3. TRAIN TO TRAIN
THE PLAYER - FOCUSES
Players in this category are two-fold; age-grade players (15-17 approx) & adult
‘junior’ players. Age-grade players have the capacity to focus and therefore can
increase their competencies radically with the correct attention & application.
Greater self-awareness and responsibility are characteristics of players at
this stage, which if nurtured will form the foundations for future realization
and success. Players are highly competitive and foster a greater
awareness of team spirit and common goals and values.
Adult players (junior) have similar technical and tactical
competencies due to limited development, but have
greater physical, mental and lifestyle capacities due to
greater maturation and experience/achievement.
THE COACH - CHALLENGES
Given the greater capacities of players, the requirement
for the coach is to go beyond teaching and challenge
players to become more proficient and achieve higher
standards of performance. Therefore the coach extracts a
higher level of performance through appropriate challenges
and application of pressure.
THE GAME - PERFORMANCE
Even though players are now highly competitive and play in league & cup
competitions the essence at this stage is precise performance of the individual,
units and team in the pursuit of achieving goals. The game is clearly structured
and cohesive, with a greater emphasis on the role of the units. However, to
maximise development, the focus should be on performance in the pursuit of
desired outcomes and results.
