Soccer Coach Weekly Issue 121

I recently attended the first-ever Grassroots Female Coaching Conference at St George's Park, the Football Association's national training hub.

There were more than 250 female coaches in one room. It made me a bit emotional – I knew we all existed but having so many of us in one place was pretty special.

The conference had classroom elements with some incredible presentations, outside elements that included on-pitch practicals and observations, and opportunities for group work and networking.

The day was both an incredible learning experience and a reminder of the importance of sharing time, ideas and experiences with people doing similar things to you.

It is easy sometimes to feel like we, as coaches, exist in a vacuum. We don’t. And the more we can seek out community and support, the better.

My challenge to you is to think about how much community and support you surround yourself with – then go and seek out more!

Onto this issue and we’ve got two focuses: 1v1s and recovering.

Eric Luzzi explains the benefits of 1v1s and some of the key attacking and defensive principles while Joe Kirkland offers a three-part session for younger players to develop their 1v1 play.

Our consultant coach Carl Wild explores the skill of recovering through his ‘What is…?’ series, and provides a practice alongside it.