Hi,

Ever wondered why the heck your instructions never seem to have the effect you intended to?

If you're like me, you might have tried telling your kid what and how to do something in football. For instance, I've told my kids to receive the ball on the foot furthest from where the ball comes from countless times.

And yet, there is no change in what they've been doing on the pitch.

That's not surprising when looking at the research behind instructions. Explicit instructions (particularly how to perform an action) are ineffective in changing performance in nearly every situation (the exception is with very skilled athletes, usually adults performing at a professional level).

Using metaphors, asking questions rather than telling, directing attention away from their body, and figuring out what the intention behind an action are all more effective than the traditional instructions.

I should know better, but yet, I still make that same mistake of using explicit instructions that focus on the how.

What I have found to be extremely useful in the physio clinic working with patients, is to not use these traditional instructions.

Instead, here is something you can try the next time you feel the urge to correct and improve some action on the pitch:

• Try to figure out the intention of what should be done.
• Then see if you can find a metaphor or a very short way of describing the outcome.
• If things don't go as intended (it usually takes a few tries for me), ask questions about what they are attempting and what they are focusing on.
• If needed, try direction kids' attention on something that is outside of their body, in the direction you want them to pass, shoot or move (or anything else, really).

A concrete example for more zip on a pass:
"Laser the ball directly to your teammate".

For helping them be more aware of their surroundings by scanning more:
"How can you know what's going on around you?" / "Take pictures of the pitch before the ball arrives".
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These two are just examples. Nothing more, nothing less. They are very useful in some situations, and in others, not so much.

Try them, or some version of them, out the next time you want to help out your kid, or their teammates on the pitch.

Let me know how it goes!

(there are lots more examples given in the toolkits linked below, if you want to more practical, concrete examples for what to do at home (the Parent's toolkit), and what can be done in a team practice-setting (the Coaching toolkit).

Best,

Hans Martin

P.S. I read all replies, so if you do have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me by replying to this email!

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