Controlling The Tempo Of A Game

Momentum is one of the most influential factors in sport. Everything appears to go right for teams with momentum, and those without it seem to lose control. That is why being able to control the tempo of the game is so important.

Quality teams can maintain or win back momentum in games by controlling the tempo. Being able to keep the speed of the game steady when you have momentum will keep your opposition under pressure for extended periods of time. On the other hand, changing the speed of the game when your opposition has momentum is often the best way to win back or nullify their momentum.

Sounds easy right? But it is far from easy. And that is why teams that are better at controlling the tempo of the game are generally are more successful. So, to be successful, coaches need to teach their athletes to control the tempo of the game. But how? As with all things it begins at training.

Firstly, coaches and their athletes must understand what the different speeds of their sport are. They need to understand at which speed they perform best and which speed is least desired for their team. Once this is understood, coaches and their teams can practice different scenarios of changing the speed of the game and controlling the tempo.

“If you want to play quicker you can start running, but it’s the ball that decides the speed of the game.”

Johan Cruijff

Below is a button linked to an article that discusses this topic in more detail. Whilst this article is talking specifically about basketball, the same philosophies apply to any sport. The bottom line is coaches can’t expect their teams to do anything that they don’t practice at training.

If you are having problems accessing this link please contact us.

What was your key takeaway from this article?
Do you have any questions on any of the information provided in this article?

Let us know in the comments.