This is the first this approach non-negotiable and it reaches further than most coaches initially realise.

The statement: never reward unwanted match-day actions.

What Counts as a Reward

Rewarding is not only giving a prize or verbal praise. Rewarding includes:

Completing the activity successfully on the back of an unwanted action (the practice "worked" even though the player did something you would not want at the weekend)
Allowing the session to continue after an unwanted action without any acknowledgement
Designing practices that structurally make unwanted actions successful

If a player score a goal by booting the ball 40 yards when your session outcome is Build From the Back, and the goal stands without comment, you have rewarded an unwanted action with the most powerful positive feedback in football: a goal.

Common Examples

Long clearances in build-up sessions. If your session is about playing out from the back and a defender panics and launches the ball long — but wins possession — the action was rewarded by outcome. The coach must acknowledge: "We kept the ball but that is not what we are building. Let's reset."

Individual brilliance over collective solutions. If your session outcome is Find the Free Player and a player beats four players instead of playing the obvious pass — and scores — the goal must be contextualised, not celebrated as if the collective solution had been found.

Physical dominance over technical decisions. In minis, if a player outmuscles an opponent to win the ball when your session is about Win It — pressure the ball carrier with correct body position, rewarding the muscled challenge undermines the learning.

The Adjustment

This non-negotiable does not mean you stop celebrating goals or effort. It means you celebrate the right things. "That pass before the goal — did you see how he found the free player? That is what we are building."

The goal is acknowledged. The correct action is celebrated. The session outcome remains intact.