views and opinions about it around the globe but it could be of interest to know which of the various tendencies will finally come out.
Today, to make sure of frequent victories it is absolutely necessary to develop complete players with an excellent technical ability, physically fit level, a wide tactical knowledge and mentally well prepared. But is there still something to improve in their performance which has been left behind? Which aspects of the development of a complete soccer player has not been considered or stimulated sufficiently in training to bring the game to a superior level?
There is one aspect of the player's performance which needs more attention within the learning and teaching process which soon may become a tendency all over: the development of game intelligence in soccer, that quality which allows a player to recognize and adapt to situations on the soccer pitch quickly in the high pressure atmosphere of the match. Without a doubt, game intelligence is already an important criterion in evaluating the performance level of each player in many areas.
The development of the intellectual capacities of youth and adult soccer players is still in its infancy, largely due to the authoritarian teaching style preferred by the vast majority of trainers and coaches to shape and coach their players. The frequent instructions and hints that the players receive from the sideline before a game and during its development are not sufficient to take the game to a higher level.
The only way to improve the standard of play in the medium and long term is to, among other things, start a systematic development of thinking and tactical awareness from a very early age with the emphasis on a progressive stimulation of their perceptive and intellectual capacities. As the player's ball skills get better and better, he should also perfect his knowledge and thinking, not only developing his muscles and tendons but also his brain.
It is well known that practicing, experimenting and observing gives any child a wide variety of different experiences. Going one step further and using and interpreting these experiences leads to a correct behavior pattern when faced with different situations both in life and in soccer. But if nobody guides the child and helps him to interpret his proper experiences, he will never reach his full potential, either in life or in soccer. What he needs is the experience of an adult, to offer advice, to question almost everything and to give examples. This is not only true for everything the child experiences, for example in school or with the family, but also as far as the development of his overall performance is concerned.
As soon as possible, depending on the technical level of the player, all youngsters should be exposed during training to simplified games to gain first-hand knowledge and tactical experiences about the correct way to acquire tactical habits. The more knowledge the youngster acquires, the better! But subjective experiences alone are not enough! The acquisition of experiences and knowledge is much better when it is a result of a well-proven pedagogical process where the coach uses questions and demonstrations to unlock the development of experiences and knowledge, so that they are clearly understood. Stimulation, encouragement or advice, an explanation or demon
Each epoch is characterized by certain tendencies or fashions. This applies also to soccer. While teaching and coaching soccer was orientated in the early 50's and 60's mainly on improving technical skills, the following decade focused mainly on the physical preparation of soccer players, an aspect which up to then had been underestimated. The World Cup 1990 in Italy initiated a tendency in which individual, group and team tactics were considered fundamental for achieving good results, especially against stronger teams. And now in the first decade of a new century, where is soccer going? What will become a tendency in soccer teaching and coaching for the years to come? Certainly, there are different views and opinions about it around the globe but it could be of interest to know which of the various tendencies will finally come out.
Today, to make sure of frequent victories it is absolutely necessary to develop complete players with an excellent technical ability, physically fit level, a wide tactical knowledge and mentally well prepared. But is there still something to improve in their performance which has been left behind? Which aspects of the development of a complete soccer player has not been considered or stimulated sufficiently in training to bring the game to a superior level?
There is one aspect of the player's performance which needs more attention within the learning and teaching process which soon may become a tendency all over: the development of game intelligence in soccer, that quality which allows a player to recognize and adapt to situations on the soccer pitch quickly in the high pressure atmosphere of the match. Without a doubt, game intelligence is already an important criterion in evaluating the performance level of each player in many areas.
The development of the intellectual capacities of youth and adult soccer players is still in its infancy, largely due to the authoritarian teaching style preferred by the vast majority of trainers and coaches to shape and coach their players. The frequent instructions and hints that the players receive from the sideline before a game and during its development are not sufficient to take the game to a higher level.
The only way to improve the standard of play in the medium and long term is to, among other things, start a systematic development of thinking and tactical awareness from a very early age with the emphasis on a progressive stimulation of their perceptive and intellectual capacities. As the player's ball skills get better and better, he should also perfect his knowledge and thinking, not only developing his muscles and tendons but also his brain.
It is well known that practicing, experimenting and observing gives any child a wide variety of different experiences. Going one step further and using and interpreting these experiences leads to a correct behavior pattern when faced with different situations both in life and in soccer. But if nobody guides the child and helps him to interpret his proper experiences, he will never reach his full potential, either in life or in soccer. What he needs is the experience of an adult, to offer advice, to question almost everything and to give examples. This is not only true for everything the child experiences, for example in school or with the family, but also as far as the development of his overall performance is concerned.
As soon as possible, depending on the technical level of the player, all youngsters should be exposed during training to simplified games to gain first-hand knowledge and tactical experiences about the correct way to acquire tactical habits. The more knowledge the youngster acquires, the better! But subjective experiences alone are not enough! The acquisition of experiences and knowledge is much better when it is a result of a well-proven pedagogical process where the coach uses questions and demonstrations to unlock the development of experiences and knowledge, so that they are clearly understood. Stimulation, encouragement or advice, an explanation or demon