“With a big pitch and small players the game becomes a territory-based activity where the teams are encouraged to shift the ball as far away from their goal as quick as possible whilst moving it towards the opposition goal,” he said.
“This ends up being a game that does not encourage our children to ‘play through the thirds’ and work the ball up the pitch, rather get the ball from one end to the other in the shortest amount of time. Teams find they can become successful and score goals by having a player with a large kick in defence and a fast player in attack.”
The governing body has also introduced a range of new age-appropriate coaching courses, designed to help coaches to understand the needs of players. The FA Youth Award was launched 18 months ago, and is split into three modules. Module one was launched last year, and the second module debuted this summer.
English football finds a home
The long-awaited National Football Centre is set to open in Burton-upon-Trent next summer, 30 years after the idea was first mooted. Whilst it might be far-fetched to suggest that St George’s Park (SGP) will lead to an immediate upturn in England’s fortunes, the FA believes that it will help to create a centralised footballing philosophy in this country.
Howard Wilkinson was Technical Director at the FA when the freehold for the 330-acre site was acquired in 2001. He explains why it has taken a further ten years for plans to come to fruition.
“Money! When I first got it passed in the early part of the 21st century it had the full backing of the FA, and then Wembley was allowed to explode at Monty Python-esque proportions. There was not at times a great political will to see it finished, because there were people that didn’t understand the concept,” he said.
“I’d like it to be the Oxford and Cambridge of education in football. It’s the place where cultures will be trained, and cultures for specific jobs will be trained. It’s a place for research, a place for development; it’s a place where you bring the top minds in sport together. It’s a place that services the football industry in this country at all levels – boys, girls, men, women and all the associate disciplines to do with the development of football.”
In addition to providing a high-quality base for all of England’s teams, the FA hopes that SGP will raise coaching standards and the importance of the profession as a whole.
The number of UEFA-qualified coaches (at Pro, A and B level) in England is substantially lower than numbers in France, Spain, Italy and Germany; England has less than 10% of the average number of UEFA ‘B’ coaches in these countries, 16% of UEFA ‘A’ coaches and 12% of UEFA ‘Pro’ coaches.
SGP intends to boost these statistics by aiming to train 250,000 new coaches by 2018, offering a wider range of qualifications and introducing a raft of age-appropriate coach education courses.
Fact box – Facilities:
Eleven full-size pitches, accommodating 11-a-side and 7-a-side football
One full-sized indoor pitch and running track
Multisport indoors sports hall
Hydrotherapy suite
Strength and conditioning gyms
Biomechanics and screening area
Read my investigation into the current youth development system here.
Written by Zarif Rasul. Follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/zarifrasul
Introducing the neat little app that’ll pay you to view content tailored to your interests:
ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.