A perfect example of this tension can be seen in the debate among football coaches about the efficacy of traditional drills versus the modern focus on small-sided games. Advocates of the latter often argue that all football drills are outdated and ineffective. They claim that players can learn everything they need through real-game scenarios, where decisions must be made under pressure. While this perspective has its merits, dismissing all drills overlooks the potential benefits of a middle ground, where both approaches can coexist and contribute to a player’s development.

Take, for instance, the most basic form of a football drill: a single player kicking a ball against a wall. This simple exercise teaches crucial skills—technique, ball control, touch, and eye-foot coordination. There’s no denying the benefits of such repetition, whether it’s juggling a ball, chipping it into a bin, or navigating through cones. These foundational activities are often labeled as “boring” or “not enjoyable,” especially when framed as coach-guided practice focused solely on weaknesses. Yet, the definition of what is “fun” varies from participant to participant. If players are engaged and thinking about what they are doing—if they are solving problems in their practice—then these repetitive actions can be rewarding.

Critics of traditional drills often advocate for small-sided games as the ultimate teaching tool. Yes, these games can effectively force players to make decisions in real time, but this argument often overlooks the context of the player. Many advocates focus their teaching on players who are already competent in the basic skills of receiving and passing the ball. They often ignore beginners—whether they are children or adults—who still need to build foundational skills through focused, repetitive practice. For these players, drills provide the necessary repetition and structure to develop their understanding and execution of essential techniques.

Even at the highest levels of football, you can find players who struggle with basic skills. Many professional athletes can only receive the ball with their dominant foot, which limits their effectiveness in various game situations. Drills can help players develop their weaker foot, improve their receiving skills, and learn how to position themselves appropriately—all without the pressure of an active game. These micro-lessons are crucial for developing a player’s overall competence and adaptability.

As Mark White emphasizes in his interviews, football is filled with micro-lessons that build upon one another. It starts with mastering basic skills like ball control and passing. From this foundation, players can begin to learn how to pass and move under pressure, all while making decisions in real-time. The problem arises when the discourse around coaching becomes overly dogmatic, with certain coaching philosophies imposed without consideration for the individual needs of players. This trend often involves taking quotes or ideas out of context to support a narrative, typically one that serves a specific agenda or sells a product.

The idea that football drills are entirely obsolete is a dangerous oversimplification. While no one advocates for outdated practices—like 20 players standing in a line kicking the ball to a lone player at the other end—there are countless ways to design drills that teach real, game-relevant movements while focusing on the fundamentals of biomechanics and muscle memory. Coaches should remain open-minded, finding what works best for each individual player in the moment.

In conclusion, the debate between drills and small-sided games should not be framed as an either/or proposition. Both approaches offer significant value depending on the player’s level and the skills being taught. The real problem lies in the stubbornness of individuals who cling too tightly to their opinions, ignoring the rich middle ground where both traditional drills and game-like scenarios can coexist and complement one another. Only by embracing this balance can we foster a more effective and holistic approach to developing well-rounded football players.

If you want to explore this further, I recommend the discussion on Dan Abrahams podcast “The Sport Psych Show” here:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/308-johnny-gorman-reflections-on-being-released/id1434313037?i=1000678115259

** Language warning**  (If you’re easily offended by swear words, maybe don’t watch!)

Finding further information to support the fact that we play football with our brain first, another find from the YouTube library.

Berlin, October 2015.

Sean Dyche on managing egos & why basic manners mean everything | High Performance Podcast

Success is the ongoing pursuit of meaningful, well-defined goals. According to Locke’s Goal-Setting Theory, setting clear, specific, and challenging goals greatly increases motivation and performance. So, how do we effectively set and achieve our goals? Start by working backwards.

1. Define Your Ultimate Goal: Begin with your overall aim—whether it’s winning a football match or mastering a skill. In football, the ultimate goal is simple: score more than your opponent. But to do that, you need a plan. Locke’s theory emphasizes that goals should be specific and challenging but achievable. A vague goal like “play better” won’t help much. Instead, aim for “improve ball control to reduce turnovers.”

2. Break it Down into Smaller Goals: Once you know your ultimate goal, break it down into smaller, more specific goals. This approach aligns with Locke’s theory, which stresses that setting smaller sub-goals helps maintain focus and motivation. For instance, if your ultimate goal is to win the game, smaller objectives might include:

• Learning how to create scoring opportunities
• Perfecting your shooting technique
• Developing strategies to regain possession
• Practicing defensive tactics to stop your opponent

Each smaller goal contributes to the larger goal, giving you clear, actionable steps to follow.

3. Increase Commitment Through Challenge: Locke’s theory highlights that the more challenging the goal, the more effort and commitment it inspires. For example, when you focus on something specific like “improve accuracy in shooting with your weaker foot,” you’re challenging yourself, which increases your investment in reaching that goal. Make sure your goals stretch your abilities without being unrealistic.

4. Use Feedback to Adjust: Another crucial part of Locke’s theory is the importance of feedback. Regularly check your progress on each small goal. Are you mastering your defensive positioning? Are you consistently creating goal-scoring chances? Feedback from a coach or self-assessment helps you adjust and stay on track. Coaches can help you prioritize and refine your goals, making sure you’re always moving toward your larger objective.

5. Write it Down for Clarity: Locke also notes that writing down your goals enhances commitment. When you see your goals on paper, you visualize them and stay focused. This helps to maintain motivation as you work through each stage of the process.

By breaking your ultimate goal into manageable steps and following Locke’s principles of specific, challenging goals with regular feedback, you’re more likely to stay motivated and achieve your desired outcome.

In football and life, success is about clarity, consistency, and progression. Whether you’re on the pitch or pursuing personal growth, setting clear, well-defined goals will keep you moving forward toward your bigger dreams.

Here’s a useful tip: Do not tell unnecessary people your goals, tell only people who will encourage you to commit to the goals you set out to achieve.  (see the video below)

In 2007, I came across a business management book that would change the way I would approach football team management on a personal level.

There are plenty of resources for actual coaching of tactics, principles of play etc, but there is very little out there that will help you to get your players to gel, to get on with one another and find that little bit of magic that turns a group of players into a team.

In LAX airport I picked up a copy of Patrick Lencioni’s “5 Dysfunctions of a Team”, by the time a touched back down in Hong Kong I had a new approach to the teams I was coaching and to be honest, many people that I had any kind of working relationship with.

In his book, Patrick Lencioni outlines 5 dysfunctions and then the methods of righting those wrongs, to create a harmonious, productive team. You can see what these are from the pyramid image above, working from bottom to top.

Let me simply summarize this for you now.

Members of teams with an absence of trust…

• Conceal their weaknesses and mistakes from one another
• Hesitate to ask for help or provide constructive feedback
• Hesitate to offer help outside their own areas of responsibility
• Jump to conclusions about the intentions and aptitudes of others without attempting to clarify them
• Fail to recognize and tap into one another’s skills and experiences
• Waste time and energy managing their behaviors for effect
• Hold grudges
• Dread meetings and find reasons to avoid spending time together

Member of trusting teams …

Admit weaknesses and mistakes
Ask for help
Take risks in offering feedback and assistance
Appreciate and tap into one another’s skills and experiences
Focus time and energy on important issues, not politics
Offer and accept apologies without hesitation
Look forward to meetings and other opportunities to work as a group

Overcoming the absence of trust …

Personal histories exercise
Team effectiveness exercise
Personality and behavioural presence profile
360 degree feed back
Leader role

Teams that fear conflict…

• Have boring meetings
• Create environments where back-channel politics and personal attacks thrive
• Ignore controversial topics that are critical to team success
• Fail to tap into all the opinions and perspectives of team members
• Waste time and energy with posturing and interpersonal risk management

Teams that engage in conflict …

Have lively, interesting meetings
Extract and exploit the ideas of all team members
Solve real problems quickly
Minimize politics
Put critical topics on the table for discussion

Overcoming Fear of Conflict …

Acknowledge that conflict is productive, and that many tend to avoid it.
Team Members must occaisionally assume the role of a “minor of conflict”
(someone who extracts disagreements in the team to sheds light on them.)
Team members need to coach one another not to retreat from healthy debate. Remind them what they are doing is necessary.

A team that fails to commit…

• Creates ambiguity among the team about direction and priorities
• Watches windows of opportunity close due to excessive analysis and unnecessary delay
• Breeds lack of confidence and fear of failure
• Revisits discussions and decisions again and again
• Encourages second-guessing among team members

Teams that are committed …

Have clear directions and priorities
Are aligned around objectives
Develop an ability to learn from mistakes
Seize opportunities before the competition
Moves forward without hesitation
Changes direction without hesitation or guilt

Overcoming lack of commitment …

reformulate action plan
Set and honor deadlines, including interim milestones
Worst case scenario analysis to remove the fear from mistakes
practice quick decision making with limited analysis

A team that avoids accountability…

• Creates resentment among team members who have different standards of performance
• Encourages mediocrity
• Misses deadlines and key deliver-ables
• Places an undue burden on the team leader as the sole source of discipline

Teams that are accountable…

Ensure that poor performers feel pressure to improve
Identify quickly problem by questioning one’s approach without hesitation
Establish respect among the team who are held to the same standard
Avoid excessive bureaucracy around performance management and corrective action

Overcoming avoidance of Accountability …

Publication of goals and standards: no one can ignore them and we know who is responsible for what
Progressive review : team members should comment on their peer performance against objectives and standards
Reward team instead of individuals
Do not relegate accountability to consensus approach: shared team responsibility with individual responsibility

A team that is not focused on results…

• Stagnates/fails to grow
• Rarely defeats competitors
• Loses achievement-oriented employees
• Encourages team members to focus on their own careers and individual goals
• Is easily distracted

A team that focuses on collective results …

retains achievement-orientated employees
minimizes individualistic behaviours
enjoys success and failure acutely
has individuals who subjugate their own goals for the good of the team
avoids distraction

Overcoming inattention to results …

public declaration
the team must make results clear
have results based awards
reward only those behaviors and actions that contribute to those results.
They must be careful not to get sidetracked to tangential action items.

Teamwork ultimately comes down to practicing a small set of principles over a long period of time.  Success is not a matter of mastering subtle, sophisticated theory, but rather of embracing common sense with uncommon levels of discipline and persistence.

The article sparked widespread interest, prompting me to meet the man who has revolutionized the way we think about coaching.

“His drills start off simply but become progressively more complex, challenging players’ focus and keeping their concentration sharp.”

This process of gradual complication is something I’ve always considered central to effective coaching design. When I first began coaching, we used to refer to it simply as “ABC”—the idea that you can’t move on to “C” without mastering “A” and “B.” Once you’ve worked through “A” to “Z,” you can start forming “words” and “sentences,” or in this case, more advanced drills, strategies or small sided games.

The concept is straightforward and logical: as soon as a drill becomes easy, Michel ensures it’s made more challenging, so players need to think and adapt. He achieves this by incorporating the use of both feet, encouraging players to turn in different directions, and even introducing varied football sizes to enhance sensory perception.  It’s like a workout for your brain, disguised as a football drill.

“Sometimes players train barefoot to heighten their sensory awareness. Other times, they engage in simple math games while doing physical conditioning work.”

Bruyninckx also emphasizes teamwork over individualism, and discourages aggression—players don’t wear shin pads, and tackling is considered a last resort for regaining possession.

Recently, he was appointed Academy Director at Standard Liège, opting for this role over interest from Real Madrid to stay closer to his family.

To better understand Michel Bruyninckx’s innovative methods, I encourage you to watch this presentation by him: