ChippKG

Recently I've needed to take a couple of months away from coaching. This was following a rough grassroots season with a team in a local youth league. The season was marred by a number of circumstances which created a challenging environment for me as a coach and for the players. So under the inspiration from a article I've seen Nigel Latimer write, I thought I'd spout a few words around coach-athlete and parent-athlete communication. This blog will also transcend into delivering feedback to young players and how we can incorporate challenges into this which is stuff I learnt and experienced last year. It's important to remember that what we say and how we say it can have a strong impact on a players social and psychological development. So full consideration should be given to every piece of knowledge we impart on children, this way each session can maximise effectiveness. However, many coaches have seen other coaches, parents, players teammates consistently put youn...

Last nights athletics admirers from around the world tuned in to watch Usain Bolt's last competitive solo 100m race. It was a track filled with a mixture of athletes at the beginning and end of their athletics careers. The race finished with America's Justin Gatlin and Christian Coleman taking a 1st and 2nd place finish with Usain Bolt taking the bronze. An unpopular result as Gatlin was greeted with a chorus of boos throughout the competition. The boo's were relating to Gatlin's previous drug bans, which many believe deserved a life-time ban.  As many people looked on with disgust and bafflement at the result, I had a fascination with Gatlin's performance. How could such an unpopular athlete turn a stadiums negativity into such a positive performance? How was he turning hostility into fuel?  Justin Gatlin silencing the British crowd at the World Championships last night.  Although Gatlin was semi-expecting a unsympathetic reception at the World Champ...

Throughout my teenage years, I was most certainly a pessimist; a negative thinker with a darker outlook on my sporting performance. So strap in because the point of this blog will be to show you how pessimist and negative thinking can actually help you, with an overriding sport theme of course.   "What will you do if this goes wrong?" . A challenging question that will pop into the head of most performers, whether it's based around sports, exams,work or a personal life challenge. If you're like me then you'd often overthink that very simple question to the point that it breaks down your confidence, beliefs and self-esteem. It's a natural question that can stem a prolonged self-inquisition and often stress us out and prevent us from reaching our best. It is most proven in a sporting capacity, whether it's coming off the bench, returning from injury or after missing a ‘chance’ in a game. However, many psychologists will tell you that creatin...

After only 11 starts and 2 assists throughout the 2016/17 season, Alan Shearer branded Jack Wilshere's Bournemouth loan as something that "did more harm than good". The move was the perfect opportunity for the Arsenal midfielder to showcase his return to fitness and to form. After suffering his thirteenth injury of his career, pundits, journalists, analysts and the fans are trying to identify exactly what has happened to the man who was dubed the "Savior of English football"   We can see from the clip above some of the key attributes that Wilshere brings to the England set up. These include a key turn in place, incisive passing, quick feet and link up play which are attributes that many argue he has lost through suffering multiple injuries. Perhaps Wilshere is playing with fear of injury re-occurrence or has been affected by outside influences such as personal factors, there are well documented mistakes that Wilshere has made within his private li...

Amongst the saddening news surrounding Ugo Ehiogu's death, It seemed appropriate to delve into the increasing amount of heart condition caused deaths within football. Heart conditions are becoming increasingly common in modern football society. It alarms me to see just how many athletes experience a heart abnormalities before, during or after a performance. These cardiac abnormalities can occur in any athlete regardless of age, size, medical background, gender, race or fitness. In recent years we've seen cases such as Fabrice Muamba, Marc Vivien Foe, Antonio Puerta, Milos Feher and Phil O'Donnell highlight just how sudden cardiac problems can occur. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a general term for conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels. Specifically in football, most deaths have come about as a result of cardiovascular disease or a congenital heart problem. Most of which we are unaware about.  Cardiovascular disease - smoking, high blood pre...

As we approach the end of another bleak and bitter winter, I reflect on another series of games postponed and called off due to unplayable pitches. Many coaches around England will be bracing themselves for another weekend of abandoned games and training sessions. So I've wanted to ask a question that I've discussed with a variety of grassroots coaches before. Should Grassroots Football have a Winter Break? Believe it or not, most children are not big fans of getting up at 8am on a Sunday morning to get a run around on a freezing cold,wet and boggy pitch. Even less should they be starting on the bench. Children actually get up to play football with their friends and have fun. Playing on a boggy pitch on a Sunday isn't the football that the FA anticipate and will surely encourage long ball football, less passing and increased risk of injury.  Are there better ways of doing this rather than playing on swamps of mud each week? Should we be preserving our football pitches...