Football Coaching is a form of leadership that has continued to grow and blossom, as the years have progressed and the game advanced. As footballers learn skills to equip them on the field, so do football coaches. They don’t just help footballers improve their skill sets but also develop their management and leadership skills.
Getting into football coaching is very rewarding because you do not only get rewarded in cash or salary but also get the reward of watching your players improve and succeed. Most times the unmaterialistic rewards overshadows the materialistic.
It gives you a form of fulfillment when you see players you have groomed for months and years, go on to succeed. Just imagine working through sweat and pain to restore a classic car that has potentials but yet unredeemable. Then months later you drive by in the same car and people stare in awe, the joy and fulfillment is too immense to fathom. This is the same with coaching.
Coaching is also a form of mentorship and a key part in the profession, as players begin to trust and look up to you for guidance.
While all the rewards of football coaching has been mentioned above and would still be discussed extensively, there is also a lot of work to be put into being a football coach. The goal is to be a successful and good football coach and not just an ordinary coach.
Coaching has a profession
The first mile to cross is the mile of passion and love for the game. There is a greater chance of succeeding in this profession if you possess the passion and love for the game. I have come across people who were only interested in the possible fame and financial reward the coaching profession has to offer and in the end crumbles.
The love of the game and the passion for it, helps a coach to cross tough bridges like communication, skills sets, talents and many more. Your keen interest in the football game gives you a great advantage over other prospective coaches.
Your passion motivates athletes to develop to their full potential. You are not just responsible for training your players, analyzing their performances, instructing in relevant skills, but also providing necessary encouragement.
What you need to be a coach
There are necessary skills required from you before delving into the profession proper and some of these skills are;
- Proper understanding of the game
- Good leadership skills
- Physical fitness
- Organizing skills
- Detail Orientation
- Great Communication skills
- People management skills
Aside from these skills there are also other qualification requirements to become a full time coach.
- Acquire enough knowledge about the game – It is usually expected that prospective coaches have first-hand experience about football, either through high-school or college but this is not entirely correct. The most important thing is to have adequate knowledge about the game, including the strategies, technicalities and the basic rules.
- Get Professional degrees/Qualifications - In order to work professional as a football coach in England, you need to gain qualifications from the FA which verify that you are of a suitable standard to coach. These start at the most basic level with the FA Level 1 Coaching badge which covers the fundamentals of the four corner model: Social, Psychological, Physical and Technical. This is before moving on to FA Level 2, FA Level 3 (UEFA B), FA Level 4 (UEFA A) and FA Level 5 (UEFA Pro License). The UEFA Pro License is a must have if you want to work in the Premier League.
- Get a teaching License - A teaching certificate, is required, If you want to work as a coach at a public middle school or high school. You will need to pass a licensing exam and complete the proper teaching experiences and coursework in order to be licensed.
Job Roles of a Football Coach
Football coaches are faced with a lot of responsibilities, like helping footballers develop their physical game, their tactical awareness and their mental motivation. It is also important that you strive to keep improving the skills they need to become winners.
These are other roles of a football coach;
Physical Training
One of the Job roles of a football coach is to plan and supervise training sessions to help general fitness and specific football skills. If you are the head coach, you would also need to supervise other coaches who focus on specific areas, such as defensive or offensive play, or goalkeeping. During such sessions, the players get to practice tactics for specific plans such as free kicks or corner kicks. When Competitions come up they train more to maintain the fitness of the team fort the upcoming games and but also balance intense training with recovery sessions after games.
Plan and upgrade Tactics
As a football coaches you must study the strengths and weaknesses of the opposing teams, in order to consider the best way to approach each game. You can pick days to study videos of opponents’ games and highlight important issues, such as defensive weaknesses or a team’s ability to counter-attack quickly. This would enable you to decide the formation your team would adopt and explain the roles each player must take.
Team Selection
The first eleven (11) players and the substitutes for each game are usually picked from a larger, practice squad. These choices are mainly based on the tactics they have chosen and the importance of the game. As a coach you should know when to rest your key players and when to put them on the field. Teams in contention for big titles or major trophies sometimes follow the policy of squad rotation, changing three or four players in each game, instead of retaining a fixed team. This enables you as a coach to give all team members game time, and keep the team fresh through a long season.
Game play/Game spirit
It is important as a coach to motivate your players to play at their best from the beginning of the match. You are to also ensure that the team follows the tactics and instructions given. You should be prepared to change tactics or make substitutions when the game is going bad. After the game, review the team's performance and identify any issues that they can work on in preparation for the next game.
Team Development
A coach should monitor the performance of each player during the season and take account of all the players with injuries. If you find a weak player in your team, you should recruit new players.
Team Building
As much as creating football stars and protégés is key, it’s important that your players learn team spirit. Your players may be talented but may cause damage to the team by playing as an individual instead of a team. You could involve them in group projects, as simple as painting a house together, community services, or even restoring a classic car. You don’t need to have any experience in this field, you could seek professional helps and still be part of the process.
New to Football Coaching?
Are you passionate about Football Coaching? Need a platform to gain more experience and would like to be given the opportunity to express your love and fun and have fun at the same time?
At We make Footballers we create opportunities for you to build a career in football coaching contact us today.
