Story by Eric Eli Adzie
Twitter: @adjivic
There is always this question asked ask grassroots coaches, how much ability has your players been given by Nature and just how much of a difference can you make in them? What makes a Professional footballer? Or perhaps a more important question to ask a Colts Football coach is what role can you play in making a future professional football player? Exactly how much of an input and Influence can or should you have, or has the endpoint of their journey already been pre-determined by genetics?
These questions linger on my mind and I seek answers to it.
As a grassroots football coach, you should be constantly thinking about the effect you have on your players in order to make them the best that they can be and how you can improve your coaching skills to achieve this. This means you often find yourself looking deeply into the vast range of nuances that come together to contribute to an individual player’s development. You must challenge yourself to come up with the perfect balance between hard work, technical training and playing experience. No matter how much you think about it, you find yourself coming back to the age-old question of the relative importance of Nature versus Nurture.
As many different scientific studies have proven, there is some element of both required to reach a good level in football and to be a world-class footballer you need to have a significant contribution both from Nature and Nurture.
According to research gathered, the environment that one lives in is a factor of nurture and one’s genes are a factor of nature, but in the end, it will be a combination of both nature and nurture that will determine a person’s athletic development.
Ultimately a coach will have to accept that he cannot influence the Nature aspect but can only ‘control the controllable’ which is to work on nurturing each player in an informed and intelligent way that takes account of their starting points, strengths & weaknesses and their overall potential. The biggest thing that any grassroots coach can influence is the training environment in which young players are learning and developing. If this is a high-quality environment with a positive atmosphere that is conducive to building confidence and improving players, then you are a long way towards doing all you can for developing their talent.
The environment for developing talent is an extension of the coach, his personality and will have arguably the greatest bearing on how well his players are nurtured on their journey. But what does a high-quality environment look like? In order to build this in the right way you really need to love the work that you do. Coaching is at its absolute best when it comes from the heart, and has genuine passion and enthusiasm for developing young players as a constant thread running through it.
So, when we get back to the question of developing the perfect football player or making players as good as they possibly can be, I actually consider it to be more important to not necessarily think about what drills or technical refinements they can make with players, but to actually think about the quality of the coaching environment and the atmosphere that surrounds it.
“Genetics loads the gun but the environment pulls the trigger.”— Joslin, 1927
When looking at the nature versus nurture argument and accepting the fact that we cannot alter what Mother Nature has given the players were working with, we can inspire a real passion for the game of football and a love for the sport. When you look at the top performers in just about any sport, one of the things that unifies them is their love of what they do. Messi and Christiano Ronaldo loves that they do on the football field. Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams loves Tennis, same as Lewis Hamilton loves Formula One.
Getting to the top in any sport, or even close to it, requires years of dedicated practice, strong mental toughness to be able to come through serious injuries and overwhelming inner steel to bounce back from the disappointments and defeats that clutter the early stages of any career. The route through all of that is the love of the game and that love of the game germinates with you and the coaching environment that you build for them at an early stage.
I was covering the Volta Regional Division Two League at Hlevi,a village in the Volta region where Avatime Fc were hosting Selion Fc. Just as I was taking pictures, I saw a young energetic boy about 8 years old. Paying keen attention to the rolling Football and following the movement of the players with or without the ball. I got Interested and focused on him. I call Him “Little Ben”. Apparently Little Ben loves the game of football, has passion for football but has no idea how the ball is kicked. On an occasion when a conner kick was about to be taken, he focused on the Player, position of the ball, the kick itself and mimic exactly what the taker did.
This is pure passion for the game meeting his talent. How does a grassroots football coach develops his passion into reality? Creating the right environment to nurture players and deliver the technical skills they need to become better players are the other things that can make a difference. Should one be content with the view that nature blesses them with the talent and that alone can make them better footballers?
The answer is No.
The environmental role in developing a good footballer can be emphasized by the concepts and role of the Football Academy. Imagine an environment where little Ben and other enthusiastic young players gets invited to think about the game in more detailed manner like what West African Football Academy (WAFA) does for young footballers. When young talented players are Housed and Natured, their development into a top talent cannot be questioned because all that is required for the development has been met. And I hold this integral view. For example, if someone plays football and is very fast and strong, but cannot pass a ball he will not be a good soccer player.
It is not enough to have good genes or genetic characteristics. To be good athlete one needs to nurture his skills through practice, focus and commitment in a good environment (Residential or Nonresidential).
With the huge changes brought about by modernization, there has been a shift in recent years and greater young people are watching live football matches on a weekly basis, enhancing their knowledge and interest. By this means the young one’s like Little Ben are missing out on a big piece of their football education. Watching the game purely down the lens of a camera on a television screen offers
such a narrow field of idea that they are growing up without a wider appreciation of tactics though naturally talented.
Again, this is a void which a good soccer coach can help to fill by asking them to think more deeply about the game, its tactical make-up and how they can succeed at it. What are the game situations, where positioning and team shape have a significant influence. What small advantages can be eked out by players with a greater understanding and awareness? By getting them to think in more detail, you are helping to nurture their natural ability and making them become better players all the time.
This basic concept helps instill their passion, it helps improves the love for the game and it helps them to think more deeply about what they are doing and becoming more successful players. Ultimately those are key tools in nurturing them to become the best players that they possibly can be and the greatest contribution you can make.
It is Important to state that the role played by a grassroots coach is as important to the development of the player whether naturally talented or not, in fact natural talent only adds as a compliment to the ability of the player.
In conclusion, an athlete’s development is impacted more through the combination of both nature and nurture rather than just one of the two. Together, nature and nurture in combination is what will empower an athlete to reach his/her best possible outcome, driven by passion. The life of an athlete is difficult yet gratifying. Each day is a new challenge, a new obstacle to overcome. Born with the right genes and nurtured for growth, an individual can thrive and excel.
Today one may not be fast enough or one may not have the skill, but tomorrow is a new day and who knows what it will bring with a conducive development surrounding.
