Stephen Harvey on Teaching Games for Understanding Q&A - FIFA Training Centre

Following his Science Explained session on Teaching Games for Understanding, Professor Stephen Harvey of Ohio University delves deeper into the nuances of the methodology in conversation with FIFA’s Dr Paul Bradley.

In the first of this two-part series, Professor Stephen Harvey introduced a training methodology known as Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU), and discussed how coaches can adapt its fundamental principles to tailor it to the specific needs of their squads. As he explained, TGfU was pioneered in the UK in 1982, and prioritises overall understanding of how football works over technique-based drills, with the aim of making training more enjoyable and ensuring players can apply their technique effectively in real-life match scenarios. You can catch up on the full session here.

In this follow-up, Professor Harvey joins FIFA’s Dr Paul Bradley for an in-depth Q&A on TGfU and how to use it. Over the course of just over 30 minutes, they discuss everything from the barriers coaches face in implementing TGfU to how they might use it to teach technical skills and tactical awareness at the same time. If you want to deepen your understanding of how Teaching Games for Understanding works, you are in exactly the right place.

Watch the Q&A

Questions from the Q&A

00:24
What are the biggest barriers coaches face when trying to implement game-based approaches, and how can we overcome them in real-world youth coaching?

05:41
What advice would you give coaches who are new to questioning and guided discovery and want to use a game-based approach?

09:02
How can we blend tactical awareness with skill-based work that will help players execute technical skills to a high level?

14:58
What can associations and other organisations do to embed game-based approaches more deeply into coach education programmes?

21:07
We know TGfU is useful, but we also know that coaching cultures vary massively from country to country. What factors do you need to take in account when trying to adapt TGfU to different cultures?

27:26
If you had to recommend one small change coaches could make with a view to shifting towards a game-based approach, what would it be?

30:51
Within FIFA, we talk a lot about how to develop players’ competency profiles. How can we use game-based training to develop physical, technical, tactical and psychological attributes?

34:20
What are the key take-away messages you would like practitioners to take from your session?

About the expert

Stephen Harvey is a Professor of Coaching, Health, and Physical Education at Ohio University (USA). He earned his BA (Hons) in Sport Studies from Northumbria University (UK), a PGCE and MSc in Sport Pedagogy from Loughborough University (UK), and a PhD in Exercise Science from Oregon State University (USA). His research focuses on teaching and coaching pedagogy, with particular emphasis on game-centred approaches such as Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) and their impact on learning. Stephen is a Coach Educator Developer and Coach Educator for US Soccer and actively coaches in Ohio’s Olympic Development Program, as well as high school and club football.