A Case Study of Grassroots Football

For those who don’t know, as well as writing The Whitehouse Address I am a coach, in fact an 'A licence' coach who works with youth player at a professional academy as well as working with individual players and coaches. As you may well know I am a keen enthusiast of youth development and have a passion for developing players and producing teams who play attacking football with creativity and confidence. So when I was approached last summer by a chairman of a Charter standard grassroots club with the opportunity to improve the standards of coaching and the players I could not resist. For me it was a great chance to hopefully improve the quality of the players development as well as analysing (on a small sample) the state of grassroots football.

Early observations

I was initially brought in as a consultant to the chairman in order to make observations about the state of the youth section and to make recommendations for aspects to be improved.

The truth was that in the first few months my eyes were opened to the limits of grassroots football coaching. 

Of the ten teams (a very low number for the potential of the club, yet which highlighted previous issues) and twenty coaches, only one coach had more than a level one award and he was the only one to have partaken in the new youth modules. Therefore the coaches knowledge of both the player development, the game and the principles of play and any detailed technical information were extremely limited. As too were their confidence in delivery and coaching. Effectively the players were being coached by parents who had got the bare minimum qualification and who were volunteering their time to help.

The truth was that these “coaches” and I use this term very loosely were not really helping the players. Yes it was a charter standard club yet it was little more than a "lads and dads" club. Unfortunately there were far too many examples of bad practice were evident in those first few weeks which are important to address here.

• Coaches joining in the session and small sided games of players between U12-U14 – most often taking the most touches, tackling and overall dominating a game which they should have played no part in. A lack of consideration of the potential damage they could cause was worrying.
• A boot camp mentality to ‘fitness’ was seen by a couple of coaches where players did not see a ball for ¾ of their session. These were U12-14 players and their fitness was not the issue, technical and tactical ability was. However these coaches were treating these players like “mini-adults” and when asked about their methods they were confident it was “in the players interests”.
• Too much talking and not enough playing. Now this issue of over talking was seen by almost all the coaches and for an hour session the lack of ball contact and activity was certainly a concern.
• Giant pitches was another issue. All teams trained on a third of the pitch and thus had about 50x35 pitch for their session. The issue was when they played a SSG it was often a 7v7 on the full pitch. Now for me between the ages of U9-U13 it is important to keep the pitches small perhaps a 30x20 and involve the players more, have more touches and more activity. Two pitches could have been made out so all players are active at all times.
• A major concern was the lack of planning and organisation which these coaches were failing to do. There was no evidence of a theme or development in the sessions. It was often just basic activities which unfortunately over a few weeks began to look very similar and unchallenging for the players.
• In matches you had the aggressive, negative communication coming from the side which was never constructiive, only harmful. There was never any information in terms of technical or tactical guidance only ever clichés and the style of play from the majority of the sides was very poor

It was clear there was a lot to do to improve standards and I was amazed when I was told this was one of the best clubs in the area. A worrying thought. 

A vision & the project

After addressing these issues to the chairman I was made the clubs Technical Director and during the summer held several coach education clinics looking to educate the coaches to the vision in which the chairman wanted to take the club forward.

My evaluation was that although there were some enthusiastic and well-meaning coaches the lack of knowledge of player development and coaching in terms of organisation, planning and communication were preventing the development of the players at the club. My job therefore was clear; improve the coaches and the players would come on from that. 

The chairman felt that this non-league club was spending too much money on the first team and wanted to instil a new project which would produce players from the youth section to become first team players. As well as this the intention was to produce players capable of going into the professional game. The new vision was ambitious yet these ambitions were possible if the coaches of these players had bought in to it. 

With a background in Coerver Coaching and a belief in this method of coaching and skill development my aim was educate the coaches about the Coerver method and give them ideas and sessions which would help them develop more skilful and creative players.

The vision for the club was as follows;

“Our vision for player development is to create technically efficient footballers and good people. We will expect our sides to play attacking, attractive football. Our aim is to produce technically excellent, confident and creative players”

“We will be looking for coaches to focus on the players development working on technique and skill and importantly allowing players to be creative. We want our young players to express themselves. Above our aim for all our players is that enjoy what they do.”

Improvements

Initially I started working with different teams and showing the coaches some drills that they could use to help their players. Yet although it was good for the players to have myself work with them, it was more important for the coaches to be coaching themselves and for me to help and mentor them.

It was a positive start and many of the coaches were very receptive and open for new ideas and the improvements made of their players were pleasing. There were some issues such as too much coaching and a lack of simply allowing the players to play, yet the players were developing their creativity and confidence with the ball. The changes to the pitch sizes helped increase contact on the ball and improved the players 1v1 skills as well as making the sessions more enjoyable for all players.

Over the season we carried out several coach education clinics which sought to introduce the new vision of the club and the values and beliefs of the club. The Coerver method was introduced as well as giving the coaches more of an understanding of the game itself. We initially started to focus on counter attacking and gave the coaches information and drills which would help improve the players development and understanding of transition.

Around the new year we introduced the importance of asking players and teams to play out from the back. Unfortunately the issue of hopeful goal kicks were common through most teams. We sought to instruct the coaches that having the players learn to play out and be confident with the ball in the defensive areas of the pitch was important for the development of better players which would help the vision of the club.

I have to commend the U11 coaches who were the most progressive of the club in terms of ball skills and producing creative, intelligent players. Their team ended up scoring 176 goals in their league over 38 games and played some excellent football. Their methods and manner in their coaching was an example for all at the club. 

Politics and egos

As the age groups went up it was here where more problems were encountered. The major issue was the “ego’s” of the coaches. Now for some of these coaches they had worked with these players for a couple of years and were very protective of their players and their methods. It was here where I encountered coaches with the famous “fixed mindset”, where they were unwilling to take on board new ideas. 

My role was viewed as pernicious to them, I was not viewed as a help or mentor but as a threat.  A threat to their status, role and position at the club. Yes they had achieved success previously but their methods and standards were poor and unprofessional. 

After viewing and talking to those with the “fixed mindset” it was clear why I was viewed in this way. These coaches were limited in their coaching and knowledge and because they were unwilling to take on new ideas they became defensive and obstructive.

This issue was seen and heightened as the season went on involving several coaches and a division became evident. On one side there were the coaches who wanted to learn and develop and who sought my advice and guidance and those who viewed me as a threat to their ego’s. Now the truth was that those coaches who had taken on board the new vision and ideas were showing an improvement in their coaching and their players were developing well. Of course you can imagine what was happening with those who were continuing to do the same things; their players were not progressing to the levels which they could have and their attitude towards myself became colder.

Some of their teams were doing well and have ended the season with trophies and success, however the intention was to improve the players and develop them to elite levels. Their success came from a style of football which was limited and functional and the concern was that these players, as individuals, were not being coached or developed sufficiently to be capable of progressing to the next level. 

Perhaps you’ll ask why I did not do more to get these coaches on board, and in those early months I did a lot to persuade and convince them of the new path for the club. Yet when I started to get involved more and spoke of the plans for next season, I started to encounter problems. I hit the wall of ego’s and politics. It was amazing to me that these men who professed that they cared about developing players were lying, they only cared about themselves and their 'success' and reputation. It was terrible to witness.  

It appeared that the chairman’s vision would never be fully implemented because this group of “coaches” were concerned more about their roles than the good of the players and the club. And as the season went on the politics against myself grew, the chairman reneged more on his desire for the new project because of these coaches and their influence over him. 

He began to take a less active role in the club and without his backing these men overruled me and my position. It has transpired that this select group of coaches formed a group which would seek to push forward their hold over the youth section and thus limit my ability to instil change. A new "junior management team" was formed and no surprise the main people behind its formation were those who were against the progression of the club. I heard from a couple of coaches that they were told “Don’t listen to what he has to say, he won’t be here next year”. 

It is a real shame that the project, which was initially a five year plan will now be nearly squashed after a year. Seeking to make changes and improve standards of a club was viewed as a negative because certain men's ego's were more important than progression. 

It was clear to me that certain coaches were more interested in their success than developing players. Winning games and trophies was their only goal because this would confirm their ability as coach, unfortunately this was not true and I witnessed players who were failing to develop to levels they could have if they had worked with coaches who actually put player development at the front of their coaching.

If I had been given the support to continue onwards I would have been inclined to ask these coaches to step down next season because I did not believe they were willing to buy into the vision of the club and who were ultimately not doing their best for the players. As it is it is I who have been sidelined and it is these men who will oversee the running of a club with over 150 players.

It is important also to address the issue of the first team. Unfortunately even the coaches here felt threatened by the new project because they knew their style did not correspond to the new vision. A lack of communication between all parties was an issue throughout the year and instead of a combined effort to push the club forward there were too many who saw new ideas as threat.

Finances have played a part of course, these men are volunteers and I was in a paid role, yet I can imagine the argument was “you don't need him, we’ll do it for free”. Unfortunately finances do play a part and this is where grassfoots fooball is struggling. Improved standards require highly qualified coaches, which usually warrants funding. Also if the volunteer coaches wish to enhance and develop their coaching then they need to spend much money on acquiring these qualifications which is not always possible. My view is that the quality of coaching needs to drastically improved if levels of player development are to be enhanced at the grassroots level. 

This season opened my eyes to grassroots football and in my desire to improve the standards of the coaching and thus the players in the grassroots environment I encountered obstruction and selfishness to individuals ego’s and reputations.

A new way forward?

This summer the FA is rolling out their grassroots mentor scheme which will place regional coach mentors across the country to help support and mentor coaches of charter standard clubs. It is an idea long overdue, yet one which could be huge for the development of a larger pool of talented players.

I have witnessed that grassroots football needs more support, especially for the coaches. A level one course is simply not enough for these men to now be regarded as developers of future talent. I am sure the mentoring scheme will help these coaches and clubs develop better players.

However, my concern based on this seasons case study is that there are those coaches who possess a “fixed mindset” and who did not wish to be helped or supported. I found that although they possess limited knowledge of football and coaching they do not wish to be progress further. 

The culture of grassroots football is a very protective one and there are those who have a strong influence over these clubs who will not view “outside” help and support as a positive experience. 

The FA will need to address this issue and seek to improve this culture and mindset of those who care about their own roles over the player’s development. This is the key!

The Whitehouse Address @The_W_Address

Any coaches or parents who wish to discuss youth development and coaching can contact myself at thewhitehouseaddress@gmail.com