In a ‘how-not-to-coach’ video released by the Scottish FA several years ago, the film-makers depicted an individual who displayed all the stereotypical characteristics of the classic counter-productive, negative thinking youth football coach: Badyin McFadyen.  We all know the type.

McFadyen – played by Tony Roper, best known as Jamsie Cotter in the sitcom Rab C. Nesbitt – stands for everything that is bad about the sport.  The coach of a youth team, he shouts at his young players, discourages those who are less talented, promotes foul-play and insists upon the long-ball, hoof-it-away-from-our half, style of football.

McFadyen is a throwback to the old days of football.  The days when an under-12s team was judged by the scoreboard and the players merited on their size, rather than their ability; the days when parents argued on the sidelines; the days when Scottish football was getting it wrong and McFadyen reigned supreme.  Unfortunately, in some parts of Scotland these archaic methods aren’t quite as consigned to history as we would hope.

Thankfully, as we edge into 2008, the thoroughly modern and forward thinking SFA have been putting into action one of their biggest youth football drives ever, ebbing away from the floundering era of McFadyen and co.  And the benefits are already beginning to creep through, with one of the most pleasing success stories coming from the Kingdom of Fife, under the guise of the aptly named Fife Football Partnership.

Apt because, above all else, the project is about creating partnerships in football, between clubs, committees, coaches and, most importantly, players.  For three years now the men and women at the helm have been building relationships and implementing programmes that will allow players from as young as 3 to develop not just into quality footballers, but balanced, rounded individuals.

The scheme nurtures young men and women who appreciate the merits of enjoying the game in an ordered, sporting manner, as well as learning the importance of winning in the right way.  The tag-line says it all:  Many Players, One Goal.  McFadyen would be spinning in his angry grave.

Three of the men central to this operation are Mark Munro, Gordon Forrest and David Honeyman, who took the time out of their hectic footballing commitments to enjoy a cuppa with In The Winning Zone and tell us all about what they have achieved in the last few years.

Munro is the East Region Manager for the Scottish FA.  He explains that there are two key objectives to the programme: To set in place a structured and appropriate pathway for players and coaches, and to ensure that all the districts, clubs, schools and associations in the area work together in order to achieve this.  A task that isn’t easy to achieve.

“When we first came in we had all these associations which gave you bits and pieces of information,” he explained.  “There were so many associations who were playing with different rules and regulations, and Fife is a big area.  We really had to work closely with the areas for them to know what the SFA are looking for and which is the best player pathway for players to develop in Fife.

“At the end of the day what we are trying to do is get more kids kicking the ball, make sure they are doing so in an appropriate environment to their age and stage, to have well educated coaches and strong clubs to allow them to develop, and then have the appropriate talent pathway for them to move on.”

That pathway starts with little more than groups of 3-5 year-olds and 5-7 year-olds playing short games of 4v4, on a small pitch with tiny goalmouths, and no goalkeepers.  Purely recreational, it is a gentle introduction to the sport, for the fun of the game.  The objective is to learn the fundamentals of the game in a relaxed, enjoyable way.

“The kids go out and they play 4-a-side with no pressure or referees.  Its small and the kids mix. There are 200 kids who play each week on a Saturday morning at 4 aside,” highlights Honeyman, an SFA Football Development Officer for Fife Council. 

And he should know better than most how beneficial this can be for a young player.  He doesn’t only help to run the scheme, but his son, Jack, is a participant. 

“I go to watch them most Saturdays. They play against different kids and sometimes they get split up to play in other little teams, and there is not one parent asking about winning or losing. All the kids get treated as winners in the same way.  My wee boy Jack might never be a footballer, but he might enjoy the social aspect of being involved with his friends and getting exercise.”

From the Fun-Fours the kids then progress to Soccer Sevens from age eight onwards.  They still play on pitches with posts equivalent to their size and level of development, but it is the little tweaks to the rules that make for the most interesting reading.

The safety zone / retreating line is an addition to the seven-a-side game that discourages the McFadyen-esque tactic of belting the ball up the pitch for fear of losing possession in your own half.  It takes the form of a line marked approximately halfway between – and parallel to – the halfway line and the edge of the goalie box.

When the goalkeeper catches the ball, all opposing players must retreat behind this line.  The goalkeeper must then throw / roll / pass the ball to one of his defenders, and only when that defender takes a touch of the ball can the attacking team close him down.

Essentially, the idea is to give defenders more time on the ball, and to be comfortable with it.  All too often at youth level football the skilful players are put in attack, with the role for defenders being to take the ‘safety first’ approach: get the ball away from danger, there is no time to play a pass or carry it upfield.

“It’s really interesting because you are going to see the teams coming through who have been playing this way for two or three years play against other clubs,” says Munro.  “They will see Fife teams are playing nice football and they are not just hoofing the ball up the park.  The goalkeeper is looking for his defenders to play the ball out.”

“Previously when the goalie got the ball the young players use to turn their backs when the goalie was kicking out,” adds Forrest, also a Football Development Officer.  “There are a lot of good wee changes like that.  It’s not all perfect, it’s not all smelling of roses but it’s certainly getting there, and you can see an improvement in terms of playing against other teams.”

Another changes put in place has been a rethink of when to make the step up to eleven-a-side, the logic being that the longer kids play seven-a-side, the more their technical skills will improve as they will be getting more touches of the ball.  That step up is currently being integrated in a 12 years-old, meaning kids will have had up to eight years of development before moving up to senior-size games.

This change is all the more significant considering recent studies around the world that prove beyond doubt that playing with fewer numbers on smaller pitches is beneficial to the tactical and technical development of young players. 

The renowned Sports University of Cologne discovered that 6-10 year-olds playing 11-a-side on a full size pitch were putting in stressful amounts of work – running just 1km less on average than a typical Bundesliga player – and at the same time getting minimal time on the ball – only 20 touches per match in the case of a defender, 38 for a midfielder.  It also encouraged disjointed play with no fluency or rhythm, causing goals to be scored by breakaways or mistakes.

Compare that to 4v4s or 7v7s however, and the stats are much more positive.  Players get double the amount of touches on the ball, and, more importantly, creating an enjoyable outlet which advances the chances of success for all players, regardless of ability.

A similar study completed by the University of Abertay heralded the same results.  In 4v4 a juvenile player average 117 touches per game, compared to just 26 in a full match.

A further significant change is the trophy free environment.  Not until well into their teens do players start playing for trophies.  There is therefore no fear of losing, encouraging a more enjoyable approach to each game, as well as keeping the Badyin McFadyen tendencies of coaches and parents at bay.  And, contrary to opinion, the lack of trophies available doesn’t dissipate a desire to win, as Honeyman points out.
 
“When we talk about ‘trophy free,’ sometimes people take that as meaning ‘non-competitive,’ which is wrong.  Whether you put 14 kids on a park or 22, it’s competitive. It’s just about doing it in the right manner, and taking the trophies away takes the pressure off the kids and coaches. Every time we play it is in a competitive environment.  We are very much focused on the competition, but as long as it is done in the right manner.”

“It’s a gradual introduction to the trophy side of things to allow them to learn the game first,” adds Forrest.  “You can watch a Fun-Four game with 5 or 6 year olds, and they are very competitive, and it’s the same with Soccer Sevens – they still want to win.”

However, these are just the grass roots.  The roots – the kids – are the most important aspect of the programme, but it has only been with the endeavours of adults that this programme has come to such fruition – over 3,000 boys and girls involved – in such a short period of time.

And for Honeyman and Forrest, as well as their part-time assistant Nicola Glover, spending months of their lives as virtual door-to-door salesmen wasn’t the easiest job in the world.  The Partnership is flying now but it had to be sold first of all.  Fife is a big place, and to get every football club and association thinking along the same lines is one of the biggest challenges the pair have faced, as their colleague Munro explained.

“It’s about the joining up of associations in the areas who actually run children’s and youth football groups. We want to work closely with them to get them on the same path in terms of the rules, regulations and ages of the game, but when the development officers first started it was quite disjointed.”

Forrest continued: “There are a lot of people within football who have their own ideas of when you play for points and trophies and what ages do you do that.  It’s really just about changing peoples’ minds.  People are set in their ways and have been running their leagues for ages.

“There were a lot of slaps in the face to start with, a lot of opposition in terms of associations keeping their own identity.  It was really meeting after meeting in terms of group audiences but also individual meetings.  We were in Pittenweem with just one team presenting what we are trying to do. It’s taken quite a lot but when you see it all coming together it’s worth it.”

Forrest also says they owe a lot to the 1,000 strong volunteers and coaches who have helped make the project happen.

“The volunteers play a massive part in trying to pull all of this together. There is a committee in place running this and without these guys it would just never happen.  These guys are catering for all these people. They give up their own time to do it and we couldn’t do our job without them.”

Essentially, the programme is a lot of hard work, but it is paying off, and the greater good, as Munro points out, is looking more and more achievable.

“The kids come in at 4, and by the time they are 20 they should have had every opportunity to fulfil their potential. What we are about is making sure every kid fulfils their potential, no matter what level they are, and we are doing that through appropriate pathways and strong clubs and coaches.

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