Breaking Down the Istanbul-PSG Incident and Why What Happened Was Racist

At around thirteen minutes into the UEFA Champions League final group stage game between PSG vs. Istanbul Basaksehir, something completely out of the ordinary happened. Ten minutes later the game was abandoned, with both sides walking off the field in protest at the fourth official. This article will break down everything happened (from what we know), and explain why what happened was indeed racist and why this incident deserves the attention it is currently getting as an act of racism.

How To Be A Good Sports Captain

Although some coaches believe in avoiding captains altogether, it is unquestionable how many positive outcomes can come from allowing players to take on leadership roles, such as in the form of a captaincy. Giving a player or two an armband can be great for developing confidence, leadership, positivity and teamwork within the entire team; not … Continue reading How To Be A Good Sports Captain

Player Development Card – Leadership, Teamwork & Positivity

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.