As a Club Director and Coach, I find myself and fellow coaches to be at the time of year where player feedback in the form of evaluations is needed.  Feedback and evaluation are an important part of the development process but often very difficult to get right. The balance between training/development and competition/results puts the process under scrutiny from the start and communication has a direct impact on the outcome.

We are now close to half way through the seasonal year having completed the fall outdoor training and playing season and just over 1/3 of the way through winter training.  Providing an assessment of where each player is at this stage of the year has a lot of benefits.  There are several points of view about the timing and frequency of evaluations.  For me, I have found that the mid-year is a good time because enough time has passed and each player has a amassed a solid body of work in training and games.  There are arguments both for and against more frequent evaluations and the point of this is not to infer that our approach is the right one and that others are not, it is merely a statement to set the background.

There are multiple tools and templates available that have been created and widely used by clubs at all levels. I have leveraged on line systems, checklists, MS Word and MS Excel based documents, etc.  Nearly all of the systems, programs or templates provide very similar evaluation criteria including: technical, tactical, physical, mental and social.  While it is certainly not Rocket Science, it is also not as simple it would seem. There is often a breakdown between intent and interpretation, regardless of the guidance provided to the evaluators as well as the explanations provided to the parents about the purpose and intent of the evaluations.  I have not seen a tool or system that remediates that risk.

Purpose vs Interpretation

Number system – What does it mean? What is the standard of measure? Is it a Stack Rank? These are common and obvious questions. The purpose of the numbering system is to evaluate players on a numerical scale. 1 to 5 is typical.  In some cases, coaches interpret 1-5 in relation to where that player compares to his or her teammates.  Some may consider that 1-5 is based on where they should be based on their age developmentally, while others may consider it based on where the players should be at their age compared to the standard at the regional events they participate in, like leagues, tournaments, ODP, etc.

Stack rank – Many of the systems calculate the numbers and create a hierarchical ranking for the players based on how they were scored on the various Attributes. Even though the intent is for Clubs and Coaches to keep that information for their own internal use and not share, my experience has been that many parents get to that question almost immediately upon receiving the review. Further, parents also want to ask where their player ranks in relation to the rest of the team or specific individual players.  As a coach, it is common knowledge to not talk about other players when talking about one child’s evaluation and it is best practice to refrain from comparing performance, attitude, attendance or otherwise. It is just a natural question that is influenced by our current society.

Games vs. Training- At younger ages, and in particular in under 12, everything you read as well as what most clubs do in terms of player development, is focus on individual player development, technical skill acquisition and training over games. One would think that if the ratio of training sessions two games is 2 or 3 to 1, that player evaluation systems would give more credence to training than games, yet almost every evaluation that I’ve seen or used has a much greater emphasis on game performance. So, if the message to the families is to emphasize training, what benefit does a performance or competition-based evaluation really provide?

This brings me to my next point in regards to age specific curriculum – age specific evaluation.  A lot of these systems evaluate things like vision, field awareness, decision making, as well as physical attributes like speed, power, Etc. In reality, while that is all very important, it should also be given different priority at different ages.  The evaluation systems should be based on the age of the players and what is developmentally appropriate.

So, you can see the dilemma that most coaches have as well as clubs when it comes to evaluating players. The idea and the intent are to provide the parents and the players with some feedback and guidance on how they are progressing, what they should be working on, and provide a general overview of where that player is at that snapshot in time. And while most parents are anxious and eager to see them, I have found at least, that there is so much room for interpretation, and it seems that there is a lot of concern or defensiveness, as well as an interest in the justification by the coaches, for the scores that they provided. It is often a much more tense and anxious process than most people anticipated when they sought to evaluate players in the first place.  I have learned directly and from other coaches and administrators, that like everything else, clear communication and expectations are the cornerstone of an effective evaluation cycle.

Guidance for Club Directors

Be sure to communicate the intent to the coaches, and set some clear guidelines to ensure the evaluations are approached from the perspective of developmental priorities based on their current age.  The evaluations should support your methodology and curriculum but should be influenced by best practice guidelines on a national and worldwide standard.

Guidance for Coaches

Be clear about the intent, take direction from the club. If you have more than one team at that age group, be consistent across all teams. If you employ a staff at the age group level or have team-based staff, be sure to coordinate and collaborate with the other staff to ensure that everyone is consistent with the scoring system etc.  If and when you review the evaluations with the players, focus on the positive, point out the area of focus.  Be sure to encourage the parents and players to maintain regular attendance which demonstrates commitment and to train on their own, outside of the team activities. Avoid discussing other players and refrain from answering questions about comparisons with other players. Focus on that player only.

Guidance For parents

Seek to understand the intent. Use the evaluation as a tool to capture feedback and validation. Recognize that this is about player development and the purpose is meant to drive positive outcomes. Avoid the urge to challenge the evaluation but do have a healthy discussion. Avoid the questions about other players and minimize the comparisons with other parents about their and instead focus on your child.

Overall, it is a very important part of player development and the relationship between player and coach, player and parent and coach and parents.  Communication is key. If communicated properly, executed consistently and discussed openly, player evaluations can be a very helpful tool for everyone involved.

Feel free to comment and share feedback, and good luck with player evaluations.