The Art Of Asking Better Questions

Why this matters

Players who work out the answer remember it. Players who are told the answer need telling again next week. Questioning is the cheapest way to move from a coach-led session to a player-led team.

The common problem

Coaches ask questions that are really instructions in disguise: 'Should you have passed it?' There is only one acceptable answer, everybody knows it, and the player learns to guess what the coach wants rather than read the game.

Try this instead

• Ask open questions that start with what, where or when: 'What were your options there?'
• Give thinking time. Count to five in your head before you speak again — it feels like an hour and it works.
• Ask the player who did it, not the loudest player in the group.
• Accept an answer you did not expect, then test it: 'Good — what would happen if the defender stepped across?'
• Ask fewer, better questions. Three good questions in a session beats twenty rapid-fire ones.

On the pitch

A winger dribbles into two defenders and loses possession. Rather than 'pass it earlier', try: 'How many defenders were around you?' … 'Where was your full back?' … 'What could you do next time to get a one-v-one instead of a one-v-two?' The player usually arrives at the answer themselves.

Questions to ask

• What could you see when you got the ball?
• Where could you move to help your teammate?
• What would make that easier next time?
• How else could you have solved that?