"Be thou an example of the believers...." 
1 Timothy 4:12

Your attention to your body language will not only trigger what you see, and therefore what you can coach and learn,
it will signal to your athletes your desire for them.  How you stand, sit, walk, talk - matters. 
​You are a reflection of your desired outcome in your team.  Be great. 

MATCH DAY BODY POSITION

From the bench the coach gains a limited "sideline" perspective of the match.

As you grow towards "master class" you'll learn to be transpose your perspective of the match from the sideline, to the players' perspectives from within the activity and chaos of the match. 

Based on The WSA Way, "We cannot effectively coach at our capacity until we develop the capacity to understand what the athlete sees and understands."   

This simple logic, is somewhat profound to the "reach" and "connection" a coach can establish with the athlete. 

We should also be reminded to apply the distinction between "VISION" and "SIGHT", and that "sight" is the action of seeing, while "vision" is the process of applying what is seen to some future decision and action. 

With each of the premises above in place, then where a coach stands, and how a coach positions his body during a match, will determine what the coach is observing.  This is the coach's "sight". 

A proper coaching body position in most circumstances is achieved by positioning that allows the coach to capture the greatest information of the game, so that the coach can appraise, if needed adjust, or teach, or store info, in each particular moment. 

It should be noted the coach is required to "check shoulders" much as a center of the park player, to grab as much "quick info" of as "much landscape" as possible, and to apply the quick glimpses of info into a processor that helps multi-task a forecast of what will happen next. 

A great example of the application of Match Day Body Position can be this simple:  

Your team is in the attacking territory, and on the ball, and multiple players are making decisions.  The body position of a master class coach opens the body to allow an easy check for your own Goalkeeper's positioning, movement, and engagement, your back-4's shape, engagement, and analytical processing, your two lines of midfield supporting roles and engagement, as well as your forward lines decisions on the ball, engaging runs, predictions of services, shooting angles, and the opponent's response.  All the while you would be processing the opponent's capacity to transition or counter-move, how many players do they leave in position for an "out ball", how many have committed to defend, etc.... 

As you shape your body position to help you become aware of each of these nuances of a short moment of a match, you will ensure you do not neglect coaching some of the primary principles of The WSA Way Game Model of "transition defending", and "coordinated defending", and "team attacking", etc... 

The inverse of the master class level is a coach who "ball watches", and has shaped his/her body "towards the ball", and "where the action is".   It is easy to get "caught up" in cheering for team success as spectator might.   A master class coach is a constant analyzer, and is training him/her self to take on as much information as possible.  

And.... very importantly, once this is mastered, the MasterClass coach learns how to internalize the info that is meant to be internalized, and to only vocalize or coach within the realm of short, succinct, "signaling" within the game.   The abundance of information is not meant to spark the coach into becoming a color commentator of the match. 

Analyze much.  Process much.  Share succinctly via match appropriate signals that allow the athlete to perform at a high level. 

TRAINING SESSION BODY POSITION

A coach's body position, location, and stance is very important, and should be a consideration during execution of training sessions.

The activity, the level, the desired outcome, and the coach's authentic personality, all drive this skillset.

No two coaches are alike, and where or how a coach positions himself within the activity can be right for one and wrong for another.  However, the body position, location, and stance is all very important. 

BODY POSITION:  In almost all cases the best body position is the one that allows the greatest amount of information to be perceived through SIGHT.  Remaining open to as much of the session is key.  This may change based on the number of athletes, number of activities being performed at once, number of staff available, and the desired outcome or focus.  Generally speaking though, a coach should maintain a greater view of the training session.   

EXAMPLE OF WHEN A LESSER VIEW IS REQUIRED:  If the coach wishes to focus in one element of play, for example the goalkeeper - CB interaction in build out.  In this case the coach may set up multiple scenarios to replicate GK-CB interaction during buildout, and the coach might neglect, and simply trust the defending team's pressing or mid-block structure. The coach might also ignore the attacking team's wingbacks and holding (6-8) midfielders, so that coach can give strong focus to the decisions, shape, and mechanics used by those 3 players (GK & 2 CBs) in focus. 

​Even as the game "action" or "ball" moves away from the area, the coach may remain attached to the GK & CBs movements and positions, at such a critical level, that other parts of the team are ignored. 

It is important during this time for the coach to know that depending on the emotional maturity, the environment, and ultimately the type of training culture the coach has produced, that play that happens away from the coach's focus, should be created so that athlete experience is still considered.  ALL athletes must be engaged, using time to improve, and to grow.  

BODY LOCATION:  Where a coach positions herself within an activity is a key.  Normally the coach will position herself so that she can see as much as possible.  It might also occur to the coach that positioning within the session provides greater access to information, or greater capacity to coach singularly or privately or quickly. 

​The coach perspective within the session might be key to learning what the player is seeing, or even provide a route for the coach to communicate more readily given an understanding of how far the coach's voice may travel.  The weather, acoustics, age/level of the athlete, may determine the coach's body location during an activity. 

Most important:  BE INTENTIONAL.  Do NOT arrive flippantly.  Where you "locate" matters.  And do not be afraid to "blend out" of a session to allow athletes to fail forward and become masters of their outcomes.  But, inversely, do not use this "ploy" of "blending out" as an excuse to invest less, add less energy, be less focused, and plain and simply, be lazy.  The session is about the PLAYER.  However, the coach is RESPONSIBLE, and in the end ACCOUNTABLE, for the deliverables in a session. 

BODY STANCE:  Quite simply BODY LANGUAGE matters and is meaningful.  Dressing professional, moving professional, and generating the attributes you wish and pray into the session should be activated by you.  Is it FOCUS you want?  If you check your phone during a session, you should scratch "focus" off your list of desirable traits.  Is it ENERGY you want?  Bring a CHAMPION'S POSTURE to the training ground.  Is it ASSERTIVE LEADERSHIP you desire?  Then assert youself throughout to be the model of this. 

If your stance looks "tired" or "sloppy", or it deteriorates then expect a reciprocated response from your athletes. 

If your stance is engaged, connected, ready, alert, energized, strong - expect a reciprocated response from your athletes.