How well do you know your young players?

Do you really understand what motivates them, what they find difficult and how you can help to develop them?

The FA Youth Award is a groundbreaking new coaching course designed to help coaches to understand as much about their players as they understand about the game.

As coaches, you often spend a lot of time focusing on training drills, fixtures and match days?

Wouldn’t it be great if we stepped back from all that and looked at each of our young players individually.

What motivates them to play football?
How can we build their self esteem?
How can we manage differences in age, experience, ability and attitude?
Can we create the right environment for young people to learn?
Teach them strategies for managing mistakes?
Tailor practice sessions according to age, ability, experience and maturity?

In short coach the player!

The FA Youth Module Award's
The FA has developed an exciting new range of youth coaching courses that are starting to roll out across the country through County FAs – and are available now for you to enrol on.

This new qualification, forms three parts of The FA Youth Qualification, is aimed at coaches working with young players.

The innovative FA Youth Award is as much about the how as the what in relation to working with youth players.

It is the first course that looks at the child and where they are developmentally (separated in four areas - physical, psychological, technical and social aspects) and then packages football through a number of exciting new activities in such a way that it "fits" the child and not the other way round.

This marks a progressive change in coaching philosophy, creating a truly player centred approach to the coaching and development of our young players.

Three modules are being delivered:

• Module 1: 'Developing the Environment' - focusing on the 5-11 age group.
  Innovation in coaching young players. This first of three Youth Award modules presents a child-centred approach to the development of our young players. The award recognises the important role the coach can have upon levels of motivation and self-esteem and gives practical advice to help the coaching session become an "effective environment for learning". Suitable for coaches at all levels this innovative new look at coaching will create coaches who have an understanding of children and young players as well as football.
• Module 2: 'Developing the Practice', focusing on 12-16 year old players.
  Innovation in coaching young players. Building on the knowledge learnt in Module One, this course provides practical sessions and workshops that help coaches to develop practices appropriate for the age, maturity, ability and experience levels of their players. Coaches will be expected to plan, deliver and evaluate their own, and other coaches’ practices during the course. This second module in The FA Youth Award is most suited to club coaches who are keen to improve their own personal development as a coach of young players of any age.
• Module 3: 'Developing the Player', with emphasis on the 17-21 age group.
  Innovation in coaching young players. The final module in The FA Youth Award, Developing the Player, continues the progressive change in coaching philosophy. Complementing the knowledge learnt on the preceding modules, this course teaches coaches to have a truly player-centered approach to the coaching and development of young players. The course comprises both practical and theory sessions.

With the new FA Youth Award promising to be one of the most popular FA courses yet, make sure you take your place and put yourself at the forefront of football coaching.

For further information and to enroll on a course, visit your County FA website. For a full listing of County FAs, please click here.

To enroll on Module One you will need to be at least an FA Level One qualified coach. Qualified teachers you can undertake a one day introductory module before taking Module One.