A very happy new year and welcome to 2017 following a year where we sadly lost so many familiar faces including in the football world lets pray for a happier one all round.
Of course, there were some momentous moments in Sport not least Leicester City achieving the impossible, which of course proved that its actually not so to speak.
So, to drop back a little to my last column regarding the need for qualifications in football coaching; A few argue the point especially in grassroots that if they have knowledge of the game, played a bit and years of experience coaching kids teams with relative success, what’s the point of a piece of paper to say you can coach? It has caused some debate on various football coaching Facebook sites and websites.
Having gone through the system and been a course tutor I of course will be on the side of getting qualified at least to fit the level you work at. I think any learning course you undertake that ends with recognition that you have achieved and gained more knowledge gives self-satisfaction and pride. Even if it is not your aim to gain employment or financial reward it is still that sense of satisfaction that you did it. Sometimes you surprise yourself in bringing out what you can do and also the sharing of knowledge and experience with others in your group, making new friends and even future colleagues.
Of course, there are pluses and minuses to any situation but the former far outweighs the later. As far as the thousands of grassroots and volunteer coaches are concerned it can be finding the time and money to take these courses, which I appreciate and understand.
The FA are constantly reviewing the situation and in conjunction with local FAs and even clubs many courses are provided with subsidies or bursaries on application. Across the counties course and dates are varied and you should find one to suit. The other initiative proving more and more popular are online courses with the flexibility of completing as and when you can some of these are free to do are certificated and all add to your knowledge.
Once you dip your toe in the water it tends to trigger a desire for more and then it’s up to you to decide how far you want to go. I started the old Preliminary award on a course that cost me £12.00 run at Southwark park in South London by Millwall Community Scheme in 1986 so I could get some ideas to coach my amateur Sunday league team better. Thirty years on (Wow that makes me feel old) I have had an incredible journey at almost every level of the game and now hold the highest qualification available.
Even that does not guarantee employment as I am discovering but I am still proud of where I am and know I need to continue learning as the game evolves.
My last note is on what seems to be the norm now in the interview process for the vast majority of coaching roles. Many want some form of practical demonstration particularly if you have no previous experience to show and almost all want some type of Power point presentation based on a subject they provide. So, my tip would be preparing for that and if possible get some video footage of your training sessions done to send as visual proof of your ability. Almost like a player would send to clubs.
Hope you have enjoyed this little insight and please send any questions;
Kind regards
Keith
