The Coach-Educator for Football Grassroots

"Youth prefer to be stimulated instead of being instructed". Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
The coach-educator’s interest centres on the child. The coach-educator’s main, essential mission is to ensure the child’s development in sporting, social, psychological and educational terms.
The coach-educator knows the game and knows the players. Of course, a coach-educator will not know everything, even in his/her own subject. However, the coach-educator must have a very good understanding of the messages to be communicated. Victories and defeats are nothing compared with what football can promote in terms of human and social values. Football is a vital aid in training future citizens and encouraging young people’s inclusion in society. Football can be a marvellous tool in conveying such values as respect, solidarity, mutual support, sharing, etc.

The coach-educator’s mission
The coach-educator’s mission, or indeed vocation, means sharing, giving, communicating and interacting with others and taking enjoyment in this.
A coach-educator’s educational mission is essentially to convey knowledge and social skills. To achieve this, the coach-educator must know the child, understand his/her characteristics and take into account age and skills. In short, the coach-educator must teach through encouragement and achievement.
Play is children’s main activity. Play is an essential need, innate in all children. Thus, the main objectives of grassroots football are to introduce children to football and initiate them in the practice of football through play.
Football in small-sided games, on small pitches, addresses both of these needs. On small pitches, which are better suited to their physiological capacities, young footballers get more touches of the ball and learn to control and use the ball.
The coach-educator’s mission is to promote learning through play. Play is an enjoyable way for children to learn. Play is an excellent way of developing psychomotor skills and allowing children to relax and overcome anxiety. It encourages children to take initiatives and risks and also encourages invention. Simply enjoying football together and sharing the moment.

"Nature decrees that children should be children before they become adults. If we try to alter this natural order, they will reach adulthood prematurely but with neither substance nor strength."

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Profile of a coach-educatorThe vocation of the coach-educator, in his/her role as a trainer, is to introduce all those boys and girls who want to discover the joys of football to the sport and initiate them in its practice. In order to achieve the objectives associated with this role as a trainer, the coach-educator’s mission in his/her “football school” must be the following:

1. To welcome all young players from the age of six without selection;
2. To promote a sporting education based on respect and fair play from the youngest age; 
3. To encourage a spirit based on the enjoyment of playing and the desire to improve.

Without being an expert, the coach-educator must have a certain basic knowledge:

• General developmental features at different age
• Relationships, behaviour, communication and language

Teaching and organisational skills:

• The methods of teaching
• Organising a football session 
• Organising a tournament 
• Organising a festival

Basic knowledge of football:

• Small-sided games
• Football games/exercises 
• Teaching the basic techniques of football

 

The GOALS of the coach-educator

• Enjoy working with the children.
• Get to know the children very well.
• Be a point of reference for the children.
• Set high standards but be tolerant.
• Listen to the children.
• Keep communicating.
• Instil confidence in the children and reassure them.
• Develop team spirit.
• Encourage initiative and risk-taking in individuals.
• Focus on the “spirit of the game” rather than errors.
• Teach by encouragement.

Behaviour to be avoided

• Constantly shouting or behaving aggressively.
• Training children or asking them to play as if they were adults.
• Forgetting that the main motivation of children is to play football.
• Giving explanations that are too long.
• Presenting technical objectives that are too advanced for the children’s ages.
• Organising exercises that become too routine.
• Focusing on one exercise for too long.
• Continuously interrupting play.
• Criticising an individual in front of the group.
• Forgetting to balance the teams.
• Placing too much emphasis on the results.

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