Adrian Clarke spoke to Crystal Palace Academy coach Phil Hingston about how he got his start and what his role entails
Phil Hingston
It is rare for a UEFA A-licence holder to also specialise in Sports Science, so Phil Hingston is better placed than most to understand the physical and technical development of budding young footballers.
After graduating from Brunel University with a degree in Sport & Exercise Sciences in 2010, the amiable Londoner initially embarked on a career as a personal trainer.
With each passing year though, the itch to become a football coach grew stronger.
During his spare-time, Hingston took coaching badges and worked tirelessly to gain as much experience outside of his day job as possible.
Starting out
In the summer of 2013, he landed a part-time role at Crystal Palace’s Academy, first in the Sports Science department working with PDP and first-team players, before eventually getting a coaching opportunity to assist the Under-12s.
Impressing club staff, Hingston was subsequently offered a full-time position in 2016, becoming head coach of the Under-10s. Since then, his progress has continued on an impressive upward curve.
Within a year, he was named Foundation Phase lead coach and after five successful seasons, the talented 33-year-old stepped up to become Early Youth Development Phase lead last summer.
Taking time out of his busy schedule, Hingston breaks down his role at Palace, describing what he has learned since making the transition from working with the younger age groups.
Understanding physical development
“I do feel we’ve got a long way to go when it comes to being patient with late developers.
“When boys transition from the Foundation Phase into the YDP [Youth Development Phase] you will always get some children that have flourished earlier on in their journey, who all of a sudden are judged not to be good enough in the older age groups.
“Sometimes this can be down to physical development, but coaches can sometimes overlook that and allow it to impact on their judgement.
“A lot of the time patience is all that is needed for that young player to catch up. Recognising that biologically they are not a YDP player yet, not putting that label on them, is so important.
“We have dabbled with bio-banding [where players aged 12-15 are placed within groups according to their physical maturation rather than age], which is a positive step.
However, when it comes to retain and release, decision-making that can go out of the window. Making a call on a 14-year-old’s future, when that player doesn’t yet have the body of a 14-year-old, is not easy.
“I believe it’s the skill of the coach to be able to see past what is ‘effective’ in the here and now. Looking at how a player problem solves, what their intent is, judging them on what they are trying to achieve, rather than what they are able to do.
“I do think my Sports Science degree, which included a module that incorporated children’s physical development, has helped with my own coaching."
Sharing knowledge
“One massive positive of having multi-disciplinary Academy coaching teams, full of experts in various fields, is the breadth of knowledge that can be shared.
“A lot of coaches like to see data, so when you’re ranking players within a group it is extremely healthy for the sports scientist to chip in and say, 'OK, this player might be at the bottom, but we can prove he has only done 70/80 per cent of his growth compared to the lad you have at the top.'
“Using that kind of tool to educate people is fantastic. It raises eyebrows and informs coaches that a player's ceiling can be reached further down the line."
Recognising mindset
“There is a massive social and psychological change within the players once they step out of the Foundation Phase.
“Younger players always come into the Academy bouncing off the walls. They’re buzzing, carefree and always up for it! In the Youth Development Phase, adolescence has started to kick in, and we as coaches need to adapt.
“Teenage boys know where they stand within their social construct, what their status is in the group, and their mood can also be impacted by so many things such as school, family life, travel arrangements, irregular meals etc.
This can leave some of them lacking in energy and enthusiasm on certain evenings.
“As their coach, I see it as my responsibility to recognise what state of mind my players arrive in. Some may need bringing down to earth, others will require a boost.
“So now I make sure I have a quick one-to-one chat with every player before each session, to find out how their day has gone, and to assess their expectations for the session ahead.
“On occasion, you can just tell that training might not be the best thing for them. That’s where you think on your feet and maybe suggest they watch their game back and do some analysis for half an hour, before joining in with the group.
"Or I may suggest they have a bite to eat and chill before taking part in the second part of our session, or send them off to have a stretch instead.
“The session I’d planned for 20 might be down to 17 bodies, and that’s tough for me as a coach, but my numbers don’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Ultimately, we are here for the players.”
Weekly development meetings
“There is such a great support staff now on hand to get the best out of the players on and off the pitch. The hardest part is using everyone’s expertise at the right time, and not wasting the resources we have.
“With that in mind, we’ve brought in weekly multi-disciplinary meetings, where as a collective we focus in on specific players and look at what they need from all four corners.
“We tend to pick out three players each from the Under-13s, 14s, 15s and 16s, and each of the specialists will have an input. Where are they thriving? What are they struggling with? What do they need in order to improve?
“It could be football-related, but sometimes we may go back to players and advise them on their sleeping or eating habits, or what their routines are like at home. We want them all to thrive in every department, and there is always something we can help them with as young people.
“Over a period of four-to-six weeks we should have given each individual the care and attention they need, and then the cycle starts again. If someone needs more attention, we will give it to them too.”
Feedback to parents
“Early on in my coaching career, I used to hide away from conversations with parents. They used to be a bit of a bugbear for me as I’d be worried about the questions they might ask.
“Nowadays, I see things very differently and I want to treat parents like I do the players, touching base with them on a regular basis. All they usually want is reassurance.
“This week I will have a phone conversation with two or three parents of my Under-14s side, and that’s par for the course most weeks. Having these regular chats keeps them in the loop over what we are looking for, the areas that we want them to work on, and those honest conversations ensure transparency.
“It means we are all on the same wavelength, so when it comes to retain and release meetings, our decision should never come as a shock.
“After games, parents always want to know how their son has done, so in the last few weeks I’ve started sending texts to the boys through their parents’ phone, asking them to tell me how they think they have played – and I will respond with my own viewpoint.
“It’s healthy to assess your own performance, it gives the boys a bit of ownership, and indirectly the parents (who will always read the texts!) also get the feedback from me that they crave.”
Keeping it fun
“I was fortunate to do an internship with the Crystal Palace first-team a few years back, where I got to work with Alan Pardew, Sam Allardyce and Frank de Boer and the one big takeaway I learnt was that just because players are older, the fun should never stop.
“As you get older, things become more complex of course, but we shouldn’t lose sight of why we love the game.
“In the pre-Academy and Foundation Phase there is tons of technical work, free play and lots of small-sided games that bring out each of the boys’ super-strengths.
“As I have discovered in the YDP, you bring in more structure, tactical ideas and go into more detail on position-specific work, but for me we should never abandon free play and fun.
“Whether it’s Under-7s, Under-21s, or first-team training, enjoyment for the players should always be in a coaches mind.”
Winning approach
“You wouldn’t play the game if you didn’t want to win. When we say winning doesn’t matter, it does, and it matters to the players.
“That said, one thing I have noticed as I’ve transitioned to the Youth Development Phase is that coaches are under more pressure to win than they are in the Foundation Phase, and that transfers to the players.
“A lot of coaches at this level feel they must win, and I think that can make them judge their players differently, which isn’t right.
“Often the first question a coach will receive from a senior leader at a club is, ‘Did you win? What was the score?’ Maybe we could change the conversation to, ‘How did we play? Who shone? Where did we struggle?’ instead.
“I think if that’s the starting point of dialogue between leaders and coaches, it will be the same between coaches and players, and in turn between players and their parents.
“Yes, we want to win, of course we do, but we are after development above all else.
“This season I am setting more objectives that are not outcome based. I’ll set two or three process goals to the players and will tell them I am measuring their success on that regardless of the result.
“I think this enables thriving players to humble themselves, and for struggling players to have some success at the end of the week, which is important.”
Leadership
“I’ve always liked to lead through ownership and empowering other people. I may be the head coach, but if I feel it will benefit somebody else to take a team talk or lead a session, I will let that happen. To me, leadership is not about me standing at the front all the time.
“Deciding when to delegate and when to take control is probably my biggest challenge, and I am learning how to do that.
“After so many years in the Foundation Phase, I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and do something totally different, which this role is. It is a great new challenge.”
First-team dream
“Like most coaches I’d love to work at first-team level one day, but that’s an outcome goal.
“The process goal for me is becoming an expert at developing people and players, so if in 10 years’ time I’m perceived as someone - no matter what age group I am with - who is known for making players, people, fellow coaches and parents better, then that is success for me.”
