You’ve planned a session focused around a theme (such as go forward or support). Within that plan, is some great activities and some thoughts about transition time between those activities.
However, have you thought about how the players might feel at various moments of the session and activities?
I ask this question as it’s been something I’ve been thinking about over the past few months.
I’ve tried a few sessions where I’ve thought about what I want the players to feel across a few activities. That could be joy or pressured.
This has prompted me to think about the levels and activities. For example: if the idea is to put the defensive team under pressure in an activity, then what might players feel in that moment?
Players will feel a range of emotions on matchdays, just as they’ll need to execute a range of skills.
Anticipating what players may feel can help you pick the right level of activity. It can also help frame some conversations with players. Asking players how they felt during an activity can help kickstart some discussions about emotions. It can also help you guage how players reacting to the session.
You can ask players generally how an activity felt. You can also be more specific. Try citing a standout moment from the activity and asking a player how it felt. You can also use questions to help understand a player’s decision.
If they make a choice in an activity, try asking them what they felt in that moment. Getting the player to talk through that can be helpful for the both of you. This doesn’t have to be always used as a way to talk about improvements. You can use these questions to highlight a positive moment too.
Think about the ethics of coaching
It’s important to think about the ethics involved. Coaches are in positions of power and I don’t want this question about coaching with emotions as an excuse to abuse that.
Knowing your players is vital. Pushing the challenge level of an activity will change the emotions they feel. How much is too much?
Not every emotion has to be pushed to an extreme at training. However, planning an activity where you note that the players may experience some frustration can help you assess the emotional intensity of the session. It can also help you think about how to coach players in that moment.
If you’re thinking about emotions as a stimuli at training. It’s important to lay some groundwork. As well as knowing your players. Be prepared to run a session that is different from one you’ve planned.
Players might arrive at training and be stressed. They might not want the extra mental load of thinking/describing their emotions. They may just want to switch off during training. That’s completely fine.
You can start to build in emotions within training by asking questions. Asking them how an activity made them feel can be a way of gauging how an activity impacts your players.
You can then add this feedback back into your session, but making a notes of what players felt during different activities.
When planning ahead for the next sessions, you can also build it slowly into your written plans. Write next to an activity how players might feel. This can help you think ahead about when and how to support them.
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