I did a FFA Goalkeeping Certificate a few weeks ago.

The FFA Goalkeeping Licence is the same except that you are assessed. We had both combined in the course I did.

If I had been assessed I would have struggled. I find it hard to focus on the keeper all the time, when a game is on. I can't help but watch general play, so I gave a number of incorrect observations.

The course was very technical. Some saves require a different grip from times of old. One thing I learnt was that 80% of keepers' touches are with the feet, not hands.






Edited by Decentric: 1/6/2012 04:29:47 PM

I did a First Aid Certificate last weekend. This is a precursory qualification for a Sports Trainers Level 1 Certificate.

When Gregory Parker posted his training sessions, I realised I knew nothing about sports medicine and anatomy.

I have to do the CPR assessment again. I applied so much force, according to the instructor, I would have broken someone's ribs!:oops:

When I was doing the First Aid Certificate, I thought it is better to have someone being responsible for first aid instead of the coach combining the two roles. The instructor taking the course is paid as a sports trainer for aerial ping pong.

I have been doing a little bit of research and came across a document saying that an AFC C license will be recognised the same as a UEFA C license. I then went on to research the UEFA C license but couldnt find any infomation on it, It was then brought to my attention that it was called a FA level 2 certificate in coaching. This course however looks the same as out senior license course with a duration of 75 hours and a 35 minute assessment , my question is how does this compare with a AFC C license which is more similiar to a UEFA B license?

Too bad about the First Aid Certificate Decentric - I'm sure second time around you'll do it. I've got mine later this month so will let everyone know how I go :)

Victory - From what I have gathered, this is the basic structure of the licences.

UEFA Pro Diploma = AFC Pro Diploma
UEFA A = AFC A = FFA A
UEFA B = AFC B = FFA B
UEFA C (FA Level 2, other nationally recognised badges) = AFC C = FFA C
FA Level 1 = FFA Community Licences
FA introductory courses = FFA Community Certificates


The C courses are the introductory courses for the advanced streams in the UEFA and AFC confederations. UEFA countries sort out their own individual prerequisites and attainment levels for the "C" courses, and only at the B level does it really become universally unified. The AFC C level is different in that it is unified throughout the entire region.

The FFA senior license is only a "grassroots" certification. It can help you land a job coaching a community team, school side, regional side, but to make the step up to state/national level you're going to need the official AFC/UEFA C badge minimum. I would compare any of the FFA community courses as on par (speaking solely of the recognitions) with the FA Level 1 badge - That is, they're where one has to work up from to get in to the C badges (Or FA Level 2).

Edited by Draupnir: 6/6/2012 02:02:22 AM

Just got this today. Thinking about it. But don't know if I can afford almost 2k in fees.

Course Details:

AFC/FFA 'C' Licence - Victoria

Date(s) 19 October 2012 to 2 February 2013
Specifically October 2012 - 19th, 20th, 21st, 26th, 27th
November 2012 - 2nd, 3rd, 16th, 17th, 18th, 20th, 22nd, 30th
February 2013 - 1st, 2nd

Time(s) Weeknights: 6pm – 9.30pm. Weekends: 9am – 5.30pm

Location: State Football Centre – 281 Darebin Road, Thornbury, Victoria, 3071

Cost: $1,980 (including GST)

Where to from here?

1. Check the above dates and times! Are you available to attend all sessions?
Ensure you can attend on all dates and times from 6pm – 9.30pm on weeknights or 9am – 5.30pm on the weekends scheduled.

You will not be allowed to proceed with the course if you miss part of it – NO EXCEPTIONS – you will need to go on a future course if this happens.


2. Confirm your availability to attend the course by COB Wed 20 June, 2012 via return email to Anthony Grima – agrima@footballfedvic.com.au.
We will need to know how many of the current applicants are available for selection before deciding on which candidates will be included in the course.



3. Wait for a decision!

After the application process closes on July 27, we will contact all applicants with a decision. There is no pre-requisite to apply for this course but if the course becomes over-subscribed
(i.e. there are more applicants that places), then coaches with greater playing and/or coaching experience will be given preference. If you are not successful in getting a place on the course, we will endeavor to place you on a future course, but there are no guarantees. All applicants will receive communication of a decision either way.

4. How to pay for the course (if selected)

After July 27 and if you are successful in achieving a place on the course, then you will be expected to pay for the course, prior to commencement. The cost of the course is $1,980 (incl GST). For most of you, this cost would be different than the previous course fee of $1,650 which was advertised before the price change by FFA.

Thanks for that info Kriss. It's pretty pricey. Is Thornbury hard to get to from Melbourne?

Not at all, maybe 20 minutes out of the CBD. Plus everyone involved in football has either played their, coached a game their, or watched a game their at least once.

You should go for it if you can get the cash!

Thread updated with more information about the OFC. Official websites for federations added.

Updated state level information and Australian information. There's now a link to a document in the Australian section describing what course/badge is required to manage or coach at any given level within Australia. Check it out.

Latest England FA UEfA B course, all 17 candidates failed.
Either they have shit coaches or more likely very piss poor coach educators and assessors.

Wow! Do you have a link to an article or anything? I am going over to England in September/October to do a few courses (Emergency First Aid, Children's Safety, FA Level 1) so I will report back on it then. All of those are community courses though, so not the same assessors.

WOW! What an excellent thread Draupnir. You have done a fantastic job on finding all that information.

I just discovered this "sticky" today, I can only forgive myself as you started it while I was away.

It is still only $1650 here.

I spoke to the state FFA TD about people coming from other states. He seemed quite keen, but given it is now being broken up into so many separate days it is not feasible for coaches to travel interstate.

I can see too many weekend days being taken up with it. I'm still going to do it though, although I've already spent 4 days doing FFA Grass Roots, FFA Goalkeeping Certificate, First Aid and Sports Trainer Level 1 this year. I'm already sick of them. The Grass Roots has easily been the best.

Conversely, I did 8 days of KNVB Youth Certificate and every day was brilliant. The instructors, methodology and course content was light years in front of anything else I've done.

I think First Aid and Sports Trainer should be done by someone involved in a club who is not coaching. There is a lot of responsibility and it hasn't helped as much with coaching as I was hoping it would. My main concern is helping older players warm up and warm down, all with a ball, but without causing injury.

[quote= My main concern is helping older players warm up and warm down, all with a ball, but without causing injury.[/quote]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Warm-Ups-Soccer-Dynamic-Approach/dp/1591640288/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1340685148&sr=1-1

gets given out on FFF course

Just attended a FFA Community Skills Acquisition and Mentoring Program 90 minute session put on by state FFA. There was no cost.

It was taken by one of the biggest name coaches, third in the national FFA hierarchy - Norm Boardman. I've always had a soft spot for Norm for failing 442's, in fact football forums across Australia's top troller, in his refresher FFA Youth Licence!=d>

Some of NB's session had been covered in the state SAP trainer's coaching sessions. This is a pilot session being shown around Australia to encourage coaches to do the SAP courses/licences which will be offered later in the year.

It was one of the best sessions I've attended this year through FFA. Unfortunately, we only had about 6 coaches attending. This is appalling and a reflection of an ignorant attitude from too many local coaches.](*,)
There was a lot of work on warm ups through dribbling and juggling, covered in Alfred Galustian's Skill Drills in this Performance section. Then there was some 1v1 shooting attacking and defending exercise. This is where they were too many inactive players, which the state TD also fully endorsed.

One comment I posed to NB is that he had players inactively standing in lines. I suggested that they do stationary ball techniques whilst waiting for active play. He took it on board and said that that had been something he learnt from the session. As a corollary, he said that coaches should see every session as a learning opportunity. Fair play to him. He asked me what my occupation was, then stated that teaching provided great insight into football coaching.

There was some useful 3v3 SSGs in channels coaching. It is early difficult to explain on here, but I'll keep a look out for it in Dirk's Academy Sessions.

Of the courses I've done this year, I'd recommend this session to any other coaches if it is offered near you. One thing that has become very apparent is that now I'm a TD, my club officials send me all sorts of info about imminent FFA courses. When I was operating outside the FFA system, I often missed events because I didn't know they were on.

If you find it difficult to access your local SAP trainer's sessions, then this community SAP and Mentoring session is worthwhile. Then again, we have an excellent SAP trainer down here. They may not be as good elsewhere.

I can see massive changes for the better with Han Berger's tenure. Unfortunately, it will only be appraised on the results of our top 20 or so players. I think it may be very difficult to match Japan, Korea and China in the coming years from what FFA staff coaches say they see in these countries. We probably have the best coaching system in the English as a first language speaking world, now, but it may not be enough to guarantee success.











Edited by Decentric: 3/7/2012 07:18:56 PM

Edited by Decentric: 4/7/2012 12:03:25 AM

Interesting views decentric.

So are you trying to say that regardless of these changes happening, it wont make a difference when challenging with Japan, Korea in the future?

Thanks to the efforts of Bill and ken Mitchell the coaching has improved up here since the departure of you know who.
But today i was talking with some coaches today and one major problem we are having is getting the players to use skills (ie step overs) in a game.
How are you going with that decentric?


Edited by krones3: 3/7/2012 10:40:26 PM

According to FFA staff coaches, who I'm getting to know quite well since I've become TD at a club, because this is such a small state, in Japan players train three times per day. I think I'm correct, or it may be twice a day at the very least.

What they are saying is that they are training a lot more than our players, which is why so many Japanese players are sound technicians. Japan and Korea are pretty rich countries too, with a lot more money to spend on football, without egg ball codes, cricket, etc, soaking up sponsorship dollars.

From reading Soccernomics, China has all the ingredients to become the Asian superpower in football.

The Middle-east shouldn't improve as much relatively. Iran and Iraq may improve with more economic prosperity. Essentially, Arabs don't have the incredible work ethic they do in the cited east Asian countries. I doubt they have the capacity to train as much as the Japanese.


Even though we may have better coaching methodology than Ireland, Canada, Wales, Scotland, South Africa, Caribbean countries, New Zealand, England, and possibly the USA, Japan's may be better. Alf Galustian, world head of Coerver, told Australian coaches they should look to Japan for football expertise.

With the USA, they have their college system, with hundreds of thousands professional type players. It may not be as good as our elite of elite, but they have incredible depth with hundreds of thousands playing at a more professional level than our state leagues. One Aussie player at a US college thinks the coach at that player's college is decidedly better than the NTC coach that player had in one particular state.






Edited by Decentric: 4/7/2012 12:36:12 AM

It depends on the player.

Ask them to try things in practice SSGs, 1v1s are very good for this too.

If a player can body swerve on the left and right side, this is all most A League players use in matches. The body swerve is the same move as when Robbie Slater talks about specific players 'dropping the shoulder'. I can add a video if you are not sure what it is.

Norm Boardman was talking about this tonight - that some technically superb players (Viduka) just don't have sufficient acceleration/pace to go past players. This would also apply to many other Socceroos too.

One Nepalese player who has joined my club through CFP, keeps doing Brazilian rolls with both feet. I'm asking him to add a reverse step over to do in a move called the Ronaldo in Brazilian Soccer Schools, seen in Cristiano Ronaldo's flashy repertoire. If he can do this on both sides, he will really intimidate players. Whilst other players are practising Matthews Cuts with their favourite foot, I'll request him to do them with his left foot, keeping his head up, plus trying the BSS Ronaldos as well.

Another player performs the Cruyff Cut very well in games.

Looking at the club team at Norm Boardman's SAP session they are another level up from our club teams. They've been members of Ken Morton's Soccer School for some years, with a lot of former state/rep/NTC/SAP/Skillaroos players.





Edited by Decentric: 4/7/2012 12:34:45 AM

Edited by Decentric: 4/7/2012 12:39:04 AM

They will do it at practice all day it is in games that they will not use.

Krones3 sometimes the kids don't use their full range of skills due to fear. They are afraid of making a mistake. I see this often and sometimes find the need to tell kids it's a game relax and have fun.

Solutions, plenty of encouragement, plenty of games (futsal too)and plenty more practice.


Sorry I can't offer a silver bullet solution.

Thanks mate i will give it a go
Still can not understand fear in 10 year olds what is it that makes them so afraid to try?
actually makes me sad because the only thing i can think off is fear is taught.

aut viam inveniam aut faciam

Beleive it or not I have had direct experience with kids at 10yo who have General Anxiety. While fear of making mistakes at that age can also come from peers.

Hey guys, I am finally back from South East Asia so things should be back to normal (hopefully lots of updates from me, heh) until I go off to Europe in 4-6 weeks. During the time that I am back, I'll be doing my Senior Certificates and Senior License so I'll give my opinions on how they go. I am also looking at doing a few short courses over in England, but time will tell about those. If I enrol in any I'll naturally post updates.



Thanks Arthur! Hope it comes in handy!

Edited by Decentric: 5/7/2012 05:46:53 PM

Decentric I have never seen you so speechless ^ :d .

I have the following link which I have been told is the AFC 'C' License Prac book.

http://www.footballwidebay.com.au/uploads/Part%205%20-%20Curriculum%20Practices.pdf

Draupnier if this is correct maybe you can add this as an addition to the FFA C license, and I will remove this post if you do.

Cheers

Has anyone here done any of FFA Advanced pathway courses?

I've done a KNVB Youth Certificate, which apparently equates to current FFA B and C Licence content.

I think I finish my FFA C Licence in February.

At the moment it seems the FFA C Licence is more preoccupied with the numbering system. Arthur spoke about this on his trip to France. The French teams did the same thing.

Andy Jackson, I think the person who conceived this section of 442, has a FFA B Licence.

Gregory Parker, who wrote training ground modules for 442 has a FFA C Licence. He may be studying for his B Licence.

Edited by Decentric: 17/9/2012 07:42:05 AM

Numbering system?

Just finished reading and wish I had access to this earlier. These sorts of manuals surely need to be made public.
The Youth Licence provides nowhere near this sort of detail to training sessions in the manuals.
Anyway thanks Arthur, will definetly be going through this a few more times.

Edited by tjwhalan: 17/9/2012 08:54:48 PM