Coaches Corner

- Free Newsletter

- Bob Wood Coaching pages

Correspondence – NWC cannot deal with any form of correspondence (complaints or otherwise – see Forum & Disciplinary below) if it is sent anonymously or under an alias! 

Pitch Safety - St Pats had a nasty incident at weekend and the fact that it was on the pitch that my team should have played on brings home how we should never be complacent on safety matters. Our game was called off as the Pats pitch was waterlogged but some of the Pats coaches made valiant attempts to get the game played by scooping water away in buckets. They found a 6” knife in one of the deeper puddles and buried in the pitch blade up!!! Fortunately, such incidents are rare but we must be vigilant and check our playing areas before matches AND TRAINING! This is one area where parents can really help – it’s their childrens’ safety!

Forum – the point was again made that the Forum on the website is for debate BUT NOT name-calling, points-scoring off other teams, abuse etc. Any genuine grievances regarding other Clubs should be submitted in writing through the Disciplinary Committee, BUT Disciplinary is not for issues that should be dealt with “in-Club” (i.e. a parent feeling his lad/lass isn’t being fairly treated, shouldn’t have been subbed last week etc!).

Disciplinary ­– following an incident at the Blackpool Festival where an Under 10s (now 11s) parent ran on to the pitch and assaulted a young referee, she has been handed a 4 month touchline ban and her Club (Widnes Moorfield) has been fined £150 under the “Respect” procedure. It’s an aggressive game and parents will naturally see injustices etc., but we do need to reinforce the “Respect” ideals and philosophies. Vociferous support is fine, but abuse will not be tolerated.

Team sheet – a new version is available for download from the NWC website (Emma – can you get a copy on our site?) AND MUST BE USED FROM JANUARY. Coaches’ badge numbers now have to be entered on the sheet – so perhaps a good idea to memorise your number in case you forget your badge!