One of the greatest gifts ever given
to me was working at the bottom
of the pyramid in grassroots
football and working my way up
over 12 years to the professional
game. Throughout this journey I
have watched, listened and worked
with kids and senior players with all
different strengths and weaknesses
and different learning styles.
Whenever I worked at a grassroots
club and saw coaches ignore the so
called "weaker" players I always
volunteered to take those players
in my session because I believed
they would make me a better
coach by learning from their needs.
These players in my humble
opinion are the greatest teachers
we can have as they have barriers
and maybe at times see things
different. Many times because
these players see things different
they make different decisions that
they believe are correct from where
they see pictures. A lot of the time
they will be correct but many
coaches see the mistake and do not
look at the technique only the
decision. I truly believe a player
makes a decision on the picture he
see's and the best one which he
thinks will be successful. It's the
execution and timing of the
decision I think in many situations
that can be improved.
Now I work with "Elite" players the
knowledge I gained in grassroots
working with less talented players
has given me a fantastic foundation
in helping understand ALL players.
In the last 4 weeks I have had the
honour of visiting the foundation
coaches at Manchester United's
Academy and asking Eddie Leech,
THE GIFT OF LISTENING:
By Simon Cooper Head Of Academy Coaching At Oldham Athletic