Coach Administration Help

Parental Support - The Key to Peak Performance

Coaches! You can print this out and hand to parents at your first team meeting

The role that parents play in the life of a soccer player has a tremendous impact on their experience. With this in mind, we have taken some time to write down some helpful reminders for all of us as we approach the upcoming season. If you should have any questions about these thoughts, please feel free to discuss it with us, the coaches.

Let the coaches coach: Leave the coaching to the coaches. This includes motivating, psyching your child for practice, after game critiquing, setting goals, requiring additional training, etc. You have entrusted the care of your player to these coaches and they need to be free to do their job. If a player has too many coaches, it is confusing for him and his preformance usually declines.
Support the program: Get involved. Volunteer. Help out with fundraisers, car-pool; anything to support the program.
Be you child's best fan: Support your child unconditionally. Do not withdraw love when your child performs poorly. Your child should never have to perform to win your love.
Support and root for all players on the team: Foster teamwork. Your child's teammates are not the enemy. When they are playing better than your child, your child now has a wonderful opportunity to learn.
Do not bribe or offer incentives: Your job is not to motivate. Leave this to the coaching staff. Bribes will distract your child from properly concentrating in practice and game situations.
Encourage your child to talk with the coaches: If your child is having difficulties in practice or games, or can't make a practice, etc., encourage them to speak directly to the coaches. This "responsibility taking" is a big part of becoming a big-time player. By handling the off-field tasks, your child is claiming ownership of all aspects of the game - preparation for as well as playing the game.
Understand and display appropriate game behaviour: Remember, your child's self esteem and game performance is at stake. Be supportive, cheer, be appropriate. To perform to the best of his abilities, a player needs to focus on the parts of the game that they can control (his fitness, positioning, decision making, skill, aggressiveness, what the game is presenting them). If he starts focusing on what he can not control (the condition of the field, the referee, the weather, the opponent, even the outcome of the game at times), he will not play up to his ability. If he hears a lot of people telling him what to do, or yelling at the referee, it diverts his attention away from the task at hand.
Monitor your child's stress level at home: Keep an eye on the player to make sure that they are handling stress efeectively from the various activities in his life.
Monitor eating and sleeping habits: Be sure your child is eating the proper foods and getting adequate rest.
Help your child keep his priorities straight: Help your child maintain a focus on schoolwork, relationships and the other things in life beside soccer. Also, if your child has made a commitment to soccer, help him fulfill his obligation to the team.
Reality test: If your child has come off the field when his team has lost, but he has played his best, help him to see this as a "win". Remind him that he is to focus on "process" and not "results". His fun and satisfaction should be derived from "striving to win". Conversely, he should be as satisfied from success that occurs despite inadequate preparation and performance.
Keep soccer in its proper perspective: Soccer should not be larger than life for you. If your child's performance produces strong emotions in you, suppress them. Remember your relationship will continue with your children long after their competitive soccer days are over. Keep your goals and needs separate from your child's experience.
Have fun: That is what we will be trying to do! We will try to challenge your child to reach past their "comfort level" and improve themselves as a player, and thus, a person. We will attempt to do this in environments that are fun, yet challenging. We look forward to this process. We hope you do to!

Coaches, Parents & Referees: Role Models for Life

What can they do to make the game of soccer more enjoyable for the
players, and easier for the referee to manage?

1. Take a course on the Laws.
2. Be accepting of the referee's decisions.
3. Remain calm.
4. Do not make loud, offensive remarks.
5. Concentrate on coaching, rather than on the accuracy of referee's decisions.
6. Be a role model of fair play.
7. Be positive; avoid confrontation with any official
8. During games, leave the decisions to the players.
9. Attend coaching classes to learn the most effective ways to conduct practices.
10. Give good guidelines to parents.
11. Set high standards.
12. Be firm with parents at games.
13. Teach skills and fair tactics.
14. Discourage unfair gamesmanship.
15. Communicate with parents often in meetings and social gatherings.
16. Play the game and encourage parents to play and to referee.
17. Referee games.
18. Delegate responsibilities.

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PARENTS:
What can parents do to make the game of soccer more enjoyable for their
children.. and other people's kids, too?

1. Be knowledgeable of the game.
2. Encourage fair play at home.
3. Be supportive; ie. be sure the player attends practices; pick him/her up on time.
4. Attend games.
5. Be positive or quiet at games.
6. Be respectful; expect your own children to be respectful.
7. Focus on good nutrition.
8. Volunteer to help the coach.
9. Become a referee.
10. Play the game of soccer.
11. Be calm and have good manners.
12. Support the coach's and referee's decisions.
13. Encourage communication between coach and parent.
14. Ask your own children to describe his/her role, what new skills have been
learned.
15. Watch practices; focus on new strategies
16. Find soccer videos, watch them with children.
17. Concentrate on praising other people's children during games.
18. Read newspaper articles about older soccer player's successes; provide models for
your own children.

REFEREES:
What can they do to make the game of soccer better for the players?

1. Know the Law and the rules.
2. Be professional; ie. on time, in proper uniform, prepared, fit, etc.
3. Study the game and the spirit of soccer.
4. Attend meetings, clinics, seminars.
5. Show respect to players, coaches, parents and spectators.
6. Explain rules, when needed.
7. Help less experienced referees.
8. Play the game to better understand it.
9. Seek evaluation from coaches/players.
10. Be assessed regularly.
11. Smile, enjoy the game.
12. Be firm, fair and honest.
13. Be consistent.
14. Accept only the number and level of assignments that can be done well.
15. Be neutral.
16. Know and use proper procedures.
17. Always remain calm.
18. Take each game seriously.
19. Implement good management techniques
20. Show courage and confidence; avoid arrogance.
Soccer ... the game for kids!
What role should the referee, coach and parents play?

REFEREES, COACHES and PARENTS
Together have an enormous impact on the lives
of thousands of youth soccer players in the United Kingdom. How can we best serve the
interest of these players?

This pamphlet was created in response to an overwhelming number of questions asked
about how the "adults" can positively impact soccer players. While each parent must be
accountable for his actions and teach his own son or daughter to do the same, referees,
coaches and parents form a trio of role models from which many of our young men and
women learn behaviors that they will carry into adulthood. Cooperation, respect and
maturity among the adults in soccer will encourage those qualities in the players.

Joint parent/referee/coach workshops offer perhaps the best opportunity for these role
models to get together to learn more about developing skills to provide positive support
for youth players.

To Contact Tony FA Qualified Coach
from www.tonys-soccer-schools.com
My email address is me@thepickfords.fsnet.co.uk
Thankyou

PITCH-SIDE MEDICAL CARE AND THE
CONTENTS OF THE MEDICAL BAG

Never before have the football clubs been as acutely aware of their legal responsibilities in
conducting their activities than they are today. Recent deaths and serious incidents on the
sports field have sharply focused the attention of all who have been entrusted with the
medical welfare of the players. Every Club at professional and amateur level, with adult or
youth, male or female, able-bodied or disabled players has a duty of care for all the
participants.

The serious concerns relating to the competencies and skills of pitchside ‘carers’ and the
resources available to them has been reflected in an increasing number of enquiries to the FA
Medical and Exercise Science Department. What is an acceptable minimum level of pitchside
medical support and what equipment should be available to those delivering the medical aid?

In many instances the level of medical support and the resources to compliment that support
is governed by a club’s financial position. However, it is incumbent on each club to ensure
that at least one qualified, competent first-aider is pitchside whenever players are engaged in
training or match activities. Ideally, all pitchside (bench) personnel should be trained to deal
with any emergency (life-threatening) situation that may arise. From a medical perspective
consideration should be given to all potential pre-event, event, and post-event circumstances.
When playing away Clubs should not rely on the medical support from the opposing teams as
the provision of care may be far from adequate.

The FA have long acknowledged the need to raise the standard in the provision of medical
care for all engaged in the sport and to facilitate this have created a number of medical
courses creating a pathway to an increasing level of competency in managing injuries
sustained. Information relating to these course (which include Emergency Aid and the
recently created First Aid for Sport course) can be found on the FA website TheFA.com/FA
Learning. Alternatively, your respective County FA should be able to inform you when and
where The FA Emergency Aid and FA First Aid for Sport Training Courses are being
conducted in your region. The FA Basic and Intermediate Treatment of Injury Courses are
similarly organised and run through the County FA's; these are designed to extend the
medical skills of the pitch-side ‘first-aider’. It is recommended that as a minimum the first-
aider should have attended and successfully completed a course run by The Red Cross or St
Johns Ambulance, or one approved by The Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The ‘Routine’ Pitch-side Medical Bag

The days of the bucket and once-legendary magic sponge are long gone, (of concern was the
potential transfer of infectious diseases from player to player by a blood-stained sponge); the
‘trainers bag’ is now far more substantial and appropriate than its former counterpart.

Medical bags come in a variety of shapes, sizes and materials. Whether the first-aider elects to
use an open-top bag, a briefcase, or cantilever type container is an issue of personal
preference. The main considerations should be that the bag is lightweight, portable,
waterproof, compartmentalised, and durable. Within the bag, transparent plastic containers are useful way of retaining items in a clean and easily identifiable location.

Whatever the type of medical bag carried, it is incumbent on the ‘first-aider’ to be clinically
competent in the use of its contents; the contents will to a large degree reflect the level of medical skill of its ‘owner’. Clearly, the ‘first-aider’ should not carry any items of
medical equipment or supplies that he/she is untrained to use or dispense. With
experience one finds that the number of items carried in the bag inevitably increases, as does
the size of the bag. Personal and player preferences may also influence which items are
carried.

In attempting to minimise the portable contents it is useful to select items that have multiple
purposes; this is particularly true when choosing bandages and tapes. Both elasticated and non-elasticated materials (in a range of sizes to accommodate all body parts and shapes) will be required.

Elasticated bandages are used in the acute situation when swelling will need to be controlled by compression. Light, tearable, self-adhesive elastic bandages can be used; these in many instances are now replacing the need for traditional elastic adhesive bandages (EAB) which necessitate the use of ‘underwrap’ (additional expense) and can be difficult to remove from the skin. One should also be aware of allergies that may result from contact with certain adhesives.

Inelastic tapes are required when support and protection are the important factors; zinc oxide
tape is the most commonly used product. The tape should be easily dispensed from the roll, be
strong yet tearable, and offer good adhesion to the skin. Specific training will be required if
supportive tapings are going to be applied. Disposable razors may be required to shave an
area before applying tape. Importantly, irrespective of which type of bandage or tape is used one must be careful not to exert the potentially dangerous tourniquet effect to the injured limb or digit.

Due to the inherent dangers of blood-borne diseases it is now incumbent on any ‘first-aider’ to protect him/herself from any blood with which he/she may come in contact. Several pairs of disposable nitrile (non-allergenic) gloves are a ‘must carry’ item for any responsible ‘first aider’. One may also wish to consider protective eyewear to avoid personal infection from blood splatter. ‘Sterile’ gauze dressings should be carried if you are to successfully arrest superficial bleeding; adhesive plasters are a necessary adjunct for the minor cuts and abrasions.

Additional items which it would be useful to carry in the ‘on-field’ bag are sterile non-
adherent wound dressings, triangular bandages, eye pads, antiseptic lotion and wipes. The use
of ‘smelling salts’ is not recommended when managing the injured player, particularly where
head or neck trauma has been sustained.

On the use of ‘cold sprays’ – these should not be used until a competent clinical evaluation of
the injury (SALTAPS – an assessment protocol) has been performed to determine a player’s
suitability to return to activity. Sprays must not be used as a masking agent in an attempt to
alleviate a player’s symptoms when significant injury has been sustained e.g. muscle
contusion, ligament sprain, muscle strain. Furthermore, cold sprays should not be used as a
medium to sanction a player’s return to activity when the clinical examination indicates
otherwise. Be aware that inappropriate and over zealous application of the spray has been
known to result in a superficial skin ‘burn’. If cold therapy is considered appropriate, a safer,
more economical and practical alternative might be to use iced-water from a spray bottle.

Scissors are essential for cutting and removing tapes and bandage; they may also be required
to cut through the clothing of an injured player to expose the injured body part when
conducting the initial assessment. The scissors should be of the ‘safety’ type with brightlycoloured handles for ease of identification should they be dropped and remain on the playing surface.

Two useful tips are ‘never let anyone tamper with your medical bag’, and ‘always place the
same items in the same location within your bag’. It is vitally important that the items you
require are at hand when they are most needed.

A further practical tip is to keep a list the nearest local Accident and Emergency Units,
hospitals and medical facilities posted within the vicinity of the training ground or match
pitch (or on a card within the bag); the proximity of these facilities may ultimately govern the initial management of a casualty.

One should also not underestimate the role of sound practical advice in preventing on-field
injury. The wearing of appropriate, well-maintained footwear, of suitably-sized shin pads, the removal of jewellery/watches/hair clips, playing between secure goalposts, and not chewing food or sweets during activity are all sensible measures.

In conclusion, it is imperative that the trained first-aider is equipped both practically and
logistically to manage whatever medical situation may present itself. Pragmatically, there are no hard and fast rules about the contents of the medical bags, but the items listed below should be considered as desirable basic contents which will allow the first-aider to deal with the more common medical presentations.
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CONTENTS OF A ‘ROUTINE’ MEDICAL BAG

CREPE BANDAGES
ELASTIC ADHESIVE BANDAGE (EAB) (various sizes)
ELASTIC / SELF-ADHESIVE / TEARABLE BANDAGES (various sizes)
ZINC OXIDE TAPE (inelastic) (various sizes)
DISPOSABLE NITRILE GLOVES
GAUZE SWABS
PLASTERS (non-allergenic / waterproof)
STERILE NON-ADHERENT WOUND DRESSINGS (various sizes)
TRIANGULAR BANDAGES
EYE PADS
SPRAY BOTTLE (for iced water)
SCISSORS (safety type)

IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTICE:
This article is for general information only and should not
be used as a basis for diagnosis or treatment. Whilst anyone in the vicinity is considered to be
a potential first-aider medical care should be delivered by a qualified healthcare professional.
For further information on courses applicable to football you should access the
TheFA.com/FA Learning Website, or alternatively contact your County FA. Visit www.tonys-soccer-school.com for further help!

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Our coaching philosophy

The coaching staff and officials of [your club name] understand that children participate in football to have fun. If children don’t have fun playing football, they’ll soon pack it in.

We never forget that the game of football is just that - a game. It’s not about how many wins and losses are accumulated. And, it is surely not about how many trophies are collected. It’s not about how many goals we score or concede. It’s all about enjoying the game and, at the same time, learning and developing football and life skills.

Proper football development requires that children play age appropriate activities so they are able to experience, comprehend, and execute the game as it relates to where they are at their own stage of physical and mental development.

It is about playing in different positions so the player learns all the skills necessary to develop in the game.

It’s about receiving equal playing time, so the players are all given equal opportunity to learn.

It’s about learning the techniques of the game through a variety of fun games where players have as much contact with a ball as possible and learn at their own rates.

Code of conduct for parents/carers,

· Be your child's best fan and support her unconditionally.
· When you take your child home after a match or training session, please be supportive and always focus on the positive aspects of her game.
· Develop a responsibility in your child to pack her own kit, clean her boots and take a drinks bottle (full of water or squash only) to practice and games.
· Respect the facilities at our opponents’ grounds.
· Do not criticise your child’s coach to your child or other parents. If you are not happy with the coach you should raise the issue with the coach.
· Encourage your child to speak with the coach. If your child is having difficulties in training or games, or can’t attend training etc. encourage her to speak directly to the coaches. This “responsibility taking” is a big part of becoming a mature person. By handling off the field tasks, your child is claiming ownership of all aspects of the game.
· Help your child to focus on the performance and not the result. Remember - winning is not as important as the performance.
· Support all the players in your child's squad. Do not criticise anyone. Remember – children don’t mean to make mistakes.
· Do not criticise the opponents, their parents or their officials.
· Never audibly dispute a referee’s decision. They will make mistakes occasionally. We all do. If you abuse or shout at the referee you are breaking the rules of the game and risk generating a fine for the club. In extreme circumstances we could even be expelled from the League, be forced to play all our games away or play without any spectators present.
· Parents/carers must not coach from the touchline during matches or training. Leave this to the manager/coach or you may cause confusion and erode your child’s confidence.
· Parents/carers must not enter the field of play.
Please remember – the game is for the children. It is not for the glory of the coach, manager or parents.
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Code of conduct for players

Players should:
· Play according to the laws and spirit of the game.
· Be on time and be prepared for matches and training sessions.
· Display self-control in all situations. Never use foul or abusive language - before, during or after a game or training session.
· Train and play to the best of your ability, have a positive attitude, and encourage others to do the same.
· Respect the opposition. Treat them as you would like them to treat you.
· Respect the referee. Never dispute his or her decisions. They are only human and they make mistakes, just like you.
· Turn up for training and matches in appropriate and clean clothing.
· Wear the right sort of footwear (studded boots). Note: we recommend against the use of blades on health and safety grounds.
· Always wear shinguards.
· Clean their own boots/trainers!

Code of conduct for coaches and officials

A coach’s primary responsibility is to make sure that his/her players have fun, develop as footballers and to instil in them a passion for the game.
The performance of coaches is not measured in wins and losses, but rather in what players learn in terms of technique, sportsmanship, and fair play.
Coaches are charged with the responsibility of controlling their players and parents at all times during a match.
Coaches lead and teach by example; our players will be a reflection upon the manager and coach.
Coaches will:
· Use positive reinforcement when dealing with players.
· Never use foul or abusive language and never abuse a player mentally, verbally, or physically.
· Have respect for the authority of the referee, our opponents on match days and the officials of their club.
· Teach your children the rules of the game, fair play, and proper behaviour.
· Develop your child’s technique and their decision-making ability.
· Inspect the paying area for hazards and generally make practice sessions and matches as safe as possible for your children. You should be aware, however, that football is a contact sport and your child may be injured. If this happens, we will provide appropriate first aid.
In addition:
· We will not allow a child to take part in a practice session or a match if she is injured.
· We will not leave your child unattended at a practice session or a game.
· We will only allow your child to leave a practice session or a game if a responsible person collects them unless you give written permission for your child to leave on their own.
· We will always be enthusiastic (even in the pouring rain!)
· We will try our best to make the game enjoyable for everyone who takes part – players, opponents, parents/carers and spectators.

Players Code Of Conduct
The U9 Version

Players should:
Play according to the rules and never argue with the referee or your coach. They are there to help and they can make mistakes, just like you.

Always train and play to the best of your ability, and encourage others to do the same.

Don’t lose your temper or get upset. Rudeness, bad temper and sulking spoils everyone's fun. If you have a problem, tell your coach.

Respect the opposition. Treat other teams as new friends, you’ll be playing them again one day!

Look and act like a footballer. That means turning up for training and games on time, looking smart and in the right gear.

Don't forget your water bottle!

Wear the right sort of shoes – trainers on hard surfaces, studded boots on grass.

Always wear your shinguards.

Clean your own boots and trainers!

Enjoy every game whether you win or lose!
Edited By www.tonys-soccer-school.com

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KIDS FOOTBALL AND FAILURE
In 2006, when the Three Lions failed at the World Cup again and England was once more gripped by the inevitable heart-searching, analysis and post mortems, did anyone remember the words Sir Bobby Charlton spoke after the 1966 triumph: “The World Cup wasn’t won on the playing fields of England. It was won on the streets.”

It was street football that created those World Cup icons – kids with their backsides hanging out of their shorts, kicking a bald tennis ball about with their mates for hours on end, learning how to play and how to love it.

Speaking as a youth football coach for twelve years, unless we can revive street football, or something very like it, I believe we can kiss goodbye to world supremacy in the beautiful game, because football’s not beautiful for our kids any more: it’s ugly

Speaking as a youth football coach for twelve years, unless we can revive street football, or something very like it, I believe we can kiss goodbye to world supremacy in the beautiful game, because football’s not beautiful for our kids any more: it’s ugly.

In a world where children can no longer play outside without supervision, parents and coaches have taken over, and the competitive drive adults bring to the game means that youngsters no longer have time to fall in love with football, to play for fun and thus to truly develop their skills.

The late, great Alex Stock, manager of QPR & Fulham got it spot on when he said about the modern youth game:

“Everywhere I go there are coaches. Schoolmasters telling young boys not to do this and that and generally scaring the life out of the poor little devils. Junior clubs playing with sweepers and one and half men up front, no wingers, four across the middle. They are frightened to death of losing, even at their tender age, and it makes me cry.”

Those street-bred footballers Bobby Charlton spoke about had fewer distractions than modern children. They weren’t kept holed up indoors by parents terrified by traffic and the possibility of predatory ‘strangers’. Kids in those days not only played football but climbed trees, rode their bikes, built dens and explored their neighbourhood. The self-confidence, social competence and risk-taking skills these experiences bred made them better able to enjoy their play.

In street football, every child in the neighbourhood was involved. You might have the embarrassment of being the last to be picked but at least you played, and if the game was too one-sided and lost its fun, ‘Billy the dribbling wizard’ swapped with ‘two left feet Larry’ to make it even. Children also learnt to play in different positions. You might be in goal one day and playing as a striker the next. One thing for certain was that you got a complete football education.

You also played against older kids, and if you couldn’t match them physically, you had to use new technical skills and insight in order to compete. Children learnt from each other.

Today’s children learn from the grown-ups. Without the freedom of the streets, their early experiences of football are organised, supervised and coached. They have no real say in what happens, and they don’t have time to develop and learn

Today’s children learn from the grown-ups. Without the freedom of the streets, their early experiences of football are organised, supervised and coached. They have no real say in what happens, and they don’t have time to develop and learn. Just as there isn’t time any more for families to make a proper meal and sit around the dining table together, there’s no time for coaches to waste developing children at football.

Development is long term and takes years of patience, but in today’s ‘win at all costs’ society coaches need success now, so they pick the biggest kids and get a giant to whack the ball up field as hard as possible to an even bigger giant who wallops the ball in the back of the net. 10-0, we are the business and the other team is c**p!

Watching the youngest age groups play today is like watching a Premier League for tots. Seven-year-olds with David Beckham haircuts and the latest Adidas boots pull on their ‘Dudley Tyre Care’ sponsored shirts and raintops sponsored by ‘Boothroyd, Cripps and Pottinger, Family Solicitors’. They totter up and down the pitch in front of a full house of mums, dads, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, grandparents, second cousins and all.

This enthusiastic gathering can become very rowdy and explodes into sheer ecstasy when their team scores, but rarely applauds either goals or skilful football from the opposition. What do the children learn from all this? Not that football’s a beautiful game, that’s for sure. They learn you’re a hero if you win and go home with the Man of the Match trophy and a Mars bar, your dad telling you how one day you’ll play for England. But if you lose you’re a villain – and it’s a frosty car ride home with your dad analysing every mistake.

I once watched an under 9s game where one team had the coach and assistant coach standing by each goalpost continually barking orders to the keeper. Meanwhile, a parent on each touchline ran up and down shouting other instructions. When they won a corner at the other end their coach hollered “Wait” and trundled the entire length of the field for a minute’s discussion, cupped hand in the ear of the poor flustered corner-taker who knocked his corner kick straight out

I once watched an under 9s game where one team had the coach and assistant coach standing by each goalpost continually barking orders to the keeper. Meanwhile, a parent on each touchline ran up and down shouting other instructions. When they won a corner at the other end their coach hollered “Wait” and trundled the entire length of the field for a minute’s discussion, cupped hand in the ear of the poor flustered corner-taker who knocked his corner kick straight out.

The next game I saw was an under 8s. The team came out for a 30 minute warm-up which would have exhausted a crack team of US Navy Seals, involving running around the pitch, shuttle runs, sit ups and press ups with not a ball in sight. The substitutes weren’t used as, according to the coach, the game was too close, and the kids were all kept in the changing room for 30 minutes after the game for a debrief. (The coaches had their initials sewn onto the front of their tracksuits. One was WR and the other ST. Use your imagination as to the missing letters.)

There’s also a growing problem with violence among parental supporters. Last season I attended a league meeting where an official from the Wiltshire FA warned clubs about the disintegration of standards. The previous season 15 youth games across the county had to be abandoned because of problems on the touchline. In one summer tournament we attended, a referee got his arm broken in the scrum. The FA have been doing their best by issuing codes of conducts and courses for clubs, but it’s very difficult to change a culture with bits of paper.

If we want to breed winning footballers again, we need to give the game back to the children. In 21st century, traffic-infested Britain, street football may be a thing of the past, but at least we could try to provide something equivalent in a safe, fun environment at children’s clubs.

It’s all a matter of backing off as coaches and letting the children play. In small-sided games, such as 4v4, the game can be the teacher and different types of goals and features can put emphasis on different skills and insight. To the children it is still just a game and most importantly fun. They need to learn to solve their own football problems on the pitch, to work it out for themselves before we give them the solution.

Parents, coaches and kids need to work together. Grassroots clubs should have pre-season meetings with the parents and children to discuss rules and agreements so that everyone understands what their contribution is. In the club I coach at we’ve had fantastic results using this philosophy.

We’ve found that by putting the children first and making it their game, they’ve not only had great fun and developed better as people, but they’ve also developed a passion for football. What surprised us most was we also saw almost instant results on the pitch. The kids expressed themselves, had no fear of failure (no one shouts at them) and they played with imagination and skill.

We’ve also seen improvement in the less naturally gifted children who would have been thrown on the scrap heap years ago by many ruthless coaches. It’s as if the kids are back on the street again, everyone playing with smiles on their faces, watched by beaming parents and coaches.

Maybe, if this message can spread, we could rear a generation of footballers who play with creativity and without fear, who solve their own problems on the pitch, and who enjoy the game. Footballers who play to win, instead of losing through fear.