Silent Sidelines

What are “Silent Sidelines” in football, and why do we, at Bloomsbury Football, use them?

The idea behind silent sidelines is to encourage children to play, without fear of criticism, or unnecessary interference from anyone on the sidelines, be that a coach, parent or other players at the game. 

Does everyone have to be completely silent?

‘The Soccer Store’ states that “spectators are not permitted to call out or even cheer, and that coaching staff are not permitted to shout out instructions to their players”. However after an event organised and heavily supported by the Nottinghamshire FA, they released a statement outlining that “the aim of the day wasn’t to make the sidelines silent, but to make people stop and think”, when shouting out from the sideline. The idea is to encourage positive praise, such as applause for good play and to celebrate goals, but beyond that everyone should keep any type of communication to the absolute minimum.

Coaches should aim to give feedback only before and after each half, in order to allow their players to express themselves freely during play. This practice may work well for younger age groups, but more constructive feedback to players as they grow older, and more tactically aware, can help support their understanding of the game in a competitive environment.

How is it regulated? 

Officials have the opportunity during appropriate stoppages of play to address anyone who is deemed to be consistently infringing on the rules of silent sidelines agreed upon by the organisation, and in the interest of all the players, may ask said person to leave if necessary. 

This is however a very difficult and extreme measure to enforce, instead it is encouraged that everyone maintains a positive approach to the game, to ensure a friendly but competitive environment for the players.

What are the issues surrounding Silent Sidelines?

Will players get the same level of gratification from scoring a goal, or doing a great bit of skill during the game if they are only greeted by mundane applause from their parents or coaches? Is the adrenaline, created by an enthusiastic atmosphere on the sidelines, lost because people are afraid to cheer on their team? It is understandable that some aspects of the game may be lost through this style of support, but we have to remind ourselves that the development of players is key, and there will always be time to encourage and support your players, just at the right moment, and in the right way. 

What are the benefits of Silent Sidelines for the players?

As well as encouraging positive praise for good passages of play, players will be enabled to play more freely, without fear of being criticised for making mistakes. All too often in football players will look to their parents, coaches, or role models on the sidelines for acknowledgement, whether good or bad. Silent sidelines are used to prevent all players from receiving negative comments, or even visual acknowledgements during the match, and allow them simply to focus on their game. 

How does Bloomsbury Football encourage Silent Sidelines? 

At Bloomsbury Football, we aim to encourage silent sidelines by creating a positive, consistent environment for our players and parents, by minimising the amount of distractions to our players during matches. This means we try to use the pre-match team talks, intervals, and post-match team talks to communicate with our players at the most appropriate time, giving them positive feedback, and setting goals for the match at hand, or following training sessions.

However we understand that different players, at different ages need to be engaged in different ways, and therefore do not limit ourselves to these stoppages in play to pass on coaching points.

We also understand that match days can be emotional, for players, parents, and coaches alike, and therefore try our best to ensure that we delay dialogues relating to the games until at least 24 hours later, as to give everyone time to reflect, and overcome any emotional attachment to the game.

At Bloomsbury we try to encourage the idea of provoking thought in our players, enabling the principles of silent sidelines to be taken away from the pitch. Are parents taking this approach in the car on the way home, or are they immediately reverting back to telling their children how they’ve played, coaching to an extent what they did well, or not? We inspire to create an environment that contributes to our players development on and off the pitch.

How can you as a coach or parent help to encourage Silent Sidelines at your club?

Clubs, coaches or parents can set up their own silent sideline matches or weekends, through internal organisation throughout the whole club, or just a single team. Everyone simply has to agree to a set of rules for maintaining silent sidelines during the game, and communicating with the coaches, officials, opposition and attending parents.