FA Coaching Badges

[Guest neesy111]

This is one of the biggest problems with coaching in this country, the FA are to blame to the state of our national game

[Guest Howaythetoon]

They are all a load of shite. Very little applies to the actual development of a footballer which is actually better expressed when the coach allows the footballer for example to develop, rather than tries to develop that player himself. Football really is a simple game to play and most don't require coaching. Not kids anyway.

[Exiled in Texas]

What's the path in Newcastle (or anywhere) for kids to develop?  Say, you have a 5yr or 10 yr old who wants to play football in Newcastle .....what options do they have to play?

 

I'm really interested to know how the UK develops kids as players and what options are there for them to play.

 

So....In USA (Texas) you have Youth Recreation leagues (coached by a volunteer parent) starting ages 4 and up.  It's up to the volunteer parent coach to teach them skills tactics (either from own experience or from going to coaching clinics) etc and perhaps for the parents to sign the kids up for a weekly (foot)skills program with a paid coach. 

At age 8/10 in addition to the youth rec leagues then have the option to join an academy with paid coaches (no commitment required - can be week to week), and then at age 11 players have to choose between playing in the rec (anyone can play/everyone plays) league or you go down the club path with paid coaches, yearly contracts, try outs and no playing guarantees. The club route is anything from $2K to $5k per year and is practice 4 nights a week plus 1-2 games per weekend.

 

So what options are there in Newcastle (or other countries) for kids to play and develop?

[Guest ObiChrisKenobi]

They are all a load of shite. Very little applies to the actual development of a footballer which is actually better expressed when the coach allows the footballer for example to develop, rather than tries to develop that player himself. Football really is a simple game to play and most don't require coaching. Not kids anyway.

 

Bollocks. With anything you can leave someone to their own devices and they'll learn through mistakes, but ultimately grow up thinking what they're doing is the best way to do something. Without coaching at grassroots you'll have kids growing up without really understanding why, or being introduced to other ways to play the game.

 

The biggest part of grassroots coaching at the moment is psychology - mental development; exposing the player to mistakes and challenging them to think why something didn't go right and what other options they had. If you don't do that at grassroots, with kids, then it'll be impossible to install anything into them when they're teenagers.

Set up the training game and get them playing, observe them and get them to think about what they're doing.

 

"OK, that was a good bit of dribbling, but what happened?"

"I ran out of the area."

"Why did you run out of the area?"

"I ran out of space."

"Is there anything you could have done differently."

"Dribbled better?"

"Was there a team mate near?"

"Oh, I could have passed to him."

 

--

 

So what options are there in Newcastle (or other countries) for kids to play and develop?

 

6-9 - Mini-Soccer - which is 7v7 on a smaller pitch, with smaller goals with fewer rules as an introduction to Football

http://www.thefa.com/GetIntoFootball/GetIntoFootballPages/Mini-Soccer

 

10-12 - 3/4 Pitch - 11v11 on a 3/4 pitch with bigger goals and a few more rules added to the game

 

 

13+ - Full Sized - 11v11 full pitch and rules

 

So basically its a steady introduction to football for the youngsters, without giving them too much to learn/do at once. Mini-Soccer is excellent, even though some people scoff at the idea of 7v7 on a small field, for the little uns, as they're too small to do anything on a big pitch. They get more touches of the ball, so develop quicker, and don't have to worry too much about rules (which also keeps the game flowing).

 

All grass root clubs are often community teams, so its free to join minus a weekly sub to cover running costs. No contracts, no pressure. If you're good enough and a scout spots you, you'll be invited for a trial with a Professional Team's Academy.

[Exiled in Texas]

Thanks Obi,

 

Small sided games are definitely the best way to start - more touches and less manic bunch ball.

 

So what type of organisation would offer mini-soccer?  Would that be the world famous Wallsend Boys club? What about if you lived in West end or coast etc?

[NG32]

talking about coaching, that is the biggest problem facing england, simply the players we produce are woefully inferior others in the big stage

 

Yes totally, as a country we produce cloggers.  The whole mind set of english football is wrong.  People like Sam Allerdyce and Gary Megson get respect.  They should be laughed at for their brand of non football.

 

Kids learning ball control, technique, shooting, crossing and passing.  Kids on small tight pitches with a small ball. Learning to play in tight areas.

 

Teaching kids formations, tactics blah blah.  Get the basics of the game first.  ITS CALLED FOOTBALL FOR A REASON.

[Disco]

Need to encourage more stuff like futsal over here in my opinion.

[summerof69]

Need to encourage more stuff like futsal over here in my opinion.

 

I agree.

[Parky]

German football clubs benefit from nurturing young talent

 

January 07, 2010

 

As football transfer fees continue to go through the roof, German football league Bundesliga could find itself ahead of the pack, should the player market grind to a halt. Soccer could then become reliant on young, homegrown talent.

 

Few soccer clubs in 2010 will be able to splash out as much as in previous years. With top players, such as Liverpool striker Fernando Torres valued at a whopping 158 million euros, costing so much to sign and to sustain, most clubs are increasingly reluctant or unable to shell out the money for the world's best.

 

This means that if the player price hike continues as predicted, fewer and fewer world class stars will be on the move. Eventually, the transfer market will grind to a halt, with the top players all huddled together in London, Madrid or Manchester – or forced to accept their lot at their current clubs.

 

As the value of players continues to rise, many teams have adopted the philosophy of 'speculate to accumulate'; they're developing their youth systems, nurturing young local talent and buying the potential stars of the future on the cheap.

 

German clubs under orders to nurture youth

 

In Germany, the emphasis on youth development has been the cornerstone of the national team's continued success and the slow but steady rise of the Bundesliga through the ranks of the European leagues.

 

While English, Italian and Spanish teams were spending millions on snapping up youngsters from Africa to Asia in the 2006/07 season, Bundesliga clubs were inwardly investing a total of 44 million euros in youth academies.

 

Bundesliga clubs are obliged under the German Soccer Association's (DFB) regulations to manage and maintain youth academies in order to be eligible for the licenses they need to operate in the league. The DFB regularly does spot-checks on Bundesliga clubs to assess their youth programmes and make sure they meet its criteria. This includes fielding a sufficient number of youth teams in a variety of age groups, maintaining adequate training pitches and providing good-quality standards in terms of sporting, medical and educational care for the youngsters.

 

International success ingrained at an early age

 

National coach Joachim Loew is particularly happy with this approach, especially after Germany's youngsters won the UEFA Under-17 and UEFA Under-21 European titles in 2009. "The youth academies of the Bundesliga are a kind of elite school for the best, and an excellent institution which is bearing fruits," he said recently. "Numerous excellent players from these academies have managed to go professional already."

 

Turning to youth out of necessity

 

The Bundesliga clubs are well aware of the value of the German youth system – for example, current league leaders Bayer Leverkusen have an average age of just 23. While the youth system undoubtedly provides teams with capable players, most German clubs are relying on youth out of necessity because most world-class stars ignore the advances of Bundesliga.

 

Despite being able to attract the likes of Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and Luca Toni in recent years, even Bayern Munich are talking about looking closer to home for the stars of the future.

 

Bayern could turn to homegrown talent

 

A training session at Bayern MunichBayern did invest heavily in new, established talent during the summer transfer window. But following a disappointing start to the season under new coach Louis van Gaal, Sporting Director Christian Nerlinger announced that a new emphasis on youth will be at the centre of Bayern's transfer policy.

 

"We're keeping a close eye on a few of our youngsters who we believe may have the quality to play for Bayern Munich," Nerlinger told reporters. "They will soon be invited to train with the senior squad, allowing the coaching staff to gain a first-hand impression for themselves.

 

"On the one hand you have the Riberys and Tonis, who we need for consistent success," he added. "On the other hand, you have players coming out of our superb development system and the squad has plenty of those."

 

So, in the event that the world soccer transfer market becomes gridlocked by massive fees, the Bundesliga clubs may find themselves ahead of the pack when it comes to sending out their boys to do a man's job.

 

[Rich]

The current FA coaching model is guff, but you need the qualifications if you want to get anywhere in football unfortunately.

[cp40]

The current FA coaching model is guff, but you need the qualifications if you want to get anywhere in football unfortunately.

 

 

unless its the latter stages of a World Cup..

[Guest ObiChrisKenobi]

Thanks Obi,

 

Small sided games are definitely the best way to start - more touches and less manic bunch ball.

 

So what type of organisation would offer mini-soccer?  Would that be the world famous Wallsend Boys club? What about if you lived in West end or coast etc?

 

Part of the rules now to be a FA Charter Club. U9s and below do Mini-Soccer, so all clubs in the UK who are/or wish to be FA Charter Clubs will do Mini-Soccer. Some clubs keep doing it and enter 5/7 a side leagues once they enter U10s and above, though most develop onto 'Full Sized Football'.

 

As for anyone living in the West End or the Coast, there are a number of Youth/Community clubs to join there too, they're loads all over Newcastle (and the UK). You can search for them, at any level/ability here: http://www.northumberlandfa.com/GetIntoFootball/FindAClub/

 

Are you trying to establish a club over in the States?

[TheGuv]

I'm starting my Level 2 next week. How long does it last for? And how hard is it in anybody's opinion?

 

[Guest ObiChrisKenobi]

Should tell you on your confirmation letter which dates to attend. I haven't done it yet, but talked about it to our current Level1 Tutor. He said it was far more indepth than the Level 1 (which is only natural), and they'd expect you to explain the training game in relation to a real game situation, explain (via coaching techniques/questions) why you're teaching them about 'topic'.

 

Where as Level 1 you can get away with saying:

 

"That game was Moves in Twos, it will help you learn control", no players were harmed and you didn't swear, to pass.

 

If its next week at Northumbria FA here are the dates:

 

· COURSE DETAILS

Dates                                                                                                              Times                               

 

Thursdays: 1st 8th 15th 22nd 29th July                                                6.00pm-9.30pm

 

 

 

Full Week: 2nd - 6th August  (Mon ? Fri inclusive)                              9.30am-5.30pm

[TheGuv]

I thought it was longer than that according to what other people were saying. Unless its because its during the Summer. But thanks mate

[Guest ObiChrisKenobi]

The current FA coaching model is guff, but you need the qualifications if you want to get anywhere in football unfortunately.

 

Trevor Brooking blaming grassroots coaching for England's failings. 

[robbo_11]

I'm starting my Level 2 next week. How long does it last for? And how hard is it in anybody's opinion?

 

 

I started in Oct 2009 and finished in May 2010. You do your sessions introducing you to the course, different skill, technique or game situations then two refresher courses before your assessment. You have to do 12 hours of logged coaching so will be given a hand in date for that. Then once that has been signed off you will be given your topic and then your assessment date. I would expect you to be looking at around 6 months to complete it.

 

It can be quite hard, certaintly more harder than the level 1, but if you have an interest then you should enjoy it.

[Guest ObiChrisKenobi]

Think its went up to 16 hours logged coaching now.

[Caz]

The level 2 is all about the sessions you do after finishing the course, its best to do them as quick as possible really so you go back for your final assessment. It is very different to level 1 as you start getting more technical with your coaching and sessions which are totally related to game like situations.

 

For the level 3 I have to do 10 sessions, mainly phases of play with the odd function and small sided game as well. The main session for level 3 is the phase of play, because the final assessment all comes down to how you coach your topic in that environment.

[Guest ObiChrisKenobi]

Level 3 sounds a right laugh (in the 'oh crap this could be anything' field), can't wait. Wish I had started all this sooner to be honest.

[Caz]

Yeah I have a big list of different topics, in the defending and attacking areas which it could be for the final assessment.

[Guest ObiChrisKenobi]

Yeah I have a big list of different topics, in the defending and attacking areas which it could be for the final assessment.

 

Good luck, Caz! 

[TheGuv]

Yeah I have a big list of different topics, in the defending and attacking areas which it could be for the final assessment.

 

Good luck, Caz! 

 

Seconded.

 

What are you wanting to do if and when you get your level 3?

[Guest ObiChrisKenobi]

Yeah I have a big list of different topics, in the defending and attacking areas which it could be for the final assessment.

 

Good luck, Caz! 

 

Seconded.

 

What are you wanting to do if and when you get your level 3?

 

I know it was aimed at Caz, but I'd love to get into Academy Training, or just coaching in general. Probably hammer the US scene.

[TheGuv]

Similair to what i fancy doing. I know the Academy route is possbile because the bloke who took my level 1 and also level 2 is only 25 and was working at Newcastle's Academy when he got his Level 3. He's now got his UEFA A. So it is possible if you're good enough and want it.

 

I asked him about it and he said to get in they need to look at your background and obviously how good a coach you are etc