Review your match
Transcript
Every match teaches you something, if you write it down. Here's the routine. You need a pen and card, or your phone. Within a day, write two things that went well, one to work on, and one process goal for your next session. Watch. Pick one moment to change. Next time a defender closes in, pass it wide. First, review the decision, not yourself. Then, make it something you do, like check my shoulder before I receive. If you have match video, count your checks, but proof it helps in games is thin. Our target is five minutes after every match. Then take the free test at footballreach.com.
What it trains
A 5-minute written review within a day of every match: two things that went well, one thing to work on, and one process goal to take into your next session. Review the decision, never yourself.
Set up
- A pen and a card
- Or a note on a phone
How it works
- Within a day of the match, once you have cooled down and eaten, take 5 minutes on your own with a pen and card or a phone note.
- Write two things that went well: things you did, not the score.
- Write one thing to work on: pick one moment you would change. Sketch it if it helps (where you were, the defender, the free teammate) and write what you will do next time.
- Turn it into your next process goal, something you do, such as "check my shoulder before I receive". Make it your one goal at your next session (see "One process goal before training") and share it with your coach or a teammate.
- If you have match video, watch one half following only yourself off the ball and count your shoulder checks before you receive.
Coaching points
- The decision, not you. Write what you saw, what you chose and what you would choose next time. Be as fair to yourself as you would be to a teammate: a mistake is information for your next goal, not a verdict on you.
- Something you do. Turn the thing to work on into a process goal, something you do and control ("check my shoulder before I receive"), not a result ("no mistakes"). In a review of 27 sport studies (Williamson et al. 2024), process goals had a large effect on performance (d = 1.36), outcome goals almost none (0.09).
Not this
Judging yourself ("I was rubbish") instead of the decision, or writing a long list of everything that went wrong. Keep it to two good things, one thing to work on and one goal.
Dose
- Our target: 5 minutes
- After every match
Our target: 5 minutes within a day of every match, ending in one process goal for your next session (the Football Reach target, not an FA rule).
Harder / Easier
Harder
If you have match video, count your checks before you receive in one half and compare with your next match. Or watch a player in your position on TV and compare their checks with yours.
Easier
Write one thing only: one thing that went well, or just your next goal. Or say it to a parent or coach instead of writing it down.
Safety
- Review the decision, never your worth. If a match or a review leaves you anxious or low for a while, talk to a parent, a coach or someone you trust.
- No filming needed. If your club or family already has match video, keep it private, and never film or share clips of other players.
- Give it a few hours: review once you have cooled down, not straight after a tough game (our suggestion).
Sources
- England Football Learning - How to develop self-aware and self-motivated players (journals) (opens in a new tab)
- Southern Cross University - Williamson et al. 2024, goal setting in sport meta-analysis (opens in a new tab)
- Frontiers - Zhao et al. 2022, video-based training and decision-making in football (review) (opens in a new tab)
- Frontiers - Jordet et al. 2020, scanning and passing in the Premier League (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.
Take the free test
