Case Analysis
Source: "The Technician" UEFA NEWSLETTER.
Better Coaches = Better Players
APPARENTLY SIMPLE EQUATION PROVIDED THE TITLE FOR ONE OF THE MANY THOUGHT- PROVOKING PRESENTATIONS AT THE LATEST UEFA COACH EDUCATION DIRECTORS SYMPOSIUM, WHICH WAS HELD IN LONDON. IT WAS DELIVERED BY THE HOSTS, WITH THE FA'S HEAD OF COACHING, JOHN PEACOCK, STEPPING ONTO THE STAGE AFTER A PREFACE BY SIR TREVOR BROOKING.
THEY PAINTED A PICTURE WHICH, TAKEN AT FACE VALUE, MIGHT SEEM TO HAVE LIMITED RELEVANCE TO A MAJORITY OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS. HOWEVER, EVEN IF THE PROBLEM MIGHT NOT BE COMMON, THE FA'S REACTION MAY WELL LIGHT BEACONS ALONG A PATH FOR OTHERS TO FOLLOW.
First of all, the picture. It's no secret that England's Premier League is a magnet to the gilt-edged properties in the modern game. A review of the starting line-ups on the opening day of the current season revealed that only 38% of the players were English - a drop of 9% compared with the previous season and a percentage perceptibly lower than in other major leagues, even the prime importers such as Spain's Primera División or Serie A. The number of home- born Under-21s currently gaining top-division experience is a further cause for concern. It doesn't take a Sherlock Holmes to detect a need for youth development. But the story doesn't end there. Elite youth development is mostly carried out at academies, many of which are run by the top pro clubs (though not all, as any facility which fulfils the required criteria can attain academy status). In England, the trend is for places at these academies to be increasingly taken by talents recruited at tender ages from other countries. As Peter Sturgess, a key member of John Peacock's team, puts it, "our challenge is therefore to make sure that we give the younger players an education that is second to none in terms of matching anything, anywhere in the world so that, when it comes to selection and recruitment in the 16+ age group, the clubs and the academies begin to choose our kids and start to reverse the trend of bringing in foreign players on the assumption that their technique and game understanding are superior - a theory which I don't accept, by the way!"
As this is clearly a coaching challenge, The FA's reaction has been to devise a grassroots-to-elite plan in which the development of coaches is pegged to the development of players and where one of the fundamental aims is to get the right coach into the right place at the right time. As John Peacock graphically put it, the idea is to jettison quick-fix mentalities and to create a coaching culture built on the concept of a lifelong learning process within a well-structured profession.
Commitment to qualifications and proper recognition of the coaching profession are keystones in The FA's structures for the future. Another of the prime requirements is a national centre - a 'home for learning' for both players and coaches. But, of course, most of the 'real work' is done on playing fields scattered all over the country. This is why, at the base of the pyramid, leaders and volunteer coaches are now able to find guidance and inspiration via DVDs and online educational material.
Along the road from grassroots to elite, the 'gateway' is considered to be the work done by coaches at UEFA B licence level. So the important features here are enhanced understanding of the game, coupled with consistent methodology right along the course pathway. The FA has invested in the appointment of 66 coaches whose brief is to enhance levels of skill by supporting clubs and schools and by working at FA skill centres. At this stage, meeting the needs of the players is crucial while, at the same time, offering them incentives and challenges. Coaches have to recognise which youngsters are struggling to cope, which are coping, and which are ready to forge further up the ladder. This implies the need to assess individual differences and detect, for instance, those who could be late developers.
The FA's structures also feature nine regional coach development managers and a similar number of regional coaches for the 5-11 age group. In this respect, talent-spotting, they maintain, should not be restricted to players. The coaches with the greatest potential in certain areas need to be detected and deployed in the most effective way possible - which is why The FA proposes A youth licences for coaches working in the 5-11, 12-16 and 17-21 age brackets, alongside other specialised areas such as goalkeeping, psychology and the role of the 'academy manager'.
As in many other countries, former pro players are being encouraged to make the transition from pitch to dug-out as smoothly as possible. But The FA's viewpoint is that it's not just a question of recruitment. Having been welcomed at the front door, coaches need to be encouraged to climb the stairs. To this end, the plan is to eradicate the image of coaching as a solitary profession.
There are residential components in most coaching courses where senses or fraternity and team spirit can develop. But The FA's plan is to extend these into a sustained 'distance learning' environment. Coaches are encouraged to be interactive in groups where problems can be discussed and alternative solutions can be proposed. Apart from online exchanges via secure websites, conference calls are arranged so that coaches can blend their thinking on theoretical and practical issues and interchange their experiences in the handling of pro players. The audience in London heard how a guest student from New Zealand is currently earning admiration and Brownie points by getting up in the early hours of the morning to take part in the weekly phone-in.
Initial feelings at The FA are that significant progress has been made in the last year or so and that there are grounds for optimism with regard to the future - especially for the so-called age-appropriate courses which, they believe, not only address the basic challenges but also dove- tail nicely with initiatives around the skill centres and the deployment of the skills coaches in schools and junior clubs. The need and desire to work together with their partners in the professional domestic leagues, as well as the Professional Footballers Association and League Managers Association, is a vital aspect of The FA's strategy. Time and statistics will eventually tell whether home- born talent can reassert domination in the country's elite football. But, as John Peacock's right-hand man Steve Rutter - or Coach Education Manager, to give Steve his correct title - told the participants in London, "the aim is to create an environment in which every individual can reach his or her full potential".
