I SEE
Scanning & awareness
One Touch lyric
“You watch the ball, I watch the space.”
What did you see before the ball arrived?
Ball Physics / One Touch / The programme
Read the game
The invisible intelligence you can learn to see.
One Touch is the hook.
Football is the intervention.
The girls' own words are the outcome.
Football is not only what happens on the ball. It is what players see, anticipate, communicate and influence before the ball arrives.
The challenge / 01
I don't need the ball
to change the game.
Can you prove it?
- 1 Ball carrier
- 2 Runner
- 3 Defender
- Dotted area = space
- Dashed lines = movement
01 / Notice
What do you watch first?
The method
Lyric → question → game → decision → reflection
01
HEAR
A line or football-intelligence idea makes the concept memorable.
02
NOTICE
What did you see?
03
PREDICT
What happens next?
04
PLAY
Try it physically.
05
EXPLAIN
Why did you make that decision?
06
CREATE
Can you find another solution?
07
EXPRESS
Put your football intelligence into words.
My football brain has value.
Don't just watch the game. Learn to see it.
- Stage 1
See
What can you notice?
- Stage 2
Think
What options exist?
- Stage 3
Predict
What happens next?
- Stage 4
Try
Experience the principle yourself.
- Stage 5
Replay
What did the player see that you didn't?
The invisible intelligence
What are you actually watching?
01
Space
The most valuable thing on the pitch that nobody can touch.
02
Angle
Move one metre and the game changes.
03
Scan
The decision can begin before the ball arrives.
04
Deception
Make an opponent believe one future while creating another.
05
Weight
A player's body can reveal where she can move next.
06
Spin
The future path of the ball changes at the instant of contact.
07
Tempo
Sometimes slowing down creates the opportunity to go faster.
08
Anticipation
Act on what will happen, not only what has happened.
09
One Touch
Make the decision before the ball reaches you.
The journey
Six weeks.
Six ways to see the game.
01I SEE
Scanning & awareness
One Touch lyric
“You watch the ball, I watch the space.”
What did you see before the ball arrived?
02I CREATE
Creating space
One Touch lyric
“I don't find space, I make space.”
Who benefited from your movement?
03I ANTICIPATE
Seeing what happens next
One Touch lyric
“I saw the corner three moves behind.”
What do you think happens next — and after that?
04I INFLUENCE
Deception & off-ball influence
One Touch lyric
“Keeper reads what I let them.”
“Ball says left but it's leaving right.”
Programme line — not a song lyric“I don't need the ball to change the game.”
Can you change an opponent's decision?
05I COMMUNICATE
Useful information
Programme prompt — not a song lyricWhat information does my teammate need from me?
Words, gestures, movement, eye contact and positioning.
06I KNOW
Player voice & ownership
Player-created / programme examplesGirls create their own football-intelligence lines.
Their reading of the game, in their own words.
They stop repeating our language.
They start creating their own.
One prototype session / adaptable to existing football provision
Try week 2:
I create
“I don't find space.
I make space.”
One Touch lyric
A 45–60 minute session: 42 minutes of core activities, with 3–18 minutes for warm-up, transitions and further play. Adaptable to existing football provision, this prototype would be refined with coaches and delivery partners, not imposed as coaching doctrine.
HEAR
2 minsPlay or introduce the relevant One Touch line.
NOTICE
5 minsShow a freeze-frame. Where is the space? Who created it?
PLAY
15 minsPlay a small-sided game focused on creating space away from the ball.
DECIDE
10 minsIntroduce choices or constraints; let players solve the space problem themselves.
REFLECT
5 minsWhat did you see? Who benefited from your movement? What changed when you moved?
CREATE
5 minsInvent one football-intelligence line about what you learned.
Player voice / prototype
My football brain
What did you notice that nobody else did?
01
I SAW...
02
I CHANGED...
03
I HELPED...
04
NEXT TIME I...
Turn it into a line.
Player-created / programme examples — not song lyrics
“I don't need the ball to change the game.”
“I knew she'd press, so I played around her.”
“I checked my shoulder before the pass.”
The pilot hypothesis
A question worth testing.
If girls are given a memorable, enjoyable way to explore the cognitive side of football — and repeated opportunities to make decisions, explain them and hear their peers' ideas — might they become more confident in their ability to understand and influence the game?
That could affect:
- Confidence
- Tactical awareness
- Player voice
- Enjoyment
- Sense of contribution / belonging
- Willingness to continue participating
We don't know yet.
That's what a pilot is for.
Evaluation / proposed
What would we learn?
Confidence
“I feel confident making decisions when I play football.”
Awareness
“I notice what other players are doing before I receive the ball.”
Voice
“I feel comfortable sharing my ideas about football.”
Agency
“I can influence what happens even when I don't have the ball.”
Belonging
“I feel I have something valuable to contribute.”
Enjoyment / intention to continue
“I look forward to football sessions.”
“Tell us about something you saw in a game that you would not have noticed before.”
A pilot could use short pre/post measures, coach observation, participant voice and follow-up. A comparison group could be added with an evaluation partner if useful.
Who it is for
Not just the girl who already calls herself a footballer.
An initial pilot could focus on girls around 12–14 with mixed levels of experience: regular players, occasional players, girls on the edge of participation, and girls who enjoy football but do not yet feel confident joining in.
You don't have to be the fastest, strongest or most technically gifted player to have something valuable to contribute.
Your football brain matters.
An invitation
Start small.
Learn properly.
One team
A coach tests one module.
A small school cluster
A six-week pilot across a manageable group.
A delivery / evaluation partner
Co-design the programme and assess what changes.