The FA Licensed Coaches' Club Conference 2012 (Levels 1+2)
 
As a paid-up member of the FA's new Licensed Coaches Club I was fortunate enough to attend the 2012 annual conference over the first weekend of December. Last year this was a 1-day event at Wembley Stadium but this year the event for Level-1 and Level-2 accredited coaches was held over 2-days at the fantastic new facilities at St. George's Park and under the banner "Shaping the Future".
 
First off a few words about SGP. Spread over ~330-acres there has been a lot of hype about the new £100m facilities that will be the base for 24 different England squads across different ages and across both male and female football. All I would say is that the facilities have to be seen to be believed as they are simply amazing and all of the 300-odd coaches that had assembled from all over the country were equally impressed. Much has been said about the FA's commitment to coaching the coaches and putting an emphasis on developing the technique of our young players and we have seen that with the changing philosophy through extended initiatives as rolling subs, unpublished leagues at younger age groups as well as the introduction of the pathway to 11v11 via 5v5, 7v7 and 9v9 before finally getting the boys onto the larger pitches. The FA has recognised that having this all in place is of no use if the young kids playing are not being coached properly so huge investment has gone onto the coaching side and SGP is a centre which will be accessible to not only elite coaches but also the likes of us in grassroots football.
 
The conference itself was a great opportunity to mix with like-minded coaches from all the country that share a common passion and that is in training and developing children in football. There is a cross-mix of coaches with some coming from professional academies but the majority from clubs just like WWFC and there certainly is no elitism as I even found myself in a 1-on-1 chat round a table helping solve out a problem that a coach from a Premiership academy was having issues with.
 
The conference itself was a mix of presentations and attending practical sessions being held by various National Development or Professional Club Academy coaches. The event was started off by Sir Trevor Brooking and Les Howie, Head of Grassroots Coaching. The next presentation was an Olympic and Paralympic Report with the panel including Jessica Ennis' coach, Tony Minichello. This was a fascinating insight not only from the perspective of coaching the best in the world but also into views of coaches from different sports, something that the FA is increasingly encouraging coaches to open their eyes to.
 
The practical sessions I attended on the first day were on one of the 11 outdoor pitches and the one that is the replica of the Wembley pitch that England will train on before games. The first session was "Ball Retention and Possession for u12's-u16's" with the second session being "Game transfer from 7v7 to 9v9 to 11v11". The coaches were miked up and talked us through each 1hr 15min session while they also had colleagues on the sidelines talking to us about any questions we had. These sessions are fascinating and a great learning opportunity whilst seeing the enthusiasm of these coaches (who you'll see on many FA videos through your Level1, 2 or Youth Module courses) just makes you want to get your tracksuit and boots on and get out there and take another session.
 
Following a couple more presentations, then a tour of SGP and a quick change of clothes there was a 'gala' dinner in the evening where the after dinner speaker was ex-Bolton manager Owen Coyle with the chair, Mark Clemmet from the BBC, pulling no punches but again another really interesting and enjoyable part of the weekend made all the better over a few pints of Stella, which continued into the bar in the evening as we watched the re-run of England thrashing the All Blacks!
 
Owen Coyle spoke again the following morning before we went on to what was the highlight of the weekend for me. Dr Steve Peters, Consultant Psychiatrist to UK Athletics, British Cycling and Team Sky Pro Cycling gave a talk entitled "Managing the Mind to Optimise Performance". The audience were spellbound hearing Dr Peters talk about the Inner Chimp and in a quick summary how he has progressed from dealing with serial killers and psychopaths to elite sportsmen as Bradley Wiggins, Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton, Craig Bellamy and Ronnie O'Sullivan amongst others. It was a fascinating insight and just a shame that it was condensed into little over one hour as most people could probably have listened to him all day. For those that want to know more he has written a book called "The Chimp Paradox". It's now in my pile of good books to read so I'll be happy to let people know more once I've found the time away from planning training sessions etc. to get my head down and read it!
 
The next two sessions I decided to attend were thankfully indoors given how cold it was outdoors on the Saturday afternoon and these were held on the amazing full-size 4G pitch (picture attached). The first session was one around "Behaviour Management" and given how excited some of the boys I train can get I certainly picked up a few tips here for immediate use, with the most important around planning the social side of the session as much as the technical side - those who have done their FA Level 1 and studied the 4 Corners should understand what I mean here. My final session was "Developing Possession" which was also good but the boys doing the session (Derby u16 development centre players) were certainly a few steps ahead of my u11 Tigers!!
 
We ended back in the warmth of the main building where Brendan Batson, who many of you will remember playing in that great West Brom team under Ron Atkinson but who since has made a name for himself through the PFA and as a football consultant. He talked through the coach bursary programme in place for black and Asian coaches that are currently hugely under-represented in the coaching fraternity.
 
This was an extremely well-organised event from the few people involved in FA Learning that get involved with the FA Licensed Coaches Club.  To-date you have been required to pay an annual subscription for membership and this year the fee has been scaled as to what service you require. Once you do join you get access to a members-only website that has a plethora of coaching material and drills/ computer-animated videos all based on the FA's latest bible - The Future Game. You  an also get a coaching magazine/ booklet entitled 'Boot Room' that comes out 3-4 times a year and is full of coaching related articles from top coaches in the UK and around the world. The FA Licensed Coaches Club is open to all coaches that have at least attained Level-1 and kept their accreditation current. They are looking to make this free to join next year although I guess there will be a climbing scale for the additional resources. If you want to know more then click on http://facc.thefa.com/Users/Account/LogOn?ReturnUrl=%2fnews
 
As a final message. There are over 400,000 volunteers every week taking part in football of all ages across England and around 79% of all youth clubs have a licensed coach. Much has been said recently about the volunteers that made the Olympic and Paralympic games such a great spectacle but every week rain, shine, frost or with those bloody cold winds over Butterfield Road we'll get out and make sure kids of all ages have the opportunity to participate in the world's finest sport and in the main get some thoroughly good coaching in life as well as football. Most weeks we don't get any thanks for that but it was great to hear people like Sir Trevor Brooking and Owen Coyle say that we are the true unsung heroes of the game without which the professional game in this country would be nowhere like it is now. The game is supported by the grassroots at the base and we are those volunteers that can help shape the future...
 
Kev Lennon
U11's Head Coach

This is a great article, which is highly relevent to all those involved in youth football.
Reproduced here from the 'Box Them In' blog (http://boxthemin.wordpress.com/2012/07/03/spain-success-built-on-foundations-not-formations/ ). Have a look there for other great articles!

Spain success built on Foundations…not Formations!

For many watching the European Championship it might of appeared it was business as usual – playing their brand of “tiki-taka” football – which has served them so well over the past 4-5 years. A brand that has once again left opposition players and coaches scratching their heads as to what the best solution may be to stop ‘La Furia Roja’ in their tracks.

In this article I aim to dig a little deeper into the history makers. The subtle changes and evolution they have made as a nation in their football since ‘El Niño’ Torres netted that famous winner against Germany in the European Final of 2008 to get the ball rolling…and my word it has not stopped rolling ever since!

Our way or the highway!

Xavi…the pass master
The first thing you notice about Spain is their unwavering devotion to retaining possession that at times resembles a training like game of ‘keep away’. However its easy to look from the outside and fall into the trap of many recent ridiculous media/pundit hype that it is boring and negative – Spain soon put that to bed with their emphatic demolition of Italy in Kiev! – So how do they make it look so easy? How can they maintain this almost hypnotic brand of football for 90 and even 120 minutes?

A key characteristic of the now world famous ‘tiki-taka’ brand that I feel is sometimes not given enough credit is the incredible amount of concentration, composure and focus it takes to maintain Spain’s very high standards when it comes to retaining possession and passing the ball. You can see the frustration and almost self-hate when the likes of Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets give away possession through a sloppy pass or poor touch.

Watching the Euro’s unfold I thought to myself…Why can’t other nations play this way? Why are what appears to be only a handful of other players at the international level (outside Spain) incapable of executing one of footballs most simple and basic techniques…pass the ball and keep possession?

The players I am talking about are the likes of those who are playing at the same level and competitions as the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, and David Silva. Players who are playing at some of the world best league and biggest teams, and in some cases alongside these players in the same teams and leagues.

What Spain made absolutely clear at this European Championship is that they do not obsess with the shape and lineup of their team. While the rest of us where making noises, doubting and turning our noses up at how a team could/couldn’t play ‘without a recognized’ striker, Spain and its ‘tiki-taka’ troops knew they had something which they could fall back on, something that kept them moving in the right direction and something they knew others didn’t have…their footballing foundation.

Football without fear
This is the message that is drummed into every young player starting out in the game, the ball is your friend; play with it, respect it and appreciate it. Now it seems like a simple message and im sure a message you as a coach have shared with your young players – however its not just about saying it and doing it…its HOW you do it that is the key and the Spanish do it like no other.

Spain’s current world dominance both domestically and Internationally over the past 8 years is not luck, its been a long process of reinventing, up-skilling and educating players and coaches from top to bottom across the nation, in a unified philosophy of how they want to play the game. This process is now beginning to bare fruit.

The leader of this philosophy and the Spanish National Team Vicente Del Bosque sums it up perfectly before and after the big game vs Italy…
“Our success is not a coincidence and has its foundations in many things,” he said.

“In the structure of our football, in the academies, and in better coaches. The Spanish clubs are devoting themselves to training youngsters.

“Before we would travel abroad to look at the academies in France, Russia, Germany. Now many of these countries come to see what we are doing in Spain.”

After their historic victory Del Bosque went on to add…

“We’re talking about a great generation of footballers, They know how to play together because they come from a country where they learn to play properly. This is a great era for Spanish football.”

“To win three titles is almost impossible. Congratulations to the players. I didn’t really want to be the coach who wins but the coach who educates. I want to keep preparing them for the future.”

This message from the national coach is shared by the devoted coaches across Spain who preach this to their players. Its about the education, the future and not the winning.

As a player if you are allowed to grow in an environment where risk-taking and decision-making are encouraged and managed to the finest detail it is no surprise at all to see Iniesta ask for the ball even in the tightest of spaces when surrounded by opponents, or to see skipper Iker Casillas leading by example playing cooly out from the back under pressure.

The Spanish players do not have fear in their minds when they play…all they have is their philosophy and years of trust in their education that this is right way to play, the success along the way has only helped to reinforce this bond.

Another aspect of Spain’s historic victory at Euro 2012 that stood out for me is just how brilliantly adaptable they are. From the opening game fielding the then infamous “4-6-0″ formation (with Cesc Fabregas playing in the false 9 role), to the change of tempo/contrast of their play in the final between David Silva’s opening goal – 14 passes, 36 sec’s of possession – to Jordi Alba’s second – 4 passes, 13 sec’s of possession – was a joy to watch.
Spain’s modern day ‘total football’ inspired by Johan Cruyff’s famous dutch side, then brought to Spanish shores by the man himself has led me to believe something…does it matter what formation you play if you have players who can identify, adapt to and execute decisions in accordance to their surroundings?

I truly believe that regardless wether its 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, 4-4-2 or even 4-6-0…the football foundation that Spain’s players have been built upon since they could kick a ball; awareness, timing, touch, vision allows them to fit into any system, and I feel they could of played any of the above systems and the outcome would’ve been exactly the same at Euro 2012.

The facts are there to see:

Since the start of 2011-12 season Sergio Ramos has taken to his role as a central defender like a duck to water and after Euro 2012 is now considered one of the worlds – lets not forget less then 18 months ago he was strictly a full back for both club and country.

Cesc Fabregas was the first to admit he was a surprised as anyone to see his name in the starting XI as a false 9 for Spain’s opening game – seeing he has never played their before this season for Barcelona on rare occasions – however he still scored in that game and created David Silva’s opening goal from the same ‘position’ in the final.

With Iniesta and Silva playing ‘from the flanks’, Xavi playing as an advanced play maker and Sergio Busquets ability to play both as a deep lying midfielder and center only strengthens my belief that with the right foundation, formations mean nothing.

Conclusion
Educating players to recognize the correct ‘cues’ in and out of possession; when to press, when to screen (out) vs how to receive, when to dribble, when to pass (in) breaks the mould of players needing position specific qualities. The way the modern game is evolving means that players need to be adaptable and evolve with the match with every passing minute.

As coaches we need to look beyond putting players in ‘boxes’ on the field and ask them to perform certain actions which that position requires. England’s performances at the Euro 2012 and South Africa 2012 are perfect examples – they can follow instructions, they can be well organized without the ball but when it comes to having the ball under pressure or finding themselves in situations outside of their specific role they really struggled - The players I speak of are the likes of Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, John Terry who are not only key members of their club and country but who many agree are ‘World-Class’ in their position.

What Spain have shown us over the past 4 years far from boring…I believe its groundbreaking and further supports my view that football is not about formations – its about having players who can execute thoughts into actions in accordance to their surroundings.

 

In his excellent blog, the FA Head of Youth Development (Nick Levett) talks about the focus groups he has run nationality to find out more about why kids play football. I have copied a key passage below, but would recommend that you read the full article here - http://youthfootballdevelopment.blogspot.co.uk/

 

The interesting thing for me is to compare the motivating drivers for the kids, against the input they often receive from parents and coaches. I'm sure that as adults we can all recognise occasions when we've really wanted the team to win a match, or to beat a certain team, or to learn a certain drill which we perceive will make kids play more like adults. Does this motivate kids, or de-motivate them? How can we support/coach in a manner which complements the kids motivation, rather than seeks to change it? Do we consistently demonstrate that our love/support is not related to results?

 

If you want your child to come out of his youth sports experience a winner (feeling good about himself and having a healthy attitude towards sports), then he needs your help! You are a vital and important part of the coach-athlete-parent team. If you do your job correctly and play your position well, then your child will learn the sport faster, perform better, really have fun and have his self-esteem enhanced as a result. His sport experience will serve as a positive model for him to follow as he approaches other challenges and obstacles throughout life. If you "drop the ball" or run the wrong way with it, your child will stop learning, experience performance difficulties and blocks, and begin to really hate the sport. And that's the good news! Further, your relationship with him will probably suffer significantly. As a result, he will come out of this experience burdened with feelings of failure, inadequacy and low self-esteem, feelings that will generalize to other areas in his life. Your child and his coach need you on the team. They can't win without you! The following are a list of useful facts, guidelines and strategies for you to use to make you more skilled in the youth sport
game. Remember, no wins unless everyone wins. We need you on the team!

The full text of this article has been taken from the 'Competitive Advantage' website. Click the link to read more!

STEP ONE

When defined the right way, competition in youth sports is both good and healthy and teaches children a variety of important life skills. The word "compete" comes from the Latin words "com" and "petere" which mean together and seeking respectively. The true definition of competition is a seeking together where your opponent is your partner, not the enemy! The better he performs, the more chance you have of having a peak performance. Sports is about learning to deal with challenges and obstacles. Without a worthy opponent, without any challenges sports is not so much fun. The more the challenge the better the opportunity you have to go beyond your limits. World records are consistently broken and set at the Olympics because the best athletes in the world are "seeking together", challenging each other to enhanced performance. Your child should never be taught to view his opponent as the "bad guy", the enemy or someone to be hated and "destroyed". Do not model this attitude! Instead, talk to/make friends with parents of your child's opponent. Root for great performances, good plays, not just for the winner!

 

STEP TWO -  ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILD TO COMPETE AGAINST HIMSELF

The ultimate goal of the sport experience is to challenge oneself and continually improve. Unfortunately, judging improvement by winning and losing is both an unfair and inaccurate measure. Winning in sports is about doing the best you can do, seperate from the outcome or the play of your opponent. Children should be encouraged to compete against their own potential (i.e., Peter and Patty Potential). That is, the boys should focus on beating "Peter", competing against themselves, while the girls challenge "Patty". When your child has this focus and plays to better himself instead of beating someone else, he will be more relaxed, have more fun and therefore perform better.

 

STEP THREE-  DO NOT DEFINE SUCCESS AND FAILURE IN TERMS OF WINNING AND LOSING

A corollary to TWO, one of the main purposes of the youth sports experience is skill acquisition and mastery. When a child performs to his potential and loses it is criminal to focus on the outcome and become critical. If a child plays his very best and loses, you need to help him feel like a winner! Similarly, when a child or team performs far below their potential but wins, this is not cause to feel like a winner. Help your child make this important separation between success and failure and winning and losing. Remember, if you define success and failure in terms of winning and losing, you're playing a losing game with your child!

 

STEP FOUR -  BE SUPPORTIVE, DO NOT COACH!

Your role on the parent-coach-athlete team is as a Support player with a capital S! You need to be your child's best fan. unconditionally! Leave the coaching and instruction to the coach. Provide encouragement, support, empathy, transportation, money, help with fund-raisers, etc., but... do not coach! Most parents that get into trouble with their children do so because they forget to remember the important position that they play. Coaching interferes with your role as supporter and fan. The last thing your child needs and wants to hear from you after a disappointing performance or loss is what they did technically or strategically wrong. Keep your role as a parent on the team separate from that as coach, and, if by necessity you actually get stuck in the almost no-win position of having to coach your child, try to maintain this separation of roles (i.e. on the deck, field or court say, "Now I'm talking to you as a coach", at home say, "Now I'm talking to you as a parent"). Don't parent when you coach and don't coach at home when you're supposed to be parenting.

 

STEP FIVE -  HELP MAKE THE SPORT FUN FOR YOUR CHILD

It's a time proven principle of peak performance that the more fun an athlete is having, the more they will learn and the better they will perform. Fun must be present for peak performance to happen at every level of sports from youth to world class competitor! When a child stops having fun and begins to dread practice or competition, it's time for you as a parent to become concerned! When the sport or game becomes too serious, athletes have a tendency to burn out and become susceptible to repetitive performance problems. An easy rule of thumb: If your child is not enjoying what they are doing, nor loving the heck out of it, investigate! What is going on that's preventing them from having fun? Is it the coaching? The pressure? Is it you?! Keep in mind that being in a highly competitive program does not mean that there is no room for fun. The child that continues to play long after the fun is going will soon become a drop out statistic.

 

STEP SIX -  WHOSE GOAL IS IT?

FIVE leads us to a very important question! Why is your child participating in the sport? Are they doing it because they want to, for them, or because of you. When they have problems in their sport do you talk about them as "our" problems, "our jump isn't high enough", "we're having trouble with our flip turn" , etc. Are they playing because they don't want to disappoint you, because they know how important the sport is to you? Are they playing for rewards and "bonuses" that you give out? Are their goals and aspirations yours or theirs? How invested are you in their success and failure? If they are competing to please you or for your vicarious glory they are in it for the wrong reasons! Further, if they stay involved for you, ultimately everyone will lose. It is quite normal and healthy to want your child to excel and be as successful as possible. But, you cannot make this happen by pressuring them with your expectations or by using guilt or bribery to keep them involved. If they have their own reasons and own goals for participating, they will be far more motivated to excel and therefore far more successful.

 

STEP SEVEN -  YOUR CHILD IS NOT HIS PERFORMANCE-LOVE HIM UNCONDITIONALLY

Do not equate your child's self-worth and lovability with his performance. The most tragic and damaging mistake I see parents continually make is punishing a child for a bad performance by withdrawing emotionally from him. A child loses a race, strikes out or misses and easy shot on goal and the parent responds with disgust, anger and withdrawal of love and approval. CAUTION: Only use this strategy if you want to damage your child emotionally and ruin your relationship with him. In the 1988 Olympics, when Greg Louganis needed and got a perfect 10 on his last dive to overtake the Chinese diver for the gold medal, his last thought before he went was, "If I don't make it, my mother will still love me".

 

STEP EIGHT -  REMEMBER THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF-ESTEEM IN ALL OF YOUR INTERACTIONS WITH YOUR CHILD-ATHLETE

Athletes of all ages and levels perform in direct relationship to how they feel about themselves. When your child is in an athletic environment that boosts his self-esteem, he will learn faster, enjoy himself more and perform better under competitive pressure. One thing we all want as children and never stop wanting is to be loved and accepted, and to have our parents feel good about what we do. This is how self-esteem gets established. When your interactions with your child make him feel good about himself, he will, in turn, learn to treat himself this very same way. This does not mean that you have to incongruently compliment your child for a great effort after they have just performed miserably. In this situation being empathic and sensitive to his feelings is what's called for. Self esteem makes the world go round. Make your child feel good about himself and you've given him a gift that lasts a lifetime. Do not interact with your child in a way that assaults his self-esteem by degrading, embarrassing or humiliating him. If you continually put your child down or minimize his accomplishments not only will he learn to do this to himself throughout his life, but he will also repeat your mistake with his children!

 

STEP NINE -  GIVE YOUR CHILD THE GIFT OF FAILURE

If you really want your child to be as happy and as successful as possible in everything that he does, teach him how to fail! The most successful people in and out of sports do two things differently than everyone else. First,, they are more willing to take risks and therefore fail more frequently. Second, they use their failures in a positive way as a source of motivation and feedback to improve. Our society is generally negative and teaches us that failure is bad, a cause for humiliation and embarrassment, and something to be avoided at all costs. Fear of failure or humiliation causes one to be tentative and non-active. In fact, most performance blocks and poor performances are a direct result of the athlete being preoccupied with failing or messing up. You can't learn to walk without falling enough times. Each time that you fall your body gets valuable information on how to do it better. You can't be successful or have peak performances if you are concerned with losing or failing. Teach your child how to view setbacks, mistakes and risk-taking positively and you'll have given him the key to a lifetime of success. Failure is the perfect stepping stone to success.

 

STEP TEN -  CHALLENGE, DON'T THREATEN

Many parents directly or indirectly use guilt and threats as a way to "motivate" their child to perform better. Performance studies clearly indicate that while threats may provide short term results, the long term costs in terms of psychological health and performance are devastating. Using fear as a motivator is probably one of the worst dynamics you could set up with your child. Threats take the fun out of performance and directly lead to your child performing terribly. implicit in a threat, (do this or else!) is your own anxiety that you do not believe the child is capable. Communicating this lack of belief, even indirectly is further devastating to the child's performance. A challenge does not entail loss or negative consequences should the athlete fail. Further, implicit in a challenge is the empowering belief, "I think that you can do it".

 

STEP ELEVEN -  STRESS PROCESS, NOT OUTCOME

When athletes choke under pressure and perform far below their potential, a very common cause of this is a focus on the outcome of the performance (i.e., win/lose, instead of the process). In any peak performance, the athlete is totally oblivious to the outcome and instead is completely absorbed in the here and now of the actual performance. An outcome focus will almost always distract and tighten up the athlete insuring a bad performance. Furthermore focusing on the outcome, which is completely out of the athlete's control will raise his anxiety to a performance inhibiting level. So if you truly want your child to win, help get his focus away from how important the contest is and have them focus on the task at hand. Supportive parents de-emphasize winning and instead stress learning the skills and playing the game.

 

STEP TWELVE -  AVOID COMPARISONS AND RESPECT DEVELOPMENTAL DIFFERENCES

Supportive parents do not use other athletes that their child competes against to compare and thus evaluate their child's progress. Comparisons are useless, inaccurate and destructive. Each child matures differently and the process of comparison ignores significant distorting effects of developmental differences. For example, two 12 year old boys may only have their age in common! One may physically have the build and perform like a 16 year old while the other, a late developer, may have the physical size and attribute of a 9 year old. Performance comparisons can prematurely turn off otherwise talented athletes on their sport. The only value of comparisons is in teaching. If one child demonstrates proper technique, that child can be used comparatively as a model only! For your child to do his very best he needs to learn to stay within himself. Worrying about how another athlete is doing interferes with him doing this.

 

STEP THIRTEEN -  TEACH YOUR CHILD TO HAVE A PERSPECTIVE ON THE SPORTS EXPERIENCE

The sports media in this country would like you to believe that sports and winning/losing is larger than life. The fact that it is just a game frequently gets lost in translation. This lack of perspective frequently trickles down to the youth sport level and young athletes often come away from competition with a distorted view of themselves and how they performed. Parents need to help their children develop realistic expectations about themselves, their abilities and how they played, without robbing the child of his dreams. Swimming a lifetime best time and coming in dead last is a cause for celebration, not depression. Similarly, losing the conference championships does not mean that the sun will not rise tomorrow.

Here at @wheatofc we are avid followers of Twitter. We promise we'll get better at tweeting too, but for now, here are some pearls of wisdom from our follows...


@LegendaryCoach TheGaffer
Stop chasing the approval of parents by chasing trophies and winning meaningless games, how about you actually
develop talent?

@nlevett Nick Levett
@CalumMcIntyre @legendarycoach Very true! Futsal indoors is the way forward!

@YouthFitnessGuy David Kittner
Regardless of what level of youth sports your child plays, they're still kids: physically, mentally, emotionally and  socially.

@nlevett Nick Levett
Some coaches do more running up and down than the kids! And why stand on the pitch?! Get off the pitch coaches! Let the kids play.

@nlevett Nick Levett
These are the little things coaches can control, the moment that kid crosses the white line to play, you can't control them so don't try to!

@Playworks
"Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity." -Kay Redfield Jamison #quote

@nlevett Nick Levett
@shaunbarr Problem I see a lot is adults tend to pigeon hole kids in positions. We've no idea how they are going to
develop long term.

@betterfootball
a) Messi has most unsuccessful dribbles in La Liga for 3rd year running. b) 21 goals in 19 games and won 3 ballon
d'or. Risk vs Reward!

@nlevett Nick Levett
youtube.com/watch?v=s0lOY6… Worth a look at the superb work being done by @MinistryOfFooty and the team. Shares the benefits of small-sided games.

Gareth Southgate - @GarethSouthgate
@nlevett depressing. Had to leave under 9s after 15mins which was as much as I could stomach of opposition coach
#mikebassettonsteroids

@nlevett Nick Levett
@StanCollymore @piersmorgan In Germany, 1% of season ticket sales fund grassroots and regional Academies for developing next generation.

Chris Hodgson™ @Soccer20_Hodga
Sometimes as a coach u have to ask what THEY want, and if it creates a happy place for them then sometimes that's all that matters

@MinistryOfFooty
@jackwalton1 If there isn't more learning, enjoyment, movement & intensity in what yr doing as in 3v3 games, then do the 3v3s instead

@nlevett Nick Levett
No kid ever steps on the pitch & says, 'Today I'm going to lose.' Theyre naturally competitive. Concern yourself with performance, not score

Richard Utting @FootballMinds
RT @rufusbrevett3: Bad habits are like a comfortable bed; they are easy to get into, but hard to get out of.

Daniel Abrahams @DanAbrahams77
Winning follows mindset & style. When a footballer focuses on the process rather than the outcome he cannot lose

Richard Utting @FootballMinds
RT @danabrahams77: A winner is someone who puts winning to the back of his mind&focuses on developing the things that will make him a winner

Geordieandproud @Geordieonhol
@StanCollymore premiership chiefs should impose ban for diving cheats if caught.It would teach others not to as kids look up to these stars

Daniel Abrahams @DanAbrahams77
The enduring paradox of sport lies in the phenomenon that to win you must ignore winning as you play but play with the passion of a winner

Daniel Abrahams @DanAbrahams77
For a manager football is a team sport. For a coach football is an individual sport

Mark Carter @MinistryOfFooty
@GarethSouthgate @chrisproskills @nlevett League tables, parents on sidelines, coaches, are a hindrance to the natural learning process

 

 

Full article here