I hear lots of Coaches talk about freedom, but how much do you actually know about freedom. I fear that it has become another buzzword, used too often without any great deal of thought behind what it actually means & how it can be utilised to aid your players in their games & most importantly their development.
Were you free as a player ?
What position did you play ?
Because like it or not it will have shaped your views.
What is free to you ?
Is it different for a defender, a midfielder, a forward ?
Can you define it ?
I can talk about it because I was a 10 & my game was based on risk taking, this is the essence of my game, & of a number 10. Freedom to me means being confident enough to try things to open up the game, risk for reward but also being in complete control & knowing that if it doesn’t come off then there would be no ramifications from the coach, parents on the side or other players. In Andrea Pirlo’s book he talks about having problems with his team mates & their parents complaining that he thought he was better than he was, because he would dribble, & try different solutions to change games. He also talks about how sad he would be due to the negative comments, this should not happen in any kids team, football is to be enjoyed, by kids of all abilities. Pirlo decided to work harder to get better & show what a good player he could become, but how many kids would see only the negatives from other players, coaches & parents & drift out of the game. That would be a shame, but it is all too real, & happens all the time. The kid who leaves the game has become free, they are free of the pressures pushed onto them by adults, but surely that is not the type of freedom we want to be giving kids.
Freedom should come from within the child, we as adults should try not to constrain them, their imagination is far greater than ours, as it hasn’t been burdened with previous failures. Instead seek to facilitate an environment that allows them to PLAY & to express themselves without fear, but also one where they reflect on their own performance so as to help them improve, give them pointers by all means but be clever in how you do it, & also realise that each kid is an individual who will respond differently to different situations & also to how you speak to them.
Personally I struggle with setting teams up defensively, however if I lost the ball I would work hard to get it back, only because I didn’t want them to score off my mistake, but it doesn’t come naturally to me. Can you try & get your kids to buy into this thought process, as once they feel no fear at losing the ball they should be more inclined to try new skills.
If I am being perfectly honest I over indulge my players in this regard however I don’t think this is too bad a thing.
Be honest when your players try something and lose possession,
What is your reaction ?
Even if you don’t say anything or berate them, do you throw your arms in the air, spin around in frustration ?
How do you think this makes the kid feel, more or less likely to try a trick or something different in a game ?
Let them be free, take risks, make decisions. I accept these are buzzwords, but think about it do you really encourage this or not ?
I watch a lot of football but I have to tell you I don’t see a lot of risk taking, I watched Arsenal v Man City U23 the other day and it was like a testimonial, everyone can pass but only 2 players could actually affect the game I believe at full pace under pressure. That means the rest are just making up numbers.
For too long now we have been creating robotic players, comfortable on the ball & good at keeping possession but frightened to play forward for fear of giving the ball away. How many forward passes does a Jordan Henderson, Jake Livermore or Granit Xhaca actually play.
Are they free or are they constrained by fear ?
Personally I think it is the latter, & this is something that needs to change from the top all the way down to Grassroots football where it should all be about enjoyment & improvement even if it’s only incremental. After all why did you start playing football as a kid anyway, I would wager it was to have Fun. To me Fun & Freedom to play go hand in hand.
Let me know what you think in the comments or @ me on twitter @sioneill