The Isle Of Man FA Development Team delivered the first ever FA Youth Award Module to be held in the Island recently. 

The new course, which comprises three modules, will give candidates detailed knowledge from coaching all players aged from five upwards. 

Module one was held at St John’s Football Club and tutored by FA Regional Coach Development Managers Roger Davies and Darran Bowles. The course attracted 20 local coaches with a wide range of ability and experience, who all took a wealth of valuable lessons from the event. 

The four-day course was aimed at 'developing the environment' where the candidates learnt how to look at where each child is developmentally (physically, psychologically, technically and socially) and how to package football through a number of exciting games in such a way that it fits the individual. The course contained a number of workshops around child psychology such as Self Esteem and Motivation and gave the candidates nine practical games that could be adapted to suit the needs of any group. 

The final day saw St John’s Primary School send 60 children across to the football club so that the coaches could try out their new skills.

“The experience was absolutely amazing," said candidate Martin Gilmore.

“We were working with a normal class and to see the enjoyment they were getting from the basic games was incredible.

“It was great to see the reaction of the children and we certainly didn't realise how intelligent the kids were at solving the problems that we set them. It has made me change my style of coaching completely to a more relaxed, informal approach."