COACHING: TheFA.com - Grassroots coaches converge on Wembley

Over 600 coaches are at Wembley on Thursday for the annual FA Coaches Association Conference, which celebrates the future of coaching in England with the launch of the new Future Game document for technical coaching at grassroots level. The Future Game details coaching philosophies and session plans which are appropriate to the grass roots game, released after an elite version of the book was brought out in May for Academy and Centre of Excellence coaches.

A number of high profile coaches will be speaking over the course of the day, including the likes of Fabio Capello, (Pictured courtesy of www.TheFA.com) Stuart Pearce, Sam Allardyce, John Peacock, Hope Powell and Eric Harrison with the project aiming to get more qualified coaches into the grassroots level of the game and working with youngsters. "The grassroots coaches have a big role to play, especially with youngsters between the ages of five and 16,” said Sir Trevor Brooking, The FA’s Director Of Football Development. "If we can raise the bar at grassroots level, all levels of the game will ultimately benefit. "Kids just want to have fun and enjoy it, and this is about making sure the coaches and parents understand that in those early years, players will make mistakes and we want them to as they are trying different skills. “If younger players feel intimidated, they will just drift out of the game and that’s not what we want.” With England’s U17s winning the European Championship in May, Brooking wants future generations to aspire to that level and depth of talent and by concentrating on the grassroots level, that’s what can be achieved again in the future. "This area is looking at age-appropriate coaches and that's where we hope to make a big difference,” he added. "The U17s did well because we had a good depth of talent in that year. We haven't had a good depth like that in other years, and that's what we've got to aim for. “We need more coaches at the 5-16 age group and that's what this is Future Game document is for.”



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