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Day three of the UEFA A licence (part 2) was broken in four parts; a morning lecture and on-field practical, two afternoon lectures and an evening lecture. The morning lecture and on-field practical was delivered by Kevin McGreskin, who has acquired his UEFA A licence from three separate football associations. Kevin is an elite performance specialist, and is the Technical Director of SoccerEyeQ. McGreskins session was entitled Developing Game Awareness, and centred on the idea that the technical, tactical and physical difference between elite players is often minimal; the thing that separates the best from the rest is that the best players consistently make better decisions while under pressure. The execution of skilled performance in football involves three stages: perception (the input of what the player sees), decision-making (the processing or thinking that the player does) and action (the output of the player doing). In a 90-minute game, elite players spend less than two minutes in possession of the ball. They take less than two touches per possession and have between 40-50 interactions with the ball. Over the course of a game, 98 per cent of a players time is spent in the perception and decision-making stages - yet very little time is ever spent developing a players ability in these areas. The three levels of situational awareness in a game are basic perception (the ability to take in information), realization of relationships (putting context and meaning to the information) and anticipation (recognizing patterns of behaviour). The five things that dictate the roles and responsibilities of players on the field are the ball, teammates, the opposition, the area of play and the state of play. The first three are dynamic variables (always changing), while the final two are semi-static variables (sometimes changing). The on-field practical session focused on the dynamic variables - and it was one of the best sessions Ive ever seen or participated in. McGreskin used visual overload to train the players abilities in perception and decision-making. He did this by introducing colours; coloured gloves, bibs, footballs and tennis balls. McGreskin started with a very simple passing drill; two players 20 metres apart, each with a ball, with a player in the middle. The middle player received a pass from the first player, played it back and turned to get the ball from the second player. McGreskin then increased the visual stimuli to overload the players visual perception and decision-making process. He did this by getting the players to wear one red glove and one yellow glove. When the player in the middle received a pass, he had to look over his shoulder to see the opposite player (who was instructed to hold up one coloured glove as the pass was struck). The player in the middle then had to call out the colour of the raised glove, before playing the return pass and going to receive the second ball. Adding more and more variables increased the difficulty; shouting out the colour of the glove being raised, tapping the inside of the opposite foot from which the coloured glove was on, introducing coloured cones around which the ball had to be carried before playing the return pass, etc. McGreskin then proceeded to introduce interactive passing drills, where two teams of eight players (one team in green bibs and one team in blue bibs) passed two balls in a 30x30 grid, alternating passes from a green-bibbed player to a blue-bibbed player. Again, more and more variables were introduced to increase the difficulty; recognition of an external player holding up a coloured glove, calling out the colour of the glove before receiving the pass, introducing coloured footballs to correspond with the bib colours of the external players, introducing coloured tennis balls that had to be released to a teammate before receiving the pass, etc. It was an incredible session, and put paid to the myth that training perception and decision-making skills cannot be done. The morning session was adequately captured by a quote in McGreskins lecture, from Abernathy, 2008: "Coaches should consider routinely using demanding secondary tasks concurrently with the practice of primary sports skills as a means of stimulating the continued automation of primary skills and the refinement of multi-tasking skills of athletes." The first lecture of the afternoon was delivered by David Platt (not the former England international), who is a UEFA A licence coach, a performance coach for the Team GB Olympic squad and a regional scout for Manchester United. Platts lecture was entitled, The Winning Mentality: Recruiting, Assessing and Building Mental Toughness. Platt explained that of the four components of player development (technical, tactical, physical and mental), only the mental side of development has yet to be fully explored. He gave numerous examples from his previous work, including as a coach at Liverpool FC. In his work with Team GB Cycling, he outlined the core values that the team has created: commitment (sacrifice), ownership (its up to you), responsibility (benchmarks) and excellence (do your best). An interesting area of discussion surrounded the recruitment and retention of players. Platt stated that off-field behaviour reflects on-field behaviour - you simply cannot flick a switch and expect a players behaviour to change. So how a player behaves off the field - on social media, for example - often impacts a clubs decision to recruit or retain that player. Platt ended his presentation by advising the coaches to identify and be clear on their cultural and generic criteria for mental toughness. These core values should then be central to their recruitment, retention and development processes. Phil Abbott, from Academy Soccer Coach (a session planning software company that the Irish FA uses for all of its coach education courses), delivered the second lecture of the afternoon. While Abbotts session was very brief, he outlined the many areas in which technology plays a role in the modern game. He outlined the criteria for professional club academies in England to enter the EPPP (Elite Player Performance Program), as well as the funding that is involved for clubs in that program. Abbott presented some other interesting bits of information: 65 per cent of the population are visual learners; the brain processes information 60,000 times faster than text; and visual aids can increase retention of information by nearly 400 per cent. The message to the coaches was clear - technology can aid in your ability to get information to your players. How you choose to use that technology is entirely up to you. Desi Curry, the Technical Director of the Irish Football Association, delivered the evening session. His topic was Modern Trends in Football, and was an extension of the lecture delivered the previous evening by Phil Melville and Nigel Best. There were five topics that were discussed and debated by the coaches: - What are the key technical aspects that are increasing/decreasing in the modern game?- As a coach, which tactical formation would you choose to play, and why?- How, as a coach, would you plan to counter the counter attack? - What are the key factors affecting set plays?- As a coach, how do you prefer to defend/attack corner kicks? I wont go into to detail about the discussions that took place, as it would likely fill a book! But I will leave you with this quote from the evening lecture that I found especially pertinent to Canadian soccer: "Leaders take people to where they want to be; great leaders take people to where they OUGHT to be!"Chicago Cubs Jerseys .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore. Yu Darvish Cubs Jersey . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. http://www.thecubsteamshop.com/Cubs-Carlos-Zambrano-Kids-Jersey/ .Y. - Free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off winning the World Series with Boston, reached agreement with the rival New York Yankees on a seven-year contract worth about $153 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday night. Daniel Descalso Jersey . However, he did make them miss him a little less. Cundiff, who had the unenviable job of replacing Dawson last season, agreed Thursday to a one-year, $1. Joe Maddon Jersey . The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrators decision suspending him for the 2014 season and post-season.CHICAGO -- A ballgame that produced exactly one run lasted 3 hours, 33 minutes.Compared to some of the commercial-packed, long-on ceremony-and-celebrity marathons that have clocked in at four hours and beyond this postseason, Clevelands 1-0 win over the Chicago Cubs in Game 4 of the World series felt like a sprint.But there were five minutes we could have done without.No, not comedian Bill Murrays drawn-out, Daffy Duck-inspired rendition of Take Me Out to the Ball Game. At least there was some comic reliefWhat we had in mind instead were the three instant-replay reviews. An overwhelming majority of fans believe the only thing that matters is to get every call right, even though thats impossible -- and never mind that it both changes and hurts the very games its supposed to improve. More on that in a moment.The only one of the three replay reviews that resulted in the original call being overturned happened in the first inning, when Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks picked Francisco Lindor off first base. The two calls that stood both came in the seventh.The first happened when Cubs catcher Willson Contreras threw to third trying to pick off pinch-runner Michael Martinez, who was called safe (both times) and scored soon after when Coco Crisp followed with the tiebreaking single. The second happened when the next Cleveland batter, Jason Kipnis, hit a grounder to the right side, dove into first base and was called out (both times).The call on Kipnis looked just plain wrong. His arm clearly hits the base before the ball nestles in Cubs pitcher Mike Montgomerys glove. But thats the problem when humans make the first and last decision, no matter how many camera angles are viewed in between.Of course, Ive been on the losing side of this debate for years -- in every sport -- and so it went again Friday night when I asked Cleveland manager Terry Francona whether hed like to see more or less instant replay.Thats the question after a 1-0 World Series win? Francona answered with a question of his own.Well, yes.I think theyve done a great job with replay. I mean, we all know what it is, and I think its made the game better, he said.Joe Maddon, his Cubs counterpart, was an even bigger booster.It definitely helps preventing the spike in the blood pressure, because youre just able to ask them to replay it as opposed to running out there and arguing. So I like that component of it, he began.There are certain parts about it that I think need to be addressed. For example, like when hovering over a bag and all of a sudden you say the guy came off the bag, something like that or the hand wass above home plate .dddddddddddd.. Id like to see some adjustments, but I think overall its wonderful.Furthermore, I would imagine eventually YOURE GOING TO SEE IT CALL BALLS AND STRIKES (emphasis mine).Let that settle in for a moment.Umpires were already in danger of becoming figureheads, stuck behind the plate to lend an air of authority more imagined than real, like the Queen of England at events of state, minus the tiara and jewelry. Count on it happening sooner rather than later.Replay began in baseball in 2008, employed strictly at first to decide home runs. It was expanded significantly in 2014 to include plays at the bases, trapped balls and just about everything else, save balls and strikes.While the average time it takes to review a call has varied -- 1:46 during the 2014 regular season, then 1:51 in 2015 and 1:36 in 2016 -- the number of calls overturned on replay have creeped up each year, from 47.3 percent in 14 to 50.4 percent this past season.Theres any number of theories about that incremental rise, and much of it centers on more and better slow-motion cameras at most ballparks and managers willingness to use every challenge available to them. But theres no doubt its led to a change in both the spirit of the game and how its played; nearly every fielder now holds his glove with the ball on the baserunners body for as long as possible, in the hope that at some point in the slide the camera will show the runner has lost contact with the base.Thats been happening for as long as the games been played. But its only now, because of advances in technology, that it can be spotted.As much as its not my favorite play ... its really hard for me to say its OK to be safe if youre not on the bag and the glove is tagging, MLB exec Joe Torre, whose duties include overseeing umpires, said at the last winter meetings.Well continue to have that conversation, he added.Good luck.Major League Baseball is already wrestling with the pace-of-play issue and the guess here is that what Maddon called the hovering play is only the first of many unforeseen consequences.Instant replay has already made the NFL and college football nearly unwatchable, and its made holding your breath at the last-minute plays nearly a requirement of being a football fan.Try that for nine innings when a robot is calling balls and strikes.---Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org and https://Twitter.com/JimLitke . ' ' '