We are excited and honored to be invited by the professional English FA to add my work to their Professional Player Insight Group. Paul Holder, a legendary figure in youth development at the English Football Association, has reached out to invite Soccer Awareness to be part of the English F.A.’s player development program. Exciting times ahead for Soccer Awareness. Read his message below:

Wayne,

The English FA is continuing to develop world class experiences for Coaches and teachers across the game and for all ages and stages. 

We have put together a “player development insights group” which is focusing on developing resources and best practice that would help coaches understand those big issues in any players’ ‘journey’ from their first touch of a football to a world cup final.

We are looking closely at ‘skill development’ and what constitutes ‘skillful play’, how coaches in the first instance recognise it and then how to coach, develop and maintain it. 

What it looks like for an individual, a small group and how it would impact on team performance. The rationale behind it all is that if the individual skills and tactics are weak, the unit (small group) will stutter and so, the team will eventually fail.

All that great work you have done over the years , particularly on the importance of ‘awareness’ ‘fits perfectly’ with our aims and objectives.

The group is impacting on courses, CPD (Coach Professional Development) events and on clubs coaching programmes and coaching philosophies.
We work mainly to serve the professional game but it is a ‘whole game message, which is going out to grassroots as well.

It would be great if we could tap into your knowledge, experience and expertise in these areas.

This would mean us forming a real collaboration which would benefit all of us. It would mean sharing ideas, best practice and of course, futures trends, all of which we would filter out to the game in a variety of mediums.

The details of how it would work, we can deal with later.

Let me know your thoughts.

Best wishes;

Paul Holder
Professional Game Team – The English FA