We’ve all thought it.....I’ve thought it many, many times.....I’ve thought it about Steve McLaren...and about Sven when he continued to try to sit on yet another 1-0 lead....I’ve definitely thought it about a long list of Villa managers in between Ron Saunders and Sir Martin of O’Neill and closer to home I thought it whilst at the Asian Cup and watching the Olympics.
The thought I’m referring to, and I know I share this with anyone who loves this great game of ours, when watching your team’s coach make, or fail to make, another critical decision be that tactically or personnel wise is that nagging belief that you could do a better job.
You have a complete sanctuary for those thoughts though because it’s not like you’re ever going to get the chance to prove yourself wrong....or right.
My playing career was brief and hardly spectacular...a promising University football career saw two national finals (narrow defeats in each) and a short lived semi-pro stint in the world of UK non-league football which ended in April 1990 at the very moment I snapped both cruciate ligaments in my right knee...never repaired, replaced or reconstructed I still miss them to this day as I’ve made that familiar retreat from striker to sweeper to keeper. I now block slightly more shots than I miss in a local over 35s comp and whilst I still love the banter of playing as my 40th birthday approaches, I’ve had that nagging voice in my head getting ever louder pushing me to hang up the boots and coach....after all...how hard can it be?
Working for a football magazine as we do....thoughts like these...have a habit of gathering momentum as they did in season 1 of the A-League when we sent our editor Paul to preseason training with Queensland Roar. When I shared these thoughts over a beer the resounding reply was it would be un-FourFourTwo-ian to not do anything about it and worse still not to share the experience.
So always keen to get our hands (and knees) dirty, I set to work earning my FFA Coaching License and on Saturday I shall embark on the AFC C Certificate at the AIS in Canberra for a 2 week residential stint. This is part of the recently restructured advanced coaching pathway in line with the AFC which sees many current and former players moving up the coaching ranks to follow in the footsteps of coaches like Gary van Egmond, John Kosmina, Dave Mitchell, Frank Farina and Aurelio Vidmar who have made the transition from Socceroo to A-League coach. You can see the full restructured coaching pathway from grass roots to AFC A license here
So over the next couple of weeks I’ll be giving you an insight into what goes into cutting it as a coach these days. I’ll keep you updated via this blog and later in the magazine.
In my research into the feature for the magazine I got some stats from the FFA that made for interesting and concerning reading. In 2007 there were 33,000 registered teams at all age groups yet only 8,000 people attended a formal coaching course....by my reckoning that leaves an awful lot of footballers being coached by people with no real qualification to do so.
By the time you reach my age it’s safe to say we’re beyond help but the most concerning numbers for me was that well over half the players aged 6-10 were being coached by coaches with no formal qualification....these are the critical ages where basic football techniques are taught and learned....this is the next generation of Socceroos and over half are being coached by what I’d call “enthusiastic dads”....enthusiasm is great and junior football survives on the efforts of such people but we owe it to the kids at our clubs to urge all coaches to get the respective qualification...a grass roots course can be done in a day...a junior license obtained in a weekend...many clubs will cover the cost of these courses for their coaches. If you’re interested in finding out when courses are being held in your area you can head here
So Canberra here I come...the sheepskin coat and clichés are all packed. See you in the dug out!
The thought I’m referring to, and I know I share this with anyone who loves this great game of ours, when watching your team’s coach make, or fail to make, another critical decision be that tactically or personnel wise is that nagging belief that you could do a better job.
You have a complete sanctuary for those thoughts though because it’s not like you’re ever going to get the chance to prove yourself wrong....or right.
My playing career was brief and hardly spectacular...a promising University football career saw two national finals (narrow defeats in each) and a short lived semi-pro stint in the world of UK non-league football which ended in April 1990 at the very moment I snapped both cruciate ligaments in my right knee...never repaired, replaced or reconstructed I still miss them to this day as I’ve made that familiar retreat from striker to sweeper to keeper. I now block slightly more shots than I miss in a local over 35s comp and whilst I still love the banter of playing as my 40th birthday approaches, I’ve had that nagging voice in my head getting ever louder pushing me to hang up the boots and coach....after all...how hard can it be?
Working for a football magazine as we do....thoughts like these...have a habit of gathering momentum as they did in season 1 of the A-League when we sent our editor Paul to preseason training with Queensland Roar. When I shared these thoughts over a beer the resounding reply was it would be un-FourFourTwo-ian to not do anything about it and worse still not to share the experience.
So always keen to get our hands (and knees) dirty, I set to work earning my FFA Coaching License and on Saturday I shall embark on the AFC C Certificate at the AIS in Canberra for a 2 week residential stint. This is part of the recently restructured advanced coaching pathway in line with the AFC which sees many current and former players moving up the coaching ranks to follow in the footsteps of coaches like Gary van Egmond, John Kosmina, Dave Mitchell, Frank Farina and Aurelio Vidmar who have made the transition from Socceroo to A-League coach. You can see the full restructured coaching pathway from grass roots to AFC A license here
So over the next couple of weeks I’ll be giving you an insight into what goes into cutting it as a coach these days. I’ll keep you updated via this blog and later in the magazine.
In my research into the feature for the magazine I got some stats from the FFA that made for interesting and concerning reading. In 2007 there were 33,000 registered teams at all age groups yet only 8,000 people attended a formal coaching course....by my reckoning that leaves an awful lot of footballers being coached by people with no real qualification to do so.
By the time you reach my age it’s safe to say we’re beyond help but the most concerning numbers for me was that well over half the players aged 6-10 were being coached by coaches with no formal qualification....these are the critical ages where basic football techniques are taught and learned....this is the next generation of Socceroos and over half are being coached by what I’d call “enthusiastic dads”....enthusiasm is great and junior football survives on the efforts of such people but we owe it to the kids at our clubs to urge all coaches to get the respective qualification...a grass roots course can be done in a day...a junior license obtained in a weekend...many clubs will cover the cost of these courses for their coaches. If you’re interested in finding out when courses are being held in your area you can head here
So Canberra here I come...the sheepskin coat and clichés are all packed. See you in the dug out!
