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Developing Self-Learners through Game-Calls and Game-Based Learning

Article · December 2015

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DEVELOPING SELF-LEARNERS
THROUGH GAME-CALLS AND GAME-BASED COACHING
By Gérard Jones, MSc, currently completing the FA UEFA A License and FA Advanced Youth Award. He holds a Master’s degree in Performance Coaching and is a Qualified Teacher with over 10 years of
coaching experience working with players from around the world. Gérard is a former Director of Coaching at Arsenal Soccer Schools, having also worked as an Academy Coach from U7-U16 at Rochdale
AFC. Gérard currently works as a full-time Academy Coach at RIASA with Bradford City FC as a U21s Reserve Coach.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PRACTICE-DESIGN keepers before him have demonstrated on the & Ford, 2008) based on postural orientation.
Prior to discussing communication, the founda- world stage. So how do we develop these play- This process requires players to audit a rapidly
tions of practice-design must be established. The ers? Well, what we don’t do is train them using changing and random environment in order to
question is this: Do coaches know what a great lines and drills where they only make decisions know what appropriate response can be made
player looks like? Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Xavi, in an unchanging environment. Unfortunately, for (Williams, 2000; Future Game, 2010). Therefore,
Iniesta, and Scholes are a few obvious names many years in most countries around the world the more players are exposed to environments
but it is essential as a coach to identify what it soccer has been shadowed by a belief that tech- that require them to think about what is happen-
is about these players that makes them great. If niques must be mastered before progressing into ing and could happen in a changing environment,
you cannot explain this then you don’t know what game-play situations (Cassidy, Jones, & Potrac, the better the learning experience will be for the
you’re working toward. Without this knowledge, a 2009; Williams, Yates, & Ford, 2007). This pro- player (Cartwright, 2008).
coach will be unable to provide the essential skills duces players who make decisions (action) with
that aid players in attaining greatness. Having no perception skills due to the environment not Put simply, players make decisions in limited time
this vision of what a coach is working toward will changing, which, in turn, creates ineffective game and space with full or partial opponent pressure.
help produce the next generation of players that players. Expert soccer players use their knowl- In order to develop better decision-makers with
excite and entertain, across all playing positions. edge of situational probabilities to predict where skill, we need to place players in environments
the player and ball are likely to go next (Ford, that allow them to make decisions under these
We live in an era that has seen so many changes Yates, & Williams, 2010). They use their superior conditions throughout the whole of their devel-
to the game of soccer, with goalkeepers like knowledge to control their eye movement to seek opmental years (Cartwright, 2008; Jones, 2015;
Neuer demonstrating high levels of technical and pick up specific pieces of information needed Williams & Hodges, 2005).
excellence, bravery, and skill that not many goal- to respond quickly to the situation (Williams
Continued >> 60

58
“A coach who teaches his players the cor- mentioned in the
rect technique using special, frequently highly regarded soc-
cer communication
repeated drills is neglecting to teach them
book Let’s Talk Soc-
why, when and where they need to use tech- cer: Using Game-
nique to deal with a given game situation” calls to Develop
(Wein, 2004, p.5). Communication and
Decision-Making in
The solution is for coaches to create training Football. Through
practices that offer direction, choice, challenge, performance feed-
competition, and opponent pressure with a back, the coach is
purpose (Jones, 2015), where the practice con- able to encourage
straints such as the area size, the gradual increase players to commu-
of opposition players, and the focus of the activity nicate with each
can be manipulated to bring about different deci- other in a way that
sions and player solutions. Players will also find paints pictures in the
the practices more enjoyable than they would minds of the players
lines-drills (Renshaw, Oldham, & Bawden, 2012; of what to do, when
Vallerand, 2004) as these practices demonstrate to do it, and why.
“real-game” play. This develops play-
ers who can play
WHAT IS PLAY? ahead of themselves
Play is self-chosen and self-directed. It is some- (play in the future)
thing the players want to do. Play is not some- with increased an-
thing they have been “made” to do, therefore, it play forward, he may shout, “Start again!” to his
ticipation and response skills. teammate, which instantly tells his teammate on
is fun. Play allows for freedom to make decisions
and is an activity in which the means are more the ball that there may be a risk going forward,
Communication is, as Sullivan (1993) suggests but there’s an opportunity to play the ball back
valued than the end (Cote, Baker, & Abernethy, “the most critical element in the success of sport-
2007). In order for players to practice the way and retain possession. This method helps cre-
ing teams” due to “a positive correlation between ate independent-thinking soccer players who
the coach wants them to play—by making deci- enhanced interpersonal communication skills
sions on time and space—the coach needs to can make decisions with skill in response to
and higher levels of team performance” (p.90). the changing environment, creating unity, not
let them have enough time “playing” the game. The current problem, however, is that players
Often, coaching involves long lectures, with the separation. What is the relevance to “practice-
rely more on the voice of the coach than their design”? Game-calls are game-specific words
coach stopping the practice every minute and own brain! In training and in games, coaches
only coaching mistakes. This isn’t enjoyable for that make reference to decisions that can be
are constantly shouting instructions on what to made only in game situations. The best way
players and fails to give them enough practice do, where to go, and when. Instead, we should
time to “practice playing the game.” to teach game-calls and, consequently, game
be developing the players’ “inner voice” so that understanding, is to involve players in game-like
they understand what to do, when to do it, and activities (Jones, 2015).
Play and practice are two vital components to why. The game is the assessment of the learning
coaching future great players—you can’t achieve that’s taken place during the week. Therefore,
anything without both. There has to be a balance The words used can relate to all aspects of soccer
as coaches, we should be observers during the performance, from “Press” or “No turn” to “Play
of the two. Play-practice methods of teaching are game to see what has been performed well and
useful in developing decision-makers as they are round,” “Balance,” and “Two’s” – and many more!
what needs to be improved further. These are examples of just a few of the words
often delivered in games or game-like activities
where players learn in a fun environment (Laun- that players say to each other to retain or regain
How often do coaches use jargon or fancy possession of the ball. What does “Balance” or
der, 2001). What traits are needed to empower buzzwords that confuse the players and have
decision-makers with skill? Creativity! Coaches “Drive and slide” mean? Unless the coach shows
no relevance to the game-style they want the the players when to use these terms and how
who place pressure on players to perform well team to play? I would argue that answer is very
on tasks that are mentally habitual, meaning they relate to the game-style, they won’t know.
often! What we need to do is create a soccer
non-changing and repetitive like a line-drill language specific to our club identity, game-
practice, induce a non-playful state that may SELF-LEARNERS
style, and vision for how we want to develop Players who are empowered to make decisions
improve performance on the task but worsen the future player!
performance on tasks that require creativity, and learn by doing will become better thinkers
conscious decision-making, and learning new and reflectors, and, therefore, better at find-
SOLUTIONS: ing solutions to problems on the field without
skills in a changing environment (Gray, 2008).
Clearly soccer is the latter. having to look at the coach for the answers all
SOCCER LANGUAGE the time. The future player will be a great “self-
Coaches must use words that directly link to learner,” meaning they direct their learning by
“With decision-making you need to let it the team’s game-style so that when used with themselves, becoming highly skilled at self-talk,
evolve and grow.” (Rene Meulensteen) players, they instantly understand what you reflection, communication, and action—all skills
mean. These words (game-calls) are not only that are paramount to playing soccer success-
COMMUNICATION IS VITAL words you use, but the concept is for the coach fully (Jones, 2015). This will see the role of the
Within the practice-design and environment, to “say less but achieve more” while the players coach, like Mourinho, Guardiola, and Wenger, et
players will receive feedback on performance. speak more than the coach by communicating al., becoming more “facilitators” of knowledge
This is the most critical aspect of coaching as with each other. For example, if the player can’t rather than directors. Their role as the coach in

Continued >> 62
60
 I describe what a great player is! As
famous youth coach John Cartwright
explained, “Soccer isn’t simply a
team game, it’s about individu-
als combining where necessary”
(Cartwright, 2008).

The fundamental importance for all

coaches is to develop individualism in
every player by encouraging dribbling,
skill, ball mastery, and passing varia-
tions. Players like Messi and Ronaldo
are excellent self-learners; their hunger
to be the best they can be drives their
learning. They commit hours and
hours of practice to maximizing their
strengths.

By underpinning our coaching meth-

ods with innovative methods of com-
munication (Future Game, 2010) such
as game-calls, we will see an increased
level of team cohesion, understand-
ing, skill, and unity as players move
toward the “transcendence” stage
of knowledge. The decisions players
make become more autonomous (in-
the modern and future game will become more Coaches should program their work over a period
stinctive) as they communicate with each other.
of a “significant other” (Vygotsky, 1978). of time, specific to each individual player’s needs.
All of these topics are discussed in more detail
They need to know their players (learners) in
in my book Let’s Talk Soccer, where there are
MENTAL MODELS terms of their strengths and areas for develop-
practical resources and session ideas on how to
It’s all about pictures! The mental pictures (mod- ment, and design individual-specific programs for
develop communication to create the next gen-
els) of knowledge that players draw upon during each player to maximize their strengths. Coaches
eration of independent-thinking soccer players
games to respond appropriately to visual cues should see every player as an individual project.
who are great self-learners.
are vital ingredients to the success of sporting
teams. The best way to develop these mental We can’t develop highly skillful self-learners who
models is by encouraging players to talk to each drive their learning to advanced levels without
other through use of game-calls as these “trig- acknowledging the importance of “individual-
ger words” help the player develop these mental ism.” This is where my belief about soccer and
images related to game scenarios. how it should be played links to what I see when

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