This weekend, the 5^th, 6^th and 7^th of December, sees a visit from two FA Skills coaches to Guernsey with a specific emphasis on promoting girls football for 5-11 year olds. The FA Skills coaches are employed by the FA to work full time with 5-11 year old children with an emphasis on age specific coaching. The coaches that will be visiting Guernsey are Michael Antrobus and David Rowland (click on the coaches name for more information).

Michael and David will be leading and supporting a number of events during their visit.

They arrive on Friday the 5^th of October and will begin their visit by delivering an In-service event for teachers which is being hosted at Elizabeth College Junior School (Beechwood) school from 4pm – 5.30pm. This event is free for all primary school teachers to attend and has a specific focus on coaching and teaching girls football. Any teachers who are interested should contact angus.mackay@guernseyfa.com to register, there are still spaces available.

On Saturday the 6^th, the coaches will be working with Sylvans SC at their minis sessions during the morning to help upskill the coaches at Sylvans with an informal In-Service session. Later on in the afternoon they will be involved in a Girls Football Festival from 2.30pm – 4pm at Beau Sejour Leisure Centre in the Sports Hall, this event is free of charge and any girls are welcome aged 5-11. Please contact Joelle Pengelley (Football Development Officer: Womens & Girls) for more information (joelle.pengelley@guernseyfa.com) or phone: 07781 441680

Finally, on Sunday the 7th the Skills coaches will be delivering an in-service event for coaches who volunteer at Charter Standard clubs. This will be at Northfield from 10am – 12noon and any coaches that would like to register for this should contact angus.mackay@guernseyfa.com. The topic for this session is ‘behaviour management’ and will again look specifically at coaching 5-11 year old players.

The FA Skills is a unique football coaching programme that gives 5-11s of all abilities the opportunity to get active, learn new football skills and enjoy the game. The aim is to develop better and more technically gifted football players but also to give every child the opportunity to be the best that they can be. 

The FA Skills is based on a unique FA coaching model that helps boys and girls of all abilities to grow, develop their skills and to reach their potential.  The FA four corner model encompasses four key attributes that are vital for any developing young footballer: Physical, Technical, Psychological and Social elements, helping children to develop more than just their football skills – we’ll help them to gain confidence, build self-esteem, learn to work as  team and improve their decision making.

The FA Skills delivers high quality football coaching for 5 - 11 year olds and strives to achieve this by creating learning environments that are safe & inclusive and coaching sessions that are simple, game related & enjoyable. Above all else The FA Skills programme puts the child at the heart of the learning process, in a way that is engaging and fun.

We work hard to give every child who takes part the opportunity to be the best that they can be. Based on a unique FA coaching model, The FA Skills provides a chance for children to:

• Learn new skills socially; working in groups, discussing ideas with their teammates and their coach.
• Challenge physically; fundamental movements.
• Strive technically; learn new football skills and apply them in games.
• Heighten decision making; selecting the best skill or strategy for the situation.

The FA Skills is structured in a way to make it accessible to as many children as possible. No matter where you come from or what you believe, whether this is your first step in to football, or an opportunity to add to your growing football experience, The FA Skills programme can include, support and challenge any 5 - 11 year old who wants to be involved.

The Grassroots Future Game shares many of the beliefs and philosophies of The FA Skills programme and encourages an open and fun football environment. The FA Skills provides great opportunities to the football coaches who drive it forwards, to the children who play and develop through it and the parents who actively support it.

For more information on the FA Skills Programme please visit the website by clicking here