Can Anyone Support My Apprenticeship Scheme?

'Around one in five young people in the UK are not in work, education or training. Youth unemployment costs the UK economy £10 million a day in lost productivity, while youth crime costs £1 billion every year. With this in mind we extend our experience to help offer opportunities to support the youth of today - help support me to make a difference!'

TWSports.Org offers great opportunities to develop coaches

Over the past 7 years of running my business, TWSports.Org, I have always supported & provided opportunities for young coaches.  Many of these coaches are now working full time for me while some have secured jobs at the IFA.  Others are coaching in America & Australia!  I want an official Apprenticeship scheme set up that supports my business & offers paid qualifications for young coaches.

Over the years I have worked hand in hand with organisations like the Princes Trust & supported other young people.  I'm all for supporting & offering people second chances but my biggest frustration is there is limited support for those young, law abiding citizens from low income families.  If you do something stupid & find yourself on the wrong side of the law you will be generally offered your coaching licences for free or paid for but there doesn't seem to have anything in place for other young people.

Below is an email I have sent to DEL along with the Jobs & Benefits Office.  Along with training young coaches I want my business to be recognised & also for my young coaches to have their qualifications paid for or part funded.  Or, if you are reading this & feel that you would like to sponsor my business to be able to offer this to young school leavers please get in contact.  Simply pick up the phone & dial, 07740120788 or email me.  Young people are the life blood of our future economy.  If we don't support them or offer opportunities we are at fault.  Here is that email...

Valencia Coaching Clinic

The Spanish philosophy & training methods are high in demand with them being current World Cup & European Championship winners.  Along with the success of fellow club sides Real Madrid & Barcelona.  Valencia visited Belfast to operate clinics for local children & coaches.  TW Sports hosted an event in conjunction with organisers Saffron Sport.  Below you can read about the clinic along with some background about this famous Spanish club.

From left; Manel (Valencia), Tim Wareing (Director of TW Sports), Glenn Murray (TW Sports coach) & Jose (Valencia)

Valencia

Although Valencia deserve the credit as much as Barca & Real.  They play in La Liga & are one of the most successful & biggest clubs in Spanish football & European football.  Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups (which was the predecessor to the UEFA Cup), one UEFA Cup, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, & two UEFA Super Cups. They have also reached two UEFA Champions League finals in a row, losing to La Liga rivals Real Madrid in 2000 & then to German club Bayern Munich on penalties after a 1–1 draw in 2001.  Valencia were also members of the G-14 group of leading European football clubs.  In total, Valencia have reached seven major European finals, winning four of them.

In the all-time La Liga table, Valencia is in third position behind FC Barcelona & Real Madrid.  In terms of continental titles, Valencia is again the third-most successful behind the two, with these three being the only Spanish clubs to have won five or more continental trophies.

Valencia were founded in 1919 & have played their home games at the 55,000-seater Mestalla since 1923.  They are due to move into the new 75,000-seater Nou Mestalla in the north-west of the city in 2013.  Valencia have a long-standing rivalry with Levante UD, also located in the City of Valencia, & with two others club in the Valencian Community region, Hercules CF & Villarreal CF.

Valencia are the third most supported football club in Spain, behind only Barcelona & Real Madrid.  It is also one of the biggest clubs in the world in terms of number of associates (registered paying supporters), with more than 50,000 season ticket holders & another 20,000+ season ticket holders on the waiting list, who can be accommodated in the new 75,000-seater stadium.

Session Plan

Registration for players & coaches took place from 9.30-10am.  The Valencia coaches, Jose & Manel, arrived early to set up.  Over 30 local children & coaches attended the event.  Many from my Academy attended along with some of my coaching team.  It was nice to see many other children from our Mini Soccer programme come along with children from other local grassroots & Irish League sides.  As always Northern Ireland mentality means so many other children & coaches don't bother to attend an excellent opportunity like this!  Was great to see a coach travel up from down south to attend the clinic too.

After a light warm up & fun game of tig in the 18 yard box they then divided the players to operate keep ball.  This took place in a series of small 5 x 5 yard areas playing 4 v 1.  The duration of the warm up & introduction was approximately 35 minutes before stopping for water.  After this Jose & Manel split the groups.  They worked with 14 children in each group.

Jose briefing the players using the i-pad

Pressing & Come Back

Jose used an i-pad to explain the session & draw out the session plan using a football pitch app.  The players embraced the new technology & way of explaining.  We would see them refer back & use the i-pad on a regular basis to get across explanations to the players throughout the day.  The session took place on half a pitch with full size goals.  The pitch was divided in half & goalkeepers were used.  The basic set up was 3 defenders in one half with 3 attackers in the other half.

One team had to always keep their defenders in that half while the other team had freedom for the defenders to join in with the attackers.  The scenario Jose was trying to create was a tight game whereby one team was winning 1-0 & wanted to keep it tight while the other team were chasing the game.  This was a nice session & you could see the players looking to press as a unit.

Jose would add different restrictions to challenge the players.  The session operated for 30 minutes before players stopped for water & swapped groups.  We then followed the same group to see Manel's session.

Shifting

Manel worked on half a pitch with 2 full size goals & quartered the pitch.  He was concentrating on 'shifting'.  He used the i-pad to help explain to the players what he wanted.  Players were not allowed to tackle, only intercept.  The team out of possession was encouraged to pressure ball while the team in possession started with 3 touch play.  The main concept was when the ball was lost players were told to drop back & shift in relation to the ball.

This was a nice game that developed players understanding of their role when not in possession of the ball.  The Spanish teams don't get enough credit for their hard work & pressing to win the ball back.  This session offered an opportunity to the players to see how disciplined the Spanish are in relation to what each players role is when not in possession of the ball.

FIFA Street

The session took us up to lunch at 11.45am.  The players were given an hour to eat & rest.  After lunch Jose & Manel selected 4 teams to play 'Fifa Street'.  This offered players freedom to play.  They didn't shout or tell them how to play the players were simply given control & freedom of their games.  The only rules were maximum of 2 minute matches or goal the winner.  Winning team stayed on or if it was a draw both teams replaced.  The only other requirement was to make a pass before scoring in the other half.  They used the 18 yard box as the pitch & 5 aside goals.

This was probably the only bit I didn't like in terms that 2 teams were always off & 'ineffective'.  I would personally prefer to have all teams involved.  Although thinking about it & putting myself into their shoes in Valencia it is very hot & they want teams to receive recovery so I guess this is why they did it.  From my time in Holland & Portugal the European approach is that they like players to watch players.  They feel it offers opportunities to learn & if a player likes a move that a team mate tries they are more likely try to replicate it with possible variations.

From the small sided games they then operated a circle drill.  3 players were in the middle trying to gain possession of the ball while the outside players had to make 10 passes with a restriction to 1 or 2 touches.  They rotated players in the middle every 30 seconds.  This led us into the final part of the session for the day.

Local coaches observe & take notes

Space Management

Jose took the final session of the day based on space management.  On half a pitch with 2 full size goals he set up 5 different coloured boxes.  He had one in every corner with a central box.  The main objective was to pass into 2 boxes then play off central box before scoring.

This encouraged players to look for space & use width.  Jose would also at times call out certain colours if he wanted to dictate play more.  The players worked hard at this & I really liked the session as it focused on players finding space & good ball retention.

You can watch some footage I recorded of Jose & Manel working with the group by clicking here.

Interview

After the session I had an opportunity to interview Jose & Manel.  We spoke about youth development in Spain & Valencia's philosophy as well as covering touch line behaviour comparisons & on training methods.  You can watch the interview here.

Review

I'm passionate about sharing ideas & continuing my education in football.  What a treat to spend a day with Valencia & I can't thank Jose & Manel enough for their time & insight.

They coached within the game & only in snippets.  This got players thinking for themselves.  Coaching really isn't a case of screaming all the time & telling players what to do.  Let players search for the solution themselves & you'll notice a real difference long term.

Massive thanks to Saffron Sport for organising & Gareth for offering us opportunity to host the day.  Thanks of course to everyone who supported the event & for my coach, Glenn, for his assistance on the day.

If you want to hear about future pro club clinics or club visits please keep in contact & connect with us.

Want more info?  You can access over 450 of my session plans by clicking here!  Follow me on Facebook, Twitter or You Tube

Periodisation, Possession & Switching Play

Sundays Academy session was influenced by Raymond Verheije (current periodisation coach for Russia) & notes I'd found on some session plans from Jose Mourinho.  I adapted them to suit my group & to keep the session along the same feel so it had natural progressions.  The players enjoyed & responded well to the session.  It challenged them which is always the outcome we want as coaches for them to problem solve.  The quality improved as the session developed.

We always have to remember we are coaches & we need to plan a session but also have the freedom to change or develop where need be.  At this time of year it is difficult to establish how many players I will have to work with.  This sometimes bugs the life out of some coaches but we should be able to adapt.  Always remember the fun stories of Paul Cooper (from GUBOG) when he told us about the coach that had the 12 players for his session then little Jimmy walks over the hill & he is pulling his hair out as he is 'one player over'.  Crazy.  The session plans I will share with you below allow many changes from playing 5 v 5 to 8 v 8 in sessions to adding a neutral player in the session.  Always adapt.  For the record I had 15 players in.

After my initial warm up of dribbling & ball familiarisation exercises we performed a series of group juggling games.  The first 20 minutes is light & allows players to loosen up which is important as they are different ages & have different needs.  Some have also started the pre-historic 'pre' pre-season sessions of 3 hours of physical abuse!  So we have to be careful.

5 V 2 Periodisation Game

Emphasis

Ball possession based around periodisation.  Overload then build up to 5 v 5.

Set-Up

Session takes place on a 20 x 20 yard area.  5 attackers v 2 defenders.  Have 3 players waiting to be fed into session to build up to 5 v 5.  The coach should have a supply of balls to keep the game moving.

Objectives

Simple possession game where players develop their skills of passing & supporting each other.  Players in possession should try to pass to teammates.

Simple, early passes should be delivered & after having delivered the pass, players should adjust their positions so as to receive a return pass if necessary.

The team that starts with 2 players receive an additional player every 30 seconds.  The coach lets them know when to join in every 30 seconds as follows;

0.00 - 5 v 2 (2 touch)

0.30 - 5 v 3 (3 touch)

1.00 - 5 v 4

1.30 - 5 v 5

Progressions

1. Set target of passes to be awarded a goal.
2. One / two touch play.
3. Add target players on the outside of the grid.
4. Rotate groups to suit squad size, i.e. 3 groups of 5, work 2 & rest 1.

Coaching

• Movement on / off ball.
• Work rate on / off ball.
• Create angles.
• Protect ball.
• Communication.
• Quality passing.
• Positioning.
• Passing combinations.

This was a nice session & due to timing the session we worked in periods of 2 minutes with recovery.  Quality rather than quantity.  We started with an overload 5 v 2.  The first group was slow to get going as their decision making & poor movement off the ball to create an angle for team mates was lacking.  With having 3 groups of 5 players there was opportunity to work 2, rest 1 & the quality improved second time round.  The group that wasn't involved worked with my assistant 3 v 2.

I always like to have my coaching area set up so there is no waiting for the players.  The first 2 parts of my session worked easily in a 20 x 20 yard area in one of the corners of my 40 x 30 yard pitch.  After concentrating on possession I wanted to continue the theme but encourage a point of attack along with the focus on switching.  This worked perfect.  With my group of 15 I had the option of playing with 10 (3 v 3 with 2 sets of outside players) & rest 5 players then rotate.  Rather than doing this I decided to adapt & play 5 v 5 in the middle with one neutral playing with team in possession.  They looked to combine & attack either side of the pitch to their wide man.  The person that made the pass to the side player replaced them keeping the game competitive & played to a high intensity.

3 V 3 Playing To End Lines

Emphasis

Possession game focusing on shifting the point of attack & switching play.

Set-Up

Vary the size of the grid to suit your players & what you want from the session.  Larger grid offers further distance for players to cover but smaller sized grid offers less space for turning & keeps the session game realistic.  Players have less time on the ball & will help decision making.

I've carried this session out in a 20 x 20 yard grid.  The players have to play quick & always look over their shoulder before receiving!

Have a supply of balls with the players on the outside to keep a high tempo to the session.

Objectives

Team that has the ball tries to keep possession by playing from one side of the pitch to the other.

A point is awarded for each successful pass to an outside player then switch to other side.  Teams can play off same side to keep possession but are only awarded a point for each successful switch.

Keep score to add a competitive side to the game.

Develop so player that passes to outside player replaces them - always rotate!

Progressions

1. Increase / decrease size of grid.
2. Limit touches.
3. Change scoring to encourage passing sequence or certain passage of play.

Coaching

• Movement.
• Quick combination play.
• Change of direction with the ball.
• Communication.
• Support play.
• Decision making.

This was carried out to a very high standard & I was extremely happy with the quality of play.  I wanted to build & progress this along with focusing on the killer pass.  I still wanted to continue the theme of width but wanted to see the ball played into an attacking area that focused on the weight & timing of pass & run.

Switching Point Of Attack Encouraging Width Through Full Backs

Emphasis

Attacking play through encouraging width & support from full backs.

Set-Up

40 x 30 yard pitch, with 5 yard end zone at either end & 5 yard channel for full backs to operate in.

5 v 5 is played in middle with a neutral full back on either channel.

Have a supply of balls around the perimeter of the pitch.

Objectives

5 v 5 is played in the main playing area with 2 unopposed full backs in either channel that are neutral & play with the team in possession.

Score by playing the ball into the scoring zone, player must not arrive before the ball but must time their run to control in end zone.

Attack either end & use either full back to keep possession & encourage width.

Progressions

1. Rotate players roles.
2. Restrict touches for full backs.
3. Add a neutral player in the main playing zone.

Coaching

• Forward runs.
• Timing of runs.
• Create space.
• Quality passing - weight & accuracy + forward pass.
• Movement & work rate on / off ball.
• Decision making.
• Combination passing.
• Communication & understanding.

Again I adapted to suit my group size.  I played 6 v 6 in the middle zone along with a neutral player.  With adding the neutral full backs on either side this offered all 15 players involved.  1 or 2 players struggled with the timing of their runs at the start.  For example they arrived into the scoring zone before the ball.  I wanted to keep the session game realistic so added the off side rule for any player arriving into the end zone before the ball.  Again I was happy with how the players performed.  Only on a few occasions did I decide to stop the play to really get across my coaching point.  In most cases it was due to giving away possession too easy through making a difficult pass when a better option was on, i.e. the full back or playing back & starting again.

As always I wanted to take the technical & theme based session into a tactical game.  The introduction of 6 small sided goals still offered the focus on switching play & the players enjoyed finishing with a game.  This also offers players an opportunity to problem solve themselves without a coach going in & stopping it every few minutes.

8 V 8 Game With Focus On Width & 3 Goals

Emphasis

8 v 8 game with focus on width & 3 goals.  Team shape & changing the point of attack encouraging play through full backs.

Set-Up

30 x 40 yard area.  8 v 8 + a neutral full back on either side of pitch.  3 mini goals are positioned on either side of the pitch.

Supply of balls spread around pitch & with coach.

Objectives

Each team has 3 goals to attack & 3 to defend.

Look to score in any 3 goals with support from fullback encouraging width & changing the point of attack.

Look for good rhythm in possession, when to switch & when not to.  Also when to penetrate & when to be patient.

Progressions

1. Rotate players roles & organisation.
2. To encourage sharper passing limit number of touches on ball.

Coaching

• Width - look to switch (when & when not).
• Use of full back.
• Create attacking options.
• Decision making.
• Shape.
• Work rate & movement on / off ball.
• Quality passing & finishing - don't force it.
• Positional play.
• Communication & understanding.

After the session we had a quick debrief & cool down.  Always ask your players open questions so they can start thinking for themselves rather than always offering the answers & solutions.  We need to create a new breed of young players that think for themselves & play with flair, creativity & freedom.

Let me know how you get on if you use with your own team.  Always feel free to re-post & share as long as you link back to my blog.

Want more info?  You can access over 450 of my session plans by clicking here!  Follow me on Facebook, Twitter or You Tube

Football coach joins Telegraph team to help boost apprenticeship drive

At TWSports.Org we always look to support young coaches & offer opportunities of on the job experience.  We also have internal training along with club visits across Europe.  Below you can read our feature in the Belfast Telegraph.

Feature in the Belfast Telegraph

On-the-job training...an open goal if you want to get ahead

There's nothing better than getting on-the-job training & real life experience.

That's the view of Tim Wareing of TW Sports, whose business has become the latest to back the Belfast Telegraph's campaign to create 100 apprenticeships in 100 days.

The ethos of learning & training on the job is one which applies to the sports field as well as more every day workplaces.

Indeed Mr Wareing (33) started his career training to be a travel agent, which he combined with NVQ II & III classes at then Castlereagh College.

But his business, which has become his life's work, is training football coaches & providing soccer programmes for young kids, including toddlers.

He is also the author of Toddler Soccer, The Essential Guide To A Toddlers First Steps In Soccer.

Mr Wareing, who has been recognised by Invest NI for his entrepreneurial achievements said he had been impressed by the commitment to sport & learning shown by the young people who have been trained by him.

That led him to be a firm believer in apprenticeships.

"I'd definitely back the Belfast Telegraph's campaign to create 100 apprenticeships in 100 days, because I'm a big advocate of learning on the job.  To take someone & give them experience on the job as well as getting them the teaching is wonderful.

"When you combine the passion people have for football with learning, it's a great combination."

Mr Wareing coached at Lisburn Distillery between the ages of 24 & 30 & also became the club's academy director.  He achieved his UEFA European A coaching licence at 24, but his career began differently.

"My background when I left school was in travel, but when I was made redundant at the age of 26 I set up TW Sports."

Yet working at Globetrotter Travel hasn't been wasted in his present business environment.

"It was this position in an independent agency that offered me the experience of how to operate a business - dealing with the public, making reservations, customer care, marketing & all the other jobs that operating a small to medium-sized business."

Now he is happy to ensure other people can get equally valuable training working alongside with him.