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!

Ball Rolling Time
What Is Ball Rolling Time?
Resources
How To Manage Football Parents
As a new coach, managing the parents of your players can be a tricky job, but it doesn't have to be that way.
Grant Downie OBE
Meet our Global Performance Mentor, Grant Downie OBE.
Ingredients For Effective Mentoring
In this definition of mentoring offered by Weaver and Celldurai (1999) they state the role of the mentor is to:
The Positive Parent
As a soccer parent, be a positive part of your child's learning process and try these open questions out after the game.
Steve McClaren on His Mentors
The former England manager talks to MiMentor about the important mentors in his life and the role they played in his career.
Video
Steve McClaren On Sir Alex Ferguson
Steve McClaren tells us about his first arrival at Manchester United and what boss Sir Alex Ferguson said to him...
How To Avoid Burnout
The demands of coaching can sometimes lead to burnout - or physical and emotional exhaustion. But how can we avoid burnout and keep our passion and desire at an optimum?
How well do you know your players?
How much do you really know about your players? What are their individual strengths and weaknesses? What do they personally need to improve on? Do they know where they can grow as players? Do they even want to develop?
Ben Garner
Meet our Global Coaching Mentor, Ben Garner