Robert Fleming

Husband & Father of 3 amazing kids; AFC B Licence holder; AFC GK B Licence; U20 Coach and Head of Goalkeeping at Fraser Park FC; Business Owner

[Robert Fleming @RobFleming83]

@hicasamadim 72

[Paulo Andrade @pauloanalise10]

How to defend in a 4-4-2 block with Unai Emery’s Aston Villa.🧠🎥

▫️Central tracking
▫️Triangles in wide areas
▫️Short distances between players

Aston Villa are one of the best teams defending in a 4-4-2 block, and they showed exactly why in the Europa League final, keeping a clean sheet⚽️

⚙️@tacticlipfutbol

[Robert Fleming @RobFleming83]

Whilst writing a research paper for Uni around the importance of self refelction I came across this summary of an interview with @benbarts around session design. Well worth 10 min of your day to read https://t.co/TfsYeDrDit

[Robert Fleming @RobFleming83]

Been doing alot of hand /eye and peripheral vision work with my GKs this year and consistantly I am seeing their ability to make these types of saves increase - for all GK coaches out there I would recommend implementing cognative excercises to improve hand/eye at the periphery

[Robert Fleming @RobFleming83]

Really like this advice, especially including within your self reflection "did it flow".

[The Sporting Resource @TheS_Resource]

A young coach once asked Dick Bate who is widely regarded as the finest coach educator England has ever produced, how many times he should intervene during a session? Someone had told him the answer was 20.

Bate's response is one of the most important things any coach at any level will ever hear about coaching ⤵︎

1️⃣ Bate's position was clear, there is no number. Not six, not ten, not twenty, not zero. The young coach wanted a target to hit. Bate told him the target does not exist. Coaches who count their interventions are solving the wrong problem.

2️⃣ His advice was to feel the session, watch the players and ask yourself constantly, how much do they actually understand right now?

If a player is not making sense of what you are working on, go in and help them. If a player is close and you believe they will get there in the next few minutes, leave them alone. That judgement, when to step in and when to stay out, is what Bate called the art of coaching, and he was direct that you will not learn it on a course or find it in a book.

3️⃣ On questioning, Bate was equally direct.

Do not ask questions for the sake of asking them. Know what answer you are guiding the player towards before you open your mouth. When a player gives you a good answer, use one word to go deeper: "and." And what does that do for us? And Why? And what happens next? And how does that affect you? Two or three uses of "and" takes you further inside a player's thinking than a dozen closed questions with nowhere to go.

4️⃣ On self-reflection after a session, Bate recommended asking yourself:

• Did it flow?
• Did I make the points I wanted to at the right time?
• Did I get bogged down or was it smooth?
• Did it lead to what I wanted to move on to?
• Did I come across as certain, or did I say things I was not sure about?
• Did the players interpret what I was working on to their advantage?

5️⃣ On developing this skill over time, Bate's advice was practical. Find a mentor who understands coaching, not just someone with an opinion. Record your sessions and watch yourself back, your body language, your timing, your language. Go and watch great coaches work whenever you can. Go and watch great teams play. Study the techniques of the best players in the world and make sure you understand them, because if you do not understand them you cannot teach them.

[Robert Fleming @RobFleming83]

@Jennnyyyyyy 73

[John Ridley @Ridderz86]

This is class to be fair #safc

[Robert Fleming @RobFleming83]

@TheS_Resource crazy thought bu t's U9 /U10s they should be getting equal game time as it is, so whether they're starting or not then its equal time and then they "start" the following week

[Robert Fleming @RobFleming83]

Even if the main theme of the session is BPO by adding this to constraint to the BP side and forcing creativity the coaching players in BPO have to adjust and respond - as they most likely will have to on game day as an opponent adapts to your pressing

[Robert Fleming @RobFleming83]

Nice constraint to include in an SSG is to not allow the BP side to play back to their GK.

Doesnt really matter what the main topic of the session is, i've found this adds a layer of complexity for players (mine at least) and promotes creativity and excellent off ball movement

[Robert Fleming @RobFleming83]

💯 % not even close.... were also allowed to tackle then too

[FootballFunnys @FootballFunnys]

Mark Goldbridge is 100% right with this 👏

[Robert Fleming @RobFleming83]

@Coach_Temisan The other common filler "talk".... nothing else, no further discussion, just "talk"

[Robert Fleming @RobFleming83]

If you are going to push players up ahead of time on a consistent basis then their training objectives / outcomes (tech, tac and phys) needs to be planned and they must be given the chance consolidate their learnings (even if this seems then move back to do so)

[Robert Fleming @RobFleming83]

I think theres a general fallacy in the game re development and pushing players to older age groups (before they are ready). As being alongside better players makes you better. IMO it can be harmful to development in a number of ways. Below are 6 of the common ones I see: 🧵

[Robert Fleming @RobFleming83]

Playing Time. If the player is not at the level which they have been moved too then this will see a restricted amount of game time which further impacts on their ability to grow as a player and put into practice what they are learning

[Robert Fleming @RobFleming83]

Engraining long-term change. By pushing ahead too early the players struggle to complete the “learning loop” and be able to embed the new learned behaviours /skills /knowledge so they can impact the ongoing behaviours of a player - by far the most negative consequence IMO

[Robert Fleming @RobFleming83]

Exploration of skills. Irrespective of the level you play or your individual ability you still need to have the room to explore different solutions and answers to the problems posed. As demands are higher then the player is consistently not able to trial new solutions