Training That Makes You Indispensable Looks Like This

Rooney and Ronaldo. 

Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole. 

Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo. 

Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandes. 

Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand. 

All over the place, if you know what you are looking for, you'll find pairs that make the difference. They may not be the ones who score, but without them, the team does not tick the same way. Every now and then, the duo becomes a trio or more. I highlight these because they complement each other so well, one without the other seems just weird. You may not be part of a dynamic duo, but you can still make yourself indispensable. 

What makes us say Zidane had great vision? Not only could he see the pass, he could complete it. The accuracy he showed when he made a pass was magical. I have not yet seen a player who can control the ball as well as he. Every player has a strength. To get to the next level, you need to identify a quality that complements that one, making it even more valuable. So what pairs go together?

• Speed and strength- think Wayne Rooney
• Power and presence- think Yaya Toure
• Attacking and tackling abilities- think Philip Lahm
• Size and agility- think Manuel Neuer
• And as I've already mentioned, vision and accuracy. 

There are other examples of qualities that can be paired together as well as players that display them well. The point is to get away from straining the same things all the time. Like I mentioned in my article You Are Ruled By Your Weakest Link, working on your strengths is good, but working on your weakness is even better. 

What do you do when you're a passer and your passes are off the mark? What about when a forward is having a goal drought? These are the outcome measures, but there could be more to them than just a lack of match fitness. 

Steven is 17, tall, not quite done with his growth spurt and is hoping to make the junior team of one of the country's premier soccer teams. His FMS scores were symmetrical 2's on the hurdle step and in-line lunge; a 2 on the squat, push-up and rotary stability with 3's on the shoulder mobility. Big red flags: 1's on both side of his ASLR. 

The 1's suggest that he has trouble when the whole limb is required in flexion and extension at the hip. Steven can't touch his toes. Some how, he has managed to get to this point without injuring himself. In my article, Evidence for the late swing, I presented evidence that the hamstring is more likely to be injured at that point. Both attachments of the muscle are basically in stretch during the late swing phase- exactly what is required in the active straight-leg raise. But the ASLR is not a hamstring test. Palpation, confirmed by subject information from Steven, there very little flexion in his low back- it 'really tight'. Again, I'd say, SOMEHOW he has managed to play to this point without major injury. Nothing more than a sporadic sprained ankle.  But Steven is aiming to make it at a level that is tougher than the one he has been successful at so far. He's going to be pushed beyond his comfort zone. To make it, he will have to put more stress on his body and that dysfunction will come back to bite him. 

How simple is an ankle injury?

It is misleading to assume that ankle sprains are minor. I called them that to throw them into sharp relief when, in the global game, metatarsals, hamstrings, groins problems and concussions are considered more serious. After all, the Question of Returning to Play is not even on the table. These others are more 'serious' because they result in missed games. Ankle sprains are patched up and sufferers are often in the line up for the next game. But think about it- isn't the system trying to tell us something if a player rolls his ankle in a contact situation? Research tells us that there is some inhibition of the glutes following ankle injury. Between the ankle and the glutes are the calves and the hamstrings. Above the glutes is the low back. Typically, the down regulation of the glutes means compensatory work for the low back and hamstrings. Calves tighten up too. How can we try an coax more speed out of this athlete?

The solution is simple- STOP doing what's causing the problem! Its elementary, my dear Watson. It's a huge problem when a soccer player can't run because running is exacerbating the injury cycle. This is where we must consider what I call energy system training. By now, I trust we have abandoned running laps around. The field as 'cardio' or conditioning. Instead, Steven could do kettlebell swings or medicine ball slams. Both elicit ridiculous cardiovascular adaptation if done properly as well as developing power through the entire stem. Try battle ropes. Again, lots of cardio, plenty of work for his upper body for those shoulder-to-shoulder clashes in the game and his feet don't have to leave the ground.

His training program is basically conditioning his strengths (3's and symmetrical 2's) - push ups, clap push ups, and pull ups. It also means approaching single leg stuff with caution. It also means deleting or at least putting in hold those exercises that exacerbate the problem. Previously, in The Best Exercises Soccer Players Are Not Doing, I mentioned that hill sprints (uphill) are great for working on stride length while going downhill is very useful for challenging stride frequency. Remember that speed = stride length x stride frequency. Steven however, SHOULD NOT be doing hill work. It will throw him up against his limitations and with the scores he has, they would be compounding the leg raise problem, if not downright getting him injured. Our athletes should be training to get better at the game. Players getting hurt in training is simply unacceptable.

Corrective for ASLR. 

(functionalmovement.com)

The fact that Steven has had ankle trouble is significant. As are his 1's in the active straight leg raise test of the Functional Movement Screen. His back is tight for a reason- it's protecting him from further injury. Address these things, and you can reduce his risk of injury. A Movement Screen with no 1's or asymmetries does not mean his performance will increase, but it does mean that the physical limitations that could be getting in the way of him executing the play book, being better, stronger and faster are removed. That is the dynamic duo. 

How Athletes Get Stronger and Faster

Among the principles of training that I have written about in the past is the principle of specificity. When talking about the body, it is frequently referred to as the SAID principle- namely, Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand. In simple terms, the adaptations you see are consistent with the load applied. Sounds a little Newtonian doesn't it, although the reaction in this case is not necessarily opposite.


Nevertheless, narrow-minded thinking has taken this principle to main that training for soccer means that players need to have a ball with them all the time. We need to consider that game is movement. It's a very specific movement, and the skills required of us is unlike any other sport, but it is a movement nonetheless. With this baseline, here are different considerations for coaches and players:

Because soccer is movement, one need only analyze the patterns involved in the execution of various skills. 

• Hip flexion and extension are involved in running. So too in the shoulder. 
• The fastest sprinters have a strong core from which the appendages can move freely, quickly, and powerfully. 
• Internal and external rotation are required for the in-step and outside of the foot passes respectively. 

These are just a few of the requirements for effective running, cutting, turning, jumping, passing and shooting. Exercises that emphasize these are therefore appropriate for soccer players. These include:

1. Kettlebell swings, cleans, snatches and presses
2. Deadlifts (using both legs and both arms; single-leg + both arms; single-arm + single leg)
3. Squats (I prefer front squats to back squats; single leg to double leg. Of the single leg squats, rear-foot elevated variations including body weight, weighted with arms on the side, or holding a kettlebell in the goblet squat position). Of course they are many others, but these form the back bone of my training programs.

Pavel performing the swing. Strongfirst.com

WHAT ABOUT 'CORE' TRAINING?

Exercises NOT movement specific:

 
Sit ups and crunches of any sort (they have no transfer to performance. The only thing you'll get is becoming really good at doing sit ups!)

Planks can be very useful but only the right context. Unless there is a new position where you have to be still for 4 minutes, a 4-minute plank doesn't mean anything. The science from Professor McGill's lab, and others tells us that beyond 7-8 SECONDS, those 'core' muscles will be starved of oxygen. Those players 'holding' their plank for extended periods are just really compensators.

So how is the plank movement specific? Learn this adage: proximal stability for distal mobility. 

It means the core (transverse abdominis, internal and external obliques, multifidi, ) is the engine of the body. As long as it is good working order, the limbs will be able to move freely. Not only that, but since the core is the conduit for the transfer of power, the more 'solid' the core, the more power you can impart onto the ball. I use the word solid rather than strong to try to dissuade the thinking that you need a strong core. Once again, McGill and others have shown that the endurance of the muscles is more important that the strength. Remember that they run out of oxygen within seconds. So what we're after is what Prof. McGill calls superstiffness. It is a maximal contraction of the abdominals in the split second before kicking the ball.

Notice that the maximal contraction is time sensitive. It is in response to the timing demands of a powerful and accurate shot. Core training should be reactive in nature if it is to carry over to performance. The progressions of training start with the plank. (There are further breakdowns if we are rehabilitating a painful back.) The following exercises include and are built on a good plank:

1. Low (elbow) to high plank (push up position)
2. Mountain climbers (from high plank)
3. Shoulder tap
4. "Stir the Pot" (McGill)
5. Push ups
6. Clap push ups

"Stir the Pot" on a Swiss ball

These exercises follow a simple model of progression. There is a postural challenge and the athlete is to hold the position, resist attempts to throw him/her off (perturbation) as well as produce power from it. That is how the core works when we play and that's how it should be trained. 

The benefits of these cannot be maximized without this off-field training. It is a mistake for soccer players to think skill alone will get them, and keep them, at the highest levels of play.

You Are Ruled By Your Weakest Link

Have you ever looked at your team and thought, 'We really need to work on that?' But because you only have so much time per practice session, you'd leave it for next session?

Have you ever been frustrated watching your team run around but make no progress in mastering the drill?

Have you ever had the feeling the drill is just not working and you should can it? But that was probably the practice plan that took the longest to plan wasn't it? So your told yourself you just needed to spend a little more time on it...?

I know the feeling. I saw my guys and it couldn't be more plain. They were scared to head the ball. We needed to work on it, but we didn't have time (that's what I told myself). We had a tournament in 4 days, and I had two sessions. There was so much to work on. So I compromised.

"It's okay to be scared. Let the ball bounce, then attack it. Even if it hits you, after the bounce, it won't be as painful." Those were my words of wisdom.

Come game day, the opposition's strategy, like mine, was to play to their strengths. They were tall. Every ball from their keeper, clearances, corners, throw-ins- all of them were played in the air. My tallest player was my goalie. My shortest players were in the midfield. Not only did they beat us because of their height, but because my boys were scared to head the ball, even those that were of a reasonable height that they could challenge, they didn't. Waiting for the ball to bounce was costing us the game.

What would you have done?


YOU'RE THE WEAKEST LINK

The fact it is, even with the best scouting, the strategies we approach the game with will not always be successful. Partly because they are largely based on everything going well on our end. Sometimes it's a defense minded strategy, at others, attacking too much and leaving gaps at the back. In our case, we would use the one-touch passing we had worked on- make them do the running. But the way they were playing the ball in the air, we didn't have a prayer of being on the ball long enough to get the passing game going. If we were to compete, we needed a new approach. If you cannot admit that you need a new strategy, then YOU are the weakest link.

It is a trap that we have all fallen into as youth coaches- designing beautiful plays that are sure to produce some galactico-like goals when the basics are not intact. The thing that causes these things to fail is not that they are poorly designed. They fall apart because the young guys don't know how to control a ball. They panic when they have to control the ball under pressure. Or as in my case, they are afraid to head the ball. How do you defend corners then? How do you attack corners? You might be thinking that you can't fix control in a single session, and for some kids, not even in a single season. You are right to think so. But think about it-


You will be ruled by your weakest link.


Your strategy is, more often than not, based on attacking your opponent's weaknesses. If you looked honestly, how many weaknesses does your team have collectively? What about your players individually? Now look at your practice sessions. What percentage of each session, and of your season's practice plans, is spent on addressing those weaknesses? It's human nature to gravitate towards those things we are already good at because it makes us feel good to see and feel success when we try anything. Fortify the house all you want- alarms, burglar bars on every window, secret key codes. If you continue to leave the door open, you will always be vulnerable. Those things you add will never make up for that weakness.


What I Did

I stepped up and told the boys I was wrong. It's NOT okay to be scared of the ball. I pointed out that we needed to make an effort. Courage is not born on the battlefield. It is built up gradually, each time against a bigger opponent. The biggest of those being yourself. I appealed to the young people they were. I knew that in saying BMX, skateboarding and hockey, I managed to describe them all. How many times have you fallen or been bashed into the boards? Yet you're still here. I won't lie to you and say it won't hurt. It will, but I need you to get up and keep playing. Make an effort. Jump and see what happens. Even if he beats you to it, make it so awkward that he can't do as he pleases with the ball.

THE SOLUTION

The first and most important step is a screening process. I'm talking about movement screening. This should precede performance testing. If you can't balance on one leg, you will have a hard time developing the speed and explosiveness required to be competitive. A well designed screen (like the FMS) will yield very specific information from which you can individualize warm-ups and homework for each player. How many coaches still have their athletes run laps around the field to warm-up? Drills and exercises that are tailored to your players' needs will give the team the tools they need to improve, not just an elevated heart rate. The good thing about screening a group of players is that in most cases, the majority will have the same needs. So even if you don't have the time or the resources to monitor twenty plus people doing different things, you can give them one or two drills to do. Building them off the screen, you are still sorting out your weaknesses.

Movement screening can explain why players have a hard time producing the power needed to compete for the header and/or develop knee problems when they land. It can tell you why there are recurring injuries. When the screen is clean, then you can do performance testing. Treat the results the same- ID the weaknesses. Address them in the warm-up, give them as homework. Too many coaches are afraid to encroach on their kids' time away from them. They leave themselves too much to do in the sessions they are already complaining are too short when they don't give homework.

Youth coaches are responsible for their charges in the alloted time of practice. That means coaches should arrive for a 5:00 session at 4:30 or sooner and leave only when the last child has been picked up. What are they doing in the time before practice begins and while they are waiting to be picked up after? They are already messing around with the ball anyway. Step in and give them instruction.

Every session after that game began and ended with heading. The drills involved heading. Every throw in was to be headed. I took corners and free kicks myself because my boys were not doing too well in directing their crosses. When the heading became decent, I focused on crosses until accurate crosses were attacked or defended with headers.

The solution is simple- identify your weaknesses and sure them up. Don't put fancy diagrams and drills on top of basics that are not basic. The best strategy is making sure that the basics are done right. Set the foundation. Put the basics on top of the foundation. Decorate the basics with the fancy stuff.

The Side lunge with Overhead Press

This is hardly an invention and if it is, it's nothing as monumental as the invention of the wheel. But the side lunge with an overhead press is one of my favorite exercises for a number of reasons.

1. It can serve as a screen much like the Turkish get up (kelosthenos version as taught by Gray Cook and Functional Movement Systems). 
2. It's definitely an advanced exercise (who doesn't want to be called advanced!) Following the idea that asymmetries are risk factors, this exercise is compound in nature but still offers that appraisal of the left and right sides. So if one side catches you out, you can simply stick with it until you have managed to correct the areas that are lacking before you progress. 
3. It offers mobility, strength, and power work simultaneously. 
4. I think it qualifies as a self-limiting exercise. 

THE MOVEMENT


The move is basically a side lunge and an overhead press with the same side arm. When I teach the side lunge, I'm looking for the side view to be identical to what I would see when doing a squat. For the sake of clarity, I'll go over the parts of the squat that are related to this movement.

Typically, we want the butt to be going back and down. The initial backward movement gets the hips into flexion. The knees will also go into flexion as you drop your butt towards the ground. Because the ankle is in plantar flexion, the squat is often referred to as a triple flexion pattern.
The secondary reason for describing the movement as the butt going back and down is because the rearward movement takes the femur (thigh bone) with it so that when it flexes, it does so without tracking ahead of the toes. There will be some movement of the knee towards the toes, but it should be minimal and not end up in front of the toes. 

Similarly, there should be minimal if any tracking of the knee medially. The coming together of the knees as if they are going to touch is called knee valgus and is undesirable. When this happens under load, the foot pronates and we see the outside of the foot on the side of the small toe come up. It's also a fairly common observation in jumping sports, particularly among female athletes. Both conditions (heavy load and high speed) predispose athletes to ACL injuries. Read more about that in this post. 

The heels should stay grounded throughout the movement. This is not too difficult if you sit back and down into the hip. I have separated this point from number 2 because this is a major stress point in the side lunge with the overhead press. Even people that have good squats have a tendency to lean forward in a side lunge, either lifting the heel or allowing their knee to track ahead of their toes. 

The last part I want to highlight is that the triple flexion if of the lower body only. A lot of people lack the back extensibility and the flexion in the hip to go below 90 degrees of a squat. They compensate by bending forward- dropping their chest towards the ground. This should be minimal, if present at all. One way to get a feel for what should be happening when you squat is to lie on your back and raise your knees towards your chest. Obviously, because you are on the ground, the back does not move at all. All the flexion has occurred at the hips, knees and ankles. 

The overhead squat requires all the aforementioned parts. On addition, there is an opposite appraisal going on in the upper body. Whereas there is triple flexion in the lower body, there is extension of the thoracic spine which allows the hands to go overhead without dropping the chest down. 

AS A SCREEN


This move is little more that an overhead squat looking at one leg and one arm at a time. Therein lies it's strength. It's weakness is of course that it is an advanced movement. Not everyone will be able to do this.

It challenges extensibility of the thoracic spine in the demand to press the weight (or simply raise an arm) over one's head. In the same aspect as we look at the arm going overhead, we assess shoulder integrity. Internally rotated shoulders make this move difficult. The mobility lost in the shoulders will have to be found somewhere. Usually this will be in the forward tracking of the knee with the heel lift.

I've had complaints of discomfort in the low back while doing this. In one person, the discomfort went away immediately after reinforcing that he 'sit lower into that hip'- effectively, keep the heel down while pressing. In someone else, she was able to do it with no discomfort after just a minute on floor running the foam roller across her back.

MODUS OPPERANDI

• Hold a kettlebell in the rack position, with legs together. 
• Step laterally, wider than shoulder width. Keep the toes pointing straight ahead. 
• Descend into a side lunge on the same side as the racked kettlebell. Remember the triple lower body flexion. Stay as tall as possible in the upper body. 
• Once stable, press the kettlebell overhead. Extended the unburdened arm in whatever direction for added balance. Cycle a breath with the kettlebell overhead before eccentrically bringing it back to it's racked position. 
• Return to the starting position. 

The exercise is designed for both sides of the body so perform an equal amount on the other side with the same type of form. Small changes can make a big difference in this move, as I have already shown. Pay attention to those small things. Stay where there are issues until you have mastered them.

Expect a level of core challenge as you go through the exercise. It features the 'changing levels' idea as you descend squat-like into the side lunge. The elevation of the kettlebell overhead changes the center of gravity, effectively pulling it up. Poor core stability and strength will be caught out here. I mentioned that shoulder integrity is scrutinized as well. As with any exercise that involves a weight overhead, many will thrust the chin forward as they press. Try to achieve the finish position while keeping the neck packed. Similarly, the scalenes, sternocleidomastoid and the other neck muscles should not suddenly make an appearance. Always try to keep the neck area tension free when lifting weight. If they do, they are making a contribution to the stability process and they should not be.

Injury in Soccer is Predictable

A study considering the FIFA World Cups (TM) 2010, 2006 and 2002 has revealed some telling information concerning injury. Smart coaches will also be able to garner injury prevention tips.

First to note is that the study considered men's soccer but there is no reason to believe that it would not be true for women and youth players. Secondly, although injuries on this case refer to the physical, much of what is discussed is from a psychological and emotional perspective. There is no doubt that matches are won between the ears first, then on the pitch. This means coaches have a greater responsibility towards the psyche of their athletes that a few motivational words at half time. Confidence, faith, calm, focus- these are all matters of the mind and if mastered will be evident in how they play.

Here are some of the statements from the study which will be published soon in the British Journal of Sports Medicine later this month.

"Male football players are at a greater risk of injury five minutes after a card has been given or after a goal has been scored."

For those who have been in the game for a while, we have heard the saying that a team is most vulnerable just after scoring a goal. We have heard much less about the injury risk increasing after a card has been given. The common thread- emotional upheaval.



                                                                                   



"One theory is that players lose their concentration following disruptive breaks in play, which then increases the risk of injury," says Jaakko Ryynänen, one of the researchers. Sadly, diving is rampant in our sport. As are other attempts to get the opposition booked. It was a positive move by new Manchester United boss David Moyes to publicly critique Ashley Young for simulation, trying to win United a penalty, even after he had been yellow carded. But sometimes, the free kicks and penalties are given. The injustice of it is unsettling both for players and managers. It is not unheard of for managers to be fined after matches for continuing to question refereeing decisions. On the field of play, however, players lose their concentration. An innocuous challenge has been deemed sinister and that player has to tread carefully the remainder of the game. For your holding midfielders who are generally involved in the meaty tackles that disturb attacks, they have to rethink their approach. Often this makes them less effective. Of course, there is the simple reaction of increased aggression to try and right the wrong by 'committing the foul I've been booked for.' Sometimes there is no aggressive reaction, but simply late or mistimed tackles simply because that natural rhythm has been disrupted by thoughts of what has just happened.



                                                                         


There many ways to lose a game. A second yellow. Failure to refocus quickly and conceding another goal. Loss of cohesion following injury to a player. The psychological blow when that injured player is a van Persie or a Messi. The bottom line, if you lose you head, you lose the game. Within the next few minutes actually. "Injury frequency increases within a five minute period after a yellow or red card is issued, and following injuries and goals." Remember that this is a pattern observed over the last three World Cup tournaments. While this window represents the most emotionally volatile period of play, thus being ripe for injuries, it is simultaneously the time when teams are most vulnerable to conceding. This last conclusion is my own but it is not too difficult to see the connection. While it may not be true in every case, pressing home the advantage presented by the momentary unraveling of the emotional and psychological fabric of the opposition could be very lucrative in terms of the score line.


Surprise Surprise


One of two surprising findings of the study is that- "The frequency of player injuries also increases when their own team is in the lead. These are the findings of researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy. This is not all that difficult to conceive though. Being in behind forces a team to play more aggressively in search of an equalizer increasing the risk for players on the leading team.

Turning their attention to the losing team, the researchers went on to suggest that the pressure of being behind does not increase injury risk evenly among players.

"One possible cause is that the results of any one match are very important in international tournaments. This may accentuate the role of the strikers, leading to increased pressure on them," says Jaakko Ryynänen.

In essence, both winning and losing increase injury risk as a result of increased aggression.



                                                                                                            



The second and most surprising finding published in the article is that injury frequency INCREASES when there is a longer break between matches.

"It sounds contradictory that the risk of injury increases with longer recovery times, but our theory is that this may be due to players losing their focus on match games after a break of several days. Perhaps teams also play at a higher level of intensity after they have rested for a number of days and have more energy."


These serve to to show one thing- that injury is variable in its causes. After all wouldn't we expected that better rested players would be MORE focused? having had time to redirect their energies? It certainly rules out the contributions that fatigue might make, but as the researchers theorize, it means more energy, higher intensity and therefore greater risk of injury.


I believe coaches should be in the business of risk management as much as in producing results. After all, how can you win if your players are all injured? Being able to read the signs that are predictive of injury and managing them well may very well be the deciding factoring winning championships that nobody really talks about.


The article "Foul play is associated with injury incidence: An epidemiological study of three FIFA World Cups (2002-2010)" was be published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine on 15 October.

Expert Practicing Techniques

You only have to sit down for a few minutes in front of the TV before you see something or other offering you a shortcut to success. As a personal trainer, I can't even begin to talk about how often I see a commercial on some nutritional product or workout equipment that promises the results you want in record time. And we eat that stuff up! I bet you, or someone you know has a treadmill in their basement that gathering dust. But we all know the truth. Whether you want to consider the cliches circulating in the fitness and business worlds, or look at your own life, it is painfully obvious- becoming exceptional at anything requires time and effort. Excellence demands consistently approaching the task at hand with discipline.

Vacillating between these two positions we are aware of (shortcuts vs. staying the course), we invariably fall into the world of anything is better than nothing. So we get strapped, get onto the field and kick ball after ball, run lap after lap, perform drill after drill. At the end of it, we are no better than we were before, but at least we can tweet, "Just finished my workout today." All we need to do is convince ourselves that we spent some time practicing-we have the sweat to prove it. Whether anything is really better than nothing at all is a debate for another post. A more pressing one is, what do those players who spend the same amount of time practicing do in their practice sessions that makes them that much better than us?

For 3 years I played soccer in a league in which the teams were rotated every season. I was privileged to be considered one of those players who were "core" and therefore not available for other teams to select me, just to avoid all the better players ending up on the same team. Despite this status, I was not always first pick on that team. I played where I was asked to play after after the selectors, who also played, gave themselves and their friends their preferred positions, even if there was somebody better. Playing alongside guys that had been friends for years, there was no chance of endearing myself to these guys in order to make them put me in the first 11 on the same basis. I had to put in the practice. So I started running earlier than anyone else. I spent more time in the gym while the other were quad biking and hunting. I even watched film, took notes, and went out to practice. I still wasn't picked on merit until the last season. Even then, there were guys on the team that despite being picked as friends, I felt they genuinely were better than I was. What was it that made them so good while practicing less? Talent? Talent Is Overrated!

Best vs. worst

Researchers from the City University of New York studied basketball players. Would they find a difference between the practice habits of the best free throw shooters (70% or higher) and the worst free throw shooters (55% or lower)?

Of Course!

Here are two for you to think about next time you are practicing or designing a practice session for your athletes.

Difference #1: Specificity

The best free throw shooters had specified what they wanted to accomplish or focus on before the made a practice free throw attempt. It wasn't enough to simply shoot a hundred times, or even get in as many as I can. They focused on where they were trying to get the ball- of the glass and in, or swish. Keep the elbows tucked.

The worst free throw shooters were characterized by more general goals – like “Make the shot” or “Use good form.” What is good form?

Side Note: As Morpheus said to Neo, "There's a difference between walking the path and knowing the path."


Studies like these inspire statements like, "Maybe the other guys didn't know that they had to keep their elbows in." In other words, perhaps the difference between them was knowing what good posture for free throw shooting was actually like. The researchers controlled for this by asking the players. They concluded that there was no significant difference between the two groups in their knowledge about what to do when shooting. Bottom line, its not what you know but what you do.

Difference #2: Taking Responsibility
The best free throwers were rated at 70% and better. For the 30% that they missed the mark, their self talk differed from those in the other group. Their attributions were just as specific as their goals. Thoughts like, "I'm not good enough," were more at home with the lower ranked shooters. Instead, the better shooters thought about the shot analytically. Whatever technical element contributed to the missed shot was addressed in the next shot. Thus, they learnt from every trial, each error becoming the specific goal for the next attempt.

Good players also take responsibility for their performances. Its never about the wind or how good the opponent was. The fact is, those environmental factors are exactly the same that their opponents are facing. They simply were more adaptable, adjusting as needed to these external influences- in other words, they considered what they could not change, focused on what they COULD change (their approach) and learnt as they played.

Practice then does not end during 'practice,' neither is learning limited to when we are running plays and drills before a game. Every shot, every pass, every run is an opportunity for learning. The better players recognize the cues offered and make use their knowledge to think, plan, and direct their practice time more productively.

Next time you are out on the field, act (and think!) like an expert, and soon, you will become one!

Related Articles:

http://thegamebeautiful.blogspot.ca/2012/06/feedback-in-practice.html

How To Succeed in Football

Sir Alex Ferguson, after an astounding quarter century at the helm of Manchester United, with multiple trophies, gave an interview with the Harvard Business Review. That article can be found here. They applied his wisdom to the business world and this is my attempt at using the same from a training point of view. After all, the great man was a soccer coach/manager.

1. Start with the Foundation

The foundation is movement. The heroes we have display amazing speed and skill, but underlying these are basic movement patterns without which they would not be where they are. These include rolling, crawling, squatting, lunging and single leg stance. Functional assessments can show the coach/trainer whether these are intact of compromised in very little time with little equipment necessary. I use the FMS and because it has been used as an predictive/injury prevention model, it is a useful tool to have. I discuss the merits of movement screening here.

Kiesel et al, (2007) have shown that asymmetries that are unattended to in the preseason invariably lead to injuries during the season. Coaches cannot afford to ignore the findings of the FMS then, but perhaps most importantly, they cannot afford to NOT screen their players. Once again, the FMS is a predictive tool. If you can predict, using a simple screen, who is going to get injured before they do, why wouldn't you do it? And once you knew, why wouldn't you take those players aside, address the red flags? The answer to the first question, you can answer for yourself. The answer to the second, I'll throw in a quote from Sir Alex- "The first thought of 99% of [newly appointed] managers is to make sure they win—to survive... That’s simply because we’re in a results-driven industry."

But, "Winning a game is only a short-term gain—you can lose the next game." Start with the Foundation.


2. Dare to Rebuild Your Team

Is that whole 'Money Ball' thing realistic in soccer? There is no doubt that money has changed our game. Manchester City, Chelsea, Real Madrid. These clubs have spend BIG in the recent past, to bring in the best players, but not always with the greatest success. Yet there is no comparison between their performances and those of other clubs without as much money to spend in the transfer market.

In a completely philosophical discussion, since we will always be in a results-oriented industry (will we?), I propose a rebuilding of the team based on the quality of movement as demonstrated by the movement screen. Sure, it doesn't follow that if a person can squat they can kick straight. What does follow is that movement capacity built over a solid foundation provides the player with the buffer needed to pursue greater levels of strength, speed, power, etc with minimal injury risk. Compromised movement patterns show themselves, if pressured, in orthopedic complaints (painful knees for example), groin injuries, issues in the ankles, calves, hamstrings, back pain, even shoulder, bicep and elbow injuries. Without screening though, asymmetries and imbalances remain unnoticed and as coaches, we see laziness, players who are not working hard enough, players who are not conditioned. Instead of realizing the true source of the limitations, we demand more conditioning, more running, more plays. And, in this results-driven climate, even players who are not fully recovered from injury are thrust back into action before they are ready.

But who in their right mind would look at the a player and see a person, not the number of goals they can score? Who in their right mind would consider the season, and pick their players with the season in mind, instead of just the game? Who in their right mind would hold back their best players until their movement patterns are restored? Who in their right mind would pick a slower player scoring a 14 on the FMS when a faster player with a higher score is available for selection? Yet according to Ferguson's formula, Dare To Rebuild Your Team. Could we 'Money Ball' a soccer team, picking the players with a good foundation movement pattern base, rather than just performance scores on our other tests? It would mean the durability of players. It would mean aggressive conditioning can be pursued without the players getting injured in training rather than in play. The practice of picking the best players obviously makes sense, but it is amazing to see how teams are almost unrecognizable when those players are injured and unavailable for selection.

Of course, with a good foundation, the second or third choice in a position is just as healthy and knows the playbook just as well. As one coach said, if both teams are matched on skill, we would win because we are better conditioned.


3. Set High Standards—and Hold Everyone to Them

For all I have said about a results oriented approach to the game, at the end of the day, the 3 points game by game are what its all about. Having coached a youth team, I know how readily players defeat themselves by simply looking at the schedule. Yet there is no doubt that persistence always wins out in the end.

• At the 2013 U.S Open, I watched Tommy Robredo beat Roger Federer for the first time after 10 tries. 
• No one expected it, but before all the footballing world, Senegal beat France in the 2002 Soccer Word Cup. 
• Nobody could have envisioned the 6-1 thrashing Manchester City gave to Manchester United, nor indeed the famous 'Fergie time' victory over City which saw United walk away with a 4-3 thanks to a Michael Owen goal in the 6th minute of the four minutes extra time that was given! 

What's clear in these and other examples is that as long as we are willing to try, even if it is based on the faintest glimmer of hope, there is a chance that we will find success- sooner or later. But Sir Alex has gone beyond hope, to belief. You must believe that you can win, and inspire that in your team, no matter how illustrious the opposition. You do that by focusing on your both strengths (playing to them) and weaknesses (work on them until they are strengths too!). My approach is simple. Perfect practice- deliberate practice- makes perfect. There is a big difference between just kicking the ball 1000 times, and learning from each trial along the way.

In the Scot's words:"... we never allowed a bad training session. What you see in training manifests itself on the game field. So every training session was about quality. We didn’t allow a lack of focus. It was about intensity, concentration, speed—a high level of performance. That, we hoped, made our players improve with each session."


4. Never, Ever Cede Control

Although Sir Alex discusses authority in this section, I want to make a note on something which I do not allow in myself or my player. Never lose your temper. If you lose it, you lose the game. What matters is the win, not how big, tough or manly you are. Given that a player faces suspension after 5 yellow cards, to have any of those be for remonstrating with the referee is just plain stupid. The excuse, "It was in the heat of the moment" is unacceptable, and quite frankly, rather pathetic. Arguments, kicking and shoving and all that- those are always in your power to control, and getting yourself booked for those is unnecessary. Players invariably begin to miss tackles, time them late, or intentionally look to avenge themselves on something they think the referee missed. Keeping one's head down and getting on with it is the best way to go- let the football do the talking.

I have begun to pay attention to and enjoy the NFL. It is deplorable to see personal fouls, unnecessary roughness and other things clearly in a player's control cost the team 10 and even 15 yards. The one thing about it is, if you lose your temper, you can see your stupidity in numbers.


5. Match the Message to the Moment

I think a direct quotation will suffice in this case.

"No one likes to be criticized. Few people get better with criticism; most respond to encouragement instead. So I tried to give encouragement when I could. For a player—for any human being—there is nothing better than hearing “Well done.” Those are the two best words ever invented. You don’t need to use superlatives.

At the same time, in the dressing room, you need to point out mistakes when players don’t meet expectations. That is when reprimands are important. I would do it right after the game. I wouldn’t wait until Monday. I’d do it, and it was finished. I was on to the next match. There is no point in criticizing a player forever."


6. Prepare to Win


Previously, I have described the principle of specificity. Basically you should train the way you play. I have seen swimming coaches having their team RUN laps. I was part of a team that ran laps for 75 minutes under the pretext of cardio. Yet no one runs at the same pace during a game. Rarely do we run 50-60 yards in a match, and when we do we sprint, yet we had to pace ourselves to run 10 laps or more. A stranger looking in on the training session would never know whether we were soccer or rugby player. For all intents and purposes, we could have been marathoners for all the specificity we had.

Deliberate practice is about simulating, as much as possible, the conditions of actual play. It's about the feel, the pressure, the intensity, the decisions made under those conditions. Preparing to win complements the idea of setting high standards. The standard of winning and doing everything it takes to win requires that we prepare to win. Not just hope to win, not dream about it- but prepare for it. Its the reason we practice corners, free kicks, 1-v-1, 2-v-1, etc.

Anita Elberse writes: Ferguson was both unusually aggressive and unusually systematic about his approach. He prepared his team to win. He had players regularly practice how they should play if a goal was needed with 10, five, or three minutes remaining. “We practice for when the going gets tough, so we know what it takes to be successful in those situations,” one of United’s assistant coaches told us.

Sprint coach Charlie Francis said that his sprinters rarely set world records at meets. They did that at practice and simply repeated those performances on the big stage.


7. Rely on the Power of Observation

Just this week, a woman who is regularly in the gym arrived for a group training class. She was slightly less conversational than normal, slightly ashen but swore she was fine. As the class go under way, I noticed she was not cleaning in her usual manner. Her snatches were sloppy. Most of all, she was the first to change weights. She's about 65, regularly cleaning 12kg kettlebells in each hand. I watched her go down to the 8 kilos, then the 4's. I changed the exercise, and once she was a fraction of her usual self, struggling to do Turkish get-ups with a 4 kilo kettlebell.

It takes a special ability to be able to see beyond the obvious when it comes to your players. To see the performances you get and be able to understand the reasons behind them without having the athletes confess anything to you. A good coach knows when to push the player, to ask for more from them. He also knows when to back off. Sometimes, given the physical and psychological condition the athlete shows up in, training time is not only wasted time, it could be destructive.

When everybody else went off on a short break before the class proceeded, I asked her what was going on. She's running a 10k this weekend. She said she was nervous about it. More than nervous- she was having nightmares. She tossed and turned about not finishing, about getting lost and having people sent out to find her. Those people couldn't find her. Hers was a case of anxiety, lack of sleep, low energy, and maybe even overtraining. Once again, without observational skills, she may have just been lazy. Demand more from her, she breaks down, she gets injured. This, as they say, is the art of coaching.

Ferguson: The ability to see things is key—or, more specifically, the ability to see things you don’t expect to see.


8. Never Stop Adapting


Ferguson: But I always felt I couldn’t afford not to change. We had to be successful—there was no other option for me—and I would explore any means of improving. I continued to work hard. I treated every success as my first. My job was to give us the best possible chance of winning. That is what drove me.

References





Kiesel, K Plisky, PJ and Voight, ML. (2007). Can Serious Injury in Professional Football be predicted by a Preseason Functional Movement Screen. N Am J Sports Phys Ther. August 2(3): 147-158.