“The game model is worth the price of admission alone.”
I kept seeing that phrase from coaches who had joined the academy. It confused me at first. A game model sounded like something professional clubs worried about. Not grassroots coaches with two training sessions a week and players who could not remember which goal they were attacking.
Then I understood what they meant. And it changed everything about how I coached.
The Sessions That Went Nowhere
For years, my sessions felt disconnected. We would work on passing one week. Defending the next. Shooting after that. Each session existed in isolation, a collection of activities that happened to occur on the same pitch.
Players would improve at passing drills. Then we would play a match and they would boot the ball long at the first sign of pressure. The passing work existed in a vacuum. It did not connect to how we actually wanted to play.
I kept asking myself why the training did not transfer. Why could players execute in practice but not in matches? Why did development in one session disappear by the next?
The answer was that I did not have a framework. I had random sessions that felt progressive but were not actually building toward anything coherent.
What A Framework Actually Is
A game model is not a formation. It is not whether you play 4-3-3 or 4-4-2. It is a complete picture of how you want your team to play football in every situation.
When you have the ball, what happens? Not just “we pass,” but specifically how you build from the back, how you progress through midfield, how you create chances, what movements trigger what actions.
When opponents have the ball, what happens? Where do you press? When do you hold? How do you protect space? What are the triggers for different defensive responses?
What happens in transitions? The moment you win the ball, what is the priority? The moment you lose it, what does everyone do?
These are not complicated professional concepts. They are basic questions about how you want your team to function. And most coaches, including me for years, have never answered them clearly.
The Transformation In My Planning
Once I had a framework, session planning transformed completely.
Instead of asking “What shall we work on today?” I asked “Which principle needs development?” That question has answers. The first question just leads to random activity selection.
Tuesday’s session connected to Thursday’s session because both addressed parts of the same framework. Passing work was not isolated passing work. It was passing work in the context of how we wanted to build from the back. Defending work was not random defending work. It was defending work that matched our pressing principles.
The sessions felt different because they were different. They were building toward something coherent rather than just filling time with football activities.
What Players Actually Experienced
The change was visible in matches within weeks.
Previously, players would look at me on the touchline for instructions. They did not know what to do because training had not given them a reference point. Each match was a new situation requiring new guidance.
With a framework, players knew what was expected. When we had the ball, the full-back knew where to go. The winger knew what movement to make. The centre-back knew what passing options we wanted to create.
I stopped shouting instructions about positioning because players understood the positioning from training. The framework gave them something to reference. They could ask themselves whether their action matched what we had worked on.
The confusion that had characterised our matches started disappearing. Not because players became more talented. Because they knew what we were trying to do.
Building Your Own Framework
Creating a framework does not require professional coaching knowledge. It requires honest answers to basic questions.
Start with what you believe about football. Do you want to keep the ball or play direct? Do you want to press high or defend deep? Do you want to control possession or counter-attack? There is no wrong answer. But you need an answer.
Then consider your players. What can they actually execute? A possession game model makes no sense if players cannot pass under pressure. An aggressive pressing model makes no sense if players do not have the fitness to sustain it.
The framework should reflect your beliefs but fit your players. Aspirations are fine. Delusion is not.
Define principles rather than rigid rules. “We try to play out from the back” allows judgment and adaptation. “We always play short from goal kicks” removes thinking and creates predictability.
The Mistakes I Made Building Mine
My first framework was too complicated. I had read about professional models and tried to copy the detail without having the players or time to implement it. The complexity overwhelmed everyone, including me.
I learned to start simple and add complexity as understanding grew. Three principles for possession. Three for defending. That is enough initially. Details come later.
I also made the mistake of copying someone else’s model exactly. It did not fit my beliefs or my players. I was trying to coach Barcelona’s approach with players who needed something completely different.
The best framework is yours. Informed by learning from others, but created for your specific context with your specific beliefs.
The Evidence That Changed My Mind
Three weeks after implementing a clear framework, the improvement became noticeable. Not because I became a better coach overnight. Because sessions started connecting.
Week one’s possession work built on week two’s. Week three’s defending connected to week four’s pressing. Each session existed within a progression rather than as isolated events.
Players started using language from training during matches. “Like we practised” became a common phrase. They had a reference point because training had given them one.
The transformation was not magical. It was logical. When sessions connect to a coherent purpose, development accelerates. When they do not, development scatters.
What This Means For Your Coaching
If you do not have a framework, everything is harder than it needs to be. Session planning requires starting from scratch. Player understanding remains vague. Match performance feels disconnected from training.
If you do have one, everything connects. Sessions build toward something. Players understand expectations. Matches reflect what you have been working on.
The framework does not need to be elaborate. It needs to be clear. Clear principles that guide how you want to play in every phase. Clear expectations that players can reference and execute.
Start with honest answers to basic questions. What do you believe about football? What can your players execute? What principles will guide your approach?
Write those answers down. They become your framework. Everything else builds on that foundation.
The coaches who tell me “The game model is worth the price of admission alone” are not talking about tactical complexity. They are talking about clarity. The clarity that comes from knowing what you are building toward.
That clarity changes everything.
Ready to build your own framework?
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