Interactive · Couldn't or didn't?

Watch a few breakdowns in a row, then answer for the player or the group. A rule of thumb, not something a study has tested.

The game keeps breaking down

Can they do the action with nobody near them?

Yes

Didn'tChoosing problem: change the game

Couldn'tTeaching problem: teach it, then put it back

Not sure

Does the whole group break down at the same technical moment?

Pick an answer to see what to try.

Couldn't

A teaching problem

They can't do it yet, so no change to the scoring will fix it. Teach it, then put it back.

Simplify the task a long way first: more space, fewer defenders, a bigger target.
Show it, with one cue rather than five.
Give some varied repetition: change the pace, angle and distance rather than feeding the same ball.
Keep it short, then put them back into the game so the skill gets used for a reason.
In the Switch of Play game: the pass can't reach across the 25 yards, so a few minutes of passing over that distance.

The skill that most often needs teaching first →

Didn't

Probably a choosing problem

If the breakdowns are spread across different moments, a game change is the first thing I’d try. Watch whether it helps: if it doesn’t, come back to the teaching side.

Change the game rather than the player: the space, the numbers, or the scoring.
Reward the behavior you want instead of banning the workaround.
In the Switch of Play game: they see the far side and play it short anyway, so make switched goals count for more.

How I use STEP to change a game →

How to use it

Ask: can they do the action with nobody near them?
If you are not sure, ask whether the whole group breaks down at the same technical moment.
Read the steps in the result card under the flowchart.

Where it comes from

This is a rule of thumb, not a tested model, and the tool says so.

The thinking, sources and caveats are in Teach It or Let the Game Teach It? When Direct Instruction Is the Right Call.

Like how it works? PitchLabs is where you build the whole session: the activities, the diagrams, the plan you take pitchside.

Plan a session in PitchLabs

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