[00:00:00,000] [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 Stacey Miles, an FA Coach Development Officer, to discover her journey so far, including how she fell in love with the game and how she's now helping women and girls in the West Midlands to do the same.
[00:00:28,844] [Louise:] Great to have you on, Stacey. I thought we'd just start by finding out a little bit about your role at the FA and what that entails.
[00:00:43,195] [Stacey Miles:] Yeah, so my role is a FA Coach Development Officer. I am focused in the West Midlands, so that ranges from Gloucestershire up to Staffordshire and Shropshire. We've got various aspects of the role, including supporting grassroots coaches in all aspects of the game and then also supporting female coaches. We're looking to support coaches that are female that want to begin their coaching journey and volunteering and then also looking to kind of support and develop female coaches that are already actively out there coaching already that would like some kind of I guess some support and development and I guess I can support and help them on their journey. A third aspect I guess is like things that we're doing like here today where we're doing some filming, recording and hopefully creating some great content for coaches to I guess get some ideas and thoughts and considerations for them and their environment.
[00:01:38,048] [Jamie:] Well, talking about great content, let's start off the show with some top tips I think Louise because as this is a coaching podcast, listeners could be on their way to training so we think it's good to give them some great advice straight away.
[00:01:52,090] [Louise:] Yeah, we call this your arrival activity. So we give you 30 seconds and you have to give us as many top coaching tips as you can in those 30 seconds. So we'll put a little bit of music on and that will tell you when your time is up. Is that okay?
[00:02:09,522] [Stacey Miles:] Sounds like a game of countdown. Yeah, I'm ready.
[00:02:15,269] [Louise:] Okay, time starts now.
[00:02:16,794] [Stacey Miles:] I say be yourself. There's nothing more important than being your authentic self. I'd say get to know your players. So what are their motivations? What are their interests? What are they like as a person? What I guess are their super strengths? What are the areas they'd like to get better at? How do they want you to be with them? I would say making and ensuring your game, your like practices and your sessions are very game based. They're fun. Children want to be there. I say the most important thing is don't forget to smile.
[00:02:48,404] [Louise:] Perfect. Exactly on time. Did you feel the pressure?
[00:02:52,870] [Stacey Miles:] I think I might need my inhaler yeah.
[00:02:56,094] [Jamie:] You did very well there Stacey.
[00:02:59,856] [Louise:] You coped very well.
[00:03:02,736] [Jamie:] Right, so let's get straight into it and find out a little bit more about you Stacey. And what we want to know first is what was your first experience of football like?
[00:03:12,140] [Stacey Miles:] My first experience of football was growing up on a street. So I'm from Gloucestershire in case you can't tell from the accent. We grew up on a street full of boys. So there was no other young females of my age and grew up playing I think football from the age around four or five, just playing on like street football. And from the minute you get in from school, quick get your tea down here. Your mum's like get your tea and then straight away you've got to then yeah, get a straight out and play football until it goes dark. And then they're like, right, you've got to come in, shower bed and then yeah, same the next day I guess. So yeah, it was pretty much - for me it was just all football.
[00:03:50,278] [Jamie:] So you've always had the desire to get out and play?
[00:03:53,920] [Stacey Miles:] Always yeah, I don't know. Well, my grandpa loved football, my dad loved football and I just loved everything about it. Watching it, playing it, head to toe in a football kit from like five years old.
[00:04:05,500] [Jamie:] What football kit was that if you don't mind me asking?
[00:04:08,320] [Stacey Miles:] The first kit I got put in as a baby was Nottingham Forest, which is interesting. But then the first live match I got to see was by my godmother and they support Liverpool. So it's Liverpool Arsenal and I was in the Cop End and so yeah, I became a Liverpool fan after obviously my first live game.
[00:04:27,266] [Jamie:] Great stuff. I particularly like the Forest kit there. We'll forget that it turned into Liverpool eventually. How accessible then was girls football when you was growing up? So you mentioned that it was informal play, but did you have anything that was a little bit more structured at all?
[00:04:43,026] [Stacey Miles:] At that time you could only I think play with the boys until you were 12. So I just played for the primary school team. I was the only girl that played, he used to try and play at the breaks and the lunch times and stuff, but it's more difficult obviously as the older you get into secondary school. There wasn't a girls team, we couldn't even play, which is really sad now I think, but we couldn't even play football as part of like PE as girls. It was netball I think we had and cross country, which I wasn't a fan of personally. So yeah, it was sad. So I actually set up the girls football team. I think I was in year 10 and I was pestering my teacher because at that point I couldn't play for the boys externally either anymore because with the boys like mixed team because it was till 12. So it was about yeah, secondary school. So I asked the teacher, let's make, let's set up a girls team. She was like, yeah, go on then you can do like all the marketing. There I was a marketing manager going around the school with flyers and we had our first training session and I basically delivered it. I've never coached in my life obviously. So you're only doing what you've ever been taught, like to have a go. I think we had like 30 girls turn up and play and then we had our, we played against another school. So it's like a local high school girls team and I really enjoyed that and then decided then I was going to go on and like go to college and do something in sports at that point, to be honest, like education was an interesting part, but it wasn't really like, I'm not really one to sit and do tests and papers. Like I'm probably like more with like practical doing stuff. So that's kind of, yeah, I guess. And then I did join the girls team. I think it was around 15. So I had like a couple of years where there was no way you could actually play, which is awful now thinking of it. And I'm really grateful that young girls can grow up, I guess, playing at any point now. So yeah. And then I joined a local girls team and then from there just carried on playing.
[00:06:40,188] [Louise:] So you mentioned about your college course in sport. Was that lots of different sports or what was, what was the course that you did?
[00:06:48,221] [Stacey Miles:] So it was at Hartbury College, amazing college, like the support that they give you and the confidence they give you compared to probably my experiences of school so much where, you know, you're doing tests and I'm not great at tests, whereas at college they support you and they help you and they build confidence and you do lots of practical activities. And so you could choose to do a BTEC Diploma. It was in sport, football, rugby or golf. So they're specialist ones. And I wanted to do football, but at that point, other than Hope Powell, I didn't know any woman that worked in football. And to be honest, I had had teachers at school say to me, you won't work in football. That's not what women do. And I'm not joking when I say that I got told that. Okay. So I went down the sport route and actually that was a great idea at the time for me. I remember specifically as part of the course, you could do your level one coaching badge. The tutor on the course, I can't remember his name, but I just remember how he made me feel. And I remember after I finished, he took me to a side when you get a little bit of feedback and he said, you should do this as a job. And it's probably one of them moments where it's probably the first time up until what was I like 17 where I'd actually been told all you, this is probably what you should do. You're good at this. And I loved football. It was like my life, wasn't it? And I, at that point, so I thought, do you know what? Maybe I will, maybe I will. So yeah, I decided from there then to go on to university to do a sports coaching degree. So based on that one person's, not just that, but that was a highlighting factor and a positive experience on that course with college. Yeah. I decided to go and do a degree in it.
[00:08:26,560] [Louise:] And so as you carried on down that path, what did you find that you enjoyed about coaching?
[00:08:31,760] [Stacey Miles:] Oh, it's a great question. I think like, sounds obvious, but I think just helping people, like I always think whoever you're working with, people that come to play football for some of them, people over there, kids, adults, teenagers, for some of them, that's their best time of the week. And it's like, if I've been able to provide that opportunity for them, like how great is that? And I think like, yeah, what I like most is supporting people like with confidence and like the skills that you can, and like personable qualities and characteristics you can help people develop through the love of sports and how that can then help them in general life. So not just in football. So I just love helping people like genuinely love it. And yeah, I think what's exciting about football, it's like forever changing and coaching. And every time you work every season with a new team, it's a new team of 16, but 16 individual people. So there's always going to be new, exciting challenges that test you and like, I guess, in like positive ways.
[00:09:40,320] [Jamie:] What do you reckon the key skills and attributes are that coaches need?
[00:09:44,720] [Stacey Miles:] Patience. I think patience is like, for me, like one of the most important ones. I think we all probably say we're patient. But then when you're on the side of a game, and you're the school line is the score line and players are doing certain things, trying to remember especially when working in foundation phase and youth development phase, understanding like that they will need time. So there's been like lots of conversations I've had with other coaches around, you know, someone saying, oh, this player, she, you know, she can't do this at the moment. I would say - yet. Can't do this yet. But it might be she can't do this yet, because she hasn't grown or she or she's a year behind in terms of ages of the other children that are there or, you know, or hasn't quite got the physical capabilities to be able to pass the ball 20 yards. So I'd say patience is a massive one. And then also patience for you as a coach. So I'm someone honestly, who loves to get things done. Like I want to be this I want to I want to have this qualification. I remember once I finished my UA for B, I was like, wow, I want to do my license want to do my license. I literally wanted to be like, I don't know, head coach of like England, you know, I mean, like just but having patience knowing I've done my UA for B, I need to spend now a really good time to actually become a good UA for B coach. And once I once I finished my UA for B, I know that I was probably just competent at that stage. I needed to really go in, like learn more about myself, learn more experiences before I then went and I guess progressed on with my coaching a little bit further. So patience for the players, patience for yourself in terms of like, you can't get to X, A to Z, there will be times where it doesn't quite work out. And you've got to learn those aspects. I'd say being you is so important like in terms of like, I don't know if you define that as a characteristic, but I could tell you the amount of amazing coaches I've gone and seen and I've watched I've been like, wow, I want to be like them amazing next training session. I'm pretty sure I'm saying the exact same words they said in the exact same tone. I didn't have the same outfit on but I tried to replicate what I saw. Did it work? Absolutely not. Because because I was trying to be someone I wasn't so I'd say like being comfortable with your strengths of who you are. And then naturally that allows you to be the best version of you when you're like you with your players. I'd say like being smiley, happy and fun person for me is like the most important thing when you're whether you work with kids or the first team somewhere. Why? Because this could be the best time of their week. And you need to make sure it's fun and enjoyable. Yes, there's times where we might need to have conversations in different tones and things like that. But if we need to do that more often than the other when we're being smiley, happy, I think there's a cause for concern there because the environment needs to be a great one. So I'd say those kind of elements I think are absolutely massively important. Yeah when coaching and working with people.
[00:12:51,913] [Jamie:] Have you got any top tips for being able to create that sort of environment then?
[00:12:56,153] [Stacey Miles:] I always say whoever you're working with, whether you're working in football or in any line of work, you've got to know what people's motivations are. So in your group of players, say you've got 16, you've got 16 individual people that all have different motivations, different characteristics, they might need to be spoken to a different ways at the different times in the right way for them. So before you can create an environment, do you know enough about those people first and foremost to be able to then support and help them? And then also like ensuring that for example, say majority of the group are motivated by X, then like for example X might be they want to progress onto the next level in terms of if they're under 14, they might want to get progressed into the under 15s in a talent pathway. So straight away we know that they want to do that. You might have certain players that want to be top goalscorer, you might have players that come because they just want to be with their friends. So it's about making sure that environment I guess suits everyone in the right way at the right time. I think people always work hard when they know you care about them. When you've got that positive relationship with players and with other coaches and staff, you will work for that environment. For me, I've been in many environments and some of the best environments I've seen haven't been the ones with the best training facility, haven't been the ones with the most I guess provision and money and everything back. They are the ones with the people that make it happen for what it is. You've got two goals, a ball, some bibs and they make the environment just the most amazing thing. I think even those small conversations, walking from where you might greet your players to the pitch, it's having those one-to-ones. How's your dog been? Did you watch the Lionesses win at the weekend? They lifted the trophy. Who's your favourite player? I know you support Chelsea. Liverpool beat Chelsea last weekend. Those kind of things. So having those interpersonal skills straight away and just like, oh, she remembers that about me. Coach Stacey remembers that. She remembers that I've got a dog. She cares about me. She's trying to listen and understand. I'd say understanding what they like about football. What parts of practices do they like? Do they like it when we play small-sided games? Do they like it when we do some individual-based work? What do they like? You've got to be open as a coach, I think, to getting that feedback.
[00:15:13,520] [Jamie:] Great messages there. Were there any transformational coaches for you growing up? I know you mentioned obviously there was Hope Powell that was kind of a little bit of a role model there, but even when you're going back to schools with PE teachers, for instance, were there any coaches that you looked up to or not?
[00:15:30,240] [Stacey Miles:] When I went to college, there was Paul Tassel, who was fantastic. He led our women's programme down there and he made it a fun environment to be part of. And then when I went to university, I hope he's listening, so Chris Wildburn, who's actually a colleague of mine now that I get to work with. So how he was with players was incredible in the environment, but then also how he was with mentoring me. So I wouldn't be in a role I am today or coaching probably still if it wasn't for that positive experience. I'd say Chris definitely. I'd say Sarah Lawler, who is a senior technical talent coach at the FA. So I was mentored by her really lots of times throughout my journey down in the South West. And for me, she was great in terms of that high technical detail, but also such methodical planning about the whole day at camp and what it entails. And obviously for me, that was probably one of my first experiences of really seeing a full-time female in football and knowing that there were roles for that. I was very fortunate to be with England under-14s and England under-18 girls. So coaches Natalie Henderson and Emma Coates. For me, two of the best coaches in the country in very different ways. One's super energetic and lively, just creates like this space. You just want to listen to everything she's saying. And the other one's so detailed with every single point of what the game plan is and how she gives feedback. So learned a lot from them females as well. But even, like I said, even now I work with coaches, obviously within my job full-time, which is a real pleasure. I see transformational coaches all the time and how they interact and create these positive environments. There's been honestly, and I feel like now sat here now, there will be, I'll go off this conversation and there'll be like another 50 people in my head and they'll be like, oh, those were, those were amazing coaches and people. And there are, yeah, a lot, a lot of them out there. I know as soon as I'm going to stop talking, I'm going to kick myself for forgetting.
[00:17:44,100] [Louise:] I think the thing to take from that is there's so much to learn from lots of different people. And like you say, being yourself, people bring different qualities to the role. So you're not necessarily going to learn everything from one person. So just be open to learning from lots of different people, I guess.
[00:18:01,503] [Stacey Miles:] Yeah. Being open to them. And then also like knowing what you can like, what bits you like about them, but then making sure it fits you, I guess is like for me really important.
[00:18:13,265] [Jamie:] What sort of things have you taken away from some of those transformational coaches that you've, that you've witnessed?
[00:18:19,311] [Stacey Miles:] The most important thing is how they are with people. So how they make you feel in that moment. You are the most important person talking to them. So regardless of probably like in their roles, they've got a million things going on. I'd say it was how they are with you and how they make you feel. So it's, for example, if you're working with others, you want to take that with, I guess, how you are with them. And then secondly, to that, I would say how they are with their players and the environment they create. When I stand back and I'm watching them, like, would I want to be part of that? Absolutely. Yeah, I would. I would love to be part of that. So I guess, yeah, like the small like how to have those one to one conversations, whether they're great conversations or harder conversations, how they stop and then they command and gain respect within the environment. It's kind of like these things that I was saying around these, like characteristics of like their personality. And yeah, I guess like you can see the players, how they respond to that person. You know, if there's good, positive relationships in that group. And I'd say out of everyone I've seen, the people that have been the best, haven't always been the ones with the best qualifications or are working at the most senior level of the game. They're the ones that people can't wait to turn up to, but either get there early or they get there on time, but they're there and they have the best time ever. And I think, yeah, that would be like in terms of what have I taken from them would be those how they create that environment.
[00:19:51,363] [Louise:] Some really good things for people to think about. I wonder if you could take us back again to parts where you had some challenges in your career. So you mentioned that people had said that you would never work in football. Can you talk us through what challenges you had, or if you had any challenges?
[00:20:10,363] [Stacey Miles:] Yeah, I guess there's been quite a few different variety of challenges for a lot of females, and I'm sure I speak on behalf of a lot of females, not all, but some, being that the only female on a course comes with a lot of challenges. So you definitely feel like you need to like, I guess, prove yourself because you are the only female and that sometimes comes from the group and how they make you feel and how they make you feel welcomed. But then also a lot of it, I think, personally comes from you and your own self and maybe your experiences around because there isn't many in the room and those elements. I think that's a challenge. When you're comfortable with yourself and you know what you can bring to the party or such and what your strengths are, then you don't worry about those other elements. It's just you're there. You're not a female coach, you're a coach in the room and you've got just as much strengths as the person next to you. They just might be different strengths. It's about utilising those moments. So I think the power of that, I guess, would be how to overcome that element for me personally. And then I guess, yeah, challenges around opportunities like opportunities is difficult, I must say. So, for example, you know, like there's not many. There are some absolutely amazing female -coaches that are female. It's a better way of saying it, in my opinion. Coaches that are female that are working in the male academy system. And I don't think there's enough coaches that are female that are working in. So I think opportunities, obviously, sometimes it is more challenging to get roles like that. However, there are obviously schemes out there now through the FA and through the PFA and through clubs that are opening opportunities for underrepresented groups, which I think is absolutely fantastic. And it allows to give, like we spoke about before, opportunity. Sometimes you just need opportunity to then, you know, shine and thrive and be the best version of you. And there might be a hidden talent in your community of a coach. And it's about having that opportunity. So I would say those kind of challenges, like I guess throughout my career so far, the main one for me has been around that confidence and self-esteem. I've probably always found that really difficult. I'm sure many people on this who's listening to that, I really believe that everyone has found that, like, you know, that where you question yourself. So you might have lost a game or you might have tried to help a player and it hasn't quite worked. You're always questioning, oh, didn't do that quite right, didn't do this. And I was always my biggest self-critique, like literally. And I definitely am way better at it now as I've grown. So, yeah, I'd say like dealing with confidence. And I remember with my A license, my coach developer tutor, honestly, he couldn't have been any better with me in terms of how he made me feel and relaxed and could be my best self. And I know he travelled like a really long way to observe me because of where he lives in terms of geographical location. And I felt like I put a lot of pressure every time I delivered because of that as well. But not that he made me feel like that, just because I had that on myself. So I guess it was - a link into that was I know after I did a terrible session and he'd watch, I would not he didn't he was amazing, but I would always like be my biggest critique like, oh, I'm never going to achieve this. I just want to stop now. And, you know, like I didn't do well. And just I guess like ways and like overcoming that was a massive challenge for me. But the way he was with me helped me get through that really difficult period of time. And I think that it's really important to, I guess, like when you're working and how I can link that into my coach development role now is like remembering how he made me feel when I was probably at my lowest at that moment in time. So that and then also I had a really close friend called Zach. He was absolutely amazing. And I used to literally drive home after the sessions thinking, can't do this again. I just can't do this. That was terrible. This was terrible. Don't think I slept very well. I'm sure loads of people can resonate with that. And then you you go again the next time and you try your best. But before we got in the car, we had an agreement in the end. He made me do it. I used to always have to say three things that went well about the evening. So it didn't have to be a coaching as such. It might be a conversation I've had with a player or three things I was happy with. Maybe a session like layout of cones because I'm crap at getting them in lines. I promise you straight lines are terrible. I'm never going to be good at that, by the way. So it could be about anything. And then then like then we can chat about one thing that could be better. But straight away, I've got I've like highlighted some good things. So as I drove home, felt so much better. So that's something like a tip that I do now. And without Zach, I don't think I would have been able to have overcome, like, I guess, my self-doubt. So, yeah, I guess there's quite a few challenges as as a coach and coach developer that I face so far. But I'm sure there's many more to come. But yeah, those are my tips.
[00:25:22,883] [Jamie:] It's a really nice tip to take away. It really is. Do you have any other advice for anyone listening and if they really don't believe in themselves, what would you say to listeners who are in that situation?
[00:25:36,163] [Stacey Miles:] I'd say it's really good to sometimes have a like find someone close or a mentor, another buddy coach that you can work with, because sometimes we always feel a certain way about ourselves, but it's sometimes good to have feedback, isn't it? Positive feedback from others, real specific feedback that you can learn and support and help each other and have those like how me and Zach, we'd have that positive conversation. Even though I know the session went terribly, in my opinion, there were still positive things about it and it wasn't the end of the world. Like everyone still came, played football, they had fun. But from my high expectations, I made myself feel bad about that moment, but no one got injured. It was absolutely fine. And they came back the next time. So it was still a great environment, but it was just not my expectations. So I would say like trying to think about what you want to achieve as well. So like within like whether that's for the training sessions, having your objectives and then. Like your medium term plan on your long term plan as a coach, thinking about those things, because sometimes we can like reflect about everything and there is so much to reflect about as a human being with training, like we're not in control of everything, absolutely. So reflecting, I guess, on those objectives, having that buddy system, that mental that can give you some guidance and support. And then also, I also do believe in the power of like imagery and seeing stuff, because there's some times where I think, oh, that was rubbish. I didn't speak like that very well or I didn't help them enough like that. But then when you watch about you think, actually, I got about the pitch a bit there. I helped three players. I can't remember doing that. So sometimes imagery to support and help yourself. So like with confidence, but then it might not always be you reflect on that might be with a mentor. So the mentor can pick up things that you in your stubborn mind won't let you see and hear and understand. So I'd say around those things, I definitely think that positive reflections massive around those elements. And then also like, yeah, feedback from the players. You've got to be comfortable to receive it, though kids that can be brutal with it. It's called brutal honesty, I was believe as. So if you're in a comfortable place, you know, ask them like what they enjoyed about it. What could be better? We've got to be ready for the answers. And and then that shapes your next practice, doesn't it? So straight away then hopefully you can improve on on those elements. I think going along to like CPD events is great. Like with your county FA's and with England football learning. Why? Because you can connect with other people that I am certain will probably feel similar to you. So even though you may have played football and you've been like me, you played since you were five. You might not have coached for a long time, which is understandable. It's new, it's different skill sets, lots of transferable skills, probably to any line of work that you do. Absolutely, because it's all about people. But there's probably people you can connect and share ideas and games and activities with. Exactly the same as obviously England football learning with the community hub, asking questions to coach development officers on there where you can get advice and tips to anything that you're thinking about. So there's probably some things to think about in terms of confidence. But I definitely think it's like with driving, the more you can do certain things, the more you hopefully feel better about yourself. But if you only listen to your own thoughts and you don't hear from others in terms of like positive feedback. And for example, you've got to be careful with who you ask and feedback from as well all the time. So, you know, like if I'm feeling vulnerable, if I know someone's very stern and direct, I'm probably at that moment in time. I'm not going to ask them what they think because I know I'm not ready to hear it. But I might need someone who's kind, loving, caring, that I know will basically help me and put an arm around me when I need it. So I think those things are really important. But having that kind of connection and that circle of support is paramount.
[00:29:32,603] [Jamie:] Really good insight there. Thank you. If we look at your role now, Stacey, can you tell us a little bit about your job as an FA coach development officer and how you're helping women and girls fall in love with the game just like you did?
[00:29:46,483] [Stacey Miles:] Yes, it's a real privilege. I've been very fortunate. I'm nearly my seventh full time year here at the FA actually in a variety of different roles. And throughout all them roles, I guess, I've been able to have the privilege of working and supporting females in the women's games. So where I am now is around, I guess, supporting and creating opportunities within the counties of helping those young females or even females that maybe later on in their careers or in their playing days have decided they want to take up coaching So about supporting them with stepping over the sidelines, which is a national programme of coach workshops that we're going to be going out and delivering within each county FA around. Yeah, provide an opportunity of where to start, where do I start, how am I going to do it and then what support you've got. So linking in with stepping over the sidelines, it's called for new and upcoming coaches that are female that want to get into coaching and then also linking in with what we've started, which is so exciting. It's very and it's prime at the moment and it's infancy. What we've done at England Football Learning is create across the whole country, we're going to have within hopefully each county of a women's coach development groups, which is it's a safe space to network with other female coaches. It's also a great place to share ideas and collaborate ideas together. It's a great place to to get hopefully some top tips and ideas from coach development officers, the women and girls coaching officers. And the idea being that there'll be a variety of workshops across the season to say, for example, one county FA you might have six workshop across the season, might be a mixed blend of face to face and online workshops completely free to attend, which is magnificent. So prevents those barriers. And what I think is real success is for me personally, is obviously people feeling that they love football and are enjoying their coaching and getting some ideas and support and want to continue and grow and develop. And hopefully there's going to be a way more women and females in roles like I'm in and like Serena's in and obviously variety of different roles across the whole game in general. So I think the real success as well, and I alliterate to this a lot, where I went on coaching courses and I've been maybe one of two female coaches and then they're friends for life. And I've done my UA for B as a female only group and they're friends for life. Hopefully these networking opportunities will allow coaches to network away from the group as well, which is great. And I know this upcoming season, we've also got a WhatsApp group. It's hopefully going to be, you know, sharing ideas across that altogether as well across the whole region and within the counties. So some really good opportunities. We also have an FA coach mental program, really specific, brilliant coach developers that are out there one to one with our coaches that are intentional, coaches that are female, intentional coaches and coaches that really want to progress, develop and are really committed. So what we've done is within our coach development groups, there are coaches within that that are obviously female. They now have a bespoke one to one support as well. So it's all completely free, which is incredible. So not only can they come along to CPD from the county FA's, there's also bespoke, I guess, female coach workshops for them. If that's what they would prefer, you can attend everything if you want. And the more you go along to the more ideas and support, obviously, hopefully you can get. But there's definitely and it's absolutely forever evolving. And each season we're going to have hopefully new people join. And the great thing about the workshops, they are bespoke to the learners. So this season we've gone after sending out topics and they've come back with their chosen topics that they'd like it to be around. So it's around tailoring our coach development support to the needs of the group as well. That might be the coach development officer delivering with a group of players. It might be the coaches on the course. They might be connect and combining and collaborating and delivering sessions themselves. It might be classroom based. It might be webinar based sessions. It might be going into a club in particular. Like I know for this new season with my planning ready, I'm going to - I've got a live game, like a live championship women's game. So it's honestly some really exciting live game observations and just a variety that I want to provide. We always talk about that word opportunity. What an opportunity this is to get and get involved with. And this is like in our infancy and I reiterate that because it's going to hopefully for the back of the women's yours continue to progress. And hopefully we're going to have a lot more coaches that are female and hopefully support and help them on their journey.
[00:34:32,043] [Louise:] How do people get involved with the women's coach development groups and the stepping over the sidelines initiative if they want to?
[00:34:38,043] [Stacey Miles:] That's a great question. Yes. So like linking with your local county FA. So there'll be someone, a football development officer there who will be focusing on the coach development programme. As well as the women and girls games. So they will be fully aware of what their coach support looks like for all coaches, but then also for female coaches. You can request stepping over the sideline kind of workshops and when that next one might be for your local county FA. And then also linking with your women's coach development group. You can also reach out to your regional coach development officer if you're aware of who they are. If you're not, ask your county FA and they can signpost you to them and you can have maybe a one to one to talk about how things are going. Or you can obviously have a discussion around when the next workshops might be because stepping over the sidelines can take place, for example, not just with the county FA. It might be that as a club, you decide that you want to put on a stepping over the sideline because you've got, I don't know, as an example, 20 women or young players that want to do stepping over the sidelines. So a coach development officer or a community champion, women and girls community champion from England Football Learn can come out into your environment and deliver it bespoke to your club. So you can reach out to your coach development officer, your county FA and England Football Learning. And yeah, there'll be a variety of ways of hopefully making everything possible.
[00:36:02,883] [Jamie:] You can really hear the passion in your voice with the answers there. Are you enjoying the positive impact that you're having on the women and girls game?
[00:36:09,803] [Stacey Miles:] I absolutely love it. Yeah, absolutely. What a privilege it is to wear, you know, the free lions every day and just support and develop and provides an opportunities for people. And I'd say it's a real privilege as well to work with the county FA. So obviously, England Football Learning, we're linking with the county FA to make these coach development groups happen. And that doesn't happen by, you know, there are people there that are magical people that make it happen. So, you know, where I'm at with West Midlands, we're really doing well with creating an established and getting these groups going absolutely in infancy stage. But it's about that collaboration and teamwork that really makes it happen. So it's kind of I guess everyone's passions that are involved in these roles. That's why we want to make it happen for, I guess, why we what we didn't have. We want to make sure that people have that now.
[00:37:00,203] [Jamie:] Of course, we're really hopeful that the International Tournament, so obviously the women's Euros, which ended very, very well. This win's going to stop what happened when you was younger, where there was no girls football. And now there needs to be girls football at school. So there's actually the accessibility there that you didn't experience when you was younger. Do you think that will happen?
[00:37:20,443] [Stacey Miles:] I think it needs to happen. Previous to this, I spent five years full time with the FA in the FA Skills Programme. Part of the role was the... supporting teachers and schools around delivering PE lessons based around football and yeah supporting I guess those young players with a positive like learning and playing experience. What I used to do was like create like lunchtime clubs for girls and after-school clubs because it's accessible to them and it's providing an opportunity where they may not have had it. The impact of it was tremendous and it's not me because I'm their coach and it's the opportunity so if we give girls that opportunity straight after that there was like evening skill centres we ran for girls and girls festivals they were sold out and I'm not joking within an hour of putting them like a half-time session on they would be fully booked sold out after an hour and that comes from the schools generating that - I always say to people for a lot of young girls not all but for a lot their first experience of football might be their mum dad auntie uncle watching the TV in the room and it's 11 v 11 on the pitch and you know people might be shouting at the TV you know getting excited and a little bit that becomes maybe not something that they're excited to maybe go on and do but actually if you're in school delivering like a really fun football based lesson but they don't know so much that it's football it might be sharks and fish it might be dragons and dungeons it might be just as long as it's fun base with the football straightaway they're actually yeah that's quite cool football it's not what I see on TV that is later on perhaps at a different level but this is like if it means like I've got to get past them with a bit amazing it's fun so yeah I think I think schools really need to like and I'm sure they will and I'm hopeful they will really like buy into now providing that opportunity that has to be the opportunity there also has to be I guess linking with our PE department at the FA and the coach development program around an FA education around the support they give to teachers I think it's paramount so obviously teachers may feel that they may not have had any experience in football or coaching football so I think those teachers utilised in the support around the girls football partnerships in their areas and our PE department which can support them with like how to design sessions but how to gain confidence which they might not feel like they have but actually it's a lot of stuff they already do in the classroom which they probably do amazingly because they're brilliant at what they do with young people it's just using those skills exactly just out and doing PE it's just sometimes they might need the advice and support around that so I think there's there are things there already but I think absolutely hopefully you can tell I'm really passionate around I guess like making sure that girls have that equal opportunity because you will have girls that want to play - like I did I played with the boys in the playground brilliant good for me but some girls may not have played on the streets with the boys they might not have had the opportunity so we need to provide the opportunity it's like I always think at Christmas time when you have you know like your celebrations straightaway all of us in here we'll be able to say oh yeah that's my favourite one that's my favourite - but how do you know it's your favourite oh because I've tried that one I've tried that one I've tried that one so exactly the same as sports so there's no - like for me for example I played football because I had an opportunity a little bit to do so but I never got to play hockey at school either so how do I know if I don't like hockey because I've never had a chance to have a go so bit of a random way to think about it but unless you're - I'm sure people listen hopefully can relate to that like unless you give people opportunity to try how do you know that they're not gonna like it.
[00:41:03,942] [Louise:] Yeah so to wrap this part up can you give us any tips or advice for someone who is thinking about and getting into coaching but just hasn't made that step yet?
[00:41:15,668] [Stacey Miles:] I'd say absolutely let's make the step now definitely and I talk about maybe top tips would be around understanding that why is that you want to get involved is it you want a career in the game is it that you want to help your your son your daughter's team is it that you want to just volunteer and support and help the community - I guess first and foremost you might not know that straight away but having a little insight into I guess understanding why it is that you want to get involved and then looking and linking with your County FA and understanding what opportunities there are out there and then obviously completing your FA playmaker course, then your introduction to coaching football course through England football learning you can have a little look I guess onto the FA boot room around when those courses are going to be coming out and when you can -they're really easy accessible to book on to they both of those courses the playmaker and the introduction to coaching football are all accessible online so you can literally do them from your house and they're great ways to give some great insights and top tips. I definitely say yeah find find a club that suits you in terms of like is it an environment you would like to be part of have conversations with other coaches I would say the best learning takes place from having to go on the grass so it's gonna take time you're not gonna be perfect and amazing straight away. Understanding your group of players and people that you're working with so for example if you're all about certain things you need to recognize well actually playing out from the back or various different other technical tactical elements might not be appropriate so much for this group of players because they suck a turnip in play session understanding the motivations of the group I think are really important understanding like and learning in terms of an aspirational coach learning like the different ways and and like your communication with players so I will never forget a time where we had a game and I said suppose right make the pitch as big as you can wanting them to spread out right the the cones went everywhere and I thought to be fed us a quick way of relaying the pitch for next time but actually did they do what I asked them? Yeah they did I said make the pitch as big as you can so it's about understanding you're gonna make some little mistakes like that but understanding like the different ways of like like the terminology use is really important and they will take things I guess literally so yeah some tips around absolutely make your first step - if obviously you're if you are a coach that's female you there's a great initiatives now in place that you can obviously get into - you stepping over sidelines and join your coach women's coach development groups which is a fun safe space to network with other coaches that are female.
[00:43:59,268] [Jamie:] Thank you say some great tips and it's been a great episode thank you very much for your time today I hope you've enjoyed it thank you.
[00:44:07,203] [Stacey Miles:] Yeah thank you for having me.
[00:44:09,466] [Jamie:] Right - times running out Louise but just before we go what would be your one key takeaway from our chat with Stacy?
[00:44:16,192] [Louise:] Yeah so many things to take away from that I think there were some really good tips throughout there but one that stuck with me was just giving girls an opportunity to play so that might be through a game where they don't necessarily realize that it's football but it's just engaging them in a different way I thought that was really a useful thing to think about.
[00:44:35,665] [Jamie:] Yeah I like that one at the top of the show I think that one was really enjoyed that for me it was around the positive reflection piece it's very easy to focus on negatives and I think what Stacy was saying that was I think it was a friend who had said like you need to be giving three things that went well so it's almost like adjusting that mindset and you're focusing a bit more on the positives of your session and it's a bit more lifting and you think actually yeah things did go well but always ensuring that afterwards you look and think don't focus on the negatives let's get three positives out there and change the mindset.
[00:45:10,997] [Louise:] There was also a point where she said that about between players so when they're discussing it with themselves they couldn't give each other three positive tips about or something positive that they said about each other so it's kind of fostering that amongst players as well so.
[00:45:23,355] [Jamie:] Yeah it's a really good thing to do - right that's all we have time for today but don't forget to check out the episode description for all 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.