What happens when players become highly technical, but less effective in the game?

In this episode of the Progressão podcast, we introduce generic forcing, a concept we developed to describe behaviour where players try to impose rehearsed technical solutions onto the game, instead of adapting their behaviour to what the situation actually offers.

We explore how generic forcing emerges when technique is learned and practiced without sufficient connection to real game information. We draw parallels from jazz improvisation, where copying and forcing learned patterns can break the flow of music, and connect this to football training environments that emphasise repetition over adaptation. We also discuss observations from elite youth development, including recent changes at one of Sweden’s most successful ice hockey academies, where players had become technically sharper but less adaptable in the game itself.

Through examples ranging from street football to elite-level players, we argue that technique is not the problem. The problem arises when players lose their connection to the game environment.

This episode invites coaches, players, and educators to reflect on a fundamental question: Are we training players to repeat solutions, or to find them?

Progressão is a book, a podcast, and a long-term thinking project focused on football, learning, and human behaviour from a complex, holistic, and ecological perspective.

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