Managing difference within an academy group

Learning styles

The coach can ensure a more even playing field by including activities that cater for the diverse ways players take information on board before settling themselves into their tasks. Some players like to see things set out clearly for them via a tactics board or a demonstration. Others are more hands-on and playing through a practice or game helps them get the hang of things. Finally, the language the coach uses is helpful if you ask what the players noticed about a routine they have been asked to carry out.

Dealing with the differences in the group can also involve adjusting the level of difficulty by playing youngsters in another position which can expose elements of their game they need to improve, change or be consolidated.

They can also join another group populated by more experienced or better players to challenge them technically, physically, psychologically or socially.

The coach can also modify the specific interventions to meet players’ individual preferences. For example, some players may like a question, some a challenge, a condition or a constraint to help them focus on what they are learning or practising. Equally, in certain circumstances, a simple clear instruction may be the best course of action.

Knowing your players

Differentiated work is about creating a personalised learning and practice setting that encourages young players to feel they belong and to stick with the hours of work necessary for them to put in if they are to have any chance of a professional career.

Youngsters react more positively to these demands if they believe practice is tailored to their needs. By adopting this approach, the coach will design a more engaging and effective experience for the players making the context of the work more challenging, interesting, varied and enjoyable.

For this way of working to be most useful and effective, the coach must spend time getting to know the players so that they can pay close attention to their needs. It’s important to realise that in the coaching role you will not get everything right all the time, but careful observation is necessary so that similarities and differences can be identified as well as the distinct levels of ability that exist even within elite youth groups. Practice must be focused and deliberate as there is no time to waste.

All academies have syllabi they adhere to on a weekly basis, but it is also true that to some extent every young developing footballer is a syllabus in their own right, as they all have individual requirements and are at different stages along their development pathway. To this end, innovative design for the work the players will undertake is vital for mission success. The Action Review Process lends itself nicely to this approach. 

Before-action review

The before-action review enables the coach to set the group an objective and then back this up with open-ended questions that can peel back the players’ knowledge base and focus them on the job in hand. Academy players are football bright and their knowhow around the objective may be a surprise which helps the setting of individual and unit challenges.

Group objectives can either be general like ‘Be ready to receive and play forward as a first action’ or more specific like ‘Look for opportunities to get composed possession in midfield before playing forward.’ Open-ended questions will help the players’ practice be focused and intentional and help the coach see things from the players’ point of view. Examples of open-ended questions are:

• How many touches do you need?
• What stops you?
• How will you know when to?
• How can you see what to do next?
• How does the pass you receive help you?

Individual and unit challenges, constraints and conditions can also be part of the before action review framework. All have differing returns and can be used depending on the players needs and individual preferences. A challenge prefixed by some of the following phrases allows players to practice their decision-making skills. For example:

• Try to
• Look for opportunities to
• Be ready to

Constraints and conditions are more deliberate and focus on particular skills the players may need to improve or consolidate. Examples of this type of work include:

• Maximum two touch – tackles don’t count in the two-touch. This condition encourages players to practice their passing skills in the fluid setting of a game.
• Cannot pass backwards twice in succession – this constraint encourages players to concentrate on getting their body position right to enable them to practice passing the ball forward.

The work can also be concentrated on different units and individuals within the group depending on their specific needs linked to the main objective. For example, a goalkeeping challenge could be to look for opportunities to pass the ball from their hands into their midfield players as often as they can. In a small-sided game environment players finding themselves at the back of their teams can be challenged to try to pass the ball forward off one or two touches. 

Personalised challenges in midfield areas could revolve around receiving, turning and playing forward. Examples of this are: 

• Try to let the ball run across your body before your next action.
• How many touches do you need to turn and play forward?
• Look for opportunities to turn and break a line with your pass.
• Try to see as much of the pitch as you can before you get the ball.

Forwards can be challenged to receive, turn and shoot in one movement. Wingers can be challenged to look for opportunities to dribble from passes laid back to them or into their path.

In-action reviews

The informal in-action reviews are undertaken while play is under way. Their major function is to encourage players but should not become white noise. After a task has been set players need time to breathe and figure things out. Players can’t just remember decision-making; they have to practise, which inevitably involves mistakes. 

So catching players doing things well is a great in-action review tool. A fly-by is an effective way to work informally where the coach may quietly say a player’s name to get their attention, identify the good execution (eg “That pass was really accurate”) then deliver the praise.

Equally, in-action reviews can be more formal. Play can be stopped to ask questions, demonstrate or deliver instructions to individuals, units or the whole group. Ask questions first. How’s it going? What’s going well? What do we need to improve? Listen actively and acknowledge the players contributions. The coach doesn’t have to agree with everything the players say but it is important to acknowledge it. 

Give honest feedback. Be specific. Use names or units and give out precise information. Upgrade the challenges if necessary. Look for the positives as much as possible. Praise effort and intent but standards must be high. 

After-action reviews

Getting players to reflect on their performances against a training or matchday backdrop should be never underestimated as an after-action review learning tool.

It’s important that the coach and the players focus on what happened rather than what they would like to have happened. Players with the best potential crave continuous improvement and developing the ability to look back at their efforts and be able to measure, distil and clarify what went well, what needs to be better and what has to change is a crucial skill to cultivate.

The After-Action Review is a method of taking stock of players’ progress ensuring their learning and practice is on track. Its aim is to hook up any new experiences with what they already know and can do or replacing redundant skills with better ways of doing things.

Good reviews will help players plan and prepare for the challenges the next coaching session or match may bring. It also helps them anticipate what hurdles and problems may arise along the way, giving them opportunities to picture things that lie ahead.

Any review should be viewed as a collaboration, and a willingness to share ideas. Too often they are monologues and one-way traffic where the coach simply ticks off the points they want to raise with the players.

Managing an after-action review session well involves asking good questions, then actively listening to the players’ answers before following up on those responses to dig deeper if necessary. During this stage the coach may have to do some reminding, or prompting, but acknowledging players’ answers is vital if you want the spirit of trust and camaraderie to continue and flourish.

Some important elements to consider are as follows:

• Time frame – reviews should not go on for too long. Average human concentration span is 15 to 20 minutes.
• Ask good open-ended questions that link directly to the players’ training and match day experiences. 
• Make eye contact and listen carefully without interrupting.
• Acknowledge the players’ answers even if you don’t agree.
• Speak in a positive tone and pay attention to your body language.

Bringing it together

The coach needs to be able to manage difference within an academy setting because players learn and practice differently. Differentiation means tailoring interventions, practice and learning experiences to each player’s needs. This requires knowing your players’ strengths and weaknesses, understanding their preferences for taking information on board and being aware of what really interests them about becoming a professional footballer.

When coaching staff collaborate like this with individuals within their group, or with the whole squad, it means they are all working for the same outcome. In the case of academy footballers, it means everybody is working to get better while considering the differences that exist within the group.