The coaching blog

Notes from the touchline

Short, practical pieces for anyone coaching kids: what to do on Tuesday, what to say on Saturday and what to stop worrying about entirely.

All posts 60 Club life 4 Coaching 10 Development 12 Goalkeeping 4 Match day 10 Parents 7 Sessions 13
SessionsThe first training session: the 60 minutes that set your whole season
Sessions24 June 20264 min

The first training session: the 60 minutes that set your whole season

You will never have their attention like you do in the first hour. Here is how to spend it, minute by minute, and the three things you should deliberately not do.

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SessionsThe four drills you should stop running tomorrow
Sessions17 June 20262 min

The four drills you should stop running tomorrow

They look like coaching, they feel organised, and they are the four biggest wastes of a Tuesday evening in youth football.

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Club lifeThe end-of-season awards night without tears (mostly yours)
Club life10 June 20262 min

The end-of-season awards night without tears (mostly yours)

Player of the Year sounds harmless until you watch the faces of the kids who never win anything. How to run an awards evening that celebrates a whole squad honestly.

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CoachingThe first ten minutes decide the hour
Coaching3 June 20263 min

The first ten minutes decide the hour

You are not fighting for attention at minute forty. You lost it at minute three, standing in the middle of a field with a bag of cones and twelve bored children.

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SessionsThe last sessions of the season: finish loud, finish warm
Sessions27 May 20262 min

The last sessions of the season: finish loud, finish warm

Legs are tired, the league is decided, and attention is at the beach already. Why the final weeks matter more than mid-season, and session ideas that end the year the right way.

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CoachingHow to give feedback a child will actually keep
Coaching20 May 20262 min

How to give feedback a child will actually keep

The feedback sandwich is a management technique for adults, and children see straight through it. Four things that work better, and one that undoes everything.

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DevelopmentWhen an academy comes calling: excitement, small print and plan B
Development13 May 20262 min

When an academy comes calling: excitement, small print and plan B

A scout liked your winger and suddenly there are trial letters and big feelings. What academy interest really means, the questions parents forget to ask, and how to protect the kid...

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CoachingWhat to do when a session falls apart
Coaching6 May 20262 min

What to do when a session falls apart

Fifteen minutes in, nobody is listening, the exercise is not working and you can feel the evening slipping. Every coach has been there. Here is the recovery.

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Club lifeThe 14-year-old with the whistle: looking after young referees
Club life29 April 20262 min

The 14-year-old with the whistle: looking after young referees

That nervous teenager refereeing your under-10s is doing their first ever match. Why young officials quit in droves, and what one coach and one sideline can do about it.

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