A coach crouching at the edge of a grass pitch talking to a group of young players in training bibs.

Tool tips · Running a club

An observation the person being observed can reply to

Structured notes on a colleague, with a right of reply built in.

Laurie Griffin··1 min read·Written for head coaches

Structured session observations that the coach being observed can reply to.

When

Whenever you watch a colleague coach.

Why

A right of reply is what makes an observation a conversation rather than a verdict. Drafts never reach the person being written about.

The mistake most coaches make

Writing it as a verdict. An observation with no reply is an appraisal, and coaches learn to perform for appraisals. The reply is what turns it into a conversation, and conversations are where anybody changes.

A verdict

  • ·"Too much instruction"
  • ·Filed
  • ·Nothing changes

A conversation

  • "I counted 14 instructions in 10 minutes"
  • Coach replies with why
  • Both halves on the record
Two ways to write the same thing

In practice

Observe, note what worked and one next step, share it. The coach responds in their own words, and both halves are on the record.

Observations

Open it and try it on one session

You will not get anything out of a single entry, and that is the honest answer. Observations is inside the platform. Setting up takes a couple of minutes and needs no payment details.

Related tools

Read next

Permanent link: https://coach.pda-football.com/help/observations

Photograph: Premier Development Academy. Owned by Premier Development Academy. Used with the permission of everyone pictured.