RickyMasterCoach.com

Recently I happened to come across this web site, RickyMasterCoach, that has exactly the kind of information I've been looking for a long time. Some of his posts show a point he wants to make, say how to make a penetrating pass or defending, by providing photos of professional players in action. He then adds comments and arrows onto the photos to explain his topic. Highly recommended!

Women's World Cup Final: Another Perspective

Scott Carlson thinks the U.S. ladies suffered from overconfidence.

In the end, I think the U.S. team’s overconfidence/borderline cockiness also came back to bite them in the worst way. At first, it was too much swagger, and then when PK’s came around, it was not enough. Three missed PK’s in a row, wow, what can you say? Despite some great individual efforts (Megan Rapinoe is an absolute beast, that girl can play), the team collectively crumbled, and I ‘m not afraid to say it.

I think he has a point based on the quotes he provides in his article. I think the results also showed the resolve and determination of the Japanese team. I'm sure a large part of this will to win was rooted in the Japanese player's desire to give their compatriots at home something to lift their spirits after the earthquake and tsnunami.

Zonalmarking's analysis of the Women's World Cup Final

I always find the analyses on Zonalmarking interesting so I was waiting to see if they would cover the Women's World Cup final. They did.

Japan 2-2 United States (AET): Japan win their first ever Women’s World Cup | Zonal Marking

The only thing I'd add is that it seemed that the U.S. team tried to play more possession soccer which obviously depends on technical ability than what I recall of previous World Cups where the U.S. women relied more on their speed and athleticism. I also read an interview of Anson Dorrance who was impressed by Coach Sundhage's practice in which she focused on crossing for 30 or more minutes where most coaches would not devote so much time for fear of boring the players.

I don't know how much time Sundhage practiced PKs. I've seen comments on a coaching forum questioning the sequence of players who took the PKs. What struck me is how weakly the first three players struck the ball. I don't know if it was the result of being under intense pressure or if they decided to pass the ball into the net as opposed to shooting. It also seemed that Japan's keeper had a good read on what our players were going to do. Results of scouting? Or did she pick up cues?

In any case, I'm happy for Japan and pleased that the U.S. players were gracious in defeat.

Fall 2010 Observations

Another season of refereeing has ended. This fall was a bit different because I also helped coach a boys U12 town team in addition to refereeing. I’ve seen some recent threads on a couple of soccer discussion forums bemoaning the poor state of officiating. Speaking as a referee I know there is a great variety of quality among referees just as there is among coaches (and parents). The job is not as easy as it might look to parents and coaches who are standing on the sidelines. Decisions have to be made on the fly without the benefit of instant reply.

I also know that there is no unanimity among referees. My home games for the boys’ team I coached were officiated by referees with whom I worked on other games. They made some calls I wouldn’t have. I’ve also worked the lines for a number of games where I would have called something differently than the center referee. When I’ve centered games I asked my A/Rs about certain calls I made. Sometimes they agreed with me while sometimes they didn’t. Even when I take the annual referee recertification in which we watch USSF videos of actual games the opinions among us differs.

I think people also forget or aren’t aware of the fact that referees do have to take annual recertification classes in order to keep their badge. Admittedly it’s only 4 or 5 hours a year but it’s more than coaches get! After I getting my USSF D license four years ago there is no requirement to follow up this course. (I think the A and B licenses do have follow ups but I’m not certain.) I’m also lucky in that my referee assignor works some games with me so I’ll ask him for feedback after a game.

I did get a chuckle earlier this season when in one game the coach from my town accused me of favoring the visiting team. In the following game the visiting coach accused me of favoring the home team! In both cases the teams of the protesting coaches played much more physically, using their elbows freely to buy space.

In any case, I know none of the above excuses us referees from trying to do a good job. Part of the frustration, especially for younger teams is that the referees typically are only a couple of years older than the age group they’re officiating. Assignors do this to help these young referees get the experience they need to get better without throwing them to the wolves (by giving them games of older ages where the competition is stronger and the demands and expectations are higher).

Why Try Outs Are Making Your Team Worse from A Coaching Life blog

Came across this blog while reading one of the coaching forums. Has an interesting approach.

http://acoachinglife.wordpress.com/2010/03/06/why-try-outs-are-making-your-team-worse/

Calls on handling

There is a discussion on a Masschusetts forum about a decision that was made in Virginia about handling calls. I posted the following:

Last year while working with another referee I noted that he explained the handling rule to the U12s who were playing. I liked it so much it now is part of my pre-game check in. It doesn't take long but I make it clear that just because the ball touches the player's hand or arm is NOT automatically a foul. I'm looking for intentionally changing the path of the ball to the player's advantage. The coaches often express appreciation for my explanation. I also tell the players that the explanation is also for the benefit of their parents, not for the game I'm calling because the players won't be talking to their parents until the game is over, but for future games.

So far I haven't had any cases of the coaches calling for a handling call during my games.

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success - Review

I posted this review under my Flourishing blog but feel it would be of interest to coaches so I've posted it here too.

Do you believe you are born with certain innate talents that can't be changed? Or do you believe your intelligence and other traits can be developed? According to Carol Dweck, Lewis and Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, in her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success the first conclusion represents a "fixed" mindset while the second shows a "growth" mindset.

This growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts. … [T]hey believe that a person’s true potential is unknown (and unknowable); that it’s impossible to foresee what can be accomplished with years of passion, toil, and training.

So what difference does it make if you have a growth versus a fixed mindset? A lot. People who believe growth is possible will “value of challenging themselves and the importance of effort. Our research has shown that this comes directly from the growth mindset. When we teach people the growth mindset, with its focus on development, these ideas about challenge and effort follow. … When we (temporarily) put people in a fixed mindset, with its focus on permanent traits, they quickly fear challenge and devalue effort.”

In addition Dweck claims growth minded people will also be more honest about their weaknesses and failures because this provides valuable information growers can use to improve themselves. Those with a fixed belief will not be as honest about their mistakes because everything hinges on outcome and validation. Failures thus reflect negatively on -- and possibly undercut -- your innate abilities. She cites examples from business such as Enron whose top leadership exemplified the fixed mindset versus other companies whose leaders are guided by a growth-oriented mentality.

In one world – the world of fixed traits – success is about proving you’re smart or talented. Validating yourself. In the other – the world of changing qualities – it’s about stretching yourself to learn something new. Developing yourself.

So how do these conclusions apply in the real world? At work, for example, “Instead of just giving employees an award for the smartest idea or praise for a brilliant performance, they would get praise for taking imitative, for seeing a difficult task through, for struggling and learning something new, for being undaunted by a setback, or for being open to and acting on criticism.”

In relationships, fixed mindsetters believe problems have no cure because change isn’t possible for either party. The only recourse is to place blame or plot revenge. For growth mindsetters, “it was about understanding, forgiving, and moving on.” They still feel pain but not humiliation, the hallmark emotion for someone with a fixed mindset.

For parents Dweck says they can best help their children by teaching them “to love challenges, be intrigued by mistakes, enjoy effort, and keep on learning. That way, their children don’t have to be slaves of praise. They will have a lifelong way to build and repair their own confidence.”

Fixed mindset parents, on the other hand, send a different message to their kids. “’We love you – on our terms’ Those with the fixed mindset feel their parents won’t love and respect them unless they fulfill their parents’ aspirations for them.”

Dweck also comments on the ill-advised attempts to help raise grades, test scores and self-esteem by lowering standards. She feels this approach back fires because it ”just leads to poorly educated students who feel entitled to easy work.” Amen to that! Dweck also sites Benjamin Bloom’s study of world-class performers which revealed, “their first teachers were incredibly warm and accepting. Not that they set low standards. Not at all, but they created an atmosphere of trust, not judgment.”

Because the growth mindset accepts the idea of continual improvement coaches like basketball’s John Wooden strive to help their players to improve through constant preparation with focused effort. As Wooden explains: “You have to apply yourself each day to becoming a little better. By applying yourself to the task of becoming a little better each and every day over a period of time, you will become a lot better.”

Or, as Dweck says: “As parents, teachers, and coaches, our mission is developing people’s potential.” You can’t develop talent if you believe your players, kids or employees have a fixed, unchangeable nature.

As you can tell I liked Mindset. I know reviewers are supposed to find something to criticize and I’m sure I’d find something if I looked long enough. However I believe Dweck’s distinction between growth and fixed mindsets provides a key concept that explains many things about how people act and relate to each other. It also gives us invaluable assistance to improve how we work, relate, parent, coach and grow.