The Coach Diary Football Blog

Month: March 2011

Football for All

Football for All

Last Sunday I was down at Sundrive Park Astro football pitch which belongs to Lourdes Celtic FC. The Football for all session was getting under way. The session is run by Dyspraxia Ireland. I was truly moved to see how happy these kids were to be able to run around and kick the football, so moved that I will be signing up for the next FAI course with the aim of helping out.

Lourdes Celtic Dyspraxia Football Team

The training session are organised by Dyspraxia Ireland with the help of Lourdes Celtic FC coaches Jako Doyle,Valerie, Grace Jones, The Mates family, Pauline, Martin & their son Kyle

(I hope I haven’t forgot anyone). All of the above are also involved with coaching other teams at the club and give up even more time to help with the Football for all sessions. Kyle also plays for the U15s . The Football for all section caters for kids with various special needs, with Dyspraxia suffers being a major part of them.

The session is controlled by 3-4 coaches at anyone time and they work on all aspects of movement, touch, balance and coordination.

What is Dyspraxia?

Some children despite adequate teaching, a stimulating environment and with a generally normal intellect, have difficulty with movement and specific aspects of learning. Dyspraxia is a difficulty with thinking out, planning and carrying out sensory / motor tasks.

FAI – Football For All

The programmes aim is the delivery of football opportunities to people who may notordinarily get a chance to play the ‘beautiful game’. The Football Association was the first Sports Governing Body in Ireland to appoint a National Coordinator with this remit and the programme has been a huge success. Many agencies and groups recognise how football can contribute to the quality of life of so many thousands of Irish people.

The FAI now has two full-time Development officers with responsibility for facilitating a clear pathway to cater for players with various disabilities. The Football for All programme is made up of players from all groups and sporting bodies that cater for people with a disability who want to play football. At the moment we have 3,500 players participating in all of our programmes. The FAI recognises that some people or communities start from a disadvantaged position and may need assistance from the Association to access all opportunities that exist in football.

How Can I get involved?

To get involved with “Football for All” the first thing you need to do is vist the FAI site or click on this link to see when the next course is run. http://www.fai.ie/images/stories/Disability_Football_Workshop.pdf

Alternatively: If you are interested in attending any of the Disability Football Coaches Workshops you can email Oisin Jordan on oisin.jordan@fai.ie.

For more information on Dyspraxia you can visit the site http://www.dyspraxiaireland.com/ Lourdes Celtic FC Dyspraxia Football Team is sponsored by http://www.dbsportstours.ie/.

To contact Lourdes Celtic visit their site at http://lourdesceltic.com/

DB Sports Tours are organising a Manchester United and Liverpool Legends Golf Classic with all funds raised going towards Dyspraxia Ireland football Team trip to train at Manchester United training ground. Contact David@dbsportstours.ie for more information.

Keep up the amazing work guys!!!

March 16, 2011
Bibs, Balls and Cones

Bibs, Balls and Cones was launched January this year 2011 .

I spoke with Marc Lennon and Dave Dunning ask them what this was about? As the tag line states Every good trainer needs their Bibs, Balls and Cones. The first issue of the E-zine was issued at the end of January 2011, the second issue was released at the end of February and it is our intention to issue the publication monthly thereafter with a sabbatical in December.

What is the reason behind the concept? Bibs, Balls and Cones will cost the reader nothing. All we hope is that our readers will contribute with ideas and drills, and that will let friends and fellow coaches/trainer know about Bibs, Balls and Cones. As you can imagine feedback is very important to us.

What are coaches asked to do? Potential contributors are asked to share their knowledge/ideas, submitting full or part of a session plan, drills, ideas or even articles prevalent to training, coaching, conditioning or fitness. The deadline for submissions is one week before the end of each month to allow for editing.

How will it help? We do not envisage that the E-Zine will be used to have a go at any organisation, or to voice an opinion about opposition clubs or referees. Bibs, Balls and Cones is there to help people who want to improve their own knowledge and importantly to improve the players in their charge.

Can anyone contribute? We believe that all managers/coaches/trainers involved in the game, whether underage, youths or senior adult, regardless of gender, and regardless of what level, league or division they are involved in, have good ideas and good constructive knowledge which would enrich others of the same mind. Contributors do not have to have any qualifications or degrees, just ideas that they wish to share. When ideas/articles are published we will ask the readership to comment with constructive feedback, or with a variation of the piece or a progression of the idea/article.

To receive Bibs, Balls and Cones directly, please send an e-mail with a request to be added

to the mailing list to publications@dd-fitness.com or visit them on facebook at www.facebook.com/ddfitness.

They’re also behind DD Fitness Strength and Conditioning Coaching.

The Coach Diary would like to thanks Ball, Bibs & Cones

March 14, 2011
Top Ten Reasons “kids leave sport”
A survey done by the institute for study of Youth Sports in Michigan State, children were asked why they quit a sport or a team. For both boys and girls, the top two reasons were: – 1. They were no longer interested 2. It was no longer fun.

They’re Kids…

We need not forget that these players are not miniature adults or pro’s. They are children with bones that sometimes have yet to develop, with minds that are not thinking the same way that we are thinking. Of course not all the reason young people quit sports have to do with the fact they are growing up. Children explore new interest and want to exercise their independence.

There is also the attraction of the opposite sex and other temptations in life, that we Irish only know to well. I’m sure alot of us can relate to this. Most children, especially until about age 14, played sport for fun. However many reasons have to do with those who are already grown up – the adults who have been in charge of their games since early childhood

The boys and girls each said the following were the Top Ten reasons they quit:-

Boys
1. I was no longer interested.
2. It was no longer fun.
3. The sport took to much time
4. The coach played favourites.
5. The coach was a poor teacher.
6. I was tired of playing.
7. There was to much emphasis on winning.
8. I wanted to participate in other non-sport activity.
9. I needed more time to study.
10. There was to much pressure.
Girls
1. I was no longer interested.
2. It was no longer fun.
3. I needed more time to study.
4. There was to much pressure
5. The coach was a poor teacher.
6. I Wanted to participate in other non-sport activities.
7. The sport took to much time.
8. The coach played favourites.
9. I was tired of playing.
10. Games and practices were scheduled when I could not attend.
Yeah its a US study but it can relate to Ireland too, after all kids are the same everywhere; they enjoy and dislike the same things throughout the world. Most of the reasons have to do with adults not meeting the wants and needs of the children.

Adults creating to much pressure, demanding to much time and failing to support and motivate the kids.

All the reasons why children quit sport are all reasons that can be solved by adults to prevent turning children away. A bis issue is whether the children see the process as fair or participation fun. How many times have you asked your team, did they have fun?

Do you think your sessions are fun?

In this study the children who answered the survey were also asked, “what kinds of changes would make them consider playing again?

” The Top change, according to both boys and girls was “If practices were more fun”.

The second reason on the boys’ list, and number 5 on the girls’ list: “If I could play more”.

Sports Systems continue to fail children in many ways at different ages, but puberty is a vulnerable age for kids and this can be the most common age for kids emotional upheaval and physical changes. Their self-esteem is fragile at this time in their lives, and they have an intense desire to feel as though they belong, thus they need for safe sporting activities.

Chances are, a fair number of parents never really understand why their own child decided to quit a sport, there are some parents who don’t even ask why?
March 11, 2011
The Future of Football

‘Small-sided games are the pathway to success’

Sir Trevor Brooking told Special Report on Sky that more must be done to foster technical ability in youth football.

Brooking, the FA’s Director of Football Development, wants to change the way children are coached in order maximise their potential. Plans to stop under-13s playing traditional 11-a-side games on full-size pitches are included in the Young Player Development Review that he presented to the FA last month.

“We want to take the pressure off the youngsters who get that intensity from the sidelines, whether it be the mums and dads shouting or the coach or the manager”. Brooking Explained

“I could win, perhaps, a mini soccer league by playing two or three big lads at the back who could launch it to the end of the pitch, pick up the pieces and we’d win more games than we’d lose but over a three or four-year period we’d never develop them technically”. “So we are just saying forget that. Yes, every game is important but it doesn’t mean [winning] is the be-all and end-all.”

Child Centred

Converting a full-size pitch into four smaller-sized ones is a relatively straight-forward process.

It takes little time and carries minimal costs, but FA Development Officer Nick Levett said it could reap significant benefits. “The main idea behind the proposals is to make the game more child-centred,” he explained.

“We have very much an adult-based structure that we put onto children assuming that the adults want the same as the children. “But the children’s expectations within the game are very different from the adults; they value fun and participation and engagement at a different level to the adults that have a lot of ego-driven values within youth football”

Format

“So we are trying to make sure that youth football in the future reflects what the children want from the game because it’s their game and not necessarily what the adult values are.

“So some of the format changes we are looking at for under-sevens and under-eights, making the game five-a-side as mandatory so they get more touches, more shots, more dribbles and more fun within the game by just being involved more.

“Then at under-11 and under-12 level, we are talking about making nine-against-nine mandatory, which again is a similar thing; the jump from mini-soccer to 11-against-11 at the moment is huge for many children and nine-against-nine gives us, we feel, the natural stepping stone in terms of development so that we don’t have 10-year-old children playing on the same size pitches as 26-year-old internationals.”

Pathway

The move will bring England more in line with Scotland, under-eights play four-a-side games and 11-a-side games aren’t introduced until players reach 13.

Neil Mackintosh, SFA Head of Youth Development, said:

“The new national player pathway is something we’ve been working hard on for probably about two years now, although Andy Roxburgh said it actually started 27 years ago – so that’s maybe a sad indictment that it has taken us this long. But small-sided games were introduced in Scotland 27 years ago”.

“But what became apparent was it was a random development; there was a lot of good practice in Scotland and we had teams and associations playing in different leagues and in different formats, in different age groups with different rules and it became messy” (Sounds like a place I know)

“So we decided to have a look at a national player pathway that had best practice. For us we are starting with four-a-side, so we now have six to eight-year-olds playing four-a-side football; that’s the smallest number that you need to teach the principals of the game and that’s shown throughout the world to be one of the best teaching tools for young children”.

“Seven-a-side football is the next step; we’ve been doing it for a long time and it’s very well resourced in Scotland. People believe in the small-sided game and it’s a logical step.”

Proper

Mick Dennis from the Daily Express, a guest on Special Report by Sky Sports, admits that he has been won over by smaller-sided games for children.

“When I started playing football in primary school, you played on an 11-a-side pitch and I thought that was proper football,” he reflected. “So when I first heard Bobby Robson talking about restricting the size of matches, I thought ‘that’s not proper football’.

“But I’ve refereed youth football for 15 years and I’ve watched the introduction of small-sided games for younger age groups and there’s no doubt at all that the kids get better at football but, almost more importantly, they enjoy it more.”

Keep following The Coach Diary on his path to change for better coaching systems throughout Ireland. We need proper structures and we need to get the adults with only their own egos in mind out of the game for good. This game is for kids not adults, if you want to get involved in adult football then over u19s football is not for you!

March 10, 2011
Small Sided Games in England

Interview with Samantha Sharman from the English FA

Nearly every nation in Europe is making changes to their small side game to promote better development and get away from teaching kids that winning is more important.

What changes are being made to the small sided game in England?

First off let me explain our current situation within England’s football structures: Currently in our youth football, leagues can play in the formats of 5 v 5s, 6 v 6s, or 7 v 7s up to the age banding of U8’s.

Do you print results?

These mini soccer/youth leagues do not print results of the fixtures, do try and take away the emphasis of winning and encouraging the development of the young players. This was made mandatory across all youth leagues 3 seasons ago.

From U11’s the player format moves to 11 v 11 and moves to a formal league where league tables are introduced and results can be printed.

Who is behind these changes?

A lot of research has been conducted through the Youth and Mini football manager Nick Levett, who has been travelling across the country speaking with County Football Associations, leagues and children (players). This research does support some of your views from your email. From this research Nick has put forward recommendations to The FA Youth Development : –

Review of the below:

5v5s at U7 & U8

7v7s v at U9 & U 10

9v9s at U11 & U12 onwards

11v11s from U13 (natural progression as this is when the children move from primary to secondary schools)

U7’s to U11’s are known as development football, from 12s+ leagues to be known as development leagues

According to the format above, the size of the pitches and goal posts will also change. (To come in line with Europe)

I have read about RAE, what is it?

Another area that may interest you in your research is Relative Age Effect. RAE is an area Nick is also researching into to overcome the problem. A player born in September is grouped together with a child born in August, however physically the player born in September is (majority of the time) a year more advanced (physically) than that of the player born in August, therefore being stronger, faster.

Due to the emphasis of winning coaches/managers tend to pick the players that are bigger and faster to increase the chance of winning; therefore the player will have more playing time than others, hence an increase in development.

As you can imagine this is fairly hard to overcome and is another piece of research that Nick is currently co-ordinating.

“Some of the format changes we are looking at for under-sevens and under-eights, making the game five-a-side as mandatory so they get more touches, more shots, more dribbles and more fun within the game by just being involved more” FA Development Officer Nick Levett

Are the British nations talking to each other? To make you aware, a Home Nation Youth Development meeting was created in 2010, that have met up twice and a meeting is set for this year.

All home nation FA’s are represented (English, Irish, Welsh and Scottish FA) to discuss each other’s current developments in youth football and to discuss any issues that have arisen and how we believe they should overcome them from our previous experiences.

I have a few copies of the FA Football Development Programme Mini-Soccer Handbook, if you want one?

March 10, 2011
What is the definition of Success?

A dictionary definition: An event that accomplishes its intended purpose.

If you are a coach, say of an age group somewhere between 6-12, what is your intended purpose?

Many who are coaching these age groups are living within a narrow definition of success that only includes winning. This can lead to an ego orientated climate that is typified by many professional coaches that work within the adult realm-winning at all costs. Again adult assumptions imposed on kids.

Success should be seen journey without an ultimate pinnacle but one that has many peaks. Even failures and mistakes should be seen as ways to success when working with this age group. At different periods of your coaching life as with different periods in a player’s career, success is and will be defined differently. But it is extremely important that the coach gets it right from the start. Kids need to learn the game as kids.

A healthy attitude to and a positive application of achievement goals will go a long way to creating a happy and motivated climate within your team.

Article by footblogball.wordpress.com

March 10, 2011
Children Learn What They Live

The Wrong

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn

If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight.

If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty.

If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.

If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.

The Right

If a child lives with encouragement, he learns confidence.

If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice.

If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith.

If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself.

If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, he learns to find love in the world.

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I always like to hear your opinions. Please comment below or email me info@thecoachdiary.com If, you don’t have anything to add then please forward this on to a friend. Thanks for reading.

I’m also on twitter @Coachdiary

March 7, 2011