Tag: Football Training (page 2 of 3)

Key Qualities of a Young Footballer

So we’ve been thinking about the qualities that coaches look out for in young footballers, especially at the grassroots level, for a while now. And it’s been hard work coming up with this list. There was a lot of debate and discussion within our community of coaches and this is what we’ve come up with. It’s not like it’s a final, conclusive checklist. At best, it may be something you can refer to going forward. At worst, it may incite you enough to write a nasty comment below.

What’s most important for us, as soccer parents and coaches, is to air our thoughts about this often neglected conversation in grassroots and youth football circles, especially in India. So here goes…

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Get Well Soon, Johan

After winning three successive European Cups with Ajax, three Ballon d’Ors, eight Eredivisie titles, and one La Liga title as a player, several more honours as a manager with Barcelona and Ajax, possibly the greatest exponent of Rinus Michels’ Total Football philosophy, 68-year-old Johan Cruyff will take on a new opponent now – lung cancer.

While we are saddened at hearing the news, all of us at GFI wish one of the most inspirational coaches of all time a speedy recovery. #AnimsCruyff

Johan Cruyff Lung Cancer

QPR’s South Mumbai Football Tournament Begins

The 7th edition of the Queens Park Rangers South Mumbai Junior Soccer Challenger (QPR SMJSC) kicked off on Saturday, 17th October, at the Western Railway Stadium in Parel. Brainchild of former Union Minister, Milind Deora, the Soccer Challenger that started in 2009 has grown extensively in the last few years. The entire programme was started to unearth football talent at a grassroots level, and give those who come from less privileged backgrounds a chance to play sport.

Among one of India’s largest and longest-running community football events…

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Every Grassroot Coach’s Mantra*

*if it’s not, it definitely should be!

Grassroots Football Coach Mantra

Image Credit: Unknown

As grassroots coaches, and even parents of young footballers, it actually takes very little to inspire children. But, and that’s a big BUT, we’ve got to genuinely connect with the kids. A kind word, a pleasant greeting, a pat on the back, some constructive one-on-one criticism after training, checking on them after taking a knock, a little tip before the big game… small things can make a big difference. It can’t be a superficial show of affection. Mainly because children have a way of sniffing out bullshitters. What we say and do has got to come from the heart. And when it does, seeing that happy, incredibly energetic smile and being greeted super cheerfully in the morning, even though your life off the field may not be ideal, gives us more joy than any amount of money will ever do.

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Why Do You Love Football?

SEPT – Bringing Hope to Football in Kerala

SEPT Football Nursery

SEPT Football Nursery

“Those days, back in the 1990s, a footballer from Kerala was looked upon with awe,” remembers IM Vijayan, a native of Kerala and one of the greatest footballers India has ever produced. Reminiscing further, he says, “You guys are tigers, they used to tell me. Outstanding talents just continued to flow out of our tiny state. The quality of our players surprised everyone. We had V. P. Sathyan, C. V. Pappachan, U. Sharaf Ali, K. T. Chacko, Kurikesh Mathew, Mathew Varghese, Jo Paul Ancheri…”

It’s true. There was a time when Kerala footballers even formed the majority of the Indian national team. “I remember having around nine players from Kerala at an Indian camp,” says Vijayan. “And there were occasions when five of us actually made the eleven.” Since then, there has been a mighty fall from grace.

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YFC Rurka Kalan – Changing the Game

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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Fateh Hyderabad AFC – Where Football is Going Bottom Up

No glitz. No glamour. No film personalities (yet). Just a quiet, determined focus on football. Meet the latest entrants to the world of professional football in India – Fateh Hyderabad Associated Football Club (AFC). Slated to be part of the Second Division I-League, Fateh Hyderabad AFC is set to put Hyderabad back on the map after a long break away from professional football in the country.

However, unlike most other clubs in India, Fateh Hyderabad AFC will adopt a bottom-up approach where the majority of their investments will be plowed into creating an ecosystem that allows the sport to thrive. Led by Columbia University-educated Yogesh Maurya who is also a private equities professional, the club has its sights firmly set on the long term. Rather than a mad scramble to qualify for the First Division I-League at the very first attempt, Fateh Hyderabad will focus on youth development and developing good infrastructure for football in the city to flourish.

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Performance Over Results

Contributed by Ajeya Row – Head, Soccer Schools, Pune FC

One of the greatest travesties of grassroots football is watching a coach jumping and yelling along the touchline as s/he sucks the joy out of the game for the kids out on the pitch. I recently caught an Under-12 game where a school coach cursed and heckled his own player for misplacing a pass! It was disgraceful.

When I think back to why coaches behave like that in training or at a game, there are a few reasons that come to mind:

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U Dream Football Takes 15 Boys to Germany on Full Scholarship

Team U Dream Football 2015

Team U Dream Football 2015
Image Credit: U Dream Football

In a first-of-its-kind initiative in India, U Dream Football backed by Ronnie Screwvala, will take 15 boys aged below 14 years to leading Bundesliga club, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, for a 6-year training program on full scholarships.  The boys were chosen after U Dream Football coaches scoured the length and breadth of the nation over a year during which they covered over 1,000 schools spread across 45 cities.

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