coaching philosophy Archives

Fede Tanuscio about 4 2 2 2

Numbers in the middle are the whole point of the 4-2-2-2 for Tanuscio: two contact players and two high mids stacked centrally to create vertical connections. When opponents close that central zone, the mids move outside to take open, attacking receptions on the flank instead. He notes teams are starting to play the shape a lot now, though every structure mutates once the ball begins to move. Watch the full masterclass: Building Field Hockey Offense: Systems, Strategies & Training Insights with Fede Tanuscio.

Fede Tanuscio about 3 4 3

Playing with a back three, Tanuscio shows several ways to escape pressure: stagger the two contact players vertically for more dynamic receptions, drop one of them in to form a temporary back four and create an overload, or pull the side defenders lower into a back five. He also covers infiltrations, where the central defender carries the ball forward while the other two close the middle behind him. Watch the full masterclass: Building Field Hockey Offense: Systems, Strategies & Training Insights with Fede Tanuscio.

Fede Tanuscio about 4 3 3

The 4-3-3 comes in several versions here: the classic shape, two low mids with one high mid, or one low mid with two high mids. Tanuscio prefers the double width on the left, which frees his right back to attack deeper and create overloads of three against two. He also wants the lone low mid positioned opposite the ball, opening long channels for vertical passes towards the strikers. Watch the full masterclass: Building Field Hockey Offense: Systems, Strategies & Training Insights with Fede Tanuscio.

Fede Tanuscio about developing a game system

Developing a system happens in stages for Tanuscio: train it without opposition first so players learn the timing between reception and pass and the connections between lines, then add opposition, then test it in a friendly. Along the way he identifies risk areas, such as receiving on the backhand in the box, keeps roles clear for every player, and uses video analysis plus open communication between staff and players to make adjustments. Watch the full masterclass: Building Field Hockey Offense: Systems, Strategies & Training Insights with Fede Tanuscio.

Fede Tanuscio about choosing a game system

Before settling on an offensive system, Tanuscio checks four things: the technical characteristics of his players, the philosophy of the team or club, how the side balances in defensive transition when the ball is lost, and the decision making of the players in possession. He also warns against copying international teams wholesale, because a system only works when it fits the players you actually have. Watch the full masterclass: Building Field Hockey Offense: Systems, Strategies & Training Insights with Fede Tanuscio.

Jamilon Mülders about the talent pathway

Early specialisation is still the problem Mülders sees across sports, along with over-ambitious competition calendars, and he questions how a scout can identify talent by watching a single performance day. Process, for him, means optimal training rather than chasing outcomes, with milestones treated as information about where you are and what tomorrow needs. He points coaches to a Google Scholar paper on the training process behind elite performance. Watch the full masterclass: Result vs process.

Danny Kerry about the WHY for zonal defence

Man to man defences collapse when opponents dominate the ball, Kerry explains, leaving you pushed back and facing a stream of ball delivered deep in front of your own circle. A well organised zone lets you keep your structure, dictate where the opposition go and attack their possession on the front foot. It also costs less physical energy: you stop getting run around the pitch and digging trenches. Watch the full masterclass: Closing and tackling in a zone defence.

Joy Jouret about power

Power comes in three forms in Joy Jouret’s view: position power that arrives with the title of coach, personal power built on expertise as a former international, and information power, held by whoever controls the video and the data. Her point is that a coach should hand those out rather than hold all three, and should switch tactics, from socialising and persuading through to imposing, depending on the decision. Watch the full masterclass: Building a powerful team.

Ben Bishop about how to train & coach differently

Given two or three months before a big event, Ben says relationships and trust take longer than that to build, so with a short runway he would still prioritise technical and tactical work. His alternative costs little: keep half an hour after training to talk, treat a missed pass as a conversation to have right away, and start the process earlier over video calls. Watch the full masterclass: Off ball skills.

Ric Charlesworth about tactics and strategy

He keeps the base simple: win the ball, keep it, penetrate, score, and if you lose it, win it back. The balance between possession and penetration is what coaches get wrong, since a possession pass can go forward as well as square. Set plays decide a lot under current rules, and he points to Atlanta 1996, where constant interchange and ice vests let Australia play at a tempo nobody thought possible in that heat. Watch the full masterclass: Building winning teams.

Ric Charlesworth about the coaching process

The process he uses is GROW, borrowed rather than invented: what are we trying to achieve, what is actually happening, what options do we have, and do we have the will and the wit to do the work. He treats it as constant dialogue and questioning rather than instruction, and says coaches do not change people, they build the environment in which players change themselves. Watch the full masterclass: Building winning teams.

Shane McLeod about aligning coaches and players

Position disputes are a negotiation, not an instruction, in Shane’s view. The coach needs to understand why a player feels suited to a certain role, explain what each position offers, and give meaning to the job being asked of them, so the player takes ownership of their own development. He calls aligning coaches and players the biggest area of coach development in the years ahead. Watch the full masterclass: Ask Me Anything with Shane McLeod.

Tag: coaching philosophy