School football has often been considered a key area, and perhaps an important missing link, for helping grow and develop the game in Australia, especially given various other countries integrate school football a lot better into their pathways for player ID and development.
To support football in schools better, MWFA coaches have run programs through Football Australia for young students to participate in as players across almost 20 different schools over the last few years, focusing on giving them a positive experience, especially if they are not already a registered player with a local club. The feedback has always been very positive from these programs, as it gives the children something different and exciting to break up their usual day at school.
We have also run several MiniRoos coaching courses at different schools for older students to help them prepare for working with younger players as part of their PDHPE classes, or just for the sake of learning about coaching, along with helping a large number of students complete volunteer hours for their Duke of Ed. We also often have teachers attend our public coaching courses, which they always find very beneficial and insightful.
Liam Chapman, who works as a primary school teacher at Narrabeen Lakes Public School, and is also a PSSA Boys’ coach, attended several coaching courses with MWFA this year for the sake of his own development, including the MiniRoos, Skill Training and a Coach Workshop.
“The courses gave me a treasure trove of effective coaching tips and the confidence to conduct impactful training. The MWFA Coach Development team were able to show me not only how to keep the players engaged through fun games, but also motivated with positive coaching tips tailored to each player’s strengths, all while building essential skills.”
Additionally, Liam took advantage of the opportunity to have one of MWFA’s Coach Development team mentor him at one of his training sessions.
“James was excellent in his role as a coach mentor. His on-the-spot coaching suggestions were practical and eye-opening, offering fresh perspectives on standard drills and how to make them more dynamic. Likewise, he was able to give me feedback on my strengths as a coach and areas for continued improvement.”
MWFA looks forward to supporting more players and coaches involved in school football moving forward, and all are welcome to attend the public coaching courses we organise as well.
For more information about coach development and support in MWFA, including courses, workshops and resources, please see the coaching section of our website: www.mwfa.com.au/category/coaching-news/
