Redefining Winning; a grassroots perspective

Building on the previous post about competition, and a modern interpretation of, I want to throw around some thoughts on what winning really is for grassroots football and the children that play. This is perhaps something that extends a lot wider than simply football, to all grassroots sport maybe. 


See, my point is, adults get hung up on the scoreline, like this is the be-all and end-all of young people participating in football. Typically, the first question mum or dad asks when you get home from a game, is "did you win?". I understand why and where this comes from, because it is a game between two teams, and because of that there is a winner and a loser, and I'm ok with that. We enter games for the spirit of pitting our wits against another, whether this is playing chess or running races, and there will be someone or a team that does better than another. I get this. 


However, and this is where my ramblings are going, I think we need to extend this definition of winning much wider in the lives of young people. So much wider that I think the scoreline should be a little further down the list than Number 1 and the only thing on the list. 


I had a discussion with a grassroots coach about this a couple of months ago as he felt the only thing he could use to determine the progress of his team was the league table. I disagreed, I thought there was so much more. So, building on the 'Four Corner' model The FA uses to support long term player development, I will propose some alternatives to consider:


Technical/Tactical:
One of the roles of a coach, in any sport, is to help the players improve their technical abilities and understanding of how to play the game. Vygotsky, a well respected educationalist, suggests the coach is 'the more capable other' and therefore the principle of just leaving the kids to it and hoping they solve all the problems could be questioned. They do need a little help, sometimes. 


Therefore, 'winning' in this corner is a fairly easy one to predict but something we perhaps don't shout about it enough. Children could get better at a whole host of different things in this area, most of which you will know about and this is by no means exhaustive, add your own!


- passing over short distances gets better (increased accuracy and weight)
- ability to decide when to dribble and when to pass improves (get into trouble less)
- more shots hit the target over a period of time (more saves from the GK/more goals)
- gets beaten less by wingers when playing at full back (defends tighter)
- combines better when attacking centrally areas (less touches and quicker play)


This is the staple diet of the coach - helping the players get better at the game. But how often do we discuss this when we talk about individual winning? Probably a bit, sometimes. 


Physical
With the changing lifestyles of children in modern society and the world of informal play on the streets being banished to history we need to find a way to provide this for children. We used to naturally develop physical literacy skills in daily life, from climbing trees to get the ball back and jumping rivers to chase frogs, this gave us all sorts of hidden benefits. But today, children are restricted from anything remotely dangerous and risk assessment forms for a school trip are multiple pages long.


Therefore 'winning' in this corner is even more of an essential role for the coach. You might be providing those children with their only couple of hours of focused exercise they get in a week. The last thing they want is to be standing in lines taking forever to get a kick or you constantly stopping the game while they are trying play every 20 seconds because they make a mistake. Try and keep the stoppages to once or twice in a 20 minute spell - let the kids play and run about! You can still coach, I would hope you have more to your armoury than just stopping and telling, so get in the pitch and talk to kids during the game, ask a question here and there that makes them think, without needing to interrupt their heart rate. 


- volleying to a team mate as a pass improves (better single leg balance)
- change direction quicker during a dribble (improvements to their agility)
- they get faster (better technique, they now use their arms)
- they don't fall over when trying to turn quickly (increased coordination skills)


This is a vital part of the development for children and the coach is key to improving physical literacy of our players. Not only for football, for the health of the nation. If you don't know enough about how to develop agility, balance, coordination, core stability etc in children, try and find some places to fill in your gaps in knowledge. Help them 'win' physically.


Psychological
It's difficult to see and even harder to know if it is you that has helped, but part of our role as a coach is to help kids 'win' inside their own head. When children come to football we need to see the bigger picture of their lives - what has gone on during their day? What has happened since they left school? What kind of mood are they in when they get to football? These are all key things to understand very quickly once coaching starts as getting this wrong could have a negative impact on the session and more importantly, a negative impact on the young person. 


I remember one kid I used to coach, regularly turned up late, and the co-coach i was working with at the time made a big deal of it. "Why are you always late?", "Late again I see" and those kind of comments. What he never understood was what that child had gone through to get there - underground train, overground train and then a walk from the station (on his own at the age of 9 years old by the way), and there he was getting grilled for being late!


So, how can we help kids 'win' in their own head? What can we do or see that shows progress for them?


- goalkeeper now comes out and dives at the strikers feet (increased bravery)
- striker constantly misses the goal but keeps shooting (more self-confidence)
- player keeps making mistakes but keeps trying (developed resilience)
- they keep coming back and feel better about themselves (improved self-esteem)


These are the little bits of information you can help them with, the words of praise and positive reinforcement you can offer the players when you catch them doing something well. And that's the challenge; try and catch each kid doing something well in every session. Have a read of Carol Dweck's work, in a book called Mindset, essential reading.


Social:
This one for me is what grassroots football for children is all about, the benefits it can bring to the wider lives of children and the lessons that can be learned through being involved in the game. The gains that can be made to young people here are substantial and the coach should reflect these high on the list of priorities. 


Football, as a game, can bring huge wealth, prestige and a life of luxury for those that make a career at the top end. However, it is less than 1% of players that go on to achieve that but 100% of children that play football are going to become citizens of this country. Therefore, there is a moral obligation to teach them life skills and lessons that can be of value to them forever, through the vehicle of the game.


So, what social skills do they develop through football, how can you help them 'win' in these areas?


- working in small groups to solve problems (better listening skills)
- choosing the right tactic out of three put forward by teammates (conflict resolution)
- packing their own bag and cleaning their own boots (developing responsibility)
- playing a particular role they might not prefer in a game (better teamwork skills)
- making new friends with people from different backgrounds (respect for others)
- give different roles for kit managers, off field captain etc (develop leadership skills)


Helping children to become better people is a key function of the role of a coach and fits very much in the social corner. Seeing these skills get better over a season of football is testament to winning, and for some children, will probably be more important to them in their whole lives than that three points at the weekend you were bothered about. 




So, ramblings over for now, but please do have a think about where you position the scoreline from a game in the whole scheme of things. Winning could be having more kids at training than you had last year, or just they keep coming back and don't quit, or they smile more - it could be loads and loads of things. How important is the score for their development, as footballers but importantly, as people? Equally, the behaviour you portray on the side of the pitch, the emotions you model for all to see, what you put an emphasis on, will have a huge impact on them too. 


Where do you put 'the score' in the scheme of things for children and what determines 'winning' for you? Just a question. 

The Art of Adult Communication

Standing on the side of the pitch produces what can only be said is a myriad of nonsense, jargon and random industry-related phrases. Half of these, well, maybe well over half don't actually help our young players learn and in fact reinforce messages that we probably don't want them to have. Furthermore, how do we know the way these messages are being received - is it helping them understand the game? Is it developing their decision-making skills? Is it doing anything for their self-esteem or feeling of worth?

I've collected a whole manner of information from the side of pitches and I think its time to try and translate some of these. From the 50 focus groups we have done with children across the country there is some fascinating insights into how us, the adults, make them feel with words. I would say most of what the children hear isn't deliberately meant by adults to have the effect it does, it's probably meant with good intentions but just a little misguided. 

I'm sure you've heard a whole manner of different things from the side of the pitch over the years, whether as a parent or a coach, and will relate to some of these.

Quotes: "If in doubt kick it out", "Get rid of it", Get it forwards", "Whack it up the pitch"

Interpretation: I must have heard these phrases more than any others, which loosely means "don't take care of the ball, just don't concede a goal". Managers and coaches seem to be happier the further the ball is away from their goal, regardless of direction or purpose of playing forwards. It is about the adult ego here; the reflection on themselves and what the possibility of conceding a goal might mean. 

It is also probably the one reason we have young players in this country that aren't comfortable in possession of the ball, because they know if they lost it and heaven forbid, make a mistake, then the world will end! Equally, children then do it because the panic sets in, the mum or dad on the sideline screeching this information at them would scare me into doing it too!

We need to allow children to make mistakes, to learn what to do when they have the ball and to learn to pick the most appropriate passes. Sometimes it might be into the forward, sometimes it might be across to another defender. It might be different to the one that you picked but so what? 

Alternatives: "Take your time and choose the right pass, Darren", "Try and find a team mate, Nicola", "Try and play forwards when you think its the right pass, James".

The difference? Decision-making is owned by the child, they try and do what they think is the right thing yet with a modicum of coaching support and help. 

Quotes: "We have two goals to get and your trying all these tricks", "Don't hold on to it", "Get it down, pass, get it down, pass, get it down, PAAASSSSSS!"

Interpretation: It basically means - stop having fun. You aren't here to come and emulate your heroes, you aren't here to try things that might just boost your self-esteem and ranking amongst friends if it works, you are here to be a 'robot' and do as the adult defines. 

The adult here is showing a lack of trust and support for their players and is basically saying "you aren't good enough to try something new so get rid of it". However, from what I know about learning, unless you try something and practice it you will never be very good anyway?! I can imagine that some of the players we know and love watching at the top level - Messi, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, the young Giggs, and the Gazza's and Waddle's of their time - would they have been the same player they are/were if they had adults on the side barking at them to pass every time they got the ball? Probably not.

Flair players are exciting, they can change the game in a heartbeat and create opportunities from nothing. They can unlock defences with a moment of magic and a dribble, but they can't if they are going to feel vilified for even trying. Do they fail more than they succeed? I'm sure they do. But they do things that are incredible, breathtaking and make you sit up in your seat and make noises like you are watching fireworks. 

Alternatives: "Great attempt, try again Jack", "Try and vary your style, Ishmael, to keep the defender guessing - are you going to pass or dribble?", "Where do you think your dribbling will be most effective to help the team, Roger?"

Of course, use training to help them refine these skills but the whole purpose of practising these is to do them in a game. It sends a better message of when and where is appropriate and the coach has a role to help develop understanding of this.

Quotes: "Don't just stand there, move about", "Come on, move", "Get in the hole", "Look up"

Interpretation: This was one of the funniest moments I have seen in a Mini-Soccer match, the first quote there. I was watching a game of U9's playing and the ball was down one end a fair bit with a few corners on the trot. Near the half way line was an striker from the team defending and a player from the other team. The manager clearly decided his forward wasn't doing enough to influence play so demanded he moved about. So he did. 

Despite the ball being at the other end, 35 yards away, the striker did what he was told. So he started running in a massive figure of eight in the opposition half, nowhere near the ball! The defender, not sure what to do at this time having never seen such creative off-the-ball play, was told to "stay with him" by the coach. We then had a scene from Benny Hill, with these two kids chasing each other across the pitch from side-to-side! All because the coach hadn't thought about how his words were going to be interpreted by the child.

I remember the "get in the hole" at a tournament which followed with the U10 kid coming over to the sideline and saying to the coach that there wasn't any holes in the pitch and I recall three U8's 'looking straight up' into the sky when a parent shouted this on, like there was a passing helicopter or something.

Be careful with the language you use; don't use football jargon for the little ones, it won't make much sense and some will take you literally. Try and use language that they will understand and questions to promote thinking, rather than telling. 

Alternatives: "Becci, try and find some free space when you don't have the ball", "Try and see where your teammates are, Zoe, before you pass the ball", "Well done for getting into a position to help your team, Tyrell"

This is about encouraging players to think about the game without getting confused with the words you say. Try and keep it simple and introduce more game-related language when you see is the right time with the age and stage of your players. 

Finally, some quotes directly from children about how adults can make them feel when they shout negative comments on to the pitch if they make a mistake:

"Parents embarrass me when the shout and they just confuse me"

"I don't like it when we try something new and it doesn't go right first time and the adults shout at me"

"When adults shout at me, it's like it all goes quiet and it's a big spotlight on me"

"When people shout negative stuff it makes me just want to leave the pitch and go home"

However, when we say good things, this is what the kids say:

"I feel proud, confident and honoured to play for the team when people shout good things"

"It makes me feel really good about myself and I try even harder"

"It boosts my self-confidence and energy"

The only thing that us as adults can control in the coaching and match environment is what comes out of our mouthes. We can't control how the message is received, the actions of what happens after or how the child feels after hearing something. Please, think about the words you choose carefully and try and be positive as much as you can. That's what the kids want. 

It's Not Non-Competitive. It's Child-Centred Competition.

I think it's time to clarify, clear up, eradicate and move on from some of the nonsense I keep reading about some of The FA's plans for youth football. 

Let's get this very clear from the outset: The FA is not making youth football non-competitive. The game is a competition; the battle between two teams to see who wins over the period of time the game goes on for, whether you are 7 or 57, the game is still about seeing if my team can beat your team. End of story. Hope that's now clear. 

Non-competitive implies everything is a friendly, like the game doesn't matter. That's simply not the case. All games matter to the kids, for some adults it matters too much and therein lies a lot of the problems.

What the plans are looking at are about making flexible competition, where children can still experience the importance of winning and losing, still feel the highs, the lows, the exhilaration and depression that all get associated with the game we know and love. However, this is about making sure that they experience a children's approach to competition, not an adult's approach. 

We have taken the adult model, league tables, three points and goal difference, and imposed this on young people. What we have found from listening to young people is that it has increased pressure and is a reason they leave the game. I can't find any academic research that says pushing children down an over-competitive route is good for enjoyment or development. None. All I can find is the opposite, such as the writings of Lynn Kidman. 

I have heard from managers about children being sick before the game because they are so nervous about losing a game in a relegation battle and children not turning up or wanting to go on because they were so scared at doing something silly and making a mistake and they didn't want the repercussions. The repercussions from adults after a kid makes a mistake?! I heard one manager about Christmas time last year say to his U11 team that today was a "must-win game"! Nothing is must-win when you are 11. Please, give it a rest!

However, children have also told us they like seeing their progress and they like to see themselves get better, something they like from leagues. We simply have to find the balance between the two that enables development and enjoyment from a young person's perspective. 

So, the plans are this; Give leagues the flexibility to organise football for the children in the primary school age group which involves periods of development matches, time to learn the game, interspersed with periods of competitions, where they might play for a trophy or two. 

And this flexibility is open to the league. For example, one of the issues we have found from looking at youth football around the country is in most leagues there are only two maybe three teams that might win the league and they invariably know this before the season even starts! The teams that aren't great know they are never going to win anything either, therefore might monitor development and progress in a different way - losing by less goals, sneaking a draw here and there, social and player outcomes etc. 

What we are saying to the leagues is this - can you find a better way that encourages and promotes more opportunity for more teams to be competitive? So, in a division of 12 teams, have 6-8 weeks playing development matches, putting into practice what you have been learning and then some form of competition, but be clever and smart with this. Organise a little competition for the top six teams to play for a trophy and the same for the bottom six, where the teams in the bottom six now have a realistic chance of winning something, of feeling good for this, or feeling down because you lost in the final. Something the kids might otherwise never have felt. 

And use the scores from the blocks of development matches to get teams in the right groups. No team wants to have games that are too easy or be beaten by loads every week so there is a crucial role still in the administrators making sure teams get pitted evenly against others. 

One guy from a league said he had 32 teams at the U10 age group, could he organise a World Cup format with 8 groups of four, little round robins and then go through to a knockout and a final? Absolutely! Do things that are going to capture the attention of the kids. Just don't stick them in one league for 8 months a year!

When this has been discussed and understood by people on my travels they have started to get it, to understand why. Not listening to hearsay, fourth-hand information or making up their own spin on something because it suits them. I met the KNVB (Dutch FA) Technical Director, a UEFA Grassroots Panel member, a month ago and discussed these with him - he was hugely impressed with this modern approach and asked if I would meet with his team to discuss further what we are planning. England leading something in football and the Dutch liking the ideas of!? There's a first!

This isn't saying what we have doing has been wrong for years, we are saying this might be a great way of engaging more kids in the game we love, for longer, in a more modern way. We have to move away from the win-at-all-costs culture in this country, we quite simply have to. It is ruining the game for everyone, stifling development and hindering enjoyment. Winning is important, but somewhere down the list behind a number of other more important factors. 

Striving to win? Absolutely important.The score? Not as important.

The game is evolving rapidly; new types of player and no longer just giant athletes, new types of football and no longer just 4-4-2, new formats of the game and no longer just 11v11. 

"The difficulty lies not in new ideas but in escaping the old ones" (John Maynard Keynes). And he was a smart man. 

A quick update...Consultation and Politics.

Short delay; afforded a break in Italy and a friend's wedding, but very much back to the day job since then. Interesting times are afoot and with the culmination of the "Your Kids, Your Say" Roadshows imminent, the next stage of the planning and implementation process begins. 

I have been asked many times, at the consultation events and via Twitter, why can't The FA just implement these changes straight away? For the purpose of clarity, I'll just outline some of the procedures in place and how we arrived at this destination. Things are never quite straight forward in terms of decision-making (both on the pitch and off it, it would appear) and there is a process to follow. 

So, sit down and strap in, this could get political! 

We started on this road about 18 months ago, with some early discussions with different football bodies; coaches, clubs, children, league administrators, internal FA staff, professional game etc. to find out if there actually was a requirement to develop children's football. The overwhelming feeling was yes. Since that point we have conducted meetings with 900+ youth clubs, 1000's of grassroots and professional coaches and well over 300 youth leagues. On top of this, we have completed 50 focus groups with 8-12 year old children (more on this in the next blog). Broad, wide and national.

This has shaped the proposal to date. None of the planned changes are my ideas from sitting in an Ivory Tower at Wembley (although I work from home so from rural Sussex), these proposals have been led, shaped, dissected and pulled back together by the grassroots infrastructure. My remit, in this role, is to pull all the evidence together and give it some shape and coherence. Personally, would I do something a little different, maybe, but the majority of the feedback has shaped to where we are today.

From this initial information-gathering, this was then taken to several FA Committees with the key messages and permission gained to 'formally consult' on the new proposals. Since this date we have completed 12 regional consultation events around the country with four more to come this month. 

There are suggestions from a few that this is a 'fait-de-compli', a done deal in some's views and the consultation is pointless. Well, let me absolutely confirm, it is far from that and never has been. Where we are today and from where we started, the proposals have shifted and changed, fluidly moving to reflect the evidence, feelings and feedback from the grassroots world. The Roadshows have time for debate and discussion, input and answers. Controversially, I could actually say those that suggest this is fait-de-compli are those that disagree with the changes...

I've always said, right from the outset that if someone can provide the research and evidence that says the best thing for U8's should be to play 11v11 on full-size pitches in competitive leagues then we are more than happy to take it on-board. This is about building a player pathway that reflects the best possible development system for young people, not one built on gut feeling, tradition and what we have always done, but steeped in research, evidence, meaningful data and information. My role, as mentioned, is to shape this and I have painstakingly sought research to balance different views, to see if I can find something that supports, for example, the value of adult forms of competition on young people. No pre-determined agenda, no hidden desires. A clear, transparent, evidence-backed process. 

So, we have four regional events to go. Once completed, we will pull all the evidence together and then start the internal process. This requires a variety of committees to hear the feedback through the next three months before going to FA Council in January 2012 and then FA AGM in May 2012. It has to go to the AGM because there are Rule Changes that need to be ratified, and this is the body that completes this. From this point, if successful, it becomes policy and the way forward for youth football in England. 

How can you help? Well, we need the whole grassroots world to get behind this. To explain to people why we are doing this, how this is about the children and putting in place a modern, enhanced system to help them enjoy the game more, develop further and become better players. 

Not everyone will agree with some of the fine details, whether we should have 9v9 at this age or another, or the pitch should be a little bigger or smaller, but the general consensus is we need to change. We need to move forwards for their benefit. Forget being adults and what we want, let's focus on making the game better for the players. 

So please, influence your fellow club coaches and committees, fellow league volunteers and groundsmen and all those in the game and help them understand why we are seeking to invest in the children of the future, to help them become better players of the modern game and to help them fall in love with football. 

Developing young volunteers

One of the things that gets mentioned when discussing youth football and developments to the game is the consistent pressure on volunteers and the same few people doing more and more. This is certainly true in many clubs and leagues, with the all-too-willing doing all-too-much. In truth, I wouldn't do some of the roles that some people I speak to have; 20+ hours-a- week on top of having a full time job?! That's a big commitment.


So, what are the solutions to this? Well, a few ramblings to follow might encourage a couple of thoughts of your own, and a reflection of your own situation. 


First up, I have spoken to thousands of people around the country all volunteering in grassroots football and there is a fairly consistent message: "We need more volunteers". However, when you get to the crux of it, actually, many of these people are unwilling to give up some of the 'power base' they have. They volunteer loads of time but when someone says "can i help?", the job they get offered is either the rubbish stuff they don't want to do or they don't let them in. 


I do think we would be far more efficient in recruiting volunteers if roles were split up. Make that 20hr-a-week role into five jobs of 4hrs, as people might be willing to give up that time, but who wouldn't be scared of an extra 20+hrs a week? I know I couldn't commit that extra on top of my current life. 


Secondly, parents take a lot for granted, certainly at junior football clubs. Many will turn up, drop the kids off and disappear shopping. Some don't even stop the car, they'll just open the door and boot them out! I know of some clubs now having success with a "Parent Pledge" - a commitment to giving up some time to support the running of the club. For clubs to be truly at the heart of the community, they need people to pull together, and after all, they are leaving you with their most prized possession in the world. (Mine is a completed 1984 Panini Sticker Album, but that's only because I don't have kids!). 


Committing an hour during the week, in the same way you as the coach/volunteer commit loads, to wash the kit, do some fund raising, put up the goals etc can be great support. Also, have a dig into what some of your parents do for a living - an accountant could be your new treasurer, a PR guru could write your match reports (alongside the children doing it?) and a teacher could be a great learning mentor for you.


The next thing, when I delve into where have you actually looked for volunteers, is that the breadth of locations is limited and often in the wrong places. 


I came across one Youth League in the Midlands that wanted to develop a website and do some marketing and decided as they were all old(er) and didn't know "any of that technological stuff", they would advertise for two volunteers that did. So, who knows that kind of "stuff"? Young people. And where do they live? Colleges. 
So, they advertised to a local 6th Form College and low and behold they had 52 applications for the two roles. Keen, willing, enthusiastic and dynamic young people with modern knowledge. Smart work by the old(er) people there. 


This leads me on to the subject title - The FA Junior Football Leaders Award. 


Yesterday, Roger Davies (FA) and myself delivered the first of two national tutor training events to develop a cohort of tutors to roll out county and regional training for this new award. These people will deliver a training course locally for teachers and coaches that want to run this award, provided they have met the minimum criteria, and would like to introduce young people to opportunities other than participation. 


The course is an introductory 6-10hrs, for young people age 12+, and gives them some basic knowledge around four key areas of leadership:


Organising and managing a football activity
An introduction to refereeing
Helping with a team
Different football events


Our next generation of coaches and volunteers exist within the young people of today. If you would like more coaches for your Mini-Soccer section and have older teams, start there. The under 16's would be fantastic role models for the younger players, complete that pathway of succession planning for future coaches and keep the atmosphere in the club vibrant and energetic. Yes, they will need support, of course, they are young people. 


But you could also find some very able coaches and referees that you could also learn a thing or two from. Give them the opportunity, you could be surprised...

Coaching Week 2, the Saturday session...

Things are starting to settle down at the Club, the merry-go-round of staff is coming to end and it looks like my coaching partner for the year is confirmed and we worked together for the first time last Thursday and then again on Saturday. We are still in limbo awaiting the new syllabus so roughly working to the end of last years, ramping up the tempo and intensity of training as the games programme starts in a few weeks time.


This Saturday I led the session, with my partner having not worked in the Academy for a few years, he needs to find his feet again. Having still not seen the boys in games, it's very much learning about them still, what they can and can't do and know or don't know. Therefore, the session was to see what they understood about defending principles.


Session went as follows:
15mins - Tag games.
These have a great focus on agility for the boys, require real quick feet and dodging and weaving skills to get themselves out of tight areas. Interesting to observe who the boys were that are good at this, and often the smaller ones. It also teaches them some of the principles of defending, linking to the main body of the session. Does this also equate to dribbling skills? Maybe.


15mins - Passing square.
As part of the syllabus there is a reptition circuit that is done twice a week. Essentially this is about technique development, pass and follow around a square. Four cones, whatever distance you feel is right apart. The boys did this all last season so are familiar with its organisation ergo the instruction was simple; "there's the equipment, in two minutes can you be playing?".


What was interesting then was to stand back and see who led the group, who solved problems, who tried to do their own thing without the rest of the group etc. Real social corner skills. With this you generally have 5 players per square, otherwise you have an empty cone once the passes have been made. There was 8 boys and set up two squares...until one bright one sussed they needed one square! He is very much the thinker and the leader.


It was then a case of watching technical work in practice; who cheated and used their stronger foot, who did a pre-move and checked away to lose a defender, who had the biomechanics to punch a pass in...


30mins - Try to put into practice the principles of defending during a small-sided game.
Set up was as follows; a pitch big enough for 7v7, in this case about 60x40, split into thirds and then the middle third I split into four channels with flat rubber discs. The challenge was "when defending, can you defend three channels but attack across all four".


It then gave us as coaches the opportunity to watch the players understanding of defending principles; who closed the ball down quickly, who got side on to predict play, who covered and offered support, who tucked across and left the far channel where there wasn't any danger, who recovered when the ball had gone past them etc.


I then coached WITHIN the practice - asked questions during play using a variety of different coaching methods from command ("you need to get across when the ball is on the other side") to guided discovery ("what happens if you turn side on and why different sides - try it"). I'll talk about coaching methods in a future blog.


Anyway, for the 30mins they played I stopped the session ONCE. I set myself the target of stopping it a maximum of twice so succeeded. Children don't like adults ruining their game by constantly stopping it! So, just the once, and this was so they could have a drink as the tempo and intensity was high.


In that 2mins (maximum) of stoppage I asked some questions around their understanding and they had some surprinsgly good knowledge, I was impressed. Don't assume they don't know, and then teach them stuff they already do!


30mins - Small-sided game, thirds but no channels.
Could they now recall the information when they didn't have guidance to help them...and they did! Again, stopped it just once during the game for drinks and changing ends. Finished 5-4, very competitive...


...who said kids needs three points and a medal to be competitiive?!

Engaging young people...

What looked like it would be a fairly quiet week has now got a few things going on, of real variety too. Coaching very much in the diary on Tuesday and Thursday, along with the England game on Wednesday night too. 

Spent the day working from home today, adding some new elements to the 'Your Kids Your Say' roadshow presentation and making a few amendments. One of the key drivers behind this whole agenda is about ensuring young people have a voice for their game. The question is, in your club, league or coaching setting, do you give this real credence and value as something important?

There is an academic model, put forward by Shier (2001), that talks about different levels of engagement for young people in their activities and I'll give you the highlights of this, so you can then think about your own setting. 

In a nutshell, adults organise football for children but we aren't very good at engaging them within this process. I've visited about 300+ youth leagues over the last 18 months and I have come across two, just two, that have a young person still playing in the League, on their Committee. Yet they organise football for kids, so how do they know what to organise if they don't allow them some kind of input into the decision-making process?! The power stays firmly with the adults. Because, of course, they always know best. 

Shier's work breaks down policy into five very simple levels;

1. Children are listened to.

2. Children are supported in expressing their views.

3. Children's views are taken into account.

4. Children are more involved in decision-making processes.

5. Children share power and responsibilities for decision-making.

At each level there are three questions to ask yourself around openings, opportunity and obligations. For example, at Level 1, are you ready to listen to children? If as a club or league you aren't even willing to listen to the views of young people, then you really should question your motives.

At Level 3, are you ready to take children's views into account? It's all very well giving them a platform to speak and engage with you, but if this is a tokenistic, meaningless gesture, what's the point? Do your decision-making processes enable you to take into account their views and if so, how do they inform developments? Level 3 is the minimum if you are going to meet the United Nations Convention regarding young people, too. 

At Level 5, it's about sharing the power with young people, having procedures and policies in place that ensure this has to happen. 

This isn't about letting the kids do what they want; otherwise it would be pizza every night followed by ice cream. Although, come to think of it, that sounds alright and isn't far off my regular diet anyway! However, it has to be about shared decision making; not adults tell, tell, tell. 

Link this into your coaching - do the children have any input into what they learn? Why not? They should have a role in setting their own goals and outcomes, the objectives they want to achieve as an individual and as a team. This is because their goals might be different from yours. You want to win the league. The children just want to have fun with their mates. This could lead to clashes...because you haven't met their expectations. 

So, have a think about yourself, the club or league. How do young people not only inform direction and choice, but actually share in its inception and outcome? Like to hear some examples of good practice, or changes you might make.

Speaking at the England Badminton Coaching Conference at the end of the week with Sir Trevor Brooking, not due to our in-depth knowledge of badders thats for sure, but more on principles of coaching. I'm going to chuck a few grenades in to challenge some thinking, that's for sure. Should be fun. 

Coaching - The third session, first week...

One of the delights of coaching at a Professional Club is the level of debate and discussion that goes on between more experienced coaches. My session yesterday was not delivered by myself but by a coach coming in for an interview for one of the vacant coaching slots we have available for this coming season. 


With the new U9's still in the early stages and most of them off on holidays, they joined the U10's again to make a better number in the group. The lad coming in to deliver, nice guy, asked lots of questions of us, the kids and the Academy; a very good start. Once into the session, he had a great manner with the boys, very impressed with that, lots of demonstrations but maybe some more learning to do. 


However, whilst he was doing his thing, it gave Del, the lead coach of the U9's, Geoff, the Assistant Academy Manager and myself, the chance to throw some random ideas around, with conversation ebbing and flowing from the importance of self-reflection (hence for me, this blog), how vital it is to spend time with good coaches to learn and how to plan for  flow/tempo/structure of coaching sessions. Within the mix was also a very eloquent 'rant' from Geoff about how players in this country aren't technically lacking of our European counterparts, but skilfully deficient instead. 


An important part of gathering feedback on the session that took place, beyond the subjective opinion of the three of us, is to ask the children. That for me is a vital test on the session - What did they like? What didn't they like? This is a clear indicator on whether or not the session has been well received, what they enjoyed and what they found confusing. 


Whilst doing my day job, I had an excellent meeting with an American child development expert I have been doing some work with; a fascinating guy. We have started work on developing a model around the interactions between coach/player/parent/game and the detail that underpins the relationships of each with the other. One of the things we started to discuss was developing a process so that players can evaluate your coaching, because if you don't know what they think of it, how can you improve right? An iPad app, for example, for there and then feedback. 


For some coaches this will be scary, and quite a brave thing to do, as this will potentially open themselves up for things they don't want to wistfully hear. But how can you improve if you don't ask the children? Finding the way they can be honest and constructive in their feedback, without fear of repercussion, that produces some information to help us all get better is the challenge. Hands up who wants to pilot this?!

Coaching - The second session, first week...

As with every coaching session, the plans never quite go to the written down version you have in store. Or the version in your head. 


I'd planned a number of games, using a constraints-led coaching approach, to change the task after every mini-game and rack up the challenge, getting progressively harder each time. 


Well, when I say make the game harder, the boys were going to make the game harder. They were going to suggest the conditions each time, deciding what the rules were each time to build on difficulty. For example, all-in for the first game but after fifteen minutes of play (with no stopping it from me), they had to decide what was next - two changes per game. This could include; weaker foot finish, include offsides, two-touch in midfield third etc. 


Let the children go wild with their imagination, within the realms of what would really happen in the game though. Give them the ownership - it doesn't have to be all about the coach.


What I also wanted to achieve from tonight was seeing how much the boys were capable of making decisions for themselves. When you start to introduce new things to children (like being allowed to think for themselves), depending on what they have been used to, this can be difficult. If they are used to just being told what to do, whether in school, at home, from previous coaches, this can be a strange world to move into. 


Even simple questions - "what do you think?" - can be unusual for them. Hopefully, if they have a good teacher and a good coach before, this process can be made easier. Therefore, when asked to lead their own team talk and discuss tactics for the second half of the 7v7 at the end, one team just talked about positions they were going to play, and not HOW they were going to play. This will take a little bit of time but worth the perseverance.   


However, with the Under 9's only having 5 players tonight (summer holidays etc) and being new to the Club as their first year, we decided to put them together and play mini-games with the 9's and 10's mixed up. It gave Del and Andy the chance to see the boys coping with some physical challenges (which they coped with very well in fact) as well as the other three corners of development. I was very impressed with a couple of their players in fact, two very neat and tidy lads, excellent technically, composed and confident and friendly. 


The first half hour is all about movement skills and we are fortunate to have, in my opinion, one of the best coaches around for this. Absolutely top drawer, works with the first team all the way down to the U9's, and has the skills, personality, adaptability and knowledge to be excellent at both ends of the spectrum. I purposely get in early to see him work, always learning something. 


Highlight of my night though was a lad from my team last year thats now an U11, that I hadn't seen for about eight weeks due to work and end of season, coming up and saying he'd missed me. He's a nice kid, and sometimes developing nice people is just as important as getting them in the first team. 

Coaching - The inaugural session...

So the first session is done but whilst not officially being allowed to tell the boys I'm their coach for the season, along with another yet unknown coach, it all went well. Plus, they aren't stupid so would have worked it out! There has been a few changes at the Club so until all age groups are sorted and settled and a formal announcement is made, it's all just rumour!


Standard first session stuff really; trying to work out eleven different names. My mode of attack was by barnet, or for the northern, hair style. There is quite possibly the best afro I have seen in ages, its massive, and very bouncy. Two lads have mohawks. One has a mullet. One has half an afro. It would be a full afro but compared to the biggest one I have ever seen it will just be a half. 


I knew a few of the boys from last season but not really as players. So tonight was about trying to work out what they were like as players, trying to get a very rough gage in the 4 Corners (technical, psychological, social and physical) and see what I could learn. The best way to this - let them play a game!


It frustrates me seeing coaches that meet a new group for the first time, the first week of a new block of coaching sessions for example, that on their first session to try and understand where the kids are at, they do 'ball familiarity'. What does that show?! We are developing players to play the 'game' so watch them play a game!


Therefore tonight, we did exactly that. 


Whole, part, whole session; after 30mins of movement skills and warm up, into a game. Played 6v5 as the delights of an odd number, including one GK. The opposition had to score in the corners of the goals for it to count, whilst the others shot against the GK. 30mins of game, I mostly watched, asked a couple of questions here and there and mainly listened to the comments the boys were making to each other - who moaned at who when they made a mistake, who got shouted at when they dribbled too much and who called for the ball when they had found space. 


From the game we went into the 'part'; two areas of different shapes. One box 15x15yards and one 20x10yards, and played 3v3 and 3v2 in each one. Questions were key for me at this stage; what do you notice about the two areas? how does that affect your attacking strategy? how does it change your defending playing in different ones? For me, the key was listening to the answers - this showed where the boys are at with their understanding. That's important. 


Played around with the conditions, moved players mid-game to change the underload/overload and see if they could cope in tighter spaces. 30mins.


Then back into the big game, taking the score across with us. Another 30mins. 


Conclusion after tonight - this season is going to be fun! The boys are a nice group and there is the potential to really extend their learning. Back in Thursday.
Meeting the Assistant Academy Manager on Saturday for an hour after the session to discuss a creative approach to their learning this year too. Will post more about that if and when we get the go ahead!

The early steps...

So, this is like my nephew right now, just turned one years old yesterday and learning to walk...i'm in the same place as him but learning to blog! I would guess that the first post will be seen by one person, me, and the rest by potentially more, as they get better and more interesting. I will try and work out how to send out via Twitter, being in the modern world and all that. 


The plan is going to be to use this blog as a reflective journal; for both my daily life within The FA and things that are going on there, and for that of my coaching hobby, working with the Under 10's at Fulham FC Academy. 


I'll try and keep it updated as best I can, with information on the future of youth football, some of the discussions we are having nationally, sharing some of the feedback from around the country on my travels and general information that might be of interest. If its not of interest, i'm sorry, skip on past those bits!


I will also use it to update on my coaching sessions, things that have worked or not worked, and some feedback from the season. That way, I can use it to effectively reflect on performances of both myself and the boys and use it as a tool for my own personal development too. Ten years coaching without reflection is like one years coaching, repeated ten times, said Gilbert and Trudel a few years ago, and incredibly true sentiments there indeed. 


Any help and guidance from people of more experience in the blogging world, please feel free to suggest away, as all help welcomed. 


So, time to hit "publish post" and see what happens...