Club News
Craig's List
26th November 2015
IF you catch Craig Tanner without a ball at his feet, there is a fair chance you will find him with a pen in his hand.
The Argyle winger, on-loan from Reading, says he is always trying to improve his game, and does so by keeping a notepad logging his performances.
The number 27 uses DVD footage post-match to help write a list of his pros and cons from each performance, with the intention of working on those aspects in training.
He said: “I put [a DVD] on and watch it from start to finish. I have a notebook and I write everything down which I did well - and didn’t do well, more importantly. I do that for every game and then I look through.
“I always watch my games back anyway and then I realised; why don’t I just write it down so it sticks in there more? It’s another way of learning so that way instead of getting one way of learning I get two goes.
“I work in five-game periods; after every five games I then re-read through and highlight any common themes that I need to work on and take that into training. I write a few pros, because if I write loads of cons it might put me down! Normally most of it is cons, so if I see a repeating factor I highlight them and that’s what I take into training for that week.”
This method seems to have worked well for Tanner, as after starting the season appearing in the team sporadically he has since found himself as one of Derek Adams' regular starters more often than not of late.
He is, though, keeping an eye on those early appearances in green.
“I’ve gone back to my first three games," said Craig, "and I’ve seen a massive improvement from there to where I am now and I think I’m improving every game.
“I think recently I might not have the last pass but I have been involved in quite a lot of our goals in the build up, whether it’s a dribble or a pass. I’m happy with the way I’m going. I think there’s still more from me to come and I look forward to hopefully bringing that out.”
The big question, then, is what Craig has noted down most often.
“It might be crossing on my right foot," he said, "which is something I’m working on at the moment, to have a plan B with my plan A.
“That’s my challenge at the moment, so I take that into training and do extras like right foot shooting and just get confidence with it.
“It seems to be working really well for me so I think I’m going to stick with it for now.”