Issue 13: July 2009 - Fundamentals Featured Article

Landon Donovan may have said it best: "We're disappointed. We're proud of the effort we put in. We need to learn from tonight. You don't get chances like this very often.”  The U.S. midfielder’s remarks came after the U.S. Men’s National Team nearly won their first international championship, surprising the field at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa last month.  

The Men’s National Team, by all accounts, had an incredible tournament. After stunning Spain 2-0 in the semifinals, the Americans took their momentum into their first-ever FIFA Finals match and at halftime had the five-time world champion Brazilians down 2-0.  But unfortunately a highly determined Brazilian squad emerged from the half to overpower the Americans, capturing a 3-2 win.

But on one of the largest stages for soccer, the Men’s National Team reminds us: success is determined not just by wins and losses, but by redefining what winning means.  This month, we explore some surprising similarities between youth sports teams and the Men’s National Team.

It became very clear in this tournament that Coach Bob Bradley had set some goals – for his team collectively and for key individual players. And a funny thing happened… while working to achieve their goals, the team won some games!  By being focused on what they could control and master, the Men’s Team upset top-ranked Spain, overcame a talented Egyptian squad, and nearly beat the five-time world champion Brazilians. While teams, of course, enter games with a goal of winning, the Americans entered their matches with other goals. And achieving those goals naturally led to wins, not the other way around.

So what were some of the goals that Coach Bradley and the team set? You might be surprised to hear that they are some of the same goals that youth soccer coaches set for their teams. Over the course of the tournament, Coach Bradley outlined their goals in pre-game press conferences, including the following: 

• Work as a group, especially in the mid-field, to defend
• Focus on key defensive stances: block shots, dive for balls
• Play unselfishly and with a purpose
• Play to control the tempo

In each of the pre-game conferences, Coach Bradley never said their goal was to win. Winning would come if they could master the skills and tactics that they had laid out for each game. Even after painful losses to Brazil and Italy in the first rounds, Coach Bradley remained focused on what they learned from each game and how they performed against their individual goals, not how they did on the scoreboard.  

Our friends at Positive Coaching Alliance remind us, redefining winning means focusing on Effort, Learning and Mistakes (what we refer to as the ELM Tree of Mastery). Coach Bradley focused his team on these very things: giving 100% effort, improving performance by gaining knowledge both on the field and in the stands watching teams compete, and finally turning past mistakes into learning experiences.

Coach Bradley’s focus is supported by the leading sports psychology research available today. The research shows: teams and athletes who take the ELM Mastery approach (giving 100% effort, constantly learning, and bouncing back from mistakes) consistently win more contests. By moving a team's focus off their scoreboard results and on to their effort, players are happier and more self-confident. And, the wins will come.

The Men’s National Team left South Africa with some significant accomplishments:

• Posted their best finish to date in an international tournament,
• Earned a spot in their first-ever FIFA Tournament Finals,
• Held a top-ranked Spanish team scoreless thanks to an impressive defensive effort,
• Goalkeeper Tim Howard earned the coveted Golden Glove for best tournament goalkeeper, and
• Forward Clint Dempsey earned the Bronze Ball for his outstanding tournament play.  

But perhaps even more importantly, the team left South Africa with confidence:

• Confidence in their ability.
• Confidence in their fellow teammates. 
• Confidence to achieve their goals.  

Captain Carlos Bocanegra summed it up, saying, “We showed we belong.”

When asked about the tournament after the tough loss to Brazil, Clint Dempsey said, “I’m proud of this team, proud of the effort everyone put in. Nobody can take away what we accomplished.”  Responsible Coaches and Responsible Sport Parents alike celebrated not only the team’s accomplishment, but wise words from this inspiring athlete and his team.

Parents:

Coaches: