We came across this fantastic breakdown of activities that occur during a football match presented by Ray Power, author of Making the Ball Roll – A Complete Guide to Youth Football for the Aspiring Coach, and it holds several insights for grassroots coaches on how to train our young footballers.
Football Game Activity Breakdown
Source: Ray Power
A story that truly resonates with grassroots football. Do you identify with it? We certainly do!
Celebrating the grassroots festival at Malki Ground
Source: SLFC Website
One of the biggest complaints that Indian football fans have is that professional football clubs, neither ISL nor I-League, seldom invest enough into their community and grassroots programs. However, goaded by the AIFF and Technical Director, Scott O’Donell, it is the I-League clubs in particular that are beginning to show the way forward. While Pune FC and Bengaluru FC have among the best community and grassroots programs in India run by professional clubs, it is encouraging to see others like Mumbai FC and Shillong Lajong FC (SLFC) reaching out.
Our thoughts, our words, our actions make a huge difference and we enjoy a special privilege – one where we can impact young lives on an every day basis. We shouldn’t see ourselves as anything less than that. Here’s something to remind you of that fact. We guarantee you, it will be 16 minutes and 17 seconds of your life well spent.
Mahogany FC Boys During Training at ASV
Source: ASA
With inputs provided by Maxon Sequeira
Over the last few months, we’ve had the opportunity to track the good work that Rural Development Trust (RDT) has been doing for football in Anantapur and neighbouring areas in Andhra Pradesh. Under the watchful eyes of Head Coach, Miquel Llado, the boys from Anantapur have been putting in the hard yards in training and it is nice to see that their efforts are gradually bearing fruit.
As testament to their progress, Anantapur Sports Academy’s (ASA) senior-most player, S Bhaskar Reddy, is already playing in the 2nd Division I-League club representing Fateh Hyderabad AFC. Not only that, several of the boys from Anantapur Sports Academy (ASA) have been selected to play for Fateh Hyderabad AFC’s youth teams in the U18 I-League and U15 Youth League. To help the boys prepare well for the leagues, Anantapur Sports Village (ASV) Football Academy hosted an exchange camp with two teams – Mahogany FC from Chennai and Ozone FC from Bengaluru earlier in December.
GFI had the opportunity to speak with Stevie Grieve, Head of Coaching & Education at Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools (BBFS) and Technical Director at Garhwal FC recently. During the conversation, Stevie shared his views on his journey into football coaching, his assessment of grassroots football in India and what BBFS are doing to positively impact Indian football. This is what he had to say…
GFI: What was the motivation behind getting into coaching?
Stevie: Initially when I was younger, it actually came about when I was playing futsal one night. I was teaching a kid how to do a skill, and then after a little while, the kid could do the skill. I think it was an elastico. And then from that, somebody asked me if I would be interested in coaching as a job. I was only 15 at the time, so when I turned 16, I went to the local community centre and became a coach and, over time, I decided that I would like to make it my career. It wasn’t something that was intentional; it was just something that kind of happened one evening and then I made it my life goal to do something.
There are many roles that coaches play in the development of footballers and there are a fair few qualities that coaches need to be successful. But there are some attributes that truly separate the best from the rest, and one such attribute is eloquence.
The ability to pick the right words, say them in the right way, deliver them at the right time, and, most importantly, to the right people sets a coach apart. There are times when players need a bit of tough lovin’, others when we need to go easy on the lads and still others when they need a bit of fun! Knowing what to say, when to say it, how to say it and whom to say it to makes all the difference.
One man who was capably eloquent was Sir Alex Ferguson. There’s a brilliant story that popped up on Reddit about how the great man, during his time at Aberdeen FC, disciplined the squad in a way that only he could.
Dempo Sports Club is an institution that stands for passion, strength and will. They are passionate about constantly trying to change the definition of football in India, and lived up to their beliefs when they conducted an outreach program with the special children of Sanjay School in Mapusa. The Duler Stadium hosted Dempo’s youth development team, as well as 100 boys and girls of the school in October this year. The club’s Technical Director, Katz Naidoo is of the firm belief that football is for everybody, and is thrilled that the club’s outreach initiative gives every child an opportunity to play the sport.
The Phoenix Sports & Leisure Group (PSL) India has been working to develop grassroots football in India over the last few years. They have set up organisations like Soccer Connections and Just For Kicks (JFK), where they coach children in football, talent development, and life skills. While JFK is focused predominantly on transforming education in low-income schools by introducing football to them, Soccer Connections aims to provide focused, fun, and family-oriented football training to children under the age of 12. They conduct their training sessions in affiliated schools, or on professional playing grounds.
Football-loving brothers Saahil and Sanil Desai decided to set up FutureStars Football Academy (FSFA), a grassroots football academy in Mumbai in 2012. Their motivation behind opening the academy was to take their passion for football to the next level, and give young children a chance to be active while falling in love with the beautiful game. The brothers started playing football at a young age, and today they hope to pass on this love to all the children who come to the Academy. GFI had a chance to interview Co-Founder and Director Saahil Desai. Here’s what he had to say.
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