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SSD
- Based on the Grass Roots 1995 Report
Note:
since the launch of the 1995 Report
a lot of the issues raised below have now been implemented
throughout the UK Development Structure, most notably within
the new modern Professional Club
Academy Scheme.
The
Age of the children involved -
what is beneficial to a group of 10 year olds is not suitable
for 5 year olds. Unlike adults, there can be no fixed
training programme for all children, so SK uses a
Step Training Programme which allows
children to gradually develop from age of 4 to 14.
Grass
Roots 95
-
The
FA does not distinguish between the various age groups (children
and youth players), and as such, has no structured junior
development programme for natural progression.
The
individual Capability of each child
- all children
develop at different rates, so what is beneficial to one
individual, may not be appropriate for another. This may
explain why SK have some 9 year olds training within their
age 12 group.
Grass
Roots 95
-
The FA have no specialist child/youth coaching courses -
all their students are trained to work with adults - but
after qualification, a lot of them then go onto coach children.
Consequently, they use adult techniques to train children
and have no experience of junior ability differentials.
What makes young children tick? How can you make boring
basic exercises fun? What are their limitations at different
ages? How do you identify and develop natural ability? How
do you teach the right temperament? These few factors alone
clearly show that coaching children is a specialist field
requiring careful selection. The FA must introduce training
courses for specialist Children's Coaches.
The
Ratio between Coaching and Match Play -
young children have a low attention
span, and therefore, can learn more from actually playing
the game than from pure dedicated repetitive skill training.
To draw the balance, coaching sessions should be programmed
evenly towards short periods of key skill training (incorporating
fun elements), followed by a free play situation (but giving
continuous team and individual technique advice).
Grass
Roots 95 -
Coaching young children is all about injecting enthusiasum,
learning the basic key skills, giving valuable guidance,
allowing natural ability to develop, and generating the
right temperament. Dedicated repetitive skill training (as
used by most football schools in the UK) is for players
over the age of 11 when they enter the 'youth stage' - their
attention span is much higher, their appreciation of skill
development more apparent, and their coordination skills
and natural ability levels have already been adequately
determined.
Operating
in a Controlled Environment -
skill alone is not sufficient for young players to progress
in the game - they need to learn self-believe, dedication,
metal toughness, and confidence. By removing the physical
element (aggressiveness and intimidation) at an early age,
you encourage the development of natural ability, which
in turn, enhances all the other required elements. To enforce
this, SK have strict Codes
of Practice for Players, Parents,
and Coaches.
Grass
Roots 95
- In the UK the uncontrolled local league structure
for children (screaming parents, over-ambitious coaches,
unbalanced teams) puts too much emphasis on "winning"
instead of concentrating on the main objective - the development
of each 'individual' young player. Such an environment encourages
intimidation and aggression, which in turn, determines the
end product - physically aggressive (mentally tough) and
over-developed (for their age) youngsters who progress through
the system ahead of naturally gifted under-developed players.
Hence the "kick and run" style of football. In
Holland, the emphasis is always put on skill, natural ability,
and levelling (balancing training groups and teams in terms
of physical stature, ability, and confidence levels). Most
of the England under 15 team are over 6ft tall and weigh
in at 13 stone. They beat Holland on a regular basis, but
on average, at least 7 (60%) of the Dutch players will go
on to become top professionals, whereas, in England, the
success rate is normally 5%.
Development Techniques -
SK do not use de-salao footballs because
young children between the ages of 4 - 7 have very little
or no developed eye-foot coordination (development of the
central nervous system) - and for older children we feel
that such training methods are counter productive. A de-salao
football is designed not to bounce, and therefore, makes
the task of control that much easier during training - but
in a real match situation they are then confronted with
a standard EUFA approved S3 (bouncing and rebound) ball
and find that a lot harder to control.
SK use Opposites, where we make the training task a lot
harder (small mini balls to enhance co-ordination and control
skill) so that match conditions become easier. Juggling
a softball is easy, but you will find it harder, later on,
with a normal ball. With 'opposites' you make the initial
task more difficult: eg: if you can juggle a tennis ball,
you'll find it easier with a normal size ball
Grass
Roots 95
-
The FA must introduce more modern style coaching techniques
similar to the
SSD routines outlined in the Report.
De-Salao: makes
the training task easier - but real match conditions harder
SSD Opposites: makes the training task harder
- so that real match conditions
become
easier
Parental
Involvement - SK
have always had a preference towards enthusiastic parents getting
directly involved with coaching (under codes of practice and guidelines)
rather than young FA trained coaches.
Grass
Roots 95
-
Working with children requires patience, perseverance, an even
temperament, and an understanding of how young kids grow and develop
as individuals - you can't learn that on a course. The FA should
encourage more parents to actively get involved with children's
coaching as volunteers.
Getting
Young Children Started with SSD
Make it FUN
- Fun generates Enthusiasm
ENTHUSIASM
-
Enthusiasm generates Practice
PRACTICE makes
Good Players
The Success Rate
In
the first 10 years of operation (1996 - 2006), no less than
56 children (age 6 - 9) from the Sheffield SK School have
gone on to join professional clubs - and that is from
a non-elitist entry policy (boys and girls of all abilty
levels).
Kicking
Into the Future
Eddy
Whyte
Although
a lot of the SSD Elements have now been introduced to the
Pro Club Academies over the last 15 years, there are still
however, many areas which can still be addressed, so in
March 2010, in an attempt to improve standards even further,
an updated version of the Grass Roots 1995 Report was re-circulated
to certain areas of the professional club sector:- Kicking
Into The Future 2010.
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