How I coached an unbeaten team

In the summer of 2021, I took a youth team to an unbeaten campaign, in their first ever season playing together. While winning is never the most important part of youth soccer, I share some of the key tips and tricks that allowed me to achieve success with my team and instill a positive culture where each and every player wanted to return. In the first half of the episode, I also discuss the exciting opportunities coming up on TheMastermindSite.com. Follow the show and my body of work @mastermindsite and @desmondrhys

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In the episode, I discuss topics ranging from instilling a positive culture with your team, to the top training methods for helping your players reach the next level. As I outline in the episode, winning is only a nice bonus in the quest to ensure players stay in the sport for years and want to come back year in and year out.

ABOUT 

Rhys Desmond is the Founder and CEO of TheMastermindSite.com, a football tactics and analysis website, that specializes in education for coaches, players and fans of the beautiful game. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram @desmondrhys and @mastermindsite.

MUSIC

Music for this episode has been wonderfully provided by Pixabay.


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Finding the balance between being fun and assertive in coaching (+ more Q&A) TheMastermindSite

HEY, What’s going on? It’s Rhys Desmond here. BACK AGAIN for another podcast episode. And TODAY, I’m going to be doing a special Spin The Ball Q&A. You guys and gals ask SO many good questions and I want to get you some answers. I love helping you grow your craft, and learning from you in the process so I’m bringing back Spin The Ball for an all mailbag, AMA, Q&A, Question McConfession episode. In today's episode, I talk about how to find the balance between being fun and assertive in coaching, how to be more enthusiastic for your players, and give my thoughts on the CONCACAF Champions League and Man City vs. Tottenham this weekend. Be sure to check out @mastermindsite on social media and everything we have going on at themastermindsite.com to never miss an update.  ABOUT  Rhys Desmond is the Founder and CEO of TheMastermindSite.com, a football tactics and analysis website, that specializes in education for coaches, players and fans of the beautiful game. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram @desmondrhys and @mastermindsite. SUPPORT FROM… @FootyLingo. Visit FootyLingo to play language and reading comprehension games based on our analyses, and use the code "mastermindsite" at check out for 20% off any subscription plan. That's our social handle, "mastermindsite" for 20% any subscription plan on FootyLingo.com. MUSIC Music for this episode has been wonderfully provided by Pixabay. —————————————————————————————————– Subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts to never miss an episode, and visit themastermindsite.com for more information, articles, analyses, coaching education and more!

Sam Holmshaw – Why everything in coaching needs to fit your context TheMastermindSite

There's a beautiful thing in the coaching community, where we all strive to share resources. But this inherently creates a problem. What works in one context, doesn't always work in another. Sam and I are both content creators who always get asked to come up with solutions to various coaching problems and share our thoughts on how coaches can accelerate their teams to new levels. While we love creating content and educating coaches, it must be said that everything we put out always needs to be adapted to the context of the individual coach, team, players and environment. The same could be said for taking things from the professional game, where very few lessons can actually be applied at the youth level. Sam and Rhys dive right into this topic and discuss why everything – from game models, to professional environments, to coaching practices, to language, should always be adapted to fit the players and the context.  GUEST Sam Holmshaw is the Head of Football Development at Kickabout Academy, the host of @The_SC_Podcast and the Technical Director of @HolmshawAcademy. Rhys describes him as 'The go-to guy when it comes to game models.' You can find his website and game model packages at samholmshaw.com/shop/ and follow him on social media @SamHolmshaw_MSc. HOST Rhys Desmond is the Founder and CEO of TheMastermindSite.com, a football tactics and analysis website, that specializes in education for coaches, players and fans of the beautiful game. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram @desmondrhys and @mastermindsite. Subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts to never miss an episode, and visit themastermindsite.com for more information, articles, analyses, coaching education and more! FOLLOW US @mastermindsite on Twitter and Instagram. Subscribe via email at the footer of themastermindsite.com MUSIC The music for this episode was provided by minwbu from Pixabay. “Min-2019”.

Creating a Game Model – with Sam Holmshaw TheMastermindSite

You might have heard some buzz recently in the coaching world about something called "game models". But what exactly is a game model and why is it so important to coaches across the globe? Sam Holmshaw joins the podcast to discuss his insight into creating game models, and shares his experiences working in the UK coaching and football scene.  Guest: Sam Holmshaw is the First Team Manager of Ilkey Town Women, the host of @The_SC_Podcast and the Technical Director of @HolmshawAcademy. You can find his website and game model packages at samholmshaw.com/shop/ and follow him on social media @SamHolmshaw_MSc. Host: Rhys Desmond is the creator and owner of TheMastermindSite.com. He is a lifelong lover and educator of the beautiful game. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram @DesmondRhys. Follow TMS: @mastermindsite on Twitter and Instagram. Subscribe via email at the footer of themastermindsite.com Music: The music for this episode was provided by minwbu from Pixabay. “Min-2019”.

Jose Mourinho – AS Roma Tactical Analysis – with Edward Stratmann TheMastermindSite

AS Roma and Paulo Fonseca parted ways with the Italian giants finishing just seventh in Serie A, but a more positive semi-final run in the Europa League and some encouraging attack-minded, tactically intriguing football. Legend of the game Jose Mourinho was the man to come in and replace Fonseca, and the Portuguese icon got off to a flying start in his Roma career, winning six from the first seven. But since then, it's been typical Mourinho, with the club now potentially spiraling back into their old ways. This week I talk to Roma expert Edward Stratmann on what needs to happen if Mourinho is to change the club's fortunes around, and the tactics Mourinho has displayed since taking over from Fonseca. Be sure to follow the show @mastermindsite, and give Edward a shout using the links below.  GUEST Edward Stratmann is a freelance football writer and tactical analyst, featured on @ASRomaEN, @Arsenal, @Wyscout, @Bundesliga_EN, @Goal, and @MonacoTribune. He is the expert on all things Roma, having fallen in love with the club as a child. You can find him and his plethora of work on Twitter @EdwardStratmann. HOST Rhys Desmond is the founder and CEO of TheMastermindSite.com, a football tactics and analysis website, that specializes in education for coaches, players and fans of the beautiful game. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram @desmondrhys and @mastermindsite. Subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts to never miss an episode, and visit themastermindsite.com for more information, articles, analyses, coaching education and more! FOLLOW US @mastermindsite on Twitter and Instagram. Subscribe via email at the footer of themastermindsite.com MUSIC The music for this episode was provided by minwbu from Pixabay. “Min-2019”.

This article is part of our Introduction to Football Analysis – Online Course with Rhys Desmond. See what else is in store for the course and navigate to the next section below.

See the entire course curriculum and jump around by visiting:
Introduction to Football Analysis – Online Course with Rhys Desmond


Subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts to never miss an episode, and visit themastermindsite.com for more information, articles, analyses, coaching education and more!

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