Tag: Observation

Silent Sideline, the aftershock!

Post author By The Coach Diary
Post date April 3, 2014
No Comments on Silent Sideline, the aftershock!

Apologies for the late post, the site was under maintenance.

After experimenting with the first ever-official Silent Sideline in Ireland, including clubs from abroad. The response has been overwhelming positive. Original there were over 100+ clubs and that number has grown dramatically over the weekend with many GAA clubs getting on-board. Parents from other codes took it upon themselves to stay silent for the duration of their children’s game and although the clubs didn’t participate they also wanted to be apart of something unique.

On a personal point of view, I’m delighted with the response from the adults and their willingness to at least try and say nothing for what was only an hour in most cases. In our own game; I spoke with encouraging words about 4 times. When we went a goal down, when we brought it back to 1-1 and then 2-1 and at the final whistle. I was able to see so much more by being able to focus on more. When we focus on the person in possession, that’s all we see. To see the real picture, take a step back away from the line. Even move to higher ground if possible. In order to properly understand the big picture, we need to stop becoming obsessed with one small section of the game. Which leads me to what you the adults said about the weekend:

The Feedback:

“Just wanted to say Congratulations and a big Thank You for #SilentSideline. We observed it at the Cutbush U8 soccer match in Kildare. The kids really enjoyed it. My own son and a couple of other boys said that it was ” much better” than having the parents shouting. My son said that he enjoyed the game more and was better able to concentrate as he didn’t “have to look at the parents”. It was noticeable that the kids were able to communicate with each other on the pitch much more easily. I also found it a lot more enjoyable as a parent and enjoyed clapping instead. I’d really like to see this being introduced for all of the games.” – Joseph Fallon

“The event proved a huge success and we had Ciaran Gallagher (Derry City, Goalkeeper) drop in to support our event. The parents were very generous in their praise and can I take this opportunity to congratulate Antonio on his organisation of the “Silent Sideline Weekend”. Look forward to working with The Coach Diary in the future”. – Jonathan Adair Buncrana Heart FC

“I must compliment you on this idea, which I believe was a resounding success for our players. It was fantastic to only hear the players communication among themselves with no pressure from the side lines. Naturally enough it’s a strange feeling for adults not to get involved but from my own stand point it was very evident that the young kids very much thrived being allowed to make their own decisions & mistakes without fear of retribution. Well done to all behind this initiative”.Robbie Giles Ashbourne United

“Just wanted to drop you a quick mail to let you know that I absolutely loved your Silent Sideline idea this weekend. I was at an U12 Castleknock v Cabinteely match on Saturday morning and it was really nice to hear the kid’s voices for a change – calling for passes etc. and really working together as a team! In the past, I can admit to being a bit loud with my “Common Cabo” chants on the side-lines, but from now on I will be one of the silent types and will be encouraging more to do the same”.- Rob Waters

“Overall it went very well. Weather was good and kids enjoyed being out on the grass again after playing all winter on astro. We had 4 pitches and 60 kids I read out a piece from your website on what was expected from the coaches and parents and Chelsea (age 9) read out ‘a players message to parents’ which we also got on your site. All the kids got a wrist band and all the parents got a flyer. I was busy rushing around making sure every game went smoothly, but 3 or 4 times I notices parents clapping…….. which I never noticed before. Majority thought it was great but one parent commented on the occasion having no atmosphere”. Trevor Gorman Kilmacrennan Celtic FC

“The comments from the Coaches, players and parents where in general positive, there where a few comments that where interesting Our parents on the sideline seem to have became very aware of the negative comments from the opposing sideline and remarked on it.. Maybe in the past they would have reacted to the negative comments. The coaches where delighted that the only instructions the players received where from them. The players felt free to play and make mistakes without negative feedback. (This was not a instant reaction, it was into the second half of the games before the burden of sideline pressure started lifting).

One of games highlighted the negative side of our game..the opposition manager constantly berated his players to such an extent that the ref warned him about his behaviour. This carried on until the parents and the coach became in a heated argument on the sideline in front of both teams of players (11 and 12 year olds). Shocking behaviour!!!! Overall I feel very happy with the day despite the weather, we will be running with the initiative next weekend”. – Robbie – Trim Celtic AFC

As you can read from the comments above, shows why the weekend was so successful.. If anything it got people talking about it. Some coaches felt a bit frustrated, some parents felt it strange not being allowed to shout out encouragement. The weekend was about trusting the kids to make their own decisions. They must be able to try and figure thing out for themselves. Many children never discover how to play properly because of all the shouting and most will go through their entire sporting life without reaching their true potential. The players need more playtime like the play they had last weekend.

You will find more comments in an article I did for the Score.ie

Some the comments I got from the players:

“It was like street football with jerseys on” u10s
“The first time ever my dad didn’t scream at me and I scored twice. First two goals ever for the team” u12s’
“I really enjoyed the game. I made mistakes and no-one pointed them out. I was able to get on with the game and focus on my performance” u13s
“I’ve been playing football for 7 years and that is the most noise I have heard from our players. Today we played like a team because we were allowed too.” u17s
“I much prefer it like this. I hate it when the parents shout at me” u10s
“I was able to concentrate more than ever before” u10s
“It felt strange at the start hearing no noise from the line. After a few minutes all I noticed was my team mates talking, we started to coach ourselves” u12s

Summary

Majority loved the idea and could see the benefits on the day. Some of the other comments I got were: “I found it hard not to instruct and felt I should be able to instruct, i didn’t like it.” From my experience if you prepare your team well, you won’t need to instruct that much. If and when instructing, wait until the player can’t affect the game and don’t scream and shout. Another way of getting the message across is through another player on field when the game has stopped or the ball is not in play. A sub can also be a way of communicating to players. Many adults stressed that the silence “took the atmosphere out of the game.” The game belongs to the kids not the parents and/or coaches. Just because the sidelines are silent and not noisy doesn’t mean there is no atmosphere, in fact the atmosphere in youth sport is created on the pitch, unlike in professional sport where the pro’s expect an atmosphere – after all we pay good money to watch them perform. We can’t compare what we see on TV (pro sports) to what we see on kid’s sports field. One is a child the other is a paid professional athlete. Just because Jose Mourinho acts like that on the sideline that doesn’t meant it’s ok to act like that during kid’s sports. Comparing is just ridiculous. The noise generated by the adults etc on the line is generally confusing and thwarts the decision making of the players, particularly down at the youngest ages and it also thwarts what you really see.

“Children don’t see what you see. They see what they see.” TCD

At the weekend we had an u17 team get involve with the SSW and the coaches from both sides respected the campaign. I spoke with both sets of players and they both enjoyed the experience. One player said, “I’m with this team 7 years and that is the first time our coach has said nothing, I really enjoyed the game”. One of the coaches did stress that he would have preferred to instruct some of his players as they needed guidance. I suggested to try and get a message across at half-time or if a players wasn’t performing he had 4 more waiting to get on, use your subs.

“95% of children who play sport, play for recreational reasons”

I hope coaches, manager, parents will reflect on this experience and take on-board the feedback from the players and the power of observation. You actually see so much more by saying less and focusing more on the game and not the player in possession or the player about to receive possession.

Finally, this weekend the 5th & 6th April 2014 sees many clubs trying the Silent Silent campaign for the first time, due to the bad weather last weekend. If you are one of the these clubs please get in touch or if you need any guidance just email me. I ask every single to coach/manager to control the screaming parents on the sideline or if you’re a screaming coach, be in control of your own emotions. Children shouldn’t have to play sport in fear of making mistakes. When they make mistakes, they should be able to process the errors themselves not have an adult ridicule them for it. That’s how we all learn, by doing, processing and implementing.

“The manner in which we have sought to micro-manage our young children’ at every free moment. It is nowhere more evident than on the touchline of a kids football game”

So well done for participating. It’s not easy saying nothing; for sure the players are also grateful. Going forward I suggest you try the following:

Try organising an internal Silent Sideline at least once a month or
Try to work with one team within your club every-week;
Make sure the opposition are aware of what you”re doing;
Try organise Silent Sideline Blitz that could also be fun;
Get lollies and hand them out to the parents & coaches;
Rope your pitches and include designated parent zones;
Get some signs to keep people informed;
Time yourself on the line and see how long you can stay quiet for;
Encourage and praise more;
Talk less and observe more;
Control your line more;
Don’t question and call out at every single decision;
Stop shouting words like, ‘How is he’, ‘offside’, ‘ah ref’, ‘hard’, pass-pass….you get what I mean;
It would be great if leagues rewarded Sidelines for their behaviour. The referees could easily implement this with a fair-play award given to the best-behaved line after each game. Including being quiet. What about a financial reward?
Don’t be afraid to try this. Kids absolutely love it and you will too!

Just some ideas going forward. The next Silent Sideline weekend is planned for September 2014, date tbc. Please use every opportunity between now and then to keep calm and stay quiet. Let us not forget, youth sports is supposed to be an enjoyable “game” organised for and played by kids. Its’ purpose is to teach game/life skills, tactics and a love for sport. It should always be fun. Unfortunately, the reality of today’s youth sport experience is vastly different to ours. Misguided adults, both parents and coaches are inadvertently and selfishly distracting the child-athlete from what’s really important and, in the process, killing his/her joy for the game. Over coaching and winning at all cost mentality needs to go. My aim is to try and educate people that there is another way, a better way!

Pictures to follow next week, in the meantime send on your picture or clips of the SSW to info@silentsideline.com

Why A Silent Sideline?

Maybe the word Silent is not the correct word to use because encouragement with always benefit the players. Especially when you use the Sandwich approach. The focus behind the weekend is to educate coaches and parents about the power of observation. Alex Ferguson once said “The very best coaches are great observers”

The weekend it’s about giving the game back to the kids. Allowing them to learn the game in a natural manner by letting them make decision by themselves. Letting the game be the teacher on match day. It’s certainly not about taking the atmosphere out of game but instead trying to encourage less coaching from the line. Which in turn puts the kids in control of their decision making for the duration of the game.

“Too often we neglect the journey in our eagerness or anxiety about reaching the goal”

Pauls Swanson purpose of observing was three fold:

To underscore the importance of observation (see previous post on Observation) as a primary coaching tool.
The game day analysis sheets were a way to get coaches to think about appropriate themes they might not otherwise focus on.
Most of my coaches, on some level, feel like they need to be trying to constantly “fix” things by telling players what to to during games, instead of letting the kids play and more objectively thinking about things they could work on in training. It’s my biggest problem. I have always told them they need to observe, so I finally created a tool for them to do that.

“The one thing that best summed up what separated the best coaches from the rest, was their highly developed skill of observation.”

Why Children Learn Faster Than Adults:

Certain tasks children can perform better than adults. For those of you who appreciate the longer scientific answer this is because in adults the prefrontal cortex of the brain, where working memory is stored, is more developed than in children. A developed prefrontal cortex means that adults are hampered by a functional fixedness, causing adults to see a spade as a spade i.e a tool for digging. Or let me put that another way for you sports coaches out there…an adult sees a tennis racket or a shuttlecock as exactly that. However the under-developed prefrontal cortex in a child allows children to be far more inventive than that, as their prefrontal cortex is not limiting their ability to be creative and flexible. You’ll probably know this as “thinking outside of the box”.

So this is why a child can see a broomstick as javelin (yes that was me as a child) or the mattress as a trampoline. As a result, children are often better than adults at solving tasks that require a creative solution, such as being set a challenge with limited equipment. Put another way an adult’s brain is designed to perform, but a child’s brain is designed to learn. With that in mind (pardon the pun) it doesn’t take a child genius to work out that knowing that children’s brains operate in this way must have some useful benefits for a coach. (Thompson-Schill et al, 2009)

What the children see on a sports pitch and what you see is completely different picture. Standing in the middle of a pitch and standing along the sideline gives you an entirely different view of the game. The sports pitch can in some case be the only place a child has the opportunity to experience freedom, make mistakes but even that is taken away by the consistent actions and demands by adults from the sidelines. It’s no surprise that gaming is more popular amongst kids than team sports. When kids play computers games, they don’t have an adult hovering over their shoulder telling them how to play and kids master those games pretty well and they certainly don’t have to worry about making mistakes.

Here are a couple points to remember:

Mistakes are part of the process and kids shouldn’t be ridiculed for trying.
Children develop at different stage.
The level of abuse, bullying and over coaching in kids sports is now at an all time high. Time to stop.
Screaming is Not just invading the children’s playtime, they’re preventing children from learning the game in a natural manner.
We need to educate adults on stages of development and stop forcing the process.
As ADULTS we expect far too much from children at a very young age.
We must not forget; we are talking about children not adults.
We need to get away from the Yell and Tell culture.
Allow them to be children, enjoying all the FUN elements of the game, so that they can mature into the adult game gradually and naturally.
It is better to give positive encouragement, refrain from criticism and leave the instructions to the coach.
I think a lot of kids will benefit from this even if they are use to hearing encouraging words every weekend.

Children are given instruction at a very young age, everything they do is organised & planned. They have little or no time for free play. In many ways, we are teaching them that they can’t learn by themselves nor to we provide the environment for them to learn alone or even learn with play.

“Feedback is more valuable than instruction. Use problem solving, ask questions rather than technique instruction, to help your child learn to play sports. Too much instruction can actually lead to a longer learning curve for children. Kids learn best by discovery not continuous instruction.” TCD

How will this help the players:

Instead of being distracted by the stream of noise and instruction that usually exists, the kids on the pitch get the opportunity to communicate with one another, this also gives them time to think and focus on what they are about to do. It also builds team cohesion.
Children must be able to master each step along the way to becoming a happy footballer. The Games should be natural and fit like their shoes.
Less voices means less confusion for the kids. Often they cannot actually hear what is being said, and it is confusing when there is more than one voice to listen to.

This culture of over-coaching and too much “input” from the sidelines actually thwarts the decision-making ability of young players, which is a very important part of their development if they are to make it to the higher levels of the game.”

Here are some interesting Stats about the game in Ireland:

On average 50 kids go to England every year, 18 sign contracts
94% who are good enough to get deals with an English club, don’t get as far as a second contract.
75% come home and never play at League of Ireland level.
Liverpool Academy stated: 98% of players who are taken in by the English academy fall out by the time they are 18
Only 0.021% of u21’s players currently playing in the Barclays u12 league will make it to the premier league.

Remember that your number 1 aim as a coach is to make sure the players you coach fall in love with the game.’ Having fun, is one way of doing just that. Be patient. Not all kids progress at the same rate. And learning the game of football takes more time than most people realize. Allow them to be children, enjoying all the FUN elements of the game, so that they can mature into the adult game gradually and naturally.

Watching kids play sport should be fun for everyone including the parents and coaches.

‘Let the kids play’

I always like to hear your opinions. Please comment below or email me info@thecoachdiary.com If, you don’t have anything to add then please forward this on to a friend. Thanks for reading. I’m also on twitter @Coachdiary

Tags less is more, Observation, Silent sideline

Irish Grassroots Football

Observation

My last post was about Match Analysis and the benefits of using notes during the game. With that I received an email from Paul Swenson a coach in the US. He told me about the clubs newsletter and how he had developed some game day observation sheets. Most of the coaches are parent coaches.

Pauls purpose was three fold:

To underscore the importance of observation as a primary coaching tool.
The game day sheets were a way to get coaches to think about appropriate themes they might not otherwise focus on.
Most of my coaches, on some level, feel like they need to be trying to constantly “fix” things by telling players what to to during games, instead of letting the kids play and more objectively thinking about things they could work on in training. It’s my biggest problem. I have always told them they need to observe, so I finally created a tool for them to do that.

“during games these coaches do not obsess about whether or not their team will win. They are calm and relaxed, carefully observing what their players and team are doing.”

He went on to say “Your recent blog post inspired me to revisit this theme in my weekly email to coaches.”

He asked the question: “What separated the best coaches from the rest of the coaches?”, “I wanted their opinion, because through their experiences they had worked with, watched and been mentored by some of the best soccer educators in the land.”

“Was the answer ‘sophisticated technical knowledge of the game?’ No. There are no secrets out there on how the game of soccer should be played. There are countless books and videos, courses and websites on how to coach soccer.” “Having an understanding of how the game of soccer should be played is certainly important, but once the wisdom is attained, how is it then taught to the players? Technical knowledge alone is not enough.”

“Was the answer “a coach who knows how to dig deep inside their players and motivate them?” No. The best coaches understand that a player’s passion to play must come from within and not be coach dependent. In fact the best coaches understand that they will only have a player for a chapter in their playing life and it will serve their players better if they can empower players to learn to be independent, creative and self reliant whenever, and with whoever they are playing with or against, no matter the coach or the team they happen to be with.”

Paul went on to talk about observation and the importance of taking notes.

Obeservation

The one thing that best summed up what separated the best coaches from the rest, was their highly developed skill of observation.”

Through practice these coaches had learned to critically observe their teams and players play, and then put their observations through an objective analysis that would help them identify strengths and weaknesses, that would enable them to more efficiently guide their players to become better.

“Communicate to the parents that you and you alone are the coach and that spectators shouting anything but encouragement from the sidelines is unacceptable.”

During games these coaches do not obsess about whether or not their team will win. They are calm and relaxed, carefully observing what their players and team are doing. To be effective at this it is necessary that they write their observations down. And it is amazing, that through this practice of observing and taking notes, that a soccer coaching intellect begins to develop, and a Clear picture of where their team is really at begins to form. Through observation, a practiced skill, coaches are able to set targeted training goals, and through more observation, measure “tangible” progress.

When Saturday Came

On Saturday I observed a game from the parents side, where one coach in particular was non-stop directing their players and their voice was clearly heard all the way across the field, a constant stream of instruction. I was thinking, if the coach sees so many problems, it would be more effective for that coach to observe and take notes, and try to pick up on some patterns so they can effectively address them in training. The thing about a soccer game is that is DESIGNED to present problems to players, yet our tendency can be to want to solve the problems for the players while they are playing.

How does that help to create players who are learning to solve their own problems and learning to make their own choices? In addition, on the parents side, there was a constant chorus of parents shouting instructions, often contradictory at the same time. Can you imagine what is like for the players on the field in this confusing hyped up atmosphere? With the coach and the parents shouting a jumble of instructions at players, how does that contribute to a relaxed environment where the players feel free to make their own choices and are not afraid to make mistakes, let alone try and communicate with each other?

On game day it is so important that we let our players show us what they can do, and that we learn from it by observing and writing down our observations. It is also our responsibility as a team’s coach to protect our classroom, the game environment, and communicate to the parents that you and you alone are the coach and that spectators shouting anything but encouragement from the sidelines is unacceptable. You can’t overemphasise this one. It is interesting, because I see many coaches who do understand this importance of letting the kids play, and observing – some with notebook in hand. And more and more are jumping on board. If you haven’t, it’s not too late to start. Let your journey to be the best coach you can be begin today.

TCD would like to Thank Paul Swenson for this content. MRYSL Director of Coaching, REC www.mrysl.com

-End

This is a great message to all coaches, it says so much about what the role of the coach, mentor and/or parent. In this carefully crafted newsletter, Paul highlights so many great points about the benefits of taking notes and observing from the line. The very best coaches give minimal instruction and are constantly observing. Like he says, “it’s never too late to start”, it’s never too late to change your coaching mindset. Start by observing more and coaching less.

I always like to hear your opinions. Please comment below or email me info@thecoachdiary.com If, you don’t have anything to add then please forward this on to a friend. Thanks for reading.

I’m also on twitter @Coachdiary

Tags Match Analysis, Observation, Paul Swenson