Grassroots youth football coaches in Essex can sign-up for ‘21 Days of Positivity’ in the New Year aiming to share positive hints, tips and challenges across the country, with the window for the 2020 campaign open until Friday 17th January.

Coaches will receive the positivity through six E-Mails covering training and matchdays and all content is created by coaching experts in the FA Education Team. Last year nearly 4,000 coaches took part and, this season, The FA have even more positive practices to share which will put the ‘We Only Do Positive’ mantra into practice.

21 days is the time it takes to form a habit and the ideal amount of time for a coach to understand themselves and their club and begin to find the best methods to use for their coaching style. Every coach who completes the 21 Days will receive one hour towards their Continued Professional Development (CPD) and be in with a chance to win a Respect branded asset pack.

For three weeks from the 20th January, there will be a mixture of information, hints, tips and suggested actions to take to strengthen relationships with teams and help to create a long-lasting positive environment for them to continue to enjoy the game for many years to come.

This is also a perfect opportunity to get parents more involved in the game, teaching them how to adapt their behaviour and help create a more positive environment on the touchline for their children. The FA want everyone to get back the core reason people all play, coach and watch football - the love of the game.

If this is something you feel passionately about, then sign-up at www.thefa.com/get-involved/respect/21-days-of-positivity to take part. Registration is open until Friday 17th January. Information on Respect can also be found here, by following @EssexCountyFA on Twitter and by searching for ‘EssexFootball’ on Facebook.

What Did Last Year’s Coaches Learn? The response from coaches about the difference the tips made to them has been brilliant. Here are a few things they said:

“I have found this has reinforced my desire to make coaching fun and reduce the pressure and stress for both me and the players.”

“We now celebrate players and their achievements. Our players aren’t influenced by score lines.”

“We get parents to play a bigger part in creating a positive environment. They’ve enjoyed being included within the sessions and it really helps the team.”

“I’m now more aware about giving players space to think and play without me stepping in too much.”

“I have reconnected with my love of the game and am focused less on winning now.”

“After 21 days, getting the parents away from the attitude of let’s thrash them to let’s play good football.”