What communication doesn't mean
There is something I repeat in almost every soccer experience I do with American players.
To play as a team, you have to think as a team.
And the fastest way to synchronize the minds of 7 or 11 players is communication.
Simple.
You have to tell your teammates what is happening behind them.
You have to tell them what you are going to do.
You have to ask for the ball.
You have to tell them when they have time.
You have to tell them when pressure is coming.
You have to tell them when you are overlapping.
You have to tell them when they are surrounded and you need the ball back quickly.
That is communication.
And that is why, during games, I often say:
“Speak, guys. Speak.”
Not because “speak” is the perfect word.
It is not.
What I really mean is:
Communicate.
Give useful information.
Help your teammates understand the game faster.
But “communicate, guys, communicate” sounds weird in the middle of a game.
So I say “speak.”
Shorter.
Clearer.
More natural.
The problem is that some players take that word too literally.
They think speaking just means opening their mouth and throwing words into the air.
And in the case I am talking about, those words are not useful information.
They are complaints.
Bad pass.
Bad touch.
Bad decision.
Why didn’t you see me?
Why didn’t you pass?
Why did you lose it?
That is not communication.
That is noise.
And noise does not help a team play better.
It breaks the team.
Especially in youth soccer, where mistakes are not only normal, but necessary.
Players need to make mistakes.
They need to lose the ball.
They need to make the wrong decision.
They need to fail, because failure is one of the fastest ways to understand what the right decision actually looks like.
But if every mistake comes with a teammate complaining, judging, or pointing fingers, the player does not become better.
He becomes smaller.
He plays safer.
He hides.
He stops asking for the ball.
And now the team has a bigger problem than the original mistake.
This is why I tell players something very simple:
Before you correct everyone else, look at yourself.
There is an old image I like.
When you point one finger at someone else, three fingers point back at you.
That is a very good lesson for soccer.
Yes, your teammate made a mistake.
But where were you?
Did you offer support?
Did you communicate before the ball arrived?
Did you give him a clear option?
Did you help him solve the problem?
Or did you just wait for him to fail so you could complain?
Real communication helps the team before the mistake happens.
Complaining attacks the teammate after the mistake has already happened.
Big difference.
And parents need to understand this too.
A loud player is not always a leader.
Sometimes he is just loud.
A real leader communicates with purpose.
He gives information.
He gives support.
He gives energy.
He corrects when needed, but he does not spend the whole game acting like every mistake belongs to someone else.
Because soccer is not tennis.
You do not win by proving you were right.
You win by making the team function better.
And if your words do not help the team function better, they are probably not communication.
They are just ego with a voice.
In Primal Soccer Basecamp, we will keep talking about these small details that separate players who only play the game from players who actually understand it.
Because talent matters.
Technique matters.
Fitness matters.
But if a player cannot communicate without complaining, he is not ready to lead anyone.
Not even himself.
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¡Vamos!
— Coach AL