National Camp Feedback & All Things ISFA

This is a bit of an ironic moment, waiting for one blog, and then two come along in quick succession!

Last week I received my National Camp feedback. From the blog I wrote about the Camp, I hope you can see how much I took from the week. The time I spent reading my feedback brought back all the memories from the week, highs, lows and all! Just thought I would share some of the feedback which I got.

After going through my FFCamp blog, it's very understandable to see how my feedback fits in. "From looking through Sarah's reflective log it was evident that Sarah was keen to learn but at times trying to get Sarah not to reflect and actually enjoy the week before it passed her by." Reflecting is something which I do too often, learning how to control this will become a personal goal. Instead of writing trillions of notes, I should be switched on and enjoying what's happening. This doesn't mean, enjoy everything and take nothing. I need to find a balance of reflecting after events, and only during when it's necessary. "Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Kierkegaard

It's quite fulfilling reading some one else's thoughts on the week, and nice to see what they have noticed. Something I had to learn was when to share ideas and when to hold back. It was difficult, but it was something which I understood and developed as the week went on. I think that this situation, so when I held back, was when I started to over-reflect within sessions. If I was talking or actively involved then I started to try and understand other people and their way of leading. Probably should have been listening to them fully, but when you sit back you get a better view of the bigger picture. 

In terms of future development, I really enjoyed the futsal module at Camp, the way in which it can really aid young, old, elite, grassroots or anyone to develop skills and then transfer in football. I have already acted upon this by completing the beginners guide to Futsal course, which was insightful and opened up another world of opportunities to throw into my own coaching.

Something I was made aware of is how people learn and like to be coached. Obviously you can't adhere to everyone needs all of the time. But during camp I saw how and when to work with individuals and groups to get the best results. I'd like to think this is something I'm quite good at, recognising different learning style and understanding individuals. It's something which has been reinforced at camps and on courses, until you understand an individual, what every you are coaching will be irrelevant. 

National Camp was top, top week. Feedback should be taken in the right way, reflecting is something which I do far to often, having it pointed out isn't bad thing, it just makes you aware that other people have noticed it. :)



Onto the second part of this blog.. In an earlier post I said that I have a voluntary role with ISFA (Independent Schools Football Association) as an event coordinator on the National U11s, 7 a-side tournament. I have now finished all of my regional heats, I've travelled to London twice, been down by Brighton, to Leeds, Bolton and Derbyshire. Now only the National finals await for me at St.George's Park at the end of April.

I've had great fun travelling around the country, seeing some of the sites.. The Olympic Park being a highlight. But looking back on the regional heats, they have come and gone very quickly, I can remember being nervous about the first heat in September and only last week was I getting up at 4.00am to go to Leeds. There have been so many highs and lows, having 3 of us setting up and running each heat has opened my eyes to what really goes on for a tournament to run. If a problem comes up you have to work as and present yourself as if nothing happened. There was an incident at Chigwell where a referee didn't turn up, we had to re-arrange ourselves and carry on like nothing had happened.

I've seen some amazing football being played, and quite possibly the longest penalty shoot out ever in the finals at Leeds. Had some really nice cookies in Derby, chicken in Chigwell and sandwiches at Charterhouse. I don't want to see a respect barrier for a while after having a half an hour wrestle with one, its a good job the sun was out otherwise that could have been a day ruined!

The beauty of my role is that most of my work is done before and after the event, so I get to see things all pull together as games are being played. Although I haven't done a lot in setting up the tournament, it's very fulfilling seeing kids enjoy themselves and playing good football.

It's been a dream scenario, spending full days in football, going home feeling like I've done a good job. Talks over dinner have all been 100% about football, and that is all I'm ever talking about! The downside now is that it is all nearly over. I've learnt a lot over the 6 regional heats, about myself, football development and how to manage tournaments. There have been times when there were only 2 of us running the event. I've been in difficult positions, running the score centre and trying to work out teams going through under pressure, train trouble trying to get around the country, weather being British. But if you can come out of it all with a smile on your face, knowing people have had a good time and gone home happy then you know a good job has been done.

For the time being, thank you Sean Smith and Mark Dickson at ISFA for offering me the opportunity, roll on April and the national finals at St. George's Park!

This photo was taken in Bolton with the tournament in full flow!

Lancashire FA Young Volunteers Camp 2013

22nd February 2013, Lancashire FA, The County Ground. Thinking i was on time I entered the Sir Tom Finney Suite to 36+ young leaders all listening to the opening of the Camp. A few familiar faces dotted around the room meant that I didn't feel to embarrassed, whilst being waved over by my partner in crime for the day, Mike Nadal (Girls & Disability FDO).

As with the Shropshire county camp I had been asked to support the event and help where possible. A weird feeling to be leading young leaders, as a young leader. the day had been broken down into 3 sessions; coaching disabled footballers, refereeing and skills coaching. For this to work the young leaders were also split into 3 groups, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Malaga. I was with team Malaga; there was myself, Mike and Owen Coyle (Lancashire FA Apprentice) supporting the group.

Iain Kay (Education FDO) finished off the introductions and opened up the camp. Some key messages; enjoy it and take everything away that you can. Young volunteers had been nominated for the camp, so they had already shown signs of promise to become more involved as a volunteer. You only get out what you put in, the more you put into the camp, the more you will get out of it.

'If you stand on the side now, you will always stand on the side.' Steve Daley.

Our first session of the day, coaching disabled footballers, was delivered by Steve Daley, the current England Partially sighted captain who has 117 caps to his name and 6 world cup/championship appearances. Clearly there was no better man to deliver the module.

The session's key topic was, 'Can you deliver sessions which allow everyone to join in?' When putting sessions together it is easy to assume player's ability and plan for the best. But what if this doesn't work? or you have a problem, such as a player with a disability? As a coach you have to plan for the worst, be able to have back up plans. Prepare for the worst, but expect the best.

Communication is the key skill in any sport, but it's pivotal in disability sport. Communication is the route to portraying messages. If you cant deliver your message correctly then you will never get success. 90% of communication is non-verbal. You need to maximise what you are saying verbally in the minimal time. This doesn't mean only give out parts of your messages. Everyone learns differently, know your players and how they learn best. Communicate efficiently to get the best results.

Back to the session topic, the group were taken outside for a to look at the inclusive challenge in a practical view. Looking at making games inclusive. What modifications can be made to allow everyone to take part, to challenge the strugglers and strivers. Possibly using different equipment, for example different sized balls. Throwing them as well as kicking them, in the air and on the floor. A very insightful session for the young leaders, showing what challenges they might have to face in the future, and also how to deal with them.

Following lunch was our second session, refereeing. An interactive seminar lead by Steve Stuart and Eddie Wolstenholme. Starting off with an ice-breaker, very much like blind date to get know on-another. So moving onto the session itself, a few questions were asked of the young leaders, what are the do's and don'ts, highs and lows of being a referee? What is it like to be a professional referee? A question which brought out a number of answers, what is the general perception of referees?

-Depends on which team you support came out as an answer, as a referee you can only ever please one team.

-Referees apparently haven't played the game, according to newspapers, this meaning they don't understand the game. This is probably more of an issue with the advantage law, knowing when to play on or bring the play back.

-They get a lot of bad press, when watching Match of the Day, you only really see referees when they make a bad decision. They say the best referees are the ones you don't notice, most of the time you don't notice them and they don't get the credit they deserve for putting up with bad behaviour, or even when they have a good game.

Is this bad press unfair? A great example, would you scream at your striker if they missed from 5 yards out? Probably not, so why do coaches go crazy when a referee makes a mistake?

We then moved onto a quiz, the Laws of Association Football, being honest I think me and Mike should never attempt to referee again as we scored 3/10. Luckily most of the young leaders did a lot better than us.Questions including, How many people can participate in the restart method of a dropped ball? Team A are about to take a corner when a defender from Team B punches an opponent, what do you do? A player scores a goal without his boot on, do you give a goal? All of the questions were teasing, and tested us all, showing that we don't really know the laws of the game!

A second quiz took place, looking at decision making and consistency. The young leaders had to watch clips of match incidents and then decide if they would give a red card, yellow card or something else. This time the dream team scored, 12/18!! Some horrendous tackles were shown, after making our decisions the referee's decisions were shown and then UEFA's decisions. Some very surprising results!

The final quiz related to the disciplinary action and incidents of football with Lancashire over the 2011/12 season. We had to guess the right answer... I got 5/5. Some very surprising stats, 18,277 discipline cases were dealt with. 2,256 red cards, 14,949 yellow cards and 24 players received over 10 cautions that season. crazy stuff.

The final session of the day, skills coaching, delivered by Chris Hurst. Considering the wonderful Lancashire cold weather came out, the young leaders did a great job of diving right into the session. To begin with Chris lead a session, which started off very basic and then built up to include a football and become relatively complex. This session was the 'Great Escape' drill which is a part of the FA Youth Award Module 1. This game focuses on the basic movements within football [ABC's] moving in different directions, using different movements and finding innovative ways to get around the grid. Next step, try to get out of the grid via the gates, still using these basic movements, not just running out - cause that is well boring! The next step was to bring in guards who would tag people as they tried to escape. The final part was to introduce a ball, so everyone moving around the grid and then trying to escape without being tug.

The challenge for our young leaders was, using the same grid, develop your own session. There were different themes for the groups to adhere to, passing, individual development and game related. Those who had the challenge of involving passing split the players into 2 team and asked them to pass the ball around the grid. To begin with the 2 teams stayed in 1 half of the grid, they were soon asked to mingle and move around. The progression was to pass the ball and then leave the grid. Only after you have left and the re-entered can the player touch the ball again.

The second group has individual development, their game was based around the 'king of the ring' concept. The adaptations were to have a safe zone on each side of the grid, but you could only stay there for a limited time. Also, to stop players from standing around on the outside of the grid if their ball had been kicked out, they could come back into the game if they dribbled around a series of cones which were a part of the outer grid.

The third and final group were looking at a game related game. They re-arranged a few of the cones to make goals, and set up a directional attacking drill. Within the grid, 1v1s, 3v3s or even under loads/overloads were used. The progressions were the change in players in each phase of the drill.

The final part of the day, was a round up by Iain Kay. Introducing the Football Futures Programme and Apprentice Programme which is run by the County FA.

A very successful day on all accounts. I hope that the young leaders took all that they could from the day, and carry it through into their clubs and for their own personal development. 'There was no point in going and not remembering any of it.' A great comment from a young leader following the day, fingers crossed others went away feeling the same!

Thank you Lancashire FA for inviting me to the event and allowing me to support and be around some amazing young leaders. The future appears to be in good hands.

Shropshire FA, Football Futures County Camp

9.00am, the 18th February 2013. 4 Experienced young leaders and Eve Bailey (Shropshire FA FDO) assembled at Shrewsbury Sports Village to run through the last preparations and plans for the day. Ice breakers at the ready, the event was very close to beginning.

10am and the Camp attendees started arriving, with little knowledge of the day they were quiet and seemed unenthusiastic. Taking the initiative I rounded up the young leaders and got them playing the 'tap-tap game' which involved over lapping your hands on a table with the person next to you and then hitting your hands on the table in a circuit, failing to do this and you must take a hand away. What's thought would liven up the young leaders didn't work, but it lead into the start of the event.

A few more ice breakers to get going in the sports hall, involving dancing, creating silly sentences and attempting to stand up whilst linked up to other leaders' backs. Activities to get people talking and mingling with other young leaders attending the camp.

The first session of the day was delivered by Shropshire's Referee Development Officer, Sean Dipple. The topic being refereeing and respect, including a small part on futsal. To start with, what skills do you think a referee should have? A teasing question to open the session which stumped a few of our young leaders. Another way to put it, if you were playing a game of football, what would you expect of the referee?
Ideas about communication, discipline, confidence and decision making. Key skills in a number of situation not just when refereeing. Another question for the young leaders, pick your top 3 skills which would be vital in an outside environment such as applying for a job.

Continuing on the refereeing front, how difficult is it to be a referee at the top level of football? Remember they only get 1 view or an incident, not the 6/7 views we get at home. A series of videos were played to the young leaders and they had to decide what decision they would give if they were the referee. Clips including a Dirk Kuyt tackle, Cristiano Ronaldo penalty decision and Ashley Young handball were shown. At full speed they were all tough decisions to call. My view is that if you can justify your decision then it cannot be questioned.

A couple of questions which came up during the session to think about prior to taking a referee's course; do you really want to referee? Should you only take the course if you want to take things further and pursue a career in refereeing?

Onto Respect. A huge problem within our game today. There is a lack for respect for referees, players and everyone else involved, especially at grassroots level. As a latest part of the Respect Campaign, cards have been given out with requests from players for spectators behaviour. 8 requests including positive support, allow the players to learn the game, allowing coaches to coach and being a good role model. At the end of the day kids play football for a love of the game, well at least we hope so.

In football kids face a number of problems, pressure from parents being a huge one. Are they appropriate role models? Are elite performers decent role models? Actions of elite players filters down into grassroots and allows young minds to be filled with inappropriate behaviours. Diving, spitting, abuse, swearing, assaulting. If it's on the main stage then it will surely be a feature of a grassroots game as well. I myself have seen players copying the Luis Suarez dive celebration at the age of 6. At that age they wont understand the connotations of that celebration, but you can see it's wrong.

A final part of the morning session looked at opening up futsal. Looking at the key differences between futsal and football..pitch size, heavier ball, unlimited subs, 5-a-side, 2 referees to name a few.

Session 2, Disability in Football led by Paul Reynolds. To begin with a brief over view of the talent pathway which an impaired or disabled player must take to reach the top standard. Starting with Mars Just Play sessions, then university football [BUCS Leagues], moving up to FA England Talent days, and the impairment specific squads.

Talent is a funny thing, something which I don't believe in. You work hard, you're not born with a gift. You can do anything you want if you work at it and put in the time.

The young leaders were asked, what factors may influence talent? [In any situation]
-Determination
-Role Models
-Ability
-Time and money
-Environment
These are barriers which can be broken down and which everyone faces, some are overcome easier than others, but that's life. You have to choose which battle are worth trying to win. If you want it enough then you will get there.

Looking at talent, think about perceptions, how can you judge what you cant see? The more visible/obvious the disability, the more the focus is taken away from the potential and person. We should be looking people as players, not the disability.

What are the barriers to identifying talent? Probably the big one is knowing the disability or impairment.
A quote to come off one of the videos, 'Can you be a part of helping someone realise their dream?' Quite a powerful thought, what we do at grassroots level lasts more than the conversation.

A practical session followed, where blindfolds were introduced. A simple task to begin, in pairs, 1 blindfolded, guide them around the hall. Find places and feel around for different places. It felt weird, but you can start to appreciate the difficulty of a vision impairment or total blindness. After this is 3s, direct the person blindfolded from one position to another. Following sounds and starting to understand distances. This exercise shows how important hearing and our ears are when other senses are restricted. A final part with the blindfolds, blind penalties. Having the ability to imagine the goals after they've been tapped out, where the ball in and where you are on the pitch. For us we could see where the goal is before taking the shot. We're the lucky ones who are able to lift up the blindfolds once we're finished.

The final part to the disability session, how can we adapt sessions/practises to facilitate impairments and increase inclusivity? A great thing which Paul said, put them in the 'mayhem'. Typically we stick players on the outside of drills if we don't feel they are good enough, or put them in goal. We should be looking at making session inclusive not exclusive. As coaches we need to have the ability to change the task, or tailor sessions around the individuals within it. Back up plans help with this, plan for the worst not just the best.

The final session for the day, Futsal coaching. A chance to practise the skills used in futsal and play the game. Skills including, using the sole of you foot to control and manoeuvre the ball, taking a kick in, passing the ball with the toe and a lofted pass/scoop. This is something which I looked at quite a lot in the FA National Camp blog. These skills take time to get used to, but they could so easily be transferred into football. Trapping a ball is the best way to shield a ball and move it around. A toe poke save time and you aren't hitting the ball hard, just pushing it to a team mate.

Futsal is a very fast pace game, to defend you just need to sit behind the ball and force an error. By using touch tight marking you will tire quickly and get picked off. This leading to gaps in the pitch and the spaces to exploit.

Back in for the close down of the day and a brief reflection phase. Overall comments were very positive. The referee session was classroom based from start to finish, which the young leaders didn't enjoy as much.

From a personal point of view it was nice to see a County Camp from a different point of view, not just a young leader. It's something which I would have liked to have had more of an involvement with, but I am still learning and can't jump the gun. I hope that the young leaders who attended the Camp stay within football and put the hours in cause they really do pay off.

My video from the day can be found at:

http://vimeo.com/60168320

Honestly, I'm not lucky.

So I've left it a while since the last blog, this isn't to say I haven't been busy. A lot of things have occurred, which when put together create a big difference. But this post isn't about these events and opportunities I have created and had.

I've had some really top news over the last week. I have a date to have the key hole surgery on my knee, 28th March - let's be honest that's not too far away. I've had a week to think about things and sort out my diary and really reflect upon the last 2 1/2 years. I touched on it at the end of the last blog, I have already climbed a couple of mountains and I am on one heck of a journey. But in 5 or so months time when I am fully fit again, what am I going to do? To be fair, I don't know if I want to play again - just because I am enjoying coaching and everything I am doing volunteer wise. I love football, every time I knock a ball around at training a little spark lights up, 'like the old times.' But it's like starting again. This a dilemma which I really don't want. Sure it would be easy to say just find a team and play again. But games would be when I coach. I could stop coaching, but I enjoy it far too much and I won't be giving up on anyone. If I could find a compromise of playing Sunday mornings and training on a Thursday, I would have 1 free night a week to do uni work. Such a hard decision to try and piece together.

In a recent conversation, someone said they try not to mention things they've done cause they think it might annoy me, if it's something which I would have liked to have done. This got me thinking. If I hadn't stopped playing, I wouldn't have even reached base camp, I would have 0 experience, 0 qualifications and not a lot to show for myself. When I hear the term 'you're lucky' I get quite frustrated. I am not lucky. I have worked incredibly hard, decided to stay in football when playing wasn't an option, put in hours when the weather has put players off training. I've shown a bit of reliability which has led to a lot of my opportunities. I've shown desire to push myself as a person, not just a coach. And at the end of the day a whole lot of passion, 'cause without that football is just a sport. A passion to develop people, not just players. Sure I get really frustrated about football, but that's because I care.

I am currently trying to improve my self confidence, the guide I am using is helping and the first step is to name my 10 best achievements. 9/10 have only been possible since becoming a volunteer in football and being a part of the Football Futures Programme.

1.   Retaining a place on the National Coach Scholarship Programme
2.   Returning to the Youth Sport Trust’s, National Young Coaches Academy as a Young Coach Mentor after winning an award as a Young Coach in 2012.
3.   Getting full marks at college in my BTEC National Diploma, D*D*D*
4.   Landing a voluntary role with ISFA, enabling me to travel around the country setting up and running football tournaments
5.   Playing and coaching for Wrekin Juniors.
6.   Moving to university.
7.   Completing over 750 voluntary hours within football over the last 3 seasons
8.   Creating and hitting a goal set to improve eye contact when in 1-1 and group conversations.
9.  Identifying my weaknesses as a person and coach and having a want to improve them.

It puts a smile on my face looking back over these opportunities, the only thing not on that list which would be '11.' is attenting the FA Football Futures National Camp. I wasn't lucky to go to these events, I didn't get full marks on my college course because the tutors felt like being nice that day. There are so many opportunities I have missed, or not quite been good enough for.. But I know I've got to work harder if I want to be offered these other opportunities. Not wanting to sound 'big headed' I have been to so many events and worked with some amazing people, but that doesn't mean I cant ask more of myself and have a want to go further.

'The harder I work, the luckier I get.' <---Epitomises the last few years.

Next week I am working with Shropshire and Lancashire FA with their Young Leadership/Football Futures days. Is that luck that 2 counties want me to help them? no. Is it luck that I get to lead young leaders as a young leader? no. I want to be the best that I can be, I want to inspire as many people as I can, I want show that if you put in the effort you will be rewarded - without fail. Sure I am 1 of a smalll minority who gets these experiences, but after a lot of thinking I feel confident enough to say it's because I deserve them.


There will be a blog covering the 2 county days, 18th & 22nd February.

National Young Coaches Academy, 2013 [part 2]

So continuing from Part 1, the session following lunch was around adaptability and compassion. The session started with an energiser where, in 3s, the coaches would act out a coach, performer and observer - the coaches were asked to coach a simple skill to the performer but with various changes - for example no verbal communication or no actions or gestures. This really stumped some of the coaches, but others were able to excel. I saw some great examples of coaches who really got into the activity and followed the key points for communication, especially eye contact and body language.

Onto the main of the session. Adaptability and compassion work closely together, we have to adapt to be compassionate. This all links into feedback, how can we give feedback and what are some of the top tips.

Starting questions, What is adaptability? What is compassion? How is adaptability and compassion used when coaching? To link back to organisation and the STEP process - how does adaptability fit in? As coaches we should be hoping for the best, but be ready for the worst. A huge learning curve of the weekend [relating to compassion] is knowing your performers, how they learn and how are they motivated. From this we, as coaches, can be compassionate when giving feedback and using a method to gain the maximum success. So taking a player to the side to help, praising, relating to them, knowing what annoys them. Not just knowing them but maybe their personal life to understand why things might go wrong or they performer may under perform? Relating back to earlier, we aren't just coaches, and we aren't just here to develop ability. Thinking back to the philosophy session and using adaptability and compassion the Young Coaches were asked, 1. How will you coach? [equality] 2. How will you ensure that everyone can understand instructions? 3. How will you be inclusive in your demonstrations?

When coaching we should remember that no matter what level our performers are currently at, there is always room to improve, challenge those who struggle and give them the opportunity to test themselves against better performers to see how big the gap is and then a route to improvement, As the recyling advert used to say 'The possibilities are endless!'

Moving onto feedback and questioning, performers have a mind of their own, their opinions are invaluable - without first hand feedback how can we create the next session? How do we know how activities feel if we aren't involved within them? We don't. As a coach we can't feel the game or activity - sure we're all filled with passion but we don't have a clue how our performers feel or what is best for them when competing. If your performer  wants to try something new, let them - let them feel freedom and take a chance which they feel will benefit. Some of the top tips for feedback and questioning were to be honest, be constructive, remember how we are communicating, throwing our arms around is feedback - but not what anyone wants to see.

On the opposite side, tips for questioning, ask open, closed and probing questions. Don't settle for yes and no answers because they won't help anybody. Choose the right words, and be prepared to further question answers which might come up. Questioning isn't just at the end of sessions, but to check for understanding and knowledge right the way through of sessions, challenging performers mentally as well as physically.

The final part of this session looked at the 3 stages of learning, the Mental Stage - beginning of learning where we learn something new, get it into our heads and start to practice. The Practice Stage - where you begin to focus on the quality of the skill and not just the initial learning. And part 3, The Automatic Stage - where the technique becomes more and more automatic, so you can perform a skill with little thinking time.
We used a simple thumb and finger exercise to show this, Amber explained a great analogy to express how these stages work, I've split it up into 5 stages..

1. Imagine walking though a field, you may be walking slowly, there is no current route out so you have got to force one. It may leave a small imprint in the grass, but unless it's revisited then the mark with disappear.

2.The more the route is used a muddy sort of path might appear, more tracks have been made, and skill is recognisable and easier to remember and follow - but it's not wide or safe enough to speed through.

3. A path is then created, with paving slabs, no you can run, cycle or still walk down the path. More opportunities are becoming available as you are progressing with learning the skill. The foundations have clearly been laid.

4. The path becomes a road, more force can be put into hitting the quality of the skill. The road is used a lot so the skill can be progressed and performed quickly, but still to the point where it must be thought about even though there is an increase in pace.

5. Finally, the road becomes a motor-way. It is used all of the time, and there isn't really much of a thought process other than when to get on and off. You can perform other tasks at the same time, the skill becomes automatic.

Onto the last generic session of the day, Honesty and Ethics. Probably one the most important sessions, exploring skills which can be difficult to perform. Everyone knows what honesty is, but it's hard to do. Is honesty really the best policy? Are there routes to feedback that are built on honesty but aren't so patronising and de-moralising? Yes, of course, constructive criticism is huge, giving negative feedback - but a route to improvement. One of the ideas to come up was giving out a burger, 2 positives sandwiching a negative. Lance Pepper, from Endicott [USA] made a valid point not to give a positive and then say 'but' before the negative. That one word can be a turn off straight away.

Also within the session we looked at ethics, team and personal. What is your team ethos, is this followed through by yourself and your performers? Similar to philosophy, what do you think is right? And how is this put into practice? How important are codes of conduct, team rules and what comes first?

The penultimate session for the day, the start of The Big Team Challenge! The challenge, come up with and perform a presentation of what you have learnt over during the academy, you don't have to perform everything and it should last for 10 minutes. Along with this there must be a code of conduct and a feedback sheet.

At this point we were now with the footballers, and during this my role was to ask questions and help where needed with any problems/the brainstorming of ideas. The 3 groups came up with ideas pretty quickly, but the delivery of the presentations had to wait until Sunday morning!

Last session of the day was 'An evening with...' The National Young Coaches Academy joined up with the National Talent Orientation Camp for the evening where 3 Olympians and 3 coaches were questioned. The athletes were, Richard Hounslow [Kayaking], Ashleigh Ball [Hockey] and Ben Pipes [Volleyball]. In terms of coaches we heard from, Paul Hall [Coach of gymnast Louis Smith], Olivia Murphy [England Netball U'21s coach] and Stuart McLaren [Head coach of Loughborough University's Men's side].
 
Each guest spoke of their experiences and how they have had to adapt and develop as a coach to get to where they are and to continuously develop their athletes. A lot of messages came out from the session surrounding how athletes prefer their coach to act, and how as coaches we should behave and look to communicate and be compassionate all of the time.

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Unbelievably we got a whole 20 minute ly in on Sunday! Mixed emotions hit at breakfast - the last day of camp had arrived. Straight down to the sports hall for 8.30am, the football crew had 30 minutes to put in the final pieces of their performances and have a last run through. The groups had 10 minutes each to perform their presentation and then 10 minutes for feedback. The feedback was delivered using 3 different methods, Q and A's, Using the COACHE acronym, ask the audiences to rank the components into what they felt were the shown most within the performance and a 1-5 ranking system, so questions were asked and the audience had to stand by the number which they felt answered the question best.

Each of the 3 presentations were different, we had a silent coaching session, The Jeremy Kyle Show and a presentation where each member gave their opinion. It was great to see what the coaches had learnt over the weekend and remembered to perform. A very fulfilling moment for myself to see that everything had pulled together despite early doubts. A key part of the final performance 'Coaching isn't about sport, or winning, it's about life.'

2 key questions were put to the groups, what are you trying to portray? What are your key messages?

Onto the National Governing Body sessions, the topic, Developing the coach-mentor relationship. Some good questions were asked to get the coaches thinking, why is it good to have a mentor? What qualities and skills should they have? What do you want from your mentor?

Myself and Amber shared a few experiences of our own from having mentors and fit them into the a diagram with shows 10 areas which are looked at when meeting your mentor and then starting to set up a rapport, goals and then looking to reach them. Everyone will experience different things, but this gave a sort of flavour of what might be in store.
 
The next step was putting together an action plan, setting 3 goals and some sort of route to getting there. Using the SMART acronym [Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistc, Time] these goals could be made to then be reached over a period of time.

The last activity of the day. Reflection. What have you learnt from the NYCA? What was your proudest moment? What has challenged you and taken you out of your comfort zone? Some big questions which were followed by huge answers which under-pinned the learning of the coaches and also us as mentors. A big thing from me is that just because 'Coaching' was in the title, doesn't mean that that is the only topic and learning point. So much was to be gained and it was pleasing to hear of experiences and challenges which the coaches have had and over-come.

The very final exercise, What is you dream? Where do you want to go? I drew mine with a little help, and have started to piece together a route there - using the mountain analogy, I have a base where I am now, and mountains to climb before I get to where I want to be. It will take time, but if I miss things out by running too quickly, I will be the one effected in the long run.
 
Onto the closing ceremony. We were spoken to by rugby players and now coaches ,Andy Farrell and Graham Roundtree. Both of them spoke of their experiences, and their passion for rugby to play and to coach. Leading the ceremony was Sue Campbell an inspiration to anyone who , following the awards ceremony, she left us with this task.. Close your eyes, remove any of those people who doubt you and have told you, you won't make it. Picture your goal/dream - you've made it there, fill up with the feeling.. Open your eyes. Honestly the feeling that I got hasn't gone away yet, Sue said all of our eyes were glaring full of excitement.. glaring with something to be told, we now have to go and write the story.

So an inspirational weekend at the NYCA, something which will live long in the memory. That's been a bit of a whistle stop tour of what went on, but I want to just put across my feelings and thoughts. This weekend I've really woken up to the journey which I am on, how far I have already come on and the strengths which I have. I need to stop worrying about my weaknesses and just run with them, they will only become strengths if I allow them to flourish. This weekend has been as much about the people around me as the task in hand. I think that Sunday was one of the best days of my life so far, just knowing that I am doing things right and I need to wake up and realise why I was chosen to be a YCM. I've now decided upon my dream, I've got to create a route to get there - at the minute it's just a grass field which I need to find a path through - is that to find one? Or create one?

So thank you to The FA and The Youth Sport Trust for granting me this opportunity to return to the academy. To John Heathcote and Stuart Brown for your support over the weekend. Nat Fitzgerald for handing over such responsibility and allowing us to shape the weekend. Lance Pepper for being a top friend and also for your input, I won't be using 'but' so often any more. Amber Wildgust for putting up with me, being a top co-mentor and opening my eyes to how far I have come. And all of the Young Coaches who have shaped the weekend, worked incredibly hard to develop as people as well as coaches.

'Life's a climb, but the view is great'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG2zyeVRcbs

National Young Coaches Academy, 2013 [Part 1]

From the 3rd-6th of January I was at Loughborough University for the National Young Coaches Academy. Hockey and athletics has been added to the list of sports, so more young coaches and new opinions on coaching. The academy is to help and support coaches to develop their 'how to', personal and 'what' coaching skills. Top level coaches and tutors were in place to challenge the young coaches and push them out of their comfort zones to improve and develop.

This year I was asked to return to the academy and represent The FA as one of their Young Coach Mentors, my partner in crime being Amber Wildgust. Our purpose was to support the young coaches to maximise the opportunity and to achieve their personal best; it sounded so simple but that was not to be.

So, Thursday 3rd January 2013, 10am, Loughborough Stadium held the last training day prior to the NYCA. 18 Young Coach Mentors (2 YCMs for each sport, no YCMs provided for hockey) arrived wondering what to expect, clearly it would be more than just wandering around helping to answer questions. Straight into work, we were split into a colour groups and introduced to our National Faculty member. Team Green was the place to be. Before going into the plans for the weekend we as YCMs were asked 3 questions.

1. From last years’ experience, what have you learnt about you?

2.What did you learn about coaching? [COACHE acronym]

3.What do you need to be ready for?

Huge amounts of paper were put in front of us with our NatFac [National Faculty] taking us through it. Showing us the exact plan for the weekend. It seemed crazy the amount of responsibility handed over to us as YCMs to help deliver and support huge parts of the weekend, genuinely, I didn't think we would be granted a chance to take charge of sessions and shape the weekend.

As YCMs we had to remember that as coaches we are developing personalities not just ability.. Personalities last a lifetime, ability only for a career. Coaches aren't just about whistles and clipboards, we are serving people, not the sport.

Final part of the training day, National Governing Body work. Finding out what was in store for the finals day of the academy. A lot to read through and remember for what was an unbelievable weekend.

•  

Friday morning soon came, time to set up the registration room, tables and kits and for our final briefing. Last minute doubts started creeping as the start of the academy was so close! However boring the checking in process was, it seemed to go quite quickly meaning the first session came around swiftly.

Session 1, An opening to the weekend, ideal coaches, hopes and fears and the main part of the session.. Coaching Philosophy.

Some of the key points from the opening of the session were, what did the young coaches want to get out of the academy? And what were their hopes and fears, some of the answers we got were; they were hoping to meet new people and share ideas between different sports. The main fear was not knowing anybody and not knowing what to expect.

Onto philosophy, what is it? What morals and beliefs do you have when coaching and maybe in life? Who we are is how we coach, but who are we? where are we going? Key words to come from the young coaches were respect, responsiblity and fun. Does this relate to what we want as a coach or how we coach? Our philosophies help when making decisions, do you stick to your morals? Or would you change them to fit around the situation? Already, very early into the camp, huge questions were asked of the coaches, getting them to think and look outside of their comfort zones to find answers.

The key process for developing our philosophy runs in a continuous wheel; You hold certain beliefs and principles, Events occur- an athlete shows disrespect, You respond based on your beliefs, Experience conquers your actions, You change or adjust to strengthen your beliefs. These 5 steps work in a continuous loop, so we were always adjusting to our athlete, situations and our surroundings.

As I've mentioned, coaching isn't just about ability and our performers, it's about coaches finding who they are and then helping athletes know who they are. This is huge, a coach can be either a positive or negative role model, not just a coach but a friend, mentor, motivator.

Last task in the session, mark yourselves on the 3 selves. The real self, the public self and the ideal self. A very simple task, but it looks at where are we now, how are we looked at and how should we look.

The final event of the opening day, was the opening ceremony, with 2 key speakers, John Steele the Chief Executive of the Youth Sport Trust and Bonita Norris, at the time she was the youngest person to climb Mount. Everest. The key questions and point were inspiring and questions that need to be answered honestly.

John asked, 'Do I understand what it takes to be the best coach?' and 'Am I honestly prepared to make those choices to follow that pathway?'

Bonita's key points were, 'It's not reaching the summit, it was the journey, the struggle that meant the most to me.' She had a moment of inspiration which hit her in the strangest of places, she had a lot of critics saying she couldn't climb Everest, but by setting realistic goals, step by step her dream could be reached. Her climb to reaching her goal was very much an individual mental battle, having confidence and self-belief was vital to her success.

The evening ended, literally on a high. Inspiration was filling the room, and it was an unforgettable talk which will live long in the memory to fill us when dreams seem to fade - but having that belief is the route to success. No-one else can reach your dreams for you, no-one else can believe in you from the 1st to the last minute. A last point for the night, Bonita said that the hardest work was put in when no-one was looking, the times when no-one would help, but she still believed and had confidence. Sure there were bad days when giving up sounded good, but giving up shouldn't be an option, anything is possible if you can win over yourself - after all you're your biggest critic.

 

•  

Day 2 of the Camp [Day 3 for the YCMs] started early, out of the hotel for 6.45am and into our first session for the day at 8.15am. A mini keynote session with Ian Wynne, a former sprint canoer and now coach. Based on organisation and communication Ian spoke about his experience and how he now works with other performers.

The big messages were about how to communicate with others, how people learn differently and that you need to understand how you are communicating and the messages you are portraying. Ian's example was with a visual learner - whilst driving in a speed boat nearby he was trying to tell a performer that his right arm was incorrectly positioned, but he was using his left arm to demonstrate. The performer couldn't understand the message as Ian was telling him to correct his right arm but showing them with his left. This also relates to knowing your performers.

Remember, you have 2 eyes and 2 ears but only 1 mouth, listen and observe twice as much as you speak. Listen whilst you are communicating.

Another situation Ian dealt with was a performer who felt nervous before a race. Instead of racing to an answer, Ian thought about his answer. Instead of throwing out confidence boosting lines, he turned the negative into a positive. He told his athlete that the nerves were the body's way of preparing for the race. Adrenalin was building creating the 'butterflies' but is preparation not nerves. This moment Ian took before giving any advice allowed him to collect his thoughts and give and constructive answers. The athlete went on to win the race.

'In order to fulfil your potential the single greatest asset is the development of your mind.' Ian Wynne.

Session 2 of the day, Communication and Organisation, how do we use it? and how can it be effective? There are a number of ways to communicate, but in terms of a conversation there are some key points; what you are saying is key - but it's not just what you say but how you say it. Eye contact, to be trusted and look like you want to be in the conversation keep eye contact and body language, you can give out messages without saying a word. One thing I've learnt is even when talking and giving eye contact, I still talk with my hands.

There are 3 different types of learners, visual, auditory and kinaesthetic. So when coaching we could look at communicating with each type of learner to get the point across. Maybe using whiteboards, marking out positions using bibs in a small space, demonstrate and show case someone performing correctly.

Communication is needed all of the time especially between coach and athlete. A bond must be built, a kind of honesty and trust. Talking about goals, performance, personal life, and anything which might affect the athlete. As a coach we should be looking at the messages which we are sending and receiving. Are our messages getting across how we intend, what are we receiving? Not always straight away in a verbal sense, maybe in a body language or even how the performer reacts physically.

In terms of organisation, there is a basic guide to follow when putting together a session and its adaptations. STEP, Space, Task, Equipment and People. So when putting together a session think about the space, size of your facility and size of your drill. The task, what do you want your performers to do and what are the aims. What equipment do you have? Can you make use of it? People, who will be in your session and what is their ability level? How do they learn? In terms of adapting sessions, can the space be made bigger or smaller? Have you got easier and harder progressions? Can use change the equipment, introduce and take away objects to aid the performers? and the people, what if you are low on numbers or even have more people than expected? Have you planned for it?

... continued in part 2.

Wrekin Panthers Barmy Army

I feel that I have missed out a huge part of my football history, from 2005-2010 I played for Wrekin Panthers Girls FC. These a huge 5 years if my life, and I couldn't have spent them with a better team. These 5 years have propelled me into staying within football as other agents of teaching.

I started playing football all of those years ago to get away from home and to get over my parents splitting up. I was a centre half who thought playing 'hoof it and run' with the strikers was a good stress reliever. Clearly our strikers thought otherwise.

I believe that these 5 years have built me as a person, and they made football my vehicle. A vehicle to moving on in life, a vehicle to making friends and  progressing as a football player. More importantly, football was a vehicle to making me who I am today. The term 'It's only a game' doesn't apply when you've been in the sport for so long and witnessed the affects it has. Without football I wouldn't have the social skills I have now.

Sport is all about respect and fair play, learning how to act and react when on and off the field, knowing the rights and wrongs  of the game, understanding your team mates, listening to your managers, looking to progress as a team not just an individual, cohesion of a team - supporting each other, learning how to win and lose. My 5 years of playing were a process of growing up and learning how to fit into the world, without these lessons I wouldn't be prepared for everyday life. Realistically this is what coaches should be looking to promote, not the 'winning is everything' concept - nobody learns from that.

I hope that you can see how my footballing lessons transfer directly into everyday life. Just because the sport is football, that doesn't mean that's all i'm learning about. Yes, I will admit, we were a successful team in terms of trophies and league titles.. but you don't win things  by accident. A lot of time is spent creating a team, looking to hit a mutual aim. Without effective teamwork, comunication and belief within each other, no team would be successful.

Looking at the COACH acronym: Commuication, Organisation, Adaptability, Compassion, Honesty, these are social skills for any work place not just for coaches. I was taught these growing up in fooball, not by sitting in a class room, but first hand. 
Communication, with my team mates, coaches, referee. Doing the talking with my feet, not my mouth.
Organisation, how is the team set up, where should I be in relation to the pitch, where should everyone else be.
Adaptability, no game is the same, I've not played centre half for 5 years, we've never always been winning games, as players you adapt to the game and those around you.
Compassion, caring about every team member, wanting to help those around you and recognising when and how to deal with situations and people.
Honesty, speaks for itself. You've got to be honest to progress. Not everyone wants to hear it straight up, but sometimes that is what's needed to get people going.

I've not played with amazing footballers, but amazing people, developed by phenominal people, not necessarily phenomincal coaches. A coach plays many roles; teacher, motivator, friend... I had 2 role models to look up to, and many team mates to look at for inspiration.

This sporting up-bringing has given me morals to stick by, beliefs to follow and a route to being who I am. Ultimately, the support of others has given me motivation and a reason to stay witin football. I could have given up at the end of my Wrekin career [when my knees gave up] but, why should I? When 5 years of learning has taught me to follow my dreams, believe in what your're doing and gamble, because the harder you try - there's more of a chance it will pay off.

Yes, this has dipped back into history and gone back further than my previous posts, but everything happens for a reason. My injury has given me an opportunity to put into practice what I've been taught and coach others to grow up as people, after all that's all we're doing.. developing people, not just players.

Thank you Paul Barnes, Mike Nadal and Wrekin Panthers 2005-2010.

WREKIN PANTHERS BARMY ARMY!