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
SessionsFirst touch: the skill hiding inside every other skill
Sessions18 February 20262 min

First touch: the skill hiding inside every other skill

Passing, shooting, dribbling - every one of them starts with the touch before. How to train receiving skills so they hold up when a defender arrives, not just in the warm-up.

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DevelopmentThe weaker foot: how to actually build one
Development11 February 20262 min

The weaker foot: how to actually build one

Every coach says use your other foot. Almost nobody structures a way for a child to build one. It takes about eight weeks and it happens away from the pitch.

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DevelopmentHeading at youth level: what the guidance says and what to do instead
Development4 February 20262 min

Heading at youth level: what the guidance says and what to do instead

Heading rules for children have changed for good reasons. What current guidance actually allows at each age, and how to build brave, well-timed jumpers without a ball touching a head.

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DevelopmentThe biggest kid in the team is not the best player
Development28 January 20262 min

The biggest kid in the team is not the best player

Physical maturity at twelve is borrowed, not earned. What happens to the early developer at fifteen, and why the small one deserves your patience.

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Match dayPicking a formation that teaches, not one that wins Saturday
Match day21 January 20262 min

Picking a formation that teaches, not one that wins Saturday

7v7 and 9v9 formats are not miniature 11-a-side. How to choose a shape that develops players, why the strongest formation is often the wrong one, and what to fix before blaming the system.

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DevelopmentScanning: the habit nobody trains and everybody wants
Development14 January 20262 min

Scanning: the habit nobody trains and everybody wants

The difference between a player who always seems to have time and one who never does is not speed. It is how often they look before the ball arrives.

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SessionsPlan Tuesday in ten minutes: a session template that always works
Sessions7 January 20262 min

Plan Tuesday in ten minutes: a session template that always works

You have a job, a family, and training in the morning. A repeatable four-block template, one decision to make per week, and why planning less makes coaching better.

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DevelopmentWhen to start teaching positions
Development31 December 20252 min

When to start teaching positions

A seven-year-old told to stay at right back will stand at right back, obediently, for forty minutes, and learn nothing. So when does position actually start to matter?

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DevelopmentFitness training for children is just football, played more
Development24 December 20252 min

Fitness training for children is just football, played more

No, your under-10s do not need shuttle runs, and the beep test is not a session. What the research says about children and conditioning, and how to build fit players with a ball.

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