Composure, Week 1
Each player finds what sets them off and what their body does first.
This week, players will learn to catch their first signal before they lose their cool.
Triggers are personal, and for most players, several build up together.
Younger players usually notice outside triggers first, such as the referee or someone shouting from the sideline, and notice what is going on inside them later. Noticing is all that is needed this week.
Telling a kid to calm down rarely works, so we need to teach them to notice and self-regulate, while we stay steady on the sideline.
Coaching Strategies
At training this week, give the squad five minutes to chat before your usual warm-up. After that, run everything as planned.
Tell the squad that this month they’re working on Composure, keeping their cool when the game tries to take it. Then ask each player, “What’s the moment in a game that gets to you most?” It could be a decision going against them, an opponent who keeps winding them up, or the minute after their own mistake.
If a player gets stuck, ask: “When did you last feel yourself losing your head in a game?”
Before the squad heads off at the end of the session, go round and have each player say their one thing out loud. Include anyone who’s still working theirs out, because saying that out loud counts too.
What to look for
Which players go loud when something goes against them, and which go quiet?
A player who locks up completely. This is a freeze, and it needs steadiness and reassurance.
What to say
In a quiet word to a player who lost their head after the session: "I noticed that one got to you. That's normal, and it's exactly what we're learning to spot this month."
When a player freezes: "You're alright. Stay with me for a minute, and join in when you're ready."
How to respond
When a player goes loud or quiet, notice your own reaction level.
When a player freezes, stay close, keep your voice low, reassure them, and do not push them to get involved.
Drill Design
Ideas to Borrow:
Rotate positions in the small-sided games so players feel what pressure is like in a part of the pitch they don’t usually play.
Give players a quiet moment at the water break to think of one moment from the session that got to them, without saying it out loud.
Keep the score visible with a board or cones, so it matters enough to bring out real reactions.
Share a moment from your own playing or coaching when you felt your head start to go. It shows the group that everyone has a first signal, including the adults.
Drills that suit it:
Small-sided games with a scoreboard, where ordinary competition brings out ordinary triggers.
A tight 5v2 rondo, where time in the middle becomes a mild, familiar frustration.
Playing out from the back against a press, which gives defenders and keepers their own version of pressure on the ball.
1v1s in channels, where attackers and defenders both meet the frustration of being beaten.
A pressing game where one team has a set time to win the ball back, which brings out the frustration of chasing.
On match day
This week, match day is about you on the touchline.
When something goes against the squad, players look to the touchline before they decide how to react. What they see from you in that second tells them how big the moment is. Before kick-off, think about the moment most likely to come your way, such as a decision against the squad, a goal conceded, or one of your players making a mistake. When it comes, notice your reaction.
The Players Practice:
Catch It Early
Players start the practice this week with a short guided video at home on their parents’ phone. You don't run it or need to check what they found, but knowing what is in it will help you recognise it when they bring it to training.
The video helps players notice how their bodies react when they remember situations where they often lose their head, like a racing heart or a hot face. It’s about building awareness and helping players see these responses as patterns they can shift.
The video also describes the two patterns of going loud and going quiet, and asks each player to pick the one that sounds most like them. It explains that some players show it and some hold it in, and that the body reacts in both cases.
