#AFCN: José Figueira (The Modern Coach for The Modern Game)

Auckland Football Federation
Coaches Network Event
Feb 23rd, Central Utd Football Club, Kiwitea Street, 9am-12noon

The Modern Coach…for the Modern Game
Hosted By: José Manuel Figueira

PART I
The Modern Coach: “Patience, Paint, Practice & Produce”
PART II

Building Your Bridge: “The Foundation of your training environment”
PART III
The Modern Game: “What does it look like? What are the Ingredients?”

PART IV
Practical Component: “Example sessions for the Modern Coach”


PART I
The Modern Coach: “Patience, Paint, Practice & Produce”

PART I Patience, Paint, Practice & Produce

PATIENCE

“If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to
Patient attention, then to any other talent – Sir Isaac Newton

Patience as a coach is crucial. With all the planning, research and countless hours we spend off
the field preparing training sessions and development plans for our players, we believe instant
success and improvement should be a given.
Out on the grass our expectation is that all players understand what we want from them, how
they should behave, to be attentive to the learning points we are trying to feed them and that
by the end of the session everyone has made progress…however is this unrealistic?

What strategies do you use
to reduce player/coach
stress during training?

What is you number one
focus as a coach during
training sessions?

What objective do you
feel your players should
strive for each session?

As coaches we need to remind ourselves that without Patience in our approach, and Patience in
our players development the environment we create can without our intention be filled with
stresses and strains. Do not be demanding of, and driven by results!


PAINT

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see” – Edgar Degas

The players are your subject…the training field is your canvass…your coaching is an art form!
There are many different types of artist who have their own techniques and styles, but what they
all have in common is their ability to produce spectacular pieces that inspire. As coaches this is
what we must strive for when we step on the field with our players,
Like painters, every coach is different with their own style, philosophy and outlook. But ultimately
the one thing that connects us all is the reason we coach – “to improve, inspire and grow our
players both on and off the field”. How we do this can vary, but just like an artist it is how we put
all our ideas and visions together and present it on the canvas that separates the best!

IS THIS GAME
REALISTIC?

DOES THIS HAPPEN
IN THE GAME?

Base all your session planning and activities around these two questions. This method will not only
help your players connect their learning from the training field to playing field, but over time you
will notice the identification and evaluation of technical and tactical decisions made by your
players will become clearer, quicker and with greater quality!
Your players must be able to deal with the three key, constantly evolving stresses of
the game: SPACE, TIME, PRESSURE.
So paint these scenarios for your players in your training sessions and watch them
bring your artwork to life!

HOW MANY PICTURES DO YOU THINK HAVE BEEN PAINTED
FOR XAVI IN TRAINING??

“ I pass and I move, I help you, I look for you, I stop. I raise my head, I
look, and above all I open up the pitch ” – Xavi Hernandez


PRACTICE
Have you ever noticed a player who when under pressure or in a tight space nearly always
passes the ball backwards? never tries to turn? Or break lines with a pass or dribble?
For me this is a clear sign of a player that has not been exposed to the key game stresses and
pictures during training – they are having to “think on their feet” and more often then not regress
into a natural instinct of not wanting to make mistakes and be responsible for one!
How can your activities
allow players to
maximize practice?

How can your
activities encourage
random repetition?

How do we know
when a skill is
engrained?

I see many coaches are too worried about seeing/finding improvement so they can share their
coaching points and progress activities to move on in their session plan that they can, without
knowing it neglect the learning process of players.
As coaches we need to provide practices that not only allow players maximum contact time
within the activities we provide them…but make these activities organic to allow players to
experience random repetition. Put your players in positions and situations they will have to
perform and experience in games!


PRACTICE…failing?

Kobe Bryant – LA Lakers


PRODUCE
If we can be PATIENT and not demanding, during practice PAINT the necessary pictures and
allow our players the maximum PRACTICE time in organically evolving activities, they should be
well equipped to deal with the decisions, puzzles and stresses the game presents them.
The hope is that we see a clear sign of transferred learning from training to playing field from our
players. That they are able to execute skills and techniques that have a positive outcome on the
team and affect the opposition.

Can you turn pressure
into praise?

Experience, feel,
and watch your
players the game

How do you measure
your players
improvement?

Remember every game played throws up a whole new plethora of techniques, skills and tactical
game learning opportunities for players. It is this experience that help us develop our training
focus and plans, but more importantly provide us with a new inspiration for us to paint on our
blank canvass that is the training field!


IN CONCLUSION

Players have different needs and your sessions must recognize this. Put your players
in positions they will have to experience and perform in the game
All practices must replicate game stimuli. If players fail to recognize the correct stimuli when it is
demanded in a game, technique and skill execution will fail. It is the responsibility of the coach to
make sure this does not happen
If you are not positively affecting the behavior of your players, you are not a coach. And if you
don’t change the way they think and feel, you won’t change the way they behave and perform.

As coaches be patient in your approach to your players development. The environment you
create shouldn’t be filled with stresses and strains. Do not be demanding of, and driven by results!

Don’t get left behind…get your “P’s” in order and become a modern day coach!


PART II

PART II

Aimed at Soccer coaches of all levels and with
players of all ages and abilities The Modern
Soccer Coach 2014 identifies the areas that must
be targeted by coaches who want to maximize
a team's potential - the Technical, Tactical,
Physical, and Mental sides to the game.
Written by UEFA 'A' and NSCAA Premier licensed
coach Gary Curneen - The Modern Soccer
Coach 2014 offers contemporary focused and
distilled insight into what soccer coaches need to
do, and how!

PART II Building your Bridge - “The Foundation of your
Training Environment”
“All practice must replicate game stimuli. If players fail to recognize the correct stimuli when it is
demanded in a game, technique and skill execution will fail. It is the responsibility of the coach to
make sure this does not happen” – Gary Curneen |Author | The Modern Soccer Coach
WHATS YOUR TRAINING ENVIRONMENT LIKE?
Many coaches have a one dimensional training model…but fail to notice!
By simply asking yourself these questions, you can tell whether or not you’re your
training program is one dimensional:
Do you separate your
sessions for technical,
tactical & physical
conditioning?

Do your players
continually struggle
with the tactical
aspects of the game?

Do your players
continually struggle to
create attacking
chances in games?

Does your team
continually start the
game sluggish?

Does your team have
a problem conceding
goals in the last ten
minutes of games?

Is enthusiasm from
your players
continually missing
during your sessions?

Do players continually
feel like they can sit
out of a session and
not miss much?

Is attendance a
continual problem for
your training session?

If you answered YES for any of the questions above it does not make you a bad coach!
Every coach (including the top ones) have problems to fix on a daily basis, it is the nature
of the game. However too many times we believe that these problems are because of
the deficiencies of our players and not down to the habits we help create every day.

THE “WHAT”
The easy part of coaching…it has to be what ideas and philosophies we want our teams to
incorporate. These will vary from coach to coach but tend to cover general ideas such as; high
work rate, possession focused, attack minded etc
What is your coaching
philosophy and ideas of
how the game is played?

How do you want your team
and players to play each
game? Why?

There is no right or wrong answer!
This is very much the theory side of coaching. It can be a set of ideals that
you will stand by no matter what!
However, simply identifying your philosophies and being prepared to stand by them is not enough in the
game today. Whilst traditional coaching very much consisted of ordering and telling – todays coaching
is about nurturing and enhancing, so we need to take a step further.

THE “HOW”
This is where coaching becomes more complex and tricky. How can we get our philosophy and
ideas through to the players in order to deliver performances and results? A coach and his/her
players can sometimes seem miles apart. The screaming from the sidelines met with a blank
expression from your player is a prime example of this in action.

Your about to hear a snippet from a Junior U10 game. With the person next to
you listen, make notes & think about the following:
2.

1. Is the information from the coach relevant to the game?
Are the players able to play with freedom & make their own decisions?
3. Can you make out what the coaches philosophies/ideas are?

Whilst my initial thoughts of the clip are good, if you dig a little deeper its clear that It is a long
way from the “What” to the “How”. If we want to bring these two aspects of our
coaching/training environment closer together we are going to need a bridge to do it!

BRIDGE THE GAP NOW!!

PART II Building your Bridge - “Four Dimensional Coaching”

“The foundation of the bridge will determine your success; your
training program makes u the four beams on the bridge;
Technical, Tactical, Physical and Mental”

POTENTIAL

COMMUNICATION
T
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C
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N
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L

T
A
C
T
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A
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P
H
Y
S
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PERFORMANCE
M
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These are the elements that have to be included in every aspect of your work and your goal
is to have your team operating as efficiently as possible.
If you implement your training program with high standards, consistency, and quality control,
you and your team will start moving forward very quickly.
MAKE SURE THAT BRIDGE IS STRONG & READY TO GO!!

TECHNICAL
Technical proficiency is the ability to perform underlying techniques accurately, consistently and
at game speed. The best teams and players execute the basics correctly and do it often. Your
role as coach is to provide your players with a technical framework in your sessions so that they
can meet the technical demands of the game.
Don’t focus on one
single skill each session

Incorporate multi-skill
exercises & activities

Challenge your players
to do even more!

Your exercises should incorporate multi-skills (passing, shooting, control, heading) whilst
challenging players to do even more.
However more is not necessarily an increase in the amount of technical work, but rather the
creation of challenging conditions around them – pressure of opposition & speed of play!
Why always start with technical work?
Traditional practices almost always begin with technical work, at which time players are usually
fresh mentally and physically. But in reality, fatigue is a factor in performance so we must prepare
our players to pass the ball just as well in the last ten minutes of a game as they do in the first.
CHALLENGE PLAYERS ACROSS MULTIPLE ASPECTS – NOT SOLELY ON SKILL!

TACTICAL
Tactical proficiency is the ability to weigh up game situations, decide what option to take, and
when to take it. Working on tactical shape and formations typically slow down a session, but
putting emphasis on your principles is different and a lot more effective.
Create activities that
dovetail your principles

Don’t break the flow. Let
the activity do the
teaching for you

Is it realistic? Would this
happen in a game?

Working alongside physical and mental components, tactical thinking is important because
players will have to make tactical decisions in a very short window of time – speed of thought will
be just as vital as physical speed.
KEEP YOUR COACHING BALANCE!
The balance of training is crucial because if the coach stops and starts the session too much, flow
disappears and you have eliminated key challenges that players will be exposed to in a game.
Too often the tactical side of training is geared for outcome and not process. Coaches change
formation/game plans so regularly that players never have a chance to develop performance routines.
ENABLE YOUR PLAYERS TO READ, RESPOND, REACT & RECOVER
TO ALL SITUATIONS THAT WILL OCCUR IN A GAME!

PHYSICAL
You need to have physical competence in order to have skill, tactical, or mental competence. They are
inextricably linked as the physical can have a direct impact on technical or tactical execution. If
players are fatigued performing a skill, they will not perform it optimally.
Don’t just make your
players fit. Make them
FOOTBALL FIT!

“ Lots of coaches devote their time to wondering how they can ensure that their players are able
to do a lot of running during a match. Ajax trains its players to run as little as possible on the field.
That is why positional games are always central to Ajax training sessions” – Louis van Gaal
If you want your players at their best physically, you have to incorporate the ball and football
specific demands to your session. Speed, power, agility, reaction time and aerobic endurance
that can be sustained for 90 minutes are required.
Identifying those demands is one thing, but the key is to integrate these components with game
specific indicators during practice sessions.
PERFORMANCE IS A FUNCTION OF FITNESS & FATUGUE. PLAYERS MUST
HAVE THE ENERGY SYSTEMS REQUIRED TO MEET THESE DEMANDS!

MENTAL
Psychological proficiency in football involves choosing and maintaining a positive attitude, dealing
effectively with teammates, using positive self-talk, understanding mental imagery, managing anxiety
effectively, developing confidence, controlling emotions effectively and maintaining concentration!
Do your sessions
challenge the players in
a number of these areas?

Are your players having
to think? Are they trying
to solve problems?

Perhaps the most important mental aspect will be decision making. Can your exercises challenge
players to think and solve problems? This is where the mental component meets the tactical one.
Former Legendary Chicago Bulls Head Coach Phil Jackson had a “no timeout” policy when his
Chicago Bulls team were struggling. It gave his players the responsibility to solve the problems
they were facing. His star player, Michael Jordan believed that the team subsequently
developed “think power” which would allow them to deal with problems as they occurred
throughout the season.
PLAYERS MUST BE TAUGHT HOW TO THINK, NOT NECESSARILY WHAT TO THINK!

IN CONCLUSION
POTENTIAL

COMMUNICATION
T
E
C
H
N
I
C
A
L

T
A
C
T
I
C
A
L

P
H
Y
S
I
C
A
L

PERFORMANCE
M
E
N
T
A
L

Don’t focus on one
single skill each session

Incorporate multi-skill
exercises & activities

Challenge your players
to do even more!

Create activities that
dovetail your principles

Don’t break the flow. Let
the activity do the
teaching for you

Is it realistic? Would this
happen in a game?

Don’t just make your
players fit. Make them
FOOTBALL FIT!

Do your sessions challenge
the players in a number of
these areas?

Are your players having to
think? Are they trying to
solve problems?


PART III
The Modern Game: “What does it look like? What are the Ingredients?”

PART III The Modern Game – What does it look like?

“ Systems are dying – its about the
movement of ten players now.
Tactically now, in the modern
game, your players will have
multiple roles within the attacking
and defensive framework “
Slaven Bilic – Head Coach Besiktas &
Former Croatia National Team Head Coach

FOUNDATIONS…NOT FORMATIONS!
Whether you’re a 4-3-3, 4-4-2 or 3-4-3 kind of coach, I truly believe the more modern day football I
watch (at the top level) formations are becoming less important. What wins games are players who can
adapt, evolve and execute decisions (technical/tactical) at any specific moment of the game.

Philosophy
Or
Evolution?

Defenders or Midfielders…?
As coaches we need to look beyond putting players in “boxes” on the field and ask them to perform
certain actions which that position requires. Educating players to recognize the correct “cues” in/out of
possession breaks the mold of players needing position specific qualities. The way the modern game is
evolving means that players need to be adaptable & evolve with the match, with every passing minute.

WITHOUT THE CORRECT FOUNDATION, FORMATIONS MEAN NOTHING!

WHATEVER THE SYSTEM…

THERE MUST BE A FOUNDATION!
Liverpool FC


Philosophy– Fluidity – Finish!

WHATEVER THE SYSTEM…

THERE MUST BE A FOUNDATION!
FC Bayern Munich


Multi Functional – Multi Skilled – Multiple Outcomes!

PART III The Modern Game – Key Ingredients
The Role of Goalkeepers

The evolution of goalkeeping has transformed the game in recent years. Modern
goalkeepers are just as good with their feet as some of their fellow midfielders. This has led
to attacks starting further down the field and as the technical demands for keepers has
increased, so too has the tempo of the game. Forwards chase backpasses now to simply
affect the service from the goalkeeper, knowing that a keeper with time on the ball can
usually place a ball wherever they want to.

Deep Playmaker

Many associate a playmaker as being a central midfielder or withdrawn forward who can
influence the game high up the field with a range of assists or goal. However this type of
player has evolved significantly as stifling defenses and rigid defensive systems have drawn
them further down the field. The dangerous playmaker has been replaced by a deep lying
string puller, able to impact the game by changing the point of attack: retaining
possession, and controlling the tempo.

Playmaking Center Backs

As more teams drop deep to defend with ten players and play counter-attacking football,
this has allowed defenders more time on the ball and the freedom to make decisions on
how to construct an attack. As well as other aspects of the game, defenders must now be
excellent technically. The playmaking center back or “libero” is becoming more prominent
as we see center backs driving through into the opposition half dozens of times in a game. If
your center back can do this, it can open a range of attacking options for your team.

Decline of Fixed Systems of Play

The days of rigid tactics and formations are well and truly gone in the modern era. A team
today, competing at a high level could play against a different system every week. Each
game will bring different questions, both attacking and defensively, so if your reliant on one
system your players abilities to solve problems will be limited. As players have developed
into better athletes and improve technically, it has brought formations closer together and
very similar. So similar, in fact that a 4-5-1 can become a 4-4-2, a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1 within
seconds.


IN CONCLUSION
Teach your players & your team the foundations so
they can perform in any system, shape or moment
Don’t get caught up in formations & systems of play.
Focus on the your key playing principles
Encourage your players to be multi skilled. Every
position on the field demands every type of action
Allow your players to improvise. Creativity & self
solving is the key to unlock real potential
The environment you create at training and on game day will determine the direction &
way your players grow. Players need to be left to play the game, feel the game & learn
every aspect of the game in order to be effective…so why make training different?

“ You can be the ripest, juiciest
peach in the world, but there’ll
always be somebody who hates
peaches“
Brendan Rogers – Head Coach, Liverpool FC


PART IV
“Practical Component: Example session for the Modern Coach”

#AFCN: José Figueira (The Modern Coach for The Modern Game)

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