1st4sport Level 3 Certificate in Coaching Football
Course Duration: 90 Hours, Minimum Age: 18
Candidates should hold the 1st4sport Level 2 Certificate in Coaching Football (The Football Association) before applying for the Level 3 and should be working with a team over an extensive period of time, aiming to make a significant contribution to the performance of their squad.
On completion of the course, the competent coach will be able to:
- coach advanced individual techniques, group skill, and principles of play to groups of players
- develop an understanding of the coaching process and the needs of the player as this relates to children, teenagers and adults
- display knowledge of related Sports Science issues
- plan and prepare coaching sessions relating to a match programme and evaluate this process
- maintain the health and safety of player and other coaches
- maintain high standards of conduct to promote Association Football
Initial Training
- Development of Possession
- Movement to Create Space
- Counter-Attacking Play
- Flank-Attacking Play
- Central-Attacking Play
- Play in the Attacking Third
- Regaining Possession
- Defending in the Thirds of the Field
- Goalkeeping
Theory
- Long Term Player Development
- Coaching Philosophy and Objectives
- Attitudes, Ethics and Working with Others
- Learning and Coaching Styles
- Player Characteristics
- A Safe Football Coaching Environment
- Planning a Football Coaching Programme
- Match and Player Analysis
- Performance Profiling and Training Periodisation
- Coaching for Long-Term Player Development (LTPD)
- Football Fitness
- Nutrition for Football
- Mental Preparation for Football
- Injury Identification and Recognition
- Aspects of First Aid
- Drug and Alcohol Awareness
Observed Coaching Practice
- Two 25-Minute Sessions
- One of either a Function or Small-Sided Game and a Phase of Play
- Recorded Coaching in Log-Book
- Minimum of 10 Hours Coaching
- Distance Learning
- 10 Interim Course Tasks
Final Training and Assessment: Students will have the opportunity of subsequently being assessed on a national or local course through a written examination, involving multiple choices in:
- Injury Identification and Recognition
- Aspects of First Aid
Oral Interview: Re-Assessment: Available in aspects deemed not yet competent
Leading To: FA Advanced Coaching Licence/UEFA ‘A’ Coaching Award; FA Youth Coaches’ Certificate (12-16 years)
Cost: £400
Charter Standard Club Member: £340
Aged Under 19 (with proof of age): £200
Available Courses
(please complete a Booking Form)
Colchester - L3/3 (FULL)
Mon 18th October - Sat 23rd October, 9:00am-6:00pm all days
If your course is fully-booked, please contact Simon Thomas, Sue Hammond or Luke Hornsley for a full update on the latest scenario.
Simon Thomas, (01245) 393071 or simon.thomas@essexfa.com
Sue Hammond, (01245) 393072 or sue.hammond@essexfa.com
Luke Hornsley, (01245) 393070 or luke.hornsley@essexfa.com
ECFA Club Development Officer, Ian Bent, believes more successful Level 2 candidates should consider making the next step towards the Level 3 Certificate in the New Year having completed a number of modules himself at Colchester United FC’s Shrub End Community Sports Centre.
Ian took part in the preliminary stages of the Level 3 last October and is still enjoying his participation in the specialised and challenging course, which forms one of the highest qualifications in the national game. Ian’s progress during the first week was reported in his diary which is now available below and he emphatically claims it is a very rewarding course to take for those keen enough to rise to the challenge.
“I’m Ian Bent. I am the Club Development Officer for the ECFA and recently attended the Level 3 Coaching Course. Having been asked to keep a log of my week, the activities involved and my feelings experienced during this time, hopefully this will offer an insight into what happens during a week-long coaching course, as well as some of the highs and the lows.”
Monday: “Having booked a week’s ‘holiday’ leave from work, I wasn’t exactly thrilled when my alarm went off earlier than it does for my working week! The thought dawned on me that I would need to be on the road by 8:15am every morning to get to Colchester ready for the 9:00 start. The first morning on any course always gets you feeling a little nervous, which isn’t helped when you first see your Candidate Pack! The scale of what you have let yourself in for then really starts to hit home! After a few introductions, we were soon out on the pitch, taking part in sessions being delivered by tutors Eddie McCluskey and Keith Rudd that centred on re-visiting the key principles of play first used during the Level 2. The pitch was a hive of activity, with players running around like school kids again, a decision many of us would regret by the end of the week! We finished the initial day with time to begin planning the first of the sessions we would be asked to deliver during the Course.”
Tuesday: “Tuesday didn’t get off to the best of starts for me. Having opted to take part in the first session of the day, I decided to show-off my football talents to the rest of the group by tripping over the ball with my very first touch, ending-up laid out on the soaking wet floor desperately searching for my dignity, or a bobble on the pitch I could point to in a vain attempt to somehow shift the blame onto something else! The rest of the day ran far more smoothly for myself and focussed on the tutors introducing the ‘functional’ and ‘phases of play’ practices we would need to both understand and deliver before the end of the week.”
Wednesday: “Today saw the tutors hand the coaching reigns over to us and it was our turn to shine. My surname beginning with a ‘B’ meant I was second up alphabetically and I have to admit I did have that ‘first day of school’ feeling whilst waiting for my turn! I had to deliver a session on ‘Finishing in a Small-Sided Game’ so, as a forward myself, I had to be happy with my first topic. I’m sure you’re all desperate to know how I got on and I’m happy to confirm there was no repeat of my Tuesday fall, so overall I was pleased with my first session (frankly delighted it was over)! I was now in a position to enjoy the rest of the sessions. Wednesday afternoon really was like being back at school as the football pitch was left behind and replaced by a classroom as we completed our Injury Identification Module.”
Thursday: “Thursday morning began with a goalkeeping master class from Martin Thomas, the National Teams’ Goalkeeping Coach at The FA. Before lunch we took part in one of the past Level 3 re-assessments, which was passed. As well as giving everyone a little confidence boost that the Course can be passed, it also showed everyone at first hand the type of session we would need to deliver in six months time in order to complete our Level 3. Thursday afternoon was back to us and we continued with delivering our first sessions. This was when we first got the sense that time was against us and we ended up coaching right up to a 5:30pm finish. It was almost pitch black and there we were, stood on the field, coaching in the dark!”
Friday: “Friday saw us start at 8:30am as we tried to catch-up with the sessions and the final candidates delivered their first sessions. You could sense the relief and increased confidence in everyone once we had all delivered a session and the tutors knew just how to reward us for this, make us deliver another one! So we all had our second sessions prepared and, since my surname hadn’t changed from the first time around, I was once again second in line! This time my session was to coach ‘Dribbling in a Phase of Play’. With the thought of an early finish on Saturday looming, everyone pulled together and we were soon flying through the sessions. Unfortunately, some of our early-week exuberance had started to have an effect and many of us (myself very much included) were no longer flying around with quite the same level of pace and movement as earlier in the week!”
Saturday: “The final day had finally arrived and, with the promise of an early finish, everyone was keen to get out there and get started. The arrival of John Drabwell to observe the tutors and how the Course was being delivered certainly went down well with the candidates and it was nice to see we were no longer the only ones being observed! Saturday morning saw all of the candidates finish the delivery of their sessions so all that was left to do was to receive our third topics, which would be delivered at one of the 3 support days we have prior to the assessment, and to have a quick de-brief with Eddie and Keith before saying our goodbyes and heading home. In approximately six months’ time we will all be back together and going through our final assessments, where hopefully the news will be good and the County will have a brand new batch of Level 3 coaches!”
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