Neville Bell says coaching young players requires understanding their lives beyond football

Veteran Jamaican football coach Neville Bell says years of working with young players taught him that coaching involves far more than teaching someone how to kick a football.

Speaking on the No NDA Podcast, Bell said one of his most important lessons was recognising that different players respond to different approaches.

He recalled once harshly criticising a player who missed an extremely easy scoring opportunity. After discussing the incident with his brother, Bell said he realised that coaches cannot necessarily communicate with every player in exactly the same way.

Bell said understanding a young person’s background can dramatically change how a coach interprets behaviour.

He recalled dealing with one player who repeatedly got into trouble before eventually revealing that his grandmother, whom he described as his source of comfort, had died in his arms.

Bell said learning what the youngster had experienced changed his perspective on the player’s behaviour.

He acknowledged that coaches can sometimes feel inadequate when young people approach them with difficult personal questions outside their professional expertise.

For Bell, however, those situations reinforce his belief that youngsters often need adults who are willing to remain in their corner rather than dismissing them simply because they are behaving badly.