Youth Football Coaching in England

ukbob

Several people have asked in here about youth coaching and football in England and what is wrong.

I am answering this from a personal view and a vested interest in a member of my own family, namely my grandson, I will also expand on the development of another sport that again I have a vested interest namely in my granddaughters and grandson.

Firstly I will expand on the football coaching. I am a qualified FIFA level 2 coach, I have coached extensively in California, have turned down jobs with both the LA Heat and LA Galaxy. I tell you this just to get some credibility in the fact that I hope I know what I am talking about and the seriousness of this thread.

My grandson is a very talented player both in skill and technique. He was at the Millwall academy but left due to traveling problems. He has also been to two major PL clubs to be “looked at” but could go no further due to geographical location.

When he came to the UK he joined the local team and was immediately given a place in their youth first team. When I returned to the UK I went to see him play and train and was amazed at the lack of negative coaching employed by the coaches.

I advised my daughter to move him to a club associated with Crawley Town. I was friendly with Johny Yems ( Crawley Manager) who was very interested and involved with youth coaching Again the coaching was, in my opinion, very third rate and he was really not progressing, in actual fact he was not enjoying the game and this reflected in his performances. I discussed this with Johny but his hands were tied due to the dictate of Crawley owners, who basically knew FA about football.

It was at this time I got together with three parents who all felt the same, all of these parents were ex-football players and wanted their kids to progress. We decided to set up a team of our own with Andy being the manager and Rick and myself being the coaches. We formed a team from a mish mash of players and set about coaching them the right way.

We had to enter the league in the bottom D division, this we won without losing a game and was instantly promoted to the B division. This again we won dropping only one point. By this time we had dropped a couple of players but the team were performing well with several players being selected to the league representative side. My grandson was leading goal scorer and developing to an outstanding left side midfield player, not my opinion but several media writers.

At our club meeting the manager had decided, without consultation that he was going to form two teams, split the team we had, bring in some “other” players to win the A league. Rick and myself decided to bow out. We were not about “winning” everything but the natural progression of teaching kids the right way to play. The “new” A team finished fifth and the reserve team finished next to last in the C league. Again, my grandson went backwards and the two occasions I went to see them I could not believe the backward progress of the players. This coming season the “manager” is signing yet more kids as four of the original team are moving on.

A bit long winded but this is just a small illustration of what goes on at the minor clubs in England today. It all boils down to size and the win win mentality of most of the coaches involved.

We need to have more qualified coaches who are all reading from the same book and not passing on in how they used to play and that is good enough.

So, after all that rambling what is the answer. Well, first of all coaches have to all be on the same program in teaching and development. If one player leaves and goes to another club it should not involve a different coaching technique. Now, I can hear you say but all the kids would be the same. No, it doesn’t work that way. You take the skills and techniques learn’t and develop those players to express their individual skills through their game be it attack, midfield, defense etc. That’s where the good managers and head coaches come in.

I hear Trevor Brooking doing a lot of talking for the FA, what I do not hear is any action or ideas, it is more or less a lot of hot air talking, let the heat die down and then we have the same inquest after the next failure. I know. I did a presentation at several clubs in the US along the same themes but was met by a lot of resistance by coaches who just did not either want to change or be considered an equal to other coaches. Oh, they thought it was a good idea but for them to be an equal and not what they thought was one step ahead of the others was all they were concerned about, not about the development of youth. The courses they offered was all about making money.

I spoke to yet another coach who was also concerned about the way we were developing young players, he was involved with a pretty major team, I asked him just why he didn’t change things,. He couldn’t because the owners wanted the team to play in a certain way and were not interested in developing players and youth of their own, the bottom line was instant results that would lead to more money coming through the gates. He relied on them for his living.

Some of the correct way of teaching skills can be repetitive and boring but it will get the youth to learn the right and wrong way. Most coaches in the UK want to be known as a “fun” coach and do as much variation as possible. This will only give the players a brief overlay of what skill and technique are about, unfortunately you have to be disciplined and teach the repetitive and boring ways. Most overseas coaches do it hence the high skills and techniques they have.

We have to get more qualified coaches taught to a good scheme. If any of you are interested in coaching go get your level 1 coaching badge. I know you will not learn much from the course apart from child welfare but it will be a start.

I could write pages and pages on this subject but my last point is that the amenities etc. are no different to when I moved from England nearly 30 years ago, where is all the monies gone that should be pumped into our national game.

My other point is that some players from UK Baseball were packing bags at our local M&S store and asking for donations to send a UK Baseball team to Sweden. My grand kids are involved with Baseball as is my son in law. Again I know there are large funds that have been allocated to UK Baseball, again I ask, where has all that money gone and why should kids who are representing the UK have to beg for funds?

Scholesy

Talks of the average football coaching in England is only because England failed at the world cup.

There is no crisis. They have a great squad of players currently and coming through. It was Capello who caused defeat.

Domzi

Actually Bob is right. The level of coaching in England is awful at the moment.

Even players themselves are starting to try and take action
Stoke's Dave Kitson leads call for non-league youth investment | Football | guardian.co.uk

Fearless

The situation is dire in the UK, and youth development has gone the same way as every other industry in the UK - foreign replacement for English ineptitude.

Until the country experiences a paradigm shift in it's self-respect (see Germany) nothing will change - we'll just continue the scapegoating, excuses and self delusion/loathing that underpins our serious neglect.

Being in a minority who thought England actually over-achieved in the World Cup, I'm glad the truth is out about how we mistreat our young, and something may actually be done....

In 30 years.

phelans shorts

wrong wrong wrong wrong and wrong again.

The coaching over here is abysmal and causes players to lose interest, they need to drastically change what's going on at that level to introduce more technique and less "big guys" a la Heskey, at the moment the U-17's look great, but that's more of an exception to the rule, in fact that's wrong, in places (Connor Wickham for example) it is just "the big guy" that the English game has been known for in recent times, as he can bully his way through defence's due to his power and size, technique needs much much more work at a youth level.

FranklyVulgar

Interesting reading and pretty much exactly how i remember being a kid playing for my local side. I gave it up due to not enjoying it, i didnt enjoy training and matches were awful. I loved football but a kid can easily have that love coached out of him, at least during the years when it is paramount that he sticks in and develops.

You have to teach kids to have fun, to have the ball and to improve, just like the dutch do. Get rid of this winning mentality and just let kids play for enjoyment. If they end up good enough to get into a professional team then the tactics and winning comes into play and i really dont think kids are dumb enough to not understand that their will come a time when they are expected to win and expected to play a certain way but until that day (which regardless 99.9% of kids wont reach) just let them kids play.

cj_sparky

Firstly great post Bob, thanks for sharing.

Totally agree with this.

My nephew has only been playing a year or so, he is only 6 and improved so much. Yet his training is very short only an hour and most of it is a match, it made me wonder how much he'd of improved if they used more fun training drill. But his two coaches are taking badges, so hopefully it will improve.

Snow

You're wrong. There are only 150 UEFA pro licensed coaches in England and none of them train the youths. In Spain there are 600 and 500 of them train youths. Youths in Spain have looked way better than the youths in England. Now hows that?

Fearless

Watford's academy...could this be the answer?

How can England win the World Cup? They could start by asking Watford | Paul Doyle | Football | The Guardian

FranklyVulgar

Because spain are a dirty bunch of cheats?

Redfighter

I coach at under 16 level and am FA qualified. I am constantly looking for new drills, good training ideas and ways to improve my training sessions and players. Hoever, at other clubs I see a lot of lazy coaches who simply hand out bibs and play a match for 1 hour. Development is down to a coach and their ambition, not the FA. This however is at amatuer level. What annoys me is that the blame or focus is put on grass roots coaching. Most guys like me who coach have already lost the top talent to academies. We are coaching the kids who are never likely to play for England or any professional club. The issue with developing good English talent lies firmly at those in the academies. What happens to the superb kids we leave our club when the academy came knocking. They go in all enthusiastic and come out passing the football sideways and backwards.

This isn't the case everywhere and I know that the youth system and training and development at United is excellent. So many clubs though have got it very wrong.

cw1984

My only memory of football "coaching" at a young age was running. We spent at least 3/4s of the sessions running and only a small time playing with a football. By which time we were all too tired.

I remember my dad quizzing the coach about it, his response was "what good is it being able to play football if you can't last 90mins." What a shocking attitude to have at that level.

cw1984

I wouldn't even know how to go about getting any sort of coaching badges. I bet it's expensive though.

cw1984

The best wey to kill a thread - make it sticky.


I've just been on the FA website. For me to do a level 1 coaching thing it will cost £115.

Redfighter

It doesn't get that interesting until level 2. Level one is about learning some small sided games and being competent enough to deliver them. They introduce you to the 4 corners model of coaching, Technical, Physical, Pyschological and Social.

Level 2 is more about the principles of the game and developing a coaching portfolio.

Scholesy

Didn't the England U17s just beat Spain?

We can only compare the senior sides fairly if England actually play their best players/system, ie Gerrard off Rooney.

x42bn6

Results at youth level always have to be taken with a pinch of salt, even more so these tournaments (they're useful but no guarantee of success).

Football coach shortage paints bleak picture for England's future | Football | The Guardian

Just one of the few problems in the UK.

Starkie_1

Fantastic that bob, especially as a young coach myself. I've just finished my university coaching course and the thing they have tried to engrain into all of us is that to have a larger successful output on youngsters and the ability levels in team sports then a base support of grass roots coaches need to all be on the same level. They need to co-operate and identify the correct methods and philosophies for the overall good of the sport they are coaching.

On a personal note, I lived in Crawley as a young lad before Manc and now Bristol, have you lived there yourself bob?

ukbob

I live nearby in Horsham. Am very friendly with Johny Yems who was manager at Crawley for a while, he went to Exeter city as assistant manager and is now at Torquay, John still however lives in Horsham.

Starkie_1

Wow, small world. My grandparents lived in Horsham for a year or two before moving back up north and my cousins are still there now, as well as having other grandparents in Crawley Down. I know of John Yems through a few mates back there who have played briefly for Crawley or associated local clubs.

Red Norse

Anyway, quality post ukbob. IMO you're quite right to point the finger at the FA. My brother here in Norway had to be a level 2 FIFA coach to train 7-10 year olds, it helps in getting a general understanding and common ground under which the coaches and the kids can work under. Has England ever been a contender at the U-17's? Not once btw.

As I'm not from Britain I won't expand much on this matter, but the dutch clearly know what they're doing, this a lot more informative and in better English than I ever can muster: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/ma...er-t.html?_r=1

Starkie_1

Red_Norse you legend! Thats the piece I used for an assignment and needed the source before the end of the month for it to warrant grading!

phelans shorts

Haven't we just won the world cup at that level?

I'm with you in general btw.

Red Norse

Nah, the Swiss won it. Just wishful thinking mate

CasaStreets

First thing is first, that is a fantastic post bob and I think you've got great points across the board. This is a subject that I have been curious about for a while and you, Spammy, and a few others have been very good and bringing out the real issues in recent weeks.

Scholesy, that's a stupid post for you to make. Not only did I start a thread on this exact topic BEFORE the world cup, but YOU POSTED IN IT.

English Youth Football

You know it was already a discussion topic on this forum and so your post above is an outright lie. I am not even English and some of the faults in the English system have been made obvious to me simply by following this forum for several years, watching football for 15ish years, and keeping tabs on a few friends who have made it to clubs in England.

The whole point is that the physical elements that are often brought out in the English system are beneficial when players are young, before skills have been honed and technical ability fully developed. As players age, and other footballing attributes aside from size, strength, and speed become more developed - the physical attributes start to lose their dominance. I am not insinuating that those England U17 players cannot go on to be very good and technically proficient players, but they will need to keep honing those skills over the next few years - something that most English players do not do to the degree of their continental counterparts.

cj_sparky

We didn't win the World, but we won the U17 Euro's just before England travelled to South Africa.

hungrywing

That was you? I think I remember hearing your talk. IIRC, us coaches spent that weekend going in and out of four conference/ballrooms at the Longshore Marriott; you were in the Sapphire Ballroom. In the Ruby, Emerald, and Diamond Ballrooms were seminars respectively entitled: "How to Love You for You!", "Differentiate Yourself!: Be Rewarded for Your Individuality Because You Deserve It!", and "Never Say Yes If You Want To Look Strong and Get Paid!: How Commitment of Any Kind is for Pussies and You'll Never Get Any of the Latter Unless You Know How to Pretend You're Above Counsel Because the USA is the Best Country Ever Even Though You Had Nothing to Do With It Becoming So and Most of That Brilliant Mindset is Based On Old Movie Heroes That Were Never Even Real In The First Place"

I think your talk came last. So we were pretty brainwashed by then.

Sounds about right. Oh, and it's not just football coaches.

Red Norse

Glad I could help In fairness I think someone here provided that absolute gem of an article.

Red Norse

Ah, thought I wrote WC. Sorry, my bad. Didn't watch the Euro's, so can't really comment on that team. Maybe you can?

Bread

Very intresting articles there and posts from everyone. What is a realistic solution then to actually create a football system that is purely for fun? any good ideas on how that can be done? just because the very nature of leagues or games put a focus on winning over all odds which would be hard to lose.

samabachan

The only thing I'd say on this subject - I wouldn't want English football to change fundamentally, because I love watching high quality English football when it's well done and I wouldn't want us to play like Spain, or Brazil, or Holland, or whoever. Of course there have to be changes made at youth level though, I wouldn't be stupid enough to deny that.

CLK_FPC

I've got a friend called Danny, a proper footballer. Both footed, intelligent, skillful and technical. Played with players like Hogan Ephraim who was at West Ham and now QPR and is probably a better player but everywhere he went was told he was too small. Was on the books at Charlton also had trials at MK Dons and a couple of teams like that and a level above etc

Ended up going to America and played for a Delta college where he excelled, won a host of awards and was being looked at by some top schools with the hopes of being moved up perhaps to the MLS. Unfortunately he fell out with his coach in Detroit and ended up having to come home before completing his schooling or getting a chance to move to a better school.

After coming back to England he carried on coaching (currently doing his FA level 3 badges) and after testicular cancer derailed his playing he focused on football. He tells me that some clubs still focus on size but there is a shift over to more technical ability esp at Tottenham where he has shadowed and is now being considered for a role at under 9 or 12 level.

I did my level 1 badges and sat in on some of his sessions and I have noticed he is focusing on a more technical aspect of the games but it makes you think how many players have been in his position and been technically sound players but been told they are too small or how many players would have benefited from having someone who goes over the technical aspect of the game.

Fearless

For those interested in a real, happening solution....

How can England win the World Cup? They could start by asking Watford

By merging education with training sessions Watford's youth academy has become the envy of clubs across Europe

The visitors from Ajax's celebrated youth development programme were adamant. "If you tried to copy us, you've got it wrong," they told Nick Cox, the co-ordinator of Watford's academy. Then came the pay-off. "You've managed to get even more coaching time with the kids than we have. Well done!"

In the debate as to how England can produce more, and better, footballers – an issue raised yet again after the feats of Germany and Spain at the World Cup – Watford are providing a persuasive answer. Their academy for 11- to 16-year-olds at Harefield, just off the M25, has attracted admirers from as far afield as Valencia as well as a slew of Premier League clubs.

Since the Premier League began introducing academies 12 years ago, the problem clubs have most consistently complained about is how little time they can spend with young players. Watford used to have similar gripes. Cox says: "The kids would be tired after a day in school, then dash home, maybe grab some fast food on the way, then travel to the academy to do an hour of training, then travel back again and then maybe stay up late to do their homework. They may not have been eating right, probably weren't getting as much rest as they should have and, on top of that, weren't playing as much football as children in European countries with different education systems."

Proponents of youth development invoke the so-called 10,000-hour rule, according to which people who achieve excellence in any sphere only do so after about 10,000 hours of practice. Ged Roddy, the Premier League's director of youth, says: "Academy players will need up to 20 hours a week of contact time with their coaches across the secondary school years if they are to have any chance of meeting this level of contact."

No Premier League club is near that target even though most go to considerable efforts to strike deals with schools over the release of players. Sunderland, for example, employ Brian Buddle, a former head teacher, to oversee maths and English tuition for teenagers when they are given a day off school to train and have been awarded Grade 1 approval by Ofsted.

Watford have gone even further. Cox says: "Like all clubs we wanted to increase the contact time with the kids but we decided to go about it in the opposite way to most: not to get them out of school, but to put them into one."

Three years ago, they offered 34 young players places in the local secondary school in Harefield, which, driven by the former Olympic figure skater Haig Oundjian, a governor at the school and at the time a director of Watford, was being reinvented as a comprehensive academy with a focus on sport. So unlike Dutch clubs or residential programmes for young footballers such as France's acclaimed Clairefontaine model, Watford have integrated their academy players into a mainstream school, securing more time with their charges while saving on cost and preserving a healthy sense of normality among aspiring footballers.

Cox says: "We pick the children up at around 7am and they then do all the normal subjects but also have scheduled coaching throughout the day – at times when they are fresh – then we drop them home at 7pm. We get to do about 15 hours of football with them a week, up to three times more than most other clubs in this country.

"And not only do kids not have to sacrifice their education, we find that they actually perform better in the classroom as well as on the pitch because the environment is more stimulating and they are more driven in everything – they know if they are not doing their best in the classroom we can take away the privilege of training. We have 50 kids here now – before, they might have been in 50 different schools and we would have had no idea what they were doing for 95% of their time. Here we can take more responsibility for their development, both as players and as people."

The Premier League approves. Roddy says: "The development of academies and the deregulation of schools may provide some interesting opportunities for football to link with the education system. This could provide a more flexible environment in which to negotiate the much-needed access to coaching for the potential elites that frequent our academies."

Cross-training is another development buzzword. Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City have started to put this into practice in a limited sense – by training their 10- to 14-year-olds together, exposing the children to a wider range of playing and coaching talent.

Again Watford go further. The scholars at Harefield also include gifted young gymnasts, dancers, cricketers and even a jockey and an ice hockey player, and Watford take advantage. Limbering up every day with the ballet teacher has proved an enlightening experience. "We were a bit sceptical at first but it has really helped our strength and flexibility," says the 15-year-old Richard Mensah. "You notice it most when you stretch for the ball – you can stretch farther without feeling any strain."

Already Watford are reaping the fruit. They reached the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup – the national tournament for Under-18s – in each of the past two seasons. "Last season we beat Liverpool at Anfield before losing to Chelsea," Cox says. "That was a massive marker for us because our players all grew up on average 12 miles from Vicarage Road whereas many of the Premier League clubs start bringing in players from all over Europe once you reach over-16 level, so it's been a great indicator of the progress we've been making." On the final day of last season, the 17-year-old Gavin Massey laid down another marker when he became the first Harefield graduate to make his debut for the senior side, appearing as a substitute against Coventry City. He has since signed a professional contract. More, it is hoped, will come.

How can England win the World Cup? They could start by asking Watford | Paul Doyle | Football | The Guardian

cj_sparky

This article is about the Premier League's plans in 2008 to build 6 boarding schools.....

Premier League plan for elite boarders: Football - Telegraph

Not sure if they are still going through with it.

VoetbalWizard

sounds like yer grandson needs to move to the continent. Have you seriously looked into that (i.e is he old enough to be snapped up by a club on the continent like we did with macheda, petrucci, fornasier, pogba, etc?)

beergod

Watford's approach seems to be quite sensible, I'm surprised it took so long for someone to try it.

Mister Jeebus

Interesting read bob. I don't think you quite meant that technical training is boring, rather it can be sometimes, but it seems to have been picked up that way. A point I would make is that although repetition of any fundamental skill is necessary to become expert at it, this does not necessarily mean the training session or drill need be boring. In fact, variable practice is widely considered to be more beneficial than blocked practice. What I mean by that is that performing several variations on one skill rather than repeating the same skill over and over has actually been shown to lead to better mastery and retention of that skill. Therefore while practice is crucial, the nature of the practice does not have to be monotonous, and coaches can create skills sessions that kids (or indeed adults) find enjoyable. I don't think anyone would disagree that kids are going to find creative technical sessions immeasurably more fun than laps of the pitch, or even 'appropriate' fitness sessions (short sprints etc.) that still do not use a ball. Kids can then play short matches with reduced numbers (e.g. 5 vs 5), or imbalanced numbers (5 vs 3), which then provide them with the opportunity to apply the skills in a game-like situation. Transferral of skills to 11 vs 11 is then quite easily done under the right coach. It is a much easier task to train older youths to play competitively than it is to get older kids who have been competing from an early age in the full game to master skills. However, short-termism and myopia mean this is not universally accepted or applied over here.

Fearless

Don't be - the 'instant success' formula - buying better, ready made foreign talent - has corroded youth development to the point of despair.

It says a lot when a small, financially challenged club like Watford FC steams ahead in answering a desperate call when all the big Prem clubs couldn't give a toss about our children and their aspirations.

Good luck to them.

I am sure that some of these Watford kids may well play for Man Utd one day, and probably be the only worthy English kids to do so.

Brwned

You missed the important part of that post.

'There are only 150 UEFA pro licensed coaches in England and none of them train the youths. In Spain there are 600 and 500 of them train youths...'

That implies there is something of a problem, don't you think?

Mister Jeebus

It provide a compelling arguments for the youth development section of clubs to be autonomous from the seniors. The manager of the first team should not have any input into youth player development, in particular because the life span of a manager at a given club is invariably shorter than the time scale required to develop just one generation of players. Of course this wouldn't mean that the first team manager couldn't select an exceptional young player for the first team squad, rather he simply wouldn't be involved in the coaching and development of youths. A prerequisite to this would be informed and interested owners, straight away an impediment for many clubs, and crucially an efficient national association to promote an ethos of effective youth development. Hmmm, sounds simpler in theory!