Some interesting dialogue and opinions since the FutureFit youth football formats announcement and more to come I would imagine. Some of my additional thoughts below. Only positives from my perspective.

Are there any football / soccer coaches that I have not yet connected with? If so, please get in touch 👍

It's essential that we as coaches continually evolve and be lifelong learners. A great saying attributed to Albert Einstein is... "There is no surer sign of insanity than doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results".

10 of my favourite Inspirational Quotes. Have you got any?

An excellent clip from a talk by Rod Thorpe on Skill Acquisition. Simplicity is Genius Coaching needs to be relevant for the age and stage of development the players are at. x.com/skillacq/sta...

Building a Winning Team: A superb insight into some of Liverpool's Academy considerations from Alex Inglethorpe (Link below) Complimentary Skill Sets Give Players Time Help and Support Give Opportunity Care About the Individuals Respect Others Character drive.google.com/file/d/1nTGk...

An article exploring Repetition without Repetition v Repetitive Practice. countycoachdevelopment.substack.com/p/repetition...

Helping Develop Decision Making in Football This Level 1 game, like many other simple to play games is often underrated and offers far more returns than many coaches might think or recognise. A thread with a focus on Decision Making. 1 of 3

Following my previous post, here are some questions we could ask ourselves, to help give it some additional context. Linked to player's positions... What can players currently do? What can't players do yet? What would we and they like to improve? How are we going to help them improve? 2 of 2

Football tends to be made up of small-sided games all over the pitch. Do we spend enough time putting players into situations relevant to the position they will play in the game? Would it be more beneficial for players to break it down into it's component parts? 1 of 2

Something we all need to appreciate. All Coaches and Players will learn in incremental stages, these are logical stages of learning and this is not something we can circumvent, no matter how much we would like to. Be patient and trust the process.

I wanted to take this opportunity to wish all my connections, associates and friends a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year. Hopefully, it's time for you to spend with or think of your loved ones 🎄❤️

Jar of Life: We are all guilty of saying we're busy, but are we always focused on the right things. Are we putting everything in our lives into some sort of perspective. Have you or do you actually prioritize what's important in your life? Consider the image.

Helping Children Learn: I'm hoping the link works okay. I think this would be very beneficial to many Coaches working with young Players. Watch 2 or 3 times to understand the messages in it and put it into your coaching context. Let me know how you get on. t.co/WdoE5SkgWo Film by RSA Animate

In addition to my last posts... Here are some other things we need to consider that may limit a player's progression occasionally.

We as Coaches cannot bypass learning. Players need to learn the game and become more skilful, which will happen if they regularly have the opportunities to Practice, Compete and Experiment. Image shows the many different stages of learning they need to go through.

Our role in this is to give them plenty of opportunities to work on these in small sided games eg: 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 2v1, 3v2 etc and then help and guide them, when needed. Slowly but surely they will improve, as they begin to work things out. Questions they might ask themselves?

Here's a thread with some thoughts around developing a more objective mindset. As with everything I mention, it's my opinion, doesn't mean it's right. What do you think? 1/9

I won't be posting a huge amount of practices on here, as they are just one aspect to consider as a coach. Modification of an Old FA Level 2 Practice - Short Passing from when it used to be delivered in the Technique - Skill - Game format. Inclusive of some coaching considerations.

I wish I'd known how important Questioning was earlier on my Coaching Journey, rather than just showing and telling players. Here are just some examples of the different types of questions that you could try with the players you work with. I hope they help you. Let me know how you get on 😉

The Learning Pit Try to ensure the players you work with are stretched and challenged appropriately. Not too easy, not too difficult. Give them problems to solve, not answers to remember.

I was talking to my granddaughter when she was 12 and just for context, she plays a multitude of sports. I asked her what does she like about her various coaches. Apart from some that I was already going to include, the remainder are paraphrased from her comments. Any thoughts?

I love this quote from Marcus Aurelius. Well worth remembering it. - Think for Yourself - Everyone Sees Things Differently - Everyone Has a Different Opinion - Listen to Others - Ask Questions - Keep an Open Mind

Year on year, I listen to many coaches conversations and there are definitely many who have unrealistic expectations of the players they are working with. Here are just some thoughts on what we may need to take into consideration, when planning sessions for the players to work in.

I can't stand hearing the term 'Weaknesses'. I know many don't use it now however, I still hear it used regularly. We need to reframe it, not only for the benefit of the players but also, for the environment we should be trying to create. Some things to consider 🤔

A consideration for coaches. We tend to see happening above the surface however, how often do consider what might be going on below the surface with individuals? I've populated a few of each however, it might be a useful exercise for you to come up with more for the group you work with.

Human Traits: I saw similar to this a while ago and thought it would be worth recreating. Looks at accountability and mindsets. We would often align it to the players we coach however, it certainly applies to us coaches. Where do you consider that you sit within this model?

When starting out on our coaching journey, we will make plenty of mistakes along the way. Everyone does and if anyone tells you different, they are lying. It's all part of learning. Here are some lessons I've learnt along my journey. Hopefully, it may be of use. Let me know.

Slowly transferring across from the other side. So many light bulb moments for coaches on the old FAYA-MOD1 and The Social Corner was one of the most important. Helped coaches understand the importance of their role and also the many other social contributors to a child's development. Thoughts? 🤔

I didn't realise you could do threads on this platform, it would have saved me a lot of work 😂 An area many of us initially struggle with I would imagine. I hope this is of some help and guidance. Working with Parents 🧵 1/9

Working with Parents 2/2

Working with Parents 1 /2 posts I initially struggled with this years ago when I was a more inexperienced coach. Hopefully, this might help some coaches who could do with some guidance, which I wish I had at the time. Let me know what you think, or if this was helpful.

If your working with Coaches or Players, a key part of the role is to encourage them to be curious, to be keen to learn, to question, and to find out more.

I know that many will have seen this visual before. It links to the FA 4 Corner Holistic Model of coaching. Many will cater for all 4 corners naturally however, some will need to work harder at blending their coaching to incorporate the Psychological and Social corners. Any thoughts?

Following on from my previous post. Here is a visual representation of the training grounds in my formative years. These environments also taught me many valuable life skills, which would be beneficial later on.

This was how I initially learnt to play football. No coaches or adults, other than teachers telling me what to do, when to do it or how to do it. Youth football leagues didn't start until kids were 14. We worked things out for ourselves, which is what kids tend to do, if we're patient. Thoughts?

Everything I do fits into one of these 4 pillars... Environment - Player - Coach - Game

It’s a Marathon not a Sprint.

Grassroots Football in Essex - My overview for providing opportunities for Clubs and Coaches to provide support, guidance and additional learning to opportunities to complement and enhance their existing knowledge. Please contact me if you feel this would be of benefit to you.