PSV: Coaching Context is Key

This will be one of the first of several pieces about the PSV Interest Days at the PSV Eindhoven Coaching Academy. A great experience that I highly recommend to all coaches. Keep your eyes peeled, as we'll go into more detail about various aspects.

The experience at PSV, as you will have seen on social media, was so open and candid. They hid nothing. They treated us as equals and really made us feel part of the club. One of the reasons why they could be so candid is because of their belief in what they are doing, and their firm belief that it can't be replicated in other places. You could build an exact replica of De Herdgang in your part of the world. You can copy their methodology and philosophy. You can use their recruitment policy. But what you can't do is copy their people. They believe that their strength is in their people. That's what makes the club, not the facilities or methodology. They've laid down the gauntlet. Try your best to copy them. Take their ideas. You'll never be them, because you're not them.

For the vast majority of people reading this, the education pathways will be predominantly the FA in England, and the USSF in America. Within these coaching education spheres, there are certain dos and don'ts. Whether it is a directive from the top, or just a preference of certain coach educators, these ideas can permeate the coaching zeitgeist and become mainstays that underpin how those operating under the respective governing body umbrellas conduct themselves as coaches. One example is an older one from the FA, that a coach must have their socks pulled up while coaching, or they will fail their assessment. This kind of idea is now roundly ridiculed, and rightly so.

Another that appears within the discourse on Twitter on the occasional slow news day is an account looking for engagement, baiting such engagement by asking questions about coaches wearing hats or sunglasses. Quite plainly, players don't care. It does not matter. Players are interested in you as a coach from the perspective of how you can make them better. If it's sunny, and sunglasses may protect my eyes, or a hat offer protection from sun or rain, or just keep my head warm, of course I'm going to wear them. If the coach is telling the player what run to make during a specific part of the game, whether that information is internalised and put into action by the player depends entirely upon how the coach delivers it, and the quality of that information. "Coach told me to delay my approach, and arrive later at the back post, but he was wearing sunglasses when he said it, so I'm not going to do it." This just doesn't happen.

We've all heard no laps, no lines, no lectures. We are likely in unanimous agreement with it. This is likely because we understand the context in which the sentiment is delivered, and understand the intention behind the message, which is largely about getting grassroots kids playing and being active. I have preached this message myself on several occasions, and will continue to do so. Yet, Argentina, men's World Cup champions in 2022, have been seen to jog a lap or two at the start of their training sessions. In the mind of some, who I feel detract from our sport, there is no room for nuance. Everything is binary. They see the world in black and white. But football is a sliding scale of grey. "If it's good enough for Messi and Argentina, why can't I do it with my U10s?" Similar to why you don't teach quantum physics to a seven-year-old, despite them wanting to be an astronaut; it probably isn't useful or relevant to them at this stage in their development. What are the physical benefits of jogging a couple laps around the pitch? It raises the heart rate a little and activates some relevant muscles. We all know there are better warm-ups, or better ways to start one. So why do pro teams do it? It's social. It gives them a couple minutes to talk, to integrate, to clear their minds.

There were several things I saw at PSV this week that would have been instant failures on many of the coaching courses I've been on. But these are top coaches, highly qualified, highly experienced, and employed by one of the best academies in the world. So what's going on? Context is key. Let's dive in.

The rest of the article is in the following link

https://www.britishfootballcoaches.com/post/psv-coaching-context-is-key?postId=85bc3e75-2343-4d3b-9846-79b5bfd421d6&utm_campaign=c268eb95-d008-45d7-a020-d833df7165d3&utm_source=so&utm_medium=mail&utm_content=f00a53ed-ddf8-4546-9bfe-b1a1a2ad13c0&cid=7f1437b9-2f43-4f98-a643-26b155a00c10