S4 Ep2: Player development and session design with Phil Shead

Transcript on England Football Community In this episode, we’re joined by FA youth coach developer, Phil Shead. Phil looks after five northeast-based clubs and brings with him plenty of top tips for coaches. He shares with us his journey so far and how he got to the position he’s in today. We speak in depth about the transformational power of a people-focused approach to coaching over a more task-focused one. Phil speaks about the benefits that he’s seen first-hand after he began focusing more on developing individuals. He shares advice on how coaches can think more ‘people first’ and how to support individual player development while working with a team. Phil also gives his insight into session design. We learn how coaches can use STEP to design sessions that allow their players to get better and how coaches can tell when it’s the right time to alter their session. Phil also explains the practice spectrum and how can it help player development. And we speak about small-sided games and how they can benefit players. Covered in this episode: Phil’s first experiences with football. How to help children become more comfortable in new environments. His experience in grassroots and academy settings. The key skills and attributes that make transformational coaches and effective players. The power of ‘people-first’ coaching over a more task-focused approach. What is the practice spectrum and how can it help player development? How to support individual player development while working with a team. Using STEP to design sessions that empower players to get better. The benefits of small-sided games. Top tips for working with primary-aged players. ————— Do you have any coaching questions you’d like answers to? Or perhaps you’re facing a coaching challenge that you’d like help with? Simply head over to our England Football Community forum (https://community.thefa.com/coaching/f/youth-club-football-forum/3174/coaching-problems-and-questions) and post them there. We can then put them to our guests in future episodes to get their advice! Already listened to this episode or the previous seasons of Coachcast? We’d love to hear from you! Pass on your feedback by contacting us via [email protected]. LEARN MORE The STEP framework - https://learn.englandfootball.com/articles/resources/2022/Make-coaching-personal-with-the-STEP-framework What is the practice spectrum? - https://learn.englandfootball.com/articles/resources/2023/What-is-the-practice-spectrum Why you should try 3v3 small-sided games - https://learn.englandfootball.com/articles/resources/2022/Why-you-should-try-3v3-small-sided-games England Football Learning - https://learn.englandfootball.com/ England Football Community - https://community.thefa.com/ Community forum post - https://community.thefa.com/coaching/f/youth-club-football-forum/4905/how-do-you-use-area-sizes-creatively-in-sessions England Football Learning on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCisPO86aEIhWRTnTS1vrSVw England Football Learning Twitter - https://twitter.com/EnglandLearning Email - [email protected] LISTEN Anchor - https://anchor.fm/coachcast-thefa Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4sA9fHoldaH1x5Wn3vdmsB Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/coachcast/id1591804808 Editing and show notes by Claricast.