The coaches of our U6 teams need something very different to the U16 or the adults. Chunk the learning so if coaches grow with a team, build on relevant learning at the time they need it. Also creates a better focused group of learners on a topic when they come together.

Everybody in a room to talk about their U6-U8 kids and the real world challenges that brings us; much better for a tutor to support than trying to match up the fact on a Level 1 you’ve got everyone from U6 to U18 people. So much harder to differentiate learning needs of coaches.

Also, you can focus on the needs right now. Giving an U6 coach information about maturation is helpful but not timely, nor important to the problems they have today. Plus, by the time they get to working with that age they have probably forgotten it! So provide that in 6yrs time.

Likewise, if you are an U14 coach starting out and sat in the room, you don’t need information about the behaviours and characteristics of a 6yr old. That’s no use. You need bespoke information about the challenges of U13-16 young people. It’s specific to your needs.

So rather than force them to sit through a load of irrelevant stuff, chunk the learning from the start. When you get to U13 it triggers the need for some more learning. It gives you the next three seasons of holistic needs and considerations for player development. Not U6 stuff!

And if you want to work with adults, then attend a coaching course on working with adults. You shouldn’t have to do a Level 1 because the rules say you have to, you should do the learning/qualification that is APPROPRIATE for the needs of your role in coaching.

Always going to be flaws and downsides to any new system but in this day and age with a focus on blended methods we must be able to make the learning more specific to the needs of the coach. We can evolve content/approaches but need to evolve bespoking the delivery too.

Example: we have two new coaches working with our U17 group. They need to do a Level 1. For what purpose? To ticks box.
Of course they need minimum standards of safeguarding etc but they don’t need content for U8’s. They need a different experience.

Coaching the needs of children then can align to a format of play. We have forgotten those within the mix of learning in my opinion. We could do more on helping coaches to understand roles in a game for 7v7 and different formations v 9v9 or 11v11. But give them that when needed!

Coaches may not want to commit to a UEFA B of 120hrs or whatever it is but the value of CPD on relevant formats & detail of the “game” at the right stage is crucial! Easy to organise; here’s a 3hr workshop on playing 7v7 and the roles/responsibilities for players within the game.

One former colleague used to say coaches weren’t ready for anything tactical until UEFA B and that’s bollocks, I’m sorry. Coaches need some simple tactical support on how to play the game right from 5v5. What can we help the players with, and to understand, through the game.

Otherwise we get to 7v7, 9v9 and then to 11v11 and coaches are playing whatever formation and have not had a single jot of support on that side of things. Simple tactical concepts of how to play the game and be successful.

I’m sure they are some great CFA’s leading the way with these kind of workshops now so that’s awesome. And if not, let’s get age-appropriate coaching and proper formats of the game understanding for coaches readily available when they need it and want it!

End of my morning rant! Sorry about that!