Steven Poacher – Do your players have game awareness?

Steven Poacher calls the practice of everyone chasing the ball, as the ‘pack approach’

School has started again for Steven Poacher, and he is in the process of building the skill of his young players.

IN his column in this week’s Gaelic Life, he talks about game awareness, and why it is so important.

“At underage level you will often see players following the ball around the pitch in a group. All of these players might have superb technical skills, and be able to pick up the ball, catch, solo, block, hand pass. But it is all lot with what I call ‘the pack approach’.

“You will have seen it on many occasions, everyone wants to get the ball, and very few if any players show game awareness.

“Of course, at underage level, it’s difficult to expect any young player to possess game awarness particularly if it has not been coached.

“But it can be learned.

“Skill refinement and development is vitally important in sessions. But game awareness, where players get to explore, find solutions, and are challenged to think and discover strategies, is absolutely crucial.”

Poacher explains how he teaches game awarness in his sessions.

Read the full column in the current issue of Gaelic Life.