Beyond the result

Developing players as individuals

The overriding aim of most players in football academies is to stay in situ so they will inevitably follow their coaches’ lead. Development messages need to be on point and not vague or undermined by subtle assertions and behaviours that affirm a coach’s need to win over long-term progress. Some coaches unconsciously favour the most physically advanced, mature and outcome-orientated players. This can lead to lopsided selection and disproportionate playing time for a few individuals who are perceived by the coach to be more effective on the grass at the expense of the talents that whisper and broader development aims. This approach neglects players who may thrive in the long run but who may need more tailored development opportunities in the short term.

At first glance, observing work put on by a coach who only cares about teamwork and tactics over individual development may not seem too terrible, but on closer inspection it may be more generic in nature where individual challenges and feedback are minimal.

Developing players requires an individualised programme and objectives which can be established with the group, units and individuals in training and then advanced and progressed into games for easier transfer to the match day experience.

Personalised guidance and focused practice can be carried on through instructions, questions, challenges, conditions and constraints where necessary, with personal feedback provided via video analysis later in the week to help cement learning. This helps players not only deliberately focus their practice during training and match play but also helps them understand their strengths and weaknesses as well as any next steps they may need to take for improvement and progress to happen.

This approach requires both coaches and players to recognise that matches are a vehicle for learning and practice and not just the chance to beat people playing in different coloured shirts.

When the coach sees training as a highly controlled drill schedule and matches as a patterning opportunity rather than a learning and practice vehicle it often signals a result-over-development mindset. Prioritising winning at football academies isn’t just a philosophical choice; it comes with tangible cultural and development costs. Players pick up on even the most subtle messages and can feel an intense pressure to perform, fear making mistakes and getting things wrong at the very time in their careers where they should be carefree and pushing the boundaries of what they know and can do. A safety-first mindset rather than an experimental attitude can lead to anxiety, loss of enjoyment and even early burnout. Also, a focus on winning can limit skill development and condition players to perform within rigid structures of pre scripted tactics and patterns of play instead of developing as footballers with adaptive game intelligence and the ability to see danger and opportunities, as well as problem-solve in real time by practising their decision-making.

Danger signs to look out for

1. Practices that prioritise outcomes over creativity and exploration

2. Limited positional rotation

3. Matchday feedback that is results-focused

4. Uneven playing minutes based on the state of the game not player

5. Risk-averse instructions and football

Developing a winning mentality is not wrong but needs balance within football academy programmes. Winning is part of the football culture and the type of young players recruited into the programme certainly do not see losing as a good thing. This is why encouraging them to be brave in their play and not be afraid to be wrong is so vital to their development.

Coaches should foster competitiveness, resilience and ambition throughout their activities which breed humility and confidence: humility to stop players getting ahead of themselves and entitled, realising that their primary motivation is to make progress and improve, and confidence to take on the challenges that lie ahead, within a framework that prioritises learning and practice.

Supporting coaches to move away from results-driven approaches

Recognising that a coach is not a true player developer is only half the problem. Helping someone transition from being results-orientated to a player-centred approach needs positive leadership from senior academy staff and management; this involves sensitivity, collaboration and constructive support as these attitudes are often deep-rooted.

Coaches in academies have youth qualifications like the FA Youth Award and the Advanced Youth Award as well as the requisite UEFA coaching badges, but often they don’t realise how ingrained their results-driven habits are and how much harm they can do to a young player’s progress within the system.

To support such coaches can be a complex operation as they will often have many qualities which, if focused appropriately, will undoubtedly help their players improve. Building on these qualities that the coaches already possess is paramount if senior staff are to gain their confidence and effect change. Often just small changes in language and understanding of how players learn and practise best can bring about important changes of attitude and emphasis in the focus of a coach’s work. Coaches cannot be blamed for what they don’t know, but once they do know there is no longer any excuse.

“Coaches should foster competitiveness, resilience and ambition throughout their activities which breed humility and confidence”

The coach should try to reframe their measurement of success against their expectations based on the quality of the opposition their players are facing. They should encourage age-appropriate dialogue with players about learning and practise objectives. They should understand how players feel differently about mistakes made in training to those made on a matchday where the perceived tariff is much higher, so therefore avoid blame and judgement. This helps establish intrinsic motivation for progress and improvement putting errors into perspective.

Good player-focused pre-planning, followed by honest reflection and keeping a record of each training session and matchday experience and how they went can help a coach redefine their success metrics and assess where their priorities really lie. Journals can be constructed around questions like those outlined below:

1. What were the player’s needs? How did I help?

2. How did the players take their training objectives into the match?

3. How well did they execute skilful play under pressure?

4. How did the players decision-making stand up under pressure?

5. Who were our best players and why?

6. Who stepped up in the big moments and when things got tough?

7. Who pushed their boundaries and tried new things?

8. How did I feedback to the players during training and on matchday?

9. When did I feel my feedback was most effective?

Structured feedback works well. Tools like video analysis, individual feedback, tracking of individual skills and decision-making can all help coaches move beyond result obsession. When a coach begins to invest time in feedback loops, this signals a commitment to learning, practice and growth.

Less experienced academy coaches can be partnered with trusted veteran development-orientated mentors to share knowledge and know-how, introducing them to successful practice models like collaborative session planning. This process can mitigate against isolation and help reinforce a development mindset.

Winning in context

Successful football academies do not reject winning; that would be foolish, especially for young people entering an industry where winning is everything. They simply contextualise it. Winning becomes a learning and practice experience, not the sole objective of the event. Results are debriefed with a focus on decisions and behaviours. Wins are celebrated for positive principles of play like excellent defending, progressive possession and creativity. Training reflects the game and its demands but is based on learning and practice that can be carried forward into the match day experience.

Balance is the hallmark of top football academies with players who are humble but confident, learning to win with grace and lose with insight, guided by staff who always prioritise progress and development over perfection and results.