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Treating Equally vs. Treating Fairly
Hello and a warm welcome to our latest newsletter! This edition highlights the following topics:
⚽Handling Different Player Types
🆕2 New Finishing Drills for You!
📽️Recommendation to Watch Over the Weekend
⚽Handling Different Player Types
Leading a team as a coach always presents the challenge of managing a variety of different personalities, each requiring individual attention.
Sports Broadcaster, Ted Robinson - Great coaches don't necessarily adhere to the principle of treating everyone the same. In my opinion, this general notion is sometimes misapplied in sports. It's not always appropriate to treat everyone equally. Instead, the focus should be on treating everyone fairly and listening to them. Everyone is given the opportunity to express their thoughts, and it's up to you to accept or dismiss them, but it's important that everyone has a voice. I've seen many successful coaches who made sure not to treat everyone the same but to treat everyone fairly, and I believe there's a huge distinction between these approaches.
Especially crucial is maintaining close contact with the team's leaders, who often play a significant role in fostering cohesion within the group. Some players stand out due to their performance and are highly esteemed by their teammates for their exceptional abilities. Others distinguish themselves through their exceptional personalities, often taking the lead and significantly contributing to the team spirit.
Frequently, these leaders embody both qualities. These players hold immense importance. Sometimes, the situation demands that these players take responsibility, while the coach intentionally steps back to find the best solution or initiate an appropriate process.
Jose Mourinho - When you have such leaders, you become more of a coach. You focus more on the coaching side. I had one at Porto - Jorge Costa. One day, we were losing a game against a team called Belenenses; we were 2-0 down at halftime. I was heading to the dressing room, and of course, they could all see that I was fuming. As I was going to the dressing room, Jorge Costa told me, 'Please wait outside for two minutes.' He went inside, closed the door, and did the tough part for me. So he opened the door then and said to me, 'Coach us.' Because he did everything in the dressing room that I would do. We won 3-2. He was a center-back who had never scored goals in his life - he scored two.
Special attention is given to handling the creative players, often referred to as difference-makers. They possess exceptional footballing skills but require particular treatment. These players do not thrive under constraints and rigid instructions; instead, they seek footballing freedom and guidance on how to further enhance their potential.
Peter Schmeichel on the Relationship between Ferguson and Eric Cantona - He encouraged the individuality in Eric and made no excuses to the rest of the squad about treating him differently. However, all the stories about Eric getting leeway when it came to things like dress code — they are true, but the significance gets overblown. Because Fergie treated every player differently to an extent. Everyone was managed and dealt with according to their personality.
Team players, on the other hand, may not require special treatment, but it's important for a coach to recognize their significance within the team dynamics and communicate their value accordingly. Acknowledgment leads to satisfaction, fostering improved performance.
The challenge for coaches lies in recognizing the strengths of each player type and integrating them into a cohesive and functional unit:
Fostering Individuality: By highlighting and utilizing each player's individual strengths, coaches can maximize their potential.
Building Team Chemistry: The key is to unite various characters into a homogeneous group where everyone understands and accepts their role.
Motivation and Communication: Communication among players and between players and coaches is crucial to strengthen team spirit and create a harmonious atmosphere.
Finding the right balance among these player types is the key to a successful team. A well-led team where each player can contribute their strengths is on the path to success.
How do you experience the dynamics among these player types in your teams? What strategies do you employ to bring out the best in each group of players?
🆕2 New Finishing Drills for You!
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📽️Recommendation to Watch Over the Weekend
Football and chess, though seemingly different at first glance, reveal surprising parallels upon closer inspection. Despite the apparent differences in their formats and rules, these games share fundamentally similar concepts that form the key to their success and appeal. The connection between football, a dynamic team sport, and chess, a strategic individual game, runs deeper than expected, reflecting in their aspects of strategy, tactics, and decision-making.
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