Formal coach education courses for 2017 in NSFA are now nearing completion!
Coach Development is an integral part of our NSFA strategy to ensure the community football experience continues to improve each season, reflected in players, coaches and family members re-joining our game.
We kicked off the season with 12 ALDI MiniRoos Certificate courses, summing 206 coaches involved, mostly mums, dad and the siblings of players. Our MiniRoos Certificate courses aim to provide coaches new and inexperienced with the game a foundation to plan their sessions from, as well as learning some basic coaching behaviours to keep players engaged and smiling when at trainings and games. Each MiniRoos Certificate is never the same with each presenter bringing their own style and flavour to provide participants the chance to join discussion, ask questions and come up with solutions to common MiniRoos problems.
We had 84 coaches take part in our Skill Training Certificates during 2017, which in 2018 we aim to increase to have more coaches understanding the approach and structure outlined in the FFA Curriculum. With the introduction of our Super League competition, building on the Diamond League, we hope to create a collaborative and collective understanding from all coaches across the Under 9 – Under 13 age groups in developing young boys and girls. The Skill Acquisition Phase continues to build on the fun and social side of football that was introduced in the early years of MiniRoos football. As players progress we challenge them to develop keys skills within the game, guided by the four core skills and FFA’s progressive approach to delivering a session.
Across the Game Training Certificate and Senior Certificate we had 18 participants over the course of the season, something we again will look to increase in 2018 by offering more courses and more flexibility within these.
Our Goalkeeper course attracted 10 participants and we will look to host this again in 2018.
We will round off 2017 with our recently announced Youth Coach Development Program, offering 32 young (Under 18) NSFA members the opportunity to take their first step within coaching by gaining their MiniRoos and Skill Training Certificate.
Coach Education did not stop there….
Ten coach education workshops were delivered during the season, bringing our total coaches influenced up to 489 for the year! Our workshops provide short and sharp coach education opportunities across the Skill Training Phase, Game Training Phase and Performance Phases during a weeknight of the season. These workshops provide a remarkable opportunity for coaches to engage with fellow coaches of similar age groups to learn specific areas within each development phase. We were fortunate enough over the course of the season to invite Yokohama F Marinos, Sydney FC and Football NSW to deliver these, providing an interesting insight to the inner workings of professional clubs. We aim to continue our ongoing ‘ informal’ coach education workshops during 2018 and look forward to engaging more coaches to provide unique offerings.
2018 is shaping up to be a significant year as parts of the puzzle begin to fall into place.
The new season will kick off with more FFA accredited coach education presenters from within NSFA than in previous years, increasing our capacity to deliver courses and provide resources, advice and support within NSFA clubs.
The launch of the Club Coach Coordinator program will significantly increase the amount of support provided to our 1,400 community coaches across the association whilst in their club environment. Through the CCC program, each of the clubs involved will have a ‘go to person’ within their club to provide ongoing support to coaches ‘ where they are, when they are’ such as during a coaches session with their Under 8 daughters team. The CCC program will also see the increase in coach education workshops, distribution of our Inspire coach support program and collaboration between NSFA clubs and NSFA’s Community Football Manager, Ed Ferguson. Keep an eye out for your clubs CCC on our website.
Our INSPIRE – Coach Support program launched in 2017, setting a target of #TARGET100, however the response was outstanding, with a total of 252 coaches signing up during the season. Due to the demand and positive feedback we will be extending the INSPIRE program curriculum and offerings to include multiple curriculums for each development phase (U6-8, U9-13, U14+), enabling coaches to select the correct session and exercises for the ability of their players.
For more information on the INSPIRE program please click here.
Formal coach education courses will be provided in more digestible forms next year, with all Skill Training, Game Training and Senior Certificate courses taking place in modified forms to encourage participation and avoid whole weekend courses.
As you can see, we have a lot in store and look forward to sharing it with everyone!
If you are thinking about becoming involved in coaching I would recommend you do so. The rewarding nature of the role from seeing players smiling, socialising, challenging themselves individually and as a team are indescribable. You will influence more young minds in a season of coaching than you may inspire people in your life.
Take the first step, whether it’s out of your comfort zone or not and become involved.
See you during the season!
Ed Ferguson
Community Football Manager