It was an interesting watch to observe Dwight Yorke the coach in action.
The viewing was very limited, provided by a TTFA Media video release. The footage was taken during the recent training camp Yorke conducted, the first since his appointment.
“It’s going to be a rapid training session this morning,” he told the group of locally-based players. “A little tester for you guys but it’s all about enjoyment; apply yourself right. The challenges that we set out this morning, make sure that you ready to go.”
Having set out the agenda, new national football coach Yorke turned his attention to how his players were approaching their drills.
In one clip, he is working with the strikers. His assistants, including Russell Latapy are with other groups.
“Pass the ball in the net, no need to kill it. Hit the target, don’t get sloppy, hit the target!” Yorke tells his players. Not satisfied, he stops the session to demonstrate to one player what should happen. He then tells his group: “Get into good habits, so it’s a little bit of movement...you dictate when you want the ball. As a striker you must always dictate whenever you want the ball....Start again!”
The drill resumes, with more accuracy displayed. But later comes another lecture.
“Everything around here,” coach Dwight says while motioning to the 18-yard box, “has to be quick...Don’t just stand there and receive the ball.”
The message about doing things at pace and mobility is repeated by Latapy to his group, even though the drill is different.
At the end of the session Yorke tells to the whole group: “I look for the attitude of the players...you have the ability, we’ve seen that but also the work ethic. I pride myself on the work ethic.”
The final words though, comes from Latapy.
“Just quickly guys,” Latas interjects. And pointing with both arms down to his legs he says, “these are the tools that we use..” He then uses the same arms to point to his head and adds, “but football is here.”
“What we don’t want to happen is we putting on exercises and you just coming and doing it. We need you to think about what we doing and the reason behind what we doing...Let’s think about what we doing and why we doing it. Let’s be intelligent.”
Those last words told me a lot.
Thinking about the game is something that should be second nature to players at international level. But that still that does not seem to be the case with the current cream of Trinidad and Tobago’s football crop. Latapy’s words betrayed a concern. In this early period of Yorke’s reign, it is one of the issues he will have to find a way around if this World Cup qualifying campaign is to be successful.
The problem is, football intelligence isn’t something that can be inculcated during training sessions. It is something that is either intuitive or is developed through careful observation and self-analysis over time. That is work the individual has to personally do.
When it isn’t done, then coaches have extra work to do, like spending time talking about body positioning. That type of lesson one would have thought, would have been well learned, if not mastered by the time most players came to the national team.
But that is not the case, and it is one of the realities that Yorke and his associates must deal with - the technical deficiencies. And that is before they get to playing patterns, recruitment, scheduling, venue availability, etc.
It would have been fascinating to see what the full session looked like, and what future sessions will look like, especially if the messages of the coaching staff are slow in getting through.
It is a pity also that T&T did not have games during this last FIFA Match Window, so that the new coach could get an early look at what he has to work with in an actual game; a more accurate picture of the task that lies ahead.
One other thing that those TTFA training clips indicated is that T&T have a coach who seems to know what he is a about. But we shall soon find out how much magic the former super player Dwight Yorke can work from the sidelines.
SOURCE: T&T Express