decision making
"In my career I have already come into contact with many players which were faster and stronger than me. Decision-making controls our physical actions. Some players have a mental maximum speed of 80 km/h and others are able to reach 200 km/h. I always try to reach 200." - Xavi Hernandes
From this quote of the former Spanish midfielder it can be concluded how important the mental level in sports and especially in football is. As a player, speed, ball control, agility, etc. is of great importance. However, the ability to recognize different options and to act as quickly as possible seems almost even more important. In research this approach is also called decision making. Decision making in football has 4 aspects:
1. perception
2. anticipation
3. decision
4. action
Playing football means making decisions which affect the whole team in a fraction of a second. If the wrong decision is made, the whole team can get under pressure. It is therefore important, in addition to the training of technical and tactical skills, to pay great attention to the development and training of the players' playing intelligence at a very stage.
In order to develop this game intelligence, it is necessary to keep players focused at all times and to practice exercises that challenge and encourage the mental level of the players and thus strengthen their attention. Therefore, it seems important that players always go to training with a goal in mind, such as improving the speed of action or the recognition of situations. In that case, the objective of constantly observing the field, the teammates and opponents as well as the ball can lead to further development. Body language can help to recognize active players. If they act on the forefoot, it is often a good sign that they are proactive (quick anticipation)
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When training exercises focusing on decision making are practiced, it is important to explain the exercise to the players, but leave the actual decision making during the exercise to the players themselves. It is important to motivate the players and encourage them to make a decision, even though mistakes may occur initially. Furthermore, the exercises can be "frozen" to ask questions such as: "What will happen in the next action and what is required of you/ what actions do you need to take? Thus, the awareness of the players can be encouraged in order to improve inappropriate behaviour and thoughts together.
This training can be implemented at a very young age. Already at the age of 15/16 years the athletic and technical level is highly developed. The decision training can therefore be applied at any age, only the setting of priorities and exercise design has to be adapted. Thus, talents can be sighted at an early stage.
At teamsports.com is an entire exercise plan which is focused on enabling players to make the best possible decisions in different situations and to perform actions based on these decisions. The exercise series is designed as individual training. The practicing player has to make a decision under time and space pressure, usually followed by a follow-up action, for example a pass into a mini-goal or goal finish.
