On The Grass

What a treat we have this week for the final episode of series 2 of On The Grass. I catch up with friend of the pod and National Lead for the Foundation Phase at The FA Pete Sturgess to review England's performance at Euro 2020. We provide a game by game run down including individual performances and links to England DNA and FA coaching methodologies. We discuss underused players, Jordan Pickford, our man crush on Jack Grealish and how to win next years World Cup. I loved this chat and I hope you do too! 

Welcome back to On The Grass and welcome to Episode 5! Todays chat features Academy Coach and Entrepreneur Seb Tidey. Seb is an old friend and colleague at The FA and he provides a brilliant insight into his background and current coaching methods. Seb details player responsibility and praise playing major roles in his coaching and also boldly states that U6/U7/U8 players can never dribble TOO much. Check it out to find out why...

After a short break we're back On The Grass with Brighton Academy Coach and FA Tutor Austin Harris. A brilliant chat with a very experienced coach who shares so many tips for coaches to take into their own teams and sessions. How can you create leaders and encourage players to take responsibility? What's it like to coach and teach in Germany and how important is creating an environment for players to progress? Austin gives his views and shares his experiences. Enjoy the conversation.

This week I'm On The Grass with coaching heavyweight and 121 technical specialist Saul Isaksson-Hurst. Saul has worked across different age groups at Tottenham Hotspurs, Chelsea and now Arsenal as a Skills Coach providing individual technical coaching. We discuss how Saul has evolved as a coach and who has influenced him and his delivery. We also debate the balance and link between games based coaching and individual work. Saul also shares a couple of coaching nuggets about 'you don't have to see everything' and 'No Lines No Lectures'.... I hope you enjoy the conversation.

This week I catch up On The Grass with an old colleague of mine from Oxford United Tom Downs. Tom has coached abroad and for 3 different pro club academies at Cat 3, Cat 2 and currently with Cat 1 Reading. Tom discusses his journey and gives us all an insight into his recent studies into questioning techniques. One of my favourite podcasts, I hope you enjoy.

On The Grass is back for series 2! It's been a mad year for everyone but hopefully football is back and this series is back with a bang.... Mick is On The Grass with Mahrez Bettache, better known as Maz The Gaffer. What a fascinating young man with a great story, hear how Maz played for Fulham's academy from the age of 8 to 18 and how after being released he immediately made an impact in the world of coaching. From Staines Town interim manager to a global following of 1 million people on social media with his Risin Ballers, Maz's story is fascinating and only just beginning. Listen in to hear about his playing and coaching journey via being replaced by Gareth Southgate! Enjoy and please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Thank you.

In the final episode of series 1 I spend an hour chatting to my UEFA A Licence tutor and good friend Geoff Noonan. Geoff has had a long and varied career in the game taking up nearly every possible role in a Cat 1 academy and most recently as an FA Youth Coach Developer in the professional game. Geoff discusses how to construct a coaching syllabus and how important a varied games programme is in the development of young players. We also reflect on modern trends in the game and how they have evolved from previous tried and tested formations or playing styles. I hope you enjoy the conversation.

In the penultimate episode of series 1 i'm On The Grass with Woking FC player, director of Core Football Coaching and ex-Reading Academy coach John Goddard. John gives us an insight into these uncertain times and how it's affected his current playing and coaching situations as well as describing how he builds up the ideal session. We also discuss coaching philosophies and how this translates to what you deliver to your players in training. I hope you enjoy the chat!

In this episode i'm On The Grass with former Berks & Bucks FA County Coach Developer Mark Rivers. Rivo opens up on the changes being made to his own position due to the COVID-19 pandemic and we also discuss the ramifications of these changes to the future of English football. We also chat about his coaching journey and how he has evolved as a coach. Rivo talks about the effect the England DNA has had on his outlook on his own coaching philosophy and also describes his favourite session. Enjoy the chat! 

In the latest episode of On The Grass I catch up with Wolverhampton Wanderers Foundation Phase coach Marc McLaren. Marc shares his experiences and insights into his coaching journey from schools to coaching abroad and how he has found football to be a useful tool when relating to students in the classroom. He also talks us through a couple of his favourite sessions and goes into brilliant detail of set up and information for the players. Lots to take away for coaches working at all levels of the game. I hope you enjoy.

In this episode i'm On The Grass with constraints based coaching advocate and Fulham FC Head of Academy Coaching Ben Bartlett. In this fascinating insight Ben goes into detail about the process of attaching constraints to practices in order to try to achieve particular outcomes, he discusses practical examples of constraints that have worked for him in the past and also emphasises the importance of understanding context when applying constraints. Ben was also one of my UEFA A Licence tutors and we discuss coach education and allowing coaches to develop in competitive environments. 

The latest episode of the podcast is On The Grass with Jamie Tompkins. Jamie has worked with Brentford FC in many different roles including Academy Coach within the Foundation Phase and most recently as Community Football Development Manager. Jamie is also the Head Coach at Ascot United FC where he hopes to achieve promotion to Step 4 of the football pyramid in the 20/21 season. In this episode we discuss Jamie's coaching philosophy, his time coaching academy football and how he would like to see his players 'manage the game'. I hope you enjoy.

This episode see's me On The Grass with Reading FC Academy Coach Jac Trenchard. We discuss Jac's time in academy coaching starting off with his role at Oxford United and progressing through to his current role at Reading. Jac describes the advantages of becoming an age group specialist, how he see's himself as a coach and reflects on the hard work and sacrifice it takes to break into academy football. It was great to catch up with Jac and there are lots of great hints and tips for coaching at all levels. I hope you enjoy the chat!

Next we're On The Grass with The Football Association's Technical Lead for the Foundation Phase Pete Sturgess. Pete is well known for his work with the England DNA for players aged 5-12 years old and today we discuss how sessions need to be fun and engaging for kids at that stage of their development. We look at Pete's time as the England Futsal Manager and we also unpick session content and give coaches an idea of how practices can be structured ready for the return of competitive football. I hope you enjoy. 

Today we're On The Grass with FA Affiliate Tutor Mitch Woodward. We'll discuss Mitch's background and his vast experience in grassroots football as a player and coach, how this has helped him in his roles at the FA as a Skills Coach and now as a Tutor and the qualities that he values most as a coach.

In Episode 1 we're On The Grass with Ebun Thomas, the Lead Foundation Phase Coach at Portsmouth FC. We discuss the academy program that Ebun runs for the Foundation Phase and how that provides the players and coaches with opportunities to take ownership of their own learning. We also talk about how the program can be adapted at grassroots football and we learn a bit more about Ebun's own personal journey.