The kids who play the most grow the most because growth requires momentum. 

A car will consume less fuel on a highway, to reach and stay at a high speed, if it moves up to the highest gear and remains there. Similarly, a car will consume more fuel if it has to go through constant fluctuations in speed, gears and stop-starts to reach a high speed.

If a child is not playing football regularly, then they will find it hard to build momentum and reach their full potential.

Recently, we have noticed big jumps in confidence, skill, and growth in one of our kids at one of our academy centres in Gurgaon. Unsurprisingly, this child has been the most consistent student we have had. He has come to training in the worst weather and participated in all our leagues and friendly matches. 

Momentum in football is created by measuring progress 

Like a car going from the first gear to the fifth gear, a child has to progress through different stages of development to reach their highest potential.

Here are examples of the stages we use to measure progress: 

• Learning
• Developing 
• Improvising 
• Mastering

The child mentioned above came to us as a complete beginner, and we took him through all the above stages in all different aspects of his game. It took time, effort, patience & dedication, and now he is getting to see the fruits of his labour in his performance, skill and confidence. 

If we measure the gap we can create a negative progression

When we set up an end goal for one of our kids, that automatically creates a ‘gap’ in their minds between where they are and where they want to be.

When we measure a gap, we look to the future, and the future is not a fixed point. As the child progresses, their vision also changes. This moves the initial goalpost and continues to maintain the gap.

If this gap is used as a measure of progress, then it will create a negative impact on the growth of the child as they will start feeling that they never really progress.

For example, If we want to teach them the ‘scissors’ skill, they already envision themselves using it like the advanced players around them even when, for them, it is just day 1. 

After a month of consistent practice, they may improve significantly but if they compare themselves to the advanced players who have also improved at the same time, they will still see the big gap. This will maintain the gap they felt at the beginning between where they were and where they wanted to be. Making them feel like their progress wasn’t significant.

This is like trying to race a car that is comfortably moving on the fifth gear while you are just starting on your first. You will constantly measure how far away the other car is getting from you while you pick up the speed. This will only lead you to quit the race. 

If we measure the gains, we can create a quick positive progression. 

When we measure gains, we look to the past, and because the past is a fixed point, we can accurately measure the progress we have made from that point onwards.

At FAB football academy when we evaluate a child’s progress, we do not measure how far away they are from their potential but rather measure how far they have come from their starting point. 

When we share this with the child, it encourages them and inspires them to keep on working hard and make even more progress.