Think less for more success!

I've never once had a player tell me that they play their best when they have to think a lot. In fact it is exactly the opposite.

Most of my players say they perform best or are in "the zone" when they aren't thinking. When things are just flowing. They describe a feeling of being free.

With that in mind I try to approach coaching in a manner that allows my players to just play and doesn't require a lot of thinking. In fact almost every bad coaching decision that I can remember from the last few years, and there have been a bunch, was something that caused my team or individual players to think more than necessary.

This approach to coaching starts with our playing philosophy. It is very simple. In fact it is only 3 words - Dominate The Ball! We have a simple definition as well: (1) keep the ball when WE have it; (2) score goals; (3) Get it back when THEY have it.

When we speak to our team about the game we speak the same language. I was fortunate enough to travel to Europe a few years ago with Andrew Ziemer and Frans Hoek. While there were many aspects of this trip that were very valuable my greatest takeaway was how to create a common language for our team.

We use the Dutch numbering system to describe positions. We also speak in terms of "WE have the ball" or "THEY have the ball" instead of offense and defense.

Our formation remains relatively constant. We play a 1:4:3:3 with a single pivot player. Formations are overrated as far as I'm concerned. It's simply the starting point for the match.

Players also have clearly defined "positional priorities" within the match. Our training mirrors this approach as we are almost always engaged in "positional play." Rather than worry about whether some technical drill, trained in isolation, will translate to the big game, we simply train in a manner that always translates. We train like the big game!

When it comes to training the mental aspect of the game I'm a big fan of Friday Night Lights. "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose!" We spent a lot of time on the mental aspect of the game. But we take an inside out approach. That means we focus on the person. Not the player. We bring out the character skills within the person.

When it comes to mental strategies our most common advice to players is to DO NOTHING. Stop thinking or overthinking. Just play. Just stay in the game. We teach our players how to play with a clear mindset so they aren't thinking.

For us we play our best when we are playing free and loving what we do. It's that simple!