MWFA would firstly like to thank all 2,300+ coaches in the association for their hard work this year, and we hope everyone has been having an enjoyable season despite the challenges with the weather. As we approach the remaining few weeks, we are pleased to be able to provide several new resources coaches might want to take advantage of to help them finish the year strongly and give them some new ideas to freshen things up.
MWFA Coach Development Manager Eugene Lawrenz recently completed several new session plans and uploaded a number of new coaching videos to our website. There are now 14 session plans in total with 44 different drills, all with variations as well. Most of these include videos too, and are applicable to all ages and levels including U6s all the way up to senior men and women. Youth and senior teams could essentially use all of them, while younger players will likely find the first 6 to 10 the most relevant. See here: https://www.mwfa.com.au/coaching-resources/
Eugene also shared his most important coaching tip: “I would love to see every team just playing more in training sessions – whether it’s an actual game like 5v5, or a drill that involves teamwork, opponents, scoring, movement etc, the key is to maximise the training time you have by having everyone constantly active, making decisions and practicing their skills. Avoid laps (they could be doing ball work instead), lines (they will muck around and get less practice, so get them all involved) and lectures (it won’t take them long to switch off because they just want to get back to playing, even if what you’re discussing is important).”
Eugene also added his most valuable trick for being a great coach regardless of the level: “Can you get your message across and influence their behaviour in a game or game-like exercise (this can be achieved using methods you would’ve picked up on courses or workshops like using Q&A, demonstration, highlighting role models etc)? This is what you want anyway – if they can execute it well in a training game, they’ll be able to do it in a real match too. Drills are a tool, not the objective, so if you can get them running around while playing more and still developing their skills (which is definitely possible), they’ll have more fun, try harder and get better, and not just go through the motions. This is what makes a great coach, even if you don’t necessarily have a lot of knowledge or experience. Can you give them a fantastic experience so they keep coming back?“
For any coaches keen to take their coaching even further in the off-season, we also have a Foundation of Football course taking place across 3 nights (Monday September 2, 9 and 16), with limited places still available. This course is about giving coaches the opportunity to practice, collaborate and receive feedback, and it is a lot of fun along with being fully practical. It will give coaches a deeper understanding of what and how to teach core skills, and is also the pre-requisite for the C-Diploma. See here for more details and to register: https://www.mwfa.com.au/events/foundation-of-football-cromer-park-3/
We would like to wish all coaches and players the best of luck for the remainder of the season, and thank you again for your hard work.
