Master Coaching - Brazilian Practice Design and Methods

When it comes to coaching soccer I've always followed two simple rules.

1. Over-coaching is worse than no-coaching.
2. The game is the greatest teacher.

As soccer coaches, we don't need to be overly vocal during practices.  Good coaches simply place their players in well structured training environments and lets them play.  The "game" will teach them more in a short period of time than a coach ever can.

Here is a passage from The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle that illustrates this point.

Brazilian (soccer) practices are the essence of simplicity.  The coach begins with a few cursory drills, then divides the team into two sides and lets them play an intense, full-throttle game, during which the coach rarely says a word.  The coach is attentive.  He occasionally smiles or laughs or says oooooooooo for a close play as a fan would.  But he doesn’t coach in the regular sense of the term, which is to say he doesn’t stop the game, teach, praise, critique, or otherwise exert any control whatsoever.  On the surface, this laid-back approach would seem to violate the basic precepts of master coaching.  How can you build skill if you don’t stop the action, give information, praise and correct?

...The game serves as a factory of precisely the sort of encounters that coaches want to teach, along with the benefit of instant feedback: when a move doesn’t work, the ball is taken away...when it does work, the result is the ecstasy of a goal.  To stop the game in order to high-light some technical detail or give praise would be to interrupt the flow of attentive firing, failing, and learning that is the heart of flexible-circuit deep practice.  The lessons the players teach themselves are more powerful than anything the coach might say. * (It’s also a lot more fun.)

[Flexible-circuit skills are found in sports like soccer where players have to navigate an ever changing set of obstacles.  In contrast, consistent-circuit skills are found in sports like golf, gymnastics and figure skating.  It should be noted that different types of skills require different forms of coaching.]

“If it’s a choice between me telling them to do it, or them figuring it out, I’ll take the second option every time,” Lansdorp said.  “You’ve got to make the kid an independent thinker, a problem solver...The point is, they’ve got to figure things out for themselves.”

From this passage we see can identify two phases of the Brazilian soccer practice.

Phase One: "Begin with a few cursory drills" - 1-2 activities that focus on technical skills.  If you're creative, mix in some activities for physical/fitness development.  Here the level of coaching can be a bit more intense (but not overwhelming) as the players are building "consistent-circut skills".  Players need feedback and encouragement when learning new skills.

Phase Two: "Play an intense, full-throttle game" - The coach decides what functional situations the team needs to work on (i.e. 1v1 attacking, crossing and finishing, defending the counter attack.)  Then the coach chooses 1-2 different training activities/games that will provide a high number of repetitions in these situations.  The final activity of each practice is always a unconditioned soccer game (full or small sided).  In this second phase, the coach must step back and let the players play with as little interruption as possible.  All that is needed from the coach is bit of positive reinforcement and the occasional tactical reminder.  Players should be asked questions to help them discover the tactical solutions on their own (Guided Discovery).  Above all...the coach needs to be patient.  Players need time (often several practices) to figure things out and learn through repetition.  Studies show that players will learn faster when they are having fun and not stressed because of a overly involved coach.

Trust your well designed practice plan.
Let the kids play.
Enjoy the learning process as it unfolds before you.