Youth Football Coaching in England

Ringo 07 · 30th May 2011, 23:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sylar

TBF to Barca, like 8 of their players were in the starting line up for their country who won the world cup. So yeah they can pick from around the world but how many of their players are actually born in Barca / Spain?

Agreed but they didnt produce Villa and he cost them a fortune and without him last year they were not quite as deadly. So not only do they have way more world class youngsters to choose from then us, they also spend whatever it takes if they have to.
And you could argue that England just dont produce enough players like Spain do for a club like Man Utd to produce a team of English based players that could dominate Europe like Barca do although the 99 treble winners could have dominatd I reckon had Fergie understood the European game a little more then like he does now. And with so much competition with big clubs in England now, its only going to get harder for Utd to land the best young English talent!

But with all that sour grapes aside......they are pretty feckin phenomenal and have raised the bar higher than its ever been before so we can only make an attempt to emulate something close to what they have.

Cling Bak · 2nd June 2011, 23:26

Not sure how useful this is to anyone, but this coaching manual is going cheap on eBay for any of you budding coaches at any level.

67 drills on 'perfect defending'. Normally £27. Well worth a look.

Football coaching - Perfect defending manual on eBay (end time 05-Jun-11 16:47:11 BST)

Murphman · 6th June 2011, 19:20

My U18's had a great season in 2009/10, 3rd in Division2 and reached the county cup final, we fed 4 players succcesfully up to the senior club (Zamoretto Southern League) and everybody connected was well pleased.

In October the club went pretty skint and amongst the cutbacks was our training facility, this was knocked on the head with no warning. At £60 a night, it was deemed too expensive so we just played football on match days.

We won the fucking league, division one by 4 clear points, we played some fabulous football and only lost 3 out of 16 in a REALLY tough youth league.

So now, in my opinion coaching is a waste of time, I now send the lads for a fry up before the game and we all chain smoke and have a pre match bevvy in the changing rooms like they did in the 60's.

The last bit was a lie obviously but I do wonder just how complicated this all gets, I've been absolutely shocked at how little difference no training makes to 18 year olds. At that age they can either play or they can't.

Rams · 6th June 2011, 22:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Murphman

My U18's had a great season in 2009/10, 3rd in Division2 and reached the county cup final, we fed 4 players succcesfully up to the senior club (Zamoretto Southern League) and everybody connected was well pleased.

In October the club went pretty skint and amongst the cutbacks was our training facility, this was knocked on the head with no warning. At £60 a night, it was deemed too expensive so we just played football on match days.

We won the fucking league, division one by 4 clear points, we played some fabulous football and only lost 3 out of 16 in a REALLY tough youth league.

So now, in my opinion coaching is a waste of time, I now send the lads for a fry up before the game and we all chain smoke and have a pre match bevvy in the changing rooms like they did in the 60's.

The last bit was a lie obviously but I do wonder just how complicated this all gets, I've been absolutely shocked at how little difference no training makes to 18 year olds. At that age they can either play or they can't.

you can't make a bad footballer in a good one, but you can make a good footballer in to a bad one...

I hope you just teach the kids to play as a team with skill & flair and to enjoy themselves.

Murphman · 7th June 2011, 21:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rams

you can't make a bad footballer in a good one, but you can make a good footballer in to a bad one...

I hope you just teach the kids to play as a team with skill & flair and to enjoy themselves.

F*ck 'em, they're here to graft and do what they're told, if they're not good enough I f*ck them off, make them go home and tell their parents they're a failure.

Danny Meehan · 28th June 2011, 01:18

Southgate wants major change | Sky Sports | Football | Premier League | News

Looks like Southgate is looking for change. Think this can only be positive. Definitely a step in the right direction.

Silva · 28th June 2011, 01:22

Nothing there about increasing how much time coaches can have with the kids nor is there anything there about the 90 minute rule. The two biggest failings of the current rules.

CLK_FPC · 15th October 2011, 12:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by CLK_FPC

My boy is the youngest person in the country hold a FA Level 3/UEFA B badge. Passed about a week or 2 ago. I'm well proud!

Works at Spurs now, shadowing Chris Ramsey.
Invited to work in the academy and watch first team and reserve training

rcoobc · 4th December 2011, 18:30

Anyone read this, it's very long: Football academies: kicking and screaming - Telegraph

Quote:

Last April, Danny, 16, received devastating news. After six years at a London football academy he was told he was no longer wanted. For those years his parents had driven three times a week from their home in south London to the training ground (plus matches on Sundays) in pursuit of Danny’s dream to play left wing for a London Premier League side in 2013.
Danny is obsessed with football. He has a framed photograph of Steven Gerrard on his bedroom wall, could do a Cruyff Turn at the age of eight, has the balance of a gazelle and can do so many keepy-uppies even he loses count. Being scouted for that academy was the best day of his life. He worked fantastically hard. He loved the training, camaraderie and free drinks - 'loads of Lucozade, Yazoo. You could take as many as you wanted!’ He loved feeling special. 'Saying who you play for at school makes you twice the man you are.’ Football is his life.
But now his fantasy future is over. 'You feel like your head has been cut off,’ he says. 'He was so quiet,’ his dad says. 'Just destroyed. It was awful.’ And now he has his GCSEs coming up and the last thing he wants to do is study. 'You’re thinking, I want to be a footballer, I don’t even need this stuff – and your mum is saying, “You’ve got to work.” And you think work is just a back-up because your real aim is to be a footballer.’
Danny has not turned his back on the dream. He still plays for a local club and for his school. He still works phenomenally hard training in his back garden. He still hopes he will be spotted. The trouble is, scouts like potential: six-, seven-, eight-, nine-year-olds. But should a scout turn up tomorrow, next week, whenever, Danny is ready. 'I feel I’m still standing out,’ he says, 'I’m killing these guys!’
Danny is not unique, of course. Any elite sport or rarefied field with few slots at the top is underpinned by an invisible stratum of talented also-rans. They are very, very good and work very, very hard. They deserve to be rewarded, but they won’t be, because they are not quite good enough. But the big difference with football is volume. All the Premiership and leading Cham**pionship clubs have academies. The rest have schools of excellence. In all, there are some 9,000 boys attending these intensely competitive places. More than 90 per cent of those who join a Premier*ship academy will fail to make it into the first team. Most won’t even become professional footballers.
'You’re talking about a lot of kids chasing very, very few options,’ points out Jim White, journalist, broadcaster and the author of You’ll Win Nothing with Kids: Fathers, Sons and Football. 'One of the problems with the academy system is that its ethos, basically, is to throw enough **** against the wall and hope that some of it sticks. They take in 30 or 40 kids at eight, knowing full well that the chances of any of them becoming footballers is pretty unlikely. The trouble is, those kids who come in at eight think they already are footballers.’
A friend’s eight-year-old was scouted for Chelsea, and he went from being top of the class to the skiver in the back. 'Why aren’t you trying any more?’ his mother asked. 'I’m a footballer and I’m going to be rich,’ he replied. Needless to say, he was 'released’ a year later. At eight he still had time to recover. At 15 he might have sunk into a depression for the rest of his life. 'The shedding of people at 16 has always been football’s hidden secret,’ White says. 'The brutality of axing kids hasn’t been improved by the academy system in any way. In fact, it’s probably made it worse.’..

There is a lot more to it: Football academies: kicking and screaming - Telegraph

and from 2009 I should point out.

Snow · 4th December 2011, 19:02

Where are the parents in all this? That's some messed up thinking. Could have done with some schools those kids making those quotes.

gooDevil · 4th December 2011, 19:14

Agreed, it's your parent's job to give your life some meaning and focus outside of a sport. Kids get stupid ideas about life being easy all the time, you can shake them of those illusions.

rcoobc · 4th December 2011, 19:17

You have to feel for kids and parents though, when they are spending so much of their lives travelling or waiting for their kids to finish training. Barcelona and Watford's model is so much better, even if it is more elitist.

Snow · 4th December 2011, 20:09

No, not really. I don't feel sorry for some 16 year old who didn't get a contract because he wasn't good enough. They should be smarter.

I fellow team mate of mine who was always the best 89' player in Iceland turned down a move to Rangers when he was 15. He wanted to finish school first before moving abroad. Unfortunately for him he had a bad knee injury for two years and last summer was his first proper season in the top league. He's played with the first team since he was 15-16 but my team weren't in the top league at the time and haven't been yet for 8 years or so, so he's waiting his time. Getting unlikelier but stranger things have happened.

Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber · 4th December 2011, 20:42

The world is very big. If you can't make it as a top footballer in England you can make it else where. At 16 time is always on your side.

misterredmist · 13th December 2011, 22:12

Barca's system has it's roots in Dutch ingenuity, Cruijff set the ball in motion there. The pr*cks at the FA have been too proud for decades to bite the bullet and "go Dutch" or even German to learn how to coach youngsters, and, coach coaches.

They will cock their next initiative up too

Too much money, to much stubborn pride, too many people in the trough, too many committee men, too much inertia, too many pr*cks, too many 'yes' men = The FA

marcus agrippa · 13th December 2011, 22:35

Rather a random bump, there.

ukbob · 3rd January 2012, 16:43

Well,moved back to California just three weeks ago and already can see how much "soccer" is to the forefront of youth sports. Where I am living now the facilities put our national game in England to shame.
I went to an AYSO tournament which is very low level but the whole set up was beyond belief for such a tournament. The coaches I spoke to were all interested in improving their coaching and I have already set up a coaching workshop to help, all free of charge even though they were willing to pay out of their own pockets.
Having said that my eldest grandson is on a different level in Sacramento where he is playing, that however is not due to the coaching he had in the UK but on his ability alone.
Even though I vowed not to do anymore coaching here I find I am already being drawn into it again, mainly because of the enthusiasm and facilities. Such a shame it was not the same in the UK.

Gio · 16th February 2012, 15:09

Scathing comments from Ronald De Boer on the youth set-up in Scotland.

Football premier-league: Exclusive - De Boer: It's too early for Bergkamp to take over at Arsenal | Radio talkSPORT
(From 7.09)

Typical themes coming through - poor organisation, coaching, size over skill/intelligence.

Fearless · 20th February 2012, 17:28

The coaches in England are crap.

The academies are run by size queens.

End of.

ukbob · 21st February 2012, 20:50

Will anyone in the UK EVER see the light?

Snow · 21st February 2012, 22:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by ukbob

Will anyone in the UK EVER see the light?

It's bizarre isn't it. Think that Iceland might no be far off England in UEFA qualified coaches.

ukbob · 22nd February 2012, 05:36

Am currently in Sacramento getting a look at my grandsons progress in US Soccer. He has recently been selected for his High School baseball team which has taken preference over soccer. I did however get to see him in a 5 aside game one evening.Again, I was totally amazed at the indoor facilities and this was in Folsom. Why,why oh why can there not be these kind of facilities for the youth soccer in the UK. It is just beyond belief that here in a small town there were these kind of places for the youth to play and all on artificial grass, not wooden boards. From 3pm through to 10 pm it was fully booked as was every evening in the week.
The enthusiasm of the coaches to learn was unbelievable with the importance of skill over size and strength very evident. I was actually invited to guest coach two teams during the evening which I unfortunately had to turn down.
How soon will the FA start to put money and facilities into grass roots youth football rather than waste it on overpaid professionals who in the end give very little back apart from taking what they have to give back overseas.
I really could go on forever here but I know it will basically fall on deaf ears.

mariachi-19 · 22nd February 2012, 05:48

same here bob. Everywhere you look coaches play hoof the ball. I'm coaching a quite talented player at the moment, that has to effectively be retaught how to play pass and move football because what he's had over the last 3 years has been nothing more than kick and chase because he was 6 foot 2, muscular and quick.

Fearless · 22nd February 2012, 12:09

I have been VERY involved with academy football at the highest level.

Sad to say but us little Englanders will never give up on trying to re-validate the out of date methodologies underpinned by our culture's more unsophisticated values.

The envy powered resentment of artistry runs through our coaching ethos like cancer.

I pity small, talented players who happen to be English.

mo0 · 10th April 2012, 02:17

big fan of the twitter #coachingfamily -- so many progressive thinkers out there. it's a matter of getting them to the forefront.

what i will say is the team behind getting the 'new blueprint' out there are a fantastic bunch. passionate, dedicated, knowledgable, adjective, adjective, adjective. it goes without saying though, England are behind the times, BUT steps are being taking to course correct - St. George's Park is a good start (albeit 10 years too late).

i would like to point any interested parties over to the interview i conducted with Nick Levett and Gareth Southgate around youth football in England, including youth philosophy, and what we are doing to remedy what's wrong.

Gareth Southgate & Nick Levett Interview

Simon Adebesi · 18th April 2012, 15:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fearless

I pity small, talented players who happen to be English.

The experience of Ashley Young.

Lets take the "Occupy Wall Street" movement as an inspiration and "Occupy Soho Square". The goal is to seize money from PL clubs and distribute it to children around the country to give them the technical skills they need.

Fearless · 18th April 2012, 17:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simon Adebesi

The experience of Ashley Young.

Lets take the "Occupy Wall Street" movement as an inspiration and "Occupy Soho Square". The goal is to seize money from PL clubs and distribute it to children around the country to give them the technical skills they need.

An Arab Spring size protest won't change anything.

It's the British culture thats the main culprit. Brute force instead of skill, resentment of talent instead of recruiting it, quick fixes instead of patient development, etc. etc.

Youth development is 21st Century equivalent of the British car industry.

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2nd June 2011, 23:26	#122 (permalink)
Cling Bak Hi, I'm Barry Scott Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 6,391	Not sure how useful this is to anyone, but this coaching manual is going cheap on eBay for any of you budding coaches at any level. 67 drills on 'perfect defending'. Normally £27. Well worth a look. Football coaching - Perfect defending manual on eBay (end time 05-Jun-11 16:47:11 BST)

6th June 2011, 19:20	#123 (permalink)
Murphman First Team Sub Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Starting to believe again. Posts: 5,943	My U18's had a great season in 2009/10, 3rd in Division2 and reached the county cup final, we fed 4 players succcesfully up to the senior club (Zamoretto Southern League) and everybody connected was well pleased. In October the club went pretty skint and amongst the cutbacks was our training facility, this was knocked on the head with no warning. At £60 a night, it was deemed too expensive so we just played football on match days. We won the fucking league, division one by 4 clear points, we played some fabulous football and only lost 3 out of 16 in a REALLY tough youth league. So now, in my opinion coaching is a waste of time, I now send the lads for a fry up before the game and we all chain smoke and have a pre match bevvy in the changing rooms like they did in the 60's. The last bit was a lie obviously but I do wonder just how complicated this all gets, I've been absolutely shocked at how little difference no training makes to 18 year olds. At that age they can either play or they can't.

28th June 2011, 01:18	#126 (permalink)
Danny Meehan Reserve Team Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Attacking the space Posts: 819	Southgate wants major change \| Sky Sports \| Football \| Premier League \| News Looks like Southgate is looking for change. Think this can only be positive. Definitely a step in the right direction.

28th June 2011, 01:22	#127 (permalink)
Silva Sticky tip Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Its best if I don't tell you. Posts: 6,677	Nothing there about increasing how much time coaches can have with the kids nor is there anything there about the 90 minute rule. The two biggest failings of the current rules.

4th December 2011, 19:02	#130 (permalink)
Snow First Team Regular Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: I like turtles Posts: 12,319	Where are the parents in all this? That's some messed up thinking. Could have done with some schools those kids making those quotes.

4th December 2011, 19:14	#131 (permalink)
gooDevil First Team Regular Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: The Kids are the Future ✹ Posts: 10,755	Agreed, it's your parent's job to give your life some meaning and focus outside of a sport. Kids get stupid ideas about life being easy all the time, you can shake them of those illusions.

4th December 2011, 19:17	#132 (permalink)
rcoobc Not as crap as eferyone thinks Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Corrupting West Brom Posts: 17,207	You have to feel for kids and parents though, when they are spending so much of their lives travelling or waiting for their kids to finish training. Barcelona and Watford's model is so much better, even if it is more elitist.

4th December 2011, 20:09	#133 (permalink)
Snow First Team Regular Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: I like turtles Posts: 12,319	No, not really. I don't feel sorry for some 16 year old who didn't get a contract because he wasn't good enough. They should be smarter. I fellow team mate of mine who was always the best 89' player in Iceland turned down a move to Rangers when he was 15. He wanted to finish school first before moving abroad. Unfortunately for him he had a bad knee injury for two years and last summer was his first proper season in the top league. He's played with the first team since he was 15-16 but my team weren't in the top league at the time and haven't been yet for 8 years or so, so he's waiting his time. Getting unlikelier but stranger things have happened.

4th December 2011, 20:42	#134 (permalink)
Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber Thus says Kemo Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Founder of IhateMakeleles.org and Gourcufffanboysareus.com Posts: 39,441	The world is very big. If you can't make it as a top footballer in England you can make it else where. At 16 time is always on your side.

13th December 2011, 22:12	#135 (permalink)
misterredmist Reserve Team Player Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Baguley Posts: 1,692	Barca's system has it's roots in Dutch ingenuity, Cruijff set the ball in motion there. The prcks at the FA have been too proud for decades to bite the bullet and "go Dutch" or even German to learn how to coach youngsters, and, coach coaches. They will cock their next initiative up too Too much money, to much stubborn pride, too many people in the trough, too many committee men, too much inertia, too many prcks, too many 'yes' men = The FA

13th December 2011, 22:35	#136 (permalink)
marcus agrippa First Team Sub Join Date: May 2005 Location: "Clattenburg!- Jesus God!" - SAF Posts: 7,208	Rather a random bump, there.

3rd January 2012, 16:43	#137 (permalink)
ukbob Caf's Coolest Rag n Bone man Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Thousand Oaks California Posts: 7,045	Well,moved back to California just three weeks ago and already can see how much "soccer" is to the forefront of youth sports. Where I am living now the facilities put our national game in England to shame. I went to an AYSO tournament which is very low level but the whole set up was beyond belief for such a tournament. The coaches I spoke to were all interested in improving their coaching and I have already set up a coaching workshop to help, all free of charge even though they were willing to pay out of their own pockets. Having said that my eldest grandson is on a different level in Sacramento where he is playing, that however is not due to the coaching he had in the UK but on his ability alone. Even though I vowed not to do anymore coaching here I find I am already being drawn into it again, mainly because of the enthusiasm and facilities. Such a shame it was not the same in the UK.

16th February 2012, 15:09	#138 (permalink)
Gio Reserve Team Player Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Bonnie Scotland Posts: 4,682	Scathing comments from Ronald De Boer on the youth set-up in Scotland. Football premier-league: Exclusive - De Boer: It's too early for Bergkamp to take over at Arsenal \| Radio talkSPORT (From 7.09) Typical themes coming through - poor organisation, coaching, size over skill/intelligence.

20th February 2012, 17:28	#139 (permalink)
Fearless Mighty Mouse Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Cuntastine Posts: 2,555	The coaches in England are crap. The academies are run by size queens. End of.

21st February 2012, 20:50	#140 (permalink)
ukbob Caf's Coolest Rag n Bone man Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Thousand Oaks California Posts: 7,045	Will anyone in the UK EVER see the light?

22nd February 2012, 05:36	#142 (permalink)
ukbob Caf's Coolest Rag n Bone man Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Thousand Oaks California Posts: 7,045	Am currently in Sacramento getting a look at my grandsons progress in US Soccer. He has recently been selected for his High School baseball team which has taken preference over soccer. I did however get to see him in a 5 aside game one evening.Again, I was totally amazed at the indoor facilities and this was in Folsom. Why,why oh why can there not be these kind of facilities for the youth soccer in the UK. It is just beyond belief that here in a small town there were these kind of places for the youth to play and all on artificial grass, not wooden boards. From 3pm through to 10 pm it was fully booked as was every evening in the week. The enthusiasm of the coaches to learn was unbelievable with the importance of skill over size and strength very evident. I was actually invited to guest coach two teams during the evening which I unfortunately had to turn down. How soon will the FA start to put money and facilities into grass roots youth football rather than waste it on overpaid professionals who in the end give very little back apart from taking what they have to give back overseas. I really could go on forever here but I know it will basically fall on deaf ears.

22nd February 2012, 05:48	#143 (permalink)
mariachi-19 First Team Regular Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: I may be the devil, but i'm not a monster Posts: 12,598	same here bob. Everywhere you look coaches play hoof the ball. I'm coaching a quite talented player at the moment, that has to effectively be retaught how to play pass and move football because what he's had over the last 3 years has been nothing more than kick and chase because he was 6 foot 2, muscular and quick.

22nd February 2012, 12:09	#144 (permalink)
Fearless Mighty Mouse Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Cuntastine Posts: 2,555	I have been VERY involved with academy football at the highest level. Sad to say but us little Englanders will never give up on trying to re-validate the out of date methodologies underpinned by our culture's more unsophisticated values. The envy powered resentment of artistry runs through our coaching ethos like cancer. I pity small, talented players who happen to be English.

10th April 2012, 02:17	#145 (permalink)
mo0 Reserve Team Player Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: @englandyouth Posts: 1,167	big fan of the twitter #coachingfamily -- so many progressive thinkers out there. it's a matter of getting them to the forefront. what i will say is the team behind getting the 'new blueprint' out there are a fantastic bunch. passionate, dedicated, knowledgable, adjective, adjective, adjective. it goes without saying though, England are behind the times, BUT steps are being taking to course correct - St. George's Park is a good start (albeit 10 years too late). i would like to point any interested parties over to the interview i conducted with Nick Levett and Gareth Southgate around youth football in England, including youth philosophy, and what we are doing to remedy what's wrong. Gareth Southgate & Nick Levett Interview