SAME GAME, DIFFERENT CLASSROOM

                                                               

If you've kept up with reading my content then by now you should have some familiarity with constraints and how they can provide affordances for your players which is one of the strongest learning methods there is, especially in team sports.

To quickly recap, constraints are alternative rules a coach can include in traditional games that can direct the attention of the players to specific information the coach would like them to try and locate during the game.

This specific information can be used to exploit the rule/s and when this information is perceived, then the player can  been offered an affordance, or an opportunity to act.

Then it is up to the player to decide how and when to act based on other external and internal information they have on hand at that time.

If you just play traditional games, then the dominant players remain dominant, the mid-tier level players stay in the middle, and the lower tier players don't get much of a look in and remain where they are.

In the end no one actually improves.

What you can do with constraints is top place them on certain players allowing more affordances to present themselves to the mid and low-tier players, giving them far more repetition in game situations that can then carry over into games.

This might be as simple as having top tier players only gaining 2 points per goal, mid tier 4 points per goal and low tier 6 points per goal.

What this can do is incentivise teams to create for their mid and low tier players to be able to score as it's simply more efficient that way.

This specifically incentivises the low tier especially, to get into scoring areas and be available to receive passes in those areas, so they are directing their attention to a specific task rather then watch the reigning 2 time best and fairest winner score again and again which can be easily shut down in games with 18 opposition players.

What I'll present here is probably the first step in this concept from soccer coach and coach developer Tom Skeath, called same game, different classroom, which refers to training in different sized and shaped areas which can shape player intentions and playing styles within them.

BIG GROUND SIZE...

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