Steve Heyder

Director of Coaching | UEFA Licensed (DFB) | Youth Development & Coach Education | Research → Methodology → Training → Game

[Steve Heyder @StevenWHeyder]

Do you train Decision?
What questions did the game ask the player, and what decisions were actually theirs to make?
Constraints should shape the problem, not supply the solution.
If the activity already provides the answer, whose decision are we training?
https://t.co/YntTlh28cH

[Steve Heyder @StevenWHeyder]

@BernatME6 This is the tension.

Protecting depth without removing pressure on the ball is a relationship problem, not just a line-height problem.

The question is whether the block recognizes when pressure is enough to hold the line and when depth has to be protected.

[Steve Heyder @StevenWHeyder]

@PeterPrickett I like the individual problem inside the shared game.

The useful test for me is whether the challenge changes what the player must notice without telling them what to do.

Shape the question, keep the answer theirs.

[Steve Heyder @StevenWHeyder]

@JPSoccerCoach @power_ray @kestrelpsych @jorgecoutoreis @YlmazAHN6 @TFStegmann @OvidiuPopescu7 @TacticaFrade @coach_kevin_m @CCD_Essex @otm_enhancement That relationship with information is what matters. Perception is not something that happens before the action - it helps shape the action.

If training removes the cues that should guide the choice, we may rehearse movement without training the decision.

[Steve Heyder @StevenWHeyder]

@JustcoachMD I like that progression.

Use the funnel to support perception, then remove it and see whether the recognition carries over.

If players still find the gaps and space without the constraint, it has probably done its job.

If not, reintroduce it.

[Steve Heyder @StevenWHeyder]

@Coach_Osku @SundayShare10 @CoachingFamily @SessionShareNet @power_ray @PeterPrickett @CoachRobPorter @205_Academy @JustcoachMD Outcome matters, but it cannot be the only measure.

I want to know what the player perceived, what options were available, and which decision was actually theirs to make. A good decision can fail. A poor one can still produce a goal.

[Steve Heyder @StevenWHeyder]

@Coach_Osku @SundayShare10 @CoachingFamily @SessionShareNet @power_ray @PeterPrickett @CoachRobPorter @205_Academy @JustcoachMD Outcome matters, but it cannot be the only measure. I want to know what the player perceived, what options were available, and which decision was actually theirs to make. A good decision can fail. A poor one can still produce a goal. What is merely rehearsed and what is decision?

[Steve Heyder @StevenWHeyder]

@_ToddBeane Creativity needs problems, not prescribed answers. I ask: what questions did the game ask the player, and what decisions were actually theirs to make? If the answers were already built in, we trained execution, not decision-making. Rehearsal versus discovery.

[Steve Heyder @StevenWHeyder]

@TheS_Resource There’s research behind this. The “online disinhibition effect” shows how reduced social cues lower restraint. One study found lack of eye contact mattered more than anonymity. Other research shows aggressive comments set social norms, while engagement can reinforce outrage.

[Steve Heyder @StevenWHeyder]

@TheS_Resource I have take the UEFA C and feel it would be highly valuable. However I dont feel it should be a minimum. I do feel that the USSF and their grassroots system would be a good idea for UEFA. A true "minimum" that goes over the game, coaching, and working with youth would be valuable

[Steve Heyder @StevenWHeyder]

@pipedreams88 @TheS_Resource Context matters, but SHAPE America advises against using physical activity as punishment, including laps for disruptive behavior.

Removing a player or resetting the group may be necessary. I’d question whether making them run is what creates the reset.

[Steve Heyder @StevenWHeyder]

@TheS_Resource The useful distinction may be “no meaningless laps,” not “no running.” A 7-study youth-soccer meta-analysis found small-sided games and conventional endurance work produced similar aerobic gains. Specific sprint work still has a place. Generic laps are a different question.

[Steve Heyder @StevenWHeyder]

We spend a lot of time coaching the Player & Ball relationship. But every action is also shaped by the Player-Teammate, Player-Opponent, and Player-Environment relationships.

Which of those four do you think we under coach the most?

Game of Relationships
https://t.co/Ucd2VYuVFy

[Steve Heyder @StevenWHeyder]

After some time away, I’ve been working with players and coaches across clubs, ages, and genders, testing what holds up on the field.

Some ideas held up. Some changed. Some didn’t.

I’ll be sharing more as I keep coaching, educating, and researching.

[Steve Heyder @StevenWHeyder]

@baliji901 @SpangledBallers It’s green… said every Real Madrid fan with their painted pitch 🤣

[Steve Heyder @StevenWHeyder]

@MattB61874 @_ToddBeane Oh sorry, and some names of La Masia: Lamine Yamal, Gavi, Pau Cubarsi, Fermin López, Alejandro Balde, Marc Casagó, Marc Bernal.
Perhaps too contemporary.
Messi, Xavi, Inieata, Busquets, Piqué, Pedro Rodriguez, Victor Valdéz, Carles Puyol.
Not a bad system, yes?

[Steve Heyder @StevenWHeyder]

@MattB61874 @_ToddBeane Odd you would mention Messi here who graduated from La Masia. Of which Cruyff is the most influential figure in shaping La Masia’s programming. Of which Beane is a direct student and practitioner (and family) of Cruyff.

[Steve Heyder @StevenWHeyder]

Camp in the USA.
Prior to start, open play.
Kids on their own line up and wait to shoot.
Goals, cones, ball, bibs…

Honest question:
Why do they just line up when on their own?