Making training dynamic and fun will keep players engaged – and it will also do the same for you.

Here is how to make sure players are enjoying sessions...

Simple focus

Don’t try to cover too much in your session – focus on processes, not outcomes. 

The process is the method of achieving an outcome. 

For example: “We want to improve our handling today, so we are going to focus on how we follow through our hands to the receiver”.

If the outcomes aren’t brilliant, at least you know you have covered the process. You will then be happy that you have succeeded for that session.

Play games

Don’t make a game a reward for "working hard at the skills"; make it an integral part of the session.

Start with a game, end with a game, and try to use different games to improve skills and tactics.

Players love playing games, and the competition is fun. You can feed off that energy.

Speak less, watch more. Let the players discover the game for themselves. The more you speak, the less they do.

Watch what they are doing and enjoy their successes. When you do speak, talk with energy, praise where necessary and challenge them for ways to improve.

Don’t fret the mistakes

Ideally we learn through making 60% mistakes to 40% success – enough of a balance to encourage us, yet still make us think about improving.

If players make mistakes, see that as a positive. If they are making too many mistakes, adjust, adapt or stop.

Engage with the players on the right level

• Respect players and they’ll respect you.
• No-one loves a smarty-pants. Don’t be sarcastic.
• Praise good play – but *really* praise good effort.
• Laugh at the ridiculous. Share the humour, don’t be the joker. That way, the players will see you as someone who is there to help them.

TOP TIPS

• Enjoy your sessions by keeping your focus simple and letting the players enjoy what they want to do.
• Remember that players’ mistakes are an important part of their learning process.
• Respect the players and what they want to achieve. In return, they will respect you and value you.

HOW TO DIVIDE UP GROUPS QUICKLY

The line

• Line up the players, and go along the line giving them a number – 1, 2, 3 or 4 (or whatever number of teams you have).
• Ask the players to get into groups of four and give themselves a number each – 1, 2, 3 or 4. This is often a good way to split up friendship groups.
• If there are more in some groups, they simply play with an overload. You don’t want players standing on the sidelines.
• After a couple of games, if some teams are much better, then swap players around.
  
  

The friendship group break-up

• Ask the players to get into groups of four (if you need four teams). You can make this players that play in similar position.
• Ask the players decide on a letter each from A to D.
• Call out each letter, and ask for a hand to be put up so you can check each group has allocated their letters.
• Then ask the As to go to one part of the field, the Bs to another, and so on. You are splitting up potential friendship groups, because players initially go with their mates.
  
  

The bibs handout

• As the players arrive at training, give them a coloured bib.
• If you have an equal number of bibs of various colours to start with, you pass them out as the players gather, hopefully making some decisions on who to mix into what team.
• Then run training as normal, splitting into those groups when required.