Football Coaching

[syston_fox]

6 hours ago, Bert said:

Tournament season started for my lads team today. 
 

Played in the level 3-5 at Loughborough Dynamo. Great venue and really well ran. 
 

Got all the way to the final and lost to a level 1 side.

 

Another tournament to go at tomorrow at Birstall United but a much tougher task as it’s mainly filled with level 1 sides but could be a good learning curve for them all. 

I thought I spotted you as we were driving off.

 

I take it you lot played that Benfica side? We spotted their results and was clear they had entered the wrong level. (I know the organisers and they will be gutted that that happened.... The coaches of that side would have known  what they were doing when they entered into that though! )

 

We were in the u9 group. Had a rough group stage and then came to life in the knockouts. Got to our final and lost 2-1. The heartbreaking thing is that the winner came from an error. Ball played back to our defender and he trod on the ball and fell which let their striker in on goal. Horrible way to lose as had been a great performance and even game. 

 

Well run tournament throughout. Only gripe is that we played one team who were a disgrace and should have been kicked out. Had a player removed for swearing at the referee, their team kicked out at some of our lads and one player went through our defender. Got warned and then 30 seconds later he put in an even worse challenge - studs up into his leg. Aggressive and intentional. Magically their coach "didn't see it" and "he must have slipped" . Thankfully they got knocked out very quickly as were crap at football and relied on bullying 

 

[Bert]

13 hours ago, syston_fox said:

I thought I spotted you as we were driving off.

 

I take it you lot played that Benfica side? We spotted their results and was clear they had entered the wrong level. (I know the organisers and they will be gutted that that happened.... The coaches of that side would have known  what they were doing when they entered into that though! )

 

We were in the u9 group. Had a rough group stage and then came to life in the knockouts. Got to our final and lost 2-1. The heartbreaking thing is that the winner came from an error. Ball played back to our defender and he trod on the ball and fell which let their striker in on goal. Horrible way to lose as had been a great performance and even game. 

 

Well run tournament throughout. Only gripe is that we played one team who were a disgrace and should have been kicked out. Had a player removed for swearing at the referee, their team kicked out at some of our lads and one player went through our defender. Got warned and then 30 seconds later he put in an even worse challenge - studs up into his leg. Aggressive and intentional. Magically their coach "didn't see it" and "he must have slipped" . Thankfully they got knocked out very quickly as were crap at football and relied on bullying 

 

Yes mate that’s them. Don’t get me wrong a good side and absolutely no fault of the children they were in that level. The annoying thing is there was a higher level tournament at the same age group at the same venue at the same time and I’ve absolutely no doubt they’d had a good shout at winning that one as well. You can hardly blame the organisers either, obviously they had no idea about them being from Walsall. The worst thing about it all is that it can be so demoralising for the boys and the exact opposite of what football at their age is supposed to be about. 
 

Gutted to hear your lads lost in the final, even more so when it comes through a mistake but I’m sure you’re proud of them for making it all the way to a final. I’m pretty sure one of my mates lads plays for you. 
 

Unfortunately as well, you’re going to get them sort of teams but karma always strikes and them getting knocked out was that karma. 
 

Onto Birstall today, I’ll just be happy if the boys are competitive and score a few goals because it’s a big step up in level today, but at least we are ready for that. 

[Bert]

Really enjoyed that one, maybe a bit more so than yesterday. Whether it was the minimal expectation I don’t know.  
 

Our boys missed out on a semi final spot by a single goal, on goal difference. They really seemed to up their game against higher level opposition. 7 games played, won 2, drew 2 and lost 3 and the biggest defeat was only 2-0.
 

They were the lowest level team in there so can come out with huge amounts of credit, even more so after yesterday’s rollercoaster. 
 

Another well ran tournament, decent facilities (apart from the parking) and everything seemed to run smoothly. 
 

Sporting Loughborough level 3-5 tournament up next for us on the 13th June. 

[Kinowe Soorie]

We are only currently, doing our club tournament.

There has been some ridiculously high level teams that have entered our one.

Teams have blatantly lied about what level they play at. One of teams lads has just been signed by a Prem team 

[snoopy87]

Poor group stage for us yesterday at Peterborough, finishing bottom without a point, which was tough on us as the ref made an absolute howler in the first match which gave the oppo a winning goal towards the end. Had to have a word with them after the final group game at the side of the pitch because we just weren't doing anything. Parents had spent a good chunk of money and driven early to get there and the lads just weren't putting the effort in.

 

Queue the semi-final and something resembling football broke out from us. Put our foot on the ball and never let them in, constant pressure on them, earning us a 3-0 win. Went on to win our final 2-0 and won the "Bowl" section of the tournament. We were easily the better side than those we played in the knockouts. Having checked the results when I got home, 3 of the 4 sides from our group won the knockout trophies. So you could say we were in the dreaded group of death. Was group D as well!!!

 

Really well run tournament at Peterborough by Play on the Pitch. The opportunities for a trophy wherever we finished was really good as well, gave every team there a chance to go at something. The medals are the best I've ever seen as well. Obviously you get what you pay for, but we've spent more playing on King Power with precision pass with only one trophy up for grabs and I'd say this weekend was so much better.

 

Ashby Ivanhoe for us next Sunday. Two mixed groups then split down into a Europa League and Champions League depending on how you finish. On the hunt for more silverware.

[syston_fox]

I'm still not over the final defeat on Saturday . Think it's just because of how proud of them we were to get there and to then see their faces when the final whistle went. Tournaments are brutal on the kids as the parents all really get into it (which is great and creates a fantastic atmosphere) but then creates the painful low for them. Character building and all that. 

 

We had a penalty shoot out in the semi final and never been so nervous watching my lad step up to take one (especially as we had missed our first.) Last season he was a goalkeeper and penalty shoot outs were his chance to shine, not so much fun when he's taking the shot!  

 

We've got Groby, Thurmaston and Riverside tournaments still to go! 

[snoopy87]

27 minutes ago, syston_fox said:

I'm still not over the final defeat on Saturday . Think it's just because of how proud of them we were to get there and to then see their faces when the final whistle went. Tournaments are brutal on the kids as the parents all really get into it (which is great and creates a fantastic atmosphere) but then creates the painful low for them. Character building and all that. 

 

We had a penalty shoot out in the semi final and never been so nervous watching my lad step up to take one (especially as we had missed our first.) Last season he was a goalkeeper and penalty shoot outs were his chance to shine, not so much fun when he's taking the shot!  

 

We've got Groby, Thurmaston and Riverside tournaments still to go! 

Our first ever tournament ended in penalty heartbreak last year, to a side we'd beaten comfortably in the group stages. Was an Easter tournament as well so had to wait ages before we could go again, so I know your pain. Tournaments do bring the whole side together, more so on my part as I never really get to spend much time with the parents socialising on match days as we're opposite sides of the pitch. The drama of it all as well in the latter stages bring out the best (and worst) of teams as well.

 

Watched my son miss many penalties. We entered a tournament at Halloween, ended up going through most of the side in the final to the point he had to go and take one (wanted nothing to do with it). Stuck it right in the top corner to win us the trophy. Funnily enough at the same tournament this Easter against the same side in the final in another penalty shootout, he smashed it straight into the keepers gut! 

 

We're at Thurmaston as well, so may come across you.

[syston_fox]

2 hours ago, snoopy87 said:

Our first ever tournament ended in penalty heartbreak last year, to a side we'd beaten comfortably in the group stages. Was an Easter tournament as well so had to wait ages before we could go again, so I know your pain. Tournaments do bring the whole side together, more so on my part as I never really get to spend much time with the parents socialising on match days as we're opposite sides of the pitch. The drama of it all as well in the latter stages bring out the best (and worst) of teams as well.

 

Watched my son miss many penalties. We entered a tournament at Halloween, ended up going through most of the side in the final to the point he had to go and take one (wanted nothing to do with it). Stuck it right in the top corner to win us the trophy. Funnily enough at the same tournament this Easter against the same side in the final in another penalty shootout, he smashed it straight into the keepers gut! 

 

We're at Thurmaston as well, so may come across you.

Potentially! Which side are you with? It's our first season and so started at level 5 and coasted through that. Got promoted to 4A and think we finished with something like 5 wins, 5 defeats and 2 draws. 

 

We try to play level 3 teams in friendlies and always been competitive, winning more than we've lost. I think the only difference between level 3 and 4 is the consistency really of doing it every week. 

 

What are people's thoughts on game time during tournaments? So hard to get a balance right when you have such mixed abilities! We try to make it fair in the group stages but then once knockout starts, it's really hard to change something when a game is on a knife edge. A squad of 10 in a 6-a-side tournament was an absolute killer. 

[Bert]

1 hour ago, syston_fox said:

Potentially! Which side are you with? It's our first season and so started at level 5 and coasted through that. Got promoted to 4A and think we finished with something like 5 wins, 5 defeats and 2 draws. 

 

We try to play level 3 teams in friendlies and always been competitive, winning more than we've lost. I think the only difference between level 3 and 4 is the consistency really of doing it every week. 

 

What are people's thoughts on game time during tournaments? So hard to get a balance right when you have such mixed abilities! We try to make it fair in the group stages but then once knockout starts, it's really hard to change something when a game is on a knife edge. A squad of 10 in a 6-a-side tournament was an absolute killer. 

I think it’s all about equal game time in tournaments. I as a parent wouldn’t be happy if one person got more time than other, whether it was my lad getting more time or not. 
 

We have a squad of 9 which is too much for 5 a side. During the normal season we’ve been having 2 lads have a week off on a rota basis which has worked really well.

 

The tournament Saturday was a bit better as it was 6 a side and we only had 8. Knowing we were guaranteed 4 games the coaches again rotated so each of the boys got 3 full games and sat out for 1 of them. In the semis and the final each of the lads got equal game time. 
 

Into Sunday we had our full 9 and knowing we had 7 games, they all got 3 and half matches and should they have made the knockouts their game time would’ve been evenly split. 
 

I was there early yesterday and caught the end of the under 8’s final. One boy got subbed on and off within 2 minutes, didn’t even get a touch of the ball and came round to his dad absolutely distraught. 
 

 

 

[snoopy87]

16 hours ago, syston_fox said:

Potentially! Which side are you with? It's our first season and so started at level 5 and coasted through that. Got promoted to 4A and think we finished with something like 5 wins, 5 defeats and 2 draws. 

 

We try to play level 3 teams in friendlies and always been competitive, winning more than we've lost. I think the only difference between level 3 and 4 is the consistency really of doing it every week. 

 

What are people's thoughts on game time during tournaments? So hard to get a balance right when you have such mixed abilities! We try to make it fair in the group stages but then once knockout starts, it's really hard to change something when a game is on a knife edge. A squad of 10 in a 6-a-side tournament was an absolute killer. 

Whetstone Athletic. Been getting beat comfortably at our level lately, so we're probably in your boat as a lower 3B / higher 4A currently. Been really difficult as we have some very good and capable players who can play higher, have played higher, but the weaker lads are probably playing above their level.

 

Our parents are very aware of this, so when it comes to tournaments I always go equal in the groups, then its a case of who is more on it if we make a knockout. They all get at least half the match anyway, I never keep them off for longer as that's not fair. One of my parents is very honest and open and tells me not to play her kids if she thinks they haven't been performing. I think it all depends on your group and how they feel. Mine are more for the greater good so the boys can try and win a trophy.

[NuneatonFox1]

Just finished my 5th season with my boys team. 
 

Kids grassroots coaching is without question, the most thankless and painstaking job of all time 

[syston_fox]

On 19/05/2026 at 08:39, snoopy87 said:

Whetstone Athletic. Been getting beat comfortably at our level lately, so we're probably in your boat as a lower 3B / higher 4A currently. Been really difficult as we have some very good and capable players who can play higher, have played higher, but the weaker lads are probably playing above their level.

 

Our parents are very aware of this, so when it comes to tournaments I always go equal in the groups, then its a case of who is more on it if we make a knockout. They all get at least half the match anyway, I never keep them off for longer as that's not fair. One of my parents is very honest and open and tells me not to play her kids if she thinks they haven't been performing. I think it all depends on your group and how they feel. Mine are more for the greater good so the boys can try and win a trophy.

Are you the Tigers or Panthers? 

 

We've drawn the Tigers in the group stage of that tournament. (I'm with Queniborough) 

[snoopy87]

7 minutes ago, syston_fox said:

Are you the Tigers or Panthers? 

 

We've drawn the Tigers in the group stage of that tournament. (I'm with Queniborough) 

Just seen the email. Yeah we're the Tigers.

 

Some decent teams there. That AP boys are playing up a year. They'll make the final, most his side are signed up on pre-contracts with Leicester and Derby

[snoopy87]

On 17/05/2026 at 20:05, Kinowe Soorie said:

We are only currently, doing our club tournament.

There has been some ridiculously high level teams that have entered our one.

Teams have blatantly lied about what level they play at. One of teams lads has just been signed by a Prem team 

Which club are you with if you don't mind my asking?

[snoopy87]

Lost out in the quarter finals of the champions Cup side of the draw at Ashby yesterday. Did really well in our group until our final game were we came up against a side from out Stoke way. They clearly had a few of players in their side who were older. I have 2 big lads in my side, these lot towered over them amd were just built differently. Finished 2nd in our group amd were brilliant in our quarter, should've score more, but ended 1-1 with them scoring in the last minute from a punted ball in. Some dubious decisions and ever more dubious time keeping in this game sent it to penalties. Lost out on the lottery but really happy with how the lads performed. Properly got stuck in everywhere and tried playing football. Was really good to see.

[syston_fox]

End of season awards:

 

Main awards are managers player, parents player and players player.... 

 

We're an under 9 team and same player has won both parents and players vote. We were going to give him managers player but feels wrong that one person is taking all three at this age especially as there is a good mix of talent in our squad. 

 

Politics looming! 

 

 

[SystonFox]

On 02/06/2026 at 11:09, syston_fox said:

End of season awards:

 

Main awards are managers player, parents player and players player.... 

 

We're an under 9 team and same player has won both parents and players vote. We were going to give him managers player but feels wrong that one person is taking all three at this age especially as there is a good mix of talent in our squad. 

 

Politics looming! 

 

 

I've got parents player, managers and players all winning the one. Not having a lad clean sweep, or even take two so i've changed my managers and parents (unfortunately) as I felt the boys would talk about voting at some stage so that one can't be rigged.

 

luckily voting was tight on supporters player so we gave it to the second placed kid and managers player had to be moved as he had already won players at a canter.

 

we are also doing most improved and clubman of the year too.

 

next year I want to opt for Goal of the Season.

[syston_fox]

6 hours ago, SystonFox said:

I've got parents player, managers and players all winning the one. Not having a lad clean sweep, or even take two so i've changed my managers and parents (unfortunately) as I felt the boys would talk about voting at some stage so that one can't be rigged.

 

luckily voting was tight on supporters player so we gave it to the second placed kid and managers player had to be moved as he had already won players at a canter.

 

we are also doing most improved and clubman of the year too.

 

next year I want to opt for Goal of the Season.

We do: 

Coaches player

Parents player

Players player

Most improved

Golden boot 

 

We're gonna ditch golden boot and have "goal contributions" or something like that next season so assists get rewarded as much as goals. 

 

I'm actually glad we're doing golden boot this year though as our top scorer has 56 goals so deserves some recognition as 37 goals more than anyone else including some absolutely stunning goals to claw us back into games when we've been dead and buried. 

 

We've tweaked the parents player award in the end and then one player will take two awards, and then three others will take the rest. 

[syston_fox]

Dodgy team in our tournament at the weekend. They entered the lower level (3-5) tournament rather than the higher (level 1 and 2). They battered everyone in their group and we ended up with them in the knockouts. 

 

Spoke to their coaches before the game and asked what level they play at. They didn't have a level because they had handpicked the best players from two Saturday league teams and didn't know how they would do so went into the lower one. Absolute joke. They would have won the higher level one let alone ours. 

 

They knew what they were doing and it just meant we were playing for second place.