jesse marsch leeds united
Leeds United head coach Jesse Marsch says he told his players to watch the ‘Redeem Team’ documentary in an attempt to push the right buttons ahead of the second half of their Premier League campaign. The documentary follows the story of the USA men’s basketball team who bounced back from a disappointing 2004 Olympics, by going on to win gold in China in 2008. 2022The Whites head coach has placed an emphasis on the psychological side of football in his coaching career so far. Marsch is a fan of the book ‘The Nine Types of leader’ by James Ashton and has taken inspiration from that into his managerial career.
Jesse Marsch said: “When I was a player, I was a real cutthroat winner. I could be a real jerk on the pitch because I only cared about winning. Really? I mean really. As I became a manager and a leader, I realised I had to become more about development. I had to develop more soft skills and I had to develop relationships that were going to lead to players being able to trust and commit to the processes that I wanted to create. I realised it relatively early, I mean I was always the guy in the locker room who cared about the camaraderie of the team, but on the pitch all I cared about was winning. So it’s not to say that winning – losing to me it just hurts and sometimes I can’t think straight after games because it’s so painful – but I’ve learned as a leader it’s more important [to develop]. In that book [The Nine Types of Leader] there’s a lover and a human, there’s the two types that I’m a combination of. Even this week I had the guys watch ‘The Redeem Team’ which is a documentary on the 2008 gold medal basketball team in China and we talked about that and the lessons to be learned. We’re different than Kobe Bryant and Lebron James, it’s a different group here and we have a different type of team, it’s a different competition and everything but I’m just always trying to think of ways to push buttons to make our players into the players I know that they can be. It requires creativity, it requires openness and relationships, intelligence and commitment. You have to try to do the job in a way that things are reflective of yourself but in ways that can help individuals improve and commit and get better. It was good, the guys are in a good place.”
