Every coach has probably reached a point where they hit a brick wall with their own team. Rather than making further progress, one is plagued with recurring situations: players are making the same tactical mistakes repeatedly or constantly miss important details in the build-up.

In such situations, troubleshooting is not easy. The way errors are corrected seems clear and precise; likewise, the structure of the training session also makes sense. So, what to do? Dismiss your entire session plan and start from scratch?

That would initially mean a lot of work and should therefore only be considered as an absolute emergency solution. As a first approach, the coach can try to adjust some small factors that may have great impact on the efficiency of an exercise. Like with a chef who works meticulously on their dish, ingredients and measurements are crucial. So how, exactly, do you change these parameters for the entire training session as well as for individual exercises?

"Suddenly, other approaches must be found to successfully complete the exercise."

One possibility is the so-called “dark practice”, which is particularly suitable for the darker seasons or indoor sessions. With this method, the gym light is simply dimmed or the pitch's floodlight is partly turned off. However, training should not take place in complete darkness; after all, players and coaches should still see sufficiently to be able to perform the exercise. The restriction of vision has incredible effects on the players' perception. Suddenly, other approaches must be found to successfully complete the exercise. It quickly shows in altered behavior on the pitch and adjusted tactical solutions. In a game situation where players have always used the long pass, suddenly a short pass combination becomes the more efficient solution. Likewise, a change in communication behavior can be observed – players who previously didn’t pay much attention to their teammates' signals, suddenly notice their distinct acoustic signals. The new situation shifts the player’s focus to new indicators. Hence, “dark practice” is a good approach to promote new solutions and improve team communication.

"The perception and playing style of the players adapt to the new situation."

The need to talk is especially great in youth teams. However, conversations are not always limited to tactical and soccer-specific issues. This can greatly influence the players’ attitude toward the session in general. If the quality of communication between players is not sufficient, or in some cases simply too much, coaches can draw on the method of the so-called “silent practice”. Here, any form of verbal communication is prohibited. Particularly during game forms, a violation of this rule can be handled with the loss of ball possession. Much like in “dark practice”, the players now focus on their other senses. The perception and playing style of the players adapt to the new situation. Especially players who base their game on verbal stimuli, because their eyes are always glued to the ball, must now look up to make the right decisions. The way players catch their teammate’s attention will also change. Suddenly, better and more obvious positions are taken on the field and tactics are transferred onto the pitch more efficiently.

The training methods, “dark practice” and “silent practice” originally come from basketball, which proves once again that it occasionally pays off to look outside the box of one’s own sport. Both methods, allow players to independently come up with solutions and directly experience the possibilities of a certain tactic. This shows, that enabling exploration over simply giving instructions can greatly improve learning in players. Small differences in training methodology can thus help players to better understand tactics and implement them more successfully.

Maybe a “dark” or “silent practice” could improve your player’s learning curve.

Florian from planet.training