3 New Years Resolutions which grassroots football coaches, players and parents should make in order to improve their experience of junior grassroots football.
This was another important year for grassroots football. With this came many ups, downs, smiles, great performances and lots of fun. Win, lose or draw, there’s always more to learn from coaches, players and parents, as part of the junior grassroots football experience.
So, as we get ready for the new year and say hello to 2023, here are our suggestions of New Years resolutions for junior grassroots football coaches, players and parents.
Grassroots Football Coaches
1. Improve your skills through learning
Coaching, as both a vocation and a profession, never stands still. It’s always evolving and always seeking out the newest innovations, emerging trends and latest best practice.
This is where CPD comes in. These events are not only crucial in exposing you as a coach to up-to-date thinking and methods, but they’ll also give you the skills needed to create and sustain modern learning environments for your players. Accredited Learning will help you be a better coach and you’ll be able to teach the kids the right way to play the game and a safer way to play the game. For more information, on FA accredited courses, click here.
2. Try to be fairer with equal playing opportunities for players
In order for players to develop and improve, they need to participate regularly and have equal playing time.
Coaches need to make an effort to play everyone and be consistent with playing time. Indeed there can be exceptions under certain circumstances but as a general rule a coach should make every effort to play everyone.
3. Communicate with parents
During the course of the season, a coach will spend plenty of time communicating with players. But it’s also very important for a coach to keep the lines of communication open with the parents. Take some time before practice to chat with a parent, especially if you haven’t seen that parent in a while. Be available after a training session. If a parent has a question or a comment, as an open-door policy can go a long way should any issues arise.
Players
1. Work harder
Take things up a notch in 2023. A little extra effort in a training session or a game could result in significant improvement. The goal for each year and for each level of football is for a child to make improvements and get better on and off the field. Sometimes, the little things can lead to big things.
2. Have more fun
Every time your child steps onto the field, the objective is to compete, and do the very best they can, and hopefully that equates to a win on match day. Ultimately, the goal of playing grassroots football is two-fold – enjoyment and development.
3. Keep an open mind to other positions.
Gaining experience in different positions can only help children as they climb up the football ladder. Your child may have taken a liking to a particular position, but children should keep an open mind to trying other positions. It could certainly help down the road as they progress in their grassroots football journey.
Parents
1. Respect the coaches and officials
Keep in mind that grassroots football coaches are volunteers and they’re the ones on the field doing the coaching and you’re not. That’s not to say you won’t disagree with them about something, but open up the lines of communication and talk to them. Don’t hold a grudge because your child is not playing as much as you want. Just talk to them. As far as the officials are concerned, keep your opinions to yourself and let the coaches do the arguing when there’s a bad call. There are going to be bad calls, because the officials are human.
2. Be a volunteer
It’s very important for a parent to enjoy the grassroots football experience, and you want to pay attention when your child is on the field. But it’s also a good idea to get involved as a volunteer from time to time. Whether it’s offering to help on match day, helping out with fundraising or just offering to help with lifts, helping out is a great way to get enhance your experience in youth football and play an important role in your grassroots family.
3. Enjoy the moment
Time really does fly. Before you know it, your child will be in the twilight of their grassroots football journey. It’s important that you and your child embrace the opportunity to make new friends and enjoy all that being part of a grassroots football family means which includes enjoying the all highs, experiencing the lows and enjoying the moment, as it does not last forever.
This was another great year of youth grassroots football. We hope that our suggestions will provide some food for thought for all grassroots football coaches.
Hopefully you, your child, and your child’s coach can implement some or all of these New Years resolutions to help make it the best year ever!
Happy New Year, everyone!
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