If you just turn up, you could have a huge impact on someone’s life. This has been Debbie Barry’s experience, who joins us for the first time on Coachcast to share her journey so far and offer her expertise on practice design and much more.

Debbie is an FA physical education officer who supports training teachers in primary and secondary PE as well as grassroots coaches through courses. She shares her early experiences with football, and we hear about the spark that cemented her love for the game. We discover how Debbie made the move from playing to coaching and teaching.

Coaches can expect to hear plenty of actionable advice from Debbie from the first coaching session to crafting sessions that meet the needs of all players and keep them coming back for more. We speak about the importance of the playing environment, and what a positive environment looks like. Debbie also shares her top coaching tips and advice on working with players of mixed abilities and we speak about how coaches can get more girls involved in football.

Covered in this episode:

• How Debbie got involved in coaching and teaching.
• The skills needed to make a transformational coach.
• What does a good positive environment look like?
• Designing sessions that make players want to come back.
• Advice on working with players of mixed ability.
• Developing sessions that meet the needs of all players within a large group.
• Session structures
• Tips for how coaches can encourage girls to get involved.
• The best advice that Debbie has ever received.

Transcript: Episode eleven: Giving players the platform to develop and thrive with Debbie Barry