Positive Relationships: Football - On the ball

Nursery children in Greater Manchester and Cheshire meet their early learning goals dribbling, kicking and controlling a ball at tailored football coaching sessions.

The Mini Soccer Stars coaching sessions for children aged two to five years are designed to help develop balance, co-ordination, awareness of space and listening skills.

Former foundation stage teacher and FA qualified coach Gary Lewis, founder of Mini Soccer Stars, runs the half-hour sessions in 30 nurseries and early years settings across Greater Manchester and Cheshire each week. He started the sessions after seeing that there were no opportunities in the area for younger children to play football.

'The sessions are designed for both boys and girls,' says Mr Lewis. 'When I approach nurseries to see if they are interested in running the sessions, some say they don't think it would be suitable as they don't have many boys at the setting. But girls really enjoy the sessions too and often perform better than the boys, as they tend to listen more and are focused. They take their time and are able to control the ball, whereas the boys tend to rush into things and charge round.'

The sessions are held outside, weather permitting, and cater for up to 20 children. On average, around nine to ten children attend an individual session each week. Pre-school staff are also encouraged to join in with the children to make them feel more comfortable.

Physical and emotional

The classes not only promote exercise and physical skills and improve balance and hand-eye co-ordination, but also help children to develop emotionally. 'The benefits of the sessions are obvious,' explains Mr Lewis. 'The major benefit is that they increase the children's confidence. During the first few sessions some children are unsure about joining in and playing with a ball, as they're not used to playing outdoors and spend a lot of time on their computer. But after a while they really open up.'

Children also develop listening skills and patience, while they wait for the coach's instructions.

Mr Lewis draws on his experience working as a reception class teacher and takes ideas from his FA coaching training to design a suitable programme for the sessions.

A typical 30-minute coaching session starts with a quick warm-up stretch where the children see how tall, small and wide they can be. This is followed by a lively game where the children demonstrate different actions pictured on special discs laid out on the ground.

After this, the children play various games using different-sized balls - small balls for catching and normal footballs for dribbling and learning to stop the ball. At the end of each session the children take part in a fun activity such as the Mr Men game, which involves using different actions for each Mr Men character, or a hide-and-seek game using cones and stickers.

After-school clubs

'We don't play football games, as at this age as I think it's better for each child to have their own ball that they can play with and kick around,' says Mr Lewis. 'There's only one ball in a match and not all the children would have the opportunity to even touch the ball. They would also lose interest quickly and become distracted if they weren't engaged.'

At the end of the sessions, the children who have worked the hardest or shown the most improvement are rewarded with a certificate.

Due to the success of Mini Soccer Stars, Mr Lewis is now looking to run sessions at after-school clubs around Greater Manchester and Cheshire. He also plans to start a Saturday club in response to increased demand and interest from parents. The one-hour sessions would take on a different structure and involve parents as well as children.

Mr Lewis is also currently in talks with regional charity Mediquip for Kids, which helps provide medical equipment for children's hospital wards, about running more football coaching sessions to help raise money for the charity.

MORE INFORMATION

visit www.minisoccerstars.co.uk.