Developing game memory.

How often do you work on a skill or tactic and then quiz your players on the major points--and get a zero response?

Or having just played a game, you excitedly commend your team for a brilliant play that happened minutes before, and get back a glazed look. Finally, the voice from the wilderness:

"What play, Coach?"

Prior to coaching at youth level, I always believed that amnesia sneaked into our lives only after we reached the ripe old age of three score and ten.

My research of the past 20 years has totally destroyed this myth. Nobody is waiting until 70 to be victimized by amnesia. Thousands of teenagers are living proof of this. Their detached memories remind us of the quote: "The advantages of a bad memory is that one enjoys making the same mistake over and over again!"

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

No memory means no retention of knowledge, and this is often the plight for many of the players and coaches involved with young players in their late teens, particularly true when games begin piling up, as in tournaments.

These events have little relationship with the players' development or welfare. At least a generation has been fed on a fast food diet of competitive obesity. We have taught them to compete, but to teach them to learn is another matter.

At the end of a game, just watch the blur of bodies and listen to the choruses of "Last one to the Pizza Hut pays!" It's as though the whole game experience has been wiped out and it's time to sprint to the next port of call.

Why are we so poor at developing "game memory?" Why are we racing to nowhere? Rationale: We have done it, let's move on, and don't look back! Don't stop to reflect. That takes time, space, and caring to learn.

The referee's whistle signals not just the end of the game, but the beginning of the sprint to the mall and food.

How can we stop, enjoy the meal and still digest the last game? Let's look at some of the strategies that can help everyone retain ideas and, more importantly, see them come alive in future games:

POST GAME/PRACTICE

This depends upon circumstances such as weather and distractions from crowds, games, and parents.

If the scene is to your liking, then go for it. Focus on just two or three major points and highlight them with examples. The more visual, the better. Then ask for feedback from the team, with the captains having first say. Remember the discipline to stay focused; otherwise, the point may be lost.

Also "live" in the present and don't rehash errors, as emotions can ruin positive ideas. When the "blame-game" takes over, you can forget about learning. You can bet that the players are closing down and you are now finding ways of destroying the confidence of your players and losing the game.

At the end of a practice, it's good to ask the players the key things that they had just learned. If they can remember almost nothing, you will have to find another way to get the message across.

Coaches will often talk too much and lose the impact in a tidal wave of words. The most effective messages tend to be 80% more visual and to the point. Verbal-only coaching points rarely do the job.

How many times have you heard this statement, "I've told you over a 1000 times ..." The real message: The coach obviously needs to rethink his strategy.

Captains are a vital force in relaying the message and seeing that it is turned into a reality. They are special players and care has to be taken in selecting them. They should have the first say in team discussions.

Another approach is to tie the last practice in with a discussion of greatest team needs. If your opponents are good at a certain tactic, try it. What's wrong with learning from your opponent?

1. Think SUV: If the weather is poor, then get together with your captains and discuss the game and highlight some key points, both pluses and minuses. You might phone the captains later or encourage them to get back to you with any other suggestions.

2. Season's journal: Encourage your players to keep a journal for the season. Its amazing how much more they can learn and how much they can forget in a week. A journal can also help keep ideas alive a long time. The players that care will collect not only more knowledge, but memories that can last a lifetime. Money cannot buy this wealth of knowledge.

Some top players, such as an English striker in the 1990's named Tony Cottee, keep a journal of all their goals. Cottee, in addition to his 300 goals, included his own diagrams plus notes on other strikers. This form of soccer homework was a form of mental rehearsal and it obviously improved his scoring. This constant tapping into his memory bank was undoubtedly a major source of these goals.

3. Video / DVD / CD Roms: These technologies must become part of your armory in showing ideas to youngsters. It can be their main source of ideas based on the medium they view the most--television.

With some expertise coaches can create their own learning DVD and use the ideas gleaned from top games.

Educated parents can shoot a wide-angle file, while viewing the general play and learn a lot. A parent who dotes on his child isn't going to be much of an asset to his team.

4. Post-Game Memory Sheet: These can be handed out at the first practice after the game. Keep the points short, sharp and to the point. No long phrases or paragraphs -- players don't think in those terms.

Assume that most players have rotten memories. Good coaches, like good comedians, know their audience. They warm them up with an easy story line and then hit with a sharp punch line.

5. Stat check: Top clubs use companies like Amisco to film a game with a dozen or more digital cameras. They will record every movement of every player and the officials.

Good passes, bad passes, tackles won, tackles lost, fitness levels, etc. Even at youth levels, a modified version can be applied. The best way is to video a game, then break it all down into various aspects of play.

Game films offer a good way to channel the parents' energies into positive ends--much more to be desired than their traditional ranting on the sidelines.

These are just a few of the ways to inspire players to improve their individual and team skills. Athletes must play an integral role in the learning process. Too often the coach is expected to be all-knowing, all-seeing, and sometimes all-at-sea when it comes to game memory.

If the coach forgets often enough, the whole team's memory bank could go AWOL. No memory equals no knowledge.

To understand the importance of simplicity in coaching we would like to pass on an anecdote from a leading European coaching clinic for professional players.

Prior to a scrimmage, a sports psychologist gave every player a short phrase or word to remember. At the end of the match, he asked each player for his word. Hardly anyone could remember it.

The point being made was that players clear out all peripheral information and totally focus on the task at hand. That's why it's important to keep the message short and to the point. Remember the more visual and the less verbal the coach is, the more likely he is to have the idea come alive.

Let me finish by quoting one of the USA's greatest coaches, Abe Lincoln.

Asked to define his learning philosophy, he answered: "Good education is based on three things: observation, reflection and experimentation."

The reflection part is often left off the educational platter for young athletes.

Make next season your finest learning season ever. All that positive energy that has been untapped for years is about to rise to the surface.

By Graham Ramsay, Executive Director

The Soccer School, Rockville, MD

If you have any questions regarding this or any other article from Graham Ramsay, please email him at [e-mail] or visit his Web site: www.ramsaysoccer.com