Correcting and motivating: how to step in during training

What separates the experienced coach from the beginner is not the exercise, it is how they correct and how they encourage. When to stop play, how many things to correct at once, how to ask rather than give the answer and how to keep motivation up.

Linkalde · 2026-10-19

Two coaches can prepare the same session, with the same exercises and the same equipment, and get very different results. FIFA's youth football manual explains it like this: what sets experienced coaches apart from beginners is the way they stimulate players and the quality of their corrections. In other words, what happens between the start and the end of the exercise.

The first surprise for many coaches is how much time has to be spent not talking. FIFA splits the coach's work during the session like this:

Look before you correct

Looking properly has an order: first the big picture (how the exercise works, whether the space and the groups are right) and then the detail (what each player is doing). Many individual mistakes disappear when you change the set-up: a bigger pitch, one opponent fewer, more balls.

And you have to look with a purpose. If the session is on defending, the coach corrects the defending and lets the rest go. Whoever corrects everything ends up correcting nothing, because the player doesn't know what to listen to.

Move around the pitch. From the touchline, with your arms folded, you see the exercise but not the player. Getting to where the action is lets you see the footwork, hear what they say to each other and correct without shouting.

When to stop and how to correct

The first question is whether to correct on the spot or wait. Stopping play every two minutes kills the rhythm and the motivation; never stopping lets the mistake keep happening. FIFA recommends not stopping the exercise too often and choosing how to correct depending on the case:

Play, correct, play again

For young players FIFA proposes the global-analytical-global method. First you play, because the game keeps motivation up and is close to the match. When the mistake appears, you isolate what is going wrong for a moment and work on it more precisely, leaving time to take it in. And straight away you go back to playing to check whether they apply it. The analytical part corrects better, but if it drags on it demotivates through repetition.

The rules of a good correction

• Don't point out lots of mistakes at once. One, two at most, and the most important first.
• Go for the essential: whatever brings an immediate success. The player who improves on the next move believes the correction.
• Don't be aggressive, especially in technical exercises. Afraid of failing, the movement comes out worse.
• Choose who you talk to: the whole team if the problem is everyone's, or only the players involved.
• Be convincing, fair and precise. «Well done» teaches nothing; «well done, you looked before receiving» does.
• Vary your tone of voice. If everything is said equally loudly, nothing stands out.
• Encourage the player to assess themselves: «what happened?», «what would you do differently?».
• Remember the maxim in FIFA's manual, «little of the good»: a short instruction is better than a speech.

An example: correcting the shot

Faced with a poor shot, it is easy to say «harder» or «better placed». FIFA's manual breaks down what to look at, and the order helps you find the cause rather than the symptom:

1. Information: did they lift their head to see the goal and the goalkeeper?
2. Choice: did they use the right part of the foot (inside, laces)?
3. Footwork: short steps to get to the ball properly.
4. The standing leg and body position.
5. The striking foot, firm, and following through over the ball.
6. Weighting: full power isn't always needed.

Film now and then with your phone. Seeing their own movement, or comparing it with a professional player's, convinces the player more than any explanation. FIFA recommends it as a complement, used well and without overdoing it.

Ask instead of giving the answer

When play is stopped, the temptation is to explain the solution. It works better to remind them of the aim, point out the problem and ask: «who deals with the player on the ball?», «what are the others doing?», «who offers themselves when we win it back?». Listening to the answer gives the coach information and gets the player involved. If the answer doesn't come, then yes: explain, demonstrate and repeat.

Motivating without shouting

Motivation doesn't come from team talks, it comes from the session. If training is well run and the players work with intensity, they are the ones asking for more. What sustains it:

• Variety. The same circuit at the same speed week after week doesn't improve performance and switches the enthusiasm off. Change the space, the rules, the way of scoring.
• Visible progress. Raise the difficulty when they do well and let them notice they are managing it.
• The coach's attitude: dynamic, with passion, but not aggressive.
• Freedom to create. Let the talented player try their own moves if they are effective: creativity motivates too.
• Specific praise, especially with young players, and positive comments without generalising.
• Encourage in difficult moments, but also value effort and a good attitude when things go well.

When a player goes to pieces

It is normal in a match for a player to string together several mistakes and fall apart. FIFA advises asking them to settle for simple actions: a safe short pass, a clean first touch. They don't add much to the game, but they help them forget the mistakes and regain confidence. With confidence, the difficult actions come back.

With the little ones, fewer stoppages

Under the age of 12, FIFA insists on leaving plenty of freedom in the game, encouraging everyone and not stepping in too often. In the typical 90-minute session it proposes for that age, the final match is the longest part and the coach hardly intervenes in it: