Tag: Coaching

The changing nature of coaching to online formats

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

Next week, I wrap up my second time teaching a Coaching & Leadership course at the university level for a class of enthusiastic undergraduate students. I haven't had much control over the syllabus or in-class learnings either time I've taught the course, and one of the key areas missing happens to be the only form of coaching I currently do - online coaching. More coaches could take advantage of the online formats available to them, even if still working in club environments. Many endurance coaches, mental skills specialists, therapists and counsellours are already coaching almost exclusively online. Other sports and realms will start to catch up. It's only a matter of time before the online coaching boom begins to blossom, so you might as well start to practice your skills in this realm while it's still relatively new.

Coaching 9v9 Soccer – Ebook (2nd Ed.)

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coaching, Most Recent

9v9 is one of the most exciting stages in the development of young players and can often be the first time they are truly able to understand positioning, formations and how to play to the strengths of their teammates. This Ebook gives coaches an opportunity to learn all the in's and out's of coaching 9v9, including tactics, formations, and game management.

The art of structuring an effective warm-up

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coach Education, Coaching, Masterclasses, Most Recent

We all know the importance of warming up the body in the proper ways, but many novice (or dinosaur) coaches fail to adequately know how to warm up the body in the proper ways specific to the sport. As a young gun in the soccer world, I can recall running laps around the field, static stretching, and even hill sprints prior to practice sessions and games. None of these are particularly helpful, even if they can work 1-3% of times in specific contexts (hill sprints aside of course). With that, I present the elements of an effective warm-up and how coaches can structure the warm-up to fit into the grander scheme of their session plans.

Getting started in football analysis

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coach Education, Masterclasses, Most Recent

While this is an introductory course, it doesn’t matter if you’re an expert or novice, the time to learn starts now. School is in session. I famously love to guarantee results within my work, and I guarantee that you’re going to learn something from this section, even if you’re already the world’s leading expert. In this section, I’m going to drop tips and tricks for getting started in analysis, in addition to coaching, writing, podcasting, and even, if you’re interested, website creation.

Coaching the 3-1-3-1 (9v9)

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coach Education, Coaching, Formations, Masterclasses, Most Recent

When deployed correctly, the 3-1-3-1 can be one of the most fluid, flexible and fantastic 9v9 formations. Like anything in the beautiful game, team tactics, style of play and intricacies can only evolve within the realms of a team's own unique characteristics (including players involved, level of opposition, coaching preferences, and more). But if I had my pick of the litter within my squad, this is how I would deploy the 3-1-3-1 formation at the 9v9 level.

Football is more about psychology than tactics

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

This is not a headline that you would expect to see from a website so devotedly focused on tactics and analysis. But as complex and debatable as this may sound, football is more about psychology than tactics. The best coaches are not always the best tacticians. But the best coaches are always the best motivators. The likes of John Herdman, Emma Hayes, Jose Mourinho and even Jurgen Klopp, rarely ever speak about tactics when expatiating about the game. Instead, they pontificate about the psychology of their teams and players, and their attempts to get the best out of their mentality.

How I coached an unbeaten team

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coach Education, Coaching, Masterclasses, Most Recent, Podcast, The Mastermind Site Podcast

In the summer of 2021, I took a youth team to an unbeaten campaign, in their first ever season playing together. While winning is never the most important part of youth soccer, I share some of the key tips and tricks that allowed me to achieve success with my team and instill a positive culture where each and every player wanted to return. In the first half of the episode, I also discuss the exciting opportunities coming up on TheMastermindSite.com. Follow the show and my body of work @mastermindsite and @desmondrhys! 

How to make substitutions like Pep Guardiola

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coach Education, Managers, Masterclasses, Most Recent, Premier League, Team Analysis

Fifteen minutes to go in the 2021-22 Premier League season, the title looked likely to change hands for the first time in months, with Liverpool having every chance of stealing top spot away from Manchester City. But then came Pep Guardiola and three inspired second half substitutions, stealing the crown right at the death. Here are three ways to best support the substitution process, and make effective changes to change football matches.