Coaching resources available during lockdown period

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Football NSW Technical Director Warren Grieve has seen the current lockdown situation as a great chance for coaches to further upskill their strengths in the coaching scene thanks to an array of helpful and handy online resources.

“The power of the Internet has provided coaches with many tools when it comes to keeping up with current trends in football,” said Grieve.

“Whether that be here in Australia or around the world, I think since COVID first reared its ugly head it’s opened many online opportunities for coaches of all levels to have access to online session plans, workshops, seminars, conferences, and podcasts.

“In my opinion I still feel that there are a lot of coaches who do not watch enough football at all levels. I would encourage coaches to watch more games whether that be NPL, A-League, W-League, European leagues, South American, Asian, or International Football, there is a lot to learn.

“With the most recent Euro 2020 Championships we were exposed to teams that demonstrated both attacking free flowing football where possession was key but also interestingly there were teams that were happy for the opposition to have the ball and traps were set to win the ball back in specific areas using quick counter attacks to create and convert goal scoring opportunities.

“There are some fantastic examples and analysis of which you can easily access.”

Some of the resources Grieve mentioned can be found in the following links below:

Holding an AFC Pro Licence as well as an AFC A Licence and Advanced Coach Developer A Licence, the 42-year-old has utilised his experiences both locally with Football West (Senior Development Manager), Capital Football (Technical Director) and Manly United (Technical Director and Senior Coach) as well as abroad with Stevenage FC (Community Coach Development and Assistant Academy Manager) and being part of the Major League Soccer Player Development coaching system in leading the charge in assisting and promoting the development of future coaches across the state.

Asked what coaches could be doing, especially during this lockdown period which can put a strain on people’s mental health, Grieve had a few useful tips he’s used that has kept him up and running and on the go.

“Stay active and as tough as it can be, try and stick to a schedule and routine. It can be quite tough when working from home to fall into the trap of procrastinating or putting tasks off. It sounds like common sense but getting at least 8 hours sleep and keeping up a daily routine of between 30mins – 2 hours of exercise works wonders for me.

“Outside of Football I am an avid runner. This is the most natural way to release stress.

“If running is not your thing, walking and interval training will give you the same results. Sometimes getting motivated to do the run can be tough. I find if I get up and get ready for the run even if I don’t plan to run till lunch time, it keeps me on track, and I feel obliged to complete it as part of my daily routine.

“Whilst running, I enjoy listening to podcasts, which not only keeps me on track but also assists with my own professional development.

“During this current lockdown, below are some great podcasts and channels I have been listening to.”

Moving forward, Grieve mentioned that there were a few new and exciting initiatives that were set to be released in further enhancing a Coaches experience.

“We are looking at publishing 30min to 60min bitesize sessions targeting a specific topic from Planning a Session (Community/Advanced) to Match Day Management, as well as looking at what a typical week would look like at an elite/community club on top of how a club develops its high-performance program as another avenue of further educating our coaches.

“There’s a lot more set to come out so keep your eyes peeled on our social media platforms as we look towards taking coaching to the next level.”

Football NSW Coach Development has also gone from strength to strength and even after the first lockdown in 2020, over 20 Advanced Coaching Courses were administered across the year which had close to 20-30 candidates attending each course.

Courses are still being offered whether it be Advanced, Community and Refereeing.

This link is your one stop shop to find your desired course which you can register today.