One-to-one video session with a player: how to choose clips and lead the conversation

In my previous posts I wrote about working for the head coach: how I analyse the opponent, how I turn that into a team talk about the opponent and what I tell the head coach during the match. Today it is about a one-to-one conversation: the individual video session with a player. In Poland there is more and more focus on individual actions, and players appreciate it more and more. But for such a conversation to make a difference, you need to know what to show and how to lead it.

Why hold a one-to-one video session

Before you cut the first clip, it is worth knowing why you are meeting. I keep a few goals in mind:

• relationship - getting to know the player not only as a footballer, but as a person,
• in-depth technical and tactical analysis - his decisions and reactions, matched to his strengths,
• self-assessment - the player learns to evaluate his own actions consciously,
• individual goals - we check where he is and set the next step,
• team development - the better the individuals, the better the team,
• fit with the game model - whether his behaviour matches the way we want to play.

Start with the position requirements

Before you tell a player what to improve, you need to organise your knowledge of his position. For every position I write down the 9-10 most important, universal actions - at least separately for the low block and for the mid and high block. You have to go through every position like this.

And be careful with details from conferences. Someone has beautifully drawn a micro-detail - it is worth knowing and saving in your video database. But with the player you first work through the basics. The detail comes only when the basics are there, or when you are building his strength.

What goes into the session

When choosing clips, I go through six filters:

• The sub-phase and what the opponent does. Low build-up against man-to-man pressing requires different actions than low build-up against a zonal defence.
• The player's role in the action. Is he on the ball, closest to it or furthest away? In defending, the closest player covers and communicates, the furthest one keeps the balance. Without this, the word "communication" means nothing.
• Position requirements. What I expect from every player in this position.
• The player's profile. His strengths and weaknesses, his attributes and what he says about himself.
• Repetition. The session includes what happens at least three times in a match or was intentional.
• Key situations. Goal situations and the penalty area go in even if they happened only once.

I mainly analyse the match, because the match is the test of what we do during the week. From training I take at least the main part of the Wednesday session - you can see details there that the player repeats and that you will not notice in a match.

Strengths or weaknesses? I follow a rule I took from an academy director I worked with: the better the player, the more you work on his strengths; the weaker he is, the more you work on what needs improving.

How to lead a one-to-one video session - 10 minutes step by step

1. A topic outside football. I have a rule I took from one of the coaches: no analysis until you have talked about something outside football. How he feels, what is bothering him, whether he slept well. Without this you do not know if the player is ready to take feedback at all.

2. Why we are meeting. I say clearly that it is about development, not criticism: "This is not to point it out to you, it is so that you learn something for the future". Players often really do not know that, and trust takes a long time to build.

3. His goals. I ask about his role in the team, where he wants to get to and why he came to this meeting. Then I refer back to it.

4. The player speaks first. With each clip I ask: "Where would you position yourself now?", "What did you see here?", "What would help you?". My comment comes only after his answer. I admit that, for me personally, listening is hard.

5. Plus and minus. Always at least one positive clip and at least one to improve. It does not have to be half and half, but it is easy to slip into looking only for mistakes. A good sign: the player points out his own mistakes.

6. As few clips as possible. Coaches like to prove that a mistake keeps happening. You need to know it happened three times in the match, but show the player one. Instead of ten clips, one or two accurate, well-explained ones are enough. If he understood - I do not show it again. No drawings and no big presentations: just cut the clips quickly and freeze the image at the right moment.

For the mesocycle I choose two key elements with the player. The rest of the clips is an extra - so that he feels he is being listened to.

At the end, always the same question: "What are you taking away from today's meeting?". One thing we will do straight away in training or in the match.

How long does it take? "It depends" is the best answer. My standard is about 10 minutes. Sometimes longer, when the player is really into it. And one observation: the more it is my monologue, the shorter it usually is.

When there is no time to meet everyone

The biggest enemy of one-to-one sessions is the lack of a system. Spontaneous conversations are the most natural, but at the end of a quarter it is worth asking yourself whether someone has really sat down with every player. My minimum is once a month with each player, and the best moment is the start of the microcycle - with a Saturday match, Tuesday or Wednesday.

When time is short, I have a few solutions:

• Micro-analysis. No appointment needed: "Come here for a minute, I have one clip for you", a tablet and one sentence on what to try in training today. It takes little time and you do not have to arrange anything - in my opinion it is the most powerful tool.
• Unit meeting. A meeting with a whole unit, for example the defenders. Everyone gets fairly personalised feedback and hears others in similar positions. If you have no time for anything else, do a unit meeting.
• Self-analysis. The player cuts clips from his own match - positive ones and ones to improve - and you watch them together. It works with a conscious player who feels safe showing his mistakes.
• Rotation and splitting the work in the staff. With two people in the staff: two units this week, two the next. Every player gets feedback every two weeks - realistic even at the lowest level.

And underneath there is one question: is it your priority? If it is, you will find a solution - even one clip for each striker and a short conversation before training.

Summary

A good one-to-one video session is not about showing the player everything you see. It is about him understanding one or two things and taking them onto the training pitch.

🎯 Give the player as few clips as possible, but enough for him to understand.

If you want to see how I work with live analysis, I have two recordings for you as a gift: the webinar "Live analysis like in top clubs - a system you can copy" and a live analysis of the Champions League final Inter - PSG. Both are in Polish, and you will get them after signing up for my newsletter: pachelski.com/prezent.