[00:00:08,784] [Jamie:] Hello and welcome to CoachCast by England Football Learning, the coaching podcast that brings you insight from people across the game. Today we're chatting to Matthew Ansah, a coach from Croydon, London, to discover his journey so far and how he's helping to provide opportunities to players and coaches in the area. Hi Matthew, welcome to the show.
[00:00:31,819] [Matthew Ansah:] Hi, thank you.
[00:00:33,778] [Louise:] Hi, Matthew it's really good to have you on the podcast with us today. But one of the first things that we'd like to do is just find out a little bit more about you and what you do in your coaching, who you coach, etc. So if you could give us a little brief explanation.
[00:00:47,921] [Matthew Ansah:] So I am the chairman of a grassroots club called Forestdale Football Club based in Croydon. We have 20 children's teams and an adult team. And I also own four franchises with We Make Footballers and the areas we cover with We Make Footballers is Croydon, Carlsholton and Colesden, Redhill and also in Epsom. So at the moment I'm coaching children from different areas and different age groups.
[00:01:12,827] [Jamie:] That sounds fascinating and we can't wait to dive in and find out a little bit more about that. But first, as this is a coaching podcast, a lot of our listeners could be listening to this on the way to training, for instance. So we feel like it might be a good idea to give them some advice early on at the top of the show.
[00:01:27,228] [Louise:] Yeah, so we're going to give you 30 seconds and we'd like you to give us as many top coaching tips as you can in those 30 seconds. Are you up for that challenge?
[00:01:37,662] [Matthew Ansah:] Yes, I'm ready.
[00:01:39,158] [Louise:] Okay, so when that music starts, you can start reeling off your tips.
[00:01:43,229] [Matthew Ansah:] So tip number one, I would say try and coach as much as you can in as many different environments as possible. I think this is a good idea to try and be around different children from different environments and places. Another one would be to plan, do and review. So plan your session, deliver and review how you think the participants done, if they enjoyed it and what you could have improved if you delivered the session again, that would be my tip.
[00:02:14,471] [Louise:] Really smooth and finished that off perfectly there, just with a second spare. Yeah, thanks.
[00:02:21,567] [Jamie:] That was just a little arrival activity effectively at the start of the show. We always like to do that. But yeah, let's find out a little bit more about you, Matthew. Do you want to tell us what your first experience of football was like?
[00:02:34,623] [Matthew Ansah:] Yes, it was in a local park in Croydon, hours and hours of football with friends from different schools in the area. Really enjoyable. And it wasn't organised, just we met up and played in different summer holidays and half terms, and then went on to playing for different grassroots clubs in the local area.
[00:02:53,658] [Jamie:] Did you find informal play quite useful at a young age?
[00:02:58,814] [Matthew Ansah:] Yeah definitely, I think it allowed me to mix with children of different ages. So if I was playing for a team, but I started football quite late, so under 13s, I think I joined my first first grassroots team. Whereas playing in the park, I was seven, eight, playing with under 11s and 12s players that I've experienced that kind of football before. So I think it was really enjoyable and I learned by playing the game and playing with these older boys and girls that played.
[00:03:21,181] [Jamie:] How did you first get involved then with organised football then? You say that you started around the age of 13 or just under 13.
[00:03:29,132] [Matthew Ansah:] It was following friends. So a lot of friends went to a local grassroots club. At the time it was called Melwood FC. So I went to go and play there. It was a fantastic experience. It was friends that I met in the park and they were very good players and you could tell that they had coaching and they understood the game a lot better. So I followed them down there and that was a really good introduction to football for me and a memory that I'll never forget.
[00:03:51,684] [Jamie:] This is kind of a bit of a two part question, Matthew. Firstly, how did you find being coached yourself? The second part of the question is, do you find in your coaching that because of your football journey yourself with informal play, that you bring informal play with you a little bit and place quite an importance on that in your sessions?
[00:04:09,155] [Matthew Ansah:] Yeah, where it was just playing in the park to just enjoy the game and to play. When I went into the first grassroots team, it was a big eye opener because we were training to for something and we're training to go and play on a Sunday and then the opportunity to train and then the process of going to a game where it's a home game or away game, you're meeting friends on a Sunday morning to travel together. That was a whole new experience for me, which I really enjoyed. With your second question in terms of the coaching, I think nowadays I don't see much children playing in the park by themselves or playing a lot of football where they can kind of create games or a game which they always play when they meet. So what we tend to do at the grassroots club is try to bring those games back into play. So we might do the World Cup where it's two vs two, everyone's into one goal to score and one goalkeeper. When you score, you go through. Or we might change so everyone's playing for the same time but if you score three goals, you win the game. We feel that allows them to have to either try and beat as many players as possible to try and score, find success or work with your partner to beat all these different pairs to try and score. But also allows for the coach to observe and see what players can maybe do that, whereas in training sessions you might not want them to do that at the time because you're showing them a different picture or practice. It allows you to see who may be looking to goal hang and create jokes and banter between those players who are maybe goal hanging and waiting for the players across the board or another team players across the board. So I definitely think unstructured games where players can have fun and express themselves, but even in an environment where it could be around a team, I think it can be beneficial not only for the players but for the coaches as well.
[00:05:50,467] [Louise:] Would you say that your interest in coaching started straight away or was it something that came along a little bit after?
[00:05:57,553] [Matthew Ansah:] Coaching for me came along a lot later and that was more college time. So I played for quite a few different grassroots teams, really enjoyed making friends and playing in different areas. For me, I kind of knew areas in and around Croydon from playing football and having to travel to different areas. And then I went to a college program. So I actually stayed on campus and that college program really opened my eyes to another level of football where the grass was unreal. The coaching was a really, really high standard compared to what I was used to. And the players that I played with also played for bigger clubs. So their experience in football was also greater. So I feel like that was where I really wanted to get involved in coaching. On the college program, we were allowed to do our level one. So delivering the level one in this fantastic football environment after being coached by these great coaches, it was for me a really good route into not only working with friends and staying in the game, but the opportunity to earn some money whilst doing it at an age where there was no job for me at the time.
[00:07:01,066] [Louise:] What was the college program? Were you doing something at college that went with that?
[00:07:05,364] [Matthew Ansah:] It was a college called Marist Wood in Guildford. And it was the first year that Chelsea Football Club held a college program there. It was a beta level three in sport that we studied. We would train four times a week, do the education after the sessions and then play games on a Wednesday. And then a few of the players there went to a local club called Westfield Football Club. So we also played down there, which was a great experience. But yeah, the college program was unreal. I think for me, it was as close to someone from grassroots to the professional game as possible. It was unreal. It was coached by coaches who have either played at a good level or had a really high coaching qualification. Coaches who always demanded the best from the players, but also ensured that the education side was also up to scratch at a high level. And it was an environment where we could stay on campus. So it really felt like an elite environment where it was an amazing opportunity and it really allowed me to look at coaching in a different way.
[00:08:01,049] [Louise:] Sounds like a fantastic opportunity. In coaching, what do you enjoy about coaching? It sounds like you really enjoy the social side of it as well, like kind of getting to know people. Even from when you started off, it sounded like that was a really important part of it. Is that something that's important in your coaching or is there any other elements?
[00:08:21,089] [Matthew Ansah:] I agree with that. I think it's definitely important, the social side. Just to add to that, I would say development. And I really enjoy seeing players improve. I've just been coaching the adult team at Forestdale. And to be able to work with a group of adults again is fantastic for me, based on working with under-7s to under-12s for a long time. But to work with players that are experienced, have played at different levels, to then still teach them new things and still work on what they might know or used to do, but to bring it back into their game, I think it's a big eye-opener for me because a lot of these players are my age or slightly older. But to see development with them, it definitely looks different to when I'm coaching the 7s to under-12s. But to see development in that hour to hour and a half of training is definitely why I continue to coach and why I still definitely enjoy it. But with the 7s to 12s, especially the under-7s who I've been coaching recently, it's been seeing development, whether it's dribbling or understanding how to receive a ball positively, trying to drive forward with their first touch, and seeing them not being able to do or understand what that means to doing it and then using it in a game within that hour, it's just amazing to see. And I think they're some of the reasons why I really enjoy coaching, especially going back to the under-7 age group where you can see a lot of development points really quick based on them wanting to learn and take on information and explaining what it means to the players when they do this, how it can help them and support them in a game, and then they look to try it more. That's what I really enjoy at the moment.
[00:09:46,238] [Jamie:] What age ranges do you tend to coach? And do you have any top tips for dealing with different age groups?
[00:09:53,544] [Matthew Ansah:] So I'm coaching a range of different ages. So when it comes to myself coaching under-7s to under-9s, within grassroots, sometimes some coaches might struggle to get the children's attention. I like to do it with competition. If the children are taking long to come in to you to set up the next practice or to show them something new, instead of saying, don't be last, it's conversations around. First three to me get a high-five or first three to me get a fist bump. Just making everything more positive or just changing the way we view things as coaches to the children wanting to do something or wanting to be better or to be the best or to get there first. So I think that definitely helps to try to get their attention and using a whistle and visual aid to support the children to see different things or hear different things. I also coach the girls under-10s and under-12s. And one thing that's happened recently is a few of the girls like to do cartwheels and handstands. So what I've done, and I'm pretty sure I saw this on Twitter a couple of weeks ago, but it's having a cartwheel break. So where I feel the girls are playing, enjoying, having fun, when they would go and have their water break, I would then give them an extra minute to do some cartwheels. Some girls don't want to do it. They want to get the ball and do some kickups, or they might be chatting to me about the England game they just watched, but some of them will actually go and do it. And I think it's just understanding the participants and maybe their background and what they're used to and what they enjoy, but incorporating that with the football. So I can still get my points across without having to, or do not allow something, giving them the time to enjoy and still want to be around football and be around the club. I think that's the most important thing. With the older age groups, I think it's still trying to coach players and teach players how we want to at the club, but it's also more conversations. So conversations around what they might want to do in a specific situation or position. On the 13th team I'm coaching at the moment where they might see a free kick routine or a corner routine and they want to try and implement it within the team. So I think it's definitely being open to what the players want to do at an older age group, but also allowing them to feel part of the team and a sense of empowerment, I think it would be, to allow them to just really think about how the team can move forward, but also implementing what they see in games and at school into the club.
[00:12:10,733] [Jamie:] It sounds like across all ages, it's quite important, in your opinion, it's quite important to know your players kind of wants and needs, and then you're kind of tailoring it to them then.
[00:12:21,298] [Matthew Ansah:] Yeah, agreed.
[00:12:22,240] [Jamie:] Fantastic. I love the cartwheel breaks. That's brilliant. I can't do them, but that's a great idea. Do you want to tell us a little bit about Forestdale Football Club and when was it founded and what it means to you?
[00:12:36,849] [Matthew Ansah:] The club was founded in 2016. We were playing out of a local primary school in a park. We had three teams. One team were playing on Sunday and two teams are playing on a Saturday league. It started from working for another grassroots club who were fantastic, really, really, really big club in the area. I went down to the previous grassroots club to help out and it ended up with myself taking a lot more responsibility at the club, but I was 18 at the time and I didn't have much support with how it was supposed to run with the admin, with the different teams signing up to the leagues, but also I was trying to find myself in coaching and wanting to progress and how to move forward in life. It got to a situation where I either stopped coaching with the grassroots team and the players had nowhere to go, or I kind of keep the players and set up a grassroots team because the previous grassroots club we were working with, they basically were on pause, so they stopped working as a grassroots club. I spoke to a few parents and my partner and we decided to set up a grassroots club. This is Forestdale Football Club with the three teams. We went from three teams to 10 teams in the following year, really enjoying the process of working with not just only one team but with different coaches and different teams. Then we got to our oldest team was under 10s going to under 11s and we needed to find a 9v9 pitch, which was very difficult at the time, so I was contacting everywhere, different clubs, schools, trying to find a venue where I could either hire a 9v9 pitch or put in a 9v9 pitch. I came across the place and went down there and they actually had floodlights, they have a bar, they have changing rooms and it was just an amazing environment for us to go and visit and realise that this could be a place for us. So we ended up taking over that venue and we now have a 10-year lease at the ground with now 25 kids teams at the moment and now the adult team. So we've literally within the last five, six years have really grown, really enjoyed the process. It has been a challenge but it's just been such a crazy couple of years with just wanting to coach and support a local team, to being in a position where I'm now chairman of a grassroots club. At the time I was looking at different coaching courses that I could do with the FA and meeting fantastic people from the FA that have supported me to progress and get to where I am now, not just as a coach but as someone who manages other coaches and the chairman of the club. To be one day coaching, another minute observing a coach, to the next minute I'm streaming hedges and cutting back areas of the ground that need work, it's been a really good journey but the club is, I think, for the community and I think there's a lot more we could do for the community but at the moment I think we are doing a good job to not only look at trying to get players from different environments but also on different journeys. So it could be players who are trying to progress into, like to get into their school team, it could be players that want to just jump in and play with their friends and players that want to progress and try and get into academy football. I believe that we are in a position where we are catering for all players. It's finding that balance between trying to look after the club and maintain it but also think about where the club can be in a couple of years and managing the kind of dreams of wanting to become a semi-professional club and progress like the clubs in the local area but also making sure that we stay supporting the local area with the things that we're doing at the moment. So it's trying to balance what we can be as a club in the future but also ensuring that we're still fulfilling our aims and objectives now that we planned for a couple of years prior.
[00:16:21,002] [Jamie:] At the start of that journey did you ever foresee being here and the impact that you're having on the local community at all?
[00:16:28,181] [Matthew Ansah:] No way. The idea was just to go and support a local grassroots club and learn how to coach and work with a group of under-8s at the time but to be where we are now, if someone told me this 10 years ago I wouldn't believe them, no way. And to be in a position where we're looking at a summer stage with the support of parents and people in the local community to try and buy the ground and put a 3G pitch in there and train there rather than hiring other venues to train and allowing clubs to use more of our facilities not just in the summer because of the grass and maintaining the grass, it would be fantastic. And for us to be able to even speak about the club and to speak about how much we've done, speaking about it now I'm just so shocked at the fact that we've done so much and where it's come from. It's very enjoyable but it is a big project for us to maintain and look after and make sure like I said we're looking at the future but also maintaining what we're doing now.
[00:17:26,224] [Louise:] So is there any opportunities for younger coaches to get involved and also what are you actually looking for when you are looking for coaches for your teams?
[00:17:35,061] [Matthew Ansah:] So we're looking for coaches who have energy, who are enthusiastic to work with children. We're also looking for coaches who would like to learn more about the game or have particular things they would like to implement themselves. So I'll be honest, we try to open our arms to all coaches to come in and then we'll place them at different ages depending on where they want to coach. We also have the company we are linked with called We Make Footballers who coach children between the age of 4 to 12 and then we have opportunities for coaches to also work there where when they work for the club they will plan their own sessions and deliver. Whereas when they work for We Make Footballers in the franchise it would be delivering a session which has been created by the head of coaching nationwide for all coaches at every centre to deliver at the same time. So I think it's a good mix for coaches that come to us. They have an opportunity to deliver their sessions around the five a side or nine a side game and then they have an opportunity to just work on individual player development at the We Make Footballers sessions and then go into their multi-ball with their 1v1s and 2v2s. So yeah, we're always looking for coaches to come on board.
[00:18:42,784] [Jamie:] What are the key coach values to you? You mentioned that they need to be energetic, especially at the younger ages. Are there any other coaching values that you quite like coaches to have when they come into Forestdale?
[00:18:53,283] [Matthew Ansah:] Yes, I would say passion. So a passion for the game, a passion for trying to work with children and develop the players. Aligned with that I would say development. So focusing on development and thinking about the children and the players you're working with. Creating an environment where they're allowed to make mistakes and allowing the children to learn from the mistakes. Creating an environment which is safe to learn. So yeah, energy, passion and development-led.
[00:19:20,586] [Louise:] Do you use different playing surfaces and if so, do you think they help players with their development?
[00:19:26,983] [Matthew Ansah:] Yeah, so we have grass pitches. In the winter we use a sports saw for our futsal work on a Monday night and we have a hockey pitch. The hockey pitch is a little bit slippery but it allows us to train and train on the sidelines which is very useful. I think with the playing surface the ball moves very quickly and sometimes the players struggle to move and move quickly on that kind of surface.
[00:19:52,137] [Jamie:] Yeah, definitely plenty of return. So it's good that you've got three. I know not everybody has access to multiple surfaces but in your case you've got three different surfaces there to try throughout the year which is, I'm presuming you feel that it helps with skill development with your players.
[00:20:08,407] [Matthew Ansah:] Oh definitely, Playing in tight areas and because we are trying to implement futsal and the game, the way they have to control the ball move is allowing them to see the transferable skills from football to futsal but playing in the hall in the tight areas it's definitely a challenge for some players, especially when they're new to the game.
[00:20:26,946] [Jamie:] I know you've got multiple age groups at Forestdale but particularly with the younger age groups. Do you have any top tips for dealing with the younger age groups that you've applied in both settings that maybe you could help coaches with at all?
[00:20:44,164] [Matthew Ansah:] Children have a lot of energy. They want to play football and I think it's us as coaches also showing that as well. So being happy and fist bumping the children and making them feel welcome and being happy. The next thing which I've seen over both which definitely helps is challenges. So challenging the players with different things around the game in a session or in matches to challenge them with skills or a specific passing pattern that we've done in training. So players are trying to and they're working together to try and to achieve what has been set, the challenge which has been set. So definitely challenges for players and also I think it's important for players at that age group to do small side games. So 1v1s, 2v2s, outnumbered stuff as well. At the grass-roots club we'll go up to sometimes 3v1s just to put them in situations which are quite challenging but supporting the players and let them understand what different success could be in such a challenging environment but also the three and challenging them to do something before they can score. So definitely small-sided games. I think trying to get players to stay on the ball, be creative but understand that what it means to not have the ball and the importance to try and get back on the ball.
[00:21:59,568] [Jamie:] In your coaching journey so far, have you faced any challenges and if so, what were they and how did you overcome them?
[00:22:06,774] [Matthew Ansah:] I think the challenge I faced is quite personal. So it was trying to manage wanting to coach and have a passion for coaching but also being able to progress in life in terms of finances and looking at how to earn money to live also, to get a car and a house. It was quite difficult to manage. I think that was a big challenge because I can go and work somewhere in a fantastic environment but because of my coaching experiences I necessarily wouldn't be paid for it or if I was paid it wouldn't have been a lot at the time. So it was trying to manage my life but around coaching and my passion. For me at the time it was you either work for loads of different companies and entities to try and make it work so I'm still coaching. Another tip for a coach is trying to coach in different environments. I'm still trying to coach in different environments and around different coaches to learn but I can still put food on the table and try and live. So I think that was the biggest challenge for myself and how I overcame that was based on the situation I was in. I knew that I wasn't the only coach going through a hard time so it was through setting up a business and providing coaching for people in my community. At the time I set up a coaching company I think that definitely helped not only to see football from a different perspective in terms of having to employ coaches and train coaches to how I would like the sessions to be run but also the business side of it in terms of hiring a venue, trying to put on sessions and ensuring that they're good quality to try and expand the business and then balancing that business and also my personal coaching. That's the second challenge I faced. Trying to set up businesses which will allow me to live but also wanting to develop a business. the coach to progress within the game. And then now with the club that's come on board, this huge beast that's taken up a lot of time and has given us a lot of enjoyment. It's trying to balance volunteering at a club, a grassroots club, but also recognising that we have people that are very good coaches that are in the same position that I was previously where they can't just come and coach for free. They're actually paying up to get to where we are to then coach. So it's now recognising what we are for the community. It's not just turning up with a bag of balls and cones and developing players and looking at the best way to make this work for the players we have and making sure they're enjoying the game and coaching the players. It's now looking at how can I maintain the club or grow the club with these coaches that we have who are absolutely fantastic, but also ensure that they are happy and they can continue to work in the game, which will benefit us and also ultimately them. So it's how can I raise the money to keep the ground that we're leasing to then pay the coaches, but pay all the venue fees we have to pay throughout the year because we have to train. So I think the challenges have evolved and they're different on the journey. I think for me, what I've noticed is just trying to enjoy the journey and enjoy the process of having a situation I have to overcome and trying to think about the best solutions to make it work for everyone. Another challenge that has come from that is trying to make it okay for everyone. Sometimes that's a challenge and I think working in a club with different age groups and different kinds of parents, that's the biggest thing I've kind of seen where I'm not only working or coaching under-17s and under-13s, I'm having to support other teams and other parents and their expectation. I've now come to the realization that I can't make everyone happy in this environment in the club, which I think I found out the hard way and I've always wanted to make sure everyone was happy and everyone's enjoying the club. But I think the most important thing is identifying and remembering where you want to try and get to and thinking about the best solutions to kind of get there, the best ways to get there. But also thinking about now, what do I need to do to make now work and then what does that look like to make the next kind of phase work in the club and for the coaches. So I would say there's many different challenges from obviously myself trying to become a better coach and trying to develop. Another thing that really helps me in my personal coaching journey is the CPD events that the FA hold, having a mentor through the FA, Peter Augustine has been absolutely fantastic over the six years that I've known him for, from allowing me to know that there's different funding opportunities available to see in the different coaching programs available from the FA, to also offering his time to come and do CPD for our coaches. I think that has definitely helped us in the club to progress. So I think there's been many challenges and I think as the journey continues and the dreams kind of evolve and they're becoming bigger and bigger, I think the challenges do change from only working on myself and thinking of myself as a coach and finances to now thinking about other coaches. I'd say the biggest challenge we have now as a grassroots club is thinking about how we can purchase this ground that we have. It's just finding out how to progress as a club, but we want to be in a position where we have stability. So the plan now is to try and look at purchasing the ground, to then have the ground for the club, to then use the different opportunities out there for the FA, for Sport England, to be able to get things like a 3G pitch and more equipment and to even support the FA with running courses from our own club. To be able to do that from where we started, from a local park in the school would be absolutely fantastic. So I think as the journey progresses, as I said before, the challenges definitely do change.
[00:27:47,309] [Jamie:] Thinking then of all the challenges that you've just mentioned there, what would be your advice for someone who's maybe looking to set up a big community club like Forestdale and what advice can you give them to help tackle the amount of work that there is and hopefully make it successful?
[00:28:05,079] [Matthew Ansah:] I think the first thing would be to think about what you want to try and achieve in the community you want to work in. I think that there's so many grassroots clubs out there, it's going to be similar to someone else, especially in the local area. So I think it's identifying what you're trying to achieve for the children or the adults in your local area and then it's looking at how you would get there and who would support you to do so. So it would be maybe coaches that you've worked with or friends that you're with to start it off and to create it. But definitely speaking to the FA to get some advice to understand regarding bank accounts, insurances, what qualifications you will need to coach which age group. I think they're the most important things to progress. Also contacting and looking at other grassroots clubs to see what they're doing and maybe taking information and filtering it so it's the best for you and for what you want to do and making it aligned with your goals. I would definitely say when I first started it was never to be in a position to buy a ground, to have the ground for the club and to always be there. It was just for children to play football in a safe environment. So it's definitely using the FA to get some understanding of how to affiliate and what would be the next step, but also identifying how you can really make a big change in the community.
[00:29:30,989] [Louise:] Lots and lots to think about there, so thanks for sharing all of that with us. We thought we'd actually see if we can get you to help us out with some community questions as well. One of the ones that comes up quite a lot is people who are having to deal with challenging parents perhaps, so people perhaps aren't acting quite appropriately like shouting on the sidelines or what have you. Do you have any experience of that?
[00:29:54,950] [Matthew Ansah:] Yes, definitely I've had parents shouting from the sidelines. I think for us at the club it's understanding what the parents are trying to do and they think from conversation that the information they're given is going to support their child to perform better. So the conversation I've had with parents is letting them see it from our point of view. Whenever the ball is near any goal, a lot of information will come from parents, whereas when the ball is in the middle of the pitch, you don't tend to hear as much, there's not as much energy from what we've seen. So the idea is to let parents understand that these players that are playing, they need to be able to make their own decisions. When the ball was in the middle of the pitch, this is where we see that they can make their own decisions and play quite well and enjoy the game. Whereas a lot more decisions are rushed and panicked when the ball is near the goals, whether it's parents shouting, kick it out or clear it to shoot, because they're not having an opportunity, which can be quite unfair, to make their own decisions on what they want to do and what they think is best in that situation. Especially as a club who like to play out from the back, pass their way out of most situations, a parent coming in to shout clear and kick it out, it's not really aligned with what the players have been coached. So it can be quite challenging, but it's a conversation with the parents to basically explain, this is what we're trying to do, this is what we've worked on, and I appreciate what you're coming from with this situation and what you're trying to do, but long term, it'll be better for the players who are playing to make their own decisions and understand from success and from mistakes that I might have to shoot in the situation, or in the situation if I shoot, it's going to be blocked. There's different things that a player would be thinking at the time, but it's just making that clear to parents. I think one thing that I've noticed previously before where it would be parents, no talking, no shouting, it's definitely, we find a lot more success explaining why and just explaining this to parents, but also allowing the parents to have a voice, not on the sideline, but before and after games, whether that's a conversation or what we've done previously is we create a form on Google and we send it out to all parents to ask them to give us any feedback, so any information they want to share with us that's something that we're doing well, something they need to improve, something that you think that would be great for us to know, but allowing parents to have a voice and to have a say, not only with their child's development, but in the club, I think it allows for a better relationship, that's what we find at our club. But working with parents and coaching players to have success with both, I think it's explaining why we're doing something. The reason why we don't want you to shout and scream on the sideline is because we want the players to make the best decisions. The reason why we're trying to play off on the back depending on the age group is for you maybe to understand how to pass in these areas, but to allow the opposition to press up and then we can create space in behind them and play that way. So it's just for us to understand as a club why we want a certain situation to happen and then explaining that in the most respectful and positive way possible.
[00:33:05,144] [Louise:] And I guess that also helps with continuing those messages when the child's gone home and they can explain that to them, bits to them as well, if they know a bit more about it as well.
[00:33:16,777] [Matthew Ansah:] Yeah, definitely. Previously we've had a workbook that all the players had and after every session they would write in the book three things they'd done really well and then one thing they should try and improve. And we wanted the parents to have conversations around what the child has written rather than a journey home based on what the parents see and what the parents think. Doing that allows for the children to obviously write but not only with schoolwork but also writing and having homework with football, but also for them to express themselves not only in the game but express their thoughts and their feelings about what they don't want and what they need to improve. I think in a way which is for improvement and for development because it's still quite positive and it's about things that the three things they've done well, it's a lot more than the one thing that they might need to improve. But it's not one thing you've done wrong, it's one thing that's improving. This is how we do it.
[00:34:11,537] [Jamie:] Yeah, thanks for that insight, Matthew. It's always an interesting one, isn't it? Because parents, they're so important to the whole project but obviously it can bring challenges as well, just making sure that everybody's on the same page. So thank you for that insight. Right, well, we are coming up to the end of the show but regular listeners will know that this is the time for our Swift session feature.
[00:34:34,294] [Louise:] Yes, so for this one, we'll ask you to explain to us a session idea, one of your favourites maybe or a tried and tested one. So you've got to explain it in 30 seconds. So there'll be another timer. So if you're happy to give that a go. Okay, and time starts now.
[00:34:56,692] [Matthew Ansah:] Okay, so it's a one v one practice, usually done with under sevens and eights at the moment. It would be a 10 by 10 box. At the bottom of the box is a cone, opposite that cone is two cones and the same thing from the left to the right side of the box. Three players behind each cone, three players have a ball, first player will pass the ball to the player waiting for the ball. Then the person that receives has to drive through the gate opposite them. The person who passed it has to try and win the ball and score through the gate opposite them.
[00:35:28,526] [Louise:] Do you want to finish that off?
[00:35:32,171] [Matthew Ansah:] Yeah, yeah. So after they play the ball, the idea is to win the ball back from the opposition and try and score on the gate opposite them. The player that they've passed to has to have a positive first touch and drive and try and get through their gate opposite them. And it's just nonstop. So in those conversations, it's a way to show the new players that come in what aggressive and positive means for the club. So play the ball and go and be aggressive to win it. Positive first touch, using your skills, trying to drive through the gate to score. And we think it's important for both players in possession, out of possession, wherever they are on the pitch and whatever situation they're in, once they win the ball, they have an opportunity to try and score and get some success.
[00:36:10,709] [Louise:] Lovely, a little longer than 30 seconds, but it was a good one. It was a good one. So we'll go with that. Thank you. Brilliant.
[00:36:17,026] [Jamie:] Well, thank you very much for your time today, Matthew. It's been lovely to hear. The journey and the insight and the progress that's been made by Forestdale and yourself is fantastic. And I'm sure these people that's been listening to this episode that might be in a similar position or might end up, you know, being at the start of that journey that's found it really useful. So thank you very much.
[00:36:35,550] [Matthew Ansah:] Thank you both for having me.
[00:36:36,886] [Jamie:] Thank you. I really enjoyed that chat. Do you have any key takeaways from it all, Louise?
[00:36:41,753] [Louise:] Yeah, I think listening to him talking about the way that he engages with all the different age groups of players was really interesting to me. I thought I really liked the idea of the cartwheel break and also the kind of turning everything into a positive, like with the high fives and first kids to give me a high five. But yeah, I thought it was really good. How about you?
[00:37:04,389] [Jamie:] Yeah well, I like that as well. It's a really good point to pick out. For me, it was the importance of informal play that he said right at the start. In particular, the fact that he'd not joined the club until a little bit older, so he was kind of brought up on informal play with his friends, and the fact that that's influenced his coaching a little bit, I think it was quite important, and it was quite a nice little story to hear that, yeah, just letting kids play and enjoy themselves, it's a really important thing. Right, that's all we have time for today, but don't forget to check out the episode description for all of the links to our platforms. There, you will be able to click through to the England Football Community. This is where you can post your coaching questions for us to discuss on the podcast, or just simply to connect with loads of wonderful coaches.