Yesterday afternoon I did a FFA Grass Roots course. It took 2 hours 30 minutes. There was no cost.


I did it because I will be teaching kids in schools, anywhere from ages 7-15. Some will have never played football before. All the coaching I've done in the last 6 years or so, has been for players from 10 years and older who have already played a bit of football.

It was useful to revisit coaching from the very beginning. From the Grass Roots session I could extrapolate a number of SSGs to older players, as well as relearn how to teach kids from scratch.
This was even to the extent that some of the GR training exercises would be more useful, if modified, in a technical and game sense, compared to what many split state league senior teams training regimes currently do - running laps, doing push ups and sprints. It would also be a lot more enjoyable for the players too.

One useful point of reference is the FFA Football For Kids book , written by Kelly Cross. This was handed out to all participants in the course. There have been allegations Cross has plagiarised some of the content. Even if he as, at least there is a FFA book, free of charge, available for beginning coaches with explicit content. Apparently , Norm Boardman, one of FFA's top coaches, still uses this book as a reference point for any age group.


Given that the Grass Roots course is free, and it only takes two and a half hours to complete, I'd recommend any coach revisiting a FFA Grass Roots course.