Author: Rhys Desmond

Across the past decade, I have worked with thousands of players and coaches across multiple sports and disciplines. I recognize the value of diving deeper beyond the first glance, and uncovering the deeper-lying ways to enhance performance. I make a commitment toward positive reinforcement, research-backed insights, and making the experience fun for those that work with me. If you’re interested in learning more about my site or experiencing my coaching, feel free to reach out! 👊⚽

Frank Lampard – Chelsea – Tactical Analysis (2020-21 Edition)

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coaching, Managers, Premier League, Team Analysis, World Football

Frank Lampard enjoyed a successful first season with Chelsea F.C., despite no new summer signings coming through the door. The Blues hovered around 4th for the majority of the season in behind Leicester City, and eventually secured 4th behind Manchester United. Lampard relied heavily on young talent in 2019-20 and the club were rewarded with fantastic performances from the likes of Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and Reece James. However, this past summer, Chelsea spent millions to secure the signatures of some of the best players around the world. It has taken a bit of time for some of their new signings to gel together, but nine games in, Chelsea are showing great signs of promise as they currently sit 2nd in the table. Along the way, Frank Lampard has made some low-key, subtle changes that have helped to propel Chelsea back toward the top of the table. Here is our Tactical Analysis of Frank Lampard's Chelsea after nine games in the 2020-21 Premier League season.

Attraction, Retention and Transfer of Athletes and Coaches in Community Sport Organizations

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coaching

Thousands of athletes and coaches across Canada participate in organized sports (Solutions Research Group Consultants Inc., 2014; Gumulka, Barr, Lasby & Brownlee, 2005). Community sport organizations (CSOs) are critical in the quest for youth sport participation and without them, athletes and coaches would not be able to participate to the same extent (Patterson and Parent, 2017). Soccer remains one of Canada’s most popular sports (Solutions Research Group Consultants Inc., 2014). The nation’s biggest province, Ontario, is the home to more than 600 youth soccer clubs, contributing to more than 10,000 members (Ontario Soccer, 2020). In the Elgin Middlesex region of London, Ontario alone, there are twenty-seven different clubs that youth soccer players can join (Elgin Middlesex District Soccer League, 2020). Although this provides young players with a plethora of options, it may also create unnecessary competition between clubs for players and coaches (Edwards & Washington, 2013; Hall et al., 2003). This study aims to identify the elements of organizational capacity and leadership that may be valuable for CSOs to ensure athlete and coach attraction and retention, while avoiding athlete and coach transfer from one club to another within the same municipality.

Player Development Card – 1v1 Skill Moves

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coaching, Home Training, Player Education

Calling all players for another challenge! Test your ability with our 1v1 Skill Moves Player Development Card. Just print this PDF and check off your progress as you go.

The Art of Persuasion in Coaching

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coach Education, Coaching, Masterclasses, Sport Psychology

The art of persuasion is a useful tool that all coaches should understand. Social psychologists identify two basic ways to persuade people: through what's called "the central route" and through what's called "the peripheral route". This article examines both, in the quest to help coaches understand the art of persuasion and the best approaches to motivating their players to perform.

Why Players Should Be Open To Playing Different Positions

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coach Education, Coaching, Masterclasses, Player Education, Sport Psychology

In my early days of coaching, I picked up very quickly on the fact that players developed an affinity for positions that they played more often. Therefore sometimes when a positional change became necessary, simply playing the player in that position more regularly allowed the player to develop greater confidence and affinity for playing in that position. These effects occurred even when the player started out by dreading the role and thinking themselves to be ill-equipped to perform there. In psychology, this is called the "mere exposure effect". Quite simply, by having more exposure to something, one's motivation, desire and enjoyment of that thing can often be elevated to higher heights. This is relevant for both players and coaches. But how? Here is why this phenomenon is relevant for both coaches and players and how they can use an understanding of the effect to further their craft.

Marcelo Bielsa – Leeds United – Tactical Analysis (2020-21 Edition)

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coaching, Formations, Managers, Premier League, World Football

Marcelo Bielsa is one of the most fascinating managers in the world of football and is currently tearing it up in the Premier League with Leeds United. After earning promotion from the Championship to the top flight last season, Bielsa's side sit only 14th in the table. But the performances have been far better than the results and his side have achieved impressive performances and results against the likes of Arsenal, Man City and Aston Villa so far this season. Either way, the football that Leeds play can be described as genius, and simultaneously as one of our readers described it - madness. With that, here is a Tactical Analysis of Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds United and the impressive exploits his team have pulled off in the 2020-21 Premier League season.

Small Group Training Session – Spatial Awareness & Scanning

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coaching, Sport Psychology

With all the restrictions going on in the world of COVID-19 right now, small group training sessions are becoming more and more common-place, as coaches are forced to split their groups into smaller numbers. Here is a session plan all about scanning & spatial awareness for 4 players.

The Premier League’s Surprising Performers so far in 2020-21

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Premier League

The 2020-21 Premier League season has been full of surprises, most notably a number of different teams topping the table at one point or another so far. As things stand, Leicester City sit at the top despite a horrendous injury list. But the likes of Southampton, Everton, Aston Villa and Spurs have impressed more than most would have predicted and each have had their turn toward the very top. Much has been made about the success of these teams, but perhaps certain individuals within these teams have gone a bit under the radar. As a result, this article attempts to uncover the eleven best surprise performers of the season so far, that have helped their teams to better times in 2020-21. Here is our Surprising Performers Premier League XI after the first eight games.