Concrete Examples Of Coaching Points That Include Visual Cues

This article was written by Pablo Toledo, Rush Soccer’ Sporting Project Director, and Megan McCormick, Coach Education Consultant.

Using visual cues in our coaching points is one of the most interesting elements of The Rush Blue Thread and definitely one that we receive many inquiries about. 

Earlier in this month we spoke in a very interesting article about the science behind it and its relevance for coaching. Later on, we presented the topic within the realistic context of a session. 

We wanted to wrap the month now with another realistic, pragmatic post. In this case, we put together a list of coaching points that include visual cues that you can add to your sessions. 

Note: These coaching points are included in our curriculum that you can access at The Rush Coaching Manual.

Comparing by opposition:

We are frequently asked this question, could you tell me a coaching point without a visual cue and then modify it to include it? The answer is: Yes, sure, here’s two. 

1. Scanning. Frequently we hear: When you’re off the ball, scan, check over your shoulder. I’m guilty of saying this as well. It’s not wrong, but it could be improved by actually giving the player a tip on what he or she is trying to see at that moment. Otherwise, they might be looking but not seeing anything relevant. We could change it and add a visual cue with the following: When you’re off the ball, check over your shoulders to see if you’re under immediate pressure (or) where your teammates are.
2. Dribbling. Coaching points usually refer to ‘dropping a shoulder’ or “changing directions” that lack any visual cues, we could replace that with: When you go 1v1 against a defender, you need to see space behind him/her to decide to dribble (or not).

Other examples of coaching points without visual cues (to avoid): 

In regard to teaching center backs to drop back vs. step  – “Next time you need to anticipate and drop off before the ball gets played.”

Coaching 1v1 defending – “You need to put more pressure on the ball and close more space.” or “You need to be close enough to touch the attacker”.

Checking to the ball vs. moving away to create space: “Don’t always run away from the ball, sometimes you need to check to receive”.

The Old And Always Great Need Of Being Specific:

The more specific the questions, often the more useful they are in leading vision to perceive what matters in the environment. It’s important to work to frame the who, what, when, and where – this will help players better understand the HOW and WHY you are addressing with coaching points. This ensures that players and coaches are referring to the same action and outcome or set of actions and outcomes. 

Least Useful:

What happened?

What did you see?

More Useful:

Did you notice x? (i.e. Did you notice the movement of the outside back?).

What did you see when x happened? (i.e. What did you see when you checked your shoulder just before receiving the ball?).

Most Useful: 

What did you notice about x when you did y? (i.e. What did you notice about the opponent’s center backs when you checked back to receive the ball?).

If you see x, what should you do next? (i.e. If you see the opponent receive a difficult pass with their back to goal, how should you defend them?). Where was x, when y was happening? (i.e. Where was our #10 and the opponent’s 6 when we regained the ball deep in our own half?).

General Examples:

More Specific Examples:

Incorporate these visual cues to your coaching and favor your player’s learning experience. Hope you found value in this post, coach.