UPDATE 12.7.15: Earlier this year I posted about some of the tensions between coaching for the long term development of players and coaching for the short term (i.e. to get wins now). You can read that original post below. Last week I got to spend two days talking teaching on the soccer field with 20 Academy…
Look, we know we want the kids to have a growth mindset and to embrace a “Culture of Error“– in which kids like struggle and challenge and in which getting it wrong is a key tool for getting it right. We know we want the kids to think, “Oh, good. This is going to be hard!”…
I’ve been working with US Soccer to develop some training tools on principles of teaching for coaches. As part of this work I’ve been developing short videos of an outstanding young coach, Steve Covino, working with a group of U8 players. In the next week or so I’m going to share two especially useful videos of…
Teach First’s Harry Fletcher-Wood has a new book coming out: Ticked Off: Checklists for teachers, students, and school leaders. Imagine Atul Gawande’s Checklist Manifesto applied to the world of schools. Our team has been all giddy with anticipation since long before we found out that one of his checklists is for designing effective practice activities for…
The phrase “The Game is the Best Teacher” is popular among soccer coaches. In many ways I understand why; it’s pithy and has an element of truth to it. But as this recent post by Paul Cammarata points out it’s not fully true and is often misapplied. My colleague Chris Condron, a student…