Dennis Bergkamp…Player Development…Reality
My qualifier is that to develop total players the aspect of scoring, the technique and instincts, is but one part that must be honed and work on. Unfortunately in most youth soccer around the world it is the only thing that is focused on. This is a problem and in Canada I believe one of the single biggest reasons for our inability to develop top level players. Goals feeds the win-at-all-costs mentality. Players lose.
One of the questions, from parents and other coaches, that I routinely get when discussing soccer is that the game is about goals. I often nod and agree. It is a basic premise and obviously one with validity. To win you must score.
My qualifier is that to develop total players the aspect of scoring, the technique and instincts, is but one part that must be honed and work on. Unfortunately in most youth soccer around the world it is the only thing that is focused on. This is a problem and in Canada I believe one of the single biggest reasons for our inability to develop top level players. Goals feeds the win-at-all-costs mentality. Players lose.
In a similar vein people will challenge my ideas of youth players [those under the age of 14/15] to only learn a form of possession based soccer. Again my belief is that one can always change styles and embed tactics at a later age but the fundamental of learning to keep the ball, which many wouldn’t even call possession soccer, at early ages requires one to have to learn technique and encourages more episodes of decision making. These are two of the key aspects of producing great players…eventually. I do not care what you play in the professional first team once these players are older and get there. They need to be able to make quick decisions, be creative and have the technique to deliver what a coach wants, even if that is launching it up the field. It doesn’t matter. Only by having the ball at their feet early in their life will they learn the necessary skills to implement any style or tactic. That starts by young players keeping the ball, learning to run off the ball, get to the ball and play with the ball. A lot.
For me it is simple. For me it is about producing great people. People that are willing to learn and willing to be courageous, both on the field and off.
That is what Play Better is for me. I do not judge a child through the same lens as a professional. We look to build strength in young people so they may reach as high as they can. That means brains and technique.
And thankfully I am not alone.
Mr. Dennis Bergkamp is someone who effuses the ideals we look to impose and encourage in our players. I found these great quotes that speak volumes to what must change in our youth soccer. No quick fixes here.
Bergkamp is not a fan of the way youth football in England is results-orientated. [you can assume he’d think the same of Canada if he cared to look over this way.]
“You have to win these games, so the coach is going to manage to win the game instead of developing the player. In my opinion it should be totally the opposite. Sometimes you put your strongest player on the bench just to let others shine. Or you put a right-footed player who can’t do anything with his left on the left side and force him to use his left foot. Of course in that game you will probably lose because you don’t use your strongest players in their strongest position, but in the end you have a player who used his left foot when he was 12 and 13 and 14, and he can use both feet when he comes into the first team. That’s what we have at Ajax and I really stand behind that.” [From a Guardian piece by Amy Lawrence]
Development over wins. Can you see a thread of how one might reward these young players for perhaps using their left foot.
Below is an amazing quote that probably sums up what we think Play Better can be for you. It is very interesting that at Ajax, where they still produce more players [as a % that make top first leagues in Europe] than any other team, have different ways to measure and analyze youth development. It is likely also scary as it is not common and changes the way we might have to look at our coaching practices.
Bergkamp continues.
‘The only team that needs to win trophies is the first team. The youth teams don’t need to win, they just need to make their players better. So what does the individual need at a certain age? Should you talk tactics to a player before the age of fourteen? At that age it goes in one ear and out the other. It really doesn’t mean anything. So we start with that now after fourteen. Before fourteen, it’s just playful skills and everything. And we have new ways of measuring and developing those skills, and developing good habits, like controlling the ball, and passing and positions, and we’re also thinking a lot about the mental side. So in the end you have not just a complete football player but a person who is good for others, who means something in the world. He’s not just a stupid football player, but someone with a good story to tell, who is outgoing; someone who is genuinely interested in helping or changing the world, for example, not just interested in girls and cars. A more intelligent person so everyone says: “Yes, that’s an Ajax player!” That’s the philosophy’. [From his autobiography Stillness and Speed: My Story: Dennis Bergkamp]
Change the focus as a coach. Reward those reaching.
Go. Play Better.
Photo Credit: phrack_anomaly via Compfight cc
