Defining Creativity in Soccer: free game time

Is it possible to coach creativity? How do you coach creativity?

Recently I undertook the first part of the FFA (Football Federation of Australia) A licence. One of the issues discussed was the current lack of creativity in youth soccer players in Australia. Coaching, it seems, has focussed heavily on the technical, tactical and physical development of players for the last few years.

Coaching appears heavily structured towards teaching young players to follow the new national curriculum as though it were a recipe or the magic formula to create soccer players. However there seems to have been little done to enhance or encourage creativity, innovation and flair.

In order to discuss this issue, we need to consider two principal concepts - the notion of creativity in soccer as well as the definition of ‘game’ in the general sense.

Why be creative?

By definition, creativity is the ability to use skill and imagination to produce something new or to produce art; the act of doing this. [1] Creativity and originality are more important than technical skill.

The following article titled ‘Creativity in Soccer – it’s child’s play really’ considers this issue:

Let’s start with the basics. There has to be a reason to create something. One reason could simply be that creative acts are expressive. Like many other creative acts, such as dance, music, poetry and art, it is fun. That, in itself, is a great reason to create. However, many creative acts were initiated for different reasons. Perhaps there was a problem that needed solving or a challenge that had not yet been met. Inventions and technological creations are normally a response to a problem or an unmet challenge. As humans, we often wonder how we could do something better, or do something, which has never been done before. Of course, to do this we have to recognise that there is a challenge or a problem in the first place.

We also need to have a desire to solve it. Interestingly, sport (and life) throws examples at us all the time. Most of the time we do not see them, because we have a pre-determined solution ready and waiting. Instead of looking at how things could be done, we choose the easy option and do things the way we’ve always done them (or the way we’ve been taught).

How many ways are there to kick a soccer ball? If you stopped to think about it (and maybe try some out), I bet you’d find dozens. However, we coach players to use a tiny fraction of the possible ways that you could kick a ball. We teach the ‘right’ ways. If they kick a ball any other way than the ‘right’ way, we call it an ‘error’, and work to correct it. I wonder why players these days are less inventive……?

To create, it seems that we also need an opportunity. We need to be able to do new things, try new ways, discover, experiment and make mistakes. We need to explore the possibilities and decide which ones we’ll keep and which ones didn’t work too well for us. Many people have barriers that stop them from taking the opportunities to create. Their lack of confidence, or lack of courage, stop them from taking risks and making mistakes. Often, it seems, the culture and environment that they are in has a profound effect on their ability to dive in, experiment and give it a go.[2]

Is it possible to coach creativity?

I consider it to be possible to coach creativity, however it requires encouragement. I offer the following example of how to realise it in a practical sense.

Often, youth strikers arrive too early to finish a cross because they don’t have the right timing or their body shape, in relation to the ball, is incorrect. However, at these moments they also have plays of ‘last resource’ which they could employ. I have stopped my coaching sessions when these situations have arisen and explained the timing concept, as well as the notion of body shape in relation to the ball position in order to be able to finish that cross in the easiest way. I have also asked for alternative options to enable the player to finish the cross in a scenario where they arrived early and the ball is behind them. Participants in my sessions try hard but they don’t come to me with the answers that I would love to hear from them. What I am wanting them to tell me is ‘coach I could finish that one off with my heel’, or, if the ball is in the air ‘I can try to score with a scissor kick’. Instead of hearing it from them I have to tell them these two options, and they look at me in a surprised manner. A few seconds later I see a smile in their faces. Why? Because as a coach you are challenging and encouraging them to do something that is not in the curriculum or in your session plan. How many of us have allocated a small part of our training sessions to practise scissor kicks just for fun or experimented with allocating double points for ‘creative moves’?

Going back to my earlier comment about the ’last resource’ of finishing with the heel. As a coach it is logical that you may not want your players to miss a goal opportunity because they were trying out a ‘fancy’ kick. But what happens when they become a master of this ‘last resource’ and it becomes the first option that they consider? A clear example of such an approach appears when analysing Messi. Often, in 1 vs 1 situations, he will flip the ball over the goalkeeper to score goals.

How do you coach creativity?

I believe that the use of games as well as free time playing is critical for the development and coaching of creativity.

The definition of ‘game’ is a ‘physical or mental activity or contest that has rules and that people do for pleasure’.[3] Soccer is a game regulated by FIFA rules for competitions or tournaments around the world. However, when there is no tournament or coaching sessions, people play soccer in their free time with their own rules without interference. It is still a soccer game but without instruction, without a structured training model telling them how to play, what they need to do or enforcing the rules.

In Colombia, and likewise in much of South America, children from 6 to 12 years old play ‘street soccer’ for at least one-hour everyday in their free time. This alone equates to seven extra training hours per week for each player in which they play – exploring new things, creating new tricks, making decisions constantly – without interference from any formal soccer schooling or rules. This phenomenon is impossible to match in our training sessions, as there is not be enough time (especially considering you normally have on average two or possibly three training sessions per week for those age groups in Australia or South America).

What really makes the difference between a ‘creative player’ and a technically adequate player stems largely from the sociocultural aspects associated with soccer, that is, street soccer. Top creative players come from a background full of ‘free time’ soccer games without external interference from coaches, referees etc.

Changing culture

Because it is difficult to replicate the street soccer experience in formal training sessions, I suggest that the only way to address the issue is by instigating a change to the soccer culture in Australia. I am optimistic that this starting to occur. Several years ago when I arrived in Australia, I frequently saw children at local ovals or parks kicking or passing a rugby ball. Nowadays it is much more common to see children going to the park to play soccer, trying free kicks, shooting, and freestyle soccer (mastery ball). However, it is still difficult to find a group of children playing a soccer match in an oval or park without oversight from adults or instruction from a coach. I hope that the increased interest in soccer will one day result in a culture of street soccer.

Conclusion

We know that there are tools to coach and encourage creativity in players in our training sessions and it is possible to do so, as demonstrated through some practical examples. However, the reality is that encouraging players to be creative in our training sessions is not enough in order to develop true creativity in players. Our players must make their own space in their free time to develop this skill and originality, and this may involve a change to the sociocultural behaviour in Australia. It may take many years for this to happen, but when it does, Australia will then have the possibility of building truly creative players for its national teams.

[1] http://www.oxforddictionaries.com

[2] http://www.be-world-class.com/sport/creativity-in-soccer-its-childs-play-really-788

[3] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/game

#soccer #youthsoccer #creativity