Tom Harris

Road trip continues north!

Let go, Tim! 👏

About 9 yrs ago, we proposed a new ‘integrated’ approach that contextualised match physical performance by synchronising the physical data (‘what’) with the tactical purpose (‘why’). See thread below...

Mourinho speaking about reductionism in session design. “If a coach wants to put on a session like Guardiola he will go to YouTube and he’ll find something” “Another thing is being able to produce your own knowledge. It’s laziness” He describes copy & paste culture flawlessly

𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐅𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐝: 1. 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 - he was open-minded to speak with me and utilise me as the consultant sport psychologist to the club. Yet he checked and challenged most of what I said. It became obvious that as I spoke he was sense-making my ideas to judge and make a decision whether to use my suggestions. This is great - you don’t want a coach to accept everything…yet you do want a coach to listen, ask questions, and make appropriate judgements. You want them open and closed! 2. 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜 + 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 - he had a sense of positivity about him without engaging in ‘toxic positivity’. He certainly gave the impression that he was confident in his approach, yet this confidence didn’t come across as mindless. He worked incredibly hard and this work ethic combined with his presence (built from his confidence) certainly rubbed off on his players. Work ethic + presence! 3. 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 - he wanted his coaches to up-skill themselves in delivering on my suggestions (the ones he wanted to utilise). Coaches were present in my small group meetings and he wanted them to reinforce the points I made. For him, his coaches (and all the staff) were delivering the psychology. (Note: coaches aren’t psychologists…but they do do psychology in their role at all times!) 4. 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 - he was certainly the ‘boss’ and he certainly laid down the game plans. But he appreciated the importance of leadership and teamwork…thus gave players the opportunity to practice these in training. Team huddles during and in-between activities game players the opportunity to solve problems together, guide, give advice, share, and motivate each other. A keen combination of coach-driven and player-centered felt like the approach during his reign at Feyenoord. Psycho-social skills are important to Arne. 5. 𝐓𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 - psychology IS tactics and tactics ARE psychology. Intuitively Arne knows this and so the thoroughness in his tactical approach is shown through the numerous meetings he had with players (on a group and individual level). Certainty drives High Performance Mindset and evades Low Performance Mindset. And that is very much a mantra we had at Feyenoord. Everything we do works towards individual and team High Performance Mindsets. His tactical thoroughness drove player and team certainty which drove High Performance Mindsets. (Note: this is my lens of the world from my experiences at Feyenoord for two seasons. Much of what I did is confidential…but above offers a positive and important view of a very good coach)

The Starting XI for our Home Opener.