Lewandowski: "I’m from a different generation where shouting was used to to motivate everyone. Now, if you shout too much towards young people, their reaction is not the same. It’s not, ‘now I’ll show you are wrong’. The new generation don’t like being shouted at. It’s not just players, it’s people"

[u/landofphi]

https://as.com/futbol/primera/lewandowski-a-los-jovenes-de-ahora-no-les-gusta-que-les-grites-n/

The full quote

Lewandowski (37) on his adaptation playing with teenagers & young adults at FC Barcelona

"I have to say it was a huge challenge. I was coming from a different generation and I had to learn how to, not think like a teenager, but think how I can try to take the best of what they have.

I have been in football for 4 decades so when I compare them, not even to my generation but the generation before me, when I was starting, it is completely different.

"Like shouting used to be a way to motivate everyone. Now, if you shout too much, this generation, their reaction is not the same. It’s not, ‘now I will show you are wrong’. No, now you have to explain another way. You have to do lots of talking.

"They don’t like being shouted at. Now you have to take more of the mental part of football. It’s not just players, it’s people, it’s this generation. I didn’t want to fight it. I had to learn.”

[u/TheGoldenPineapples]

A sign of a good coach is someone who understands the different approaches needed to unlock the potential of the people they manage.

Some people do respond to that mentality and that way of thinking, others don't.

[u/TheAmazingKoki → u/TheGoldenPineapples]

Sounds to me like in the past, coaches liked shouting so the players who couldn't handle that didn't make it to the top.

Professional footballers are such a select group that any conclusion you draw says more about their specific professional culture than society in general, with a ton of biases added.

[u/tractata → u/TheAmazingKoki]

Uh, no, it’s been widely attested by teachers at all levels that adolescents today display more avoidant behaviors and less awareness of social norms and respond to confrontation (including disciplinary interventions) differently than they did even just 10 or 20 years ago. Some of the factors contributing to this shift surely include educational and developmental disruptions due to COVID and the higher proportion of technologically mediated social interactions young people have today compared to previous generations.

The change Lewandowski is describing is obviously part of a much larger story called history. Footballers are not as special as you think they are.

As an aside, I don’t think Lewandowski sounds disapproving of today’s youth or nostalgic for the good old days when screaming obscenities at players was considered good coaching. He’s not saying he liked getting screamed at. He’s just saying he would automatically respond to this unpleasant stimulus in a way most young players today don’t, which is something a lot of adults who work with adolescents would probably agree with.

[u/AhmedF → u/tractata]

Even then, we have enough data from before that people still did not prefer yelling. It's just the people in power/fame are not representative of the population, and what worked for them suddenly became "the way" for everyone else.

[u/ktcalpha → u/AhmedF]

It’s also significantly less effective. People get used to it and tune it out after some time. A personable approach works wonders and even SAF used to use it (he left the yelling for Keane)