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At YSC, it is our goal to produce players who are able to process information efficiently in pressure situations. A major part of our ability to do this is creating a practice environment that challenges the players both physically and mentally.

(Continued on page 14)

N e w s l e t t e rTHE UNION

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VOLUME 2, ISSUE 4

Youth Academy Update

Coaching Tips & Techniques

Sport Science & Psychology

Final Thoughts by Iain Munro

Pages 2-3 Pages 4-5 Pages 6-11 Page 12

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The Philadelphia Union Training at YSCAlthough the Philadelphia Union season is now underway, the team started its preseason training at YSC in the beginning of January. Players completed a series of tests to measure physical fitness. The tests included a 40 meter sprint, pull-ups, a vertical jump, and the beep test, to name a few. On Monday, January 21st, YSC hosted Fan Appreciation Day. Hundreds of fans flooded the YSC facility, packing the lobby and lining up around the field on which the Philadelphia Union players were training. The sessions included mini games and positional training, to name a few.

After training at YSC and the NovaCare Training Complex, the Union left the cold behind and flew to Florida to continue their preseason training. In addition to training, the team played pre-season games as part of the Disney Pro Soccer Classic. The preseason resulted in some ups and downs for the Union, with 1 win (Toronto, 3-0), 2 losses (Columbus, 0-4; DC United 0-2), and 3 draws (Orlando City, 1-1; Montreal, 0-0; DC United 1-1).

Following up pre-season training, the Union players put their practice into play with the home opener against Sporting KC on Saturday, March 2nd. Within the first 20 minutes, Le Toux, suiting up for the Union once again, scored the Union’s first goal of the season.

With the changes to the roster and coaching staff for the 2013 season, we are excited to see how the team performs and what the year brings!

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This winter, from December 27th to January 21st, one of YSC’s sport psychology interns, Nick, had the privilege of getting an inside look into Sporting Clube de Portugal’s Youth Academy. During this trip, he experienced a soccer environment that is very different from those in the United States, one that has many different ideas regarding how to train youth soccer players. In this review of the club, he discusses Sporting’s facilities, recruitment, teams and coaches, and the club’s training philosophy. Sporting Clube de Portugal is a very well recognized youth soccer club. They have developed more than 100 professional soccer players since 2002. They are also the only club to develop two FIFA World Players of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo. Sporting has a training centre in Alcochete, Lisbon that has four grass and three artificial fields. Players, ages 14 and up, train in this facility. This facility also has one building that has apartments for some of the players who are in need of housing. Sporting has another training facility near their stadium for players ages 13 and younger. In addition, Sporting employs a very large recruitment staff of 150 people who are placed all around the country to search for players. The recruiters look for players who possess certain skills, including technical ability, soccer IQ, speed, and competitiveness. They also evaluate physical characteristics, such as speed and build. Sporting has 17 teams with approximately 340 players. The majority of the players are Portuguese, but there are a few players from Brazil, Cape Verde, and Angola. The players train three times a week through the age of 13. Once they reach age 14, they train four times a week. All the teams’ training sessions last an hour and thirty minutes. Players who are 11 years old or younger play 7v7 competitively and are trained with simple tactical work and a strong emphasis on technique with the ball. This gives the coaching staff a chance to have a significant impact on the players’ technique. Using this strategy, players can avoid developing bad habits and are able to develop quicker. When the players reach age 12, they play 11v11 competitively and are trained to play in a 4-3-3 formation with more intensive training of tactical work. The players are taught to play in a 4-3-3 formation to prepare them for Sporting’s First Team. If academy players know how to play a 4-3-3 formation and they make it to the First Team, they should be able to transition effectively from the academy to Sporting’s First Team formation and unique tactical work. Sporting’s philosophy is to be recognized as one of the best youth academies in the world, one that produces players who can compete at the highest levels of soccer. They strive to provide a good soccer education for the players, and promote good social values. For example, they make sure to teach the players to have respect for each other and themselves. In addition to these values, young players are taught to not put soccer first; school is each player’s first job. Their coaching style allows the players to have independence, as they let the players play without giving too much information. They provide the information that is necessary for the players to develop and do not become emotional if the players are not grasping the information right away. This is important because the players are able to focus on their training without coaches repeatedly stopping the flow of the session and without fear of making mistakes. This allows the players to be able to have more fun and continue to develop their skills, even if they are not perfect the first time. A key take away from this experience is to realize that even in a soccer culture such as Sporting’s, soccer is not the first priority for the players. School is a crucial aspect in life and should not be tossed aside because of soccer. This is important because not all players will make it to Sporting’s First Team or become professional players. Therefore, a good education will help prepare them for their future if they do not earn a career in soccer. Another important lesson is that parents, coaches, and players should not become emotional about players making mistakes. Yelling or giving instructions while the players are training or playing competitively is not beneficial. Actions such as these could make the players either less focused on what is going on or simply not as eager to listen to the feedback they are getting. The best time for parents to give their opinion to the players is after training. Coaches should be the only ones giving instructions to the players during training sessions or games. Lastly, concentrating on players’ technical abilities from a young age is crucial to a player’s development for the future. This is important because players could avoid developing bad habits, which could help them have a better chance to possess advanced technical ability in the future. This visit was a great experience for Nick and is sure to be memorable.

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“The Union” Newsletter

Editors:Cristina Fink - Director of Sport PsychologyTori Creech - Sport Psychology StaffEmily Galvin - Sport Psychology Staff

Contributors:Iain Munro - YSC Academy DirectorLiz Wahlberg - ADT Team LeaderDave Peck - ADT Performance DirectorKimberly Cover - Director of Sport NutritionFinn Gundersen - Director of Sport EducationAlex Brazinski - Sport Psychology InternNick Sakiewicz - Sport Psychology Intern

Visiting Sporting Clube de Portugal

YOUTH ACADEMY UPDATE

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COACHING EDUCATION

Finn Gundersen, YSC’s Director of Sport Education, recently traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana to attend the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Annual Convention. The NSCAA convention is the largest gathering of soccer coaches, administrators, and exhibitors in the world - over 10,000 people attended. Over five days, the conference included 115 classroom lectures, 42 field demonstrations, 120 meetings, 290 exhibitors, and the 2013 MLS Super Draft, broadcast live on ESPN. Of the many presentations attended, one in particular stood out: “The Future Coach” by Dick Bate, Elite Coaching Manager for the English Football Association (FA). His energy, sharp wit, football wisdom, and entertaining delivery kept a packed house of 600 coaches captivated for long after his allotted one hour. This article will summarize Bate’s presentation and will be broken down into two parts. The first part follows, and the second part can be found on the YSC website at the following address: What the Future Coach Needs

Coaching Context:

To start, Bate outlined how our socio-cultural sporting world has changed and continues to change at an ever-increasing pace. Throughout his presentation, he repeatedly asked two questions: “What will the game be like in 10 to 20 years?” and, “What coaching skills will you need?” Whether one is coaching a professional team or a U10 team for a small club, all coaches are inundated with soccer news and soccer websites featuring the latest “how to” exercises, licensing courses and regulations, and much more. The coaching context is complex, changing at an alarming speed and requiring even the part-time volunteer to adapt to a frequently changing environment. For example, the latest sport science brain research describes multiple teaching/learning styles. Which ones should you use for your group? Bate emphasized that a, “what’s in it for me attitude,” is prevalent in the game due to the celebrity and hype that often surround it. This prevalence often leads to selfishness and vanity. Therefore, traditional values, beliefs, and authorities are being challenged. America is the most diverse nation on the planet, with a mix of cultures, traditions, religions, and motives that necessitate an open-minded coach, one who is able to integrate all of these variables into a productive learning environment and program.

The digital age has created wonderful teaching tools that coaches are able to use. However, it is also producing a generation of “screen” addicts, resulting in less physical skill development through play. The American College of Sports Medicine has coined a new term, “exercise deficit disorder,” to describe adolescents who are physically active less than an hour a day, versus three to four hours a day in front of a screen. Bate finished his “coaching context” description with this quote:

Tactical Innovations:

Next, Bate summarized the tactical innovations of the last twenty years, which have sharply defined the direction of the sport. Football coaching intelligence demands, “the ability to observe and understand the unfolding game events and to reason and prioritize their importance in performance” (Al Reis - English soccer journalist). In brief, he underscored the fact that modern tactical innovations within the last 20 years include:

The list continued, but the overall message was clear: “Tactics have changed. Have you?”

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Where the Game Is Today

• “11 technical players• Goal keepers employing their feet 7X more than their hands• Increased positional changes• More ‘wrong footers’ playing in wide positions• More counter-attacking teams• Semi-positions• ‘Shadow strikers’• Lone or no central strikers• Technically effective defenders”

“Society has changed, football has changed, the world has changed. If you don’t change with it you’ll be left behind, so we all have to adapt. But you still have to be in charge of the group and show it…”

Tony Pulis (Stoke City Manager - December 2011)

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COACHING EDUCATION

By the Numbers:

Bate outlined additional changes in “today’s game,” asking again, “Where do you think it’s going tomorrow? You decide. And, be prepared to respond appropriately for the age and experience levels,” keeping in mind that what works for your club may be different from what works for another club with different characteristics, such as age, gender, experience/intensity, and location, to name a few. As an example, he summarized the changes for England’s 2nd tier teams that were promoted to the Premiership between 2006 and 2012: “More touches of ball per player and team, more passes per team, higher pass completion rates, more forward passes and success rate. More 1 touch football and 1 touch accuracy.”

At the Premiership level, several statistics characterize where the game is today. These statistics include:

In the last five seasons, the average Premiership team, “covers more distance at optimum speed and higher speeds, has a higher intensity, has more directional changes, has more possessions and more forward passes.” Ultimately, it comes down to the fact that there is, “less time on the ball, less time between passes, less [sic] goals, less [sic] touches required, and less recovery time.” From this, the questions become: How does this apply to your club? What can you take away? And, how do you need to adapt to the changes that are happening at the highest level? One question was prevalent: “What will the sport look like in 10 to 20 years at the junior level? You need to decide and to be ready.” One final quote he used was from Nash & Sproule (2009):

Bate presented a picture of society and a sport that are in the grip of dramatic changes. To keep up with the changes, Bate discussed the skills he thinks are necessary for the “Future Coach” to respond to the ever-evolving nature of soccer. For more information, and to read Part Two of this summary, please visit the YSC website by following the QR code to the right:

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Where the Game Is Today

• “80% of passes are 1 or 2 touch• There is a pass rate accuracy of 90%• There is an 84% success rate using 1 touch• The average possession time is 2 seconds• The average decision-making time is 2 seconds.”

“Effective coaches are those who adapt their behavior to meet the

demands of their particular coaching environment.”

“If you can’t explain things simply, you don’t know the subject well enough.”

Albert Einstein

Bate, D. (2013, January). The future coach. Symposium conducted at the annual meeting of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, Indianapolis, IN.Nash, C., & Sproule, J. (2009). Career development of expert coaches. International Journal of Sport Science and Coaching, Vol. 4(1), pp. 121-138.

Please scan the above QR code using a QR application on your smart phone to access the second part of the article titled, “What the Future Coach Needs.”

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“The Wall” is ADT’s newest game sensation. The Wall made its debut during the Fall 2012 season and has quickly climbed its way to the favorites list amongst both players and coaches. The game is divided into two parts, which have different objectives:

Like all ADT games, the concept for The Wall comes from a deficiency that ADT coaches noticed in the players. Trainer Anthony Greco said, “Most players we see lack upper body strength. The challenge was to create a fun game to develop that strength.” The inspiration for the wall portion of the game came from another ADT coach, Liz Wahlberg, who participated in a competition in which part of one of the events was getting up and over a 6-foot wall. From these two ideas, The Wall was created.

The concept behind ADT is to combine the science of proper training with a fun, interactive environment. Basically, this means that each ADT activity is a game, and the science is hidden within. The kids learn without being aware that they’re learning; they only see a game. This requires a great deal of effort on the part of the staff to create games that safely and effectively accomplish the task (i.e., balance, agility, coordination, strength, etc.).

The first fundamental rule of game creation is fun. Because children do not go outside and play as much as they used to, ADT games try to replicate the experience of being outside and being active with friends. After the fun game idea has been created, the staff then works to add in elements of challenge. If a person, regardless of age, is not challenged, he/she will not learn as much. The challenge should be at a relatively moderate level of difficulty for various age groups: not too easy, but not too hard. After the challenge is established, games are created to accommodate both exceptionally skilled players as well as beginners. For example, if a balance beam is being used in the game, moving forward on it will challenge a beginner. However, a more advanced player would be asked to move backwards on it. They have different levels of ability, but both are equally challenged with the same task. When someone is challenged, he/she often makes mistakes.

SPORT SCIENCE

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Playing With a Purpose: Creating ADT Games

1. The objective of part one is to race through a plyometric and agility course, collect a ball, and get it back to your team’s base before the other team does. To successfully complete this, players must execute all obstacles correctly. The other half of the group is participating in part two.

2. Part two, the games namesake, includes plyometric obstacles and ends with players having to climb up and over a wall. The wall is built using crash mats and the height can be adjusted according to age group. The winner in this section of the game is the player who can get through the plyometrics portion, up, and back over the wall faster than his/her opponent.

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Another prerequisite for game creation is that the games are designed so that players make mistakes as they learn. Making mistakes is a great way for the players to be able to learn from their errors and correct them before advancing in the game. What happens when a player makes a mistake? The most common method is to simply keep a point scoring system. Points are awarded for success. Then, whoever has more points at the end of the round, wins. Everyone gets to keep playing, and therefore, practicing. Another method is requiring players to return to the original starting position and start again after making a mistake. Making the players start over reinforces the need to follow the rules and meet the game’s challenges, while continuing to participate. Making mistakes is part of each game, and they challenge players to come up with more successful ways to accomplish the goals of the game.

Fun, challenge, individualization, and mistakes are essential to all ADT games. However, there are also several other themes frequently seen in the games. Most games have progressions. The first stage is simple and created to allow them to understand the basic concept of the game. Each progressive stage is then created to increase the challenge as they become more familiar with the rules and equipment. The idea is that once the players get comfortable with the skills, the coaches will challenge them and make each progression more difficult than the previous one. Competition is another favorite element amongst players. The game itself promotes a competitive nature. ADT rewards hard work, improvement, and diligence. ADT does not directly reward winning. After a game, the emphasis is on getting ready for the next round or game progression. Like all games, you will win some and you will lose some. The important part is that the players have plenty of opportunities to try again.

The inspiration for ADT games comes from many places. In the past, inspiration for games has been taken from traditional playground and PE games, video games and apps, television shows and movies, player deficiencies, coaches’ past experiences, and even players’ ideas! The ADT staff encourages the creativity of its participants.

SPORT SCIENCE

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Playing With a Purpose: Creating ADT Games

If you are interested in receiving more information, please visit the YSC website at: http://www.yscsports.com/website/learn-it/training.aspx#union

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Struggling to consume enough energy or calories to support soccer can be a challenge, especially during high volume training days. Maintaining calorie balance, growth, and high quality food choices during the adolescent years can be tricky. A bit of forethought and planning will support the creation of an eating style for the young, highly active athlete.

Three key concepts form the foundation of adequate fueling during these years: energy availability, meal or energy timing, and the idea of calorie density. It is not uncommon for the highly active adolescent athlete to require more than 4000-5000 calories per day. It is important to have energy available to support both sports and growth. Dividing this energy throughout the day optimizes performance in all areas of life including school and sport training. Clients often skip breakfast, rush through lunch, and are ready to eat the plaster off the walls after school. Athletes can easily find themselves behind by 2000 calories; this is very difficult, if not impossible, to recover from. If at all possible, meals and snacks should not be missed. The following suggestions may improve energy availability, allowing athletes to perform daily tasks with more ease:

Calorie density, the amount of energy or calories provided in a specified amount of food, is the third concept that can be especially helpful. The main idea is to substitute a higher calorie alternative for a lower calorie food. An example is to consume regular granola instead of puffed rice or Cheerios®. This simple change would provide more calories than the Cheerios® alone. This adds up and can contribute significantly to energy availability by the end of the day. The following chart provides some additional ideas:

INSTEAD OF THIS FOOD ITEM... EAT THIS FOOD ITEM ENERGY ADDED

16 oz plain water 16 oz chocolate milk 340 calories

1 cup Cheerios® 1 cup granola 330 calories

12 oz diet soda 12 oz orange juice 180 calories

1 handful of pretzels 1 handful of nuts 140 calories

Chewy granola bar Clif®  bar 100 calories

SPORT SCIENCE

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Meeting the Energy Demands of Soccer

• Eat small, frequent meals every two to three hours throughout the day; skipping meals, especially breakfast, should be discouraged

• Drink supplemental drinks for extra energy (e.g., Boost®, Breakfast Essentials®); make hot cereal (e.g., oatmeal or cream of wheat) with these high calorie drinks

• Drink high calorie fluids, such as two percent or whole milk, juice, and sports drinks versus water and diet sodas

• Snack on a trail mix made of dried fruit, nuts, and a handful of dark chocolate candy

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Clients who are trying to eat more will often complain that the volume of food required to eat the proper amount of calories exceeds the amount of food they can take in comfortably. There are quick additions that athletes can use that provide more energy but less volume. These foods might include: peanut or nut butter, cheese, olive oil, avocado, and butter. The following table provides guidance for adding energy or calories during a typical training day. The key is consistency; try to deliver a similar meal plan every day.

EATING OCCASION NORMAL SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVED ENERGY

Breakfast Chewy granola bar, 8 oz 100% apple juice Change to Clif® bar, add in 8 oz yogurt

Lunch 16 oz water, peanut butter sandwich, chips, clementine

Switch to 16 oz chocolate milkAdd in 1 Tbsp peanut butter

Snack 2 handfuls of goldfish crackers Switch and use a trail mix with nuts,dried fruit, and M&Ms® instead

Dinner3 oz ground beef in spaghetti sauce, 1.5 cupspasta, 1 slice plain bread, 1 cup green beans,

8 oz skim milk, 16 oz water

Dip bread into olive oilSwitch to 16 oz milk and only 8 oz water

Snack Apple Add 1-2 oz of cheese or 1-2 Tbsp PB

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Meeting the Energy Demands of Soccer

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What does it take to get to the top? Whether you are a soccer player, an actor, a businessperson, or a lawyer, how do you perform at your best and how do you maintain that high performance? It starts with talent. No matter how hard you work, if you have no talent, it will be an extremely difficult struggle to try to reach the top in your performance domain. If you have the requisite talent, you then have to develop it. In sports, that means working on the technical, tactical, and mental skills that could help you excel. Developing these skills could entail several training sessions per week. Committing to a training schedule and giving effort during those sessions is an example of working hard to develop natural talent. On top of your natural ability and hard work, many high-level performers still need just a bit of luck. That luck might come in the form of a friend with connections and successful networking. It might mean being in the right place at the right time. Even still, for Graham Jones, Performance Consultant, talent, hard work, and luck are three of the four necessary components for achieving and maintaining high performance.

In his chapter, “The Role of Superior Performance Intelligence in Sustained Success” (Jones, 2012), Jones set out to discover what that fourth component is. He interviewed 12 successful high-performers (9 male, 3 female) in performance domains that ranged from sport to pharmaceutical sales. Each of these 12 performers has achieved success and sustained that success over time. From his interviews, he maintained that intelligence is the final factor. But, not just any form of intelligence. The fourth component that makes up the recipe for achieving and maintaining high performance is what Jones calls superior performance intelligence (SPI).

In the literature, there are many different conceptualizations of intelligence. Intelligence has traditionally been conceptualized as what might be called book smarts, which involves intelligence in an academic setting and is measured by an IQ test. However, more recent theories about what intelligence is point to the existence of multiple forms of intelligence. Thus, one’s overall intelligence cannot be measured simply with one test, such as the IQ test. Different conceptualizations of intelligence include spatial intelligence, mathematical-logical intelligence, musical intelligence, and interpersonal intelligence, to name a few. Many different performers possess some mix of these different kinds of intelligence, but it seems that no two or three intelligences are sufficient for a person to achieve high performance success and maintain that success over time. So, based on his interviews, Jones regards SPI as a form of intelligence necessary to achieve and maintain high performance success.

SPI is made up of three components: knowing how to maximize your potential, knowing how to work with your environment, and knowing how to deliver high performance.

1. Knowing how to maximize your potentialThis category is further broken down into knowing yourself, stretching yourself, and sustaining yourself.

• Knowing yourself means knowing both who you are and how you are. To know yourself, you should be able to answer questions such as, “what are my values and beliefs?” and, “What is important to me?” To know how you are, recognize and be aware of how you will behave in all kinds of situations. How do you think? How do you react?

• Stretching yourself involves a desire to push yourself to be the best that you can be, a clear vision or purpose for your performance, a thirst for knowledge, and a strong sense of confidence. These can help a performer challenge him/herself, but do so with a specific goal in mind and a belief that he/she can tackle that challenge. The goal setting pyramid to the right is an example of how to set goals that help you reach your vision.

• Sustaining yourself includes, but is not limited to, coping with pressure, recovering from failure, and celebrating successes. All of these subcomponents focus on the ability to sustain high performance by living with a good life balance and having the proper perspective to cope with the highs and lows of successes and failures.

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Superior Performance Intelligence: The Road to Peak Performance

Goal Setting Pyramid

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2. Knowing how to work with your environmentThis category is further broken down into knowing your environment, shaping your environment, and being in tune with your environment.

• Knowing your environment means recognizing and planning for both the controllable and uncontrollable elements of any performance environment. High performers focus on what they can control, such as their effort, but are always prepared to handle the things that they cannot, such as the weather.

• Shaping your environment goes one step further and is made up of setting clear goals, surrounding yourself with people who understand those goals and will help you achieve them, and challenging tradition, to name a few. In doing these things, high performers take control of their environment.

• Being in tune with your environment mainly means recognizing and then adapting to different elements in your performance environment. Those who can adapt have the potential to sustain high performance because they can change their performance plans to best fit changes in the environment.

3. Knowing how to deliver high performanceThis category is further broken down into planning and preparing, delivering, and evaluating.

• Planning and preparing starts with defining success. It also involves planning ideal reactions for stressful situations and remembering your purpose. This involves understanding the value of the process of performance, rather than focusing solely on performance outcomes.

• Delivering is just that: delivering high performance. In order to deliver high performance again and again, performers must know how to deal with pressure and trust themselves and their routines.

• Evaluating performance involves acknowledging the positives of performance and identifying aspects of performance that need improvement. Consistent self-evaluation allows you to be aware of what you are doing well and what needs work.

So, what do we know about superior performance intelligence? Primarily, those who possess SPI know how to maximize their potential, work with their environment, and use their skills to consistently deliver high performance. On top of that, those who possess SPI also have natural ability in their performance domain, work extremely hard to succeed, and have had a bit of luck along the way.

Can anyone possess SPI? Many, if not all, of the aforementioned components of SPI could be developed with a dedication to developing those skills. Gaining some of the skills requires self-reflection and self-awareness. Still, developing other skills requires planning, training, and building a sense of trust and confidence in oneself. Look at your own skills. Do you have some natural ability? Are you willing to work hard? Have you stumbled upon some luck along the way? And are you willing to commit yourself to developing your performance intelligence? If you answered “yes” to these questions, you could be on your way to having the ability to succeed in high-performance settings and maintain that success over time.

SPORT SCIENCE

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Superior Performance Intelligence: The Road to Peak Performance

Jones, G. (2012). The role of superior performance intelligence in sustained success. In S. Murphy (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of sport and performance psychology (pp. 593-617). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

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SPORT PSYCHOLOGY

Rasmus Ankersen, known as the “High Performance Anthropologist,” is the author of The Gold Mine Effect. Additionally, he is a former soccer player and speaker in the field of talent and performance development. In addition to The Gold Mine Effect, Ankersen is the author of The DNA of a Winner, Leader DNA, and Raising a Winner. Similar to Dan Coyle, author of The Talent Code, Ankersen has traveled the world in the pursuit of knowledge: what makes one place more successful at developing talent than another? Ankersen is unique because he traveled to various locations to explore their talent development programs, but, he didn’t stop there. He also lived in these locations and trained with them. This adds a different perspective in which Ankersen is able to view these programs from the inside rather than as an outsider looking in.

On Ankersen’s website, The Gold Mine Effect, he has a video that describes talent development and how to find undervalued talent. This video is an interesting watch as it describes how talent identification works, and how it can be both successful and unsuccessful depending on how it is done. To cement this idea, Ankersen discusses how every field, whether athletics, music, or business, has tales in which individuals who were very talented, and ultimately became superstars, were overlooked and considered mediocre at some early point in their career. For example, when Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima was 15 years old, Flamengo, a Brazilian soccer club, refused to pay for his bus ticket from his home to the training facility so that he would be able to get to and from training. Why? They didn’t believe his skill levels warranted payment for transportation at the time. The cost of a bus ticket? Less than a dollar. This decision to not pay Ronaldo’s transportation is the reason Flamengo was unable to have, unbeknownst to them at the time, one of the best players in the world on their team.

According to Ankersen, “mastering the art of talent identification is an extremely tough discipline, and the harsh truth is that the vast majority of the talent ID programs out there are no better than drawing lots.” Knowing how successful athletes, musicians, or businesspeople may become in the long run may make it easy to laugh at the individual(s) who didn’t believe in their talent to begin with. However, it’s easy to see how those mistakes were made, as most talent identification programs focus on talent right now, rather than potential talent. Understanding this difference can help develop a more successful talent identification program.

To provide insight into how potential mistakes in talent recruitment can occur, Ankersen breaks the process down into performance and potential, using a matrix to visualize this concept. Performance refers to how the individual is performing right now, whereas potential refers to how good the individual can become in the future. According to the potential/performance matrix (as seen on the next page), Ronaldo, at age 15, would have been considered to have average performance and high potential. Those similar to Ronaldo, with average performance and high potential, are classified as “whispering talents.” This indicates that, for whatever reason, their talent hasn’t manifested yet, even though the potential for it to develop is there. Whereas, those with high performance and high potential are classified as “shouting talents.” To give an example, Ankersen shows Usain Bolt as a shouting talent; even from an early age, it was suspected that he would set new world records. Based on this matrix, Ankersen proposes the questions: “How do you find potential in something that looks ordinary at the moment? How do you spot a superstar who is not yet a superstar?”

According to Ankersen, there are three lessons that need to be understood in order to improve the ability to spot talent:

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Talent Development

1. Great talent is not necessarily right talent

2. What you see is not necessarily what you get

3. Never overrate certifications; never underrate character

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SPORT PSYCHOLOGY

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As an example of lesson one, Ankersen discusses the Wonderlic Intelligence Test, currently used by the NFL to measure cognitive ability of quarterbacks to see who will be most successful. Because quarterbacks must possess quick and confident decision-making skills, the Wonderlic is considered to be the best tool to measure this, with higher scores being better. However, two of the best quarterbacks ever have scored among the 7 lowest scores in the history of the Wonderlic: Dan Marino and Terry Bradshaw. What does this say about the Wonderlic? While it may be a great tool for assessing some talent, that ability doesn’t necessarily translate into the right talent for the job of quarterback. Ultimately, you have to be aware of what the critical skills are for the position you’re looking to fill. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck looking for the wrong talent and could potentially overlook a future superstar.

As an example of lesson two, Ankersen discusses two hypothetical runners who are both 15 years old: one runs the 100m in 10.2 seconds, and the other runs it in 10.6 seconds.

Which would you expect to have the greatest potential? According to Ankersen, everything is going to point to the runner who completed the 100m in 10.2 seconds. However, if you’re knowledgeable about the components of talent identification, and the idea of performance versus potential, you’ll know that it’s likely that the runner who finished in 10.6 seconds has the greater potential. Why? Because it’s likely that the runner who completed in 10.2 already has the best coaches and the most professional training facility, and is fully developed physically. The 10.6 second runner, on the other hand, trained on his own with no professional guidance and is a late developer physically. This suggests that with the proper guidance, training, and experience, and with more time to mature physically, the 10.6 second runner has a greater potential than the 10.2 runner. In Ankersen’s terms, “a raw 10.6 might be better than a trained 10.2.” Ultimately, the results are only part of what determines potential. You also have to consider the story behind the results, and how the individual got to where he/she is, and how he/she may help him/herself develop further.

Talent Development

Please scan the above QR code using a QR application on your smart phone to access the Gold Mine Effect video.

To solidify lesson three, Ankersen demonstrates the importance of character. While certificates and psychological profiles can be helpful, they are more beneficial when combined with character. Training environments, regardless of the amount of equipment, staff, or size of the facility, should promote hard work and character development. Facilities and certificates don’t determine success, your mindset does. Instead of focusing on current talent, focus on the potential for future talent. Instead of focusing on what you know today, focus on what you can learn tomorrow and how you will get there.

Ultimately, regardless of whether you’re talking about business, music, sports, or any other field, talent identification is a tricky process. It may be easy to see who has potential right now, but it’s often harder to determine who may have potential in the future. When looking at talent, remember to keep in mind the three lessons above. These lessons will help you be more successful at spotting future superstars and separating performance from potential. Who knows, maybe you’ll find the next Ronaldo.

Rasmus Ankersen (Producer). (2013). How to identify talent? [video]. Available from http://www.thegoldmineeffect.com/

Ankersen’s Potential/Performance Matrix

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RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

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On Tuesday, January 29th, YSC held a coaching education seminar titled, “Thinking and Playing.” For the presentation, Iain Munro, YSC’s Academy Director, and Dr. Cristina Fink, YSC’s Director of Sport Psychology, presented on the importance of developing players’ cognitive processes in order to help those players fully reach their potential. Attendees of the session included local club and university coaches, as well as visiting coaches such as Tommy Wilson, Rangers FC Youth Academy Technical Director and Reserve Team Coach.

Dr. Cristina Fink began the seminar by discussing the implications for improving cognitive functions and a brief literature review of cognitive psychology. As a foundation, Dr. Fink emphasized a component of brain-centered learning, the Constructivist Theory. Focusing on immersion, relaxed alertness, and active processing, the Constructivist Theory is a method of explaining the learning process players experience in various situations. This includes being thrown into, and therefore immersed in, an experience and how they learn from this. The theory also explains designing an environment that allows players to be challenged, while also feeling safe to make mistakes, and therefore, learn.

To conclude Dr. Fink’s portion of the seminar, she mentioned several organizations and clubs that fully implement cognitive approaches into their training in order to help their athletes develop to their full potential. The summary quote, “The visually most active third of the players completed twice as many forward passes as the least active players,” shows the importance of using cognitive functions to help players improve their technical and tactical skills.

For the second part of the seminar, Coach Iain Munro took the floor and discussed how to develop training sessions that prepare players for game situations. He provided examples of his own experiences as a player and as a coach, as well as useful tips he has learned from coaches and players during his career in soccer. His main points included:

• Coaches must dress up skill development drills in different ways in order to make them interesting and fun for players• Player’s don’t learn the game of soccer through drills that are unrelated to game play — they learn through the game

๏ At least 50% of sessions should be game-like๏ Drills alone do not teach decision-making or formation, which are just two of the many skills needed to excel in

games• Coaches should help players think about the process of how they play

๏ Players should learn patterns within the game so that they can play automatically as they recognize familiar patterns that arise in games

Iain invited the audience to join him on the field for an interactive demonstration of a drill coaches could implement into their training sessions. This drill simulated the pattern recognition and decision-making skills that players might have to execute to perform well in games. Therefore, the drill is a way to prepare players for game situations as they train. The drill was explained, and the coaches played through it. After a few mistakes, the coaches seemed to run through the drill smoothly; they understood the pattern. This understanding prompted Iain to take the drill one step further and to introduce new elements of the drill to challenge the coaches, just as games continue to challenge players. Some of Iain’s main points during this demonstration included:

• Training drills must develop players’ awareness, decision-making, and processing skills

• Take advantage of the brain’s plasticity๏ When coaches don’t adapt drills, the player’s brain

will get comfortable with them and think it always knows what to do — this won’t challenge players to improve processing or decision-making skills

๏ When running through drills, add new layers and elements that continue to challenge players to work harder, both physically and mentally, to succeed

This coaching education seminar illustrates YSC’s commitment to providing an environment for coaches to convene, share and discuss ideas, and learn new techniques. The seminars to come will continue to try to apply the discussions, taking coaches out onto the field and demonstrating how to put some of their ideas into action.

Thinking and Playing

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RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

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Do you enjoy sport psychology?Would you like information more often than every other month?

The YSC Sport Psychology Department staff and interns have a blog devoted to current events in sports and sport psychology. The blog is updated on a regular basis and covers content from all sports. If you would like to read more about the blog, please visit the following website: http://www.yscsportsmentaledge.com

If you can train your feet, you can train your mind!

Coaching Education: Preparation and Recovery Nutrition

Kim Cover presented at YSC on Tuesday, February 26th for local coaches on the topic of preparation and recovery nutrition. She is a triple board certified sports nutrition therapist who specializes in sports enhancement, as well as eating and exercise disturbances in athletes. She utilizes nutrition therapy and counseling techniques that foster an overall physiological understanding of the human body and an improved nutritional outlook. In her presentation, she discussed:

• The importance of having a proper nutritional foundation• Identifying the purpose for food and drink choices• What to eat and drink before and after training and games• What to eat and drink between multiple trainings or games

Kim presented nutrition suggestions for male and female athletes of all ages in order to provide for the needs of all of the coaches in the audience.

If you would like additional information on the above topics, please follow the links below:• Boost Your Performance with Proper Pre-Event Fuel: September 2012 Newsletter, pg. 5• Boost Performance with Proper Post-Event Fuel: November 2012 Newsletter, pg. 6• Fueling for Multiple Events in One Day: January 2013 Newsletter, pg. 7

Supporting a Growth Mindset at YSC

In February, Dr. Cristina Fink visited Stanford University. During her visit, she met with Dr. Carol Dweck, a Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, who is renowned in the field of psychology for her work on fixed and growth mindsets. Individuals with a fixed mindset believe that they were born with certain talents and abilities and that those abilities will not change over time with hard work or training. On the other hand, individuals with a growth mindset believe that their skills and abilities are always evolving and that with effort and hard work, those skills can be improved.

Dr. Dweck’s work explains that many of history’s notably talented individuals, such as Mozart, were not born unnaturally gifted. Instead, they were born with abilities and proficiencies that they developed and perfected through years of hard work and dedication to their trade. The dedication required to strive for excellence in any performance domain comes from a growth mindset. Parents and coaches can support a growth mindset in their players by praising effort and hard work, rather than natural ability or talent. Also, parents and coaches should encourage players to hold themselves accountable for their actions and not become accustomed to placing blame or feeling entitled; these could lead to players developing a fixed mindset, and, for example, blaming others for shortcomings rather than working to improve in the future.

In their meeting, Dr. Fink discussed the YSC Academy as well as the Philadelphia Union Academy and how YSC is implementing the idea of a growth mindset. YSC supports a growth mindset because to truly develop players, both on the field and in the classroom, emphasis should be on effort and perseverance, rather than natural ability alone. Additional emphasis should be placed on the idea of training smart, not just training hard. Players could have the requisite skills to achieve success and work extremely hard to develop their skills, but if they are not developing those skills in a smart way, all of that hard work might not benefit the player. YSC’s Sport Psychology Department strives to collaborate with the coaches and ADT Staff members to apply and support concepts such as a growth mindset when working to develop our players.

In addition to meeting with Dr. Dweck, Dr. Fink also worked with Stanford University’s synchronized swimming team. These sessions with Dr. Dweck represent the dedication that YSC and the Sport Psychology Department have to advancing player development with a growth mindset.

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Using Video Games as a Training Tool

At YSC, it is our goal to produce players who are able to process information efficiently in pressure situations. A major part of our ability to do this is creating a practice environment that challenges the players both physically and mentally. Although each age group is playing the same game, the pace of the game is different. The way I explain our practice environment to the players is by comparing it to a video game.

Like in a video game, we begin at level 1. It is important to do this so that the players learn the shape and pattern of the game. If you play a video game at level 10 the first time, chances are you will make a lot of mistakes. The game may be the same, but the pace and pressure increases dramatically. The same goes for soccer practice. By starting the players at level 1, we provide them with the necessary foundational skills for optimal performance at the next level. Eventually, little by little, we increase the intensity of the practices to level 10.

I made my debut at the age of 17. My first experience on the pitch was both physically and mentally demanding because of how fast I had to process everything that was going on. Luckily, I had a few older players on my team who were able to slow down the pace of the game to where I felt comfortable. However, the game has changed much since then, and now the pace is much faster. Because of this, the players’ mental and physical skill levels must be at a level 10 at all times.

I always say that the professional level is more mentally demanding than physically demanding. Therefore, practice with our academy players is at a higher level. To do this we do our best to make practice drills as close to game situations as possible. We create a training environment that challenges the players and pushes them past their comfort zone. That means we replace slow-paced, structured drills with fast-paced drills that demand quick thinking and decision-making under pressure. We also train the players on a wee pitch compared to the standard pitch for a game. The smaller pitch makes the players play tighter with little margin for error. I often tell my players, when you play a video game, you don’t look away from the screen or you will make a mistake. The same goes for soccer: if you look down at your feet for more than a second, you are likely to make a mistake. This is because when you look back up, the field has changed and the players are in different positions. The fast-paced, level 10 environment that we put our players in demands full attention in order to process the information. Sure, they will make mistakes, but these are mistakes that the players can learn from and use to their advantage when playing in a game.

The benefit from practicing at a faster pace is that the players learn to feel comfortable and process information efficiently during a game. There may be times when a game is only at a level 7 intensity. But, the players should feel confident in their ability to perform their best because they’re used to performing under more intense conditions. Since our practice pitch is much smaller than a game pitch, when the players play a game, they have much more room to move around. By going from an 800 square foot area to an 8,000 square foot area, the players now have an extra half to a full second with the ball. This is a major factor in achieving optimal performance in a game.

As coaches at YSC, our goal is to teach our players the necessary physical and mental skills to reach the next level. By comparing video game levels to practice intensity, the players can learn that they must first build a strong foundation at level 1, but must challenge themselves by practicing at level 10 to improve their coordination and processing skills for optimal performance.

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F INAL THOUGHTS BY IA IN MUNRO