Tag: SMART

Specific is the part of SMART Lisa leans on hardest. Coaches go wrong when they slip into what she calls hockey 101, talking about passing, receiving, tactics and defending all at once until players have heard fifty things and kept none. Instead she names one skill, tied to a tactic where relevant, her example being the centre forward’s closing lines when cutting the pitch, and watches only for that. Watch the full masterclass: Basic skills through Small Sided Games.

Shouting parents get put to work in Lisa’s sessions: she hands them the M in SMART, a measuring job. Give them something to count during the game, how many long passes, how often the centre forward cuts the pitch successfully, whatever the group is working on. Higher up the game she’d use video for the same purpose, though she keeps it away from the little ones. Watch the full masterclass: Basic skills through Small Sided Games.