At the end of the first half of a match, the team heads to the locker room with the main objective of allowing the players to rest and catch their breath before the second half of the match begins.
In this margin of rest time, out of a total of 15 minutes, is also aimed at making a short talk that we call break talk.
This talk serves to comment on the various aspects of the game, trying to correct aspects that we have to improve, motivate the players, etc.
But, Do you know how to manage these break talks?
Contents
Managing break talks step by step
First of all, while all the players are entering the locker room, we must let each of them relax, hydrate adequately and also to catch their breath because of the great effort they made in the first half of the game.
Secondly, while each of the players finish hydrating, we as coaches, together with our technical staff, must comment the points or things we are doing correctly and also those who we must improve.
Next, it depends on how the match has gone so far, we must share the alternative plan and make the changes that are necessary, that is, what would be the tactical part.
And finally, having made and commented on each of the previous points, we must make a small motivational talk so that the players return to the field of play more motivated.
The sandwich technique in the break talks
To make it easier to understand how we should manage conversations during the break correctly, we can apply the sandwich technique.
The sandwich technique refers to the technique that we must apply in these talks through three different layers or phases.
In the first phase, while players hydrate and recover, we must do positive reinforcement. That is to say, make positive comments about what we have been doing well during the first half of the game.
In the second phase or the central phase, we must focus on the negative aspects. By this, we mean that we must comment in detail each of the mistakes we have made throughout the first part of the match with the aim of trying to correct them and thus avoid these errors during the next forty-five minutes.
Finally, in the last phase, must give a final positive message so that the players return to the field of play with that last message in their minds and have the necessary motivation to go and win the game. Or if we are already winning, make sure we continue doing everything correctly to get even closer to victory.
The objectives of the break talks
Until now we have understood the great importance of conversations during the break. Obviously, these talks have a series of goals and they are the following:
- Let the players recover so much physically as psychologically of the great effort made in the first half of the game.
- Instruct about how the match is going change the dynamics during the second part, if necessary.
- Do reflect to the players about the mistakes made to try to correct them during the second part.
- Recover to the players in case the first half of the match has gone badly and they are psychologically devastated.
- Motivate the players to return to the field of play, to be able to turn the game around.