Freeze! – How to Use the Popular Coaching Tool

Examining how coaches can get more out of their Freeze moment

Coaches can choose from a wide variety of methods when it comes to educating their players. Among these options is the frequently used “Freeze!” tool.

This is when a coach yells “Freeze!”, players stop what they’re doing, and the coach begins instructing. While the Freeze can be a potent tool, it can also derail the flow of a training session and frustrate players. To ensure a Freeze fits into the context of a training session and contributes to each player’s development, it’s worth examining how it’s used.

Setting the Table

Before discussing how coaches can use a Freeze, it’s important to ensure players know what it is – this is particularly salient for coaches of younger players. Similar to ball runs, it is a productive investment of time to teach players how to Freeze properly.

It’s not uncommon for a coach to yell “Freeze!” but only a few players hear while everyone else keeps playing. The coach shouts “Freeze! Freeze!” while walking on to the field, but by the time everyone’s heard the command the situation the coach wanted to address looks completely different.

Therefore it’s worth spending 10 minutes practicing how to Freeze. Put players in a box, have them jog, skip, bear crawl, somersault, etc., and when the coach shouts “Freeze!” they Freeze. The last player to Freeze does 5 jumping jacks or 3 push-ups or another light/fun consequence and then play continues. The objective is to get players used to hearing the coach’s voice and Freezing, and it also gives the coach the opportunity to practice clearly shouting “Freeze!” with strong volume and tone so there’s no doubt about what players need to do.

Identify the Moment

We should have a clear idea of when we’re going to Freeze players before practice even starts. If we’ve observed our players and are familiar with their playing tendencies, we should be able to predict what they’re going to do.

The first step in identifying the Freeze moment happens when we’re planning our training session and specifying what we’re looking for. Is it when the outside back loses the ball in the defensive third? Is it when the midfielders get split when pressing in the attacking third?

Here a few baseline questions to guide this process:

- What problem is occurring? (Losing ball in midfield third, not switching the play, etc.)
- When is it happening in the game? (attacking, defending, transitions)
- Where is it happening on the field? (attacking third, middle third, center channel, outside channel, etc.)
- Who is involved? (center forward & attacking mids, defensive line, etc.)
- Why is the problem occurring (center backs aren’t supporting, no forward runs to advance the ball, etc.)
- How can we fix it? (center mids need to play closer together, outside back needs to overlap, etc.)

Running through these questions gives us a rough idea of the situation we’re observing for. Grouping the information helps us identify patterns of play faster, and frees up our brain to focus on what’s actually happening, not what we need to do next.

Seize the Moment

While the Freeze is a powerful tool to teach, it’s also a powerful tool to disrupt. Just because a coach has it on their tool belt doesn’t mean it needs to be used. We want to avoid explaining a game, sending the players out to the pitch, then Freezing it 45 seconds later because they’ve already messed up.

This ruins the flow of play (which violates Principle 4), frustrates players, and – more importantly – it robs the players of the opportunity to try something different on their own.

Give yourself time to observe the situation multiple times and look for what the players may begin to do differently. See if you can affect on-field change by coaching off-ball players in the run of play or by using quick-conversations with them (these coaching tools will have their own pieces in the future).

If we can get the team to improve without stopping them then that is the preferred option. If players change their actions and fix their mistakes, we can still Freeze play and positively reinforce how players recognized a situation and made different decisions. This might be more impactful as it makes players feel good about what they’re doing and provides them with a positive model that they can refer back to (à la Catch Them Being Good).

Time to Eat

However, there will be times when players fail to recognize problems and need to be given an alternative solution. This is when you recognize the situation and shout “Freeze!” Similar to “Refining Repetitions”, there is a set process you can use, referred to as the 3 R’s.

The first R is Review. Once the play is Frozen, quickly Review the situation using the information and language you’ve created while planning (“Our outside back is losing the ball in the defensive third because our center mid is not checking to the space!”)

The second R is Rehearse. This is the moment where players should be moved around by the coach and practice what the coach wants them to do. (“To maintain possession our attacking mid checks to and receives the ball, our holding mid positions for and receives the layoff, our other attacking mid provides a split, and far side winger makes a diagonal run while our outside back advances forward to provide width!”) While the coach is issuing instructions players should be taking different positions on the field and moving the ball around.

Coaches can also use guided questions during the Rehearse moment as well. These can be individualized, such as “Where can Justin go to receive the ball?” or more broadly, such as “How can we switch the play in 3 passes?” Guided questions are great, but coaches want to balance their effectiveness with their use of time. It’s not worth spending 6 minutes questioning individual players when you can spend 1 minute showing them what to do and then give them 5 minutes to practice it.

The third R is Restart, and the aim is to Restart play so players can apply what they’ve just learned. Ideally, they practice the solution you’ve presented and it works. If we present an alternative that fails it means we’ve made a mistake by misjudging their technical or tactical acumen – this is not inherently bad, we just note it and use that information during our next session planning.

The Freeze process should take no more than two minutes if it’s done correctly. Players Freeze, have their attention drawn to an alternative option, and then get to practice it.

Fine Tuning

Once mastering the basic elements of the Freeze (both for coaches and players) nuances can be added to enhance it.

During the Rehearse moment, coaches can highlight and provide an example of a technical skill (usually one that’s already been practiced earlier in the session) that is key to successfully completing the play.

An efficient Freeze is a good tool, but still needs to be wielded carefully. A general rule to follow is to use only one Freeze per exercise. And, as mentioned earlier, if you can achieve the same ends without stopping play, take that approach.

Lastly, it’s worth mentioning that the alternative solution provided needs to be based on your game model. By incorporating your principles of play into your Freeze language, players will increase their understanding of what that term means, and you’ll reinforce team buy-in and culture.

Wrapping Up

Ideally, coaches know which specific moment they are working on at practice that day. After organizing the players and getting them started, the coach should observe to see how players are attempting to solve a specific problem. If other coaching interventions do not work, the coach shouts “Freeze!” and players immediately stop because they’ve practiced doing so. The coach goes through the 3 R’s process – highlighting a specific technique to be applied and describing an alternative solution using the team’s principle of play terminology – then play resumes. The whole process takes less than two minutes and ends with players completing a successful repetition of the desired behavior.