“Encouraging talent to flourish”
Quorn Juniors football club was founded in 1982 to provide junior and youth football to
children and young adults living within the Charnwood area and beyond, the club has grown
in size over the past 30 years and now fields over 25+ teams in all age groups.
Quorn JFC are a FA charter standard club providing in excess of 700 children and young
adults the opportunity to learn and play the best game in the world but to do this we need
to encourage coaches to also understand that they will also need to learn and progress, this
document will list the fundamental areas of what Quorn JFC expect from coaches and
outline our beliefs as to how a coach should conduct themselves whilst representing the
club.
Develop age appropriate environments in which players
are encouraged to be creative and expressive without the
fear of failure.
Produce technically excellent and innovative players, with
excellent decision making skills.
To help build self esteem, confidence and focus on the long
term development of all players.
To follow Quorn JFC’s club philosophy and believe in the
guiding principles for thought and behavior.
Teach players to play the game and not focus on just
winning the game.
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Expressive and imaginative
Freedom, enjoyment, no fear of failure
Value ball retention
Progress and penetrate through the thirds
Short quick passing interchanges
Creating goal scoring opportunities
Attack with variety, audacity and risk taking
Deny opponents space and time when defending.
Defend against ball, player,space and goal.
 Foundation phase (ages 5-11)
“The golden years” for learning
 Youth development phase (ages 12-16)
Transition and adapting to change
 Senior development phase (ages 17-21)
Controlled competitiveness and effective play
 Provide Leadership and integrity at all times
 Maximise opportunity for all players at all stages
of development
 Understand the needs of individual players
 Make sessions appropriate, challenging,
educational and enjoyable
 Place the right player with the right coach
 Establish a learning centered approach to
coaching sessions
 Create environments that allow players to fulfill
their potential
 Use the FA’s guiding principles of the “4 Corners”
long term development to meet the needs of
individual players.
 Continue to educate yourselves to pass on
knowledge to players and other coaches.
Technical:
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Deliberate practice
Ball mastery
Fundamental movements
Rotation
Physical:
 Agility, Balance, coordination (A,B,C’s)
 Fundamental movements
 Developmental skills
Social:
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Safe environment
Enjoyment
Inclusion
Relationships
Psychological:
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Learning through Small sided games
Decision making
Awareness
Communication:
Technical:
 Individual roles
 Attacking/defending principles
 Technical excellence
Physical:
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Aerobic/Anaerobic exercise
Growth Spurt
Athleticism
Fitness
Puberty
Psychological:
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Awareness
Responsibility
Confidence
Faster thought processing
Social:
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Fair play
Appropriate behaviours
Peer group features
Inclusion
Technical:
 Technically proficient
 Team play
 Combination play
Physical:
 Athletic systems
 Transitions to adult football
Social:
 Socially responsible
 Dealing with conflict
Psychological:
 Lifestyle skills
 Developing a stable temperament
A coach should also look into his/her coaching methods as
individual players respond differently, there are 5
different coaching methods, how many do you use? And
could you try others?
Command:
Tell and show, you word instructions “I want you to….!,
this method the coach determines the outcome.
Question and answer:
Coach will question the player to gain a response, for
example – “can you tell me what you can do here?”, the
player offers a verbal solution.
Observe and feedback:
Coach and player observe, example – “let’s watch this”,
player and coach observe and discuss feedback.
Guided discovery:
Coach asks question or issues a challenge, example – “Can
you show me?”, Coach prompts and players offer visual
demo of solution.
Trial and Error:
Players and/or coach decide on challenge, example – “try
for yourself”, players encourage to find solutions minimal
support.
As a coach we need to try and use all the methods
available to help coach and get the attention of every
individual player within our session.
Coaching a positive learning environment
Remember:
 Do not stop the practice too often
 Allow players to explore and problem solve
 Present information; visually, verbally,
kinaesthetically
 Do not always offer an immediate solution
 Have breaks for social interaction to discuss
tactics and strategies
 Give frequent praise for good play AND effort,
relating praise to specific action
 Practice should be constant, variable and random
If we as a club want to develop young players who are more creative
and imaginative, more resilient and responsible, the coach must
convey these value and beliefs in their own behavior with the players.
Technique:
A player’s ability to master and perform each technical
component of the game
Skill:
A player’s ability to transfer technical competence into a
decision making circumstance (game/game related
practice)
SSG:
Small sided game ie- 4v4, 8v8 etc
Function:
Opposed practice (player or group) develops
understanding of attacking/defending themes eg – flank
play, counter attack etc.
Phase:
Full width of the pitch/reduced length – 2 full units
attacking/defending against third unit.
 Changing the size of the playing/practice area will
change the space available to players
 If you make the area bigger it will provide more space
for players, this will generally give players more time
on the ball
 It provides more opportunities to dribble/run with
the ball
 Small areas increase demands on 1st touch and close
control
 HOWEVER, if the area is larger it usually becomes
tougher physically as there is more ground to cover
 Also a bigger area means that passing distances
become greater so technically it becomes tougher for
the player.
 Changing the task can alter the difficulty of the
session
 You can change the task individually/or for everyone
 By implementing individual restrictions/conditions
you can challenge each individual differently, catering
for their specific needs
 Using a similar method you might make it easier for
certain individuals by changing their task
 The addition of SAFE-ZONES can help meet individual
needs
 Overloads can be used to provide a different level of
challenge for different people.
EQUIPMENT: by changing the equipment, it is easier
to vary the difficulty of the session ie 2 balls, multiple
goals.
 Usually the more players in a game, the more complex
the game becomes
 More players equal’s more decisions to be made,
whether it’s on the ball or off the ball, defensively or
offensively.
 It’s also important to remember that the more players
you add, the less touches each player gets, especially
within the 5-11 age bracket.
 It’s essential that every player has the maximum
opportunity to get on the ball within the game
situation.
 Increase numbers gradually, do not jump from a 4v4
to a 11v11.
 Try to teach players about the principles of play
(attacking/defending)
ATTACKING:
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Support
Movement
Dispersal/width
Penetration
Invention
DEFENDING:
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Delay
Depth
Compactness
Balance
Control/restraint
Try and implement the technical content of each.
ATTACKING Technical Content
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Vision and awareness
Quality passing
Receiving and support play
Turning
Dribbling
Running with the ball
Shooting/finishing
Heading
DEFENDING Technical Content
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Delaying and denying progress
Pressuring in front/behind
Ball contacts (heading, volleying)
Intercepting, spoiling, challenging
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Read the developing play
Change the attitude when possession lost
Recover at speed
Mark players and space looking to intercept
Deny passing routes
Pressurize, control and influence opponents
Keep compact
Communicate
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Attitude/communication
Close down quickly
Travel as the ball is travelling
Pressure his/her nerve/control – Jockey
Balance / side on / eyes on ball
Stay on feet/do not dive in
Show inside/outside
Prevent attackers from turning/touch tight
Tackle off front or back foot
Do not ball watch if he/she gives and goes
Angles/distances of support/balance in covering
situations
ATTITUDE:
 Correct preparation – technically, tactically,
physically, mentally
 Move the ball – don’t get stuck
 Has attitude been affected during the game? (1st half,
2nd half)
SHAPE:
 Formation of the team when not in possession – start
positions to apply pressure
 Adjustment of position as the ball and opponents
move – individual roles/jobs/responsibilities
PRESSURE:
 How and when to deny opponents space with the aim
of gaining possession of the ball, win the ball back
quickly, hunt in packs
 Individual defending techniques, communication,
distances etc.
POSSESSION:
 Creation of space
 Receiving positions – in between defensive lines, half
turned, back foot receiving
 Forward / progressive passes – pass through
opponents, decision making
 Play with quality and style, pass sequences,
one/two’s, set pieces, forward thinking
SUPPORT:
 Options for passing – ahead of the ball, behind the
ball, switching play etc.
 Angles and pockets to receive
END PRODUCT:
 Scoring goals, attempts on goal, crossing etc
I was once told that “ The best coach is a thief” by this we
mean the best coaches will steal other coaches ideas,
sessions plans, and will alter them to suit their own teams
requirements, go out and watch other coaches and do not
be afraid to ask questions, steal ideas to use with your
team, learn from each other, educate yourselves, go on
coaching courses, none of us know everything there is to
know about football, a successful team doesn’t mean they
have a better coach, we should be coaching our players for
their long term development.
Remember this “A trophy collects dust, but memories last
forever” so make them good memories for all players at
Quorn Juniors Football Club.
“Each player, in every team, is a unique individual, with
their own way of understanding the game of football”