MoF Sunday Skill Sessions
Coach and Session Checklist
For Sunday 5pm Yellow, 6pm and 7pm sessions
O Problem statement
Relevant to the topic for the unit or term, age-appropriate; builds on previous learning
O Session plan
O Game-based learning
Teaching and learning happens mostly in realistic game activities (with realistic game
decisions). Games are small-sided but varied, e.g. 3v2 3v3 (up to 4v5, 5v5 for older groups)
O Simple, varied activities
S
SESSION ESSENTIALS
Coach should have a session plan for the session, with clear coaching points and
methods
Activities must be quick to set-up and easy to explain; don’t over-complicate the game
O High Active Learning Time (75% +)
Short, effective interventions; quick transitions between activities; never queues or waiting
O Fair, fun, inclusive behaviours
Children take it in turns, they include everyone in games, there is no anti-social behaviour,
and coach notices early when unwanted behaviours occur and deals with this
O Uninterrupted games (flow states & joy)
All children must spend time in games which allow them to find flow states and
experience full enjoyment. Yellow group sessions should be fast-paced and intense.
O Coaching interventions
Coach uses variety of teaching methods, mainly to individuals and small groups. Coaches
need to inject intensity, enthusiasm and positivity into sessions
COACHING
O Manage difference
Coach recognises different abilities and needs, and groups children accordingly, and
differentiates the task or feedback – so all children experience difficulty and challenge
O Children should collaborate in order to solve problems
Allow time for children to work together to come up with strategies, and reflect on these
O Provide feedback to children
Children know what they need to improve – variety of ways of doing this
O Bridging to other football, sports and learning
Learning in the session is made relevant to football and learning outside MoF
Problem
Statement
Each session should have a Problem Statement, which is relevant to
the theme of the term or unit.
For example, in a Unit on ‘Positive Defending’, a Problem Statement
could be “How to defend when outnumbered 1v2”.
The Problem Statement should not include the solution to the problem,
just the problem itself. The aim of the session is for the coach to help
the children try to solve the problem.
Links
Coaching Programme
Session plan
It is a good idea to continue work on a Problem Statement across two
or more sessions, depending on the children’s success at finding
solutions
The coach should plan for every session. They must write a plan, in
whatever form that they are comfortable using, but the plan must
include:
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Links
MoF Session Planner
Game-based
learning
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The Problem Statement
The activities the coach will use, and how the group will quickly
transition from one to another (keep activities simple)
The likely coaching interventions the coach will use, bearing in
mind that sessions need to have 75% Active Learning Time
Specific learning that the coach aims to deliver to specific
children in that session (child’s name, what will be taught, how
it will be taught)
Most activities used should resemble the game of football in that they
are: opposed, competitive, directional, and with a method of scoring.
(Individual, ‘ball-each’ activities can fulfil these requirements if they
are designed well, as can tag games).
For games, team size should not be more than 5, but 2, 3 and 4 aside
games would be normal – depending on total group size. It’s fine to
have uneven numbers e.g. 3v2. This is preferable to having a floating
player.
It is OK to condition the game (e.g. “you must pass before you can
score”), but do not let the condition make the game unrealistic (e.g.
“you get double goal if you can pass before you score”).
Simple, varied
activities
Activities should not take long to explain, and progressions to activities
need to be easy to make.
Equipment should be minimal. Use the lines on the floor, use spots on
the floor, but keep things straightforward. Show the areas to the
children at the start of the session.
Activities need to be varied. So for 3v3 games, use different shapes
and sizes of pitch. Adapt the task.
Session structures need to be creative: Not always whole-part-whole,
or always skill>game. Mix things up, a good coach will be inventive
with activities and sessions.
High Active
Learning Time
(75%+)
Never use queues.
Ever.
Fair, fun,
inclusive
behaviours
Active Learning Time (ALT) is the amount of time each child gets to
move, play and ‘learn by doing’ in a session. It is the total session time
minus coach interventions, drink breaks, queueing time etc.
Coach interventions need to be efficient. In a one-hour session, plan
for 10 minutes of coaching, plus two quick drink breaks. The rest of the
time, the children should be active.
 Give children something to do for when they return from drink break
 Get children bibbed up into teams and set up next activity while
they are active doing something.
 Switch children between pitches without stopping the game.
 Never use activities where children can be out – unless they move
onto something else to do which is active and relevant
The coach must make sure that all children are treated fairly and
equally, and there is no bullying or poor behaviours.
E.g. Children need to take turns in goal. They need to share
equipment and roles. They must listen to each other. There should be
no boasting or teasing etc, or discouragement. The coach should not
tolerate any disrespect.
It is the coach’s job to keep an eye out for these behaviours and stop
them the moment they appear.
Links
Developing SelfEsteem
Uninterrupted
games
(flow states
and joy)
Links
Flow states
Coaching
interventions
The coach should also ensure that all children feel a sense of
belonging and of self-worth. Smile, be welcoming. Use names.
All children need periods of more than 5 mins without interruption from
the coach, during which they are immersed in games.
Flow states happen for children when the level of challenge is tricky
(at or a bit above their ability level); when the game has rhythm and
not too many stoppages. The coach may need to think about how
the ball is recycled into the playing area in order to prevent lengthy
stoppages when the ball is out of play. E.g. use closest ball, and
dribble back in.
Yellow group coaches need to deliver sessions which are intense and
fast-paced; coach interventions and game conditions should not slow
the session or game down. (An intense, sharp, fierce coach
intervention can speed the game up and add intensity).
The coach must actually coach! It is not enough just to run a good
games session. The coach is unlikely to individually coach every child
in every session, but aim to make an impact and difference to at least
4-5 children. Plan this in your session plan. Over the weeks all children
should be coached.
Most interventions should be at individual or small-group level. Use
“drive-by” coaching, or coaching when you take children out of the
game to teach them. Also, use Stop-Stand-Still coaching to re-create
game situations for children. Use a whiteboard to recreate and teach.
‘Paint pictures’ for the children.
Give time for children to work out the answer themselves. Allow
children to invent their own answers and to be creative.
Manage
difference
The coach should recognise children’s abilities and differences and
plan for these. All children should experience difficulties and
challenge – but these may be at different levels for different children.
It may be a good idea to have one game for higher ability children
and one for lower, but make sure children of middle ability have the
chance to switch from one to the other.
Sessions should be
difficult for everyone
(but not overlycomplicated)
Challenge better players by outnumbering them (e.g. 2v3), or asking
them to do something more difficult (adjust the task).
When doing pair work, try to pair children of similar abilities together.
Separate children who don’t work well together.
Children
should
collaborate in
order to solve
problems
Children must have opportunities to learn from each other. Ideally the
difficulty or problem posed in the session should be tricky so the
children need one another to solve it.
Provide
feedback to
children
Children need to know how they are doing. They should be aware of
what they need to improve in relation to the theme or unit.
Ways of giving feedback:
 Give individual task / challenge to each child before activity
 Ask child what they need to work on, then elaborate
 Recognise when a child makes progress – let them know what
you’ve seen
 Peer feedback (e.g. brief reflection together)
 Use photos or video of children – in session or for homework
 Talk to parents before or after sessions, or email them (cc Mark
in). Always debrief at end of session in-front of parents so they
are included (invite them over to listen)
‘Bridging’ to
other football,
sports and
learning
We can help ‘bridge’ learning by:
 Using game scenarios (“you are the left winger up against the
opposition right back”)
 Use variety of game situations – so if doing 1v1s, then include
all kinds of 1v1 (not just face-to-face in centre of pitch)
 Using variety of game formats, session structures etc
 Asking and explaining how the learning from the session fits
with other football the children do, or other sports they do
Bridging is where
children take learning
from one place and
use it elsewhere
Give teams time to plan a strategy or reflect on what has worked. E.g.
Rather than the coach telling a pair what went wrong, give the pair
30 seconds together to see if they can work it out themselves. Then
help them further if they need it.
If one pair or team has worked out a good solution, give the other
children a chance to watch them and learn from that.
Use a whiteboard for children to record progress, to tick off each time
their team completes a specific challenge for example.
End of session: Instead of “What did you learn?”, ask “How did you
learn that?” What strategies did they use today to try to solve the
problem? What helped them? Who helped them?
4pm Red
class
The 4pm Red class is slightly different from other classes. It is not
necessary to have a Problem Statement that follows the unit of work
that other groups are studying. However, the MoF Coach Checklist still
applies to this class and the coach should still work toward achieving
consistent excellence in each area.
Here are the desired outcomes for children in the 4pm Red class:
 Social – making new friends, being able to find a partner to work
with and decide roles with partner (e.g. “find a new partner and
decide who the follower and leader is”); being able to work with a
variety of different people.
 Psychological – being able to win and lose without losing temper;
learning to control emotions; good sporting behaviours without
teasing or discouraging others.
 Tactical – understanding directional play, 1v1s for example;
attacking v defending (e.g. get the ball through an area where
there are defenders trying to steal it); how to tackle safely without
tripping or kicking opponent.
 Technical – using different parts of the foot to dribble, control,
move, and turn with the ball (inside, outside, top, bottom of foot).
Activities should involve lots of ball contact.
 Physical – football specific movements, like changing direction,
jumping and landing in different ways, acceleration and
deceleration, balance, co-ordination.
The 4pm Red class coach should choose a variety of activities which
build toward the outcomes above. Certainly the activities should be
fun, but they also need to be simple and teach football skills. The
coach should still plan the session with the aim of developing specific
children, and should still teach the children individually within the
session. (It is not enough just to put on some fun activities).
When planning the session: Think about your knowledge of the group
and plan what you want to achieve in the session. Then design
activities which allow you to teach these outcomes.
With this age-group, it is a good idea to revisit activities which worked
well in past sessions, and continuously revisit previous learning. (This is a
little different from other groups where sessions should always try to
build on the previous session).
Futsal Club
All the areas of the MoF Coach Checklist also apply to the 90-minute
Monday Futsal Club sessions. There are also three additional elements:
Speed and strength work
Each Futsal Club session should contain 10 mins of age-appropriate
speed or strength work. The aim of this is to help children grow quicker
and stronger as they enter the teenage years and their bodies start
changing rapidly.
During the 10 mins of speed work, there may be some queues of up to
3 children. The idea of this time is not to exhaust the children, it is not a
cardio work-out. Aim for fewer quality repetitions of exercise rather
than more reps of lower quality. Teach the movements, correct poor
technique. (ALT calculation will exclude the speed section of the
session).
Futsal-specific teaching and learning
Futsal is different from football, and the sessions need to be easily
identifiable as Futsal sessions not football sessions. Here are some of
the differences, and key aspects that should shine through in sessions:
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Ball control – especially use of sole of foot
Use of body to block and shield
Speed and weight of pass – much quicker than football
Defending as a team – everyone is a defender and the team
works together to win the ball back (quick recovery)
Playing from the goalkeeper – including rules for distribution
(e.g. can’t kick from hands)
Attacking rotations / No set positions
No off-side – this affects both attacking and defending
Children that are new to Futsal need to be taught the rules and
understand why the game is different from football.
Managing the 5v5 game
Futsal Club registers are between 12 and 16 children, and a session
may have any number of children from 8 to 16. The main reason the
children attend is to learn and play the 5v5 full-court game. Here are
some ways to design the session so everyone is active and high ALT
can be reached:
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< 10 children: Coaches could join in to make 10.
11-14 children: Two team lists on board, subs tick name against
their name, and sub with teammate with fewest ticks after 3
mins
15 children: Three teams of 5, one team doing speed work or
technical work with assistant coach behind goal
16 children: May be better to do two 4v4 games with this
number
The coach should avoid having children sit still on side-lines for longer
periods than 3 mins at a time, or for more than 15 mins in a 90-min
session.
Coach Reflection and Evaluation
Importantly, it is vital that we all improve as MoF Coaches over the course of the
term. Here is a checklist of things you can do to improve yourself:
Ways to improve as a MoF Coach
Each term, a coach has several options for improvement as a MoF Coach.
 Get a generic Coach Evaluation by Mark. This will include detailed
breakdown of your session, with ALT measurements.
 Watch another MoF coach, ideally someone who is strong in the area that
you are weak. Observe, make notes, reflect, add to your own coaching.
 Get another MoF coach to observe you and give you feedback – in specific
areas. This can be a very useful way of sharing ideas and best practice.
 Visit other similar programmes to watch more experienced coaches work
 Reflect on your sessions after you’ve delivered them – what worked and what
didn’t? Why? (see Mark for ideas and suggestions)
 Video your session, watch it back and reflect on your session design and
delivery.
 Get feedback from parents and from children (see Mark for ideas and
suggestions)
 Go on courses: FA Levels 1 and 2; Premier Skills Pratice Play courses; FA Futsal
L1 and L2
 Attend MoF coach education sessions
 Read articles and research (see Mark for ideas and suggestions)
In all these options, MoF Coaches should build a picture of their skills and delivery in
accordance with the checklist above. These can be graphically displayed on the
chart below, which makes it easy to identify stronger and weaker areas.
It would be a good idea to do two or three of the options above, and then plot
where you think you are at as a MoF Coach using the graphic below. You can then
set targets for improvement and work toward improving in specific areas.
The MoF Coach Reflection and Evaluation Circle
In each of the areas in the circle, shade in the area that you think best describes
your current ability as a MoF Coach. Refer to the descriptions of each area in the
section above in order to do this accurately – and make notes also if you need to
remind yourself why you have scored yourself in a particular way.
The MoF
Coach
Reflection
and
Evaluation
circle
Scoring system
5
4
3
2
1
Consistently excellent & above required level
Usually or sometimes excellent
Coach knows how to do this but often doesn’t
Coach in early stages of learning this
Poor understanding / coach can’t deliver yet