Latest News

Portable Plastic goals Corners The corners are the most important part of a plastic goal. This is where the strength is needed to keep the goal in shape and prevent the crossbar from dipping and the goal looking like it is made from plasticine! The larger the goal the more this matters. An 8ft or 12ft wide goal will not...

The Outliers   In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell came up with the 10,000 hour rule, which he considers the key to success in sport, business, and lots of other fields. His argument is that it takes a minimum of 10,000 hours of practice to master a skill, with the quality of practice also being key. He refers to many...

A coach without a set of cones is like fish without water! The humble cone is the foundation of many coaching drills and it does sometimes feel like a set of cones is the coaches left arm. But what to do with those cones? There are thousands upon thousands of cone-based football drills out there and here are 10 of...

Challenge Your Players In a recent youth football game, the team I coach were 6-0 up at half time but in truth, it could have been more. About 10 minutes into the game I asked the team to retreat to halfway when the opposition goalkeeper had the ball so the opposition could practice playing out from the back. This is...

The FA has been grappling with the growing problem of bad behaviour in grassroots football for many years. National campaigns, educational programmes and increasingly strict rules regarding the issue don’t seem to have worked.  There is still a serious behaviour problem in community football — and more drastic action is needed.  This year sees the launch of a new rule...

There is nothing more enjoyable than scoring goals. So how can you score more goals? There is no magic formula, but there are some simple tips to help increase your chances of scoring goals. 1. Technique - First Touch All players must have a good first touch to get the ball under control quickly. However, the key is to make...

Does anyone remember their younger days? Football in the streets or a park from first light to last. We all have fond memories of those days but drive past any park today and it is highly likely that there won't be a football in sight! You will also struggle to find anyone playing in the street. Kids just don't do...

The UK Government’s austerity measures have taken a heavy toll on local authority finances in recent years. Councillors have met the challenge by, among other things, selling assets and slashing costs wherever possible. Essential public services are rightly being ring-fenced from these measures. But initiatives, facilities and land related to sporting endeavours have not.  And the consequences have been devastating...

Game Realistic Warmups I was at a 7-aside grassroots game recently where one team did a rondo and a short passing exercise as part of a warmup. The game kicked off, and for the rest of the game, they kicked the ball long to their striker. It left me wondering why they focused on shorter passing for the warmup when...

The recent spate of racist attacks at the top level of football is a sign that the issue of discrimination in the game never really went away. The likes of Raheem Sterling and Danny Rose have been subjected to disgusting racist abuse in recent weeks — drawing the ire of the football community, fans, and power brokers at the very...