Torfaen Football Academy 2018/19 Training
First session Friday 3rd August 2018 @ Cwmbran Stadium Times & Venues: U10s - 7.30 - 8.30pm - 3G U11s - 7.30 - 8.30pm - 3G U12s - 7.30 - 8.30pm - 3G U13s - 7.00- 8.00pm - Astro U14s - 8.30 - 9.30pm - 3G U15s - 8.00 - 9.00 - Astro U16s - 8.30 -9.30pm - 3G Goalkeeper sessions will run from 7.30 - 9.30pm on the 3G. Groups will be split so GKs, train with their squads then have GK coaching or vice versa. Also this season we are introducing SAQ/Strength & Conditioning sessions for all outfield players. Further details to follow.
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Found this from a newspaper article a little while ago, well worth a read and thinking about.
This weekend will see tens of thousands of kids across the country kicking off their season. Before parents start barking from the touchline, one coach offers up some home truths Parents take note: grassroots football is about kids having fun. So keep quiet! The international break is over, the millionaires are back ensconced in their clubs – and around the country tens of thousands of children are ready to kick off the season at the other end of the footballing spectrum: the grassroots. One coach, who has asked to remain anonymous, offers up 10 pre-season home truths to parents. 1) Quiet, please “Noooo! Not there. Gordon, bloody well get rid of it … you can't play about with your spreadsheet there. Just email it. NOW! Remember, nothing fancy. Just get rid.” Does your boss stand menacingly near your desk shouting at you when you're doing your job? If he does, do you enjoy it, feel inspired, creative and ready to perform at your best? No, thought not. With this in mind, I'd dearly love it if you could refrain from roaring from the sidelines at little Billy when he's trying to have fun with his friends. He's only eight. It really doesn't help. Ask him if you don't believe me. 2) I'm a volunteer I know the annual club registration fee has gone up a tenner. And yes, I am wearing new boots. But I can assure you the two are not linked. When I'm not doing my job – yes, coaching is but a (mostly) joyful hobby for me – I am simply a willing, unpaid volunteer at an increasingly hard-pressed grassroots football club committed to giving children of all abilities the chance to play – not a one-man footballing equivalent of Serco out to inveigle a handsome profit from cruelly inflating the footballing dreams of your child and her friends. 3) I'm not a magician How can I put this? Just because you stump up the registration fee all too readily (after all, as you say, it's only a fraction of the annual fees at the prep school) that doesn't mean you've bought the right to mess the coach and the other players about by turning up with little Gianfranco to training or matches whenever you feel like it. My training sessions are planned carefully; the arrival activities, challenges, targets and games are not merely a series of random events; they're actually planned. And, without going all educationalist on you, I'm a big believer in constructivist learning. Each session is linked thematically to build on the players' knowledge, understanding and skills in a thoughtful fashion, always with the goal of developing the players' skills across the FA's “four corner model”: technical, physical, psychological and social. All of this just might explain why, on several occasions, you've complained to me that Gianfranco isn't feeling “a vital part of the team” or perhaps improving his skills quite as much as you'd hoped. I'll repeat: I AM NOT A MAGICIAN! HE NEEDS TO PRACTICE. That means turning up every week, not just when you feel like it. 4) A chip off the old block I'm really sorry to tell you this but your child's clearly got your gene for insufficiently honed coordination. With you it's getting your basic timing, application and demeanour in order (do you ever – I mean ever – even so much as glance at my numerous emails and texts?); with him it's ABCs, proprioception and ball mastery (which I'm working on with him all the time). So, as mentioned above, it's a teeny bit unrealistic to expect me to transform him osmotically into Lionel Messi after half a dozen sessions (only half of which he actually attended, all the time wearing hideously unsuitable running trainers and swigging from a can of Monster the size of his leg). So let's strike a deal: you agree to reply to my emails and make sure your son turns up to training suitably attired and not caffeined up and I'll continue coaching him (even though he turns like the QE2). 5) A winning mentality I know little John's a born winner. He clearly takes after you doesn't he? And I know he was named after your role model. As was his little sister, Terri. You've told me that. A few times actually. I also appreciate their uncle played a few games for Wealdstone reserves in the season they cruised to the Gola league title back in the day. So you clearly know your football. It's just, well, this is coaching, not playing. Or watching. And when we're dealing with children – not adults – we have to think carefully about whether we demand that the players show you how much they really want to win the league - and, of course, the big shiny trophy that goes with it. Overemphasis on what us coaches call extrinsic motivation (pressure to win a match, the threat of punishment etc as opposed to intrinsic motivation) can actually have a negative impact on the child's motivation and self-esteem.Some studies link too much external pressure to stress, burnout and giving up the game, especially among players in the professional academies. The FA also surveyed thousands of kids playing grassroots football a couple of years ago and found the most common reasons for playing were, not winning the league or trophies, but trying their hardest, because it's fun, it's a great game and they love it. So I'm not saying regaling children with that infamous winner's aphorism “show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser" is always wrong. Actually, yes I am. Again, just keep quiet. Please. 6) A valuable lesson “Why on Earth did you play him there? He can't play there. He's not a defender. He's a forward; he only wants to play as a striker; he'll get you 30 goals a season from there.” But he's only seven years old. Your son's clearly good at maths too – I suppose it's all that counting practice keeping track of his goals tally – but would you instruct the teachers in his primary school to excuse him from literacy lessons so he can focus on becoming a mathematician instead? No, so give him a chance to breathe, let him develop new skills and you'll be surprised at how good he can become. In relation to point five, I really want him to be successful too. A winner, yes. But not just in an under 9s match where, frankly, he's simply much faster, stronger and older than most of the other players. (The wonders of a September birthday.) But this won't necessarily last. I'm trying to provide the players with the full range of skills necessary to win when they're 15, 18 and 21. 7) Fancy a promotion? You know when I say I'm not interested in league tables … I actually really, truly mean it. It creates a race to the bottom with 10-year-olds, where long-term player development is relegated at the expense of hoofball, ranting parents and pressure to win at all costs. And no, I don't see it as an infringement of our human rights that the FA is finally scrapping them for all under-10s and younger from this season. But hey, I do find it intriguing the way you and Cristiano's dad, Eric, tried manfully last season to keep track of all the other teams' results to work out your own league tables. I sort of appreciate your initiative guys but did you really need to try to publish it on Facebook? Don't get me wrong though: I'm with them on the league tables but I'm no apologist for the FA. I see the new Wembley as a citadel of profligacy as much as the next person. And I'm the one practically remortgaging the house to complete my coaching licence CPD each year by shelling out for coaching courses. But you know, there's only so much we can do to change the FA. Back here at the grassroots, however, I'd love it if you could direct your efforts towards something a little more meaningful. Like, say, one of the many admin/committee roles at the club: there's communications, secretary, treasurer, welfare officer (actually, maybe leave this one for someone else), pitch coordinator - take your pick. Or you could just volunteer to fetch and carry equipment to and from training. Or what about linesman once we start playing offside? I'm not picky. Hell, we can't afford to be choosy in grassroots football. 8) Why the big rush? And I know you're desperate to move your child up from the local pro club's community £5 a session gravy-train dream-building “development” sessions to the intermediate/advanced/demi-semi-elite “beyond-development” squad and eventually get the golden ticket – a slot in the full-blown junior millionaire elite “over-developed” squad because it's YOUR lifelong ambition – yeah, I get all that. And you want it all done before he's in secondary school. But can you please explain why? While you're thinking about it, please try not to relive your life through your child. 9) This is serious Let me say this again: I'm not a childminder; I'm a qualified coach. Experienced too. Keen and passionately interested in helping the children fall in love with the game and reach their potential in a safe, fun-filled environment. Got that. Good. Now please let me let them play. They're children. That's what they love to do. They take play very, very seriously. 10) Bring on the dream team Let's end on a positive note. You know that little schtick I do occasionally about the importance of fostering a growth mindset with the players (“mistakes are learning opportunities” etc)? Well, I genuinely believe we can be the living embodiment of all of this. Yes, you and me. Parents & Coach United. We'll both make mistakes. Even you, honest. But imagine the impact we could have together if all parents trusted the coach, backed him or her up and reassured your child by simply saying to them after a match: “I loved watching you play. It was great fun.” This would allow them to move on from mistakes and bask in the warm, character-enhancing glow brought about by riding on the physically, technically, socially and psychologically challenging rollercoaster that is playing a competitive team sport; if you could just remind yourself that we both want them to become the best player they can possibly be, we could create an environment for them to succeed unencumbered by a crippling fear of failure. Just try it. Go on, please. It might be tough at first but just, you know, do your best. Tosh Farrell's sessions are world-renowned for his use of language, manner and ability to connect with the kids he coaches and in this podcast interview we discuss the importance of being a player-friendly coach.
Introduction Tosh Farrell is a youth coaching specialist who worked with Wayne Rooney whilst Head of Development at Everton and who now supports tens of thousands of coaches in the North-Eastern United States. In an exclusive conversation with The Coaching Manual Editor Pavl Williams, he discussed the importance of being a player-friendly coach and how we might develop better football players through a more child-centric development system. Enter Tosh... Become Player Friendly - get to know the kid and understand how they learn. Take an interest in them as a person (their family, their other interests) and not just whether they're going to become a good player for you. Match Expectations - let players do what they thought they were going to be doing. Give them a ball each and let them dribble, shoot and play with their friends. This is the only way to get them to buy in to the work you may need to do later in their development. Coaches are the biggest thieves around - and it's okay to 'pinch' practices, as long as you understand how to repackage them and make them work for the players you are coaching. Build Rapport - ask questions, let the kids decide on some practices. Give out nicknames and use their names when praising. Let kids know you're seeing them succeed and they'll work 10% harder for you. Focus On All Your Players - making a very poor player into a poor player is still good coaching. Don't ignore the players who are already doing things well, and don't neglect the players who maybe aren't as good. Coaching 'Teams' Sacrifices Individual's Development - we don't need to focus on team passing and formations until individual technique and skill has been instilled. When coaching U6-U10s rarely move beyond 2v2 and ensure lots of touches on the ball and lots of pass or dribble decisions. Always Finish With Shooting - this is what kids want to be doing but coaches often start at furthest point from this (such as playing out from the back). You will keep player enthusiastic when they can always see the chance to score at the end of the move. Don't Coach Young Players, Coax Them - some players need to learn how to be coached so when working with young players offer incentives to improve in your practices but let the game be the teacher. Keep Practices Fresh - with young players use 3, 4 or 5 different practices in a session. You can retain focus with more variations on a theme than sticking to a single drill for too long. Coaches Are Last People To Take Blame - when a team wins it's great coaching but when they lose it's crap players! Be honest and reflect on each session's positives and how it would have been improved. We Go Too Far With Formations - coaches make formations too complex because of the winning mentality. At U12-U16 game time is about understanding their roles and responsibilities on the pitch, not the specifics of a 4-2-3-1 formation. Rotate Players To Aid Development - your team's Centre-Forward can learn a lot by playing Centre-Back against your opponent's CF. Midfielders can benefit from playing in Defence as they recognise space and danger-areas. Give players opportunities to learn in all different positions. 8v8/9v9 Should Aid Transition To 11v11 - have a long-term vision and set-up your team to play the way you'd like in the larger game. If you play 3 in midfield at 8v8 your players will stay narrow for 2-3 years. When you move to 4 in midfield you want width so instruct the opposite. Use the 8v8/9v9 game to teach players principles which will help them in 11v11. League Football Should Be About Development - and there's more room for rules changes and variation than the current system allows. Develop A Process That Leads To Positive Outcomes - follow a programme and have the confidence to stick to it if is best for development. There's no need to react to the outcome of games. Be a long-term (developmental) coach, not a short-term (results-based) coach. |
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September 2016
In my teams, the goalie is the first attacker, and the striker the first defender. Johan Cruyff
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