When the first national lockdown hit us in March 2020, the world stopped! For us this meant we had to cancel all of our football sessions delivered in the evenings across the south east of England.
At first, we were sceptical of how we would continue to help players develop, we were not the first to begin delivering online sessions via zoom. We had launched an online platform where players could train themselves as well as using fun challenges to keep them active and training.
We decided to test the water with technical zoom sessions, having a great turnout of nearly 100 players in the first sessions. This led us to creating full 4-week programmes which incorporated technical sessions, classroom sessions and interviews. Which I believe was one of the leading programmes delivered within the UK during the lockdown.
We have been able to continue to develop and interact with our players across the south east of England both grassroots and signed academy players.
We have also been able to work with players across the country who have contacted us to join in and delivered to teams in Australia and Japan! The wonders of technology! One of the highlights for me was when we were joined by current Ajax academy coach Jack! He was able to join us for a technical session which meant out players received direct advice and feedback from a top Dutch academy coach – this would not have been possible without a flight to Holland in normal times.
I can understand that obviously training via zoom is not the same as a live session and for some it can be a challenge to motivate themselves for this type of session. I think the most important part when we are communicating with young children is the way that we portray the opportunity. If in general are outlook and language is a positive directive this will increase the chance that the player will approach the training in a more positive manner.
It is of course not an ideal situation but the world is a far from ideal state right now – surely spending 45 minutes training on your own is better than doing nothing? Or training and putting your health at risk? Remember this is not forever!!
Children will naturally play on their own in the garden which is what zoom gives them but with the added benefit of seeing their friends and being able to receive feedback and prompts from the coaches.
We have had unbelievable feedback from parents whose children have interacted and joined the zoom sessions, for me those who interact the best are those who come with a positive mindset, which I firmly believe comes from the way that this has been communicated to them by the parents / carers.
This is a conscious decision that if you are serious about improving and developing your game then you simply must take the decision to put the work in when the circumstances are not ideal. In life you will be put into situations where things are not going how you would want them and if your default is to ‘give up’ or stop until it gets easier again how can you expect to ever succeed?
We continued to incorporate zoom sessions into our programme even when we were able to train as normal. I firmly believe that the opportunity to bring players together online will be a valuable tool for development now and also in the future when life is back to normal!
As it stands currently (4th January 2021) we are unsure as to the exact situation we will face over the next few weeks. We are also keen to follow the relevant rules and restrictions but also will always follow our own moral compasses.
We encourage everyone to join us on zoom for at least the first few sessions as we look to get a clearer picture on if our usual sessions will be starting.
Stay Safe
H