It's Just a Sport

“Practice is controlled failure.”

Great sessions live between boredom and chaos—where players stretch, adapt, and grow.

This article breaks down how to design right at that edge, and why that’s where real development happens:

Training at the Edge of Chaos: How to Design Soccer/Football Sessions That Drive Player Development — It's Just a Sport Discover how to design soccer / football training sessions that challenge players without overwhelming them. Learn why the sweet spot between boredom and chaos is where adaptation, growth, and high-level decision-making emerge.

“If you don’t dedicate yourself 100%, you’ll only ever half do it.”

From third division in Spain to scouting for the national team, Antonio Barea’s story is full of wisdom, humility, and hard-earned perspective.

This interview is a masterclass in what coaching really takes:

Antonio Barea on Coaching, Growth, and the Journey to Spain’s National Team — It's Just a Sport In this in-depth interview, Spanish coach Antonio Barea shares his path from grassroots football to working with the Spanish National Team. Discover his insights on youth development, coaching philosophy, and what it truly means to dedicate yourself 100%.

Messi doesn’t run. He reads.

This article—written during his final seasons in Spain—breaks down how he mastered space without sprinting.

It’s a timeless lesson in movement, perception, and football intelligence:

How Lionel Messi Mastered Space: A Tactical Breakdown of His Off-the-Ball Movement — It's Just a Sport Explore how Messi created and exploited space without constant running. This tactical analysis, written during his final years in Spain, reveals key lessons in football intelligence, positioning, and spatial awareness for coaches and players alike.

Your training session looked perfect. Players moved fast, combined well, even scored goals.

But then the match came… and none of it translated. Why?
Because you trained the rules, not the game.

This article explains how to fix that:

How to Use Modified Rules in Soccer / Football Training Without Losing Game Realism — It's Just a Sport Learn how to design effective soccer / football training sessions using modified rules that reflect real match conditions. Discover why playing the game—not just the drill—is essential for player development and tactical transfer.

Most coaches treat transitions as tactics.
But the best teams treat them as mindsets.

This article breaks down why the speed of thought—not just shape—is what separates good from great:

Mastering Transitions in Soccer / Football: Why Mindset Matters More Than Tactics — It's Just a Sport Discover how top teams like Barcelona and Chelsea master transitions through mindset, not just movement. Learn how to train quick, instinctive phase shifts using simple but powerful exercises.

Football isn’t just about skills.
It’s about teaching how to learn.
Confidence. Curiosity. Self-control.
These 7 traits shape better players—and better people.
This article reframes coaching as education:

How Football Teaches Life Skills: 7 Traits Every Coach Should Develop in Young Players — It's Just a Sport Football is more than a game—it’s a platform for personal growth. Learn how to use soccer / football to teach confidence, curiosity, self-control, and more through emotionally intelligent coaching.

Possession. Progression. Finalization.

Every style of play is built on these 3 principles.
But most coaches skip straight to systems without ever mastering them.

This article breaks them down—and challenges you to coach from first principles:
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Understanding 3 Core Principles of Play in Soccer/Football: Possession, Progression, Finalization — It's Just a Sport Learn the foundational principles of soccer/football—possession, progression, and finalization—and how they shape styles of play. This guide helps coaches build a game model that fits both their philosophy and their players.

Simple ≠ Easy. Complex ≠ Complicated.
If your session progression just goes from easy to hard, you’ve missed the point.
This article reframes progression—and shows how to design sessions that actually transfer to the game:
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Progression: Why Simple Doesn't Mean Easy — It's Just a Sport Many coaches confuse progression with difficulty. Learn how to design soccer training sessions that move from simple to complex—not just easy to hard—by aligning technical skills, group tactics, and game objectives for lasting impact.

Most coaches teach passing as a technique.
Expert coaches teach it as intention.
If your sessions separate tactics from technique, your players are missing the point.
Here’s how to design with purpose—every time:
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Coaching in Context: Teaching Tactics and Technique — It's Just a Sport Discover why separating technical drills from tactical purpose limits player development. Learn how to design soccer sessions that teach passing, dribbling, and movement with real-game intention.

You can’t coach creativity with cones.
You need chaos. You need decisions. You need play.
This article unpacks why your drills might be killing creativity—and how to fix it:

Coaching the ‘Uncoachable’ Creativity — It's Just a Sport We get so hung up on finding the perfect soccer / football drill that we forget to let the player play. Youth players fall victim to their coaches’ line drills and subsequently lose the ability to think and create...

Lately, I’ve been watching back a lot of my own training sessions. Not just for the content—but to study how I coach.

And one thing has become clear:

I want to be more specific—and more efficient—with my interventions.

I’ve always leaned toward using cues to guide learning. But now I’m realizing:
That cue can be even more powerful when it’s rooted in a clear perception-action framework.

Instead of simply correcting a behavior or giving a surface-level cue, I want to help players see the situation—so they can recognize patterns and solve it themselves next time.

Example:
- A third-man combination in the final third.
- A wall pass to break a line and get behind the back four.

Do my players recognize those opportunities?
Can they connect the movement to the why—and then the when?

This is the next layer for me as a coach.

Not just describing what to do, but helping players perceive what’s happening and act accordingly—in real time.

I spoke with another coach over coffee recently about this exact idea:

How sometimes we start with the solution to create clarity.
But long-term development means shifting toward perception-action cues.

We touched on this in the Unlock Player Potential workshop, too—particularly in the framework I call Guide the R.I.D.E.
(🔒That framework’s staying inside the workshop for now.)

But here’s what I’ll say publicly:

🏟️ If you want to train your players’ minds—not just their legs—you need to design sessions that reflect game decisions.

🗣️ And you need language that connects their attention to intention.

That’s what I’m working on. And that’s what I’m building into the sessions I’m uploading now.

If you’re on that path too, and want a steady stream of game-based training sessions you can use or adapt—I’ve opened up lifetime access to my Training Session Library for $27 (normally $5.99/month).

It includes:
- 40+ activities based on real match situations
- Video clips, moving diagrams, and clear objectives
- Ongoing uploads—including the exact sessions I’m reflecting on now

GRAB LIFETIME ACCESS HERE BEFORE APRIL 25: https://www.itsjustasport.com/soccer-football-training-session-library

P.S. If you’ve ever watched back your own session and thought: “I said too much, or not the right thing,” — you’re not alone. I’m right there with you. And we’re getting better every season.