Kids Grassroots Football - The good stuff!
Discussion
Both my sons refereed from age 14. My youngest (now 18) still does it every sunday, usually 2 games at u/15 or u/16. My oldest (20) stopped at 18. So basically I've had 6 yrs of watching this s
t unfold.
I wish I'd kept a diary and written a book, but yesterday was a pretty average 2 match affair, both under 15s (as at 1 sep so a mix of 14/15 yr olds). So yesterday we had:
2 parents called my son a cheat. (not that he'd made an error, but was a cheat.) Yeah, he received £40K in a brown envelope off one of the teams pre kick off. That's the going rate to favour a team in a west London u/15's div 3 match.
1 parent called him an idiot, because any fool knows you can't be offside from a free kick.
Biggest uproar came at a sending off. Kid was booked for telling the ref he was fking useless. (could've got a straight red but my son gave him a talking to and a yellow.) Later on the same kid was fouled, not badly, and when on the ground he kicked the kid that had fouled him. So got a 2nd yellow (could also have been a straight red).
This caused uproar because quite rightly the team who were now down to 10 men got the free kick when the game restarted. Half the parents said he couldn't send off a man and then restart the game with a free kick to the team who had lost a man! A more sensible head explained that the ref was right, and a mum then threatened to punch this blokes face in, because he was a "know it all". Various parents pushing and shoving, thankfully it dissipated before a fight broke out.
Then at the end of the game the coach of the team down to 10 men spoke to my son. For a crazy moment I thought he might be apologising for the conduct of his player, but in fact he was asking why no one from the other team was sent off. (err, because they never told the ref he was fking useless and then kicked out at an opponent) tt!
That's a pretty typical Sunday. On the bright side, £58 for 2 games which is better than getting up at 5am all week to do a paper round, and a few hours exercise in the fresh air. (he never actually received the £40K in the brown envelope, I made that bit up.)
t unfold.I wish I'd kept a diary and written a book, but yesterday was a pretty average 2 match affair, both under 15s (as at 1 sep so a mix of 14/15 yr olds). So yesterday we had:
2 parents called my son a cheat. (not that he'd made an error, but was a cheat.) Yeah, he received £40K in a brown envelope off one of the teams pre kick off. That's the going rate to favour a team in a west London u/15's div 3 match.
1 parent called him an idiot, because any fool knows you can't be offside from a free kick.
Biggest uproar came at a sending off. Kid was booked for telling the ref he was f
king useless. (could've got a straight red but my son gave him a talking to and a yellow.) Later on the same kid was fouled, not badly, and when on the ground he kicked the kid that had fouled him. So got a 2nd yellow (could also have been a straight red). This caused uproar because quite rightly the team who were now down to 10 men got the free kick when the game restarted. Half the parents said he couldn't send off a man and then restart the game with a free kick to the team who had lost a man! A more sensible head explained that the ref was right, and a mum then threatened to punch this blokes face in, because he was a "know it all
". Various parents pushing and shoving, thankfully it dissipated before a fight broke out. Then at the end of the game the coach of the team down to 10 men spoke to my son. For a crazy moment I thought he might be apologising for the conduct of his player, but in fact he was asking why no one from the other team was sent off. (err, because they never told the ref he was f
king useless and then kicked out at an opponent) tt!That's a pretty typical Sunday. On the bright side, £58 for 2 games which is better than getting up at 5am all week to do a paper round, and a few hours exercise in the fresh air. (he never actually received the £40K in the brown envelope, I made that bit up.)
Really interesting thread on a number of levels. I must admit I don't recognise a lot of the stories!
My son plays with essentially his school classmates for our village team. I think because of this they play well together and are in the top league locally. Sundays, whilst generally civil, are certainly not nice, relaxed, friendly games of football! The teams we play against scout all over the region to poach the best players. This idea of subs getting equal playing time is an alien concept in this league, but there is some rotation, mainly due to who is available on the day.
The football is fantastic to watch and at such a high level, but it's very competitive and high pressure. The boys love and thrive on it though. A fair few squad members have dropped out over the years (still a large waiting list) but it's left a core of players that are very strong mentally and more importantly really good friends. As I say, they all go to school together.
I find it fascinating (amazing) to see such young kids take it so seriously, more so as I have absolutely no interest in football whatsoever. I've never seen any issues with the parents (and we play in some very choice areas), but some of the coaches are horrific. I've been at tournaments where teams have fabricated their scores and challenged the organisers to get themselves into the semi finals etc.
As I say, interesting thread just to see how it all operates elsewhere.
My son plays with essentially his school classmates for our village team. I think because of this they play well together and are in the top league locally. Sundays, whilst generally civil, are certainly not nice, relaxed, friendly games of football! The teams we play against scout all over the region to poach the best players. This idea of subs getting equal playing time is an alien concept in this league, but there is some rotation, mainly due to who is available on the day.
The football is fantastic to watch and at such a high level, but it's very competitive and high pressure. The boys love and thrive on it though. A fair few squad members have dropped out over the years (still a large waiting list) but it's left a core of players that are very strong mentally and more importantly really good friends. As I say, they all go to school together.
I find it fascinating (amazing) to see such young kids take it so seriously, more so as I have absolutely no interest in football whatsoever. I've never seen any issues with the parents (and we play in some very choice areas), but some of the coaches are horrific. I've been at tournaments where teams have fabricated their scores and challenged the organisers to get themselves into the semi finals etc.
As I say, interesting thread just to see how it all operates elsewhere.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
Both my sons refereed from age 14. My youngest (now 18) still does it every sunday, usually 2 games at u/15 or u/16. My oldest (20) stopped at 18. So basically I've had 6 yrs of watching this st unfold.
I wish I'd kept a diary and written a book, but yesterday was a pretty average 2 match affair, both under 15s (as at 1 sep so a mix of 14/15 yr olds). So yesterday we had:
2 parents called my son a cheat. (not that he'd made an error, but was a cheat.) Yeah, he received £40K in a brown envelope off one of the teams pre kick off. That's the going rate to favour a team in a west London u/15's div 3 match.
1 parent called him an idiot, because any fool knows you can't be offside from a free kick.
Biggest uproar came at a sending off. Kid was booked for telling the ref he was fking useless. (could've got a straight red but my son gave him a talking to and a yellow.) Later on the same kid was fouled, not badly, and when on the ground he kicked the kid that had fouled him. So got a 2nd yellow (could also have been a straight red).
This caused uproar because quite rightly the team who were now down to 10 men got the free kick when the game restarted. Half the parents said he couldn't send off a man and then restart the game with a free kick to the team who had lost a man! A more sensible head explained that the ref was right, and a mum then threatened to punch this blokes face in, because he was a "know it all". Various parents pushing and shoving, thankfully it dissipated before a fight broke out.
Then at the end of the game the coach of the team down to 10 men spoke to my son. For a crazy moment I thought he might be apologising for the conduct of his player, but in fact he was asking why no one from the other team was sent off. (err, because they never told the ref he was fking useless and then kicked out at an opponent) tt!
That's a pretty typical Sunday. On the bright side, £58 for 2 games which is better than getting up at 5am all week to do a paper round, and a few hours exercise in the fresh air. (he never actually received the £40K in the brown envelope, I made that bit up.)
I despair....thank your son for me, without referee's there will be no game. t unfold.I wish I'd kept a diary and written a book, but yesterday was a pretty average 2 match affair, both under 15s (as at 1 sep so a mix of 14/15 yr olds). So yesterday we had:
2 parents called my son a cheat. (not that he'd made an error, but was a cheat.) Yeah, he received £40K in a brown envelope off one of the teams pre kick off. That's the going rate to favour a team in a west London u/15's div 3 match.
1 parent called him an idiot, because any fool knows you can't be offside from a free kick.
Biggest uproar came at a sending off. Kid was booked for telling the ref he was f
king useless. (could've got a straight red but my son gave him a talking to and a yellow.) Later on the same kid was fouled, not badly, and when on the ground he kicked the kid that had fouled him. So got a 2nd yellow (could also have been a straight red). This caused uproar because quite rightly the team who were now down to 10 men got the free kick when the game restarted. Half the parents said he couldn't send off a man and then restart the game with a free kick to the team who had lost a man! A more sensible head explained that the ref was right, and a mum then threatened to punch this blokes face in, because he was a "know it all
". Various parents pushing and shoving, thankfully it dissipated before a fight broke out. Then at the end of the game the coach of the team down to 10 men spoke to my son. For a crazy moment I thought he might be apologising for the conduct of his player, but in fact he was asking why no one from the other team was sent off. (err, because they never told the ref he was f
king useless and then kicked out at an opponent) tt!That's a pretty typical Sunday. On the bright side, £58 for 2 games which is better than getting up at 5am all week to do a paper round, and a few hours exercise in the fresh air. (he never actually received the £40K in the brown envelope, I made that bit up.)
anniesdad said:
I despair....thank your son for me, without referee's there will be no game.
To add some balance, on the whole the kids are pretty good. I think yesterday was only about the 5th red card he's given in 4 yrs of 2 games a week. But the parents and coaches are usually an issue, more or less every week. And I'd say mums are generally worse than dads, and the female coaches (not many of them) are hard work too.
If we could ban parents and officials, it would be a lot better!
For those who didn't read my earlier posts; first season managing, U8 boys in North London.
11 games in. Won 3, lost 7 and one draw. Had a terrible run losing 3 weeks in a row by double digits, 2 of those games against teams we should've been able to compete with. The boys were not in it at all, and I didn't manage to bring them in to the game. Finally we turned around a bit and since then we played 3 really good games.
Though the initial excitement has died off I'm enjoying it no less. Probably more as now the interaction with both players and parents comes totally natural. This aspect of managing a team was what I was most nervous about; parent interaction. I think I have been lucky though, the parents so far are totally cool and are really supportive and actually acknowledge the effort I put in.
What hasn't gone away is nerves before games though. On match-day, between morning coffee and kick-off I think I average 3 sts
Also I have not experience some of the disgraceful behavior mentioned above, quite the opposite. Parents, coaches and officials have so far been great and the atmosphere at the games have been terrific, lots of cheering and encouragement from both sides supporters, coaches and even the ref getting involved at times. Really has been awesome.
Loving it!
11 games in. Won 3, lost 7 and one draw. Had a terrible run losing 3 weeks in a row by double digits, 2 of those games against teams we should've been able to compete with. The boys were not in it at all, and I didn't manage to bring them in to the game. Finally we turned around a bit and since then we played 3 really good games.
Though the initial excitement has died off I'm enjoying it no less. Probably more as now the interaction with both players and parents comes totally natural. This aspect of managing a team was what I was most nervous about; parent interaction. I think I have been lucky though, the parents so far are totally cool and are really supportive and actually acknowledge the effort I put in.
What hasn't gone away is nerves before games though. On match-day, between morning coffee and kick-off I think I average 3 s
ts Also I have not experience some of the disgraceful behavior mentioned above, quite the opposite. Parents, coaches and officials have so far been great and the atmosphere at the games have been terrific, lots of cheering and encouragement from both sides supporters, coaches and even the ref getting involved at times. Really has been awesome.
Loving it!
fredt said:
Also I have not experience some of the disgraceful behavior mentioned above, quite the opposite. Parents, coaches and officials have so far been great and the atmosphere at the games have been terrific, lots of cheering and encouragement from both sides supporters, coaches and even the ref getting involved at times. Really has been awesome.
Loving it!
Sounds great. Unfortunately, the world of U8s if different to U15s. Loving it!
We enjoyed a momentous occasion this weekend. Our first win.
I know that winning is a dirty word in junior football these days, buy seeing the joy on the kids faces was amazing. But we do try to play the right way.
We've had some close games and some heavey defeats since September. But the kids always play with a smile.
The most pleasing things from my point of view, was the attitud and effort put in by all 10 players. And the fact that at times they were implementing some of the things we have been working on in training.
I know that winning is a dirty word in junior football these days, buy seeing the joy on the kids faces was amazing. But we do try to play the right way.
We've had some close games and some heavey defeats since September. But the kids always play with a smile.
The most pleasing things from my point of view, was the attitud and effort put in by all 10 players. And the fact that at times they were implementing some of the things we have been working on in training.
Edited by 48Valves on Monday 30th January 12:36
48Valves said:
We enjoyed a momentous occasion this weekend. Our first win.
I know that winning is a dirty word in junior football these days, buy seeing the joy on the kids faces was amazing. But we do try to play the right way.
We've had some close games and some heavey defeats since September. But the kids always play with a smile.
The most pleasing things from my point of view, was the attitud and effort put in by all 10 players. And the fact that at times they were implementing some of the things we have been working on in training.
Top stuff! Winning is great, but I agree the most pleasing thing is when everyone (or just someone) really push hard for the team, when you can see the FIGHT in their eyes!I know that winning is a dirty word in junior football these days, buy seeing the joy on the kids faces was amazing. But we do try to play the right way.
We've had some close games and some heavey defeats since September. But the kids always play with a smile.
The most pleasing things from my point of view, was the attitud and effort put in by all 10 players. And the fact that at times they were implementing some of the things we have been working on in training.
Edited by 48Valves on Monday 30th January 12:36
Three weeks ago we had a game against a team that obviously shouldn't be in our division, they were much better and beat us 11-3. It was windy and pissing down, at the end of the game there were puddles you could farm trout in. But that game, for the first time, a couple of my players 'got it'. Specially one of them really pushed and saved us from an even more severe defeat, and got us those goals that saves the day even when you've lost the game by 10 digits.
I actually came away from there pleased as punch, it was the first sign of real graft from my little boys. If I can get that to spread through the team I'm on to a winner.
Great news on both counts. I am still amazed at how young kids can 'get it' from such an early age.
We went through a really bad spell before xmas, badly losing 3 or 4 games on the trot (having made a great start to the season). Our first match back after the break was against a team that hadn't lost a match for three years and only conceded points to another team (us!) during the same period. Very much a case of looking for improvement. We lost (5-3 or something), but the level of commitment in appalling weather was amazing.
The following week half the team was sick so we only had 4 first team players and just scraped nine together for the match including having two goal keepers up front. We lost again, but only because we conceded 3 in the last 10 minutes as the poor kids were knackered as we had no subs. Again, great commitment from them but as 10/11 year olds they only saw that they lost.
Last weekend we finally won a game after three months. Opposition made the mistake of giving us space so we could play proper football. Fantastic to watch them enjoy themselves in what was in the end a hard fought win.
As I said in an earlier post, I have no interest in football, but to these kids (including my own) it is proper life and death stuff!
On a more negative point, an adjacent match (U8 at a guess, not our club as we were away) had to be stopped with both coaches walking onto the pitch as one of the parents was f'ing and blinding at one of the opposition players. Seriously, at an 8 year old kid. He was escorted off by his team's coach.
We went through a really bad spell before xmas, badly losing 3 or 4 games on the trot (having made a great start to the season). Our first match back after the break was against a team that hadn't lost a match for three years and only conceded points to another team (us!) during the same period. Very much a case of looking for improvement. We lost (5-3 or something), but the level of commitment in appalling weather was amazing.
The following week half the team was sick so we only had 4 first team players and just scraped nine together for the match including having two goal keepers up front. We lost again, but only because we conceded 3 in the last 10 minutes as the poor kids were knackered as we had no subs. Again, great commitment from them but as 10/11 year olds they only saw that they lost.
Last weekend we finally won a game after three months. Opposition made the mistake of giving us space so we could play proper football. Fantastic to watch them enjoy themselves in what was in the end a hard fought win.
As I said in an earlier post, I have no interest in football, but to these kids (including my own) it is proper life and death stuff!
On a more negative point, an adjacent match (U8 at a guess, not our club as we were away) had to be stopped with both coaches walking onto the pitch as one of the parents was f'ing and blinding at one of the opposition players. Seriously, at an 8 year old kid. He was escorted off by his team's coach.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
fredt said:
Also I have not experience some of the disgraceful behavior mentioned above, quite the opposite. Parents, coaches and officials have so far been great and the atmosphere at the games have been terrific, lots of cheering and encouragement from both sides supporters, coaches and even the ref getting involved at times. Really has been awesome.
Loving it!
Sounds great. Unfortunately, the world of U8s if different to U15s. Loving it!
I look after our U8s.
We had a player brought down for a penalty. Couldn't have been anything else, their player ran between him and the ball, and bundled him over in the area.
Our lad dusted himself off, lined up the penalty. Missed it by a whisker.
Already showing the signs of upset that only an eight year old can muster, one of the opposition parents shouted, "JUSTICE!!!".
Some of these parents need to take themselves to one side, and have a quiet word with themselves. Unfortunately, that type have no idea/concern how they're coming across to the kids.
It is most satisfying to watch them start to get it. For us it really started at the last game of the year. We played the team who had beaten everyone else in out league, mostly by a large margin. They pick the oldest biggest players they can from anywhere they can get parents to travel from. They use larger footballs than anyone else and are focused only on winning.
I honestly expected us to ship 20+ goals. To say I wasn't looking forward to the game was an understatement.
We lost the game 7-0. We hit the post twice and were 5-0 after thee first quarter and both middle quarters were 0-0 but it felt like a victory. Our parents said how much of a difference they saw and the kids were happy when they came off. they knew they had done well.
The standout moment form our latest game was from one of our players that is a bit of a terrier. Massive amounts of uncontrollable energy. He will chase and tackle (his own players) for hours if you let him. But kicks the ball in whatever direction hes facing. On the occasion he tries to dribble he will stop and do a random back heel. He has ability but is very frustrating.
On Saturday he made a tackle, rolled the ball away from an opponent with the sole of his foot, looked up and made a pass with the outside of his foot that went to one of our players.
I have to admit I did a little fist pump. I looked over at his dad who did the same
On the other points raised about parents. It's sad to say I'm not surprised. We've not had anything serious with the teams we've played, just the odd occasion of opposition parents shouting slightly inappropriate things. I've seen it at older ages though. There was an opposing parent on Saturday shouting that they would buy their kid an Xbox if he scored. The boy was playing in defense
.
I honestly expected us to ship 20+ goals. To say I wasn't looking forward to the game was an understatement.
We lost the game 7-0. We hit the post twice and were 5-0 after thee first quarter and both middle quarters were 0-0 but it felt like a victory. Our parents said how much of a difference they saw and the kids were happy when they came off. they knew they had done well.
The standout moment form our latest game was from one of our players that is a bit of a terrier. Massive amounts of uncontrollable energy. He will chase and tackle (his own players) for hours if you let him. But kicks the ball in whatever direction hes facing. On the occasion he tries to dribble he will stop and do a random back heel. He has ability but is very frustrating.
On Saturday he made a tackle, rolled the ball away from an opponent with the sole of his foot, looked up and made a pass with the outside of his foot that went to one of our players.
I have to admit I did a little fist pump. I looked over at his dad who did the same
On the other points raised about parents. It's sad to say I'm not surprised. We've not had anything serious with the teams we've played, just the odd occasion of opposition parents shouting slightly inappropriate things. I've seen it at older ages though. There was an opposing parent on Saturday shouting that they would buy their kid an Xbox if he scored. The boy was playing in defense
.j4ckos mate said:
Downward said:
Hi
Just after a bit of advice.
My sons played for a team for 5 years now. The past 2 years though a couple of players have only got 10 mins out of 50 per game.
There was a meeting set up 2 years ago as parents were miffed about the fact not all kids got equal game time.
Attending was the manager and the actual top chairman of the overall club. Their attitude was if you don't like it leave that's how we run the club (25 teams)
So I was looking around for a club but nothing but this year has been the final straw with a friend of the managers son appearing and getting more game time than the ones who have been at the club a lot longer (All under 11's)
There have been a fair few arguments and there is a divide now in the team between the managers and parents a a lot are disgusted by the behaviour shown towards some kids over others ( the manager and assistant managers preferential treatment)
Anyway I've paid my subs £20 a month for 5 years now and there is a fair amount of money in the bank.
I do feel short changed and don't see why I should have paid same as parent X for 1/5th of the game time.
Question is there doesn't seem to be enough players left for the team to carry on so what happens to the money ?
Are we entitled to money back or does it just sit in the bank until the team disbands and then those left get all the money ?
The kit has always been paid for by sponsors so the only fees are pitch fees and ref fees which they raise from food and drink and raffle sales.
Around £3k per annum is getting filtered into the team and there is no way £3k is being spend
if it were me, (and it was me) id be off to another team, he will make friends, Just after a bit of advice.
My sons played for a team for 5 years now. The past 2 years though a couple of players have only got 10 mins out of 50 per game.
There was a meeting set up 2 years ago as parents were miffed about the fact not all kids got equal game time.
Attending was the manager and the actual top chairman of the overall club. Their attitude was if you don't like it leave that's how we run the club (25 teams)
So I was looking around for a club but nothing but this year has been the final straw with a friend of the managers son appearing and getting more game time than the ones who have been at the club a lot longer (All under 11's)
There have been a fair few arguments and there is a divide now in the team between the managers and parents a a lot are disgusted by the behaviour shown towards some kids over others ( the manager and assistant managers preferential treatment)
Anyway I've paid my subs £20 a month for 5 years now and there is a fair amount of money in the bank.
I do feel short changed and don't see why I should have paid same as parent X for 1/5th of the game time.
Question is there doesn't seem to be enough players left for the team to carry on so what happens to the money ?
Are we entitled to money back or does it just sit in the bank until the team disbands and then those left get all the money ?
The kit has always been paid for by sponsors so the only fees are pitch fees and ref fees which they raise from food and drink and raffle sales.
Around £3k per annum is getting filtered into the team and there is no way £3k is being spend
youl regret it in a year or two, but best ask your son what he wants to do thats all that matters
He moved teams at the start of the season. Not his 1st choice team but the other team were unresponsive to my contact.
So he went to a training session on the Wednesday and the 1st game was on the Sunday. However as there weren't enough players this was postponed. The 1st game was at home the week after. He won a penalty which he scored on his debut. We went on a losing streak until one game where we were 3-0 down. My son got 4 goals in about 6 minutes to make it 4-3. They couldn't hang on though and came away with a draw.there have been games where we have had no subs and even 8 players for 1 game. The last game of last year was our 1st win. We were 9-2 up and ended up winning 9-4.
We won again last week 9-3 and today in the snow we were 2-0 up at half time. I went back to the car and by the time I came back the 2nd half was underway and we were 6-0 up and my son had scored 5.
Ended up 6-5.
Summary he plays most of the time and when we do have subs each kid gets equal game time and has 6 mins off per game.
Even losing all those games he was way happier than barely playing but winning each week.
As this is the good stuff thread I thought I'd pay some compliments to a club that's really doing things right in the NW.
Stoke RTC (not directly related to Stoke City) are part of the Junior Premier League initiative that's trying to bridge the gap between grass roots and the academies. The guys running it clearly really get why the academies are turning kids off football, they are friendly, respectful (and expect that to be reciprocated) and very positive. I took my lad down for a few training sessions (it should have been more but school demands got in the way) and they really captured his attention, so much so that when we decided that the distances involved for fixtures and training would be too much he got really upset, I've never seen him so motivated to do something (and he is a naturally driven kid). So it looks like we have a busy season ahead of us now and I hope they can get the best out of my lad and the team, I have a feeling that they will.
Well done guys, a real breath of fresh air.
Any other similar stories/teams out there?
Stoke RTC (not directly related to Stoke City) are part of the Junior Premier League initiative that's trying to bridge the gap between grass roots and the academies. The guys running it clearly really get why the academies are turning kids off football, they are friendly, respectful (and expect that to be reciprocated) and very positive. I took my lad down for a few training sessions (it should have been more but school demands got in the way) and they really captured his attention, so much so that when we decided that the distances involved for fixtures and training would be too much he got really upset, I've never seen him so motivated to do something (and he is a naturally driven kid). So it looks like we have a busy season ahead of us now and I hope they can get the best out of my lad and the team, I have a feeling that they will.
Well done guys, a real breath of fresh air.
Any other similar stories/teams out there?
Since I posted last year, things have moved on. The original coach came back and left again, which left me with a small group of upset 5 year olds.
I decided to do something about it, so found a pitch, formed a team, found some more players and did all the necessary stuff with the FA. I now have a decent bunch going into the under 7s league in September.
I've also got some more coaches on board, so they will be starting an under 6s training/team in September.
It's been good fun actually, we played some friendlies against good teams, and discovered what we need to work on. The kids have come back and worked really hard, so it will be interesting to see how it goes.
I'm hoping to win a match by Christmas, we'll see though!
I decided to do something about it, so found a pitch, formed a team, found some more players and did all the necessary stuff with the FA. I now have a decent bunch going into the under 7s league in September.
I've also got some more coaches on board, so they will be starting an under 6s training/team in September.
It's been good fun actually, we played some friendlies against good teams, and discovered what we need to work on. The kids have come back and worked really hard, so it will be interesting to see how it goes.
I'm hoping to win a match by Christmas, we'll see though!
Andyjc86 said:
Since I posted last year, things have moved on. The original coach came back and left again, which left me with a small group of upset 5 year olds.
I decided to do something about it, so found a pitch, formed a team, found some more players and did all the necessary stuff with the FA. I now have a decent bunch going into the under 7s league in September.
I've also got some more coaches on board, so they will be starting an under 6s training/team in September.
It's been good fun actually, we played some friendlies against good teams, and discovered what we need to work on. The kids have come back and worked really hard, so it will be interesting to see how it goes.
I'm hoping to win a match by Christmas, we'll see though!
Well done for sticking with it. Try not to focus on winning games as the kids will feel the pressure late on. We take each 10 minute quater as a mini match so the kids don't worry too much about the final reault. It allows them to keep focus for a smaller amount of time.I decided to do something about it, so found a pitch, formed a team, found some more players and did all the necessary stuff with the FA. I now have a decent bunch going into the under 7s league in September.
I've also got some more coaches on board, so they will be starting an under 6s training/team in September.
It's been good fun actually, we played some friendlies against good teams, and discovered what we need to work on. The kids have come back and worked really hard, so it will be interesting to see how it goes.
I'm hoping to win a match by Christmas, we'll see though!
48Valves said:
Andyjc86 said:
Since I posted last year, things have moved on. The original coach came back and left again, which left me with a small group of upset 5 year olds.
I decided to do something about it, so found a pitch, formed a team, found some more players and did all the necessary stuff with the FA. I now have a decent bunch going into the under 7s league in September.
I've also got some more coaches on board, so they will be starting an under 6s training/team in September.
It's been good fun actually, we played some friendlies against good teams, and discovered what we need to work on. The kids have come back and worked really hard, so it will be interesting to see how it goes.
I'm hoping to win a match by Christmas, we'll see though!
Well done for sticking with it. Try not to focus on winning games as the kids will feel the pressure late on. We take each 10 minute quater as a mini match so the kids don't worry too much about the final reault. It allows them to keep focus for a smaller amount of time.I decided to do something about it, so found a pitch, formed a team, found some more players and did all the necessary stuff with the FA. I now have a decent bunch going into the under 7s league in September.
I've also got some more coaches on board, so they will be starting an under 6s training/team in September.
It's been good fun actually, we played some friendlies against good teams, and discovered what we need to work on. The kids have come back and worked really hard, so it will be interesting to see how it goes.
I'm hoping to win a match by Christmas, we'll see though!
After that we've played a tournament where we got absolutely hammered (against the 3 best clubs in Swindon), but the kids loved the experience.
Then we played an accadamy, mainly so I could see what they were doing differently. Again we lost heavily but the score line flattered them.
They haven't been upset once, and I've rejected loads of friendly offers recently so we can work on holding our positions. I finally think they're understanding my 1-2-1 formation. But now we've broke up for summer, so we'll see in September!
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