The 100 Self Evaluation
Every training session I prepare on one A4-page making notes on a soccer field-drawing to organize the exercises (number of players, balls, cones, distances, timing, etc.). This way I can see what kind of problems can pop up with distances and moving material and change things. The idea is to switch to another area of the field without moving stuff. After the session I give myself a score on the back of this A4 for this session:
I can earn maximum 100 points per session:
- 25 points for the preparation at home (session in little blocks of 15-20 minutes in a periodization of 6 weeks)
- 25 points for being in time and have the field prepared before the start (get the material as quick as possible in place according to your drawing at home)
- 25 points for !!! observing how your prepared exercises are going (shut up the first minutes of each exercise and start slowly with positive comments, wait for the good execution and praise)
- 25 points for the coaching words you use to help your players (preferably questions instead of instructions)
I see a lot of coaches over coaching during exercises (especially at the beginning of the session), get angry when things aren't working out the way they prepared things and this way giving the players a bad feeling when leaving the field.
Concentrating on the good performances of players and complimenting them for that pays off for everybody. It also is an invitation for those who struggle to work in silence to get a compliment. Many times the weaker players get all the attention for a bad action. Not a good idea! We stress in front of an audience what went wrong but most of the time they already knew their action was not perfect. There is no added value in a negative remark at that time. Accept that controls and shots are not perfect everytime without yelling at players. You as a coach, will feel a lot better after a session too when you gave more compliments than ... remarks.
