Exclusive: ‘Academy Coaches are Creating Robots,’ Fears Ex-Chipolopolo Player Noah Chivuta

Former Zambia national team midfielder Noah Chivuta has voiced concerns that academy coaches are stifling young players' creativity by enforcing rigid playing styles.

Chivuta, who was part of Zambia's 2012 AFCON-winning team under Herve Renard, believes this approach hinders players from developing their unique talents and adaptability to different systems.

He has advocated for a more flexible coaching style that allows young players to explore and learn from their mistakes, ultimately building greater consistency and success at the international level.

Former Zambia national team midfielder Noah Chivuta is concerned that academy coaches may be creating "robots" out of young players.

The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) winner believes that by strictly imposing a particular style of play, coaches are hindering young players from expressing their individual talents and creativity on the field.

Chivuta represented Zambia at various AFCON tournaments and was part of the team that won the country’s first ever title under the guidance of Frenchman Herve Renard.

Since retiring, Chivuta has worked in various roles including punditry. He now works as an analyst in Thailand, providing consultancy services to clubs and national teams that call for his services. 

LET YOUNG PLAYERS EXPLORE 

Chivuta, who is capped 35 times for Zambia said there is an obsession by academy coaches to restrict younger players to a particular system, something that is detrimental to the development of footballers. 

“You find players are in the early stages of development, like U-12 and we are overloading them with so much information about playing a particular system…it is like we are building Ai tools, we are not building players coaches are not leaving the kids to explore. 

“We are taking away, the players’ intelligence, their way of thinking,  we are teaching players that ‘this is the only system you can play’, then at the end of the day, that player will grow up programmed, he cannot adjust to any other system,” Chivuta told SportsBoom.com exclusively.

He said, academy coaches needs to understand that players are build differently. “We should not take away the flair and talent that someone possesses. We have to work on their strengths rather than restricting them to play in a particular system,” he said. 

YOU END UP WITH PLAYERS THAT LACK CONSISTENCY

Chivuta said in the end, the country will have players that lack consistency at the top level.

“When you look the players we are producing right now, there is a difference with the older generation when it comes to consistency; we are not developing enough players who can compete consistently at the international level.

“I will talk about my generation, we had a lot of players who played in foreign leagues and they stayed there for a long time, and that brought results to the national team, even the 2012 cup came through that set up,” Chivuta said.

REVIST THE ACADEMY SYSTEM

Chivuta said the situation can be remedied by revisiting the academy system with coaches allowing players to express themselves more.

“We need to go back to our roots,” he said, “you need to give players more freedom, allow them to make mistakes in that way they will learn the ropes properly.”