MindLab

Three top tips for motivating a losing team

1. Body language and use of voice

What you are saying must reflect your body language. You cannot be positive with a face that shows your disappointment. You need to be upbeat and full of energy to inspire young players and pick them up when they are down. Hands and face are important.

2. Highlight the positives

You can always find positives in games that you have lost. Explain to your players what went right and what you were pleased about during the game. Save any negatives for training night once they have got over the defeat.

3. Rephrase what you say

Think about what you are about to say and if it is negative find a way to rephrase it so the positives come out. If you cannot do that then don't say it. Don't shout "never pass the ball across the goal" it means nothing and puts doubts into your players minds about where to pass the ball. Work on that in training. Also use positives like "Win the ball" rather than negatives like "Don't lose the ball"

4. Help player confidence at training

When players are hiding in games use small sided games in training where everyone has to do everything which brings players out of their shells and makes them more confident on match day.

It may sound controversial but I think your players need to be less competitive in matches to take the pressure off them – at least in the next couple of weeks. This is not probably what you were expecting me to say but from what I can gather the pressure of playing in front of a crowd of parents is too much pressure for them expecting to win.

In training they are much more relaxed and will be more likely to play their natural game. What they need is for you to set them realistic targets they have more chance of meeting. I'm sure you've heard everyone saying "win the second half" when they are losing badly at half time. 

Or try relaxing the competitive talk completely and talk about holding onto the ball for 20 seconds during the game as a win that week or 5 passes by the team. Something they can achieve.

Make sure the players realise this is not a Cup Final and that the win is not the most important thing. They will learn far more from losing a game.

Playing more matches at training between teams is also a good way to get the players used to the pressure they face in match play. Warm them up with a couple of 4v1s or 2s depending on the size of your squad to get them in the mood.

A coach uses skills to understand tactics and manage players and that comes from the front part of your brain, the intelligent part. This part of the brain will switch off in times of stress and emotion. Passion is a good motivator for coaches but without the intelligent part of your brain it cannot cope under pressure. A coach needs goals to help he/her to cope with this.

Start with thinking about what it is you want to achieve with a youth team. Adult teams need to win, youth teams need to develop players to be the best they can be above everything else. To do that coaches need to be calm. If you stay calm and get your players to play the best they can you have much more chance of winning so focus on that.

Try to react to the signs that you are getting wound up. Negative thoughts must be stopped and you need something in your brain that says STOP. Remove the negative thoughts and move on with the match. Staying calm comes with practice and thoughts of what you want to achieve with the match go way beyond "I want to win". It helps nobody least of all your players.