Day 12 – Time Outs
Lesson
Topic Point: There are no time-outs in soccer that can be called by the playersor the coach/manager. We will discuss the clock specifically on Day 13. Sufficeit to say that the clock counts up like a stopwatch, and prolonged stoppages inplay are managed by adding time to the end of the half (first or second).
As mentioned on Day 10, coaches need tomanage strategy including personnel use/rest before the game, at halftime, andwith substitutions. While instruction can be passed on to players during thestoppages mentioned above, the opportunity is limited and attention isprimarily focused on the reason for the stoppage. There is a limit to how muchinstruction and strategy a coach can directly impact during the match. Thetime-out as it is known in American team sports simply does not exist, nor arethere any innate stoppages as there are in American sports. This makes for arisky proposition to the fan who chooses to get food, refreshments, or use thefacilities (in the stadium or at home!) during the match – he/she may miss animpactful event.
The lack of substitutions and time-outs,along with how the clock functions (tomorrow’s topic) significantly affect howthe game is coached. We will also see how these considerations impact theplayers (Day 14).
Ted Lasso: Thereare a few moments where you can see the challenges facing a manager and thecoaching staff during the match. In S1E5, Ted wants to substitute Jaime out ofthe game due to his divisive personality. He checks in with Rebecca, the teamowner, to get approval for this move. While the actual scene is not how thiswould play out in a game, it is likely that team owners speak with the managerabout player personnel. But he cannot call a time-out to discuss the decision.
In S2E6, during the FA Cup quarterfinal,Tottenham tie the match late and the coaching staff (minus Ted) are consideringoptions to try to win the match. Nate quickly determines what strategy will workbest, substitutes three players, and instructs the team to move into adefensive posture (Park the Bus). The coaching staff cannot call a time-out tocollaborate.
In S3E10, Jaime is injured and has to comeoff the pitch. The coaching staff (Beard) tells Robbie Roberts to warm up, butthe manager (Ted) tells Roberts to hold off on checking in to enter the game.He then tells the 4th official that they will play short-handedtemporarily while he determines if Jaime can return or if he will besubstituted.[1]This is another situation that would benefit from the American sports“time-out” that is simply not offered in soccer.
Soccer-related note: For extreme heat, there can be “cooling breaks” which are mandatedfor player safety. These occur partway through either half so players canhydrate and cool off their body temperatures. This is a FIFA-mandated time-out,initiated by the officials at the appropriate time, and neither team has anyinfluence in that aside from agreeing to the cooling break prior to the startof the match.
In NCAA soccer, the clock counts down anddesignates how much time is left in the match. The official will signal to thescorer’s table to “stop the clock” as appropriate for injuries, yellow/redcards, goals and substitutions. The referee may also indicate to stop the clockin the last few minutes of a close match to prevent a team from wasting time.NCAA soccer rules and regulation are separate from FIFA and can be consideredan American version of FIFA.
American Sports comparison: Time-outs are a big part of American sports! While the origin isunclear, they are in large-part a coaching-based tactic to review strategy,stop the clock, and rest players as needed. In both American football andbasketball, the time out is a major part of play (it is ironic, such asrelegation from the English Premier League means the team next plays in theChampionship). Media timeouts are also a major part of American sports givingteams additional opportunity to coach and rest players.
For general comparison, here are thetime-out rules for American football and basketball (college and NBA).
American Football – Generally there arethree timeouts per team per half. However, there is also the two-minute warning(two-minute timeout). It originated when the official game clock was not thedisplayed and time was kept by the officials. When the official time became thestadium scoreboard, the two-minute warning remained. A significant component ofthis was the timing – television broadcasting became a part of the game and thetwo-minute warning offered a commercial timeout. It also elevated urgency forthe culmination of the half or game.[2]The two-minute timeout was adopted in 2024 for NCAA football for similarreasons. It identifies the point in the game where clock stoppage isincorporated for first downs or going out of play, as well as an opportunityfor media and sponsors.[3]
Basketball – There are a significant numberof timeouts in basketball. On the surface it may not seem so. In men’s collegebasketball, teams have 4 total timeouts for the game, with 3 allowed to carryover into the second half. However, for televised games, there is a mediatimeout every 4 minutes (at the first deadball).
In the NBA, a team has a total of seventimeouts for the game, with a maximum of four in the 4th quarter,and only two allowed with three minutes or less left in the game. There are twomandatory game timeouts at the 7:00 and 3:00 minute marks (at the first deadball).
When one considers the additional stoppagesin the game (ball out-of-bounds and fouls – both intentional andunintentional), the flow of the game can be significantly altered and choppy.There are some that feel the stoppages disrupt the excitement of the game.However, the time-out seems ingrained in American sports culture and highlyvalued. Notable exceptions are NBA coaching legends Phil Jackson and GreggPopovich, along with Steve Kerr who played for both coaches.
[1] As discussed in Day 11 – Substitutions, once a player issubstituted out, they cannot return. However, if removed from the pitch fortreatment due to injury without substituting (thus the team playsshort-handed), the player can return to play (though has to be waved on by theofficial).
[2] Wikipedia – Two-minute warning
[3] FoxSports.com – College Football 2-Minute Warning: Explaining therule change for 2025
Interactive: First we have a link to a soccer coaching website, Soccer Drive. While it is directed at coaching youth soccer and player development, the points in Soccer Drive Lesson 14 - are the same points we bring up here in Soccer Simplified! (I did not know about Soccer Drive before writing the book - I found it afterward when looking for good online content to share with you for the interactive portion!).
Here is the link: https://www.soccerdrive.com/learn-how-to-coach-soccer/under-coaching-vs-over-coaching
Second, we have two links to the timeout philosophy of one of greatest (if not the greatest) NBA coaches of all-time: Phil Jackson. Phil Jackson coached more like a soccer coach - he was very targeted in his instruction and tended to say less overall than other coaches. He yelled minimally compared to basketball coaches of his era, and certainly less than basketball coaches today. Most importantly, he didn't use timeouts like most coaches. He rarely called them to stop an opponent's run, and he didn't use timeouts that much at all.
The first link is an article briefly describing his philosophy : https://jr.nba.com/phil-jackson-on-timeout-routines/
The second link is a short clip from his talk at a coaching seminar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBE6BnHJLfo
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