The Foundation Phase – An overview of my thoughts.

My thoughts on what a Foundation Phase should consist of.

For me the Foundation Phase should start from when the child first kicks a ball through to and including the U12’s age group.

One of the good things I believe that has come out of the England DNA is the line about the ‘Golden Thread’ that should run through a club. To truly know what you need to start with you need to know what the end point is meant to look like. Now this isn’t a debate on what is the best style of football to play or you have to ‘play the right way’. That is what makes football what it is, everyone has their own way of playing, their own thoughts on what should be done. The problem in my opinion used to be that in Academies and Grassroots different age groups played different ways within the same club. Now is that fair on the players? Will it aid players in their development with mixed messages?

Now I have been lucky in my time at Oldham Athletic that we have had some excellent guests come in and talk and give presentations on their experiences and express their opinions. One that has stuck with me is when Eric Harrison came in and spoke about his time at Manchester United. He said how he always made sure “it wouldn’t be a surprise for the players if Sir Alex came and asked for a player” It could be their only chance to impress, and their standards needed to be at the minimum expected at first team level how or you were setting them up to fail.

But I digress, for me because of the influences I have had through my coaching and the work I have done at Oldham Athletic, I am someone who believes that the Foundation phase is about the individual. Dominating the 1v1 both in attacking and defending situations and giving players experiences in all situations of the game. I was lucky in my early education to be introduced to considering 4 types of situations, the defender from front, the defender from behind, defender from the side and the defender from an angle. Having spoken with people over the years, some just see the attacking nature or the potential to isolate a skill in each of the areas.

But for the attacking nature of a player to get better, then the defending has to push and challenge them. One helps develop the other, the duel returns are massive as long as you can see how to do it. When working on each area it is crucial not to work it in isolation. In a ‘simple’ 1v1 practice as I say above you are working on the attacking attributes of one player, the defending attributes of the other, and to start the practice you can start off with a pass, which is working on passing and receiving skills. Inadvertently you are working on tactics as the attacker is learning to recognise space to attack. Defenders are also working on sending players into certain areas (showing a player inside or outside), not forgetting all the physical returns players are getting in accelerating/decelerating, changes of direction etc.

A very basic 1v1 that allows for multiple outcomes and returns. As stated above 

That 1v1 practice links into games as well. Can you manipulate any game you are playing (in training or not) to create these 1v1’s?

A 'game' which has been manipulated to create the 1v1's that have been worked on in the session. A game doesn't always have to just be a game.

Game day what should they look like?

•       Children playing – not adults

•       Being able to express themselves

•       Showing what they know and understand

•       Replicate what is being done within training (sessions are the lessons, games are the exam)

•       Do they show the traits of your club?

•       Do they love what they are doing?

•       Players are positive on the ball

•       Do they show a love for all parts of the game? Celebrate defending as well as attacking!

Rotating positions is something that has been much debated, for me this is a must. At the younger ages who can really tell what position is going to best suit a player? People can have an idea, but are we short changing the players with this type of thinking?

I am not advocating rotating positions for the sake of it. The reasoning behind it is to provide players with as many different learning experiences as possible. By playing a more attack minded player in defensive positions will then expose them to situations where they have to defend, but also, they get to experience what it feels like. Where didn’t they like the attacker going? Where did they feel comfortable? Which types of runs made it difficult to defend against? These experiences can then be used when they are back in an attacking position.

The number of players playing in the games: for me less is more. Working 1v1’s through to 5v5 in small sided games in training and warm ups. Focussing on improving each player individually – in my opinion if this is done correctly, then players will be able work well with others within a ‘team’.

As the players get older then that’s when we should be adding in more players, but I wouldn’t jump from 7v7 to 9v9 as we currently do from U10’s to U11’s I would personally go to 8v8 just by adding 1 player you are adding the next layer to the players. By adding 2 it’s a big jump. Some players can handle this, others can’t. For the players that can easily handle the adding of players, with only adding one. It’s a perfect opportunity to challenge the boys that are striving whilst not overstressing the boys who need a little more support.

To finish everyone will have their own idea on how younger players should be developed, whether that be as an individual or as a team. For me its understanding where each individual is terms of strengths and areas to work on. Having that at the forefront of your mind should point you in the right direction. During games do they show what you have been working on in training? Do they enjoy what they are doing? Do they show the traits of your team/club? For me everything interlinks individual and team. But when working with a player know your WHY for them. That will have a knock-on affect for everything else that happens. Hopefully I have been able to get across my points on how I would work within the Foundation Phase, I know it won't be everyones way of doing it. But it's A way and I believe in it.