milnrow juniors fc player and coach development policy ... · milnrow juniors fc player and coach...

Milnrow Juniors FC Player and Coach Development Policy

Milnrow Juniors FC

Player and Coach Development Policy


1. Introduction

1.1 Club Ethos

2. Coaching & Development

2.1 Club Development

2.2 Coaching Development

2.3 Player Development

2.4 Team Development

3. Community Development

3.1 School Development


1. Introduction

Founded in 2014, Milnrow Juniors FC is a FA Charter Standard club that is committed to providing

access and equal opportunities for all children to participate in football. The club does not

discriminate against any applicants or members, and will treat people fairly and with respect. The

club operates policies and procedures to assess the suitability of every applicant, in line with the

guidelines and procedures of the FA, the CRC unit, and child protection agencies.

The club will not tolerate harassment, bullying, abuse or victimisation of an individual, which for the

purposes of this policy and the actions and sanction applicable is regarded as discrimination. This

includes sexual or racially based harassment or other discriminatory behaviour, whether physical or

verbal. The club will work to ensure that such behaviour is met with appropriate action in whatever

context it occurs.

The club is based at The Soccer Village - An indoor/outdoor small sided arena located in Milnrow.

This is a huge advantage for our club. Whilst other clubs stop because of bad weather we don't. The

perfect playing surfaces our teams train and play on will also be hugely beneficial to their

development over forthcoming years. The facility has 5 x 5v5 pitches, 1 x 7v7 pitch and 1 x 9v9 pitch.

All are purpose built and fitted with 3G artificial turf.

The club works in partnership with a number of organisations (e.g. Manchester FA, Rochdale

Borough Council, Local Schools, Everton Academy and Huddersfield Town FC ), to ensure that

members of our community have the opportunity to become involved with our club. The

Manchester FA Club incentive scheme and national or regional funding opportunities will be

explored to assist in our objectives.

Milnrow Juniors FC has in place a series of policy and guidance documents which are available on

request. Appropriate documents shall be issued to club officers, volunteers, players and parents as

required.

Role Definitions

Team Co-ordinator - CRC cleared and completed the FA’s online workshop ‘Respect for Coaches’, but

may not have completed an FA coaching football qualification, but responsible for the management

and administration of a squad / team.

Coach - CRC cleared and an FA qualified coach with valid safeguarding children and emergency aid

certifications.

Coach Assistant – Age 16+, CRC cleared and completed the FA’s online workshop ‘Respect for

Coaches’, but not completed an FA coaching football qualification. This role includes assistant

managers.


Junior Coach – a person aged between 14 and 15 who is involved in assisting coaching but not

completed an FA coaching football qualification. Junior coaches under the age of 16 do not require

CRC clearance.

Coaching Team – A combination of team co-ordinator, coaches and coaching assistants.

Note : Consult the clubs roles and responsibility documents for more detail.

1.1 Club Ethos

The club ethos is founded upon the answers to three fundamental questions:

1. Who is the club for ?

2. Why do kids play football ?

3. How do we measure success ?

As a club, we believe that we exist for the players, who play football for fun and enjoyment. We

measure success by our membership size, the few children who leave our club, and by the

development of all our players and coaches. This guides everything that we do. This is the reason

why everyone in the club must abide by the following policies.

1.1.1 Organisation, squads and monitoring

• Development stages “Active Start and FUNdamentals” Mini Soccer 5v5 and 7v7 age groups shall

be treated as individual squads and not as individual teams. It is vital that Mini Soccer age groups do

not become fragmented – ‘splits’ as such shall only occur for competitive League and cup matches as

required by the governing league body rules. A Head of Mini Soccer and coaches are appointed to

ensure that club rules and policies are applied, from a coaching and player development point of

view.

• During the summer (May-August) prior to “Active Start and FUNdamentals” Mini Soccer 5v5

squads moving to 7v7 squads, and prior to 7v7 squads moving to the “Learning To Train”

development stage teams for their forthcoming seasons shall train together. In June ALL the squad

coaches, under the leadership of the clubs coaching development officer, shall decide together

which players shall play in which squad / team for the forthcoming season; parents can expect

change and some movement every year. All players and parents are informed of who is in which new

squad / team as soon as possible, but no later than annual registration day.

• A team manager shall be appointed annually for each 9v9 squad (U11s+). Team managers shall be

permitted to select their own coaching staff, subject to each coach being vetted an approved by the

coaching development officer prior to deployment.


• Under normal circumstances a squads coaching team shall not exceed 3 members. This may only

be exceeded with the prior approval of the Coaching Development Officer, who shall assess team

and/or coaching development

• Team managers that may share players who play both Saturday and Sunday shall be required to

liaise closely and agree player position development and match time, such that these players should

not play full match time on both the Saturday and Sunday on a regular basis to ensure that over-use

injuries and fatigue does not occur. Should managers fail to agree, a development policy shall be

determined by the club’s coaching development officer which both managers shall be required to

implement.

• Each team chooses a parent representative to ensure the above rules are being applied, the parent

rep communicates regularly with all parents and feeds back any concerns to team Managers in the

first instance and to the clubs child welfare officer if more serious matters arise. All parent reps

should undertake the FA’s ‘Respect’ online workshop, by registering with Manchester FA’s member

services.

• All parents shall be made aware of the Club Ethos and rules and provided with a copy of the

Respect Codes of Conduct for ‘Parents’ and ‘Players’ and asked to help enforce them via their parent

rep, the team manager - or when necessary by contacting the committee.

• Members of the club’s committee shall monitor teams including training sessions and matches to

ensure the clubs development plan, rules, ethos and policies are being applied as intended.

1.1.2 Training Sessions

• Training sessions shall be planned and consistent with player, team and club development plans in-

line with the FA’s four corner model and Long Term Player Development (LTPD) plan. The use of

small sided games (SSG’s) shall be used extensively.

• Coaches shall facilitate learning by various methods, i.e. all children learn by different methods e.g.

some learn better using visual methods (use of diagrams), others by verbal instruction / guidance,

others by demonstration, or question and answering. Coaches shall employ a variety of techniques

e.g. Q&A, guided discovery, demonstration, and limited instruction to facilitate the different child

learning needs.

• Age group squads and teams shall train together on a regular basis with squad players mixed

together. At the coaches discretion squad players may be segregated into small groups based upon

player development needs.

• The maximum number of players per coach for safeguarding purposes shall not exceed 16, this

being the Charter Standard requirement. A minimum of 2 coaches is preferred.

• When training together as a squad, coaches and assistants shall work with different players each

week. The coaching team should get to know and work with all of the players in their squad.


• There is no need for tactical training sessions as such for mini soccer teams – the emphasis is on

the players’ discovery of the game and making decisions for themselves in a fun, safe and learning

environment. The coaching team are there to supervise and organise fun sessions for the players

and not to try and impart match tactics within small sided games (SSG).

• At the end of each training session there should be a ‘de-brief’ for all players and parents, where

praise is given to players, and to check player understanding through Q&A, and also information

given to parents.

• The coaching team should arrive at the venue and ensure that a safety inspection of the practice

area and equipment is carried out and that practice areas are set-up prior to player arrival, so that

coaches are ready to receive players as they arrive.

• The coaching team shall ensure that a fully stocked first aid kit is present and available at all

training sessions and matches. A copy of player emergency contact details should also be available

to all coaches. It is recommended that a copy of these emergency contact details is kept in the first

aid kit bag. CRC cleared team managers and/or coaches and assistants should have knowledge of

player medical conditions. Asthma sufferers should not be permitted to play if they do not have their

medication with them, the coaching team is required to check that asthma sufferers have their

medication with them prior to any training session.

1.1.3 Match Days

• Let the players play

• Playing Time – Team managers should strive to provide all players with equal playing time during

matches - A rota should be used by Managers, this should include opportunities for all players to

start and finish a match. There may be occasions, when because of player confidence/protection,

availability, injury, poor attendance or attitude, this is occasionally altered, but this should always be

done after discussion with the child (and/or parent) prior to kick-off. In a 40 minute game team

managers should strive to play all players when fit not less than 20 minutes. Team managers should

ensure that they have a substitution plan prior to every match to ensure minimum player match

time can be achieved. Although it is recognised that on occasion team selection / player match time

may be designed to secure a match result, this should however be regarded as exceptional and not

considered a normal acceptable practice.

• Although the club does not operate a ‘No train, no play’ policy, team managers are expected to

give match selection preference to players who train on a regular basis, rather than those who

regularly fail to attend training sessions, commitment to the club should be rewarded.


• Rotation of Playing Positions - Players should be given opportunity to play in a variety of positions

to gain experience and learn were they may best play -again using a rota would represent best

practice. There may be exceptions for this e.g. goalkeepers. Players should know at the start of the

match when and where they will be playing. Best practice is to rotate player positions over a period

of weeks, rather than within the same game on a regular basis, so facilitating consistency and time

for a player to learn the position and role.

• Attitude of Coaches and Touchline Behaviour – the coaching team are required to strictly follow

the coaches’ code of conduct and must let the players play during matches, with positive

encouragement from parents and coaches. Information from the line should be in a series of

occasional questions or challenges from the coaching staff only. Patrolling the touchline giving

continuous shouted unexplained instructions should be avoided. Players should be permitted to

make mistakes without fear of criticism, coaches should create an environment where mistakes are

considered an accepted way to learn. Players will learn from their mistakes without being told they

have done wrong.

• A maximum of 2 members of the coaching team are permitted on match days, this being

consistent with league rules.

• Players shall be adequately warmed up prior to taking part in a match. Best practice being to play

5v5 for 10 -15 minutes before the main game. This will increase the exposure of the players to

decision making opportunities. Age groups of U11 upwards should also include major muscle group

stretching to prevent muscle injury, given that children of age 11 onwards will start to develop

restriction in muscle elasticity.

2. Coaching & Development

2.1 Club Development

Milnrow Juniors FC shall continuously review its development plans and club policies and strive to

improve its membership, structure and sustainability and live up to its fundamental value of

providing football to its local youth community.

It is with pride that our club has grown into a family oriented club that provides a range of

opportunities for it’s members. This has been achieved through the work of a strong leadership

team and has been implemented and forged by the most valued of people in the club, the clubs

football volunteer workforce.

The club is made up of a football volunteer workforce who provide a much needed resource to the

club who provide the operational structure and backbone to ensure the club provides and meets its

commitments and objectives. Our volunteers are an integral part of our strategic plan to ensure the


clubs administration and well being is maintained in order to provide a community service and

ensure it is delivered to a high standard. They are a formidable resource that do not always get a

mention in the larger scale of things, but without them Milnrow Juniors FC could not function.

As part of the clubs development, the following information has been prepared to show the

infrastructure the club is working towards and the communication links we are forging that are vital

to the continued success and development of our club.

The Club has in place and shall maintain ;

• A register of members.

• Equality and anti-bullying policies.

• Safeguarding children policy.

• Volunteer application / vetting policy.

• A club constitution and elected committee.

• A child welfare officer.

• Parent representatives.

• A coaching and player development policy.

• Defined roles and responsibilities.

• Disciplinary and complaints policy.

• FA enhanced CRC checks for all coaches.

• All teams supervised by FA qualified, emergency aid and safeguarding children trained and

certified coaches.

• Respect Codes of conduct for players, coaches, parents, spectators and officials.

• Home venue risk assessments

• Public liability insurance


2.2 Coaching Development

Of fundamental importance to our club is the quality and motivation of the coaching staff.

We have two main stages and a supplementary stage of development within Milnrow Juniors FC at

this moment in time. These being linked to our strategic plan for the development of coaches,

players, teams and partner schools.

All team managers, coaches and assistants shall be registered with Milnrow Juniors FC and are

required to adhere to the requirements of this policy document. Their roles and core responsibilities

are outlined in the appropriate ‘Roles and Responsibilities’ document(s). Club kit is available to all

registered team managers, coaches and assistants and we encourage the wearing of this when

representing their team at training sessions, matches and tournaments etc..

New coaches shall complete a volunteer application form and be vetted by the clubs Coaching

Development Officer before being permitted to coach. Team managers are responsible for informing

the Coaching Development Officer of any new coach they wish to engage within their squad, or

change of details to existing registered coaches. New coaches shall not be permitted to coach or

engage the children until the vetting process is concluded satisfactorily. Team managers shall also

inform the club when any coach or player leaves the club.

All coaches and assistants shall be required to successfully complete an FA enhanced CRC check and

FA ‘Respect for Coaches’ online workshop, this being mandatory for all coaches. New coaches who

are awaiting completion of the CRC check shall not be permitted access to player personal details

nor be left alone with any child. Should a coach be unwilling or fail a satisfactory CRC check, they

shall not be permitted to coach within our club.

Each squad shall be supervised by a minimum of one manager or coach who hold’s a current FA

Level 1 certificate in Coaching Football, with a valid emergency aid and safeguarding children

certification. This is a mandatory requirement for all age groups. However, the club aspires to

develop and support all it’s coaches to an FA Level 1 standard.

Coach assistants who are not qualified (but vetted) may work under the supervision of a qualified

coach, but shall not take charge of a team or training session unsupervised.


2.2.1 Coaching Development Stages

Stage 1 Foundation Development - age groups up to U10’s, these are our Mini Soccer squads playing

5v5 and 7v7 formats in line with the FA’s development strategy. Coaches and assistants shall be

encouraged to continually progress their learning and undertake FA Level 1 and FA Youth module 1

courses.

Stage 2 Junior Development – age groups U11’s to U13’s playing 9v9 formats. Qualified coaches at

this level shall be encouraged to progress their learning working towards FA Level 2 in Coaching

Football, and FA Youth Module 2.

Supplementary Development – The club aspires to have supplementary coaching skills within its

volunteer workforce, which includes but not limited to regular Coach the Coaches

All coaches are encouraged to join and maintain membership of the FA Licensed coaches club, and

continue to progress their learning through the Continuous Development Programme (CPD).

2.2.2 Coaching Development Funding

The club shall finance without condition all FA CRC checks.

FA Level 1 and FA Level 1 Youth Module courses shall be part funded (50%) and require the

volunteer to make a financial contribution (50%) towards the costs. As a condition of the funding,

the club asks for an agreed commitment period following completion of the course.

Junior coaches may at the discretion of the committee be exempt from making a financial

commitment only. Typical contributions are outlined in the table below.

National and regional funding opportunities will be investigated in order to attempt to further

minimise costs to candidates.

This policy will be reviewed on an annual basis.

Course Contribution Commitment Period

FA Level 1 £70.00 12 months

FA Level 1 Youth Award £70.00 12 months


2.3 Player Development

Milnrow Juniors FC has developed a three stage development plan for all players within the club

which is shown below in its most basic form.


The following information explains each development stage and the functionality of each stage.

Stage 1 : Active Start – U5-U6s

This is usually the first time experience that players and parents have with our club. At this age,

players join the club because they want to enjoy and have fun learning the beautiful game of

football and what it can offer. It is usually their first team and club experience so we should make it

special for the child. We do this through our specifically designed Little League program.

Stage 2 : FUNdamentals – U7-U9s

At this age we offer players and parents the opportunity to become part of the team. For parents

this can be as a Soccer Parent, Parent Rep, Coach Assistant, Coach or Team Manager. In fact joining

the Football volunteer workforce of the club helps everyone.

For the players we have qualified coaches who work to the clubs coaching development policy.

Players of all the junior Mini Soccer age groups will be able to achieve reward through their

participation in fun games. The coaching teams aim to develop a safe environment were players are

encouraged to experiment with and take ownership of their own environment, were failure is

allowed and considered part of the learning process.

Parents

As parents, we share your aspiration to develop your child, and aim to encourage, reward and

develop your young player's football skills and social development. Sessions are more than just

football, they are intended to encourage participation in physical recreation and social skill building,

no matter what your child's football ability. To ensure our scheme supports other national initiatives

within schools and clubs, the structured training sessions are aligned to:-

• The FA’s four corner model - Physical, Psychological, Social and Technical development.

• LTDP (Long Term Development Plan) for players.

• Deliver distinct skills sets for players of all abilities.

• Practice sessions of clear learning focus that are realistic to the game and relevant to the players,

using a variety of constant, variable and random practices.

• Constant – repetitive practice, usually unopposed.

• Variable – Opposed structured play, with decision making.

• Random – Match/game play yielding random situations creating lots of problem solving.


Coaches are encouraged to produce medium term player development plans of typically 6 weeks

duration to allow players time to develop particular aspects of their play as set out by the coach’s

plan.

Stage 3 : Learning To Train – U10-U12s

This is a key stage of player and social development; players will have attained and still be

progressing to a level of skill and ability within the development program. They will require a better

understanding of their abilities, elementary physiology (learning about their bodies’ development as

a sports person) nutrition and well being, as well as, understanding their positioning and

responsibilities in game play and tactics.

For the parents it is an exciting time as your child is developing into the young adults of tomorrow. It

is a time where we should be harnessing their potential and developing their understanding of the

game, by introducing them to different experiences in their development as a player and as a team

member.

For the players they will work with coaches who aim to develop the practices to develop the players

understanding and decision making process within the game and of their own learning and

development.

Parents

As parents, you share our vision to improve your child’s learning of the game and to provide an

educational and social path for all players to develop at a pace that suits their learning style and

ability. We aim through design to encourage, reward and develop player's skills and personal

development. As already mentioned the scheme is more than just football in its design, it

encourages participation in physical recreation and social development, no matter what your child's

football ability.

Football Development Medal Award Scheme

The club’s football development award scheme has been developed with the aim of assessing, recognising, and rewarding the development of ALL young children with an active interest in football. Boxed Medal (Personalised with child’s name)

By rewarding all children’s skills and efforts rather than giving

individual awards based on the “most deserving” player within

the group, we aim to motivate all children to progress and

improve. For the first time, parents can also see the progress of

their child, as is available in other areas such as martial arts,

karate, musical and academic development.

Our comprehensive scheme has been developed over almost a

decade spent within the grassroots and elite junior academy

system.

Each medal & certificate (as pictured) is awarded based on a set

criteria of targets, which encourage the all-round development

of children.


Personalised Certificate

The awards There are 6 main levels, with Bronze, Silver and Gold within each level. Each award features the club logo along with the associated colour for the level. White = 1, Orange = 2, Blue = 3, Purple = 4, Brown = 5, Black = 6. Level 6 Gold is the award given to those who achieve our ultimate aim - Children who have acquired the skills, knowledge and confidence to be able to help the next generation. There are also 6 skills awards based on quantitative skills exercises which measure ball control, 1v1 skills, change of direction skills and shooting accuracy. These skills awards are point based, 100, 200, 300, 450, 600 and 750 point awards are available. When can children enter the award system? Children can enter the system at any level, at any age between 4-11 yrs old. Over the first few weeks of a child’s attendance to our sessions the coach will apply his or her discretion to assess the starting point of each individual child. Our Little Leaguers (4-5 yrs old) will typically start at Level 1, whilst Academy recruits (6 years old +) will begin from anywhere between Levels 2-6. The starting point is the level which is a realistic challenge for the child and requires effort and development to achieve the next level. How often do assessments take place? Reception and Year 1 children = 3 times/year. Year 2 – Year 6 children = 4 times/year Can parents be involved? Yes... Parents will be supplied with an assessment criteria for their child to aim for to achieve the next level. The purpose of this is to allow the parent to play a part in a healthy, balanced approach to their child’s football development. When will presentations take place? Presentations will take place on a Saturday afternoon 3 or 4 times per year, dependant on the age of the child. The children will play festival games before demonstrating their newly acquired skills by taking part in a short exhibition in front of their enthusiastic parents, family and friends. The awarding of Milnrow Juniors football development medals and certificates is a fantastic time for the child, coach and parents. It is the result of a long period of effort, hard work and determination. Every child is assessed by a competent, responsible examiner.

Social development is included in addition to technical skills

such as ball mastery and decision making. Speed, agility, fitness,

balance and decision making are also assessed and rewarded

inline with the development of every child.


Award Ceremonies Each award ceremony will last for approximately 90 minutes. Following the on field action, each child will receive a personalised, engraved boxed medal, along with a certificate of achievement. The Head Coach will also write a personalised record of achievement for every child. This will include a summary of the child’s achievements along with targets to aim for to further their development. How can my child get involved? Our club is passionate about providing all children with a structured development pathway that allows every child the opportunity to follow their football dreams, whatever they may be. Each child can progress through levels, signifying their growth and development. For the first time in junior football, parents can also see the progress of their child, as is available in other areas such as martial arts, musical and academic development. We believe the award scheme is a great way for both parents to recognise, and for children to have their progress recognised. As such, every child that attends our coaching sessions is automatically included in the award scheme, however it is not mandatory. Every parent will have the opportunity to “opt out” if they do not wish for their child to be included. This will not affect their child’s participation in our weekly coaching sessions.

2.4 Team Development

By providing a continuous learning and development environment for the club at all levels from our

Football volunteer workforce, Coaches, Assistants, Players and Parents, we can achieve our main

objective to provide community services using sport as the role model.

Through the player development program within the club, each team will also develop through the

coaching at each stage of development.

Winning is about succeeding in meeting development objectives and our main objective within

Milnrow Juniors FC is to succeed in providing sport to all club members and the surrounding

community and to provide a learning experience for all including Parents, Players and Club

Volunteers.

We strongly believe that our programs success through coaching and player development will lead

to success on the playing field as well, winning matches at all cost is not our philosophy.

3. Community Development

3.1 School Development

The community is a very important aspect of what our club is all about.

It is the aspiration of the club to link with our local schools and clubs to develop our community and

coaching programmes.


We aspire to forge links with local schools to offer access for local children to join our club. We

sponsor an annual primary schools competition and also provide school holiday courses for children

in our community.

Primary schools we are working with to develop sporting links include but not limited to;

• Crossgates

• Newhey

• St James

• Smithybridge

• Holy Trinity

• St. Thomas

St. Marys

Moorhouse

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