The Zero Point

by Adam Clark | Jul 11, 2022 | Coaching Blog

During your training sessions you will use a variety of different practices, in order to reach your objective (that should be the plan anyway!). While considering what you want to use, in order to execute a given intention, it’s important for you to analyse the variables;

What size area do I need?
What part of the field does this practice take place in?
How many players take part?
What are the rules and are there any conditions?
How long are you going to plan for ball rolling time?

While taking the objectivity of football as a starting point and then considering external factors, you will undergo the planning phase of your ‘experiment’.

Along with designing ‘what’ you want to achieve, you also have to consider ‘how’ you’ll do it.

While this is completely open to the coach in question, there should be some consideration given and a possible framework that you work to, when deciding a certain format or workload (periodisation).

There could be occasions when you are concerned that something could be too easy or alternatively too hard? How would you know this and find it out as a coach?

Obviously, trial and error contributes to this and you’ll only know of something, if you plan, execute and evaluate accordingly.
On this occasion let’s say that your players are showing signs that a practice is too easy. The body language of the players isn’t showing signs of distress, success is frequent and visible, with the intensity of the practice dropping, as the players are finding it too easy.

When you evaluate, all of these notes have to be recorded to ensure that in future training sessions, the players are challenged.

The following week arrives and you change the format of the session, to manipulate what both teams can/can’t do. On this occasion the players show many signs of distress because they are challenged, more than last week. The question now is, where is the point in which players can gradually feel uncomfortable, while being challenged? You don’t want to move from one extreme to the other, so ensuring that learning is a gradual process, there has to be logical steps that you can take as a coach.

This is where, the zero point measurement comes into practice. This is an extremely useful tool and one that you can use, to ensure that learning can take place.

An example here is;

Step 1 – If you used a kicking practice that was 6 v 0 and was extremely easy and the players showed signs of accelerated learning, then you would have to make this more challenging.

Step 2 – You wouldn’t then add a player to make 7 v 0, but instead add some contextual interference to make it 6 v 1. This is now a passing exercise as there is communication, decision making and execution of decisions taking place. Once the players have experienced this, you could then assess whether it is again too easy or too hard. On this occasion, it is too easy…

Step 3 – We then move to 5 v 2 and notice that again, the players are getting success, so we quickly decide to move to a 4 v 3. Here we now encounter some challenges…

Once the signs of challenge are seen and the previous step was easy, this now is called your zero point measurement, in the context of team formats. 5 v 2 was easier, but 4 v 3 is too challenging. In future training sessions, you can now save time, as you know where your group needs to be challenged from a starting point.

As well as team formats, the zero point measurement can also apply for the timings that the players participate in and also the size of the area, that could be used.

Planning ahead for the new season will always bring new challenges, so why not start using this method to record where your players need to be challenged? It will save you time and also allow for learning to take place, in a gradual format.

Preparing for pre-season

by Adam Clark | Jun 24, 2022 | Coaching Blog

We’re now entering the summer months here in the UK, which means the start of pre-season is on the horizon. Some clubs will be starting their preparation soon, where others may wait a little longer. One thing for sure is, that come the second week of July, all clubs will be back into training and at work.

While pre-season leads to high levels of anticipation and excitement for all involved, it should be a time for you to rehearse what you want, come the first game of the season. Problems arise when the manager/coach, doesn’t understand the science behind the preparation for the upcoming season, so reverts to what he/she only knows. This could be from previous management set ups, playing days or even scrolling through social media.

Most recently, I’ve been browsing the social media channels and have seen a number of football clubs start their pre-season programme. Some of the experiences I’ve had, have involved;

Hill running
Beach sprints
Circuits
Bleep tests
Long distance running

Sadly, there hasn’t been too many footballs in sight, which suggests to me that some managers/coaches, are wasting time in their preparations.

While I don’t know all the answers to pre-season preparation, I would be confident in falsifying the above methods and concluding that they would have negative effects on the playing squad. Some things that you can consider, when planning for your pre-season preparation could be;

Periodising the work load of your squad and ensuring this is recorded
Have clear principles of WHAT you want to achieve
Have your intentions set from day 1 and how these will be met
Take the ability of your players as the starting point
Understand that, to improve your football playing style, you have to be playing football

From the above 5 points, you could disagree with me on 1 or all, but what is clear in these statements, is that they are objective and will help your players. To elaborate further;

Periodising the work load of your squad and ensuring this is recorded – By doing this, you will be able to see where the progress of your players is going. Is there some injuries occurring in the squad? Can you recognise any patterns within this? Are your training sessions breaking down at any point, due to fatigue taking over?

Have clear principles of WHAT you want to achieve – Without a clear end goal, how do you know what you are working towards? Without these, you are simply walking blindfolded in a dark room.

Have your intentions set from day 1 and how these will be met – At the end of pre-season, you should be fully prepared for that first game of the season. Do the players understand exactly what the manager/coach wants them to do? If they don’t, it would be a simple question of asking, why? There has been more than enough time to prepare.

Take the ability of your players as the starting point – With everything in your planning, you should take the players as the starting point. Without this, you are again going off a subjective foundation, that could lead to a random end goal.

Understand that, to improve your football playing style, you have to be playing football – It may seem like logic and common sense, but there will be many managers/coaches who don’t take football as a starting point. By taking running as a starting point, you will only get fit and better at running. Do you want to get better at football?
Too often, managers/coaches up and down the country, take subjective starting points which can lead them into limbo. The players are none the wiser, as they’ve been told to ‘run’ or to ‘keep putting it in’. Can you image how much more successful you might possibly be, if all of your squad were fit at the beginning of the season and knew exactly what they were supposed to do? Again, this seems like logic, but we all know that this isn’t necessarily the case.

Pre-season is an ideal time to get coaching and really get the information across to the players and into their brains. Ensure you utilise this time and don’t let it slip away, by just doing sessions based around ‘hard work’. Remember, you really want to be training, like the way you wish to play!