As football season begins in earnest we will once again be inundated by fans and reporters trying to show their expertise by placing the blame for losses or poor play on the coach. In some cases the players are blamed. However, in this case criticism may come from the general managers rather than from the fans or it can be a combination of both.
Regardless of who is at fault, no one looks at how the players can be made to perform more effectively. Somehow it is taken for granted that the players are already at the height of their abilities and that no further improvement is possible. Expressing the idea that you can improve a player’s performance will earn you the title of quack.
Very often coaches and teams state that their losses or poor play will soon pass. They reinforce their hopes by stating that the present situation is only temporary and that it will soon change. In other words, they believe that with more practice and greater reinforcement of the ”basics” the players will begin to play up to their potential. What they never say is what their potential really is. They just hope that the player will begin to play better sooner rather than later.
What you never see is the application of a little science to break out of the problems that they are having. And no, I have not lost my mind. I say this with full knowledge of what it takes to do this and what can be done to improve or correct player performance. This includes the use of visual and qualitative biomechanical analyses to determine exactly what the player is doing technique wise. The analyses most often also determine what physical abilities may be lacking.
Simple corrections can then be used that can change the player’s performance greatly. Understand that professional players are high-level athletes who have developed either more effective technique and/or higher levels of physical abilities specific to the technique. They typically do not require any great changes; most of them are minor. However, these small problems cannot be seen by eye, which is what coaches presently try to do.
If the coaches used biomechanical analyses, determination of problems would be simple, if they also knew technique well. However, most coaches are not educated in sports skills technique. Because of this, such methods have not been undertaken. But there are specialists that can be brought in.
It may be some time before we see this happen because the topic of player development is usually hushed up and not discussed. It also appears to be taboo with sports reporters. But when coaches and teams can begin to think outside the box and use basic science they will be able to improve the talent that already exists on the team. They would not have to go out and buy new players. As we have seen for many years, this method is, at best, still a crapshoot. This is why we read the same stories every year when a team is doing poorly. They continue doing the same thing hoping for different results.
The only bright side to this situation is that it is great for barroom discussion and argument. Who should have played, who should not have played, what the coach should have done, what he should not have done, what the players should have done or not done keep fueling the arguments ad infinitum.