We were back to our 4 hour block after the Easter break, with a few players missing due to a local football match. Even so, numbers remained really strong, which was great to see.

After watching recent games in Leeds and Bradford, it became clear that players weren’t fully using the width of the court. So, today’s session focused on encouraging that spatial awareness. We split the court into three channels, two narrower wide channels and a central one, and challenged players to ensure all three were being used when in possession.

In the final third, we didn’t divide the space, and instead had a discussion with the players around why? We want to see them attacking the second post and finishing those chances!

The players really rose to the challenge. We saw fantastic effort and huge improvements in how they used the court’s width, with some brilliant second-post goals as a result. As a coach, it’s so rewarding to see players take ideas on board and genuinely try to implement them in their play. A fab session from so many of them!

Players of the Week:

First Hour – Ania G
Ania was brilliant today! She’s so good with the ball at her feet — effortless in her running and able to glide past players for fun. She’s a joy to watch! On top of that, she has such a big heart, never backing down from a challenge, even against players twice her size. A fantastic session, Ania — keep it up!

Second Hour – Emily W
Another player who looks so comfortable with the ball at her feet. Emily stands defenders up and, nine times out of ten, beats them with ease. Even better — give her a chance in front of goal, and the ball will almost certainly end up in the back of the net. A great day, Emily!

Third Hour – Connie W
The more we see of Connie, the better she gets. She worked incredibly hard today, making some great runs and passes, and she’s never afraid to take a shot when the opportunity’s there. She’s strong in possession and always looks to bring her teammates into the game. Keep up the great work, Connie!

Fourth Hour – Molly G
Molly — officially the club’s toe-poke queen! Give her even a sniff of goal and it’s game over. That said, she met her match today… Coach Chris decided he was prime Emiliano Martínez and shut her down! Don’t worry, Molly — you’ll have him picking the ball out of the net next time!

Final Thoughts of a Coach…

This season, we’ve noticed a drop in numbers. I’m not exactly sure why, but as someone who runs a club, it’s always a worry—what if we run out of players?

I’ve taken some time to reflect on possible reasons, and one area that stands out is the growing number of private football academies offering extra sessions and matches, especially for girls. These aren’t grassroots clubs, but private ventures with their own setups.

Now, as a UEFA B qualified coach in both football and futsal, I completely understand the benefits of additional training, the more time spent developing skills, the better. But, and I say this with respect, some academies are making promises they can’t keep. I’ve heard from parents about constant coach changes, rising costs, and a general lack of consistency or enjoyment for the girls. Not all academies are like this, and I can’t speak for the ones locally from personal experience, but this is feedback I’ve received from both parents and fellow coaches.

At our club, my priority is simple: put the girls front and centre in everything we do. We aim to give every player a fair chance and never promise something we can’t deliver. Honestly, I hate having to charge for coaching at all, and if we could run things for free, we absolutely would. We know times are tough financially, so offering true value is more important than ever.

I’ll leave you with a bit of recent feedback that really meant a lot to me:
“Thank you for all you do for the girls. They really are lucky to have you as their coach, you make each and every one feel truly valued.”

Until next week,
Coach Chris