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We are concerned that the beautiful game is in decline. Football for children is now very different from earlier generations when the only adult involvement was a call from your mum that your tea was ready. Football is no longer beautiful for our kids anymore: it's ugly.

In a world where children can no longer play outside without supervision, parents and coaches have taken over. And the competitive drive adults bring to the game means youngsters no longer have time to fall in love with football, to play for fun and thus truly to develop their skills.

Today's children learn from the grown-ups. Without the freedom of the streets, their early experiences of football are organised, supervised and coached. They have no real say in what happens, and they don't have time to develop and learn.

The problem areas are:

No longer the children's game - it is controlled by adults
The same children on the bench or omitted every game
Coaches and parents screaming from the touchlines
Winning before fun and development
Not enough free play where children can solve their own problems
Children are not encouraged to express themselves
Children no longer learn about the spirit of the game for themselves




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		Win at all costs VS Development Something Better Change Are you a new coach starting out with a bunch of bright-eyed children, and thrust straight into a seven a side friendly league? You will find a mixture of ‘win at all cost’ teams and development teams in the league and probably also a mixture at you club. Are you prepared to make that decision without any coaching and managerial experience? The system is against you from the start but hopefully this pro and cons list will make your mind up for you. ...more



		No more subs! “Play in the universal language of children” Subs in young children's football is about as natural as a moon made from cheese. But every week many kids are stood shivering by the side of a pitch, wiliing the coach to get them on. Why do we do it and what purpose does it serve? Please read the attached short article and ask yourself, is there anything I can do? ...more