Robbo’s Column - May

Hi everyone, welcome to the third edition of Robbo’s column. I hope you are all safe and well.

This week I have been speaking to one of the coaches regarding football sessions . We were looking at philosophies to bring into the team, that he coaches. We looked at how this could impact and progress the team as a whole and individual players. We looked at ways this could challenge and progress the team and players over the next couple of seasons. Ideas were flowing and what was meant to be a quick chat ended up being a bit longer. This got me thinking also, why I got into coaching and why the coaches at Southport Athletic JFC are passionate about the club and give up a lot of their time, especially in the evenings and weekends during the season. One of the reasons for this is how each coach wants to be positive, in order to make a huge difference to each individual player that they coach.

Focusing on being positive and led by strong communication and collaboration are the cornerstones of my coaching philosophy. This echoes Gareth Southgate's positive principles of coaching in The FA's 'We only do positive' handbook, which I put into practice in the following ways:

1. Create the right environment

It’s crucial to make sure that the coaches, parents and players all work together in creating the right environment. I feel that the following four key areas help to create the right environment:

• Be the most respectful team

• Provide opportunity for all

• Acceptance of mistakes

• Try your best and support others

We’ve had examples of players becoming extremely anxious, both at and away from football, which has impacted their confidence in and around the team. In these examples we’ve made sure that our training sessions are a comfortable, trustworthy environment with no pressure on those players to perform.

2. Lead by positive example

We begin the season with a player’s collectively agreeing to the roles and responsibilities of the team, understand the strengths and weaknesses of the team and the expectations for the season.

The team will then work with me to lead the pre-match warm-up, the team talk before a game and provide feedback from the players at the end of the game. This is all done in a positive manner.

3. Build a positive team around you

We want to make sure our team at Southport Athletic JFC is a team people want to come and play for, so it’s really important to have a great team around you, including the players and their parents.

On paper, a coaching philosophy can read well, but without support from parents/guardians it is difficult to bring that philosophy to life. Parents play a vital role in creating a player-centred environment and it is important to take them with you on the team’s journey. Through communication and collaboration, the philosophy becomes more than a coach’s philosophy, it becomes the team’s philosophy, and therefore the impact is greater, leading to more consistent messages, increased enjoyment, and greater player retention.

Football has so many benefits, look beyond the score line. Only one team can “win” the league, but every player can “win” through football, whether that’s making friends, improved confidence, developing leadership skills or achieving something they never thought they could. The right team, with the right coach, in the right environment means every player can “win”!

Thanks Martyn. Some very thought provoking Philosophy there and I for one will try and think more about what I`m saying to the kids. I guess the old saying “ It`s not all about Winning” rings very true. Thanks to Martyn for supporting this newsletter and the club.