A Player-Centered Model

Imagine an education system that evaluates teachers and school districts solely on the grade point average of their classrooms. How would that affect the students’ academic development? Would teachers be motivated to make their classroom assessments challenging, or would they recommend a student for placement into an AP class—knowing full well that both of these actions would lower the classroom average? When coming from this environment, how well would a group of students do on demanding standardized tests like the SAT?

 

The truth is that no school or classroom should be set up this way! Instead of worrying about results and appearances, don’t we want teachers that challenge the students to reach higher stages of ability? I think that we’d want teachers to push our kids out of their comfort zones and into levels of understanding that go beyond a simple regurgitation of information. Of course, there is always the chance for failure when we attack new and unfamiliar obstacles that pose a greater test to our capabilities. But, isn’t that what life is about? Shouldn’t we all strive to improve ourselves rather than be satisfied with mediocrity?

 

What about soccer programs that evaluate their coaches and their club based on team results? What would that look like? It would be about registering their teams in competitions they can win with little effort. It would be about working on fitness and set plays in training, because success in those areas will give them the best chance to win the game at the weekend. It would be about playing players in one position only—their best position—to maximize the chances for team success. A player with a strong kick would be in the back; fast players would play forward, and there would be a deep sweeper to prevent other teams from scoring easily. The coach wouldn’t care if a player knows ‘why’ they are doing something so long as they know ‘what’ they are doing. We’re talking about players methodically programmed to get results—wins and losses. But, what happens when these ‘robots’ face new, unfamiliar obstacles? Will they succeed when the formula doesn’t fit the problem?

 

In soccer, more often than not, it is the daring and clever ‘artist’ that becomes the difference between two evenly matched sides—not the cautious and unimaginative ‘robot’. This is why player development is so much more than shaping cogs to fit into a fine-tuned team setup. Player development should be centered on the player, and development that focuses on building a well-rounded, well-informed ‘thinker’ is infinitely more fruitful in the long-term.

 

Does your child belong to an organization that utilizes a team-centered or player-centered approach? The team-centered approach uses team results (wins and losses) as their performance measure, and all the club’s decisions are focused on making each team as strong as possible. A player-centered model cites individual growth as its measuring stick. With the individual foremost in mind, all club decisions are aimed at appropriately developing each child.

 

Don’t be mistaken! Player-centered clubs DO care about winning! And, when they step out on the field, those clubs compete as hard as they can to win the competitions they are placed in. However, club and team decisions are based on what is best for the players, not what is best for results. The true measure of success for a player-centered club is how well the players do when they leave that club. How well do these same players perform in: high school teams, Olympic development programs, United States development academies, college programs, and professional clubs? These functions, outside the club, serve as the independent “standardized test”.

 

So, we’ve heard a lot about the ideology behind player-centered thinking. But, what best typifies this thought? In general, we do not ask what our players can do for us but what we can do for our players. For example, if there is an organization that can provide for a player better than you can, you should promote this opportunity to the player—regardless of what it does to the ‘strength’ of your club. The United States Development Academy, formed in the summer of 2007, provides the best players in the country a place to compete and train. Players, leaving their premier clubs behind, will be able to test their abilities against the best players in the region on a weekly basis and year round. Buffalo United whole-heartedly promotes this program in spite of the fact that several successful BUSC teams have been affected—including a two-time State Cup winning side!

 

Training should be centered on themes that allow for the greatest long-term gains in order to develop the most complete players. Young players, who are still developing their motor skills, should be focusing on technical proficiency, so they develop those motor skills in conjunction with a ball. Without first being able to solve the problems that controlling the ball presents, young players will never be able to properly solve problems that the game sets before them. Further along in their development, teenage players become cognitively ready to learn about group tactics and team tactics, thus a shift in focus to tactical topics makes more sense. Fitness is incorporated into training but never becomes the center of it. 

 

Players should be playing in multiple positions. Initially, players may have a proclivity for success at certain areas of the field, but they must first learn to play in all areas to be successful at the highest levels of the game. Additionally, players must be challenged to solve the problems that the game presents on their own—with as little assistance from their coaches as possible. Instead of just knowing ‘what’ the right decisions are, a player needs to know ‘why’ they should make those decisions. By eventually arriving at the correct decision on their own, players learn to transfer the right decisions to all situations—including those new and unfamiliar ones!

 

All soccer organizations start out in the interests of servicing their players. But, many lose their way and become caught up in the competitiveness of the sport. Look at the way your club behaves; ask yourself: do you feel comfortable that the club has your child’s best interests in mind?