I'm thinking about starting up an after school football club but i dont know if i need any specialist training or teacher present etc.

My teacher said he would supervise but before i go to the HT i want to be a bit more informed so as not to end up red faced

Thanks to anyone that can help

I know that one of our members runs football training but i havent seen him here for a while. if he pops in i will ask him to look at this thread

I started an aftrerschool yoga club and wanted to know the same thing so I contacted the LEAs PE advisor. she said that its up to the HT, if he thinks you are cabable and is prepared to let you do it then your ok, ultimatly the buck stops with him so if anything happens then he has to justify his decision, but this would be the same for you as a qualified football coach.

One of the major issues with afterschools clubs is the insurance. make sure that both you and the school are covered and that the parents have sign the permission slips and you have them oh file.. I know it might sound silly and you'll say we know all about that. but you'll be surprised the number of children who say Oh I left that on the table at home and the trainer will say, ok bring it in next time. Never to see it.

I know this is very late and I could write essays on coaching football.

Firstly make sure you're covered and have permissions etc.

BUT........the main thing with any sport is it's ok doing it for fun but football is a very 'emotive' game and if you have kids in your club who take it seriously at the weekend in teams, you don't want to be teaching them bad habits that will affect them. I know it sounds all a bit serious but that's a fact of life.

I do football clubs for Years 3,4 & 5 at school, as well as help with the school's Year 6 team and to be honest I wouldn't want anyone else bar the PE teacher or me working with them as most play at the weekends and are taught to do things in certain ways, and being an FA qualified coach myself I know what the expectations of them are.

I'm trying not to scare people from doing it, as there needs to be more sport, and football especially in schools. But it has to be done properly.

If you haven't already done it, or are doing it and want some tips on what to do with them let me know and I'll give you some hints, tips, drills and skills you can do with them.

Steve that would indeed be very very helpful, any help, tips etc. you can impart this way would be gratefully recieved. Ta very much

No problem. Will do later

Right here we go. Dependant on the age of the child you'll obviously vary the activities. Usually it's the speed as the kids get older. They should be able to do things faster.

There are a few key areas it comes to the basics of football, so if you want to start teaching them the proper methods, go for something along the following lines and if you can, or have an able child to, always demonstrate.

1) DRIBBLING - We've all seen the usual 'go round the cones' method, well that isn't in fact a good place to start. Before a child can learn to control a ball going in different directions they need to learn to control a ball in a straight line. You'll find most can't do this. Make the kids realise they need to keep the ball as close to their feet as possible, no kicking it miles ahead of themselves. If they don't know why, ask them what would happen if they did it in a proper match (the ball would get taken by a defender easily!) Also encourage them to use the insides of their foot to kick the ball. Most young children 'punt it'. Very bad!!

Once they've had a bit of practice going slow, build up the speed, and then turn it into races between teams. My first major thing to remember is : 'To keep it fun, do as many team games as possible'. Races is the easiest way. To differentiate it for kids with more ability try and get them to use both feet when dribbling.

Once they're comfortable with straight lines, you can move onto around cones. Keep them further apart to start with, making them closer for groups that are more able. Again encourage the use of both feet with more able.

Once they're getting the hang of both disciplines (straight and turning) you can then create little courses for them (They love this). I even add in some little obstacles. For example I used hurdles for them to kick the ball through, jump over and keep going.


2) PASSING - Most young children, as I said earlier, 'punt' footballs. Passing isn't always the most fun to begin with so make it interesting by seeing how many passes teams can make in say 1 minute. Best way of doing this is set out areas on your pitch / yard that are quite small. Then put one team in each area. They must pass the ball to each other, counting as they go along, and if the ball goes out the area they have to start again from zero. (This can take a bit of monitoring but most kids I find are very honest when it comes to football).

For passing you're looking for them to pass it with the inside of the foot. And that their standing foot is next to the ball as they kick it. Also their body should be over the ball, and not leaning back.

When they're getting the basics, you can advance them onto passing and moving where once they've passed the ball they have to move to another area of their box.


3) SHOOTING - Kids love this so it isn't hard to make it fun. Everyone loves scoring goals. Shooting can be done in loads of different ways but is hard to do as a group activity without some getting bored. Best way is to combine it with some dribbling as above. So at the end of a line of cones they must shoot at a goal / wall / whatever.

With shooting you are looking for them to hit the ball with their 'laces'. i.e. the top of their foot. Firstly you are looking for them to be able to hit it straight. Penalty shoot outs at the end of training are great for this. once again look for the standing foot to be next to the ball as they kick it. This time though their body should be more upright as they are looking to try and get the ball off the floor if they can. (Very hard for youngsters).


4) GAMES

It's always got to be fun so here's a few games I use regularly aside from the above drills.

Numbers Football - This is simple. Split your group into two. For this example we'll say you have 12 kids and therefore 6 in each team. if you have bibs use them. Give each child in the team a number from 1-6. If you can/know make each number similar in ability i.e. number 1's are the best players on each team, number 2's are the worst etc. (Harsh but you'll see why). You the send each team to the opposite ends of your pitch. When you call out a number that child must run into onto the pitch, at any time you can then throw the ball to anywhere on the pitch and they must score a goal in the opposite end from where they started. This is a great game to give kids the spotlight, and see how good each child really is. As well as (with experience) know what each child needs to improve.

1,2,3 touch football - Simple as a normal football match apart from the players can only have so many touches of the football which you decide. You can change it at any point. If a player has too many touches I usually give them one warning, and then next time give a free kick.

Robin Hood - Steal from the rich to give to the poor. Split your group into 4 teams and position them in the four corners of your pitch. In the middle of the pitch place every football you can lay your hands on. On your command, in turn, each player must run to the middle, get a football and dribble it back to their base. Once they're back with a ball, the next player can go get one and so on and so on until all the balls are gone. The winner is the team with the most balls..............however this is where the fun starts. Once they've cracked that idea they can then carry on, in turn, by running to another teams base. Getting a football and dribbling it back to their base. Other teams cannot defend their balls, and the 'robber' can only go around the outside of the pitch and not across it. Again the winner is the player with the most balls.

MAYHEM! - A great game for kids who just love belting it, and going mad. Helps them learn how to kick with power. Split your group into two teams with a centre line down your pitch, one team on each side. Each team starts with the same amount of balls. On your command they must 'hoof' the balls into the opposite side of the pitch. They then of course must try and find a loose ball and fire it back to the opposite side. On your second command play stops and the winning team is the one with less balls on their side of the pitch.

TRAFFIC LIGHTS - A big problem with kids is getting them to play with their heads up. This forces it. Each child has a football to dribble around an area set by you (all together in one area). Then when you hold up a green cone, they start moving at a comfortable speed. When you hold up a yellow cone they must stop the ball and change direction. When you hold up a red cone they must stop and put their foot on the ball. The last person to do each activity must sit down.

PARTY HATS - Similar to the last game. Every child has a ball to dribble around an area. However this time they have to wear a cone on their head. If the cone falls off they're out. Great fun this one is!!!

I could go on and on and on tbh but my fingers hurt now.

If you remember anything, remember this :

Pass a football with the inside of your foot
Shoot with the 'laces'
Try and get their heads up
Loads of competitive games to keep their interest
Ensure tackling is light in any 'proper' matches you do and protect goalkeepers by marking out an area outfield players cannot go into.

Ermmmmmmmmm anything else you wanna know?

thanks Steve for all that information!!!

I dont know how easy it would be to arrange, but lots of the football clubs have community and schools programmes, maybe contact them and asking for some players to come and do a master class as well Buffybabe?

i thought it might be!!!

another thought i had was that in the college i work at we have sports courses, maybe they may do masterclasses or come into schools?

That could be worth a go. Best bet if you're really keen is to do the FA Level 1 coaching badge. It's worth it's weight in gold if only to get some basic knowledge and to say you're a qualfied coach! Looks great on a CV too as it covers first aid and child protection too!

I am soooooooo not worthy. U r the most wonderful man in the world!

I have been in touch with the local FA rep in my area to see if there are any sessions i can go along to, but the majority of the ones i have looked at are designed for teachers only.

However fingers crossed, u r a star

No problem. Let me know how you're getting on, any problems etc. and I'll see if I can help.

Ohhhhhhh, I must take those game ideas. I'm helping set up a girls football team.