The Unorthodox Guide to Coaching: July 2017

Tuesday, 18 July 2017

Curriculum Design Attempt

After the month I spent one month coaching at a football school for girls in Bacalar, I went into overdrive, looking to help as much as I possibly could going forward. That meant we needed a curriculum. Being the first footsteps in Bacalar, we needed direction, but had nothing to go with. With my time there finished, and a new wave of volunteers to come out, they need to hit the ground running.

I have never done anything like this before. I have read plenty of curriculums and designed long term player development plans, but this is another step. The first aspect to consider was that most of the coaches will be inexperienced volunteers, and so need plenty of help and guidance with their coaching and session planning. Then I had to prioritise the needs of the players. and weigh it up with what is actually possible to achieve, considering the environment in which they operate. Currently, there are just two age groups; older and younger. Most of the players are complete novices. Most of them have had no formal training before, so don't even understand the most basic of sessions, as they have no reference point. We also have to remember that these coaches will be operating in a second language.

Here's the equation; inexperienced volunteers, coaching in a foreign language (most with no knowledge of Spanish whatsoever) x novice players, lacking technically, tactically, physically, psychologically, and with little to no knowledge and experience of matches or training x hot and humid environment, awful playing surfaces, and an active and obvious discrimination towards girls playing football.

That's a lot of factors to navigate. So here's my best attempt.

6 Week Curriculum for the 8-10 Age Group