Johan Cruyff

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Johan Cruyff (1947-2016) was one of the most creative and intelligent footballers of all time

Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
Johan Cruyff was one of the most creative and intelligent footballers of all time.

His performances for the Dutch national team, Ajax (Amsterdam), Barcelona and Feyenoord (Rotterdam) throughout the 70s and 80s revolutionised football.

Confidence – Lessons From a Violinist

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World class violinist Kai Kight developed confidence through his deliberate use of errors during practice

Confidence comes from being able to get the right outcome when it matters.

Confidence doesn’t come from being able to do something perfectly well when it doesn’t count.

Mastery

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Mastery is the never-ending quest to be better than what you are today

Mastery is the never-ending quest to be better than what you are today.

For the young athlete mastery is born from a desire to learn and improve.  Hunger for progression is what inspires an individual to put in the hours needed to grow a base of technical capability.

There is no one pathway to achieve mastery, but to become exceptional that technical foundation has to be built.  From a football perspective that means a player has to spend time with a ball.

Lessons in Development from Newcastle

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“It is your brain that makes you a player.” Peter Beardsley was always thinking three passes ahead.

“It’s not me, it’s practice” – Peter Beardsley.

Peter Beardsley was one of the marque English players of the pre-Premiership era.  Part of a thrilling attack at Newcastle that included Kevin Keegan and Chris Waddle, he won the championship with Liverpool and almost won it again (twice) with Newcastle in the Premier League.

Development Is a Journey

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all young players should view development as a journey, not a destination

Improvement is based on constantly achieving small goals.

Rather than focus on achieving a big goal, Top Flight Football Academy advocates young players committing to continual development by hitting short term targets.

There are two reasons for this approach.

Four Rules

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PEP GUARDIOLA’S PHILOSOPHY IS BASED UPON FOUR KEY RULES

The Four Rules of Pep
Pep Guardiola is the seminal club manager of the decade.

He has dominated both La Liga and Bundesliga with Barcelona and Bayern Munich respectively, winning trophies while evolving a style of play that is simply breathtaking.