In this video, Todd is juggling fruit, takes a chance and gets a bite of the apple, but then the fruit falls to the ground. My point is, if we don’t take chances/risks, we might not achieve more positive outcomes.
At IFS we encourage our football players to take chances. Far too often in Australian football, players don’t take chances. Maybe there’s a fear of making mistakes, but the result is a lack of creative footballers; players who won’t go one on one with a defender, players who pass the ball instead of having a shot and teams who are more concerned with keeping possession and hoping that it wins them the game.
By definition, taking a chance means not being in control. Reasonable chances offer reasonable amounts of control. Risky chances offer far less control. The paradox, of course, is that not taking chances doesn’t give us more control at all. It just keeps us from getting what we want, or becoming the player we want, or becoming a more creative player.
So do our players just throw caution to the wind and suddenly start taking all sorts of risks? Certainly in training sessions they shouldn’t be afraid to try things because in order to get what we want, we need to take risks. This is more likely to transfer into game situations and the opportunity to become more creative players.
What makes one person take chances and another not? Character, genes, culture, life experience?
Whatever the reason, it’s important to understand what you’re afraid of, move through the barriers and take a chance. You should then become capable of taking ‘intelligent chances’; looking carefully, weighing up possibilities, visualising possible outcomes and making considered decisions….and becoming an exciting, creative footballer.
nate says
Great blog Julie, I think this rang true for us once we went from club to rep. The fear of making a mistake and letting team mates down is huge for kids.
Danny says
I like the concept and the message behind it, not sure about Todd’s Juggling. Great angle of thought??