When I started to play football I was already an adult, and whilst this really doesn’t matter, I think that it can be crucial to development to start earlier so there are more chances to get into a team for regular league match play later on in their journey.
As a child I was more in my own world and I did not pay attention to current news or sport – but one time hearing about names of the footballers around at the time prompted me to remember them, so that was the start of my own sports journey – little did I know that a few decades later I would be sharing a room with many of the names that I had learned about through the kids in my classroom at school.
I have pretty good balance and that is very important to playing any sport. However due to my Autism I was naturally left out of friendship groups which made PE teams even worse as nobody wanted to pick me to have on their team. I wish that some of those that left me out could see me now!!!
Learning football for me means more than the skill moves, it’s about the history and the players and clubs that have been involved in time gone by. To learn a sport (or in fact anything really) you need to be interested in how it is played and the different terms and phrases. I think that getting to know names was just the beginning for me. You have to start somewhere.
Learning football for children that I coach is a different thing. I have coached a wide range of ages and abilities that my learning now focusses on what they need to be able to complete that move or pass accurately, to come to the right outcome of the session. The really young children I have coached don’t need to worry at getting it all right first time since they are tiny tots. For them it is about engaging them to kick a ball or to run down the line to receive it. This is where I learn from them and how they play football so I can develop their strengths and teach them how to improve their weaknesses.
Face it, we all learn at different rates and ways but when you really start learning your craft whatever it is, the processes fall into place and we all can learn from each other!