MY COACHING JOURNEY: MANAGING AN UNDER 8 SIDE

[SlickMongoose]

Fair play. We need more people who are passionate about coaching.

 

[LukeBB]

Fair play. We need more people who are passionate about coaching.

I think most coaches are "passionate" otherwise we wouldn't sacrifice anywhere near the amount of time and all the heart/headaches that come with it.

I just think we need more help, the FA courses (at least the level 1 & 2) are pretty dire and generic. The attitude certainly needs changing, one of "open-mindedness, exploration, bravery and care". Too many coaches simply practice what has been done before or what they've seen and I rarely see any exploration in when/how/who those sessions are coached etc.

As Albert Einstein said: "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

 

[punky]

A mate of mine is a coach who went to Spain on a placement. He said whenever the kids on an estate got together for a kickabout on the green, all the people in the apartments come on to watch from their balconies/front doors etc etc. Even the most informal kickabout had a hundred or more cheering supporters. Even the couples who didn't have kids.

He came back here and the first thing he noticed was "NO BALL GAMES" signs *everywhere*

 

[LukeBB]

A mate of mine is a coach who went to Spain on a placement. He said whenever the kids on an estate got together for a kickabout on the green, all the people in the apartments come on to watch from their balconies/front doors etc etc. Even the most informal kickabout had a hundred or more cheering supporters. Even the couples who didn't have kids.

He came back here and the first thing he noticed was "NO BALL GAMES" signs *everywhere*

I do think in general we care too little for football. Our government doesn't see it as an opportunity to create leaders for tomorrow/as a place to learn life lessons. Half of my coaching is based around "developing a child's character as well as their talent".

Too often as you say we see, "No ball game allowed" etc and too many times have I played on a crap surface or found broken glass bottles on my pitches etc. When my kids were having to train on hockey astro-pitches in winter, you could see there was something wrong. Too many times have I walked past a large flat grass area without a single goal in site etc.

 

[THFCSPURS19]

Half of my coaching is based around "developing a child's character as well as their talent".

Please, don't go down the Rodgers route. For the love of Christ save yourself

 

[Mr.D]

First of all, without people like Luke our kids wouldn't have a football team to play for.
Secondly, they're 8 for fucks sake!

 

[EnfieldYiddo]

You read it??

/Skimmed for gems

 

[LukeBB]

First of all, without people like Luke our kids wouldn't have a football team to play for.
Secondly, they're 8 for fucks sake!

What do you mean by this?

 

[JimmyG2]

Here's a brilliant and thought-provoking interview from a British coach who works in Spain as he compares aspects of British and Spanish youth coaching: http://rinusphilosophy.com/kieran-smith-the-other-brit-abroad/

Fascinating.
Thanks.
Agree the set up in Spain is very competitive and incentivized
I went to a basketball tournament for 9yr olds. 6 local clubs
All the teams and all the kids received varying types of trophy
Obviously buy them in bulk.

Is it the same in England that before and after any game the crowd, often large,
and the opposition are acknowledged and thanked at whatever level.

 

[riggi]

Good luck pat!

 

[LukeBB]

Fascinating.
Thanks.
Agree the set up in Spain is very competitive and incentivized
I went to a basketball tournament for 9yr olds. 6 local clubs
All the teams and all the kids received varying types of trophy
Obviously buy them in bulk.

Is it the same in England that before and after any game the crowd, often large,
and the opposition are acknowledged and thanked at whatever level.

Not really, crowds are usually smaller and the only procedure after the game is to shake hands with the opposition.

 

[THFCSPURS19]

What do you mean by this?

I think some of the tactical stuff in the article seems a bit 'intense' for U8s.

But what do I know?

 

[LukeBB]

I think some of the tactical stuff in the article seems a bit 'intense' for U8s.

But what do I know?

it may appear intense but anything tactical was coached implicitly i.e. when it came to counter-pressing I would challenge the players to "close down the player who robbed you of the ball and the next closest player stand off your teammate who's challenging" therefore making the language simple and clear and easy to understand. Never once did I use tactical terms in front of the children who struggled to interpret the term "space", I would instead suggest "spread out" much easier to understand for them.
I was wary not to overload them with too much info which would get in the way of their technical learning and the kids were happy so I think I handled it well.

 

[Mr.D]

What do you mean by this?

Too technical by far.

 

[LukeBB]

Too technical by far.

in the way I coached the kids?

in the way I wrote the piece?

 

[Mr.D]

in the way I coached the kids?

in the way I wrote the piece?

Bit of both really.
I'm not going to criticise as, as I've already posted, we need people like you. However, my view is that kids need to be kids and regimented and disciplined training drills can wait. Give them a ball and let them play*.
*Proper play. Like kids should.

 

[LukeBB]

Bit of both really.
I'm not going to criticise as, as I've already posted, we need people like you. However, my view is that kids need to be kids and regimented and disciplined training drills can wait. Give them a ball and let them play*.
*Proper play. Like kids should.

I agree with you, hence as I said in my piece:

"
Free play:

The last 10-20 minutes of my sessions I allowed to be dictated by the players for a period of free-play where they would decide what they did for the last part of the session. Most of the time the players just wanted to set-up a match, in which case I’d usually either set up the pitch to suit the topic of the session i.e. if I wanted to see more passing in the final game I would make the pitch longer in length in order to help players spot passes so the ball could travel up the pitch quicker than if they dribbled with it and otherwise make the pitch short and fat in order to encourage runs/dribbles with the ball. Other times the boys would ask to play variations of bulldog/dodge-ball which featured dribbling with footballs, which were also my favourites as well as they often involved many of the players being forced to dribble amongst each other in very congested conditions. This also allowed for the youngsters to practise social speaking skills and therefore also values such as respect, as players would discuss what they’d like to do for the final few minutes."

 

[nailsy]

You look younger than I thought you'd be in a couple of those photos. How old are you? Six/Seven? Nice of your Dad to tag along and keep you company.

 

[nailsy]

I hate to seem critical, but in my experience younger players need to be taught how to pass quickly, use triangles and make runs between the lines. Every youngster loves football, but they lack direction and motivation. The easiest method to build this is one touch team work. Absolutely NO dribbling. You need to minimize the selfish aspects of the game to immature players, any ego or selfishness directly affects the other younger players.

If you teach a passing game from young every player gets a few touches per game, every player feels involved and this builds team moral which in my experience builds a better team and individual players too, without making one or two players seem better than the rest even if they are.

I've had boys who couldn't stand one another individually (when i allowed the dribbling) on the pitch become a formidable pair together using one touch techniques. They can be taught the selfish aspects of the game when they are more mature players. Build a strong team ethic while they are young, and it will serve them throughout their footballing journey's.

I wish my sons coaches at after school club were like this. He quit going because in an hours session he would probably only get to touch the ball once or twice. Very demotivating for him.

 

[Anurag Jo]

There is something on your head.