Applied Coaching Research Journal Research Journal 5 | Page 20

APPLIED COACHING RESEARCH JOURNAL 2020, Vol. 5
Beliefs (thinking and intentions)
“I think it’s important that players have
the same perceptual cues or affordances
that they’re presented with on the pitch in
training. I think that they need to be, well
the training environment needs to be, as
specific as it can be because we’re trying to
make sure that their actions are always in
conjunction with their perception.”
“I think that there is a lot of off the pitch
things that can be done. For example, the
things we’re doing here this week is going
through some slower decision-making
strategies using video footage of different
levels of the game.”
“I think that if a team has a shared mental
model of what we’re trying to do and
achieve…it means that there’s a clarity in
what we’re trying to do as a group and I
think that supports team-based
decision-making.”
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Practice (the reality of how they implement
their ideas)
“So, to my mind the distinction between
the drill and the game is of very little
utility, because all we’re doing is talking
about tactical simplification and at some
point, where you take enough things out, it
becomes a drill.”
“These rules [i) attacking team have two
attempts to score; ii) cannot kick the ball for
themselves to receive, it must be for another
player on their team; iii) three defensive
players must be out of the game at every
phase] reduce the tactical complexity in so
far that players make fewer close support
decisions and their decisions are more
towards finding space than them supporting
the ball.”
“By using that terminology [the attacking
team are asked to use “open” when the
gaps between defensive players are spread
widely, and “closed” when the gaps between
defensive players are small] and by gauging
them in a deliberate activity like this, we’re
hoping to develop a shared mental model
of what those terms are to support
decision-making on the pitch.”