Coaching Pedagogy

Coaching Pedagogy

Introduction 

The purpose of this blog is to demonstrate how technical instructions can impact on the learning environment in a coaching session; it will also focus on reviewing technical performances from a coaching perspective, with a hope of creating practice for improvement based on theory. Finally a critical evaluation of the coaching practices put into too place to improve performance will be included.

Coaching pedagogy has been defined by Armour (2013) as the ways in which individuals learn and how teachers and coaches support them to learn effectively. By supporting individuals to learn the coach will also develop participant’s behaviour and technical ability. As a result of training and using the pedagogical techniques, the skill that will be developed is maintaining possession. 

Key Terms 

There are two types of coaching environment, open and closed. Knapp (1969) believe that the environment can have a huge impact on a certain skill, an open environment such as maintaining possession in football can be affected by a number of factors, Murphy (2009) suggests that the weather, team mates and opponent's can have an impact on performance. A closed environment would be a free kick or a golf swing for example, Honeybourne et al (2002) discusses the set patterns of the skills such as free throws and golf swing when the environment doesn't affect the performance.  

The coaching process:-   

Figure 1,   Jones (2002)

                                                                                                                                                                                              

Jones (2002) believes that this process is the most effective way for a coach to ensure that an athlete is successful in their development.  Miles (2004) suggest that evaluation of athlete’s performance and development is important as well as reviewing the coaching sessions for future reference and experience. He also believes that time must be invested for planning, as safety and progression elements must be taking into consideration.

Their are techniques that coaches can use to help participants to understand and develop a particular skill. Wrisberg (2007) suggests that these are verbal instructions and demonstrations. The verbal instructions must be clear and concise, they must include all of the main aspects of the skill which describes how the skill is performed. Verbal instructions can be more effective when linked with demonstrations, Wrisberg (2007) also believes that 3 factors should be taken into account when demonstrating a skill. Firstly the demonstration must emphasise the important factors of the skill, secondly the position of the demonstration so that all participants get the best view, finally the coach must figure out how many times the participants may need a demonstration and at one points of the drills.

Teaching styles can have a massive impact on the way an athlete learns and develops. Mosston (1990) identified different teaching styles which can be associated with coaching, these styles can be put on to a Mosston and Ashworth  teaching style continuum


The teaching styles range from command style this is when the coach makes all of the decisions and participants follow instructions. At the other end of the continuum is self - teaching, this is a session where the participants take there own learning into account, an example of this could be session that participants take part in, in there own time. As can be seen on the continuum their is a mixture between these from A-J, the learner takes more control the higher up the alphabet.
A coach must use the correct teaching style depending on the participants they are coaching, this depends on their ability, age and knowledge of the sport. 

Importance of maintaining possession

Coggin (2015) defines possession as ‘when the team has ownership of the ball in a match’ possession is usually presented as a percentage, such as 60% - 40%, this represents the amount of time a team has had possession of the ball.

There are many advantages to keeping possession of the ball, the first of which is from a defensive point of view, Tooby (2015) states that an opponent can’t score if they don’t have possession of the ball. Keeping possession also tires out the opponent which can have an effect on the later stages of the game, Almeria manager, Lillo (2012) stated that when his team eventually won the ball back from Barcelona they were tiered from chasing the ball. If this is the case it also suggests that it’s possible for teams to rest and recuperate whilst in possession. Winter (2014) also discovered that Bayern Munich had on average of 71.1% possession, this resulted in 24 wins out of 26, and this outlines the importance of possession and winning. 

There are a number of different theories on how to maintain possession and these are adopted by a number of coaches at different . Murray (2010) believes that low risk passes are the key to maintaining possession in safe areas of the pitch. Barcelona have been named the creators of the type of football called 'tiki - taka' Davies (2013) believes that this is achieved by playing short one touch passes, this supports Murray (2010) views on the short passes but develops the theory further by including one touch football. 

As well as the type of pass, movement of the ball plays a big part in maintaining possession. Barcelona coach Capellas (2012) believes that once a player has passed a ball, they should stand still to prevent fatigue from running to find space, he believes that space is created by opposition chasing the ball. On the other hand Gulustian (2012) suggests that the most important aspect to keep possession is the movement off the ball to create space. 

Levels of possession football 



Figure 2,Sports development continuum (2015)

Football has four different levels as can be seen on the sports development continuum in figure 2. Participants that play at the foundation level only have the basic skills and don't play competitively. The participation level of football are participants that play for the enjoyment with no financial reward involved. The performance level involves athletes that compete for trophies in regional competitions and leagues this is followed by elite level performers who play at the best standard, nationally and internationally.

Barcelona are the team at the top in terms of football and also at the top in terms of possession football. The team that will be developed through out this blog to improve their possession football, is Rainworth Miners Welfare, they play at the performance level of the sport continuum and play in the Evo Sticks first division south which is in the 8th tier of the English football leagues.      

Figure 3. WhoScored.com (2013)


From the table on the left it clearly shows that Barcelona are team that are most successful team at maintaining possession and have the highest pass succession rate.  These figures have resulted in 8 trophies in the past 5 years which is a very successful period using the 'tiki taka' brand of football.

Their are different types of possession football that occur on different areas of the pitch. The first of which is the type of possession that Lillo (2012) believes has the advantage of tiering opponents out. As can be seen from the link below, Barcelona pass the ball around in safe areas of the pitch which forces their opponents to chase the ball which will fatigue their opponent out later on in the game. 
Safe possession



The difference between safe possession and possession under pressure is the tempo of the passes and the amount of touches a player has on the ball at the attacking end of the pitch. The length of passes are also varied which helps to create chances and allows players to run in behind the defence into the pockets of spaces created by movement.
The link below shows the perfect of example of keeping the ball in an attacking area of the field and also the way in which the players draw the opposition  towards the ball which creates space for team mates. Another aspect is the way in which the players drag the opposition players to create space for their team mates to run into.
http://www.tubechop.com/watch/5856067

The video to the right analyses the way that Barcelona move and create space by creating triangles around opposition players . It also looks at the technique of there passing and how they allow team mates to pass first time as they don't put any rotation on the ball. This is what Rainworth need to aim towards.




Rainworth Analysis

Observational analysis was used to analyse Rainworth. The video below was taken at a league game featuring Rainworth vs Leek Town in a league match. As can be seen, their is a lack of ambition to get the ball on the floor and pass to feet. A majority of the play from Rainworth (in white) was long ball. Talk football (2015) suggests that the problem with the long ball is that the opposition can win the ball back easily which allows them to go on the attack. It also forces the team to have to win the ball back which supports Lillo (2012) that trying to win the ball back which will make the players tiered in the later stages of the game.

The observation of the game suggests that the players haven't been encouraged to play the ball on the ground, to develop this, it is necessary to train the players to control the ball, and straight away look for  player to pass to and even play one touch football when possible.

Drills to improve Possession

Planning a session is essential to get the best out of the session as a whole. Pill (2015) believes that planning allows participants to get the most out of the session and helps them to develop as progressions of drills will have been planned. As Rainworth are at the performance level of the continuum  it isn't necessary to start at the basics of the skill as it wouldn't be beneficial.

Drill 1


Star =Participants
Circle =Ball
Square = Area

This drill requires the participant to play a one - two with players on the outside and when they receive the ball back, turn on the ball and look for another player on the outside of the area to pass to. This encourages the players to look for a pass and turn on the ball in tight areas.






Drill 2

The second drill was a progression from the first as it required the participants to pass the ball first time and turn and look for the ball at the same time. The coach demonstrated what was required from the player on the inside of the area to help the participant to understand. This drill represented the central area of the pitch when not much time is given to the player and the ball has to be released first time. The centre player was rotated after 30 seconds.



Drill 3

This drill is a progression from the previous one as it introduced defenders and made the situation more game like as it required speed of the pass with the pressure of a defender. The aim of the drill was for the attacking team to pass the ball for as long as possible with as many passes as possible, these passes was recorded by the coach and used to motivated each set of  players that were in the attacking team. 




Drill4  

This drill was designed to challenge the players in the same way as a match situation would. The progression from drill 3 is that, it's a 4 vs 4 game which is more challenging. The winner of this small game is the team to pass the ball 5 times without it being intercepted. This drill can be made more difficult by changing the environment to a smaller area which gives the players less space to pass and less time on the ball.

Analysis of Drills

The advantages of the drill were that they were all games led approach which according to Lench (2015) provides more fun for the participant compared to the traditional approach. It is also easier for the players to transfer the skills to actual match days. As the drill were in progress, the coach was always communicating to the players, encouraging and advising them on techniques and movement.

The delivery of the drill could have been improved in terms of the teaching styles, they could have been more varied. More responsibility should have been given to the participants, to input any ideas for the drill whereas the delivery was mostly command style. On the other hand a positive was the positioning of the coach. The coach circled the area to gather information and feedback from every angle so that any concerns could be focused on in the next drill.

Conclusion

The aim of the training that Rainworth took part in was to develop their skill to maintain possession, this target was achieved to an extent but not to the level as expected, as can be seen from the video below.

The observational analysis was used again to analyse Rainworth, the match was Newcastle Town vs Rainworth (in white). As can be seen the players still play long balls, this shows that the training didn't really make any long term impact on the players behaviour. This could be related to the fact that the players don't have the technical ability to play the 'tiki taka' football created by Barcelona, this style of play may be suited more to the elite level teams due to the pitches and technical ability.

Reference

Amour, k (2013). Sport Pedagogy: An Introduction for Teaching and Coaching. New York: Routledge. p2.

Ashworth, S & Mosston, M. (1990) The Spectrum of Teaching Styles: From Command to Discovery. Michigan. Longman.

Capellas, A (2012) How to play possession football. http://performance.fourfourtwo.com/technique/how-to-play-possession-football. [Accessed 1st May 2015]

Coggin, S (2015) Possession. http://worldsoccer.about.com/od/glossary/g/Possession.htm. [Accessed 23^rd April 2015]

Davies, C. J (2013) Coaching the tiki taka style of play. USA. Soccer Tutor. 

FC Barcelona (2015) Trophies .Available: http://arxiu.fcbarcelona.cat/web/english/futbol/palmares/palmares.html. Last accessed 5th May 2015.

Gulastian, A (2012) Master technique: pass and move combination. http://performance.fourfourtwo.com/technique/master-technique-pass-and-move-combinations. [Accessed 1st May 2015] 

Honeybourne, J. et al. (2002) Advanced physical education and sport. Cheltenham. Nelson Thomas Ltd. 

Jones, R. et al. (2002) Understanding the coaching process: A framework for social analysis. Quest, 54 (1), p. 34-48.

Knapp, B. (1967) Skill in Sport: The Atrainment of Proficiency. Routledge & Kegan Paul

Lench, B. (2015). Benefits of "Games Based" Approach To Teaching Sports. Available: http://www.momsteam.com/team-parents/benefits-of-games-based-approach-to-teaching-sports. Last accessed 5th May 2015.

Lillo, J (2012) Possession. https://keeptheball.wordpress.com/2012/07/19/possession/. [Accessed 23rd April 2015]

Miles, A (2004) What is sport coaching? Leeds. Coachwise.

Murphy, S (2009) The sport psych handbook.Champaign, Illinois. Human kinetics. 

Murray, S (2010) Football for dummies. New York. John Whiley & Sons. 

Pill, J. (2015). the importance of good planning. Available: http://www.footy4kids.co.uk/importance_of_planning_training.htm. Last accessed 5th May 2015.

Talk Football . (2015). Football Tactics . Available: http://www.talkfootball.co.uk/guides/football_tactics.html. Last accessed 5th May 2015.

Tooby, D (2015) Soccer attacking tactics: Keeping possession. http://the-soccer-essentials.com/2010/05/attacking-soccer-tactics-better-soccer-player-attacking-keeping-possesion/ [Accessed 23^rd April 2015]

Winter, S (2014) Just how important is possession of the ball. https://www.bsports.com/statsinsights/football/just-how-important-is-possession-of-the-ball#.VTkMUtL4-1s. [Accessed 23^rd April 2015]

Wrisberg, A. C (2007). Sport skill instruction for coaches . Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics .