Paul McGuinness is one of the most forward-thinking coaches of young footballers in the country. Between 2005 and 2016 he was manager of Manchester United Under 18s, and under his watch 86 academy players went on to make a first-team debut for the Red Devils, with 23 of those becoming full internationals.
After leaving United, McGuinness travelled the world in search of the best football practices from across the globe before joining the FA in 2017 as the governing body’s National Coach Developer. His remit at St George’s Park is to help support coaches get the very best out of England’s brightest young prospects, just as he did in his many years with United.
Who is McGuinness and why is he a football expert?
McGuinness was on the books at Old Trafford for four seasons over two spells in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but he never made a professional appearance for the club. His Football League experience was restricted to just 20 games for Crewe Alexandra and Chester City, after which he took up a role as Director of Man United’s Centre of Excellence in 1992 – just as the Class of ‘92 were about to make a name for themselves.
United’s youth development programme snowballed after that and McGuinness progressed to become Assistant Academy Director before managing the Under 18s. He led a side including Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Michael Keane to the FA Youth Cup in 2011.
McGuinness the coach
As you might expect from a coach who spent so long immersed at Old Trafford under Sir Alex Ferguson, he shares many of the legendary United manager’s opinions on youth development and how to turn talented young players into future superstars.
McGuinness believes in developing mental resilience. He thinks tournament football is beneficial as players learn how to come from behind and what it feels like to lose. He says that players should always be challenged, they should never feel like they’ve “made it” and that ultimately if you can turn them into better people off the pitch, they’ll become better professionals on it.
There is one area in which McGuinness is truly innovative though, and that is his championing of 1v1 training.
McGuinness and 1v1 training
One of the most intriguing ideas that McGuinness picked up from his travels was the way that 1v1 training used in sports such as basketball could be adapted for football. McGuinness believes that by focusing on 1v1 duels, the potential improvement for players is massive.
The thinking behind it is that while football may be a team game, often it is decided in 1v1 battles. For instance, if Virgil van Dijk is best equipped to win his personal battle against the forward on the opposing team, then that will have a huge impact on Liverpool’s chances of winning the tie.
1v1 training works almost like computer modelling but rather than have technology analyse a player, a coach does it with their own eyes. Take a defender like van Dijk for example. By watching him in a 1v1 situation, you can breakdown nearly every aspect of his play.
Is his footwork allowing him to cover ground quick enough? Is he scanning the right areas of the pitch to determine where the danger is coming from, helping him to snuff out attacks before they happen? Is he using his upper body, his strength and core to good effect?
Once you’ve carried out an analysis and worked out areas for improvement, you can then train the individual in a 1v1 environment, focusing on each weakness in turn and making them a much more effective player in the process. Kobe Bryant once said in an interview that basketball was easy because he knew exactly what he should be doing. “It was broken down to the smallest detail; to the right angle, foot placement, timing.”
Helping players feel that comfortable and knowledgeable is what 1v1 coaching is all about.
1v1 training at We Make Footballers
1v1 training is something that we are great believers in at We Make Footballers, which is why we offer specialist tailor-made weekly sessions for players with our qualified FA coaches.
These sessions are perfect if your child is maybe slightly weak in an area of their game and this could use some improvement, such as using their weaker foot.
If they are looking to try and make it into an academy, then 1v1 training can improve their chances no end as our coaches can identify areas for improvement and help them work on them. With our links with professional clubs, we know exactly what they will be looking for.
The best players are always those who look to gain an advantage over others in their development, and that is something that our 1v1 training here at We Make Footballers will definitely provide.
