Choosing the best football(soccer) program or club

Why choosing the best football(soccer) program or club is essential and what to keep in mind while making this decision.

by Treiner

If you are a football (soccer) player, parent or coach outside of the traditional football cultures (Europe & South America), the pathway will not be as clear as those from the traditional cultures, where football is woven into every fabric of society. Therefore in new football cultures and especially for players and coaches, it is important to figure out the best pathways and organisations to develop their skills and to further enhance their expertise in the sport. From the perspective of players, it is important to choose the right coach which will help to increase their skill level. From the coach’s perspective, it is important to understand the players strengths and weaknesses and help to develop the players skill level.

FFA has developed a website which provides you with a list of all the clubs and programs in your area. However it does not have a checklist of the things you should be looking for and questions you need to be asking when looking to join a club or training program. Following are the list of things you should be looking for and the questions you need to be asking when looking to join a club or a training program.

Checklist:

• Is the club within a suitable drive?

• Does the club have facilities for my child’s gender and/or ability?

• Are the coaches qualified and possess valid WWCC’s?

• Are the coaches parents, volunteers or paid coaches?

• Who are some graduates/alumni of the club?

• What do the current members of the club have to say about it?

• Has the club garnered a reputation for developing young talents over the years?

• If you have a complaint how will it be handled?

• Does the club have transparent policies & procedures on their website?

Questions you must ask

• Who is the coach?

• What is the present condition of the club and are they ambitious?

• Who is on the committee and how long have they been there?

• Do they have a documented development plan and process?

Besides school & club competition football, private soccer training, academies and soccer schools are often a far better option. However without the right research and comparison it can also end up a disaster, which is one of the reasons why we set up Treiner.CO. We started developing the Treiner platform in 2017 to provide some objective feedback from players, parents and teams on coaches & private providers like these academies, as well as providing the coaches and academies with a platform to better operate their business from using our software and technology.

What matters in a training environment?

It is a general misconception among sporting fans that athletes who achieve top honours in tournaments usually are the ones who are successful and achieve a level of satisfaction.

But from a footballer’s perspective, the forms of success include the experience of playing the game and competing at the top level. The experience includes training with your team-mates, coaches and how the overall environment is enjoyable. At Treiner, we have built a platform where players and coaches can achieve enjoyable and competitive training sessions which will help bring the best out of the players. Although hard work and commitment is primary to achieve success, it is important that it is combined with enthusiasm and love for the game.

The main questions that both the player and coach should be asking is whether the player is enjoying the sessions and has there been considerable improvement.

Location of the training environment

It is important to determine the location of the training as the player(s) and the coach have to mutually agree on a location suitable for both parties based on their travel time and also the mode of transportation. At Treiner, both the player and the coach are provided with the option of choosing the training ground and the suburb. Once both the parties come to an understanding regarding the location, the session commences at the requested time.

Treiner features

From an organizational perspective, it is important to be on par with the latest technology and techniques related to the field and to understand the market share. The various features Treiner provides to athletes and coaches are:

• Virtual training: COVID-19 has changed the way the world consumes offerings. Treiner offers Virtual Training sessions through Zoom and AllIn to help players maintain shape and skill while also helping athletes rehabilitate from injuries. To learn more about our Virtual training features please visit our blog- Virtual training- Training to your doorstep.

• Wide pool of coaches, programs and providers: Treiner offers a wide array of coaches, programs and providers to choose from with special emphasis on training type- 1on1, small group, team training, video analysis and strength & conditioning and the most qualified coaches in the country who specialise not only in different training types but also in a diverse age group.

Environment at Treiner

From a coach’s perspective, it is necessary that the players aim to move to the next step whatever that is, but it is also necessary that their goals are aligned with the goals of the players. A player should feel excited to arrive at training every week and give her/his 100% commitment for the training session. At Treiner, we focus on engaging players and coaches to create a better relationship for achieving success. This customer success focused or player centred approach is often very different from a club environment.

In creating a better environment, the Treiner platform gives the option to the players to select their own coaches and also provides the opportunity for players to either train individually with a coach on a specific playing position for or with a group of players along with a coach, this creates flexibility and a better playing environment.

In terms of addressing any issues that the coaches or the players are facing, both the parties can contact the support team and the company will get the issue resolved.

Coaching

Parents should be aware of the quality of coaches employed by the academy as the quality of training and impact of the training on the players depends on the coach. Coaches are often required to hold a valid Working With Children Check (WWCC) and a formal coaching license from one of the major football federations AFC (FFA) or UEFA. Usually the parents have a series of questions regarding the quality of coaching, which include:

• What is the ratio of coaches to players?

• Program structure and training sessions?

• Are the players happy with the sessions of the coaches?

At Treiner, all the coaches who have applied for the coaching role are asked to produce a mandatory WWCC and also their past experience and qualifications related to coaching. To enable players and parents to choose their ideal coach, these qualifications and past experience are also listed on the coach profile page on the platform.

The Bottom Line

It is necessary to understand that players are gifted in their own ways, have their own needs and requirements and also connect differently with coaches. Our platform helps the players customise their practice and choose the coach that she/he believes will help in improving their standard of play.

Despite the fact that on-field performance is necessary, it is also important that the players and coaches have a safe environment to practice and the schedules are managed in an efficient way in order to enjoy the game of soccer.

To learn how Treiner compares with respect to other booking softwares for football programs, please visit our blog- A comparison of booking software for Football Camps and Programs

To have a look at all our coaches across Australia, click here

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