Month: October 2015 (page 3 of 3)

Have You Met Indi Cowie?

October 11, 2015 / / 0 Comments
Indi Cowie Football Freestyler

Indi Cowie
Image Courtesy: Indi Cowie on Twitter

  • Age 12: Started football freestyling
  • Age 15: The only female in the Red Bull Street Style Event Finals
  • Age 15: Half-time freestyle performance in front of over 75,000 people at Old Trafford during a game between Manchester United and Chelsea
  • Age 16: Featured on ESPN as a role model for women freestylers
  • Age 16: Got 3 caps for the Scotland Under-17 Women’s Football Team
  • Age 16-17: – Played for Celtic FC in the Scottish Women’s Premier League (SWPL)
  • Age 18: Picked by Lionel Messi (wha?!?!) as the EA Sports FIFA Street World Street Champion when he selected Indi’s video as the best example of football freestyle in the world
  • Age 18: Suffers anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury that ends her professional football career, but not her freestyling.
  • Age 20: Endorsed to become a Nike Athlete as recognition of her tremendous freestyling skills
  • And, wait for it….

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Player Positions in Grassroots Football

October 9, 2015 / / 0 Comments

One of the many challenges that grassroots football coaches deal with is determining positions for their young players. While whom you are playing in a particular position in a given game or training session isn’t paramount, what we’re talking about is grooming footballers to play a variety of positions.

Becoming Two-Footed

To our minds, it begins with the ability to use both feet well. That’s why leading coaches across the world constantly emphasise the need for grassroots football coaches to plan sessions in a way that children are encouraged to train with both feet. This means including games/drills that cover ball control, dribbling, passing and shooting with both feet. Usually, you see players that inherently have a preference…

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YFC Rurka Kalan – Changing the Game

October 8, 2015 / / 0 Comments
YFC Rurka Kalan

YFC Rurka Kalan
Image Credit: YFC Rurka Kalan Website

It’s the year 2001. The sleepy hamlet of Rurka Kalan, about 40 kilometres from Phagwara in the state of Punjab, is plagued by crime and substance abuse. Almost an entire generation of youth are squandering away their futures. Enter Gurmangal Dass, an electronics engineer, who has returned some years ago from the US after giving up a promising job – a man with a vision for brighter future and a steely resolve to free the village from the clutches of drugs.

Cut to the present – the year 2015. Youth Football Club (YFC) Rurka Kalan now has centres spread across 9 villages in Punjab, touches over 10,000 lives, houses a 5,000 seater sports stadium, operates in the areas of education, sports, health and environment and, amazingly, offers every single service at no cost whatsoever to young people in need.

This is the story of YFC Rurka Kalan – much more than a grassroots football club.

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Nationwide Football Talent Hunt Kicks Off

October 6, 2015 / / 1 Comment

School Sports Promotion FoundationThe AIFF, Sports Authority of India (SAI) and School Sports Promotion Foundation (SSPF) have come together to launch a Football National Talent Search & Nurture program as India prepare to host the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in 2017. The football talent hunt is structured from the bottom up – starting at schools, moving up to district level, then further to the state level until, finally, the very best talents from each state compete at a national-level to earn a place on coach, Nicolai Adam’s India Under-17 squad.

The program has already kicked off in regions across the country and is open to all players born on or after 1 January, 2000. Geared to provide young footballers the opportunity to showcase their skills and impress the coaches, there is a lot riding on the success of this talent hunt. Undoubtedly, the scale of the initiative is massive and strewn with challenges, but the hope is that the federation will unearth some hidden gems along the way.

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How to Take a Team Photo – 101

October 4, 2015 / / 0 Comments

The Bundesliga has evolved to become a model that leagues around the world could (should?) follow – highly technical, great crowds, huge local fanbases, financially viable, sustainable and, most importantly, with a massive focus on grassroots football and youth development.

However, this isn’t about any of that – it’s about a brilliant Hamburger SV team photo featuring every player representing the club from the Under-11s onwards right up to the first team squad. What’s awesome is that they’ve even found a spot for the team mascot – Hermann. What’s even better than awesome? They’re set up in the shape of the Hamburg club crest! And that, friends, is how you take a team photo. 👍

Hamburg Team Photo 2015

Hamburg Team Photo 2015
Image Credit: Hamburger SV

Anybody Fancy a Game of Bubble Football?

October 3, 2015 / / 0 Comments

or Zorb Soccer?

😉 Enjoy your weekend folks! #GrassrootsForLife

Bengaluru FC To Conduct Inter-School Tournament

October 2, 2015 / / 1 Comment
Bengaluru FC School Tournament 2015

Bengaluru FC Launches Inter-School Tournament
Image Credit: Bengaluru FC

In a welcome move for children in the city, Bengaluru FC, among the better run clubs in Indian football, have announced the launch of their grassroots football competition for schools in conjunction with tournaments for college students and corporates. During a press conference held at the Bangalore Football Stadium yesterday, the club laid out ambitious plans to make their school competition the most sought after tournament in the city and the region.

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Ever Wondered How the Kids Feel?

October 1, 2015 / / 0 Comments

A few days ago, we posted about a 14-year-old girl who was verbally abused by parents while refereeing  Under-8 and Under-9 games. But this – this gives you a first-hand account of how the kids feel when coaches/parents are yelling their guts out on the touchline while they are trying to enjoy a game of football.

For a change, it’s time for us coaches and parents to zip it and listen.

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