The absurdity of teaching 8-year-olds gegenpressing

In this episode, Ben and Mike and joined by The Athletic's Rory Smith. Rory has spent his career dissecting elite football, interviewing some of the greatest minds in the game, but none of that prepared him for the minefield of coaching his son’s under-7s team.

Rory confesses to a few questionable touchline moments, wrestles with the impossible task of getting kids to understand positioning (spoiler: they don’t) and wonders if teaching them to "play out from the back" is just setting them up for failure.

He’s also baffled by the number of dads screaming "PRESS!" at children who still struggle to put their boots on the right feet. But it’s not all stress and shouting, Rory also reflects on the good bits, like watching the kids grow in confidence, problem-solving on the pitch and occasionally kicking the ball in the right direction.

Oh and there’s the small matter of trying to coach your own kid without losing the plot. Plenty to unpack, plenty to laugh at.

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