Why Technical?

A player at U14 once wrote to me as my time with that team came to an end: “I realize now why we always focused on technical ability and not trying to just outrun the opponent.”

As a coach you can sometimes get frustrated with parents especially about why they don’t understand that what you are doing is going to pay off eventually.  But you have to understand and be patient with those parents because unless they have been through it before or seen another player or teams develop from younger then it is hard for them to understand.  Our culture is so focused on winning that we can’t really blame them, can we?

The important thing we have to stay focused on is continuing to do the right things with the players at each age group and being willing to continue to educate the parents and players about the path that they are on. 

It is commonly said that without technique there can be no tactics.  This is so true!  The player may when they are older understand and be able to read the game and know what is the best decision to make.  But…if they don’t have a quality first touch to control the ball first or the skill to work their way out of trouble or the ball striking ability to play the correct ball then that knowledge will not do them any good.

Teams at the younger age groups who focus just on tactics or that exploit gifted athletes to win games often find themselves in the older age groups not being able to compete anymore.  Let’s not let this trend continue!

For parents to believe or clubs to express that players at the top level do not focus on the technical aspects of the game is crazy.  So if players who are professionals still focus on their technical ability on a daily basis what does that mean for players who are below the age of 14?

Keep the focus on the player’s technical ability and it will pay off for them as they get older both individually and as a team.  And coaches keep educating the parents and players about why this is important!