Learning and development process for Football Academies: courses, mentoring and observed sessions
Football coaches improve by planning, watching and talking about sessions. A development process that mixes licence courses with mentoring and visits keeps the academy's standard rising.
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Share your requirementsWhy learning and development process matters in football academies
Many coaches stop learning after the licence. They repeat the drills they know, and the academy's age groups drift apart. A coach who moves from under-tens to under-fourteens finds that the way he played with ten-year-olds does not work. Without a plan, growth happens only when someone chooses to attend a course.
A development process gives each coach a plan for the year. One course or licence step, regular mentoring by the technical director, a couple of observed sessions at other academies and a monthly coaches' meeting where one drill or problem is discussed. It costs time more than money, and it builds a shared language across age groups.
How to set it up
1. Review each coach's current level
Note licence, age group, strengths and one area to build. Agree one learning goal for the next year with each coach.
2. Choose courses and costs
Select the next licence step or workshop, decide what the academy pays for and what the coach commits to in return, such as staying a stated period.
3. Set up mentoring
Pair each coach with a senior coach or the technical director, meeting monthly for thirty minutes to discuss a session plan or a player.
4. Run a monthly coaches' meeting
One hour, one topic: a drill, a defending shape, a parent scenario. Rotate who presents. Record the take-aways.
5. Visit and learn outside
Arrange visits to other academies or clubs, or invite guests. The learning and development process shows how to link visits to goals.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Ask each coach what they learned in the last six months and from whom.
- Check who has a written learning goal.
- Count how many monthly coaches' meetings were held this term.
- Find which coaches have never visited another academy.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach learning and development process in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
Many do, in whole or part, with a commitment to stay for a period. Agree terms in writing before the course starts and ask a qualified professional to check how the commitment is worded.
Use peer observation, a monthly meeting, free online material and exchange visits with nearby academies. Time and a regular routine matter more than expensive courses.
Ask what is behind it: workload, confidence or disinterest. Offer small steps, such as watching a session. If the response is lasting, note it in the review and consider whether the role fits.