Skip to content

One map of the game.

Every piece of coaching in Coach Sidekick lands on one vocabulary: 164 skills in 25 areas across four domains. It's the map coaches see on every player's profile, and the reason a sentence said at practice can find the right drill.

The Coach Sidekick skill terrain: 164 skills in 25 areas across 4 domains, shown for a demo player at the end of a season.
  • Technical56
  • Tactical55
  • Physical22
  • Psychological31

His second read moves scanning and her open-body first touch up a band. Fill is the coach's judgment, rings are measured, and neither is a score.

Fill: the coach's assessment
Above level At level Below level Not yet assessed
Ring: how often coaching mentioned it
1 2–4 5–9 10+

The skill map from the coach app, with its real areas and layout. Ella and her season are a demo.

Four domains, 25 areas.

The whole game, from first touch to composure under pressure. Each area holds the skills coaches talk about, from foundational to expert.

Technical56 skills

  • Dribbling & 1v1 Attacking11
  • Receiving & Ball Mastery10
  • Passing10
  • Goalkeeping7
  • Defensive Technique7
  • Finishing6
  • Aerial Skills5

Tactical55 skills

  • In-Possession Principles17
  • Out-of-Possession Principles9
  • Positional Play6
  • Attacking Set Pieces6
  • Defensive Set Pieces6
  • Attacking Transition5
  • Defensive Transition3
  • Game Management3

Physical22 skills

  • Speed, Acceleration & Agility6
  • Athletic Capacities5
  • Strength & Power4
  • Coordination & Mobility4
  • Endurance & Recovery3

Psychological31 skills

  • Perception & Game Intelligence7
  • Confidence, Resilience & Motivation7
  • Decision-Making6
  • Composure & Emotional Regulation6
  • Communication & Leadership5

Three skills, up close.

What a skill on the map carries: a plain description, the drills that train it and the moments of a game where it matters most.

  • Psychological · Perception & Game Intelligence

    Pre-Receive Scanning

    The active head check a player makes before the ball arrives, gathering information about defenders, teammates, and space while the pass is in flight.

    23 drills train it, including Blindspot Check — Receiving Under Defensive Pressure From Behind and CM Receiving Between Lines — Paired Check-and-Turn.

    Matters most in

    • In-Possession — Build-Up
    • In-Possession — Final Third
    • Out-of-Possession — High Press
    • Transition to Attack
    • Set Pieces

  • Technical · Dribbling & 1v1 Attacking

    Shielding & Holding the Ball

    Using the body as a wall between the ball and the defender, hips low, feet wide, ball on the far foot, to hold possession until support arrives or the angle opens.

    7 drills train it, including Shielding Circle Game — King of the Ring and Shielding Fundamentals — Back-to-Defender Ball Protection.

    Matters most in

    • In-Possession — Final Third

  • Tactical · Defensive Transition

    Counter-Press (Gegenpress)

    Immediate, aggressive pressure on the ball in the seconds after losing it, executed collectively rather than individually. The goal is to win it back before the opponent can progress.

    5 drills train it, including 2v1 Counter-Press — Win It Back and Counter-Press Reaction — 3v3 Turnover Drill.

    Matters most in

    • Out-of-Possession — Mid Block
    • Transition to Defence

One vocabulary under everything.

The same skills run through feedback, drills, plans and players' records. That's what lets a sentence said at practice become the right drill, and a season of notes become a picture of a player.

  • Feedback

    Each note a coach approves is tagged with the skills it's about, so a player's record builds up skill by skill.

  • Drills

    Drills are matched to a note by the skill it names and the words the coach used.

  • Plans

    A coach's typed plan names skills too, so the Debrief can check the coaching against it.

  • Game moments

    Skills are linked to the moments of a game where they matter most, from build-up to set pieces.

Over 350 drills, picked by what the coach said.

Every drill in the library is tagged with the skills it trains and the coaching cues that call for it. Here's how one note found its drill.
What you said, Tuesday 23:41
“Christopher, use your body. Shield it, then turn away from the pressure.”

Skill: Shielding & Holding the Ball

Christopher's drill for the week

Shielding Under Pressure: Hold & Release

15 minutes, a partner, a 5 by 5 metre box

Why it was picked

It trains the skill you named, and its own coaching cues include “Use your body!” and “Shield it.”

What to focus on

  • Bend your knees and get low.
  • Keep the ball on the foot furthest from the defender.
  • Forearm out to feel the defender. A sensor, not a weapon.

See your own players on it.

Record a session and every note lands on this map, with a drill for each player to work on.

Book a demoHow it works for coaches