Nick Smallridge

🤣😂🤣 That would work!!

I'm very pleased to share the latest work from my PhD. I would like to thank all of my fantastic co-authors as well as the anonymous peer reviewers.

doi.org/10.1016/j.ac...

Trying to imagine what could be played…

“Rats,” not “rat?” 😬😬😬

Haven't said anything about this yet so thought I'd chime in/add a few thoughts to Andrew's nice overview of the Collins et al piece.

“Instead of providing a faithful mirror of an essential and unchanging reality that is blind to interactions, the experimental context with which quantum states are measured alters results. Context leaks into the observed.” -Juarrero 2023

Invasion Sports 🤜💥🤛 Schrödinger’s cat

The high percentage of foreign players in NCAA soccer is commonly framed as a failure of the American youth system. In reality it has much more to do with the nature of the global talent pool in soccer compared to other sports.

From Directives to Discovery

The types of questions we ask can shape how players explore, adapt, and problem-solve.

open.substack.com/pub/nicksmal...

For more on Deliberate Play, check out the following:

open.substack.com/pub/nicksmal...

Play now, thrive later

Deliberate play fosters:
✅ Creativity
✅ Decision-making
✅ Love of the game

Play shouldn’t just be a bonus at the end of a session. It should be the basis of our youth programs.

Are we making time for competitive games that focus on fun and exploration?

Player Centered Approach: Holistic Development

The last of four posts delving into the USSF Player Centered Approach.

open.substack.com/pub/nicksmal...

From Kitchen Scales to People Scales: The Science of Reliable HR Measurement An evidence based discussion on measuring skills and performance

Tremendous article from @thepeoplegeek.bsky.social on Talent Identification.

open.substack.com/pub/davehodg...

With ⚽️ coaching starting back up next week, I have been 💭 about a few things: 👇

Man City looks likely to concede every time Tottenham counters.

Rodri the reason? Seems a bit too simple of an answer, but hard to find any others.

“Our style of play has to be weatherproof.” -Mike Tomlin

Hallmarks of an effective game model? Does it encourage:

🔹Improvisation?
🔹Resiliency?
🔹Adaptability?

Saw a similar post from Mike Kenny on the other site. I think too often we over-focus on what players(and students) ‘don’t do well,’ rather than look for ways to lean into their strengths. What will set us apart most- what we can’t do, or what we can?

Had a go at creating a Starter Pack to follow some of the good accounts from the other place. Will add more over time

go.bsky.app/FHXkaY1

If people are interested in “well how do we motivate staff outside of financial incentives”, then this article might be of interest…..

#hr #motivation #performance

open.substack.com/pub/davehodg...

YouTube video by Nick Smallridge Player Centered Approach: 1) Autonomy

For further explanation, check out the following:

youtu.be/mzHhSbGq3JQ?...

Whether it’s simple choices- How do we advance the ball- could we dribble, pass, make space, lose our opponent? Or even further- What principles are our essentials for our season? - it’s imperative that we encourage autonomy for players for better long term development.

3️⃣ Motivation

When players become accustomed to making choices, their adaptability fosters greater competency and confidence, which further encourages intrinsic motivation, strengthening the basis for long term development.

2️⃣ Adaptability

By continually facing challenges that encourage autonomy, players are more effective at adapting their behaviors, individual and collective, to the continually changing situations they face.

Are we asking what they SHOULD do, or what they COULD do?

1️⃣ Representative Learning Environment

By making practices representative of the In Game Situations players face, their attention is better paired with intentional objectives:

🔹How do we advance the ball?
🔹How do we break lines?
🔹How do we create effective shapes?

What is autonomy?

Autonomy at its base level is choice- making decisions. But decision-making is vital for encouraging players to explore and attune to the opportunities they might not otherwise recognize with too much instruction.

So- how do we encourage it?

Player Centered Approach: Autonomy

With a player centered approach, we maintain four tenets:

1️⃣ Autonomy
2️⃣ Reality-based
3️⃣ Experiential
4️⃣ Holistic

Cheers!

Great question. This is more a principle of coaching the player as opposed to coaching the game, but— “As many as possible, as long as possible, at as high level as possible.”

Exploring this new app. Looking forward to engaging about soccer, coaching, and all things skill acquisition.