The Coaches Toolbox

Every good workman has a toolbox. A bad workman blames his tools.

Coaches are no different.

You have a toolbox. It might be shallow right now, it might be expansive. Some of the tools might need oil, others need to be thrown away.

But here's the thing about that old line — it isn't really about the tools.

It's about the workman.

Two coaches can own the same tactics board and only one of them knows what to do with it.

So this is in two parts.

The first part is the tools. Things you can pick up and use at practice tonight.

Buy the board, choose the word, cue up the clip.

The second part is the skills. Things you can't buy and can't rush. You only get better at them by doing them badly for a while and paying attention.

Quick task before you read on: how do you 'coach'? Do you coach in different ways?

Those are your tools. Let's see which ones you're missing.

Want to listen to this instead? Check it out. → Episode 36 - Coaches Toolbox

PART ONE — THE TOOLS

THE TACTICS BOARD

For me, the most superior coaching tool there is.

A board is incredibly valuable because you can explain things visually. The display outweighs the value of your words. Players can relate to themselves on the field, see the other pieces around them, and see how they connect.

Write arrival information on it. Like a gym workout, write the practice plan on it. Write today's key word on it. In games, use the pieces to show your formation, player movement, a trend you're seeing.

Let the players get their hands on the pieces and move them around.

You can pick up boards all over — a huge one on wheels, or a letter-size one for easy transport. Lots of variety, but I find a magnetic whiteboard is best, so I can move pieces and also write and draw. I love SCOPro for this.

Just always check the grass when you're done. There is NOTHING worse than losing a magnet.

Part 2: Technology

To support the board, I use apps like TacticalPad. I'll make a simple snapshot of what the activity will look like, and/or a GIF to send to players and parents (and use on social media, of course).

There are lots of apps, and even paper and pen with a shared photo will secure the visual aid that many players need.

I don't like using tech on the field, though. It's a pre- or post- tool.

POWER WORDS

Using a single word to describe a desired action.

Not to play the game like Basketball and Coach Carter, where we yell 'Linda' and expect a pattern of play — more about reminding our players what we're trying to achieve.

'Switch' is a classic. We all know what that means.

Maybe you use 'Banana'. It could mean the same thing, but it's a word you use in practice and a word your players begin to use. So in practice you say 'banana' and it means specific behaviors should occur across the field for your team to switch, or even pretend to switch. That's what you work on, so it has a consistent meaning on game day.

Don't get too complex or try to be secretive. Consistency, and giving players answers, can only help their mastery.

This one is a tool and not a skill for a reason. You install it once. You are not going to get better at saying 'banana' — you either did the work in practice to give it meaning, or you didn't.

Explore my common language tools here.

→ https://www.leedunnesoccer.com/tools/p/common-language

EXAMPLES

Professional videos. Good players on the team. You.

All of these can provide positive examples for players to learn from.

Young players like screens, and social media is full of 5-10 second clips you can use. At practice, you or other players can demonstrate good decisions or good behaviors in the exact moments you're working on.

FREEZE

Everybody stop and stand still. I've seen something we need to address.

I want to recreate a moment that just happened — we gave the ball away, made a mistake, didn't make a pass we've been working on, didn't have SUPPORT. Ideally this comes after a trend of mistakes from multiple players, and it lines up with your session objective.

Use a minute or so to recreate the action and demonstrate the desired behavior so the players can see the solution we're looking for. Let them rehearse it — a walk-through, low pressure, working through the pattern. Then live rehearsal, then back to real play. The true test is whether the behavior repeats.

You now have a reference point the players can remember.

This tool needs refinement. You'll be working to keep players in position and focused, stopping them drifting over to a teammate to chat about what's going on.

And a warning: if you constantly freeze the action and talk about mistakes, players lose interest. If you talk to just one player in the freeze, imagine how that player feels with the spotlight on them — an impact that's often amplified in female players.

NOTE. Use this in coaching school and be prepared for your educator to start a stopwatch to see how long you keep the players frozen versus playing. Practice how fast you can freeze and unfreeze.

I've put the freeze last in this section on purpose. It's the loudest tool you own. It stops everything, it points at somebody, and it costs you playing time every single time you use it.

My opinion: it should be the one you use least.

Which brings us to what to do instead.

PART TWO — THE SKILLS

The tools above you can have by Saturday. The three below you will spend a career getting better at, and they are the ones that actually separate coaches.

None of them stop the game. All of them ask something of you — restraint, timing, or the discipline to shut up and listen to the answer.

COACHING IN THE FLOW

Not commentating on each pass and dribble and shot and every step.

Using keywords to help players.

"SUPPORT, JoJo." "Excellent BREAK, Mikey." "SUPPORT closer, Jose."

This is a skill because we have so much we want to say — the detailed explanation is sitting right there and it is very hard not to give it. Use the practices to build the players' understanding of the keywords, then trust them enough to use only the words in the flow.

The restraint is the skill. The words are the easy part.

Not so fun task: audio record yourself for half of one game. What do you actually say? It might not be just key words. Then practice using only those.

1:1

Instead of stopping practice to tell one player how to open up and receive so we can break pressure — talk to that player 1:1.

You can do it in the flow when the ball isn't near them. You can do it when the ball looks like it's coming their way. You can do it at a stoppage. Any of these can help, or hinder, and you need to understand what helps that individual most.

You can find out by asking them.

It's almost a guarantee this finds more success than calling them out in front of the team.

The second way to develop 1:1 coaching is to give players objectives. "Touch the ball 5 times in the next 2 minutes" — for a timid player, or one who gets stuck wide (very typical for the 1-4-3-3 in the US youth game). Now you're challenging them at their level, and it's less about them getting on the ball than it is about connecting with them and letting them know you see them.

If they don't touch it 5 times, consider why, and how you can help them more.

The same mini goals work for anyone. Can your striker take 3 shots in this game?

Can the midfielders intercept 2 passes?

HOT AND COLD FEEDBACK

A way of expanding on the 1:1. Use it at stoppages — a goal, or the ball goes out.

Hot feedback — immediate. "Jose, what did you see that reminded you to SUPPORT like that?" We want his first thought: what did he see, whether the outcome was good or bad. Context helps us so much.

Too often hot feedback shows up as "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" or "GREAT PASS," and neither has much value. Asking what he was trying to achieve helps him pay attention to what he's doing, and heads off the mindless stuff — like booting the ball away.

Cold feedback — the action is over. Between reps, or at the end of practice.

"Jose, tell me more about that moment of SUPPORT and why you did it." Or: "Earlier you forced the ball into pressure — can you tell me what you were trying to do, and what other options you had?"

This is about helping players reflect on moments that matter to their development.

Can they recall them and learn from them? And not always the negative ones, by the way.

Two rules:

It is not a "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?" question. It's an inquiry. Safe space, no wrong answers, just context.

Don't answer for him. Avoid "did you SUPPORT because you recognized your teammate was going to lose the ball?" — because his answer will be a resounding YES, and he, and we, learn nothing.

Introduce the method to your players first. "If I ask you why you did it in the moment, give me your first answer. There is no wrong answer here, I want to understand what you saw." Then stay true to it — don't coach right after, don't react to their answer. You need to create a safe space.

That last part is the whole skill. Asking the question is easy. Sitting with the answer without correcting it is the hard bit, and it's the bit that makes players tell you the truth next time.

AND ONE FOR YOU

A NOTEPAD

Every other thing in this post is aimed at your players. This one is aimed at you.

For writing down feelings, emotions and comments that are better written down than shouted.

It's also a tool for recall. Writing helps me stay calm and arrange my thoughts as the game goes on. It's private, and it's in your pocket.

I recommend it as much as any of these tools.

There are more. These are my favorite.

So — open up that toolbox. Sharpen some tools, throw the others away, and get to work, coach.

Just remember which half of the box actually makes you better.

@leedunnesoccer