70 Per Cent Ball Rolling Time!
What Does This Mean?
'Ball rolling time' refers to the amount of time players are actively playing within your sessions, with 70 per cent being the recommended target for coaches.
This target depends on the environment, but grassroots players want to be ‘playing’ for as much of the session as possible. With this in mind, for a typical session lasting one hour long, players should be active for 42 minutes, leaving you 18 minutes to play with.
Why 70 Per Cent?
The target is set deliberately high to encourage coaches to use their time more effectively.
Consider the amount of time lost on the following:
- Drinks breaks
- Coach setting up practices
- Coach explaining practices
- Coaching points
The 18 minutes soon disappears; before you know it, the ball rolling time has been significantly reduced.
What Can I Do To Improve Ball Rolling Time?
- Include arrival activities
Set an arrival activity so that players can play with little coach intervention. Try to make the arrival activity link to the session outcome. This will give coaches time to set up whilst the players are engaged in your activity. - Share the session outcomes
By sharing the session outcomes at the start should enable you to progress practices quicker if they know what you are looking for from the session. - Simplicity
Overcomplicated sessions take ages to explain. Keep it simple! - Pitch set up
Try to have everything set up at the start of the session so you can jump from practice to practice without moving too many goals/cones. The time between practices is where you might start to lose the player's interest, so being able to jump from practice to practice will ensure the session flows and players remain engaged. - Coach Interventions
Consider how you might engage with the players. Does every intervention need to be a group intervention, or can you pull individual players out whilst the game continues? - Debrief early
By debriefing the session outcomes 6-8 minutes before the end of the session allows players the last few minutes to consolidate all the key messages shared throughout the session.
A Challenge For You!
Ask an assistant/parent to record how long players are active for.
You may be surprised at how difficult 70 per cent is to achieve.
Good luck!
The former West Ham United and Stevenage midfielder moved into management with Ebbsfleet in 2014, before a spell in charge at Macclesfield.
In 2020, Daryl took the helm at the Daggers and this season steered them to an eighth-place finish.
Daryl talks in the Coaches Coffee Club about his career in the game, as well as his views on what makes a great coach, while also sharing with us one of his favourite sessions.