One of my U14 teams was playing a game against a staunch rival. The other team had won the championship from them the year before. The kids knew this, and so did the other team. The other team expected to win.
Our first half strategy was simple. Just harass the ball, disrupt their passing, and wait for a counter attack. The Italians call this Catennacio.
Twenty minutes into a thirty-five minute half, we scored. We held the score until half time.
I tend to give kids (also applies to business teams), not more than three things to think about at half time. They can’t focus on more than that, and more just distracts them. This game… I just gave them one thing.
When the team was quiet and rehydrating, I asked them, “What do you hear?” They looked around, listened, and then one girl said softly, “The other coach is yelling at his team.”
“Yes,” I said, “I love it when the other coach yells at his team. It means you are doing exactly the right things. Just go back out there and keep doing it.” I also told them to take the field and wait for the other team even though the half time was not over.
Our team won 1-0 and we had some great opportunities in the second half. The other team never even mounted a serious attack. Lesson seven. Anger has little place in motivating a soccer team or a business team. Anger is always about you, not about them. You’re better off catching them succeeding at something one in five times, and rewarding them for it, than criticizing them for the other four times.
Do Great Things.
Lee Stocking
Prairie Sky Group
Making Sales Cry With Qualified Leads
lee.stocking@gmail.com
651-357-0110 (Cell 24×7)