I do not remember the last time I made a New Year’s resolution, but I am going to try to stick to one for this coming year and moving forward in my coaching career. As coaches, we have things we “just say” all the time, but may not realize it is coming out of our mouths. Last week I became acute to a question I use frequently that is common in everyday conversation and on the soccer field with athletes. This simple question is asked by most coaches after they are done explaining an activity, made a coaching point, or any other time the coach provides information to a player. I know I ask this question all the time to my players, and I am making a New Year’s Resolution to DO MY BEST, not to ask it anymore. I know it will slip out from time to time (old habits are hard to…something. I can’t remember), but hopefully limiting the number of times I use it will make a huge different for the athletes I work with on a daily basis. Moving forward, I will not longer use, as much as I can help it, the question, “Does that make sense?” when speaking with youth players.
It is so commonly used that most of us never think about the question before it leaves our mouth. After I am done explaining something to a player, I always ask the player, “Does that make sense?” Most of the time, the player will look at me and nod their head up and down to show me they fully understand what I just said. Then, the play begins and I am scratching my head because the player does not seem to be making the corrections or doing what was explained. I pull the player aside again, repeat what I said earlier, and then confirm again, “Does that make sense?” With a big smile the player will confidently say, “Yes!” Of course, the result is the same.
Without having to think about it for too long, it is obvious the player really does not understand the information but is saying, “yes” anyway. No one likes to be the one who “does not get it” and players will tell a coach they understand to avoid further explanations. The kids just want to get back to playing so they will say what I want to hear so they can rejoin the game. I want to ensure the players understand what I am saying and my explanations are clear to them at all times. Although I try to keep my coaching points short and to the point, I know many players will not understand me the first time around.
Last week during some of my training sessions, I started to ask a different question to the players. After I was done with my explanation or coaching point, I asked the player, “What am I asking you to do?” If I was clear and the player understood me, the player should have no problem answering my question. Also, allowing the player to say the information again gives them more time to process it and inadvertently makes them hear it again. Although it is very difficult, I have been trying to avoid asking, “Does that make sense?” as much as possible. I have noticed when I ask players to explain what I said back to me, the players tend to demonstrate an understanding of what I am asking OR I can tell immediately that I was unclear.
This question can be used in practice and in games to help my players understand what is being asked of them each time they step on the field. The idea of this type of questioning can be used in other ways too. For example, I will often tell a player to stay wide during a game to give our team width and hopefully the other players on the field can change the point of attack and create more space by finding the wide player with the ball. If the player seems to be having an issue staying wide or just does not seem to get the concept, I could try a different approach. Perhaps a question like, “Why am I asking you to stay wide?” The player’s explanation can be very enlightening in two ways. 1) The player will expose if the concept of being wide and how it helps the team is clear. 2) It will expose where the confusion with the instruction is centered.
In short, my New Year’s my resolution will be to ask my players more questions to help me understand how clear my coaching points, training activities, and instructions are throughout the season. The added bonus is it should help players better understand what is being asked of them. If you attend any of the coaching schools, you will hear the instructors talk a lot about asking players good questions during training. It is a great tool and is a much higher level of instruction and education for the players. Master Coaches do it consistently to maximize learning to facilitate growth and development in their players.
Does that make sense? Ops, I’ll keep working to get better!
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