adminCosmas Zulu
THE point that I want to make is if coaches can bring about an improvement in attitude that represents the biggest and quickest source of improvement at either individual or team level. No amount of coaching will ever compensate for a poor attitude on the part of a player.But more and more players are motivated by desire to be the best they can be rather than simply better than anyone else.
This new player views the opponent as an enemy to be defeated at all costs but as a partner sharing a goal in a way that prompts both of them to do their very best.
Spectator Positive Attitude
More and more we see the sports world evolving being used as a form of social interaction a way for communities to come together to remind us all of how much we share as human beings even when we are supporting different teams.
Very often, our participation in sports activities whether as players or as spectators can provide hearty release of tension that has been stored in our bodies as a result of the pressure of day to day living.
I remember the 15 years I spent with Highlanders FC, supporters of the team shouting at me during the game ‘wena muNyasaranda uyadlisa iteam yethu.”
It never worried me because after the game the same people came to me and said ‘Tsano kuyalile namuhla sizazama kuviki elizayo.”
For many people watching soccer provides the opportunity to express emotions in a safe way, a way that will not harm others.
Getting on the Pitch
The main reason is few people understand the real issues behind the success or failure of a team. As a result, they are influenced too greatly by what they hear and read. When the coach of a club announces on radio, television or in the Press that his team will be playing 4-4-2 his supporters usually accept what he says without criticism.
When the same coach after a string of defeats announces that the system is to be changed from 4-4-2, everybody believes that the root of the problem has been found and that success will come immediately.
The fact is that people who do not understand the underlying issues in soccer place more reliance on what they are told and less on what they see.
For professional reasons I will not mention one of the teams I coached here in Bulawayo – where I got a memo saying from now on we want you to play a 4-3-3 formation by order. It is important therefore that those in a position of influence should state the facts as they are and not cloud the issue with jargon.
How many coaches for example does one hear talking about importance of set plays, corners, freekicks and throws yet the facts show that at every level of the game 50 percent of goals originate from set plays at the highest level and especially in key matches the percentage is even higher.
How many talk about the importance of a highly competent goalkeeper yet two good saves from a goalkeeper can be the difference between winning 1-0 or losing 1-2.
Mbada semi-finals cup games proved that.
This demonstrated that winning is an attitude-based on learning from the past and living in the present.
Good luck on your next game. May the best team win the league championship 2013.
Until next week.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter