28th Sept 2022
In order to create competition for places, a football club needs enough fit and capable players competing regularly but is it fair to expect a substitute, who may not have played many minutes during the last month, to be ready to step in at a moment’s notice? How do you prepare everyone? If we think of playing time as development opportunities, every minute given to a player has a positive impact on their readiness. Conversely, every time a player has to make way for another, they are losing valuable development time. Our role as coaches is to try and create a balance.
Several years ago, I found myself in a cup semi-final without a recognised left back due to injury. I ended up throwing a lad the number 3 shirt in the hope that he would be ok and would get through it with minimal impact on the team. I was concernced about his confidence and the pressure he felt to not let the team down. He was ill-prepared.
I wrote previously about the need for players to have multiple positions. The progression from development squad to senior group highlights this. The requirements of each competition level are slightly different and when a young man is trying to build his confidence, the last thing he wants to do is play in a position that he has never experienced before. He is prone to worry and highly likely to make mistakes. In recent weeks, several of the development squad have attended first team training sessions and experiences. Their selection is based upon a mixture of their maturity, technical ability and willingness. What we have learnt together relates to the expectations players put on each other and the application of their skill within a different environment. Our players are experiencing first hand what it feels like to be in that first team space. They back their ability but need to find a level of confidence that allows them to express it. Like my previous number 3, they worry about getting it wrong and are stressed by what their peers might be thinking. Supporting their self-esteem is key and it is the biggest difference between development coaching and results-based approaches. Players all develop at different speeds and are ready for new challenges at different times. We see 7 players being involved in first team activity as a win, especially so early into this season. We hope some of those lads will draw confidence from the experience and be hungry to push their way into Chris Funnell’s plans. To help them do that, we will continue to focus on the development of the person and their readiness to step off his bench!
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