Floorball – Hard days will always come, but never last?

What other people think of you is none of your business (I think Mourinho could have said that), Leadership is about having an unshakeable faith in your goals, vision and in your power to make positive things to happen together with your floorball team, these are also the things, good leaders are able to feed back to the team, to give more energy and keep a clear direction.
Just remember that hard days will always come, but never last, but strong people always do. Hard times are just opportunities to learn for the future!
Hard times build great leaders and floorball players. During the hard times and pressure, your leadership ability and skills are tested. Are you, or can you always be in control of things?

Floorball deke ball control

“If everything is under control, you are going too slow” /Mario Andretti, race driver

“The only thing that we cannot control is our supporters” / José Mourinho

“Pain is temporary. Quitting last forever”. /Lance Armstrong

Great leaders and teams create castles of the stones others throw at them, but it’s impossible to build a castle of success on a foundation of excuses.

Floorball – 80% of your results come from 20% of your activities

Have you heard about the Pareto 20/80 rule? 80% of your floorball results come from 20% of your activities, drills, practices etc. meaning a limited amount of activities will give you already 80% of the results!
What are your leadership cornerstones or vision? What about your floorball players key, or basic activities that will give you the 80% of results?
Find and visualize those important floorball activities, drills and practices that generates the majority of your results and get really good in doing those few things! Getting your basic box (framework) in place, it’s easier to do things outside the box. Master what’s inside the framework, that will give you the 80% of the results.

Floorball practice drill dribbling

“The way I use to develop an aerobic condition is three against three, man to man, in a square 20 metres by 20.”

José Mourinho 36 football drills

If you search “Mourinho 36 drills” on Google you can find a lot of topics discussing that José Mourinho uses 36 basic practices or drills. You will probably not find them, at least I haven’t, but this might give some advice that he is working with the 20/80 rule? These are some things that you can read about Mourinhos 36 football drills.

Combined floorball drills

The 36 football drills are simple or basic if you prefer that word, the practices are mainly designed to work with techniques and skills. During the practices and the drills the players work with fitness, tactical, technical factors at the same time with a high number of ball touches. Mourinho has also included the psychological and mental factors into the drills, meaning he is also working with the psychological part in football simultaneously.

“His team allies structure with individual talent.” – UEFA Technical Director Andy Roxburgh

Floorball – Mourinho – Everything can be controlled

Mourinho believe in control and his coaching methods focus on what is in his direct control, his opinion is that the only factor he can not control are the supporters.

One of his priorities is keeping things simple and therefore try to remove the complexity or simplify it. Focus or concentration is an another important area for Mourinhos’ players, the message is that the opponents are not stupid and can potentially have the same methods… In terms of weakness of the opponents Mourinho will try to and practice taking advantage of the individual player weaknesses, such as height of players or weak foot.

Floorball youth game

Other aspects of his leadership and coaching include a “brutal honesty”, with strict eye to eye contact and he does not censor his word no matter who the player, that you can read in the newspapers and in this book.

Mourinho believes in hard work ethics and a balanced game system, so it’s not about attacking or defending, it’s about balance between these two factors.

Floorball – Mourinho – Psychology and youth coaching

According to Mourinho he values the psychological factors the team above anything else, he wants his players to play with controlled aggression and self-confidence. Mourinho’s approach to youth football is simple.
He uses small sided games with high amount of ball touches based on the Dutch system, but he works isolated with the parts of his tactical system.
His requirement before any youth player is promoted to the first team, is that they master the color box thinking, tactics and have been through the 36 football drills at least once. Otherwise the youth players will not be promoted to the first team.

Youth floorball practices and drills

José Mourinho’s leadership is charismatic, trustworthy, and respectful and he uses an attitude of invincibility, which he seems to be able to move into his players.
Many times he uses the media and newspapers to focus on him, in order to remove the attention and pressure from the team.

He also uses the media in some cases to create a negative view of the teams possibilities of success or to create an enemy outside the team before big games, in order to motivate the players.

Floorball – Practicing is my secret

10 000 Hours – 10 years

A number of studies have shown that it will take ten thousands of hours to become a master of what you are doing. This will apply for leadership, professional floorball players, football, work, hobbies etc. Each of us has the potential to master what we are doing, but it will require time, 10000 hours, or about ten years, you need to focus your energy, if you want to be the best in whatever you do. But too many of us don’t commit to the things we are doing well enough, but we still hope to be the best or recognized, sometimes we give up too early, wondering why we never become the best.  “I was a great talent, when I was young…” Ever heard that?

Floorball practice drill dribbling

Talent or a lot of practice?

Talent is a word we use to simplify the explanation of success and the difference between the best and the normal people or floorball players. We also assume that elite floorball, hockey or football is only for the people with right heritage and genes and unfortunately we were not one of those… that’s why we are leaders or waterboys ; )
What if it wasn’t like that, and it could be seen only as an opinion that hinders us from being the best? What if our success is only connected to the amount of hours we practice?

For example, many floorball and football coaches talk about that they are able to spot talents, is that true? Or are they good at spotting players that already have been practicing more than the others?

You can have gifted parents, but it’s probably more realistic that the parents have put more efforts already from the beginning in to the practicing?

Tiger Woods, a golf talent, or is it a result of practice?

Tiger Woods has been seen as the greatest talent in golf, ever. In that case you need to know that Tiger Woods got his first golf set before he was one years old. He had been through his first full golf round at the age of two years. When he was five he had already practiced more than an average golfer will practice during his or her whole “career”. The same goes for Messi, Beckham and the other football stars. David Beckham used to practice in a little park, and he practiced for hours and hours every day.

“With hard work everything is possible, everyone can dream, and what you dream of you can reach, if you are willing to work for it” /Lionel Messi

When José Mourinho arrived in Madrid he commented Christiano Ronaldo, “He works incredibly hard, it’s impressing to see a player of his caliber to practice harder than nobody else”

If you map the hours the star football players put on practicing, it would not be a surprise, why they are where they are.

“Practicing is my secret, I have always believed in, if you want to be successful you need to work for it, practice, practice and then practice more”. / David Beckham

I’m not sure how many hours of practice, I can give you by reading this blog, but at least some valuable time and leadership knowledge, I hope.