Cambridgeshire FA Young Leaders Group
Cambridgeshire FA are dedicated to supporting young leaders in the County and run a Young Leaders Group which is for 14-22 year olds that want be more involved in providing football in the county. The group will have opportunities to develop their skills, knowledge and connections and have access to various training workshops and courses. The group help to steer and organise the various events which will be running throughout the year - a great addition to any young leaders CV to apply for university or careers!
The registration form can be found in the related documents section on the right.
The 2009 -10 series of events has now finished and we are planning for the 2010-11 Young Leaders schedule.
If you have any requests for workshops or courses you would like us to provide through the group, or any areas of support you think we may be able to offer then please contact Bev Clarkson on : 01223 209036 e-mail: Beverley.Clarkson@CambridgeshireFA.com
Here is a summary of what the group has taken part in and achieved over the last season:
Cambridgeshire FA Young Leaders attended a number of workshops starting with a welcome and introduction session for new members in October.
At the end of October a new workshop was introduced with
FA Tesco Skills Coach manager Matthew Joseph providing an insight into coaching 5-11 year olds. He took a theory and practical session where young leaders were able to look at the different methods of approach to getting the best out of a coaching session.
In November Young Leaders got an introduction and insight into refereeing through the Mini Soccer Referees course
Those attending benefitted from the knowledge and experience of Colin Hills and Bob Spiller.
At the end of November the Young Leaders were invited along to a Coaches Association workshop to gain tips from the Goal Keeping Session. This was delivered by Lance Key. Using Histon squad keepers Lance demonstrated GK skills, warm ups, techniques and GK role in the team. This practical session demonstrated the role and requirements of the team goalie.
The Junior Football Organisers Course took place at Cambridge Regional College in the easter holidays. 16 students attended from across the county and developed their skills in coaching, refereeing, organising and running a tournament. They completed the course by assisting at the Let the Children Play festival in May. Under 7s teams took part in the festival at Impington Village College with the JFO students helping with warm ups, penalty shoot outs, refereeing and general event support.
Young Leaders were introduced to Sports Science in the february half term. Kate DaCosta, Assistant Academy Director from Cambridge Regional College took time to cover subjects including sports nutrition, sports injuries, sports psychology and lifestyle. A look at the elements surrounding sport that need to be considered for players to achieve the best performance possible.
A follow up to the Coaching 5 to 11 Year Old Workshops in April allowed the students to get more practical experience with guidance from FA Tesco Skills Coach manager Matthew Joseph. Matt gave the students an opportunity to deliver their own coaching sessions to a group of 5 - 11 year olds, providing the students with coaching techniques and following this with feedback. Many of the students said this was the best experience of coaching they had had.
Tournaments
This years tournaments were:
Let the Children Play Festival in May
The Girls' and Women's Festival in June
The Mini World Cup in June
The success of these tournaments was thanks to the hard work and support offered by the Young Leaders that attended. We have had many compliments about the festivals and we would not be able to run the festivals without the support of all the Young leaders that attend. There was some outstanding work from some who dealt with difficult situations extremely well using initiative and dealing with any issues that arose very effectively.
National Young Leaders Camp
The FA organise a National Young Leaders Camp where County FAs are invited to send 2 young leaders, one male, one female, from the County FA group (They have to be aged 16 or 17 on the date of the camp). This year those selected were Ella Phillips-Ansell and Jak Hart.
Ella has been working with skills coach Matt Joseph and recently got the chance to attend the England Day at Wembley where she assisted the coaches on the haloed turf! 320 children were in attendance and then the coaching staff were treated to the England v USA world cup game on big screen TV at the stadium.
This is just an example of the many opportunities available to young people who wish to become involved in football through Cambridgeshire FA. For those that be volunteer coaches, referees, club officials, or with the view of making sport their future career, the Young Leaders group provides a great stepping stone to future success.
For further details about the Young Leaders scheme and to register please contact:
Bev Clarkson
Beverley.Clarkson@CambridgeshireFA.com Tel: 01223 209036