FFA National Curriculum 2013

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johnydep
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FFA National Curriculum 2013

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http://www.mediafire.com/view/ayyxap8o790z78x/FFA_National_Curriculum2013.pdf wrote:FFA’s Coaching Philosophy

So, we’ve outlined FFA’s specific philosophy on how football should be played, but FFA also has a specific philosophy on how football should be coached. In Chapter 4 (Coach Education) FFA’s coaching philosophy is explained in detail, but the essence of FFA’s coaching philosophy is this:

Traditionally, it has been accepted that football has four main components (Technical, Tactical, Physical and Mental). Based on this, coaches and coach educators have tended to distinguish these four elements and develop them separately. We call this the ‘isolated approach’.

However in doing this, the holistic process of perceiving (a football situation), deciding (how to act) and executing (the acting itself) is being separated. Football is a game of constantly quick-changing situations. Not one situation is the same as the one before or after. The complexity of football situations is determined by what we call the ‘football-specific resistances’.

This means that I have to do ‘something’ with the ball (which requires ‘technique’) but that ‘something’ depends on football-specific resistances such as: how much time do I have; how much space do I have; in what direction must I go; where are my team-mates; where are the opponents and what do they do; etc. The football-specific resistances activate the holistic PERCEPTION-DECISION-EXECUTION chain. In the traditional isolated approach, the focus is often only on the EXECUTION link of the chain.

ISOLATED APPROACH
Here is a visual to explain this point:

In this example dribbling/running with the ball is being practised but there is no real football context since most of the game specific resistances (space; time; direction; team-mates; opponents) are missing. From the chain PERCEPTION-DECISION-EXECUTION only the execution part is being practised.

This player will probably get very skilful at ‘dribbling through cones’ but the question we have to ask ourselves is:

“How much does this drill help the player to get better at running with the ball in a real game, or are there better ways to achieve that goal?”

Scientific research shows that the most educationally effective way to develop football players is to leave the PERCEPTION-DECISION-EXECUTION chain as much as possible intact. This is FFA’s philosophy on coaching football and we call this the holistic approach. The rationale and detail of FFA’s coaching philosophy is further explained in chapter 4.

Image
‘Wasted Time’ is time spent on non-football-specific activities, such as isolated technique training or isolated fitness training. Because of this, the season of 6 months may only be 4 months of actual football!

In Australia there is an especially strong tendency to regard fitness training as something exclusive and therefore separate (‘isolate’) it from football training. But by doing that we again lose valuable time of which we are short as it is!

Of course you need to be fit to be able to perform optimally but it is perfectly possible to get fit for football by playing football. Football specific fitness and conditioning are therefore also a part of FFA’s holistic coaching philosophy.

All the generally accepted physiological training principles are being applied through the Football Conditioning Methodology that is part of this Curriculum: the players acquire high football specific fitness levels without wasting valuable football training time!

There is no magic formula for developing special players but recent scientific research (Coyle; Ericsson, Gladwell; Syed et al) does provide some very interesting insights:
  • 1. Talent is not ‘innate’. Messi (or any other outstanding performer in sports, science or art) didn’t receive or inherit special ‘genes’ from birth

    2. Every world class performer has a history of many years of deep practice that started at a young age
    3. A condition for many years of deep practice is intrinsic and sustained motivation, a characteristic all top performers share.
No top performer has ever circumvented these rules! This doesn’t mean however that geniuses do not exist. The top teachers and coaches Daniel Coyle interviewed for his book “The Talent Code” pegged the genius rate (Messi!) at about one per decade. Let us take a closer look at these insights.

If talent is not innate and excellence is the result of many years of sustained deep practice does that mean that anyone can become a top level player? Theoretically yes, although it’s not that simple.

Many people may have heard of the so-called “Rule of 10,000 hours”. This rule, introduced by the Swedish scientist Anders Ericsson, basically states that it takes 10,000 hours (or 10 years) of practice to reach a level of excellence in sports, science, art or any other field.

It is apparent that the quality of that practice is vital although, interestingly, research conducted by UK professor Mark Williams shows that time invested in non-organised practice, such as playing with mates in the park or juggling a ball in the back yard, is at least as important.

Coaching

Quality of practice is clearly contingent on the importance of good coaching. Good coaching means purposeful practice and quality feedback.

Purposeful practice is always aimed at progress: after all, only by working at what you can’t do will you turn into the expert you want to become. And quality feedback is the rocket fuel that propels learning. Without it, no amount of practice is going to get you there because “if you don’t know what you are doing wrong you can never know what you are doing right”. Good coaches are therefore able to design practice so that feedback is embedded in the exercise, leading to automatic adjustment.

A good way of visualising what ‘purposeful practice’ means is to picture something ‘just beyond the player’s reach’ or ‘just outside someone’s comfort zone’, so there is a challenge but not one that is too difficult.

A growth mindset is a characteristic shared by most top performers

How can a coach or parent stimulate the development of a growth mindset in players?
  • • Praise effort, not ‘talent’
    • Emphasise that abilities can be transformed through application
    • Emphasise that challenges are learning opportunities instead of threats
“Failure is a great opportunity for improvement”

To bring all of the above to life, FFA has developed the Building Blocks Methodology, outlining the logical and progressive steps necessary to achieve our long term goals.

Key points:
  • • Football is a very complex game and takes at least ten years to master
    • A step-by-step, phased approach is required, taking into account the age of the player
    • The logical approach we have adopted in the Building Blocks can be summarised like this:
    - simplified situations before complex ones
    - individual skills before team tactics
    - football development before physical preparation
    • The age groups stated are guidelines not absolute rules; girls and boys develop at different rates, and players of the same age may be at different developmental stages

    • Each Building Block has a clear, distinguishable focus, but the player’s development should be viewed as a gradual, ongoing process towards game mastery

    • It is an holistic approach, rather than a series of four isolated stages/concepts
For example, although the focus in the Skill Acquisition Phase is on individual skill development, the player’s tactical insight is being developed at the same time, but using the ‘hidden learning’ approach. The coach uses training exercises which involve as many of the game-specific resistances (team-mates, opponents, direction, goals, etc) as possible, so that game awareness is automatically developed, rather than trying to ‘coach tactics’. Equally, technical development doesn’t stop at the end of the Skill Acquisition Phase; it continues throughout the Game Training and Performance Phases, although it is now not the main focus.

Development of tactical insight doesn’t suddenly begin in the Game Training phase; it is developed during the Skill Acquisition phase in smaller, simpler situations. Here, the players are introduced to the fundamental individual and team tasks that form the foundation of decision making in the 11 v 11 game.

Let’s now have a closer look at each individual Building Block

The Discovery Phase (U/6-U/9)
  • • Discovering one’s (im)possibilities through trial & error
    • Natural development: ‘learn FOOTBALL by playing football’
    • No ‘coaching’ but organising fun football exercises
    • Replicating the ‘street/park football’ environment of the past
    • Emphasis on building a love of the game
The Skill Acquisition Phase (U/10-U/13)
  • • In the Skill Acquisition Phase the coach must focus exclusively on providing a solid foundation of technical skill
    • If the player does not gain this skill foundation during this phase it will be very difficult to make it up later
    • No amount of fitness or competitive spirit will ever compensate for deficiencies in functional game skills
The Game Training Phase (U/14-U/17)
  • • Preparing players for senior football by teaching them to apply the functional game skills in a team setting using 1-4-3-3 as the preferred formation
    • Developing tactical awareness, perception and decision-making through a game-related approach to training
The Performance Phase (17 years and older)
  • • Preparing teams for a competition environment where winning becomes the main aim
    • Training to focus on solving football problems, based on match analysis
    • FOOTBALL CONDITIONING becomes a key part of the program

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