cognitive development
Creating Unconscious Competence
TALA Soccer Training provides the structure for holistic player development through the intentional design of age-appropriate activities that connect a player's learning, development, and improvement within the technical, tactical, physical, social, and cognitive pillars of soccer to the larger context of the game. We believe that coaching is teaching and that teaching is a co-created partnership that requires the identification of shared goals and learning outcomes to facilitate a transformative environment.
TALA Soccer believes the game of soccer is best learned and played through a problem-solving mindset where players are encouraged to gather information and fluidly make decisions based on the various moments of the game and their understanding of how a player's action may influence a team outcome.
"I learned all about life with a ball at my feet."
Ronaldinho
Brazilian soccer player
two time fifa world player of the year
The goal of TALA Soccer Training is to develop players and people who better understand the 'why' behind the decisions and actions they make on the field, within the position or role they are playing, and in consideration of what may best help the team reach a desired goal. Each session is designed to provide the player(s) with an understanding of the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the soccer-related topic, the principle of play, and the key player actions and behaviors of the session. We believe that soccer is a thinking game best learned through opposed, game-like activities that develop technical skills and tactical awareness through self-reflection, active decision-making, and an understanding of self-correction.
TALA Soccer creates an optimal environment for players to focus their effort and energy toward consistently improving their personal best by meeting each player where they are at in their phase and stage of development in relation to chronological age and cognitive reasoning. Our coaching and training style is developmental in approach. We believe the game of soccer is best played and learned through a solution-focused mindset, where players are presented with game-like challenges and supported in recognizing and creating a variety of solutions to most positively impact the game. ​
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Experience - Reflect - Connect - Decide- adapt
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TALA Soccer Training is intentionally designed to create a transformative person-centered high-performance and high-learning environment where players develop and improve their technical skill acquisition while learning a deeper understanding of the game and the various moments of decision-making and problem-solving that it presents.
Through adaptive, progressive, game-like, opposed, unscripted activities, players are required to develop their perception of a fluid game environment and an awareness of the interdependence of action and interaction, leading to flow state problem-solving by developing unconscious competence. By connecting moments of the game to past experiences and new information through critical engagement and experiential session design, players develop a deeper level of topic-specific understanding while acquiring technical abilities and tactical awareness associated with cognitive development and fluid decision-making.
TALA Soccer provides players the opportunity to recognize and relate new information to their current knowledge of the game by facilitating unscripted activities that mirror the fluid and ever-changing nature of a competitive game. Each session is uniquely designed to promote and develop intrinsically motivated players who possess a deeper understanding of the game while improving their technical abilities by engaging in topic-specific activities designed to increase competence, confidence, self-awareness, self-regulation, and a high-performance mindset.
understand
decide
act
reflect
Connect
repeat
"Always believe in your ability and your goals. This is the only way you will be able to reach them."
Mohamed salah
Egypt national team
Liverpool FC
understand
What is currently happening on the field?
Where is it happening on the field? When does it happen during a game? who is involved? Why is it happening? What player actions or behaviors may influence what is happening? What are the potential outcomes of my current options as player? How do my player actions create player interactions in context? What are the cues and clues and triggers to action?
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decide
What player action(s) is most appropriate based on my understanding of the game? how will my player action(s) change the game? how can I help my team accomplish the current goal of the game?
What information have I gathered to make an informed decision? How do I gather information to add context to my decision-making process? how will my decision influnece the decsion of others?
act
execute a player action based on a current understanding of the game developed through the gathering of information and applied knowledge of the situation.
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reflect
What player action did I make? How did it change the game? What can I do differently next time? How might a different player action influence the game? How did my process influence the outcome? What did I learn through the process? How did my decision influence the decisions of others?
Connect
Learn the benefits of making decisions to solve the challenges of the game by gathering information. Develop a deeper awareness and perception of the interdependence that action(s) have on interaction(s) within the various situations of the game in context. Improve the ability to read the game, process information, and anticipate solutions under pressure.
Repeat
Modify decision(s), process, and Player action(s) based on individual reflection, assessment, and understanding of the current situation or game in reflection of previous outcome(s).
Adapt through awareness. Gather more information to develop a deeper understanding of how action(s) influence interaction(s). Maintain personal ownership of player development by setting goals, taking initiative, implementing a plan, objectively tracking progress, and consistently reflecting
on the process.
"Making the right decisions in football is very difficult, which is why we must train in a way that looks like the game and looks like the intensity and demands of the game."
josep 'pep' guardiola sala
winner of 31 major trophies
Manchester city manager