When you watch football, what do you actually see?
Most of us watch the ball. We follow the movement, assess the technique, analyse the tactical decisions. We see the external performance - what players do.
But behind every action is an internal process. Players don’t just have bodies that move around the pitch. They have minds that drive those bodies. And understanding what’s happening internally changes everything about how you coach.
The Hidden Game
Here’s a challenge for the next match you watch - whether it’s Premier League football or a video of your own team.
Stop watching the ball.
Instead, start thinking about the underlying processes behind player actions. What are they thinking? What is their body language telling you? If they’ve just made a mistake, do they look like they’re recovering quickly? If the team is winning or losing, are they maintaining the same intensity?
Where are they placing their focus?
Why This Matters
The brain works faster than football.
Players at the top level have approximately two seconds on the ball before being challenged. Every action must be executed at tremendous speed.
But science tells us the brain works in milliseconds, not seconds. People feel emotions 200 milliseconds after an event happens and think consciously about it 500 milliseconds later.
When a referee makes a decision, a player feels emotion as it’s happening and thinks about the decision instantly. The same applies to every event on the pitch - a goal conceded, a bad pass, criticism from a teammate. Every moment brings an immediate emotional reaction and a set of thoughts designed to influence what happens next.
This is why understanding the mental game matters so much.
Reading the Signs
Following a goal that resulted from a defender being out of position, ask yourself: was that wrong positioning due to lack of tactical understanding, or was the player switched off? Was their confidence so low that their awareness suffered?
Both explanations are possible. Both require different solutions.
If it’s tactical, you need better understanding of the role. If it’s mental, you need techniques to help focus and confidence.
The point: You can’t coach effectively if you only see the external. The internal drives everything.
What to Look For
After mistakes:
- Does the player recover quickly or dwell on it?
- Do their shoulders drop or do they reset?
- Do they avoid the ball or seek it out?
During pressure moments:
- Is their movement fluid or tense?
- Are they making decisions early or hesitating?
- Is their body language open or closed?
Across the game:
- Does intensity stay consistent regardless of score?
- Do they communicate more or less under pressure?
- Where do they look when they receive the ball?
The Coaching Implication
Players aren’t just a body. They have an internal state that drives the external. Their ability to be aware of surroundings, anticipate quickly, and make decisions without delay is ultimately decided by clarity of thought.
Their physicality can be compromised if their brain is clogged by unhelpful or irrelevant thoughts. Their technical execution can suffer if their nervous system fails to cope with the demands of self-induced pressure.
The coach who understands this has a massive advantage.
You can see problems others miss. You can provide interventions others can’t. You can develop players more completely because you’re addressing root causes, not just symptoms.
Developing Your Mental Eye
This skill takes practice. At first, it feels like guesswork - and honestly, some of it always will be. You can’t read minds.
But interpretation leads to questions. Good questions lead to conversations. Conversations lead to understanding. Understanding leads to better coaching.
The more you practice watching the internal, the better you get at seeing it. And the better you see it, the more you can help your players perform.
The Complete Coach
Improving your understanding of tactics and technique is essential. Having deep knowledge of movement, shape, and execution is a prerequisite of expert coaching.
But if the art and science of coaching stopped there, it would be easy. Sadly, it doesn’t.
Players are human beings with minds that can help or hinder their bodies. The coach who can assess both - who can watch the internal as well as the external - is the coach who develops complete players.
Next time you watch a match, challenge yourself. Stop seeing just the football. Start seeing the people playing it.
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