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Steph Fairbairn discusses how to prepare for the next step on your coaching education journey, including what to expect from the second rung of the ladder.
So many of us are keen to better ourselves by continuing our coaching education and gaining new qualifications.
It is often a challenge to get onto certain qualifications – I know, I waited four and a half years to get onto my Uefa C – so, when we do get there, we need to make sure we make the most of them!
Having recently completed my Uefa C qualification, here are some tips on what you can do pre-course to help you get as much as you can out of it...
The Football Association’s coach-education model has four elements to it: player, game, coaching and self.
When it comes to the ‘coaching’ and ‘self’ elements of the model, the course asks you to do a lot of probing into who you are, how you coach, your strengths and weaknesses and what you want to achieve.
Start thinking about some of these things before the course starts. Ask yourself:
The ‘game’ element of the course is focused on the FA’s principles of play. These are:
Attacking: 1. Penetrate; 2. Get creative; 3. Use movement; 4. Support play; 5. Create space.
Defending: 1. Delay; 2. Press; 3. Be patient; 4. Provide cover; 5. Be compact; 6. Get the balance right.
Beneath these principles sit the six core capabilities. These are: scanning, positioning, technique, movement, deception and timing.
You will be encouraged to develop your thinking around these principles and capabilities, and build your sessions around them, which will include technical detail aligned to them. Therefore, familiarising yourself with them is a good idea.
As part of the work you submit at the end of the course, you will have to include a certain number of session plans and matchday plans.
The idea is that these will demonstrate your knowledge of some of the elements covered on the course.
If you don’t already do it, it’s a good idea to start thinking about writing down and tracking each of the training sessions and matchdays you run, then capturing some of your reflections about them afterwards to get into the routine of it.
You will also have to submit a number of written development activities on various topics.
Don’t leave them until the last minute. Do them as you go.
If you know the schedule of the course – you may know when the in-person weekends are taking place, you may even have an overview of when the online calls will be – then think about how you might plan your time around that.
Can you factor in a couple of hours after each bit of contact time, for example, to do the work linked to the session? Doing them as you go will also allow you to get feedback on them from the tutors and your fellow learners before final submission.
If you are feeling a bit unsure or nervous about the course (or even if you’re not), there is no harm in trying to seek out some others that will be on the course with you.
Ask around some of your local coaching networks and check on social media – lots of people post about the excitement of getting on to the course.
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