I always get to the point, expressing my unbiased views on accepted mainstream coaching education perspectives. Today I will quickly address the holy grail of coaching education called the “Questioning Method”. Let’s start at the foundation, words have severe limitations in their ability to communicate impactful information in order to drive behavior, organization, and decision-making. Ask a bunch of 8 years old’s what do you do when your team wins the ball? They all yell – “spread-out”, but they don’t do it, and they have no idea how to do it. Questioning means absolutely nothing in terms of changing behavior. Let me say this again, it means zero. You know what does mean something, using constraints to force the players to get into a good attacking organization shape. The constraint does not use some abstract questioning method, it is not based on words that kids tune out after 5 seconds, the constraint simply forces the players to open up in possession. The constraint forces the players to get into a good attacking shape, the players perception of the game changes, visual search patterns are altered, affordances are different, as new invitations for actions appear. There are no questioning methods that can accomplish the experience of playing in constraint-based game-representative environments.
Here is a quote by Clint Dempsey that puts into context how a player experiences a moment of the game in a real-team feedback loop – as he is speaking about that small moment it is clear how many words he needs to use to try and communicate a split second moment on the field. Verbal communication is simply not designed for teaching a complex game like soccer – it must be lived by the player for real learning to occur –
“If you look at the first one, it was a bit of a slow [pass], so I’m having to go farther to the near post, and then you don’t have as much of an angle at the goal, what you’re trying to do is hit it hard and low….. On the second one, there wasn’t really an option to go to the right because there was a defender there. So then you have two choices, you can either strike the ball with the inside of your foot and try to place it at the near post in the corner. You can try to hit it with your toes down. Or, you can try to fake the shot and push it wide so you can get more of an angle…”
Another example of the severe limitations of verbal instruction. It is very important to understand, that verbal directions or instructions from a coach does not always transfer well when learning soccer movements.
Andy Driska Ph. D wrote, “Instructions don’t present a strong enough sensory stimulus to develop an ideal movement pattern. Human movement is largely controlled through perceptual-motor systems that operate somewhat independently from cognitive systems that handle instruction. Giving instructions often puts you into the trap of assuming there is one correct way of performing a skill. In reality, there are a range of acceptable ways to perform a skill.”
The message is a powerful one, players need to be put in an environment where they can explore ways to develop unique skills.
If you want to increase soccer intelligence in your players, focus on players practicing in game-representative environments that can be constrained to change perception, which changes search, and alters affordances and actions. I personally, would go further away from a questioning method, and instead start working on a meaningful methodology that is based upon constraints in game-representative environments, where players do not get joy-sticked through a training session by their coach. The coaching world often gets fooled that the coach must be the focus of the practice, when on the contrary the best coaches create great environments, as the players are the focus. However, the skill comes in creating those environments. When is the last time I saw a full club constraint-based methodology that went in progression from U8 to U19? I am talking a very well thought-out methodology with maximum decisions on the ball, coupling physical actions to real-information? My answer is never. Instead, we speak about asking better questions in our coaching courses – that’s the easy way out in my opinion.