Transcripts produced by Supertranslate.beta
[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 on the Pro Licence to get insight from Vicky Jepson, Yaya Toure and Ian Bateman who are all learners on this year's course. Hi Vicky, thank you very much for joining us on Coachcast today, how are you?
[Vicky]
I'm great thank you.
[Jamie]
Brilliant, How's today been on the Pro Licence course, how's everything been going?
[Vicky]
It's been good, a lot of information to take on board, but we've had plenty of breaks to consolidate the information and chat amongst the rest of the peers on the group, but it's been a very productive day.
[Jamie]
And how would you say the Pro Licence is helping to develop you as a coach?
[Vicky]
I think for me personally, when I come away to catch up with the cohort and with the tutors and to get through the course content, I always go back to my environment, my football environment, feeling confident, refreshed and reflecting on the things that I've done on the course to try and put it into practice. So yeah I think for me it's grown my self-belief it's also grown my awareness on some of the things that we've covered on the course.
[Jamie]
And thinking about developing as a coach what kind of skills and attributes do you think coaches need to be a good or even a transformational coach at all?
[Vicky]
I think leadership is probably number one priority. You can be the best tactician in the game, but if you can't engage your players and get them to buy in and make them feel trusted that you believe in them, you know, they're not going to run for a brick wall for you. And that's the same with your staffing group, how you give them clarity from day to day, how you help them and guide them through processes and how you review those processes as well to look to better them weekly. I think that all comes back to your leadership styles and we've covered quite a lot on this course on how to be a better leader.
[Jamie]
Do you have any top tips or advice to help coaches kind of, you mentioned like that, getting that trust and stuff like that and do you have any like top tips to help coaches get that with their players?
[Vicky]
Consistency. If you keep changing your behaviours all the time it's very hard for people to follow, so consistency is one. Trust comes from giving people ownership and allowing them to see that through so you know if I'm trusting you to take the set pieces then I'm going to allow you to practice them and get better and then we'll review them together as a group. I think that's really important to give ownership to your players and to help them reflect on the work that they've been given ownership on.
[Jamie]
Do you have any advice, you mentioned obviously leadership as well, do you have any advice to help coaches to be that leader figure?
[Vicky]
I think you have to know yourself first. Leadership at the top level in a high performing environment where it's resort driven can be difficult under pressure. But if you know yourself, you know what you stand for, you know why you do what you do and why you get out of bed. It helps you then to stay consistent with your behaviours. If you go through a run of losses and there's pressure from fans, from the board, from your players, sometimes people can change their behaviors under pressure. So if you know yourself, you can always go back to those consistent behaviors and your worth and your why and then that'll help you lead the people that are following you.
[Jamie]
And what are your behaviours and your values that you'll go to?
[Vicky]
I'm an empathetic leader, so I'm a green person, so I'm very much on feelings, how people feel. I've got, I'd say, a pick up on the social cues in the room quite well. I don't necessarily enjoy having difficult conversations, but in this job you have to have them. So, if I'm going to have a difficult conversation, I'll be very much well prepared to do that because it's not something that I find easy to do, but it's part of the game. You're going to have to drop somebody, you're going to have to release somebody, so you've got to have that in your locker. So I'd say the people skills is definitely one of my strengths but with having good people skills you've also got to be able to deliver difficult messages to people as well.
[Jamie]
How do you approach doing that would you say?
[Vicky]
Being prepared, Being prepared, gathering up as much information as I can, sometimes evidence of data or video footage of performances, but you have to have really good listening skills as well to understand where they're coming from when you sit in those conversations with people, when it's going to be a little bit prickly. But you can't take anything personal. You know, a player might dislike you one week because you're not in the starting 11, or you've said something that they necessarily don't agree with, but the next week they love you again. So you can't take things personally. It's a tough environment that we work in and you've just got to make sure that you stay true to your values and your beliefs.
[Jamie]
Now Vicky, you've worked with younger age groups but also at grassroots football as well. Are listening skills and also that empathy skills so important for coaches at all levels?
[Vicky]
I think it doesn't matter what strand of the game that you work in, listening skills is important because you need to understand why they do what they do, what they want to achieve and how you're gonna help them do it. So it doesn't matter whether it's grassroots, whether it's in the WSL, you have to be able to listen to the people that you are leading.
[Jamie]
Kind of like reflecting on your experiences of coaching, if we go right back to the start, the very first experience, what was that like? And then what have you learned from that? And how has it kind of shaped who you are today?
[Vicky]
I think it was my first step into coaching was helping people enjoy playing the sport that I loved. It was just about enjoyment and as long as they had smiles on their faces and they was laughing along the hour session or however long it was then for me that was job well done. And then the little bit on the coaching journey that you go on then you can teach them how to correctly connect to the ball in a pass or about spatial awareness and you just build the layers on. But at the very bottom it's about just enjoying it and you can't move away from that enjoyment because even at senior level when it's result driven players still want to enjoy turning up and playing football So you've still got to try and find that way of having the organised fun within your sessions.
[Jamie]
I suppose it's about knowing and understanding your players but do you have any general top tips to help coaches keep their sessions fun and engaging?
[Vicky]
I think it's the the second they walk out onto the pitch what you do in your activation. Some people like rondos, our physical performance coach played netball, where they had just that, it's an invasion game, but it got really competitive because the one thing we all have in common in our environment is football. But when you actually take them away from football and put them in another sport, it's interesting to see how that competitive edge dials up. So I think you can be innovative in the way that you use different sports, giving them a bit of ownership, do you want to go and do the rondos, go and get them going, there's loads of different things to keep it fun. But again, people in our environment are competitive, So as long as there's some element of competition that's healthy and controlled, then you're always onto a winner.
[Jamie]
Brilliant. Thinking about your coaching journey, what would you say has been the most challenging thing that you've had to face and how have you managed to overcome it?
[Vicky]
I think when I first stepped in as my first position as a manager I was the youngest WSL manager in the league and I didn't know what I didn't know. I didn't realise the power of leadership, I didn't realise how to manage my own behaviours and emotions when under a lot of scrutiny from fans, from social media, how to protect my family from that as well because it upset them when they saw negative things in the press or in the media. So I think that's probably one of the difficult things to face, however I'm really grateful I went through it because I've got good coping strategies on how to deal with it. And I learned a lot from what I would call a good apprentice in the game to where I am now.
[Jamie]
Is there any chance you've got some of those mental strategies that can have a bit of a brief insight into?
[Vicky]
Yes I work with a mentor, I've got a mentor that helps me that's from outside of football so she helps me reflect on myself, my visions, values and beliefs so that I know who I am and what I stand for and I think your mental well-being is really important to actually find ways to escape the game, to top your energy levels back up. I call it putting the football away. Normally that for me, that's on an international break. I'll have a couple of days where I'll go on long walks or I'll go and play golf or just spending time with the family just to top my energy levels back up. But I think in my first managerial position I got consumed by trying to do so much that I never actually stepped back to smell the grass and look outside the window a little bit to see what was going on.
[Jamie]
And what piece of advice, so with all your experiences you've had so far and being able to manage scenarios, what piece of advice would you give to your younger self now to help them prepare for the world of coaching for the first time?
[Vicky]
I've been through some challenging times that felt like they were going to last forever. But what I will say is tough times don't last forever, but tough people do. Because no matter how tough times will feel, whether that's scrutiny from the press, whether that's just results, whether that's questions from players or self-doubt, those moments don't last forever. And if you can get through them and reflect you'll be better for it and I can certainly say through my journey I'm a lot tougher through those tough times that I've been through and I'm very grateful for them.
[Jamie]
And just to wrap things up do you have any advice for people who might be thinking about starting to coach for the first time and any advice, say like what kind of impact that they might be able to have if they decide to give coaching a try?
[Vicky]
Yeah I think if you're getting into coaching, do it for the right reasons because you actually enjoy it and you want to help develop people and don't just jump for your coaching qualifications, it is part of it but just make sure you put in the hours on the grass. I see a lot of young coaches now that want to get the level one, level two, level you wait for B, you wait for A within a short amount of time but actually don't put the hours in on the grass and it's so important because that is just where you learn your mistakes from sessions, challenges from players and that will make you better with your interventions when you come to the higher level.
[Jamie]
Brilliant, thank you very much for your time. Thank you. Cheers. Thanks for joining us, Yaya.
[Yaya]
You're welcome.
[Jamie]
How are you?
[Yaya]
Very good, thank you. You?
[Jamie]
Yeah, all good, thank you. How's today been on the pro licence?
[Yaya]
Actually good. Learning a lot, getting a lot of information.
[Jamie]
Thinking about your experience on the course as a whole, how do you think that's developed you as a coach?
[Yaya]
Well, as a coach I think I get to know myself more and during this course I've been involved for such a lot of months I think it make me clear my idea and understand myself more and just shape a bit more my philosophy on the games and because now the games is moving so fast and different way and you have to adapt.
[Jamie]
And thinking about developing as a coach, what skills and attributes do you think make a good coach?
[Yaya]
I think for me a good coach is someone who is willing to understand the change and understand the development. Because in the modern game now, I think, in my opinion, you have to adapt, understanding, and try to execute it. You have to be flexible, if I can say that, because it's not that easy, because the way the game is going forward now, I think, in the future, if you're not willing to develop, understand, and adapt, it's going to be very, very difficult.
[Jamie]
Do you have any advice to help coaches to be able to be flexible and adapt at all?
[Yaya]
Well I think During my time as a coach since I retired, I think I've been able to touch a lot of country just to learn and develop. I think for me the most thing, the key area is going to be try to be yourself. This industry now is very, very difficult and complicated. And as a young coach now for me is just try to enjoy be myself and try to do some I think simple.
[Jamie]
And thinking about your coaching journey so far what do you enjoy most about it?
[Yaya]
During my period in this country I've been like I was saying before, previously Ukraine, Russia, England with the academy, Belgium later, now Saudi. I think what I tried to understand during all of that is that what can make me a top coach and if I can say better person. Because during all these periods I tried to learn myself because it was not that easy because you know being in this kind of different country, being in Russia, you know it's a different language and the skills, everything like that, it helped me a lot to learn about football is a universal game to be honest and can get players from around the world and if you can able to communicate it properly to them and get them your philosophy across their minds clearly I think they will deliver and you can be better.
[Jamie]
And do you feel your experience in different countries has really benefited you early into your coaching journey?
[Yaya]
I think so, I think so, because all the clubs I've been touching, I've been able to work with European, Asiatic and different players from around the world. And I think the language can be a key role sometime, you know, because in terms of the group, when you talk to the group, it's OK. You can have, you can use one language, but typically, personally, when you want to have a face-to-face with one player and you have a difficulty in your language, if you're able to communicate in his language it's gonna be much much easier and you're gonna have much much time.
[Jamie]
Thinking about the first time that you started coaching, what was that experience like and how has that helped shape you as a coach now?
[Yaya]
It was different. It was different because being players and after that, after being players, retire, being coaches, it's like I have to give some time recommendation. I have to be able to deliver a position. I have to be able to be patient with the players. It was quite difficult because first of all, in the beginning I was quite demanding, quite impatient and quite difficult at times with the players. I didn't understand because of where I come from and because of the quality I got when I was playing football. I was thinking like the way I understand it is going to be much easier for them. But that was, that's, I was wrong. And that, that took me time. And I learned that when I was in Tottenham at that period, because by the way, I used, I used your line to say thank you to South Football Club, it was brilliant when I was there. For me, it helped me a lot in the sense that I have to understand the player, the way they work, and be patient and try to guide them. And if you have to repeat, I can repeat a hundred times. But before I didn't go to sing the first time, but now with more experience I go there.
[Jamie]
Do you have any advice to help coaches kind of understand and get to know the players?
[Yaya]
Well, I think one advice I can give to them is to be patient, be willing to adapt, because sometimes it might take time. The patience is very, very key in this world. But unfortunately, when you get to the first team role, as a manager, as you know, time is not the big thing. You know, it's points, winning games are important. And it's different, you know, it's totally different. It's where your approaches are. If you want to go in academy rules or a club will give you more times or a club's gonna get you, you know what I mean, straight in there, you know, just judge you and your games are, games are, game out, game in. And For me, it's just patience, understanding and adaptation. That's what can be key.
[Jamie]
And what would you say has been the most challenging part of your coaching journey so far? Or was it the transition from player to coach?
[Yaya]
Definitely. Now you get it. It was a transition because when I was playing it was easier and I was by myself understanding, looking after myself. Now as a coach you have to look after the staff, look after 25 players with different culture, different background. You have to be able to sit down sometimes and be careful what you say, pass the message across, make sure all the players understand similarly. And the most complicated task I had at one time was to challenge myself. I tried to regroup all the players in this one space and show them something. I feel it was the right thing and everyone have a different view of it. There was like some of them were saying this, it's that and some of them were saying different things. And I was confused at that time I was like how am I do that you know he's good that's mean like I have a lot of work to do and understanding is very important everyone cannot buy with your tactics or philosophy what you have to do you have to make sure if you have to take your time or maybe get a bit slower, to make sure they understand where you want to go with them.
[Jamie]
What piece of advice then, to wrap this discussion up, would you give to someone who's at the very start of their coaching journey?
[Yaya]
Just in terms of When you retire, for example, from football, professionally, or you start in your journey, just be open. Just try to get involved as much as possible, to get the understanding. Because some of the time I've been a cross player where it was in the back of the group and when I just tried to explain the decision They all said yes but when they start decision status some of them in the back was like still don't understand and Sometimes the demo is really important to show off first or maybe start a practice, you have to be involved in that, give them a momentum, that give them the idea with why you want to go in. I think what make us proud as a coach is the player, when the player understand and when they develop and when they progress, that's what makes us proud. And I think for the beginning, you just have to be clear on that point. In that sense, you know, patience, adaptation and as well, make sure they understand it, what you want it.
[Jamie]
Great, thank you very much. Now, a slight change of scenery for anybody that is watching this rather than listening and that is because we've bumped into our very own Ian Bateman who is a learner on this course. So hi Ian, welcome back to Coachcast because it's been a little while since you've been on. How are you?
[Ian]
Yeah no really good, it has been a little while, I've been missing you so yeah We're back at it, can't wait. Great to,
[Jamie]
no, no worries. Thank you very much for your time today. I appreciate obviously your time working and then also being on the pro licence. I suppose we'll start there. How is the pro licence going?
[Ian]
Yeah, it's been brilliant. We're coming towards the end now, but it's kind of an 18-month journey from the start for actually getting on the course but now it's been terrific it's been really really good I think some of the tasks that we've been set sort of on course and off course have been brilliant but I think most of all it's the other people that's on the course with us is the bit that probably makes the course. So you've got people coming from different corners of the game, clearly working at the, I want to say it's top end of the game is probably the wrong word, but actually real specialists in the field, whether you know the managers, heads of coaching, working in the male game, female game. So that mix of people that's in the room is what really makes the course, I think, really quite special.
[Jamie]
And is that the main thing, like kind of your favourite part of it, or is it other tasks that you might have done?
[Ian]
Yeah, we've been set some really good challenges across the course. So we had one particular task around sort of looking at how you're going to spend money and build a squad over a period of 12-18 months and basically set the challenge you were given all the data that was possibly out there and then had to make the decision and present back to the board so that that was particularly good and I think one the task was really good, working with people that you'd never worked before, trying to work on, utilise everybody's strengths that was in the room, which you would do in your day-to-day life and I think that's what the course really brings. It's about that leadership and management, when do you, you know, how do you sort of work people out quite quickly and figure out a way to get to the results that you want to do and you know everybody works differently so you've got to understand that quite quickly. I think the other thing is going away, it locks down time for you because I think everybody's really busy but it forces you to lock some sort of time away to go after certain things. So you know going and seeing some high-performing teams operating and I went up Helvellyn with a company called Waktu with nine Premier League referees and it was fascinating one seeing Waktu operate which was the main thing, but actually being and seeing nine refs and how they think and how passionate they are about the game and how fit they were, it was like there was loads of stuff which I wouldn't have otherwise gone out and done that. So again it kind of forces you into certain lines which you probably wouldn't normally do.
[Jamie]
So loads of experiences there on the course how would you say that those experiences have helped you to develop as a coach?
[Ian]
It's particularly helping with my, So my role at the minute is a lot more around managing a team of coach developers. It's not much different managing a team of 18 people than you would a squad of 18 players. It's the same sort of thing. So it's really got me thinking about my leadership and management styles. You know, how do we get the best out of those individuals that work within the team? Clearly it's in a football environment anyway. And at the same time, a lot of the delivery that's been done has been around football. So it feels like it's a really good fit for me. So it's leadership and management based around football at the top end so it's like keeps ticking all the boxes for me.
[Jamie]
Speaking as developing as a coach or in your point a coach developer what are the key kind of skills and attributes do you feel that coaches need to be a good coach?
[Ian]
Yeah so you know I think this is this is at any sort of level you need to know about the players that you're working with and everybody's different so knowing John or Joanne absolutely you know and it's the football's just part of it it's you know We're trying to develop individual people as well. And then you've got to know coaching So, how do you get those if you know about the game? Then how can you get those messages across the bit that kind of changes is the environment that you're working with? So I've worked in grassroots. I've worked in professional clubs. I've worked with England teams. I've worked in disability So actually sometimes that context just kind of changes. So what are you gonna dial up, dial down at the right time? And that brings you back to then about understanding yourself about actually what am I good at? What do I need to bring to the party on this day that, again, I could have worked in a preschool program at my own son's primary school, and then in the afternoon I was working with under 16s at Bolton in a professional club. It was like, what are you dialing up, what are you dialing down at the right moment in time? So it's just having no skills, really.
[Jamie]
There might be people who are just starting out on the coaching journey, for instance, whether it be the Playmaker course or going on to their I2CF. What sort of like, Joe, if they've not necessarily been involved in the game, Do you think that there's potentially transferable skills from elsewhere in their life experiences that can actually help them to get into coaching?
[Ian]
Yeah, no absolutely. I think parents are really well placed for taking on coaching. It's no different, you've just got loads more young players generally in front of you than just your own children. I think if you're just starting out it's about just making, would you want to be the player in your session? That's always the question that I would ask myself because are we doing things that I would want to do and then that's generally about finishing, scoring goals and stopping goals you know and it's as simple as that or is it a game? So if players are asking for a game You've probably not give them enough of a game if they want a game at a start give them a game And if they're happy and they really enjoy it should be that best moment of the week for that child You know are they running across out the car running across the car park to get to your session. So I always think about what did I want when I was a young player or even an older player? It was like, would this really engage me? And if you do that, you probably a lot of your troubles are taken care of because the kids are having a load of fun and probably scoring loads of goals. So everyone loves scoring
[Jamie]
loads of goals. Absolutely, yes. So that engagement piece, is that close to your coaching values? If so or if not, what are your coaching values?
[Ian]
It's all about the players. I think everything that I do is around the players again I think back to you know you have got a bit of a duty to clearly make the players more skillful, make them the best that they can be, that's absolutely critical but the being player-centered and putting them at the heart of what you're doing you know it's not about me as a coach. Clearly the coach, if results at top level don't go well, then, you know, clearly there's criticism on the coach. But I think it's gotta be players first and really putting them at the forefront of what we're trying to do. And that's not giving them free reign that they do whatever they want, sometimes it's what they need rather than what they want. But actually they've got a voice in all this, they clearly need to play a part in their own development, which is something that you want to drive and make them better at.
[Jamie]
What would you say you most enjoy about coaching?
[Ian]
It's probably being around people and being in that changing room with the players and that spirit of football, feeling that spirit of football, going into battle with your team, alongside your team, try and help them to be the best that they can be. That's a real driver for me and then clearly there is a buzz about winning and that part of competition which I think is why everybody plays and it is a tough game you know it is a tough to be able to deal with a ball that's moving around and people's trying to it's a tough game but then helping the players get better and then seeing those players come through and develop over time is brilliant. And I think when I do look back, again with some of the England players that I've worked with in disability, seeing those guys having debuts at 16 and 17 years old and now 8, 9, 10 years later you know they're playing and the kids are on the court at half-time. Just seeing those people get married, have children, go from children basically into men I think that's as much as anything that happens in terms of winning.
[Jamie]
So it's nice just having basically the power of coaches is that you can have such an impact on players' lives.
[Ian]
Yeah, huge, huge. And I've seen that across, again, the grassroots. If you're in Asda and there's lads that you've, you know, that were, I mean, nice to see you, and they're now in the pushing their 30s. It's brilliant because you've given them some things and hopefully shaped their life and give them some really positive experiences and opportunities, I think that's the big thing. You can provide those opportunities for the players that help them grow in so many ways.
[Jamie]
Earlier you mentioned like you've worked in quite a lot of different areas of the game reflecting all the way back to your first experience of coaching what was that like and maybe what did you learn from that that's helped you to develop moving forward?
[Ian]
Yeah so my background being fortunate I got into coaching it's probably the best part of 35 years ago now, which seems an awful long time, but I can still remember, did my pre-lim badge, but then that first opportunity was given by a guy called Tony Whelan, who's at Man United, and Tony ran some soccer camps, and like most new coaches, it was like, well, here's how I have the under sevens for a day, and it was like, oh crikey, I didn't deal with this on the pre-lim. Spent the first half an hour doing shoelaces as I was doing them there's probably mayhem going off all around me. But again, go back to what happened. Tony says, look, just put them in a game, they'll sort themselves out. Lo and behold, absolutely the best bit of advice I could have probably had. So it was 5v5 or 6v6 and it allowed me to settle and gather my thoughts. But do you know what? Understanding how to manage and entertain or was it survival for myself getting through those first weeks or first days, first hours, first minutes was critical and what it made me understand if I can control that group actually dealing with older players, dealing with adults later on, was a walk in the park, absolutely was.
[Jamie]
For anyone who's approaching maybe their first, maybe it's this weekend or maybe it's next week, if it training rather than match day, anyone who's feeling maybe a little bit daunted by going into coaching for the first time. Do you have any advice for them?
[Ian]
Plan. Have a bit of a plan in your head but then again, and I think this is where it's really hard, I think as you get more experienced there's not many things that you haven't really seen before or you pick up on the cues really quickly. You know, if someone's quite not engaged or whatever, so you learn that over time. That's really difficult as a novice. But I think what you can do is keep things moving quite quickly, have three or four things in your mind that you might want to do, I would definitely write it down but again that's a bit of a personal thing, even now all my sessions I'll have a plan about what I'm going to do with some sort of key messages that I'd want the players to take away or key things for individuals within that. If I didn't have a plan then I know it's probably going to go all over the place. So and then just be adaptable that if something's working you might want to carry on a bit longer. No problem with that and if it's not working shut it down go to your next bit on your plan and just see how that works. Because what works one day, might not work the next, so just don't write it off after one go.
[Jamie]
So many great tips there for coaches to take away. Would you give any other advice potentially to yourself at the start of your own coaching journey?
[Ian]
Enjoy yourself. You've got to be having fun as well as the players have been having fun. I think what it did to the start of my journey, it really sort of just triggered something in my mind that I thought this is what I want to do, which I probably wasn't expecting and to be fair to Tony at that time, he gave me some outstanding advice And to be fair to me, gave me my first opportunity. He picked up the phone and phoned somebody else at Bobby Charlton Soccer Schools to get me a second opportunity the following week. And his kind of thing was like, he says, football's a really small world. He said, what you gotta do is make sure you work super hard and don't do anything daft. Do not let me down was his words and I still see him now and it still makes us both chuckle that that actually yeah I'm still trying to not let Tony down and I've got that running in the back of my mind. I just loved it, I absolutely loved it. Still do, still love the game and I think it's having that passion and that energy, you know, bring that to the party because actually it's the most magnificent game in the world. So, you know, Let's try and help players get that spirit of football. Let's get them feeling that and hooking them in forever.
[Jamie]
What's kind of been the most challenging part of your coaching journey and how did you overcome it?
[Ian]
I think like a lot of young people, you want to rush through things at the start. And then I realised then probably actually slowed down a bit and it did slow down so I did lots of work in schools, did lots of work in grassroots across or did lots of work all over the world really fortunate with particularly the Bobby Charlton stuff took us all over the world doing things so you saw lots of different ideas and places and cultures and what have you. One of the big challenges was then not being an ex-player going into into the world that I work in now so I can't put my league appearances on the table, I can't put my England caps on the table But I think that just drives you on to be even better at what you're doing. So I did understand about players, I did understand coaching and I knew that I had to sharpen up about learning about the game. So then that makes you be a student of the game. So I think you've got to be self-aware enough to understand look I'm really quite good at this but I need to work at that so and then you know if that's a challenge and you go after the challenge in the right way well actually what there's nothing to stop you being an expert in that particular field as well and I think that goes for everybody recognize what the challenge is and then take it You know embrace it and go after it. Front it up and let's you know go and try and fix the problem
[Jamie]
Brilliant and now finally to wrap things up so appreciate you taking your time away from the course I'm gonna kind of put you on the spot a little bit here. You've given us loads of great advice, but if you were to rank your top three coaching tips, what would they be?
[Ian]
I'm probably going to bring it back to player coaching and the game again. I think it's know your players, Because if you don't know your players, then it's really difficult to, if you don't know how they tick, it's really hard to know how to push the buttons. I would say in terms of coaching, play loads of game-like stuff. So make sure that it's opposed, directional approach. It's got goalies and it's got goals. You know, if you've got a set of goalposts there, make sure that there's finishing going off in it. Because that's the bit that everybody loves, you know, whether it's scoring goals or stopping goals. And then The last bit is understand what's happening in the game. You know, we're surrounded by the games on TV like all the time. You can go on Twitter, people will listen to this sort of thing. There's so much material out there. Soak it in, but then you've got to filter about what's right for you. But just, yeah, study the game a little bit. And the last bit really is, if you're working with younger players, it's not about 11 v 11. Let's not rush to that. Let's really look at like the small numbered stuff help the individuals within it and understand that their game, you know, game for younger people is a bit different than the game that we see on match of the day on a Saturday night.
[Jamie]
Yeah, absolutely. A really good tip to end on as well, that small-sided games, more touches, more involvement, more enjoyment.
[Ian]
100%.
[Jamie]
Brilliant. Ian, thank you very much and good luck with the rest of the course.
[Ian]
Yeah, thanks for having me.
[Jamie]
Cheers, thank you.
[Ian]
Thank you.
[Jamie]
Right, well that's all we have time for today, but don't forget to check out the episode description for the transcription of this episode and for all the links to our platforms. There you'll find links to the England Football Community, and that's where you can post all your coaching questions for us to discuss on the podcast, or just simply to connect with loads of wonderful coaches. We'll be back soon with another episode of Coachcast, so make sure you hit that subscribe button so you don't miss out. From all of us here at England Football Learning, thanks for listening.