Reset after a mistake
Transcript
Every player loses the ball, so practise the next three seconds. Here's the reset. Breathe out, say your cue word, and sprint to your next job. Afterwards, count your resets. You need a server, a defender and a target. Watch. The ball comes in, your pass is cut out. Reset, and go again. First, breathe out and say your word, like next. Not this. Stopping to replay it. Then, find the ball and sprint into space. Our target is three rounds of four minutes, then two minutes counting resets. After any knock to the head, if in doubt, sit them out. Then take the free test at footballreach.com.
What it trains
A 3-second reset for after a mistake: breathe out, say one cue word, then sprint to your next job, practised in a passing drill until it is automatic. The 3 steps are our routine; studies support self-talk and set routines in sport in general.
Set up
- A server with a ball
- A defender, no tackles
- A target player
How it works
- Pick your reset and practise it once without the ball: breathe out, say one cue word to yourself (for example "Next"), find the ball, then sprint to your next job.
- Warm up first. A server with a ball stands about 6 m from you, a target player about 12 m away, and a defender in between who may only intercept passes (no tackling).
- The server passes to you and you pass on to the target. If the defender cuts it out, they pass it straight back to the server.
- Every time you lose the ball, do the reset and be straight back in: sprint to a new angle where the server and the target can both find you.
- Play 3 rounds of 4 minutes, swapping roles each round. Then take 2 minutes to count how many times you reset instead of stopping, and note it in your setback log.
Coaching points
- Breathe out, say your word. Breathe out slowly once, then say your cue word to yourself. The FA lists positive self-talk and emotional control among the skills to develop at this age, and a review of 32 sport studies found self-talk helped performance (a moderate effect, Hatzigeorgiadis et al. 2011).
- Find the ball, then space. Find the ball first, then your space: the next place you can help, here a new angle where the server and the target can both find you. The whole reset takes about 3 seconds (our target).
Not this
Stopping to replay the mistake (head down, hands on your head, or arguing) while play goes on. You cannot change that pass; you can change the next action.
Dose
- 3 rounds of 4 minutes
- 2 min: count your resets
Our target: Reset within 3 seconds; 3 rounds of 4 minutes, then 2 minutes counting your resets (the Football Reach target, not an FA rule).
Harder / Easier
Harder
Use the reset in a 3 v 3 or 4 v 4 game (about 20 x 15 m), with a friend counting your resets and scoring you.
Easier
Reset only after big mistakes at first, and let the defender stay in one spot so the open angle is easier to find.
Safety
- If in doubt, sit them out: anyone with a suspected concussion stops straight away, does no training for at least 24 hours and plays no matches for at least 21 days (UK concussion guidelines).
- The defender only intercepts: no tackles, no slide tackles, and keep the ball on the ground.
- Warm up first. Flat grass with space all round, never a road or driveway.
- Mistakes are part of learning. If you feel upset, it is fine to stop and talk to your coach. If you feel low or anxious for a while, talk to a parent, a coach or someone you trust.
Sources
- The FA Boot Room - youth development phase and the psychological corner (opens in a new tab)
- England Football Learning - how to develop self-aware and self-motivated players (opens in a new tab)
- PubMed - Hatzigeorgiadis et al. 2011, self-talk and sports performance meta-analysis (opens in a new tab)
- University of Vienna - pre-performance routines meta-analysis (Rupprecht et al. 2024) (opens in a new tab)
- England Football - UK concussion guidelines for grassroots sport (opens in a new tab)
Not sure which skill to work on first? The free Football Reach test gives you a Player Development Score and shows which of the four corners of your game to work on next, in about two minutes.
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