tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62142189268210952862011-10-28T20:17:16.035+01:00An experienced yet volunteer coach, I am constantly fascinated by the plethora of coaching and sports psychology material "out there". I thought I'd add my bit of "Out There" for others... Follow Me.. http://twitter.com/CoachA95Steve (or Frank, depending who's reading!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04686197770306247333noreply@blogger.comBlogger171100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214218926821095286.post-70527246814935123782011-10-22T00:06:00.000+01:002011-10-22T00:06:05.973+01:00

The Football Association is trying to raise the bar by having qualified coaches register for the new FA Licensed Coaches Club and insisting that coaches, even grassroots coaches, embark on some form of CPD (Continual Professional Development. This CPD will be for a minimum of 3 hours each year (5 years if you are a Level 2 Coach or above) – this in an effort to try to professionalise coaching,

Steve (or Frank, depending who's reading!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04686197770306247333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214218926821095286.post-33271288275203046272011-08-22T08:52:00.001+01:002011-08-26T00:33:20.326+01:00

ARE WE SEARCHING FOR A ‘HOLY GRAIL’ ? / IS THERE REALLY A “SILVER BULLET”? There is lots of discussion and opinion voiced through the internet and traditional media currently, (in England especially, but now expanding to Scotland after the Hearts / Tottenham game) about Youth/Player Development. WHAT CONSTITUTES “BEST”? There is a general appreciation of Spanish football and particularly the

Steve (or Frank, depending who's reading!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04686197770306247333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214218926821095286.post-16071425686980968642011-05-14T00:41:00.001+01:002011-05-14T01:03:57.764+01:00

So, it’s FA Cup Final Day again. For me, it’s one of the magic days in the annual calendar. It’s up there with birthdays, Christmas and the first day of school summer holidays. For the true football fan it was ever, and will forever be, thus.It brings to mind magic days with my mates as an older teenager and into my twenties where we would meet early on the Saturday to have a few quiet beers,

Steve (or Frank, depending who's reading!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04686197770306247333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214218926821095286.post-33910078632603823852011-03-13T23:55:00.000Z2011-03-13T23:59:09.996Z

It seems to me that there are lots of clubs, which have only one or two teams and which are based in close proximity to other clubs with a similar small number of teams.The landscape of English Grassroots football, certainly in the corner of the South East where I live, seems to be one of parochial interest and almost tribal rivalry, at times.HOLLANDHaving taken an educational trip to Holland

Steve (or Frank, depending who's reading!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04686197770306247333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214218926821095286.post-64851948336320768232011-03-06T17:31:00.000Z2011-03-09T20:48:24.616Z

Charles Hughes, former Director of Coaching at the Football Association, has long been attributed with and criticised for the introduction of the philosophy of “Direct Play” in football.To people old enough to remember the phrase, it conjures up an image of “Route 1” football – a mental picture of a consistent barrage of long forward balls in the general direction of the opponent’s penalty

Steve (or Frank, depending who's reading!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04686197770306247333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214218926821095286.post-55315692313882343922010-11-26T18:39:00.000Z2010-11-26T19:20:35.852Z

The 10,000 Hours RuleA little while ago, as a result of a reference to the book whilst attending one of the FA Youth Award courses, I bought the book “Outliers: The Story Of Success” by Malcolm Gladwell. In the book, Gladwell observes attributes of successful people – in sport, business, and technology – and makes the connection between people with a determined approach to improvement and the

Steve (or Frank, depending who's reading!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04686197770306247333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214218926821095286.post-22882722351053161322010-11-16T22:30:00.000Z2010-11-16T22:34:07.766Z

The new home of The Albion is coming along nicely. A new series of photos on the club website includes a key image which fully demonstrates the title of this blog update:Stadium Gallery 15th November 2010

Steve (or Frank, depending who's reading!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04686197770306247333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214218926821095286.post-22870307663502841572010-05-31T23:21:00.000+01:002010-05-31T23:37:39.441+01:00

Various professionals have been advocating a model called Teaching Games for Understanding, for over 2 decades.TGfU is an innovative way to teach games understanding whilst also enabling players to practice the techniques required to play a game well in a game-like setting.TGfU places the learner (player / student) at the centre of the learning experience rather than putting the coach at the

Steve (or Frank, depending who's reading!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04686197770306247333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214218926821095286.post-49926543315659406862010-04-20T23:58:00.000+01:002010-05-31T23:34:24.660+01:00

OPEN AGE FOOTBALLI started out as a coach to coach adults in an open age game - as a player, I loved the cut and thrust of competition, striving for 2 points (well, it was 2 points when I started!) ….and then 3 and I saw coaching as a way of giving something back.I started with a men’s reserve team, then took on an under 18 team before going back to open age football with reserves and then a

Steve (or Frank, depending who's reading!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04686197770306247333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214218926821095286.post-48484946856748167842010-04-15T16:38:00.000+01:002010-04-15T16:47:03.024+01:00

I realised a few weeks ago that this year sees the completion of my 20th anniversary involved in coaching football.I started out doing the old style ‘Preliminary Coaching Award’ back in 1990. Two friends and I completed the course, down at Chichester College (it’s now a University) under the tutelage of one Steve Avory. Steve is an ex-teacher at Hazlewick School, erstwhile England U15 manager and

Steve (or Frank, depending who's reading!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04686197770306247333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214218926821095286.post-56273966697978228182010-03-28T21:42:00.000+01:002010-03-28T21:59:07.495+01:00

Well, I started this (very) occasional blog as a direct consequence of starting to coach a new team, back in July 2009.Well the ‘season’ came to an official end today with the boys playing very well against a team who also tried to play positive, expansive football. The team I coach ran out winners in both games of mini-soccer, but football itself was definitely the winner today. Both teams’

Steve (or Frank, depending who's reading!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04686197770306247333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214218926821095286.post-84437512683358909782010-01-09T16:06:00.000Z2010-01-09T20:53:58.135Z

Well, it's some while since we were on holiday, back in the summer of 2009, which, given the snow, seems even longer ago than it would otherwise.We went to the beautiful island of Corsica and whilst there I managed to persuade the family that they were desperate to attend the French Ligue 2 game between SC Bastia and Laval.Now, Bastia have some impressive history - they came runners up to PSV

Steve (or Frank, depending who's reading!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04686197770306247333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214218926821095286.post-10884836018149499212009-11-05T22:30:00.000Z2009-11-05T22:54:00.787Z

The new Falmer Stadium is coming along nicely from what I can see - which isn't THAT much really. I'm in the car, you see, driving past on my way to work every day; but now we approach winter, the leaves are coming off the trees and I am starting to get a clearer view of this exciting project.To get a really good look, it's worth checking in on the Albion website at the Stadium Gallery pages

Steve (or Frank, depending who's reading!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04686197770306247333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214218926821095286.post-62983444027937931652009-09-22T17:35:00.000+01:002009-09-22T18:02:11.760+01:00

Give Us Back Our Game, The Dutch ‘Way’, 4v4, Coerver Coaching, Futbol de Salao, ABCs, FA Age Appropriate Coaching, Horst Wein, NLP, 101 Youth Soccer Drills, 7v7, competitive leagues, Turn up and play, 9v9, SkillRhythmics, SAQ, The van Dijk Method, 11v11, Academy/Centre of Excellence, Sports Psychology, Grass Roots Club and so it goes on - a veritable plethora of ideas, philosophies and approaches

Steve (or Frank, depending who's reading!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04686197770306247333noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214218926821095286.post-54436728889166781052009-08-05T00:10:00.000+01:002009-08-06T00:34:41.052+01:00

The new season is almost upon us. Another sojourn into the light and optimism of a brand new season, where our team will always prevail, play exciting and enlightened, expansive football and give the fans tons to cheer about.The sun will be shining, the grass will be green, clipped and edged in pristine white lines and the players will take the field with as much enthusiasm, joy and apprehension

Steve (or Frank, depending who's reading!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04686197770306247333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214218926821095286.post-21546571800689065862009-08-01T19:52:00.000+01:002009-08-01T19:57:24.503+01:00

Age Appropriate Coaching from the FA & Problem Based CoachingContinually seeking to become a better coach and to learn as much about the topic as I can, I embarked on the FA’s new Age Appropriate Coaching courses and have so far completed the Introductory Course (1 day) and the Modules 1 and 2 (4 days each).I was interested to see an alternative approach to coaching - one that places the player /

Steve (or Frank, depending who's reading!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04686197770306247333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214218926821095286.post-91119083613092492112009-07-29T00:11:00.000+01:002009-07-29T00:35:17.865+01:00

A season of discovery awaits me as I have just changed recreational clubs for the forthcoming 2009/10 season.I come from a small, but professionally run outfit, the players of whom I have tried to serve to the best of my ability over the last 4 years. I have started coaching at a new club, similarly recreational in outlook, but one with a membership the size of the population of a small village!I

Steve (or Frank, depending who's reading!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04686197770306247333noreply@blogger.com0