Performance Model

For any development program it’s important to have a clear and consistent understanding on what constitutes successful outputs and outcomes. Within Our Football, we call this the Performance Model, which then acts as a guide to all other system components.

Regardless of age or stage, the purpose of Our Football is to support the development of players who are:

Creative and Bold – What will we see?

• Players who are risk takers* on the field and play with imagination, belief and courage
• Players who can execute highly adaptable skills and problem solve under pressure
• Players who are self organising – Players that transfer best practice based on tactical and experiential knowledge and can adapt
• within the match in order to perform
• Players are aware of standards and boundaries, within which they feel free to express themselves
• Players who take personal responsibility for their performances, and always try to identify what they can do to improve (rather than blame external factors)

* By ‘risk takers’ we are referring to players who are prepared to step outside their comfort zones and challenge themselves to find new solutions

Disciplined and Resilient - What will we see?

• Players who are ‘Fast & Robust’ – they move well with speed, are consistently available, and motivated for long-term training
• Players who display a growth mindset to deal with and learn from difficulty, disappointments, adversity or setbacks
• Players who are emotionally stable
• Players who commit to the lifestyle of a world-class athlete

Respectful and Honest - What will we see?

• Players with an ability to build and sustain meaningful and positive relationships
• Players who display empathy, and a sense of ‘citizenship’
• Players who are authentic – genuine, self-aware and transparent

Passion with Integrity - What will we see?

• Players with a desire to win, in the right way
• Players who bring energy to achieving individual and team goals
• Players who are strong, reliable and tenacious
• Players who display a sense of positive self-worth

Our Football environment

‍

For many generations, coaching within football has separated out what we see or ‘reading the game’ (perception) from technique (action) and the ever-changing and variable context in which it occurs (the game).

However, in highly interactive, invasion games like football, research is now unequivocal in supporting a learning environment where perception and action are coupled. ‘Our Football Environment’ is offered as a guide to help coaches design effective practices within their learning environment

Learning Environment

• FUN!
• Players feel safe, both physically and emotionally to experiment and explore their talent
• Players feel connected and a sense of belonging
• Players trust their teammates, coaches, and the club
• Players feel challenged / appropriately stretched
• Players are aware of the standards and boundaries within which they feel free to express themselves

Practice Design

• FUN / Engaging!
• Constant decision making
• Looks/Feels something like the game (representative design)
• Repetition without repetition – repeated opportunities to practice solving the problem, not practising the solution over and over
• Stretch/Challenge – appropriate level of challenge & coach support based on the individual’s needs at the time
  ( Task simplification preferred over task decomposition )