"Mental concentration. In this area the players should be required to concentrate upon
some aspect of football. An ideal way to do this is to condition a small-sided game.
It is, however, important that the players should be required to concentrate upon
a football activity rather than some other activity." 9
Charles Hughes

With the publication of Tactics and Teamwork in 1973, Charles Hughes laid out in a concise fashion what many in the football community already took for granted. That the game is all about scoring, or stopping goals, and that understanding how they are scored is a great benefit to coaches and players alike. The book developed it's basic ideas from the analysis of why goals are scored. The subject of mental concentration, particularly the breakdown of it, was seen as a contributing factor, "Football, like most games, is a game of mistakes and a primary cause of mistakes is lack of concentration."9 While the book was written about and for senior players there are some valuable insights into the youth game.

Defining Concentration In Youth Players

Concentration can be defined as directing one's entire attention to something in particular. In soccer this will be the specific task at the moment. Concentration is measured by how long the individual can maintain this attention and by how resilient he or she is against negative attention breaking/wearing forces or situations. When considering youth players the problems that they experience in directing and maintaining attention are obvious. As children age, their length of concentration increases and they are able to deal with more, and greater, distractions.

Concentration Breaking/Wearing Forces And Moments

When the game stops. After a goal, for an infraction or when the ball goes out of play. The game needs to be restarted and this restart means an end, albeit temporarily, to the game. The natural inclination is a mental, and possibly physical, let down. Concentration relaxes and it will need to be refocused. In children this can take quite awhile.

When the ball changes hands. Tackles or interceptions, which is different then when the game stops. When the ball changes hands the level of concentration might not change because the game doesn't "stop," there is no break in the mental intensity. However, the focus of concentration changes 180 degrees. Attackers become defenders and defenders become attackers. Transition between the roles can be a very confusing and fatiguing thing.

Fatigue. Concentration causes fatigue and fatigue breaks down concentration.

"There is no doubt that mental concentration is tiring. Anyone who has attended a meeting will appreciate the fact. The process of simply sitting around a table for a couple of hours mainly concentrating upon what other people are saying is tiring. Driving a car for hours is tiring. But these efforts are nothing by comparison with the footballer who constantly is required to assess each situation always trying to think ahead and outwit his opponent...

Of course, we all know that it is more difficult to concentrate when we are tired. The efficiency of a footballer in a team performance depends very largely on his concentrating on the task he has to perform... If one player fails the whole team is likely to fail."9

A characteristic of young children is that they play at 110% until they crash. Physical and mental fatigue often meet at the same time and can produce a complete shut down of activity and thought. Brain and body lock followed by a short rest and a repeat. Learning how to pace yourself comes with time and experience.

When they become preoccupied with something outside of the task. Parents, school, the referee, the coach, the weather, an injury, anxiety or fear, almost anything can distract a child from the task at hand. Learning how to deal with "life while your on the job" is a never ending job in itself. Teaching children how to deal with or ignore extraneous problems can be one of the benefits of youth sports and one of the biggest problems facing youth coaches.

When the attacker in a 1v1 passes the ball the defender will relax. For the youth defender this moment is a release of tension. Up until that point they have been preoccupied by the ball and their immediate opponent. Once the ball has been passed their responsibility has ended so they naturally let down. This is one reason why wall passes can be so effective. The attacker giving the pass is mentally engaged, while the defender is momentarily not.

Developing Concentration

Small sided games are the most efficient and effective way to train players concentration. Small sided games duplicate the mental aspects (i.e. competition, cooperation, transition) of soccer that drills and exercises (soccer strange activities) don't. In order to get the most out of them it's important to follow the principles of overload, or adjusting the resistance. They require players to pay attention and focus situation at hand. They can provide the level of intensity necessary to focus the mind and hold attention.

Concentration can be seen as an important component of the players mentality. Coaching the players mentality is every bit as important as coaching their TIC or fitness. In fact, if you buy into the maxim "Work smarter, not harder" it might be the most important thing to coach. After all, when players lose their concentration no amount of skill or talent can make up for it. "More than ever the focus should be placed in the mental training in the learning process from a young age on." Rinus Michels 6

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