Coaching The Unorthodox - Part 4

Use of language:

One of, if not the most common coaching point used with young players is to ‘keep your head up when dribbling’.

However, when you type in ‘Messi Dribbling’ into Google Images, the first four images show him dribbling with his head down. If one of the best dribblers of all time needs to dribble with his head down at times, how can we expect players aged as young as 7 to keep their head up at all times whilst dribbling?

Coaches are not wrong at all in encouraging players to be spacially aware whilst dribbling with the ball; the language used just must be very deliberate and intentional.

Instead, framing it as “put your head up in between touches” ticks both boxes. Players can be encouraged to track the ball and coordinate their feet where needed, and can also be challenged to be aware of their wider surroundings.

Are there any other ‘cliche’ phrases in coaching which have been widely accepted/used but don’t actually encourage the correct technical points?