1) Young children are not mini-versions of adults

As much as they will be adults one day, the young players in your care are certainly not there yet. We must understand and recognise that we can’t treat them in the same way as we would our peers.  We must always have the well-being of each of the children in our care as the priority. The session must fully engage the young players no matter what the weather.

2) Get the players moving as soon as they arrive

In poor weather keeping the players busy is vital. Young children will go cold quickly – almost without noticing –  and once they are cold they will really struggle to warm up again. Telling them to run around a bit more won’t help either unfortunately – it’s too late by then.

An arrival activity is vital. The children should arrive warm and getting them active early is crucial.  Little games of tag, mini 1v1s or 2v2s, and small fundamental movement games will all do this. Make sure you have this section in your session plan ready to go whatever the weather.

3) No queues and keep all the players involved

Having queues of children waiting for their turn is a big no-no in any session let alone on a cold, wet day.  Can you find ways to make sure all the players are all involved all of the time?  If you are struggling for equipment could you set up two or three smaller areas rather than one in order to cut down any form of waiting?

4) Use games during training

Consider what the players expect football to look like. What’s the first question they ask:  ‘When are we playing a match?’  Wet and cold sessions are perfect for match time as it keeps them all involved and active. Play mini 3v3s on a couple of pitches to keep all involved and then carefully manage how you intervene to coach.

5) Work with individuals rather than stopping the whole group

Children don’t like coaches talking for ages at the best of times but on a wet day it’s even more important to keep communication concise. Can you coach individuals whilst the game plays on around them?  Could you give quick challenges to players ‘on the fly’ as they pass you?  Could you set yourself a challenge to intervene for no longer than 30 seconds?  The kids would really appreciate this.

6) Consider practice design and progression

Spend time on planning the session. Will you use a technique-skill-game format or whole-part-whole or a myriad of other templates?  Which will increase playing time the most and which may lead to times of relative inactivity?  How can you create excitement and therefore engagement?  Can you always have a scoring system in place? Can you ensure that if any defender wins the ball they have a way to attack and score too to keep games flowing?

How you progress the session needs to be thought about too.  Can you progress some players without stopping all of them at the same time?  Think about working the session with players in groups; perhaps advance the better players first before gradually progressing the weaker players later on, meaning that they’ll get the extra practice time they need.  This also means that as you talk to each group two-thirds of your team are still active and warm.

7) If in doubt: play matches

If you’re ever in doubt or get caught by the rain or bad weather half-way through a session revert back to several small matches.  Smaller sized matches promote ball contacts, in and out of possession play, transition and game craft. They also ensure that players are never more than one pass away from the ball, so engagement and activity levels stay high.

8) Have some rules about correct kit

It’s important to have some rules or conditions regarding kit. I’ve had children arriving in t-shirt and shorts to sessions in December and I’ve had to take the hard decision to turn them away. Parents sometimes feel that it’s okay because they’ll be running around at football – yes, but they will only be warm if they start warm in the first place. Perhaps having a club wet-weather policy would be a good idea?

We can take note from cricketers playing in early April or late September. They wear lots of thin layers rather than a couple of large ones to keep heat in.  Encourage your players to do the same. It’s nothing different to what my mum used to shout as I ran off to training:  “You can always take some off, if you get too hot”.

9) Safety and welfare are top priority, but each individual is different

We have a responsibility to the children and their parents to look after them and always to make decisions in their best interests.  Safety and welfare are the top priority but we also mustn’t shy away from playing just because the weather isn’t great.

In a grassroots setting I worked in previously we had a rule – if the kids turned up then we would play. It was the choice of the group and their parents if we played.  This meant that sometimes we played for just 30 minutes instead of the full hour, sometimes the session plan went out of the window and we just played little games and sometimes we led sessions with only three or four kids.

What we must always understand is that every child is different, some will love and thrive in the terrible weather whereas others will hate it. Either way, they are both likely to remember it for a life time.

We must make certain that our coaching fosters a love of the game and a love of playing it. Make sure that when you are next faced with bad weather you make decisions and plans based on the best interests of the little people that turn up each week to play the great game of football with you.

10) Find a way to use the weather to create memories

Some of my fondest experiences as a kid were playing outside in terrible weather.  I still remember my first game in snow and the excitement playing with an orange ball for the first time gave us, the sliding tackles that seemed to last a full 30 yards through the midfield mud-pit and the diving headers that gave such a splash landing that if you timed it well could soak the watching parents.

We must appreciate that we could be building memories for our players; let’s make sure they are positive ones where the kids can’t wait to play the next time it rains. Starting to implement all of the above is a good foundation to start from.

Courtesy of The FA.

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Last week I held training on Monday, winter league meeting on Tuesday, club meeting on Wednesday and recieved a text on Thursday from a parent who wanted to speak to me privately after work about a bullying issue on the team.

I worked out that I spent 15 hours of my week working on/for my team which I don’t mind, but then after our game on Sunday I recieved several texts from parents saying this

“We should have an extra training session to work on passing”

“We need to be more physical”

And the real low baller

“I’ll give it a few weeks, not having my son get beat every week”

15 hours a week, why couldn’t the texts just say “Thank You”

I have spent two years coaching my team at Under7 and Under8 level. We have developed as a team and the players, as you would expect, have developed to varying degrees.

All along, I have tried to keep the parents involved – I set up a Facebook group, I did a one page newsletter to let them know what we were doing in training, and why, I had a pre-season meeting where I explained that the FA guidelines at our age included giving all players equal game time, and rotate positions to give the kids a wider exposure to all aspects of the game.

We were playing 5 aside, and I had a group of 4 “more confident” kids, and a group of 4 who weren’t quite at that level, and a GK. So I would always play 2 from the “more confident” group and 2 from the other group to keep a good balance in the team.

It seemed to work, we never got battered by anyone, and we never battered anyone else, the games were always good and competitive, win lose or draw Midway through last season the mother of one of the “better” players told me she wasn’t happy that her daughter was brought off for someone else to go on. I explained that this was development football and all the players needed game time as we were moving up to 7 aside next season, so the kids needed to have games under their belts.

I thought that was it, until I heard that this mother had begun talking to the parents of the other “more confident” kids, and encouraged them to form a summer league team, which they have now decided to take to winter league next season. The paradox here is that whilst she wants me to tell a 7 year old child, who has been looking forward to a game all week, got his kit ready on a Saturday morning “sorry, but you’re not good enough to get on today”…she herself has not had the guts to actually tell me about this team.

I’ve heard it all through the kids and other parents. So out of my squad of 9, they’ve taken 5 and are actively trying to get my other coach and his son to join them to coach them despite him and his son saying they want to stay where they are. The whole thing made me seriously consider quitting coaching. Until two of the parents who are left told me about how grateful they were for the help I’d give their kids; and even the parents of kids that are leaving have thanked me and said they’re only leaving cos their kids want to be with their mates.

This mum, on the other hand, hasn’t even had the decency to say goodbye, let alone thank you, and I got a text to say she would leave the kit next to her meter box for me to collect. So, new coaches, take a look at the parents as well as the kids, make sure they support your philosophy and don’t have their own agenda. This mum has nearly brought down a team – she doesn’t care about the fact that my coach and I have brought the boys to this level; she doesn’t care about the time that we put in for the past 2 years; she doesn’t care about the boys that are left behind. She just cares about her son winning a game of football.

Got thoughts on this? Don’t forget to leave a comment below or on Social media.

In other words, if you coach, then you are in a highly visible position that continually exposes you to the public’s scrutiny and evaluation. It’s one of those areas where the general public regularly weighs in on what kind of a job they think you’re doing whether you want their evaluation or not.

When it comes to judging your performance, everyone seems to be an expert and have the “qualifications” to criticise you. Fans, parents, students, the media, and the team’s organisation or administration all seem at the ready to offer you either the thumbs up or thumbs down signal.

What’s even more frustrating for a coach is that so much of this external judgment comes from individuals who don’t seem to have a clue about you, your players, or what you’re trying to accomplish with the team.

Coaching is also one of those areas where your professional effectiveness is almost always narrowly measured by something that is very often totally out of your control: winning and losing.

In many ways you can be a bad or ineffective coach, yet because you are lucky enough to have great players on your squad, you win all the time. Because of this external record you are considered in your profession to be a “great” coach. Similarly, you can be a wonderful coach and teacher but because of a lack of player talent, luck, or other circumstances beyond your control such as player injuries, your won-loss record is just mediocre and, as a consequence of this, you’re seen as an ineffective coach.

Like I said, coaching its easy isn’t it…..

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We have today announced a series of new initiatives and investments which will have a significant impact, both on the FA itself, and for all of English football.

The announcements include a range of measures aimed at improving the culture of the organisation and considerable new investment into every level of the game. These include:-

We will increase our investment in the women’s game. Over the next six seasons, an additional £50m will be invested into women and girl’s football taking the total investment from the 2018-19 season onwards to £114m.

We believe that no-one in the world is matching this level of investment. It will go into every level of the women’s and girl’s game from school programmes and SSE Wildcats centres, the initiative to encourage girls aged 5-11 to play football, through to investment into the Women’s Super League clubs and development of regional high performance centres to feed the talent pathway to the Lionesses.

The announcement also includes a range of substantial new strategic investments in the game which will be made from the 2018-19 season.

This will total around £180m per year going directly back into football, which is up from £123m in the previous year, representing a 46 per cent increase.

We are a not-for-profit organisation that is now able to make this new investment due to increased revenue from the sale of the Emirates FA Cup and England broadcast deals, a new long-term partnership with Nike and the consequence of the corporate re-structure in 2015 which has enabled The FA to operate more efficiently.

;

The new investments include:-

• More than double the Emirates FA Cup prize fund from the 2018-19 season. This will benefit all participating clubs at every stage of the competition.

• Pay off the Wembley National Stadium debt. This will be done by the end of 2024, ensuring we can remove the burden of debt repayment from then on. At present repayment rates, this means £2-3m saved every year after 2024 and invested back into the game.

• Significantly increasing our investment into grassroots facilities by £9m per year. This money will support a range of new and existing facility programmes to meet the needs across grassroots clubs, County FAs, local authorities and education sites, including a new mini-pitch programme in primary schools and grassroots clubs up and down the country.

• Increasing our investment in grassroots participation activities by nearly £6m per year.

• Investing directly into the 20,000 grassroots affiliated clubs to ensure that each of the 64,000 mini-soccer and youth teams has a minimum of a Level One coach, to provide our youngest players with the quality coaching they deserve.

• The establishment of a new Community Club Hub network. Over 150 large-scale clubs across England will receive direct investment and resource support to deliver development outcomes. Each Hub will also have a subsidised UEFA B Coach mentor to work across their club and wider community.

• A new volunteer strategy to invest directly in succession planning and training across the leagues and clubs network. This will include a reward and recognition element.

• Establishment of a recreational growth fund to support recreational football including small sided, Futsal and walking football.

• Sustain and enhance the disability growth fund to support growth in disability football.

• Increasing our investment in the women and girl’s game by an additional £50m over six years to ensure the sustainability of successful initiatives such as the SSE Wildcats programme, which will see 3,200 new Wildcats centres by 2020, and also ensuring the Women’s Super League gets the support it requires as it grows. This is all part of our commitment to double participation in women’s football and to ensure consistent success on the world stage.

Martin Glenn, FA chief executive officer, said: “The initiatives and investments announced today will make a significant impact to the way football is run in this country.

“They illustrate both how committed The FA is to becoming a more inclusive and diverse organisation, and how much it contributes to English football.

“The FA will now invest over £180m a year back into the game, more than we have ever done before, which will have a positive and meaningful impact at every level of football in England.”

Understanding what young players want from their grassroots football experience can help prevent poor behaviour, writes FA county coach developer, Mike Antrobus.

Poor player behaviour at training or matchday is often caused by boredom, the desire for attention, or the practice activity being pitched too hard or easy.

To help improve player behaviour, we have to consider the link between what the players want versus what we, as coaches, want from training and matchday.

The FA Youth Development Review found that players play football because they like to “try their hardest”, “because it’s fun” and because they “love it!” Does your coaching allow players to feel these things? Can you achieve both?

During the session planning process it is important to consider what the players want. What types of practice and games would prompt a similar response to the three comments above? It is worth asking your players for their top two or three reasons why they play football. This will make your planning even more specific to your players’ wants and needs.

Story courtesy of Sky Sport and Police Scotland

However, life doesn’t always go as you plan.

One parent told me last night  that their child was potentially thinking of joining another team they had been training with all season; not a problem. I supported him training with another team, as his dad was happy to support him to play more football. I encourage players to make their own choices and am glad it is his decision!

But, today at training I have been told another 4 of my players won’t be playing for me next season.

These reasons are due to convenience/cost, however I’m unsure  there is more to it…

Bear in mind I have 10 players and am looking to enter an under 9 league where I plan to have 10 players.

Now I only have 5 players, however 4 are under 7 and one is under 8. So i’ve made the decision to release the under 8 out of the childs best interest, playing in a squad with a majority of players younger than himself probably isn’t the best thing for his development. And vice versa for the under 7s, some aren’t ready to be playing a year up.

Now I have four players.

From a dream of a season, one training session has left me absolutely heartbroken. I’ve lost the passion to coach. Fortunately I have the utmost support from my remaining players and can hopefully go again and get even stronger.

It’s a shame when you pour your heart and soul into a team, to be let down like this. Loyalty is a prized possession these days,if you have parents that are willing to stick by you, then hold on to them, tight!

Hopefully there is a silver lining to this dark cloud

Anon

The victim was playing for Lambourn FC’s under 16 side against a Burnham Juniors youth team when an altercation took place in the second half.

Police said the boy was assaulted by two men and suffered bruising to his chest and injuries to his face and leg.

He was treated in hospital but has since been discharged.

The incident took place at the George Pitcher Memorial Ground, in Britwell Road.

PC Matt Styles, investigating officer said: “We would be keen to hear to anyone who was at the match and witnessed the altercation to contact us.”

Call PC Styles on 101 quoting URN 1250 5/3 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Someone they look up to, forever remembered when one day this will end.

High fives, clapping and encouragement, Now that’s what we want to see,

Not shouting from the sidelines undermining me.

Cheering, smiling, happy faces when your child stares over at you,

Having fun is what’s it’s all about, Who cares if they concede 1 or 2?

I’m not Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp or even David Moyes,

I’m a volunteer who in all weathers comes out to train your boys.

I do this in my spare time, have family and a job like you,

I make mistakes like everyone, guaranteed you make them too.

But what is screaming and shouting really going to do?

It’s going to make your child hate the game, who cares if they lose a game or two?

Let’s support your coach and little one whether they win lose or draw,

Not questioning players or tactics, demanding and expecting more.

It’s all about enjoyment, fitness, laughter and fun

Your child is only a few years old, their career has just begun.

So please remember the next time, you feel like shouting out

We’re not on a football terrace, kids happiness is what it’s about.

Treat every child like one of my own,

Encourage everything that they do, You’ll never hear me moan.

First aider, counsellor, lace tier, but most of all their friend,

someone they look up to, forever remembered when one day this will end.

You see I’m much more than a football coach….