Coach Simon wrote a great blog article back in 2017, it was called Trust! We certainly think 2020 has challenged our trust in people and so we though it would be great to share this again on our new blog page.
Trust is a small word with a big meaning in life. It is the glue that holds friendships, families & relationships together, & can mean bitter recriminations & break ups if it is irretrievably broken. Hard gained yet easily lost.
Football squads at any age group or level need to trust themselves, & their coach, & the coach needs to trust their players to help players perform better. From trust comes respect, & without respect teams falter, as players don’t work as hard as they should, to cover for a team mate, to chase a lost cause, to play out of position, to not sulk when on the bench. All these factors add up to a successful group dynamic or the opposite. We often hear how a manager has lost the dressing room, but I feel that usually when this happens, trust has been lost somewhere along the way, like a manager who used to back his players & keep things within the confines of the dressing room, suddenly starts apportioning blame, whilst deflecting it from themselves. We have seen this countless times in the Premier League. However it is a two way street, & sometimes players do need to be told to buck there ideas up, the trick is how you do it, not everyone is a strong enough character to cope with public reprimands, not everyone can cope with as session being stopped for a coach to point out a detail, maybe you could have a quiet word after or while the session is ongoing. Here is the crux of the matter though, I feel if your players trust you & that they believe you are doing it to help them they will be more accepting of your input even if they aren’t entirely comfortable about it. Trust therefore gives you more leeway with how you interact with your players which should help you in your quest to improve them as footballers, therefore there is a reasonable argument that building & maintaining trust should be very high up in your list of priorities as their coach.
Is it ?
How much do you trust your players ?
How do you show them ?
Do they trust you ?
How do you know ?
I believe I have the trust of my players due to the performances they give me, most importantly through the effort & feedback they give me in each training session. I try to let my players be free to attempt things, & if it doesn’t come off I will let them know that I take responsibility, as I am happy that they had the imagination to try. This may come from the position I played when I was a kid, an old style 10, I’m honestly not sure but I think it probably has a bearing, however I am convinced that kids need to be encouraged to try & fail & know that there won’t be repercussions from their coach. This is a great responsibility & one I try not to fail in daily.
I genuinely believe we have a relationship built on mutual respect & trust and it shows whenever we meet up, however I am not going to rest on my laurels, I believe I have to work hard , help them to improve, & earn their trust every time we meet up. I enjoy coaching my players, my whole focus is to make them better people & improve their football understanding as well as ability, this isn’t me patting myself on the back, as I genuinely come away from sessions & games having been pleased with their attitude & effort to improve but mostly from seeing their faces light up when they do something well & receive a nod or thumbs up or some other appreciative gesture, & this article is a challenge to all coaches who I work with, to all coaches who work in youth football, but mostly to myself,
AM I HELPING TO IMPROVE MY PLAYERS AS PEOPLE ?
DO I HELP THEM TO ENJOY THE GAME FOR WHAT IT IS, A GAME ?
DO I GIVE THEM ENOUGH FREEDOM TO MAKE MISTAKES & LEARN ?
HOW CAN I MAKE THEIR SESSIONS WITH ME MORE ABOUT THEM ?
DO I GENUINELY BELIEVE I CAN STILL IMPROVE THEM AS PLAYERS ?
DO I TRUST THEM TO FIGURE THINGS OUT FOR THEMSELVES ?
AM I APPROACHABLE ENOUGH ?
DO THEY TRUST ME TO HELP THEM IMPROVE ?
Trust after all is something that needs to be continuously worked on, & is most definitely a two way street, & with trust I firmly believe comes better environments which allow players to grow, improve, & thrive hopefully through enjoying this greatest of all games that is football.
Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments or @ me on twitter @sioneill