How to teach your players to communicate

During these team huddles I will go over and pose a question that engages them on the topic I want them to fix. 

For example, if a team is struggling with forcing too many passes and losing possession, I will pose the question: "How can we value the ball better in the next five minutes of play?".

After we break the huddle, and I walk away, I hear eruptions of answers stream from the mouths of the players, those who are actually performing the skills needed to make the change.

They begin to suggest ways to fix the problem and coach each other in small moments on the things that need improvement.

They will shout things like: “Let’s value the ball!” and “Pass back, let’s keep it”.

I challenge coaches to give more credibility to the voices coming from the bodies that are actually performing the skills needed to win matches.

The second activity is my favourite. When on the field, our players do not have the time to communicate in complete sentences while considering the defensive marks they oversee and their movement off the ball. 

Teaching them what to communicate has given the quietest personalities the loudest voices in the biggest moments, because they have confidence in what they are saying.

It’s all about three things that can tell an entire story while in a match: Name. Command. Direction.  

Let’s say you are playing a simple 4v4 small-sided game. Each team would have a ‘coach’, standing on the sideline or behind the opponent’s net. They are the only one allowed to communicate verbally and are only allowed to say sentences in the format of ‘name, command, direction.’ The players on the field have to stay silent. 

 

"They suggest ways to fix the problem and coach each other in small moments..."

As the game is played, you hear the ‘coach’ say things like:

“Mark - shift left!”
“Jessie - drop straight back!”
“Zack - pass left!”

Of course, It is not ideal for only one player to communicate - but, for the sake of teaching how to communicate, the athletes begin to realize how difficult it is if they leave the job to one person, which most youth teams default to if they have never learned how to communicate effectively. 

This activity can take anywhere from five minutes to half an hour, and I use it as a warm-up or in a team scrimmage. 

The art of coaching goes beyond just teaching players what they can do with a ball. 

It is as much about teaching how to specifically use a skill they learned at a very young age - communication - in an environment where it is always needed. Keep it simple, make it effective.

 

The impact

I have witnessed my teams grow into a loud sense of confidence, autonomy and self-awareness.

The players’ ability to see how their voice can impact a moment is tremendous and it has helped my athletes through very trying times on the pitch, where the impact of my voice is limited. 

They are able to navigate situations better because they are more in tune with how to communicate with each other in order to help each other.

A game cannot be won by simply communicating, but it can be altered if the players’ voices, not those of the coaches, are the sole noise on the field.

Communication is a skill and fostering an environment where athletes can ‘figure it out’ is just as important as a coach making a point.