The Science of Football

Let's roll something different. Football is always referred to as being scientific without further elaboration. This is either due to the assumption that everybody knows all aspects of the game, or lack of depth of the statements.

Basically, what and when one eats, where they sleep and how much of that sleep they get, their state of mind and emotional condition are just part of the bigger picture. The physical condition has always been the only parameter of concern to managers and coaches.

Furthermore, training and practise sessions have been progressing to an extent of making the whole process a widely studied subject with biological and medical facts.

The compilation of information and data and the utilisation thereof, is ever more important now than at any other time. The relevance of this exercise and the execution of the findings has made coaching not an everyday exercise for every Jack and Jill.

Given the statistics and data, one is expected to deduce, change and improve training methods. At this point, even the creation of drills and exercises, but again, within given guidelines as determined by own or expert research.

As an example, players usually train as a group and compared willy nilly to each other. The norm would be the urge to push everyone to the level of the others who are ‘better performing’ without looking at the reasons why certain performances are attained by these players.

To illustrate this point crudely, long distance runners will not spent time practising sprints, neither will sprinters run marathons all their training lives. The physical build, the roles athletes play, the conditions around and the need improving particular performance are some of the dictates of preparation or training.

In this digital era, thank God, there are instruments that will show the inputs and output of players as they perform. These can be utilised to record this performance from time to time and the filing of this information is so vital for reference. It becomes a barometer of performance and players will be encouraged if they see their progress on selected intervals, and when they do not perform, records will speak for themselves.

Many footballers and sports persons have died on the pitch, easily coming to mind being Cameroon’s Vivian Foe, who collapsed on the pitch during a Confederations Cup a few years back, only to die a few hours later. While incidents like this may be hard to detect at every occurrence, technology helped detect Nwankwo Kanu’s heart problem that needed delicate heart surgery. In the absence of these gadgets, Kanu may have not survived long in the game but after that successful operation, he went on to play over 10 years winning accolades. 

A different look of the science of the game, is the mathematics part; the statistics. This is a bunch of numbers that will mean nothing to the less shrewd mentors of our game today. To many, it is just for academic purposes. To the astute, every bit is a gram of gold and can mean the difference between a win and a loss.

Data can be used to map out a training session. Usually, this can be about your own team, showing the strengths and weakness at a particular time of the match, in a certain area of the pitch under certain conditions or phases of play.

Not to be forgotten is the fact that the information is almost as available and as vital as the same data of the previous and future opponents, and for the same reasons. The analysis of the stats can then be used to formulate a training session and the strategies and tactics of the matches as they come.

It must be noted that one does not have to wait for data and situations to occur to map out a training session. There should be a 5 year plan divided into seasons and then semi-annual, quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily programs. This will reflect the philosophy of the coach in general. The availability of collected data only means modification of training methods o the existing schedules.

Previous and next matches will have a lot of say on how the training should be conducted. This will include whether it is cup matches, tournaments or league matches. It will depend on the previous results, as in whether the match was won, drawn or lost and why.

While statistics for public consumption is nice to the ear, it may not be as useful to the coaches and managers, but good mentors will always find a way to utilise data as long as it is accurate. It becomes imperative that whoever collects and supplies information for technical purposes be schooled enough to know what to look for and enter this information as accurately as possible.

Good coaches will see and hear many things others cannot observe. This eye for details will be the difference between a coach and a fly-by-night. Fly by night coaches comes across disregarding planning and detailed approach to the game and playing mind-games with players. They enjoy a lot of success in the short term.

When the wheels come off the wagon, they start to press panic buttons and the tumble from glory is a shameful hard fall. Some will control the situation by using the statistics as a psychological tool, and this can be vital if done correctly.

The best scenario is to utilise the data for improving training methods and performance as well as a psychological weapon. Here, a point coming to mind is when a team for the next home fixture did not afford a shot at goal in the previous match. A coach or manager will challenge his players against this, emphasising, say, the 20 shots his team fired in their own last match.

Either way, there is more science to the game that paper or cyber space can take. In this era, good coaching is about observing, finding and utilising this to better the group you work with. Knowing your team is a science on its own. Remembering how different your team is from the last group you coached gives you a head start. Dealing with the players according to their strengths in terms of talent and attitudes will get you unsolicited mileage in a surprising way.

As a good coach, get to know well the social aspects and interest of everyone. Get to their way of life with tact and draw a line between business and social life, because you will not endear yourself well if you come across as a dictator though with some players, it helps.

Read minds and do it well first time every time.

(Only by Keutsepilemang Ndebele for www.tsendex.blogspot.com)

How to become a coach

One is only considered a coach after successful completion of training provided by a competent trainer provided by FIFA, CAF or other confederations, football associations or the structures under their auspices. An example of structures that can provide training is the Olympic Solidarity Committee, but still, it is basically a FIFA program. Let us start from the beginning. Entry requirements will differ from association to association, but for beginners' courses, anyone can enroll. Normally, you need to know how to read and write. Your playing history counts for nothing. I must say to many association and their Premier Leagues, coaches education ranks last and is never a requirement to be employed in that capacity.

You may be required to pay fees depending on the association. Where there is a coaches association, they are responsible for organising the course, i.e. dates and venues. They will be responsible for providing instructors. The fees you pay go towards venue rental, paying the instructor’s fees, transport, food accommodation and entertainment, course material as in photocopying, hand-outs, administration and that association has to make profit for its general operations.

The coaches association will advertise, which is another expense, and get all participants names and their payments. Courses are usually rated from Level 1 to Level 4, where Level 1 is entry-level. Some, as it was in earlier days, will have Preparatory/Preliminary, Intermediate and Advanced Levels. As an entry-level coach, you will be expected to be able to demonstrate basic technique to players.

The time frame ranges from 7 to 14 days from Level 1 up. Prices differ from association to association, course to course and from time to time. You will be required to write an examination at the end of each course and do a practical which are divided into two parts; your own performance of a certain technique as you would demonstrate to your team and the actual coaching of a group of players. These players can be your course mates or a group of players provided by course coordinators. Here you will be tested for your understanding of the subject, ability to handle players, organisation, time keeping and the like.

In the theory examination, you will be tested on the whole course material. It is imperative that you get tested on the Laws of the Game. This will usually be done by a referees’ instructor who will give you a test which referees do. At this level, the material may be level-friendly and the marking a little generous. It becomes serious business when you do higher levels. At higher levels, failing the Laws of the Game will cost you a certificate.

A lot of these will depend on the standards of the examining authorities and all this information is very general. Basic first aid and sports medicine are part of the curriculum from Level 1. A qualified Sports Medicine doctor will teach and examine trainees on the subject.

Level 1 will basically cover the proper football language like is defining technique, tactics, skill, conditioning and demonstration of these. It will cover basic performance of these and how to coach them. Higher levels will require advanced knowledge of the human biology like the locomotor systems, dietary needs and respiration as well as human behaviour.

Level 2 is a more serious result oriented program that may take as much time but more detail about planning training sessions and handling players is emphasised. There is a shift to physical conditioning and detailed technique training.

Level 3 is longer, harder and more demanding mentally and physically. Tactics are the leading topic as well as conditioning. Match analysis and game observation are top of the agenda. Sometimes student coaches will be required to go to matches with specific tasks to do and look out for and given assignments and home works. They may be required to do a class presentation.

At level 4, there may be a requirement that you have access to coaching 11 versus 11 teams as you will be given assignments and be required to give feedback from time to time and an instructor will visit you several times before you get certificated. Theoretically, technique, tactics, physical conditioning, dressing room management, data collection and Laws of the Game become very important.

You may be asked to do the football business side and marketing. At all levels, psychology is taught, starting very basic and becoming extremely important at Level 4. Sometimes there is a requirement to do media relations. There are a lot of other important things to learn and depending on the available instructors and personnel, the order of importance of topics may vary.

I must say that many football associations allow the existence and operation of a football coaches association. According to FIFA, only the football association is answerable for the game and its structures as the custodians of the game. It is then up to coaches to organise themselves as an association under the mother bodies.

FIFA will provide instructors and pay for them for programs like the FUTURO courses. Associations have the responsibility to request for these. Trainees are usually encouraged to attend in their own political territories but it is not a rule. Usually, it would be a free course with a few goodies for attendants, but associations get extra activities on the programs that require payment.

The same goes for the International Solidarity Committee training. The IOC will usually target youth coaches and school teachers. There may be special courses that can be organised from time to time but all FIFA does is wait for association to apply or request.

Sometimes specialist courses are organised. This can be goalkeeper training courses, youth training for players below 10 and so forth. There can be refresher seminars that are target specific. It can be a single subject seminar covering tactics only. It can be even be further divided into topics like 'Defending corner kicks', 'Attacking from wings' and 'Winning the ball in Midfield'.

For qualified coaches, an attachment with big clubs that have experienced coaches, this can be a worthwhile experience. It helps cement all the theory learnt and boosts the confidence especially if one has never been in a situation to coach. This does not substitute the moment of truth when you are by yourself and 40 players are waiting to hear what you have to say and show. It can be very scary but it is very normal.

CAF just started to have proper certification system that is in line with the UEFA licensing, a few years back. As expected, they have done a lot of work in North and West Africa. Both UEFA and CAF adopted the C, B and A Licensing system. After the UEFA A License, there is a Pro License. These are however done by individual associations under the authority of UEFA. CAF still runs the courses and Lesotho and Botswana had C and B License course this year.

I may have omitted a few other things as I am taking all this from my head. I encourage you to search for your information on the net, though from my experience, it is not readily available. Associations usually do not advertise for these courses and you will know about them when they are done. Good luck.