It was St George’s day today, and traditionally in York a huge parade through the city, hence our numbers are usually on the low side. Not this year, we had over 60 girls turn up and play! The football season for most may nearly be over but we have another 10 weeks of futsal coaching, bring it on!

We continued to introduce the pivot position to the players with various 1v1 and 2v2 tasks. One thing we have noticed is the way the players are getting good at using their bodies to shield and hide the ball. In the matches we forced the teams to have a high player that was locked into a set area, and couldn’t recover. We did see lots of players, including the goalkeepers looking to go long to the pivot as early as they could, fantastic to watch. This isn’t an easy topic but the girls showed great patience and we got some outstanding results, huge well done to all!

Click here to see all the pictures from the session

Player of the week for the first hour was Eddy M – She is one of the smallest in the club but she must have one of the biggest hearts. She loves tackling the bigger players and doesn’t seem to be scared of anything, amazing to watch! Great start to your futsal journey, Eddy!

Player of the week for the second hour was Lena L – Another of our newer players but starting to get used to playing futsal. She is never shy of offering an opinion and happy to answer questions. She is very coachable and already improved massively. Keep this going, Lena!

Player of the week for the third hour was Amie S – Another footballer who is slowly making the transition to futsal, and at this rate one the ladies team need to keep an eye on. A top young lady, listens and always gives her best, already making massive strides forward. Keep going, Amie!

Player of the week for the fourth hour was Connie Y – One of the newest members who joined us after her grassroots team played in the Pokemon tournament. She is quick, and we mean very quick, with a real eye for goal. Definitely one we need to keep an eye on. The future is very bright, Connie!

Final thoughts of a coach – In one of the groups this week, we had what you would call a ‘lacking in concentration’ from the players! Now as a coach this is frustrating, why are the players not hanging on every word we say, not giving 110% all the time, not asking amazing questions and trying different solutions to the problems we set? The answers is simple, they are children!

We have the absolute privilege of coaching 70 young ladies each and every week, and each one has their own ideas of why they are there and what they want out of the session – for some it is purely social, others want to be the next England captain, and most probably somewhere in between! The big challenge for the coaches is to make sure each player leaves the session feeling like it was worth attending. Yes, on the day we may ask the players to perhaps give a bit more, but ultimately we should go away and rethink what we offered – did we get the balance right, did we cater for everyone, if at all possible? We are the adults, we can change, they are children, and we must always remembers that!