Footballers make around 1000 decisions during every game of football. Most of us make fewer decisions than this during a day at work so it is important that we provide some governing principles to help our players choose the best options as many times as possible. It is crucial that we don’t make these decisions for them. The coaches role is to develop their players’ skill – this means making the right choice as much as performing a technique correctly. Giving players opportunities to make decisions (even bad decisions) is as important as giving them time with the ball.
Reward vs. Risk
The first governing principle players should consider is “Reward vs. Risk”.
Is the benefit if I beat this man/get this shot on target/thread this through-ball to my teammate greater than the cost if I get tackled/put the ball out for a goal kick/give the ball to the opposition?
In practice the answers will depend on ‘When’ in the game and ‘Where’ on the pitch the question is asked.
Generally running with the ball is the best option when there are no teammates in better goal-scoring positions to pass to and there are no defenders in front of the run or when beating one defender will lead directly to a goal-scoring opportunity.
The risk factor is the same for most techniques where risk (of an opponent creating a chance) is higher in our own defensive third of the pitch and gets lower as we move up the pitch. Inversely the potential reward (of a chance on goal) is increasingly likely, and therefore dribbling is a better option, the closer to the opponent’s goal we get.
Likelihood Of Success
The second principle to consider is “Likelihood of Success”.
Risk vs. Reward is a bit like the Government; it needs plenty of checks and balances to prevent it overreaching its power. The biggest balance against a “Reward vs. Risk” dictatorship is the “Likelihood of Success”.
A 70-yard shot on goal has little risk and, if it is successful, the ultimate reward – a goal.
Obviously it isn’t as simple as that though – the bit in italics is important!
A shot from so far out will practically never lead to a goal. It isn’t worth giving our opponents the ball ninety-nine times for the 1-in-100 (if that!) that might go in, so we wouldn’t suggest peppering the goal with speculative efforts.
The likelihood of running at and beating an opponent has to be weighed against the likelihood of being tackled – and then matched with the risks or rewards.
Between similar players a straight run with the ball will usually be successful less than half the time, and the likelihood of players passing and moving around an opponent are much better. Therefore a pass, if it is available, is a better choice.
However if you have particularly strong dribblers, have given your players techniques to beat defenders, or are against weak opponents, you might see that good runs are beating a defender almost every time.
This shifts the balance and so your players’ best choice might be to dribble more often.
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