|| FROM THE EDITOR

DR . JAY MARTIN // MEMBER SINCE 1977 , OHIO WESLEYAN HEAD COACH

5 From the Editor is a recurring column in Soccer Journal .

Those of us involved in sport talk about “ experience ” all the time . Soccer players ( and coaches ) who have been in the game a long time have experience . Players and coaches who have played in a championship game or championship competition also have experience . We all agree that experience is very important and can impact the outcome of any given game or tournament . But does past experience really have an effect on a game played today ? We think so . In fact , experience in all aspects of life is important for us . It helps us live effectively and efficiently . It prevents us from making the same mistake ( s ) over and over again . Experience matters … a lot .

How does a player or coach gain experience ? By osmosis ? Is just being at a championship game or going through qualifying enough to help players and coaches gain experience ? Does the fact that I have been a college coach for 44 years mean that I have “ double the experience ” of a coach who has coached for only 22 years ? Did it make a difference that 17 players on the 2013 OWU team played in a national championship game ( it did not seem to make a difference )? Is the USMNT gaining experience by going through the qualification process ? Does the academy player who plays against “ better ” competition have the advantage of a more quality experience than players in the leagues in the lower level ?

DOES EXPERIENCE REALLY MATTER ?

For both the player and the coach , experience can make a big difference — positively or negatively . But experience is more than simply having participated in games ; or being at a championship game ; or playing players at a higher level . Gaining experience takes an effort ; gaining experience does not “ just happen .”

Players today play too many games that are meaningless and they just play too many games . The games become meaningless and come in bunches . Tournaments in youth soccer can pack five or six games into a weekend — if it ’ s 2 p . m . it must be Vardar !

Do players today think about games after they are done ? Do players today “ take experience ” from each game ? The answer is no . Without thinking about the game and assessing their own performance , players will gain no experience at all . After each game , players must ask themselves : What went right ? What went wrong ? How could I have done better ? After answering these questions , players have a chance of gaining experience — only a chance . If they think through situations that happened in the game , then after the game , they might be prepared for the next time those situations arise . It is part of the coach ’ s job to ensure that his / her players make use of and actually gain playing experience !

In the late 1980s , Terry Orlick , a noted sports psychologist , published a book titled “ Psyching for Sport : Mental Training for Athletes .” In the book there are many instruments that coaches and athletes can use to measure a number of psychological variables . One of them is called Competition Evaluation . It is designed to ensure that the player gains some measure of experience from that game .

The player completes the instrument as soon as possible after a game or event . Here are just some of the questions asked :

» How did you feel about your performance ? » What was you onsite focus ?

» How was your level of determination , anxiety , task focus , commitment , confidence , physical preparation , mental preparation , etc .

» What were you thinking about immediately before the game ?

» How was your concentration during the game ?

» When you were playing your best , what was your focus ?

» Did anything unexpected happen ? If so , how did you deal with it ?

» What should be changed or adapted for the next game ?

The idea is to have the athlete assess his / her performance . If

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