Make them a failure.
It is a well known fact that in order to develop players or people we must challenge them, stretch them, and in essence make them fail. Many an inspirational quote can be found on social media or plastered to the wall of an office or training ground, stressing how “nothing ever grows inside a comfort zone” or “let failure be your motivation to success”. This is all well and good, and (in my opinion) a critical stage in the learning process, however creating and dealing with “failure” is one that should be handled with care from a coaching perspective.
There are 2 key stages of failure which a player will go through when facing a task outside their current capabilities…
1. Experiencing failure
2. Processing failure
There are many ways we as coaches can put our players into situations where they will experience failure. Please note, by “failure” I mean not succeeding to achieve a task in hand STRAIGHT AWAY. I strongly believe goals or challenges should be achievable over time (either a session or a few sessions/games) through hard work and practice, so please bare this in mind when looking to create challenges for your players. Achieving stage 1 is relatively simple and straight forward. Some examples of how we may allow our players to experience failure could be through practice design (a 1 vs 3 outnumbered counter attacking practice perhaps) or through specific individual challenges (“I want you to recognise when you can play forward off 1 touch”). These are very simple methods which I am confident the majority of coaches are aware of and use regularly in their coaching sessions.
Stage 2 however, in my opinion, is the most critical aspect which (if handled correctly) can significantly enhance our young players development and add squeeze tremendous amounts of learning from your coaching. Our reaction as coaches to perceived failure is vital. We’ve all seen that coach who berates mistakes or unsuccessful attempts at a given task. I won’t go into detail, but don’t be that guy (or girl). Not only is it not cool, but it doesn’t help.
If we are setting challenges for players we want them to struggle with it is expected they will fail, so don’t be surprised by it. Upon witnessing this for the first time, leave the player alone, let them wrestle with it personally, come to terms with it and start to form solutions. Besides, if we jump in straight away on every mistake, how do we know it was actually a genuine mistake or lack of learning? In this instance observe how the player reacts, if they do things differently the next time and how they’ve changed their approach.
This is where the coach becomes key. If the player solves the problem alone, it is our job to make sure the learning sinks in, that they understand what they’ve done and how they will continue to develop this new ability. This can be done through praise, questioning or modelling to the group. By touching on it (however briefly) we can bring it to the players conscious and ensure they don’t “revert to previous”.
On the other hand, if a player continues to struggle with said challenge, we as coaches must seek ways to help them along the problem solving/learning process. Use open questions to check and challenge the player around other solutions, offering suggestions WHEN NEEDED. Provide encouragement, and praise efforts, because failing at something is not nice. We’ve all wanted to quit on something tough, even in adulthood, so as coach be that support mechanism they need. With this in mind, keep an eye out for the small steps towards achievement. This might be an intention (merely trying to play forward off one touch) over an outcome – work out what is progress for that player and praise when necessary, backing up with further questions to stimulate more thought and problem solving.
Finally, much like you’d want from the player, be patient! You may not see the benefits or progress for a considerable amount of time, but with the right care and support, you’ll get there together.