David Pons’ Post

In today’s football landscape, individual training has become paramount. It’s no longer sufficient to only train with your team; complementing this with personal work is essential. This is the reason why individual training and choosing the right personal coach are vital to a player’s success. Through individual training, you have the opportunity to focus on overcoming your weaknesses while also enhancing your strengths. My approach is rooted in tailoring training programs to meet the specific needs of each player. This customization is based on factors such as age, position on the field, strengths, weaknesses, and developmental goals. I believe that this personalized attention provides immense added value to a player’s growth and performance. Furthermore, I consider the club and team the player is a part of, along with the playing style and vision of their coach. This holistic understanding allows us to ensure the training aligns with and supports the player’s role within their club. By doing so, we maximize the effectiveness of the development process, preparing the player to excel within their team’s framework. Ultimately, the goal of individual training is to empower players to reach their full potential, making them more versatile, resilient, and capable of adapting to the ever-evolving demands of modern football.

👉 The Death of 121 football coaching 🤯 This is a divided opinion, but why do players/parents still seek 121 football coaching 😔 Here are my reasons why 121 football coaching is pointless 👇 ⚽️ Team Game - Football is a team game that requires players to interact with teammates, opposition and the environment. ⚽️ Unrealistic skill acquisition - a lot of the sessions focus on decomposed skills with players completing them with no pressure, in the wrong areas of the pitch etc.. ⚽️ Perceive to Act - There is no perception action coupling, coaches don’t understand this nor create it so players who attend these sessions often don’t replicate what has been shown as it has no connection to game situations. ⚽️ It looks good - Too structured and nice looking, football is a chaotic game often these sessions have cones set out in nice sequences and videos replicate nice dribbling which simply doesn’t happen in football. Players need to be exposed to game situations, they need to understand how to deal with situations they are going to be exposed to in match play. They need the what, why, when and where, not to be taught fancy skills that are then not transferred to match play. For me 121 football coaching is stealing money in my opinion. Cue the haters 😂 love to hear your thoughts. Have a read of the research attached (quite interesting). https://lnkd.in/eJgpMr7E

Check out our latest blog, "Two Training Paradigms", where we explore different approaches to training, their philosophies, and how they can impact athlete development and performance. It’s a great read for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of training methodologies and apply new concepts to their practice. Curious to learn more? Head over to the full article here: https://lnkd.in/dtmnazPX

No Limits Sports prides itself on being able to support schools, clubs, councils and sporting associations by providing the best coaches available. We like to ensure our coaches stand by our three fundamentals to provide a great coaching experience for young athletes. Learning environments can be vastly different based on many factors, but we want coaches to flourish by sticking to a few key components Preparation 👩💻 - ensuring our coaches know to plan their sessions before delivery to provide a structured session with a purpose Skill and Game Sense ⚽ 🥅 - The old phrase practice makes perfect? We want to ensure our coaches can coach skills in ways that are player-centric and use different methods to work on skills in many different ways and not just become repetitive. Our coaches gradually manoeuvre skills into modified games to help players improve and succeed individually. It allows skill progression and opportunities to start learning processes again. Feedback 🗣 - After a training session we ask our coaches to seek feedback from players about what they enjoyed and what they didn't enjoy as much. This helps the coach to gain feedback and be able to reflect on the session's impact and plan for the next session when going back to the first fundamental.

🚀 **BIG NEWS: The long-awaited follow-up to 'De trainer maakt het verschil' is in development and on its way!**⁣ Following the success of 'De trainer maakt het verschil' and the strong demand for more football content among trainers, I'm fully engaged in working on the sequel: 'De trainer maakt het verschil - Het veld op'. ('The Coach Makes The Difference - On the pitch'). Together with Donald Suidman, I'm creating a book that goes beyond theory – it's a practical guide that will help you, as a coach, increase your impact on the pitch. It's going to be in Dutch first. If it proves to be a success, then we might publish it in English too - as it happened with The Coach Makes The Difference. ⚽ Why? I wish every child to experience an enjoyable and educational time on the football field, and I believe that coaches play a crucial role in this. Every coach can make a difference! That’s why I'm working on this book, with a simple formula in mind: Interaction with people² x football content x mentality. 'Het veld op' specifically focuses on the football content, offering you the tools to design training sessions that are both effective and fun. 📘 How? Just like in the first book, I’m bringing scientifically-backed methods directly into your practice. You’ll find insights from renowned coaches and the latest methods that you can apply immediately on the pitch. 🏆 What can you expect? Practical tips and insights on football, training, coaching, and the brain, including answers to key questions such as: What playing styles are available? What makes a good training session? What defines a great trainer? What can you do to make the knowledge and skills stick with your players? In Chapter 5: 'If I were coach again', I share a full step-by-step plan to help you design training sessions that are both enjoyable and educational. This chapter also includes plenty of exercises you can put into practice right away. 🎯 Ready to take your team to the next level? Stay tuned and follow my updates! What would you like to see in 'Het veld op'? Maybe you can help with your expertise to make this book just as valuable for coaches as the first one! 👀

10 shots to systematically develop players and fulfill potential 1, start with the WHY -why is a purpose, cause or belief - the reason why you do 2, create a learning environment -learning is messy - embrace the chaos, randomness -performance is important, winning also … but do it in fashion - act with class 3, set high expectations -set high expectations that make you feel uncomfortable -high challenge - high support 4, foster a unique culture -be yourself, everyone else is taken -be proud of it 5, focus on character -invest time into players, analyse the personality treats and create a pathway for personal development +reward courage - braveness +embrace mistakes - allow them make “better mistakes” +prefer action over words +slogans on the wall is not enough 6, move in the same direction -the academy, club should know himself -have a vision&mission statement and act based on core values -set high, non-negotiable standards 7, training more competitive than the game -increase randomness -increase competitiveness 8, encourage creativity -allow players to make mistakes, give them constructive feedback, let them learn from it 9, protect psychological safety -player’s “plans” and the universe’s plan for you is totally different, messy with a lot of setbacks -help players fulfill their potential -it should be a development journey 10, leave a legacy -coaches - diasassociate from the team, focus on the big picture - long term project It is very complicated process with a lot of lows, but also with a bunch of unforgettable memories. If you are passionate about youth development it brings with you a lot of good memories. #talentdevelopment #youthsport #football #academy

So here’s the thing coaches… You may just be watching them get better at performance. Not actually learning! You know those times...a simple passing activity or a keep-ball...players start slow at first...a few mistakes...a mis-control here and there...but as time passes players start to improve...passes meet their target -with speed! Pop, pop, pop...ball moved fast, quick feet, sharp movements. Players improving...players learning...but wait! Are they? Or are they simply improving at this task in this moment? Are they simply performing? Welcome to the fluency effect. Fluency is the ease with which we process information so we can generate understanding. In a football (or any sports) activity, when players are exposed to the same stimuli over and over they’ll start to recognise patterns, process those patterns more efficiently, and act quicker. So in a keep-ball, players might be improving because they’re starting to recognise patterns in the position they’re in, and they’re starting to benefit from the repeated rhythm the task affords them. So what to do? How to prevent the fluency effect and promote learning (not just performance)? Create ‘desirable difficulties’ (Bjork). Interleave, space and vary. Create consequence, test and reduce feedback. These types of difficulties help players learn more so than perform. They challenge and stretch. They cause interference, meaning players have to really ‘think’ about what they’re doing. To learn more about desirable difficulties, check out my conversation with two of the world’s finest skill acquisition experts in Prof Mark Williams and Prof Nikki Hodges here: https://buff.ly/4chZqXk

The importance of having a Goalkeeper Coach in your program and what we mean to the goalkeeper : 1. Technical Skills - Goalkeeper Coaches work on improving core goalkeeping techniques such as shot-stopping, handling, positioning, distribution, and footwork. These are fundemantal to a goalkeeper’s success. 2. Tactical Awareness - Goalkeepers must understand the tactical aspects of the game, like organizing the defense, reading the game, and anticipating plays. Goalkeeper Coaches help goalkeepers develop this "football intelligence." 3. Decision-Making - Goalkeeper Coaches guide goalkeepers in making quick, accurate decisions under pressure, whether it's when to catch, punch, or pass the ball. Good decision-making is critical in preventing goals. 4. Physical Conditioning - Goalkeepers require a unique blend of agility, strength, flexibility, and quick reflexes. Goalkeeper Coaches design training regimes that enhance these physical attributes to match the demands of the position. 5. Mental Resilience - The goalkeeper position is mentally demanding, with moments of high pressure and scrutiny. Goalkeeper Coaches help build mental resilience and confidence through motivation, positive reinforcement, and psychological training. 6. Leadership and Communication - As goalkeepers often see the entire field, they are expected to lead the defensive unit and communicate effectively with teammates. Goalkeeper Coaches work on communication drills to ensure the goalkeeper can direct the defense with authority. 7. Game Preparation and Analysis - Goalkeeper Coaches prepare goalkeepers for matches by reviewing opponent tendencies and tactics, using video analysis to study previous games, and simulating game situations in training. In all these areas, goalkeeper coaches serve as mentors and support systems, helping goalkeepers reach their potential and thrive in their roles on and off the pitch.

So here’s the thing coaches… You may just be watching them get better at performance. Not actually learning! You know those times...a simple passing activity or a keep-ball...players start slow at first...a few mistakes...a mis-control here and there...but as time passes players start to improve...passes meet their target -with speed! Pop, pop, pop...ball moved fast, quick feet, sharp movements. Players improving...players learning...but wait! Are they? Or are they simply improving at this task in this moment? Are they simply performing? Welcome to the fluency effect. Fluency is the ease with which we process information so we can generate understanding. In a football (or any sports) activity, when players are exposed to the same stimuli over and over they’ll start to recognise patterns, process those patterns more efficiently, and act quicker. So in a keep-ball, players might be improving because they’re starting to recognise patterns in the position they’re in, and they’re starting to benefit from the repeated rhythm the task affords them. So what to do? How to prevent the fluency effect and promote learning (not just performance)? Create ‘desirable difficulties’ (Bjork). Interleave, space and vary. Create consequence, test and reduce feedback. These types of difficulties help players learn more so than perform. They challenge and stretch. They cause interference, meaning players have to really ‘think’ about what they’re doing. To learn more about desirable difficulties, check out my conversation with two of the world’s finest skill acquisition experts in Prof Mark Williams and Prof Nikki Hodges here: https://buff.ly/4chZqXk