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BUSC Weekly Update: 7/1

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 14:09:03 GMT

Happy July! I hope this email finds everyone well and enjoying their summer thus far. As per usual, I wanted to take this opportunity to provide everyone with an update as well as important reminders.

Etrainu Learning Platform

Last week, we launched our brand new eLearning platform in collaboration with etrainu. Thank you to all of those that have already logged in and taken the Parent Onboarding course! We are extremely excited about the impact of what this platform will provide our club at every level - from parent onboarding to coaching education and even player clarity and understanding.

As the we progress into and throughout the season, we will continue to add courses that will hopefully be valuable for everyone within the club.

If you haven’t already, please be sure to log in and take the course assigned to you. We are asking that a parent of each player do so prior to the start of training in August. We fully understand that many families are on vacation and we do not want to interrupt those cherished memories so whenever you have free time at home, it will not take up much of your time.

If you have any feedback, suggestions, or questions regarding the platform at any point, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Coaching Education

While the players are enjoying a well deserved break, our coaches continue to be hard at work improving their craft to provide the best possible experience for the players in their care. On the formal side of coaching education, we are excited to announce that many of our coaches have recently earned or are in the process of earning new coaching licenses.

Jalen Weatherspoon just recently earned his USSF C License while Alexis Moon , Giuseppe D’Alterio , and Zach Miller are currently wrapping up their USSF D License. Mike Fraioli is preparing to start his USSF C License while Michael Price is nearing the beginning of his USSF B License journey. We’re incredibly proud to have so many of our coaches dedicated to their own development as coaches which will only improve the learning environments that we all create for players.

Internally, our coaching staff spent last month going over Planning & Periodization for the upcoming season. This process has coaches lay out in advance what an ideal season may look like in regards to goals, key performance indicators, and ensuring that the training sessions planned actually connect to those as well as our game model (how we want to play) to make sure that learning truly takes place through an aligned, intentional, and thoughtful planning process. In our last coaching education session, we went over the process with all of the coaches and since then, we’ve been meeting with coaches individually to support them through the process of planning for each of their teams.

In July, our coaching education in preparation for the season will go deeper into our training methodology, which I’ll provide an overview for in a bit. The reasoning for this is to ensure that all of our coaches understand how we design effective training sessions that transfer to the games on the weekend and become embedded in players’ long-term memory. Additionally, this provides consistency in the training environment regardless of the team or age.

Our Training Methodology

Many of you have likely heard us speak about this before, but it is critically important to reiterate to ensure everyone knows what to expect when we hit the fields in August. Just as importantly, we want everyone to understand why we train in the manner that we do.

It is important to us as a club to make sure that we are constantly up to date with the most modern trends and information when it comes to making decisions. Our training methodology, also known as a Constraints-Led Approach (or CLA for short) is based in evidence. This means that it is underpinned by academic research, professional experience and experience, as well as the players’ needs. If you want to learn more about the research that supports our approach, you can find some of that and more on our website at the link below.

www.buckinghamutd.com/coaching

In short, it is about recognizing that every individual is different and perceives themselves and their situation differently. It also acknowledges that with that in mind, developing players should not be treated like a factory or mechanical in nature.

Research shows us that the concept of muscle memory in dynamic sports such as soccer does not stand up to the test. Training “technique” in isolation with the goal of minimizing the amount of variability in how players pass, dribble, or strike a ball is counterproductive to learning the game. This isn’t to say that there is no value in it. There is something to be said for the confidence that it may provide or the “sharpening” of qualities that players may already possess, but in a learning context, it provides very little.

Instead, learning environments should revolve around the individual and how they interact with all of the different constraints at hand. Constraints can be grouped into three categories:

The Task: In simple terms, what is the goal and what are the rules and conditions that must be adhered to in order to achieve the goal? For our context, the task is scoring a goal or regaining the ball after we’ve lost it and the other factors would be the rules of the game.
The Environment: The environment involves things within our control as well as things outside of our control. Factors such as a wet or muddy field, loud and controlling coaches or parents, and time of day are all factors that play a role in how we perceive things.
The Individual: This one goes without saying. Every player is unique, from their genetics and physical maturation to their motivation and attention. Factors such as injury history are also important considerations.

All of these factors dictate how players respond and the solutions that they attempt, not some pre-determined action or pattern. The most important thing to consider, however, is that even knowing all of this, what guides the decision-making process for players is their perception. As a coach or parent, we may and very likely will perceive the same situation differently than a player given our different vantage points, experience, and other factors. This in and of itself makes command or joystick-style coaching ineffective. Often times, too much time is spent focusing on “how” to do things rather than the where, when, and why which makes learning “stickier” and makes performance more repeatable.

With all of this in mind, our Constraints-Led Approach revolves around a few key pillars in application:

Perception & Action Coupling: This means that we avoid taking away important context that guides player decision-making. Dribbling through cones may help players with the “how” but does nothing to help them learn the when, where, and why - which again, is not universal but unique to them and their perceived capabilities.
Repetition WITHOUT repetition: Training isn’t repetitive in nature because the game isn’t. Limiting variability in actions is not the goal of training as every pass, dribble, or shot will be different. Additionally, the game flows between different phases - attacking, defending, and transition. Eliminating those from training to focus on one explicitly takes away opportunities from players to learn implicitly.
Self-Determination Theory: SDT tells us that all of us as humans have three needs to feel and be our best. Those three needs are autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Research shows that players that receive autonomy-supportive coaching play sports longer, perform at higher levels, and live happier lives. There is data to support that the longer a youth athlete stays in sport, the higher likelihood that they will hold leadership positions in their career beyond the sport so regardless of outcomes on the field, this is an important priority for us as coaches.

Reminders

Just a few reminders to wrap this up:

If you haven’t already, please be sure to order your uniforms. Nearly everyone has but just a gentle reminder to anyone that hasn’t.
For those new to the club and/or travel soccer, Zach Miller will be reaching out with instructions on how to take care of your requirements in GotSport. This is necessary to be approved for any league roster and only needs to be done once. It will not have to be repeated in the future.
Please complete the Family Experience Survey in PlayMetrics and Parent Onboarding Course in etrainu if you have not already done so. Many of you have done both already and it is greatly appreciated! These are not to put more on your already long to-do lists but to ensure that we can provide you and everyone with the best possible experience.
Summer camps are still taking place every week with a different theme. If your child is enjoying the World Cup as much as we are, we’d love to see them at camp. Feel free to view the remaining schedule and register here: www.buckinghamutd.com/summercamps
Lastly, we have put together a schedule of tentative preseason friendlies with Warrington and MonU. I am waiting on confirmation from those clubs that the schedule proposed works for them and as soon as I have that, we will get those into PlayMetrics so everyone has them in their calendar.

We greatly appreciate your support and allowing us to be a part of your child’s journey. We hope that these types of communication provide clarity and transparency that can help create a great experience for everyone involved. As always, if you have any questions whatsoever, please don’t hesitate to let us know!

What Learning through the Game Really Means

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 21:00:08 GMT

What Learning through the Game Really Means

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Traditional Coaching Methods Need to be Challenged

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 20:56:55 GMT

Traditional Coaching Methods Need to be Challenged

Coaching has experienced very little change over the last few decades. While there are more resources and more responsibilities for coaches than ever before, coaching looks very similar to how they did 30-50 years ago. As a matter of fact, it often looks like the picture below.

A coach is supposed to have all of the knowledge, while the player has everything to learn. With that in mind, it is the coach's responsibility to share everything that he/she knows and provide instructional feedback to every repetition. This approach completely disregards how people, let alone children, learn. It also neglects the most important reason that children play the game - because it's fun.

Imagine spending your day at work in the office with someone correcting you every time you mistype or don't get the sale. Everyone would agree yet we subject players to it in every sport. Players line up, perform an action such as shooting, and coaches are there to tell players precisely what went wrong. Otherwise, they're not coaching, right? Wrong . Research tells us that all of us perform the same action differently. As a matter of fact, research tells us that none of us will ever repeat the same exact action twice. We'll never shoot the ball the same way twice.

With that in mind, why should so much time be spent breaking down shooting technique to a mechanical level? If it's the outcome of each action that truly dictates performance, why shift the focus away from that to simply ensure that all of the players in our care strike the ball in the same way?

Instead of discussing what research evidence shows us is the best way for players to acquire skill, today's focus is on why coaching hasn't changed in the ways that nearly every other industry has. Here are just a few reasons why coaching often looks like the picture that we described.

Coaches end up coaching similarly to how we were coached growing up because that's how they know it to look.
Coaches find it easier to coach in environments that are black and white. Miss a cone in a dribbling exercise? Something must have been wrong, meaning it's now time to teach.
Coaches are afraid to adapt because there is pressure or fear tied to doing things in a different way than parents expect.
Coaches mimic top coaches that have had competitive success.

While it's understandable and expected to take certain things away from past experience, nothing will ever change for the better if coaches are solely reliant on how they experienced coaching in the past. Similarly, the pressure to be teaching constantly, whether from the coach themselves, parents, or leadership lends itself to coaches designing sessions that have very little relevance to the game as a whole.

All of this brings me to my final point. Whether it be due to imposter syndrome or the very well intended desire to learn from the best professionals, this can also be detrimental to players. At any given training complex, you'll see a whole host of coaches with session plans copied from the likes of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp. The fact that coaches have access to this level of information now a days is amazing, but it is not always applied appropriately. Running nine year olds through the paces of a Guardiola session in the exact same size space with the same constraints as his best Barcelona or Manchester City teams will lead to a frustrated coach and players. The coach will be upset that his players can't perform to the likes of Rodri and Sergio Busquets while the players miss out on any joy because of the frustrated and negative interventions by the coach.

The argument for learning from the best is an easy one. Success leaves clues after all, right? While there are definitely things that can be taken away and applied from winning and successful environments, if all coaches are coaching in a similar fashion, how much can we truly learn. Are the coaches that win successful because of their methods or because the overwhelming majority of coaches are doing similar things?

It's time that we question traditional coaching methods, even though many of us had great experiences and playing careers. Was that due to our coach's methods or was that because ultimately, regardless of how great or poor coaching standards were at the time, someone will always rise to the top?

What a Skillful Player is...and isn't

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 20:43:47 GMT

What a Skillful Player is...and ISN'T

What is a skillful player? Firstly, we have to define what skill is, which is often easier said than done. If you were to ask five different people to define skill, how many different responses do you think you would get?

Traditional coaching methods, social media, and the fear of missing out have warped our perception of skill. Videos flood our feeds of young players doing some incredible things with a ball at their feet. We watch coaches demand perfect technique and drills that look professional, clean, and without mistakes.

All of these things lead us to believe that is what skill looks like - tricks, flicks, moves, scanning, etc. A broad definition of skill would be "the ability to do something well" but in this case, shouldn't the something be the game itself?

Dr. Rob Gray is a professor and author, with over 25 years of experience with truly elite sports teams in leagues such as the MLB and NBA. Rob's research, outlined in his book, How We Learn to Move, makes the point that what we see, feel, or sense from our environment dictates every movement that we make. In addition, he points out that adaptability is the key to skill development.

Isolated drills without any real context from the game present not only aren't as impactful, but they can negatively impact a player's ability to adjust to constantly changing demands of the game.

Ecological Dynamics is a concept that pushes back against isolated or mechanical movements with limited variability to creating environments where players are tasked with solving game-like problems in real time. The idea is that skill is the ability to effectively find solutions, regardless of the constraints.

Constraints can be broken into three different categories:

Task - What does the player need to accomplish? This may be related to the result, team principles, or another factor.

Environment - What from the environment impacts the player's ability to accomplish the task? It could be a wet or bumpy field, loud parents or coaches, or the way that the opponent is playing.

Individual - What are the players strength's and weaknesses? How confident are they? How are they feeling physically? Are they coming off an injury?

It's important to keep in mind that all of these constraints are not black-and-white, but instead, based on each individual's perception. One player may not feel confident taking players on 1v1 despite having all of the qualities necessary to do so. Another player may be really confident in their aerial abilities despite being one of the smaller players on the team. When it comes to constraints, perception is what matters - not facts.

When we factor all of this in, skillful play requires the ability to perceive possible solutions and produce a movement that achieves the intended outcome. It isn't the ability to repeat the same actions over and over again in the same way because movement is not stored in the muscles, it emerges based on the environment that we find ourselves in.

Skillful players come in all different shapes, sizes, and positions. A skillful midfielder will appear different than a skillful central defender, but just because they play the game differently, and one can do things that the other can't, doesn't make one more skillful than the other.

Our different anatomies provide us all with unique capabilities.

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BUSC Weekly Update: 7/1

What Learning through the Game Really Means

What Learning through the Game Really Means ﻿

Traditional Coaching Methods Need to be Challenged

Traditional Coaching Methods Need to be Challenged

What a Skillful Player is...and isn't

What a Skillful Player is...and ISN'T

What Learning through the Game Really Means