The Coach Diary Football Blog

Category: Coach Talk

  • Footblogball: Interview with Hibernian Youth coach – Colin Jack

    Footblogball: Interview with Hibernian Youth coach – Colin Jack

    Colin Jack is a Youth coach at Hibernian FC and Mark from Footblogball spoke to him this week in Sweden at a Coerver coaching camp in Stockholm and he started by asking him…

    Q.The Scottish FA  teamed up with the Scottish Youth Football Association to launch a new National Player Pathway from March 2011. Within your role at  Hibernians  how do you take part in this initiative?

    A. The player pathway is purely for recreational players, whereas at Hibernian we deal with professional youth players. However, in my opinion the national player pathway is something of benefit to the grassroots game in Scotland. This provides the basis for where Hibernian and other pro clubs pick there players and by giving kids a structured environment to play organised football is great.

    Obviously this needs to be matched by the kids playing as much football away from these games/tournaments as possible. But the key thing remains at the young age of getting kids to fall in love with the game of football. This is absolutely key, so no pressure need to be applied to the kids, just pure enjoyment.

    Q.It is claimed that it is the first time in Scotland, all children playing club football will play a format of the game that relates best to their age.We at Footblogball read a little more into this statement as a sort of acceptance of the death of “street football” or any form of spontaneous football. What are your feelings on this?

    A. There is two areas of youth football in Scotland 1; recreational or boys club football for amateur young players, with a range of playing abilities and 2; Pro-youth where the best players are recruited by the clubs and play fixtures every weekend. I think the fact that there are two separate bodies the SFA and the SYFA is a cause for concern as there is a clash of interests and also for the organisation of the game within regional areas. I think there needs to be one sole body in which all football decisions are taking with regards to recreational and professional play. These decisions could be taken with debate involving the organisers from each area/region.

    I think what the Scottish FA mean by this is that every club team will play an organised game at the weekend. Rather than before when kids from different areas would play different rules and games. Some areas play 7 aside at 8 and some 8 or 9 aside. So I think its important everybody follows a pathway which is best for all.

    In this respect I think the Scottish FA have managed to do this. A loose framework for organised club football. However, I do think they also need to address the purely recreational side of the game, whatever your standard. In Scotland it has become near impossible to play street football, however, there is many artificial areas available to kids to play football. Key I think is to get kids to love the game, encouraged to play and perhaps even have a coach or organiser at each venue to make sure the kids are playing in a safe environment. This could be just purely in an overseeing capacity where no coaching takes place.
    So, organised club football at the weekend in the recreational sector and organised football throughout the week where kids can turn up and play for no cost and no coaching. The key is just to get kids playing football at any time of the day. They then go to there clubs for coaching.

    Q. The only adult involvement in football when I was between the ages of 6 and 10 was being called in by my parents for dinner. All this of course has changed where adult expectations such as competative drive means kids hardly have time to fall in love with football, to play for fun and  develop their skills and creativity in a stress free environment. Has the Scottish Youth Football Association or you in your role as a coach at Hibernians done anything to address this situation? How do you personally feel about this?

    A. What is absolutely clear here, is that in order for kids to get any better at football they must fall in love with the game and become mini-football experts, in terms of ball skills but also understanding the game and the professionalism which should go hand in hand with the game. This also helps create friendships and a more respectful community around the game.
    The Scottish FA have introduced ‘street football’ and other programs designed to look at kids playing football for no fee in areas, but this is down to funding again and some can’t be continued due to the lack of money. This is something I think the Scottish FA need to address. I cannot speak for all off Scotland but I do no feel the Scottish FA does enough along with clubs to play enough football. In my opinion, and as previously stated, getting kids to the local park just to play football is key. Play with friends and stop playing the computer is key.

    Q. Recently you were in Stockholm at a Coerver coaching camp for kids. How did this come about? What age groups were you working with? Did you notice any differences between the Swedish kids and the Kids from Scotland with regard to how they play the game, expectations even at a such a young age

    A. I had the opportunity to come across to Stockholm with Coerver as I work with Coerver in Scotland on a part time basis. I have been abroad before with Coerver to both Norway and Portugal and I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Stockholm. I find Coerver a useful tool in teaching kids the basic skills and I believe when applied properly can be of great benefit to players. However, this is needed to be mixed and matched with other training and the coaches own ideas on the game to produce quality training. Coerver on its on is merely a technique acquisition session not a skill and game related session.

    The kids in Stockholm were fantastic, the behaviour and culture was obviously much more different to Scotland. Kids in Stockholm can obviously speak English relatively fluyently and this helped me enourmously but also helped the kids. With learning another language the kids had a more rounded and appreciative nature, this is perhaps to do with the awareness of other cultures.

    In Scotland I feel kids can only speak English and do not have an awareness of outside cultures, perhaps due to georgraphy, but it is something that I think is key. The Swedish kids were much more appreciative and there behaviour was exemplary compared to kids in Scotland. I do not know the social situation in Sweden but perhaps this is something to do with it as kids in Scotland can tend to come from a range of social backgrounds.
    The kids in Stockholm football wise were very much more tuned into what was needed, when practice time came the kids were solely focused on this. Coerver involves lots of repetitive drills and the kids, despite being of varying age, seemed to enjoy this aspect.

    Further more, when asking the kids to do the techniques in match situations they were very keen to replicate this and understand the context of when a technique would be used which then turns into a skill. The kids were also extremely fit and agile and all enjoyed healthy lunches, something that is not replicated in Scotland. This all contributed to the more ‘football is a profession’ atmosphere compared to that of Scotland where there is still a certain culture that attaches itself to the game.

    One point I think is absolutely key and I would like to reemphasize this, is that kids need to play football. This does not mean coaching after coaching  but just solely football. Small sided games and games created on the spur of the moment need to return and I think everybody can do something to help this.

    Colin Jack: In his own words.

    • I’m 23 and currently studying History and Politics at Stirling University  in Scotland.
    • I currently work part time at Hibernian where I take the under 17 team and assistant coach at the under 19 team, this season we won the east of Scotland shield and got to the semi final of the Scottish cup.
    • Despite being only 23 I have worked at Hamilton Academical FC academy where I took the under 11s and under 12s, I also worked for Heart of Midlothian Academy doing there technical sessions for the under 9s, 10s and 11s.
    • I have also worked for Coerver Scotland for over 5 years where I coach all standards of players, I have worked with them in Portugal, Sweden and Norway.I work and continue to work with the Scottish football association, for nearly 4 years now, in community projects and school of football scheme.
    • I am currently sitting my advanced children license in which I have 3 months to go. I have passed my youth award and children  award in coaching and hold the south of Scotland coach of the year for 2007.
    • I also play semi-pro football in Scotland but currently am injured for the last year. Before though I played at various semi and pro teams but never excelling to take me to a higher level
    • My aims include coaching in a full time capacity at a professional club and achieving my UEFA A badge. I also want to work abroad and hopefully in time become a first team coach at a professional club.

    Interview by Footblogball

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  • A True Story – Trophy Hunting a Blot on Our Game

    A True Story – Trophy Hunting a Blot on Our Game

    As an ex-Pro player and now a Coach, I was invited to to a local Amateur Football club to present the trophies at their gala evening.The players ranged in age from 8 to almost 40 years. I was ushered to twin tables covered by white sheets with many trophies underneath.

    Trophies Cash

    The chairman told me proudly that the club had spent almost £2,000 on the trophies! I began giving the various trophies to the players noticing that a few of the players were coming up repeatedly. As I went to give the last and biggest trophy of the evening to a young player who was walking up to receive it , I asked the Chairman standing beside me,”what it was for” and was told it was for “the Individual player who wins the most trophies on the night”!

    It nearly fell out of my hands as I presented this young kid with his FIFTH trophy of the night, There and then, I promised myself that I would never do this again.

    What a waste!

    What are we teaching our kids? Wouldnt that large amount of money be better spent on more Footballs, training equipment, new kit, the hire of a Sports hall during the winter or towards the services of a couple of good Coaches? I am not altogether against awarding trophies however wouldnt it be so much better if we gave just a few to deserving kids at the end of the season such as… “The most Improved player of the year” or “The hardest working player of the year” or “The team player of the year who never lets others down”,etc, Too many great kids are bypassed in favour of the more talented (but sometimes more selfish) kids when in fact ALL of them are important.

    Some people at Clubs and Coaches are well-meaning thinking that giving more trophies than other Clubs will motivate their kids to play and train harder and win more games. Nothing could be further from the truth! There is a wealth of research from Sports Psychologists to prove this fact however many “thinking” Coaches with experience have discovered it for themselves a long time ago. Instead of just playing the game for the sheer joy, exhiliration and fun of it, they are being taught to lose their intrinsic love for the game to seek worthless trophies instead – what a shame!

    Article By my good Friend – Malcolm Cook

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  • St Kevins Football Club – Interview with Alan Caffrey

    St Kevins Football Club – Interview with Alan Caffrey

    I caught up with St. Kevins Boys Academy Coach Alan Caffrey recently and had the pleasure of  taking a tour around their fantastic facilities.

    The Dream

    While it is every young boys dream to become a professional footballer and it represents one of the most popular avenues of success in sport, unfortunately this venture is fraught with many difficulties and pitfalls and while many thousands of young boys choose to follow their dreams, very very few ultimately achieve their goal.

    Most English & Scottish clubs have people employed in Ireland on a scouting system. These scouts observe players playing in their own leagues and at representative and international matches, a player is sometimes invited by these scouts to participate in tournaments for the scouts club.

    A player showing promise is then invited by the scout to his Club for a trial or a series of trials. St Kevins Boys have operated an Academy structure since 1999/2000 in which their most promising players receive added coaching / training so as to help them in their quest for a career in football.

    In 2003 they entered into an Academy partnership with West Bromwich Albion which is still in existence and gaining in strength. The most promising players are assessed regularly by WBA but that does not preclude them from attending trials at other clubs.

    I sat down with Alan and we discussed Irish Grassroots football inside out, here is everything we talked about.

    Football as it should be

    With all this long ball stuff played in youth football, how is he getting his coaches to play out from the back?

    7-10s have to play from the back, regardless if they lose or not. All coaches are encouraged to get there teams to play from the back at all time, so that when teams move into the 11 aside game they are used to playing football the right way. Even if teams are losing games from mistakes by trying to play from the back, we still want are coaches to stick to the policy of total football.

    Are coaches encouraged to do their badges?

    Absolutely all coaches are encouraged to go and do their FAI badges and we also encourage them to go to other course; recently we had over 12 coaches go to the FCBarcelona Clinic in Carton House. Most have gone to the Grassroots in Birmingham, coaches have also gone over to West Brom. There is no point in telling kids to play the Spanish or Barca way and then not go and see how the Spanish coaches are doing it.

    The Players

    We don’t just encourage our coaches to learn, we also want our players to learn and we make all the players shake the coaches hands before and after training and match day. Anytime a player passes a coach in the club or outside, we expect the same. If a visitor arrived like yourself, they would have to go and shake your hand.

    We want out players making eye contact with the adults, we prepare them for England, so when they do go over on a trial, they are used to being around adults, they are confident and know how to introduce themselves etc. Confidence reflects a good attitude. We want all our players playing with a smile, enjoying football, we try to encourage a friendly and professional atmosphere at all time.

    You spend some time in the UK, can you tell me about that?

    I was at West Brom for 4years in the role of Assistant Academy Director from 7s to 11s and looked after the 12s & 15s.

    How did you an Irish man end up at West Brom?

    When I finished playing, I got into coaching at Kevins through Pat Cleary, who is now at Malahide as head coach and is probably one of the best coaches around today. At the time we had a link with Peterborough and through our various trips to Peterborough I met Aidy Boothroyd and we became good friends and when he was appointed as Academy Director at West Brom, he asked me to come and join his coaching staff.

    “I learnt so much from the man both on and off the pitch”

    Only after a month in the job he  joined Leeds United. For me at the time it was a little unsettling as I had just left everything behind in Dublin and now I might be out of a job. Fortunately for me Dan Ashworth who is the Sporting and Technical Director of West Brom took over as Academy Director at the time and he took  me under his wing and it was brilliant,’I learnt so much from the man both on and off the pitch’ He is an amazing man and he has taught me so much and I owe alot to him.

    Discipline

    Discipline is so important for a footballer. St.Kevins have one of the best records for premier teams, we don’t get players sent off and last season we didn’t have single premier player dismissed. If a player is sent off they must come before the committee and explain themselves before they can play again. If they are punished by the league and we believe that they were in the wrong, we will give them extra games suspension.

    “If you don’t have discipline, you can forget about it”, to often I see opposition players being sent off and being clapped as they walk off the pitch, I just don’t get that!

    Coaches and the Game

    The important thing for me is that the coaches are proper role models for the kids; to often we see coaches screaming and shouting at the ref, the players etc. If the kids see the coaches doing it then they are going to copy them.

    How do you feel about the competitive side of the game here, is it too competitive?

    Take West Brom for instance, there young teams, have no league tables, results don’t count etc. Player development is the goal, however when the players get to 18s and then reserves the jump for a lot of players is to big and all of  sudden you have gone from nice non competitive football to football that matters. Its a argument that has it pro’s definitely.

    Change in the Game

    Personally I cant see it ever changing here, but what I would suggest is non competitive football from age 7 to age 11’s and start at 12s, so no leagues, no cups etc.

    Then the 12 Premier is decided not on results but on an academy system like in England, where you are assessed on your facilities, coaching structure and how the club is run. Get an outside governing body to come and view your facilities, structure and then you are rewarded a certificate to play in the Premier.

    That might mean that some of Dublin’s top clubs might not get in, but that will encourage them to get their act together to get to the proper standard. It must be about development. Small sided games should be organised but kids should be just playing football. But I can’t see that change for a long time as people are too set in there ways.

    There are lots of things we can change, for instance having parent and coaches on opposites sides, like a scene from Braveheart, roaring and shouting at each another. All coaches should be on the same side and parents in an area on the other side. We have dugouts on one side of the pitch here and teams still come here and insist on standing at the far side of the pitch, running up and down the line, screaming and shouting at the players, they would rather to that then sit down and watch the game for the benches. For as long as there are no rules in place about parent and coach conduct on the line, this will continue to happen  and we just have to live with it.

    “You can watch our 11s and then go watch our 16s and the play the exact same way. Any player who moves up to an older age team can fit into the same system”. 

    Being prepared

    Is key, to often coaches blame the players for defeats. When some coaches win the coach is great but when the team loses the players are crap. If a coach is screaming and shouting on the line then he is clearly not done is work on the training ground. Great coaches, can just sit back and watch and give minimal instruction on match day.

    We have a technical programme here and the coaches are all responsible for putting it into place and each age group has expectations and goals from passing to dribbling etc. Every coach will be assessed at the end of the season and we go through each age technical programme and make sure that every player has completed everything that is in the programme. Each coach takes accountability for his own teams programe and must make sure every single player has completed their tasks. We all sing from the same hymn sheet – You can watch our 11s and then go watch our 16s and the play the exact same way. Any player who moves up to an older age team can fit into the same system. 

    Success

    Define Success, why has Kevin’s been so successful over the years?

    I think it depends how you measure success, is it to win leagues and cups; I measure success by

    1. Are we producing players for England.
    2. Are producing good decent people, are they doing well in School. 

    If kids are suspended from School then they don’t play, if they don’t do their school work then don’t come here. That’s how we judge it, people will probably say we are successful in the leagues, the cups and they travel all over Europe for tournaments, but we are player censored here; everything is about the player, what we can do for the player, physically, mentally etc.

    I think that’s the bases of a successful club and a lot of hard work is gone into this club being a success from our Managers, Players, Staff at the Club also our board of director and the fund raisers.

    Club has the Power

    There is no player power or parent power here, no parent is managing a son’s teams. We are yet to lose a great player to bad attitude or discipline. But the premier league is a wash with scandal and bad attitude, pick up any paper on a Sunday and read premiership players in more scandal and they get away with it. The young players today are so influenced by these stars and so much so that most will copy alot of what they do. For me discipline is number one here and in life in general.

    “All these scarfs around their necks, white socks over the clubs socks; my attitude to all this is when somebody pays you to wear that, then you can wear it. If you have sponsorship then so be it, but until that day, you don’t wear any of that here”

    Is all the ambition for players to go to England, why don’t we see more players going to Europe?

    I think language barrier might be a factor, the Premiership is what they see every week. We have a young lad here Jack Byrne and for me he is so fitted to the Barcelona style of play. That’s why we play teams from all over Europe, are premier teams will never go into tournaments that they can walk away with.

    Last year our 10’s played Bayern Munich and drew 1-1, we lost to St.Pauli and Bayern Leverkusen beat us. We want that, the players can see that their is a different standard, its not just about being the best in Ireland we want to be able to compete in football terms with teams in Europe. Last year we held a tournament here with our current u13s (See below for Easter tournament details), who are a smashing team and we didn’t win a game. I have people say to me, why don’t you get teams that you can beat? for me its not about that, you gotta show our players their is a different level of football out there, outside of Ireland. England is one level and Europe has many different levels. I want our teams to be getting results against the best of teams in Europe to show that we are doing something right and if we don’t then we know what we have to stride too!

    “Control what you can control, within your club”

    What age to you recommend kids to go abroad?

    Some say 16s, some say 21s. I believe they should get to where the facilities and coaching is better and the earlier the better as they will develop better. I don’t see why kids should stay here and try play leagues of Ireland, the league is dead, no financial backing, clubs are in debt, the facilities are shocking, clubs don’t even have their own training facilities. I recommend they get their junior cert and if they are talented enough they should go. Junior cert to 18s is a good age if they’re good enough. Clubs Educate kids now, so its different and better for the player.

    Arsenal have just signed a lad from here and then they go and sign a player from Barca, so they need to go over as quickly as possible to have a chance. Its not easy for 15 year old to go over to England, they see brand new stadia and lovely facilities on Sky Sports but then they get over there and they’re dragged out of bed early, its dull and wet and they are doing all sorts of jobs. However, if they can get through all of that and they are talented enough, then I don’t see why they can’t make it to the top.

    Ireland’s in Decline

    But thats not to say that we aren’t in decline, I firmly believe that by 2015 we will not have an international squad being picked from Premier league players, its getting less and less. There is not much coming through and the top teams are going global to get players.

    Last year with had 2 players on contracts, this year we have had 15 players go on trails from different age groups; come here on a Saturday and it’s ‘scout city’, we need to make sure it doesn’t go to players heads and parents don’t get caught up in it.

    Spain, Portugal, Brazil, all have a style, they are all on a journey to their destination which is how the national team plays, in Ireland we have a journey but no destination, we have no style, why?

    We go to Ireland games now and the style is what it is but if I had 10 free tickets for any Ireland game I wouldn’t send my players, because there not gonna learn anything. Spain have a belief how football should be played, from young to old and they stick to it.

    If you look at England they have this academy system and they want to play like Spain, so they get foreign managers to try and achieve that; but really the only way this can be achieved is to get an English manager and play the English way from young to old and why do England fall short every time is because they try and switch up how the play every couple of years. They think they play dream football, EPL is not an art its a hussle and bussle and when its slowed done to Barca pace, they struggle to adapt.

    Control what you can..

    Talk to me about Change?

    Dan Ashworth and Aidy Boothroyd always said to me, ‘Control what you can control, within your club’ don’t worry what goes on in Leagues, The FA’s etc.

    Too often rules are forced on clubs and we don’t consult the people at the top. Take the age change rule which is coming in this year, why weren’t the top people from around the country that are involved with clubs not consulted, the likes of Pat Cleary, Noel White, Jimmy Jackson, these people have been in the game for such a long time, these are the people we need to be talking too.

    This is the problem in Ireland, if your not connected to the big leagues like the DDSL etc then you have no say. These people will speak out and say whats wrong with it. These men should be involved with the FAI, with our international teams and no disrespect to the current coaches but these men should be consulted, they are at it a long time and down at grassroots level.

    The rule for 99% of people who play the game week and week out, this rule had no affect; so for the lads that play international football who have around 5 games a year this rule was brought in for them. We will just get on with it but other clubs, smaller clubs will struggle with this rule; trying to adapt from 7v7s to 9v9s into 11v11s etc.

    Also bringing the All Ireland cup to the new age of 11s, which really its u10s and having teams play 9v9s in the league and 11v11s in the cup is madness and I can’t believe someone hasn’t stopped this. On the flip side I don’t envy their job and until younger people are prepared to step in and change that mentality, then the link between the boards and the young kids will always be far removed. The FAI need to do more for with the leagues, get more involved.

    Grassroots

    What changes would you like to see?

    Recently Sky did a programe report on grassroots in the UK and how it needs drastic change, but if the same report was done here in Ireland it would be frightening what they would dig up. That’s why you cant get caught up with it; we just make sure that when the boys come to St Kevin’s FC the coaching is a good standard, the football is a great standard and they have the best facilities to train and prepare.

    Another thing I would like to see is that clubs be allowed sign players for 2 years; 10-12s, 12-14s and have transfer window that they can leave and if they do want to leave then their is a fee of €50 or €100 and that money goes back into football.

    2 years signings would definitely stop players being poached. But, if players want to leave, they will leave; trying to keep players to stay is also wrong. We need better structure in place all the way through. I hear of clubs losing players to GAA, because they have better facilities and structures in place.

    “It’s all about development of players and how you do it, If you don’t have a structure and your not in it for the right reasons, then it will all fall down, its all built on quicksand”, “I tell my players to be the best players for their teams and be the best in the leagues and thats all you can do”.

    How do you keep the big English clubs from taking your players without compensating the Kevins?

    The big clubs can’t come here and bully us, we stand up to that; you do hear of these clubs coming over and ripping Irish clubs off, but we wouldn’t accept that here. My view is if they came in for one of our players and tried to rip us off, then they wouldn’t get another one after that. You need to stand up to them, we work hard in developing are players.

    The investment we put in from, training facilities, pitches, fitness testing 3 times per week, our gym etc. Are players are balanced, these are not ragball rovers players. Mentally, physically these are some of the best players in the country.

    Would you have better structures here compared to some pro cubs in England?

    We model ourselves on an Academy in England the only difference is we don’t have a 2 million budget per year, and our coaches are all volunteers and work very hard to be successful. We invest time and money into our players to get the right results. We still don’t get the same compensation that clubs in England get, we get a fraction of what they get; but until changes are made for the better of Irish Clubs, players that will always be the way.

    At St. Kevin’s we are producing players despite the current structures in place, now imagine if we had good proper systems in place across Ireland, imagine how good we could be. 

    Easter International Tournament

    This Easter weekend (April 22nd-24th) the presence of Irish football legends Liam Brady and Niall Quinn at St Kevins Boys Club 3rd International Invitational Tournament will no doubt attract even larger numbers than before to Shanowen Road over the three days.

    The other teams taking part this year are Brondby IF (Denmark), F C St Pauli (Germany), West Bromwich Albion (U K) and current DDSL Premier League table toppers St Kevins Boys Under 12 Premier team.

    The six teams are divided into two groups – Group A ; St Kevins Boys Club, Sunderland AFC, & Brondby IF. Group B ; Arsenal, West Bromwich Albion, & FC St Pauli.

    Proceedings kick-off on Good Friday April 22nd at 11am when the host club play Brondby IF. For more information go to the St.Kevins Boys FC website http://www.skbfc.com/skb-international-tournament-easter-2010/

    The Coach Diary wishes to thank Alan Caffrey and St.Kevins FC.

    April 18th, 2011

     

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  • COACK TALK: Jobs-In-Football.com

    COACK TALK: Jobs-In-Football.com

    Coach Profile: Richard Sutherland – www.Jobs-In-Football.com

    Location: Madrid

    TCD: Did you play football as a kid?

    RS: I played football for many years in Glasgow and ended up playing at a Division 1 youth team.

    TCD: How did you get into coaching?

    RS: I started coaching initially my local school team while still playing and then moved to college (knew I wasn’t going to make it as a pro player) to complete a degree in Sports Coaching. Whilst at college I gained some valuable experience working in many different football environments; grassroots, elite and 1st teams. I then moved to the USA when I completed college and worked full time in New York & Connecticut. I returned back to Scotland where I worked with Glasgow Rangers (Youth Academy) and the SFA for 3 years.

    USA & Sligo

    In 2003 I was persuaded to go back to the US to work with my old boss in a new club where I was 1st Team Assistant & Academy Director. Then in 2006 I moved to Sligo Rovers to take the U21’s, assist with the 1st team and create the start of a youth entity in the club – camps, weekly clinics, relationship with local clubs etc.

    Bohemians

    I moved to Bohs in 2007 to become Head of Youth Development and U21 Manager where I stayed for 2 years before moving onto Manchester United and then finally Atletico Madrid.

    TCD: What badges have you got now?

    RS: I am UEFA A qualified and have qualifications from Scotland, Ireland, England and the USA.

    TCD: Tell me a little about the Jobs-In-Football.com and who is behind it?

    RS: I am the main figure behind Jobs-In-Football.com and developed the site to provide coaches (new and experienced) a platform where they can ‘showcase’ their talents by uploading their CV’s into our database for employers to search.

    TCD: What does Jobs-In-Football.com do and who is it aimed at?

    RS: Its a One Stop Shop for football vacancies! It allows employers the chance to advertise and recruit staff with the required experience, qualifications and desire to succeed in the game. The site advertises all jobs associated with football and has had openings for – Marketing Managers, Commercial Managers, Facility Managers, Administrators, Security / Stewards, Journalists, Reporters, Commentators, Physiotherapists and of course a host of coaching roles such as Technical Directors, Coaching Directors, Head & Assistant Coaches etc

    TCD: Where are most of the jobs?

    RS: Jobs can come from anywhere in the world and are posted 24/7. We have advertised in the last 6 months for openings in America, Australia, Canada, England, Ghana, Ireland, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Scotland, Singapore, Spain and Wales.

    The jobs vary from post to post however the majority of positions available are within coaching, medical and journalism.

    TCD: Where are you working now?

    RS: I am still working with Atletico Madrid and the main feeder club to Real Madrid (ACD Canillas) as well as running the website.

    TCD: What are you thoughts on the small sided games, should we 7v7 football for longer?

    RS: My thoughts on underage football are the same as they were 4 years ago when I was in Ireland – there needs to be a move away from competitive football at U7 – U11 and a bigger emphasis on player development. There is nothing wrong with having the better players all training together but no-one benefits from winning 10 or 15-0.

    TCD: In Barcelona they play 7v7 for much later, is this the case in Madrid?

    RS: Don’t be misled by the shouts that all other countries play small sided games for longer – in Madrid they play 11v11 at 10 years old as well – and it’s competitive! They do have the option however of playing Futsal as well! The kids start at 6 years old and play either 5v5 or 7v7 before moving into full size games at 10 years old.

    TCD: What do you suggest we could do here?

    RS: I believe there should be at around U12 or U13 a national league where teams can play against other Pro Youth Teams – the problem outside of Dublin is that there is not enough quality / depth of player and so these clubs struggle to challenge their best players on a week to week basis. Why not play e.g. U12, U13, U14 all away against the same club and then U15, U16 & U17 all at home against the same club! This would cut down on expenses and would create less logistical problems – buses, pitches, referees …. etc etc.

    TCD: Who is doing this at present?

    RS: This is a tried and tested model in Scotland, England, USA, Holland ….
    Obviously Dublin has a lot more stronger teams and so therefore they could indeed have a bigger influx of teams (without diluting the product) – this can only help develop the players and prepare them for the potential life of a footballer! I think there is room for 9v9 between the 7v7 and 11v11. The only downside would be the cost of implementing.

    The Coach Diary would like to thank Richard for contributing to the site and I know where I’ll be going if things get any worse!!

    To find out more click on the link https://www.jobs-in-football.com/

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  • Coach Talk

    Coach Talk

    Name: Stephen Maxwell

    Club: Swords Celtic

    Coaching Job: Head Coach Bray Institute of Further Education and Course Co-Coordinator Soccer Studies

    Playing Career: Started Playing with Swords Celtic as a child at u/10 playing with them up to u/14 then moved to Swords Manor and finally returning to Swords Celtic to play Youths. Played with Colaiste Ide Association Football team 2002/03, then 3 years playing with Dundalk IT and a season with GlenMuir in Dundalk LSL

    How did you get into Coaching?

    Coaching Career: Started Coaching Gaelic Football with my local club as a favour when I was 14, got hooked on coaching and then decided to do the Association Football Course in Colaiste Ide in Finglas and done my first 2 coaching badges there. From there I spent 3 months on a J1 visa working with Master Coach Tim Bradbury and Top Coach Dave Flower in the United States where I learned what I believe to be the best way to coach grass roots soccer. I then went to DKIT where I studied a BA in Community Sports Leadership, a course of which has been of great value to me personally as I got to do badges in Volleyball, Basketball, Swimming, Badminton, Rugby and GAA and learned the values of sports development in this country and the problems within this country. From finishing my degree I spent time in the USA working as a GK coach with West Hill high School, Head Coach of Wilton girl’s team and as a Regional Director of Soccer in Connecticut.

    Having returned to Ireland I took up the post of Head Coach of Bray Institute, where I now Lecture in Soccer Studies and Sports and Recreation Studies and am currently doing my UEFA B Badge. We run a 2 year course in which student’s do their KS1, KS2, Youth Cert, GK 0 and Referees Badge in which students are prepared for life as a semi/professional player/coach.

    What do you think of the coaching badges in Ireland and how do they compare to the US?

    Personally, I feel that the badges I learned when younger were not good enough for me to develop players at grass root levels in Ireland. It was not until I traveled to the USA on a j1 visa and met Master Coach Tim Bradbury and learned the NOGA way of coaching which originates from the Ajax way of coaching. The basis on being, 1:1 player to ball ratio so players have as many touches on the ball as possible.

    What do you think is the problem in Ireland?

    Grassroots in Ireland: Irish grassroots soccer signed its death warrant a long time ago in my opinion, competitive soccer at u/12 football and below is of a negative effect to developing young players. At young ages in this country players are given fixed positions at too young of an age which is detrimental to players.

    Countries like USA and Germany have structured there associations so that they have total control over grassroots soccer. Rules such as silent sidelines, rolling substitutions, players being played in numerous positions over the season so they develop their whole game have been highly successful and it’s the way forward for Irish grass roots. Germany has 3000 full time coaches at grass roots level, how many have we, there is the difference and it’s not going to change overnight.

    How do you coach?

    As I currently work in college  football I have players of a high ability to work with, but some are so scared of making mistakes its crippling them, it’s obvious from the start of every year who has had the shouter of a coach and who has had a coach with a brain. I encourage my players at all times during training to have the confidence to try beat a player before passing and if the make mistakes it doesn’t matter as long as they have the confidence to try. During sessions and matches I don’t shout orders or bark as some do, everything offered to the players is in a question format, Can we step up?, Can we get wide?, So the players feel relaxed, there are no orders it’s just a request and the players play with more freedom and become more successful.

    The Coach Diary would like to Thank Stephen Maxwell for this interview.

    If you would like to tell me a little bit about how you got into coaching and how you feel about grassroots coaching in Ireland or anywhere, get in touch! info@thecoachdiary.com

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  • Keep parents in the loop!!

    Keep parents in the loop!!

    Coaches and Parents By Malcolm Cook

    I caught up with Malcolm Cook again and he gave me his views on how important it is to keep parents updated. As an experienced Coach, I have been a little alarmed and saddened to read about Junior Football clubs banning parents from watching their children practice.I find this hard to believe and think they are making a big mistake as far as their childrens ultimate footballing (and life) development is concerned.It never fails to amaze me how some Coaches and Clubs tend to treat parents or guardians as second-class citizens!

    Parents are part of the Team

    I have always seen them as a part of my coaching “team” and essential to my process of giving each child the best coaching experience we can give them as a club. As a young coach I started with my School teams.I had a meeting before the season started with any Parents who wanted to come (Mums as well as Dads!) to let them know my philosophy and to give them the chance to ask any questions about their children and the way we did things. It was an ideal way to get my ideas across about how we picked teams, the behaviour we expected from the children on and off the field and a few simple rules with the parents role at training  and matches.

    Don’t leave parents in the dark!

    This helped to form good relationships and clarified a lot of issues. Later I was appointed Director of Youth at Liverpool and found to my dismay when I first arrived that parents dropped their Boys off at the Melwood training ground and either sat in the dark and rain in their car or went somewhere else before returning to pick them back up.

    I felt this was not only bad public relations for Boys that we wanted to sign for the club in competition with others but it was completely the wrong way to treat Parents who only wanted the best for their children.

    I quickly changed it by inviting the parents in and putting on tea and biscuits  and making myself available after training to talk to them over any problems or worries they might have over their Boys.

    This is where good coaching comes in-I was given information that was sometimes personal but was very important in helping me as the boys Coach in understanding why maybe the player was not progressing as fast as we thought so we could be a bit more patient and reap the benefits. This would never have happened with the old regime.

    Being a Parent

    myself, my youngest daughter became interested in Athletics. She was only aged about 11 years and was quite a good runner. I took her to the local Athletics club two evenings a week. It was dark with little lighting,little supervision or coaching,poor atmosphere and no provision or communication with parents. As a Coach, I have enough knowledge to stand -back somewhat and let the Coaches and my daughter to get on with it and support her in the background. My girl started to go off it after a few sessions as indeed many of the children did-was it any wonder?

    Parents we need YOU

    Parents are a vital part of the development equation and need to be recognised as such. Remember, they were there long before the Coach was bringing the child up, driving them about, wiping their nose and doing all the things Parents do. The Coach, of course needs to set some limits on the roles they both take. Some Parents are not always easy to get on with and others are are frankly poor role-models for their children. The Coach needs to step carefully in such cases and mainly for the childs sake, seek to work with the Parents in a positive way. At times the Parents behaviour may go over acceptable limits and the Coach may have to ban him from attending training and matches.

    However I believe that by forming good relationships at the start with Parents you are demonstrating the art of good coaching and developing a better atmosphere for all at the club – Keep parents in the loop Coaches !!!

    Malcolm Cook is founder of Freeflow Football keep an eye out for his new site, soon to launch in the coming weeks

    Click on this link to view a previous post about Malcolm  https://www.thecoachdiary.com/?p=599

    Thanks for that post Malcolm

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  • CAN YOU COME OUT TO PLAY?

    CAN YOU COME OUT TO PLAY?

    This Article is from my friends at footblogball

    Have you ever gone back to a place where you played football as a kid ?It could have been a playground a field, a back garden, and somewhere in your distant memory you recall how vast this surface was how endless amount of children would gather just to expecience the freedom, the fun and joy of kicking a ball……..and now as an adult you stand there looking at what was once your Maracana, Wembley, Old Trafford and you are shocked at how small it is and you wonder how the hell did you all fit in there. You got plenty of touches of the ball and as the the famous games, legends and myths race through your head, you are smiling now as you were smiling then.

    Despite boundaries imposed on us (many self imposed through conditioning) we, even in our adult world host an inner longing and desire to PLAY. This desire burns even brighter and stronger in our children. New pathways through sensory systems are opened as signals are sent shooting around the body. Harmonic rhythms and new patterns of movement are formed, co-ordination and balance are developed.

    Nowadays the focus seems to be on restricting the kids enviroment and playing conditions through a constant focus on results and the application of adult expectation which in itself can result in many young children been pushed aside.

    The adult football coach has a responsibility to remember why he is there. To provide oppurtunities to play football and when needed to give support and encouragement without interference. Allow the kids to play the game they love, because that is how they learn best.

    A person only plays when he/she, in the full meaning of the word is a human being, and he/she is a complete human being only when he/she plays :Frederich Schiller (The ethical development of the human being 15th letter)

    PLAY, DEVELOP and be INSPIRED.

    By the footblogball

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