Womens & Girls

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WOMEN'S & GIRLS FOOTBALL
 

FEMALES HAIL UNIQUE COACHING OPPORTUNITY

  
 
Coaching drills delivered by England Girls Under 15s and Millwall Ladies First Team Manager Kay Cossington at Shrub End Community Centre recently were hailed as "motivating and inspiring" by Essex County F.A. Girls' & Women's Development Officer, Emma Wake.
 
 
The County's Female Coaching Association welcomed Kay to Colchester with the aim of boosting the knowledge of grassroots coaches by offering the unique opportunity to watch a national coach deliver practical and theory sessions. They were also able to ask questions in an open forum alongside the Colchester United Female Centre of Excellence Director about talent identification, Long Term Player Development (L.T.P.D.) and the England set-up. Forty-two coaches attended, representing twenty clubs across the County.

"I hope Kay's influence rubbed-off onto those witnessing her sessions," commented Emma. "I've since received E-Mails expressing enthusiasm after watching the practical as Kay was dynamic, motivating and inspiring. On a personal level she totally left me buzzing and I'm really looking forward to next season!"
 
 
Kay began by highlighting her 'back-to-front' method of session planning, Emma continuing: "She always plans what she wants to end on then decides on the technical content and the warm-up." Her session comprised a dynamic warm-up, including movement, passing and changing direction, Kay then incorporated Speed, Agility and Quickness (S.A.Q.) Equipment, stressing the importance of integrating this into all sessions for young players. The same exercise then moved on to an opposed possession drill, challenging the players both physically and technically.

The middle part of the session involved a four-goal 'Keepaway' game with an overload on one team. One side played with eight players and one with four. The eight individuals worked on keeping the ball while the four concentrated on gaining possession. Each time the four players won the ball they attempted to score in one of the goals. Kay then progressed this by introducing two goalkeepers who had to cover the four targets.

Finally, the session ended on a function that concentrated on the roles of a full-back, working on the right full-back in two thirds of a pitch. Kay demonstrated different pictures a full-back should see when gaining possession while each player was shown different movement patterns to ensure that the full-back had numerous options.

Kay's Q & A covered many topics ranging from overuse and over-coaching to player rotations and youngsters not having specific player positions at a young age, as well as goalkeeper rotations. The group also discussed the difference between female German players and the English and what is required for the latter to catch-up.

Elsewhere on the day, the Colchester United Under 16s squad, who had taken part in all the earlier drills, were presented with their League Medals for the Eastern Region Centre of Excellence League as well as familiarising themselves with the South East Combination Trophy the Ladies' Team secured the year before.
 

 Photos courtesy of Ivor Dallinger
 

IMPRESSED WITH ALLPRESS

  

AT THURSTABLE SCHOOL
 
Essex County F.A.'s Girls' & Women's Coaches Association kicked-off 2008 in style with a fantastic first in-service event that saw John Allpress, The Football Association's National Player Development Coach for 7-16 year-olds, inspire around twenty-six County Grassroots Coaches.
 
 
The event, which was hosted by the Thurstable Sports and Sixth Form Colleges Football Foundation site at the end of January, enabled coaches to take part in both practical and classroom sessions led by Allpress. John has worked with national players and was observed on the occasion as a key note speaker.

Amongst the content of the day was a focus on developing youth players both on and off the pitch, examination of the 'Long-Term Player Development' ethos and guidance for coaches on how to put coaching styles that create positive, effective environments into practise.

Emma Wake, Girls' & Women's Football Development Officer at the E.C.F.A., was positive about the response from the coaches: "The session that John put on was really interesting and innovative. It made us all think about how we deliver sessions and, perhaps, moving forward, how we can adapt our own coaching styles."

Paul Parker from Ashingdon Youth F.C. was so inspired with the group and the afternoon he is even planning on setting a girls section up within his club for two teams: "We've got twenty-six teams, including youths and adults, at our club and as a part of working towards Charter Standard Development status we'd like to add a couple of girls' teams to that as well. We currently have girls players in the younger youth squads but we have to let them go at Under 12s which is a shame."

"Watching John was of great benefit for myself and all the others present who were really interested in his amiable and friendly approach," Paul continued. "His ideas centre around making the game as enjoyable as possible for the player being coached and I definitely learned from this to improve how I coach. Like they say, you can pass your driving test but you don't learn how to drive unless you've had that bit of extra experience!"
 
 
 

FEMALES MOVE TO ANOTHER LEVEL!

  
 
Eleven female football coaches were celebrating after achieving their F.A. Level Two Coaching status, and Essex County F.A. Girls' & Women's Development Officer Emma Wake now hopes they will advance to long and distinguished roles within the game.
 
 
The Level Two Course, set-up in partnership with the Colchester United Community Sports Trust and the Female Academy Programme for students aged from 16 to 19 years old, enabled the candidates to finally complete the extensive workload that involved sixteen hours of coaching. Also completed were an in-depth portfolio of tasks, a referee exam and a practical session that saw the females being assessed delivering a small-sided game and coaching a technique or a function.

Essex's successful candidates are now suitably qualified to lead sessions within their club and school environments, and Emma hopes that the girls will now be confident to go out into the community and become role models for the young female players within the County: "It's essential these females now believe in their coaching ability. They've achieved a valued coaching certificate and must now actually go and use it. Young female players need to have access to female coaches to highlight that roles within sport for females are a reality nowadays and not a dream."

Emma is well aware of the advantages such courses can bring: "Female coaches can also relate to the female player, as many coaches have been through the player pathway and are aware of the hurdles players have to overcome if they have a desire to be the best they can be. I'm hoping that they will be pro-active, continue with their coaching careers by signing up to the Female Coaches Association and put what they have learnt into practice. They may even aspire to go on further and take their Level Three one day!"

For further information on female coach education or the Coaches Association for Female Coaches, contact Emma Wake on (01245) 393076 or E-Mail emma.wake@essexfa.com
 
 

HOLDER GETS COACHES ROCKIN' !

  
 
The Female Football Coaches Association were back in action on March 10 with The FA's Paul Holder hosting a practical session at Mark Hall Sports and Community School in Harlow. 
 
 
The Football Association's Regional Coaching Manager was joined by London FA's Josie Clifford who gave the 16 Coaches Association members an insight into her work with both the England U15 and U17 female squads.

Paul Holder's coaching career has seen him work in high profile positions at Crystal Palace, Brentford, Leyton Orient and, more recently, The David Beckham Academy and ECFA Women's & Girls Football Development Officer, Emma Wake, was delighted with the event: "Both guest speakers were well received by the group. Josie was both inspirational and refreshing whilst Paul's practical session and classroom work left the group with loads of ideas to think about and put into practice."

Rosie Carter, who recently completed her Level Two course and is involved in Debden United's School Club Link program, also found the sessions beneficial: "It was a great afternoon, I feel more confident and learnt so much more as well. 

"There were some excellent discussions and it was good to hear everyone's thoughts on the day. I really found Josie Clifford's presentation useful and it was refreshing to hear coaching from a women's perspective."

If you'd like to join the Female Football Coaches Association then contact Emma Wake on 01245 393086 or emma.wake@essexfa.com for more information.
 
 

BIT OF BECKS FOR FEMALE FOOTBALL COACHING ASSC

  
 
The ECFA's Female Football Coaching Association returns on March 10 with former Assistant Coaching Director at the David Beckham Academy, Paul Holder, hosting an exclusive members only event at Mark Hall Sports School in Harlow.
 
 
Paul's session on Transferring Technique Practices into Skilled Practices follows on from last year's successful In-Service events which saw Peter Trevivian and Julie Chipchase host coaching classses on learning styles and player development.

The four hour session will kick off at 2pm and the ECFA's Emma Wake commented: "We received some great feedback from our members on the previous two events and we're delighted that Paul Holder has agreed to host our first coaching session of 2007.

"Paul is an A-Licence coach and, as well as the Beckham Academy, he's been involved with Football League clubs such as Crystal Palace, Brentford and Leyton Orient so our members can look forward to yet another action packed and knowledgeable day," said Emma of the current FA South East Regional Coaching Manager.

Members can book their place on Paul Holders' coaching session by downloading and completing the form HERE

Places cost £5 to secure and the fee is refunded to all those who attend on the day.

For more information on the Female Football Coaching Association contact Emma Wake on 01245 393076 or emma.wake@essexfa.com.
 
 

COACHES ASSOCIATION GETS UNDER WAY

 
 
The ECFA's Female Football Coaches Association kicked off recently with FA Eastern Region Coaching Manager, Peter Trevivian, hosting some practical training sessions on Learning Styles at Thurstable College in Tiptree.
 

Peter Trevivian explains different learning styles to the Association members
 
The event saw 25 male and female coaches from Women's and Girls football in Essex take part in the session while Carrie Bywater from UK Sports Coach assessed the coaches' needs for future in-service training events.

Peter Trevivian has worked for both Ipswich Town and Southend United and ECFA Women's & Girls Development Officer, Emma Wake, was delighted with the inaugural session: "The Association is our way of bringing coaches from the female game together to create a constructive forum where the group can highlight good practice and discuss coaching at a local level.

"Peter Trevivian's training session was a great way to get the Coaches Association off the ground and the day gave everyone involved a sense of community spirit and ideas to improve the women and girls game in Essex."

Charter Standard club, Assandun Vikings, were represented at the event by their U13s team manager Paul Hellen: "It was good to get together with like minded people from around the county and I picked up some great coaching ideas from Peter Trevivian so I'll definitely be using those when Assandun Vikings get back together at the start of September.

"It was a very useful session and certainly freshens up your approach to the new season as you don't want training to become repetitive. We have a committee meeting coming up soon and I'll be recommending that our other coaches and managers join the Coaches Association as well," said Paul.
 
The Association will be offering quarterly sessions throughout the year and the next event will hopefully take place towards the end of October. If you are interested in joining the Female Football Coaches Association then please contact Emma Wake on...
01245 393076
or
emma.wake@essexfa.com
 

Practical sessions on Thurstable College's all-weather surface