Yesterday Champions League matches showed a resilience problem in some teams, such as Tottenham (it lost 7-2 to Bayern) and Atalanta (2-1 to Shaktar). Both teams were unable to react positively to the difficulties of the match.
In fact, resilience refers precisely to the ability to react immediately to a problem. It is the ability that allows people to react to defeats by going back stronger than before. These people, rather than being overwhelmed by failure and blocking their determination, find instead a way to rise from those defeats.
Let’s also say that teams that often lose matches, as in this period in Serie A (Spal, Sampdoria, Genoa and Milan) and those that, usually, play below their level show a lack of resilience. The same goes for the coaches who lead them.
- To develop the resilience players and teams need to:
- Know the situations you have to deal with in detail
- Have a plan to deal with them successfully
- Be prepared to adapt immediately to new and unforeseen situations
- Believe in one’s own personal and team skills, making the maximum effort to implement them
- Be able to react positively and immediately to an error
- Communicate and support companions throughout the match
- Reduce tension when possible and during game breaks
These are skills that should be constantly improved. For the coaches the questions are:
- Am I aware of the importance of resilience?
- Am I convinced I can coach it?
- How often do I coach it in my team?
