DEVELOPING TALENTED PLAYERS As coaches and parents, we would all love our child to become the next top England player, to have a career as a professional footballer and no doubt when they start playing, most children have that same dream! 

Sometimes adults build the pressure on young players much too soon without understanding the environment that is needed to foster talent. The following factors are the research, principles and tools upon which high quality talent development is built.

A coach that is totally focused on talent development puts the player first; their needs are paramount. Too many competition structures, training programmes, coaching methods and practice schedules have BEING ‘PLAYER CENTRED’ been set to suit those who administer and run them rather than those who participate. For talent to be truly nurtured these systems require review, players needs assessed and changes made to ensure that every player has the best network of people supporting them as they attempt to achieve their potential.

Developing talent should be about developing the whole player not just their skills and techniques. Using the ‘C’ system can help coaches, parents and organisers to keep their eyes on the progress of all aspects of their development. Core aspects of the ‘C’ system include:

COMPETENCE Developing the players’ abilities in all aspects of their sport.

CONFIDENCE Sport develops confidence if delivered well. A confi dent player performs better so this is an area that should always be referred to when developing young players.

CREATIVITY The players should be in charge of their own development and should be allowed to come up with their own solutions. Children have been shown to be more creative than adults but often their creativity is stifl ed through well meaning adults wanting to show them the ‘proper’ way.

USING ‘THE ‘C’ SYSTEM’ TO DEVELOP THE WHOLE CHILD CONNECTION AND CARING Players should be encouraged to be competitive but they should also be taught to look after each other. Getting players to be in touch with one another needs helps to develop teamwork and leadership skills.

CHARACTER Sport can develop a player’s character and teach them valuable life lessons that will be important to their future development.