Let's Talk Soccer: Using Game-Calls to Develop Communication and Decision-Making in Football

Soccer coaches across all levels of the game share a common and simple dilemma: how best to improve their players. One of the best ways to do this is through improved communication and how we individualize our messages to our players. It’s fundamentally important for coaches to provide quality communication with clear detail and, as the FA’s Future Game Philosophy makes clear, “Mastery of innovative coaching methods that utilize communication styles is the mark of a gifted coach, and will be an essential requirement for the game of the future.”

Examples of good communications that develop game understanding and skill are seen with elite football coaches such as Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola. Their messages are directly linked to how they want their teams to play, hence the importance of having a coaching vocabulary that players can understand.
Let’s Talk Soccer introduces ‘Game-calls’, game-specific communication designed to enhance decision making and skill among players. Through Game-calls your team will become more organized, and your players will understand – as individuals – how to play within your playing philosophy.

About this Book Let’s Talk Soccer is a practical resource on how to develop communication in game-realistic practices that will increase creativity and skill across all ages. This book is based on tried and tested methods, offering you a framework using ‘keywords’ directly linked to your playing style. The book will help you develop a clear coaching language such that, when used in training and in games, your players will instantly understand what you mean and can consolidate their learning.

Who is this book for? Let’s Talk Soccer is for professional and amateur soccer coaches across all levels of the game who are interested in improving how they communicate with their players, and how their players communicate and perform on the pitch.