MY LEVEL 1: BRYN'S BLOG

Norfolk FA's Digital Marketing Apprentice, Bryn Hughes has taken his first steps on the FA coaching ladder as he has completed the FA Level 1 in Coaching Football face-to-face Workshops, at theFDC.

The FA Level 1 Course is the entry level award for coaches working in grassroots football, giving them the tools, knowledge and experience they need to ensure you can better support the development of future players. It also allows them to progress up the coaching ladder with the next step being The FA Level 2. To find out more about The FA Level 1 in Coaching please click here.

Bryn currently holds a player/coach role at Yaxham FC and below are his thoughts and observations after attending the final workshops of the Level 1 Course.

We started the third day, once again reflecting on the learning from the previous day of the course. We discussed three things: what we had learnt, what knowledge we had confirmed and what had challenged us on the course so far. For myself I had learnt that getting the ball ‘in-play’ as much as possible is a huge thing as it gives players more ownership. I confirmed the knowledge I had about having a single focus per training session as it allows players to develop specific techniques or tactics. The part I felt challenged me was about the planning of sessions because I like to see things in action and then adapt and change them. However, the way Laurence showed us the different ways of planning and preparations really helped.

For the third and fourth days we had a change of Tutor as Shaun Howes took us through the final parts of the course. We spent the third day learning about the ‘Future Player’ and about match-based practices. Shaun showed us The FA’s ‘Four-Corner Model’ which displayed the four components of a player; Technical & Tactical, Physical, Social, and Psychological. We discussed in our groups, how we should manage and coach different players as they will all have different needs. We spent the rest of the morning outside with Shaun; he showed us some match-based practises with specific restrictions which allowed you to concentrate on a different area of the England DNA. It was interesting to see how by introducing different progressions, you could adapt a match to work on all kinds of things.

We spent the afternoon planning and delivering match-based practises in our groups, we were able to try new things in a safe environment and receive valued feedback about our sessions. Shaun was brilliant at giving us the freedom to develop our own practices but was always approachable when we needed guidance or questions answered.

The final workshop was on Tuesday evening where we discussed the Matchday and how we conduct ourselves as well as preparing for the day itself. We discussed different scenarios that Shaun posed to us about the Matchday and how we would adapt and handle the situation. It was interesting to see that almost everyone had a slightly different opinion on what should happen in a given situation. Shaun emphasised to us that we should be transparent with all our players, their parents (if required) and other coaches; this would allow everyone to understand our decisions. We finished the evening looking at the responsibilities of a coach and all agreed that it was to ensure everyone was having fun playing the game we love.

On the course it was great to have two different tutors to see the slight differences and approaches they have to coaching. It meant that I could draw different things from each about how I wanted to deliver my sessions back in my Club environment. Thanks to both Laurence and Shaun for making the course really interesting and fun.

I will take everything I have learnt back to my club and will look to continue my coaching journey whether that is The FA Level 2 Award, Coaching Disabled Footballers or The FA Goalkeeper Coaching Level 1 Award.