To see an example of one of the categories of the practical FA Level 2 course with real life example sessions for, Running with the Ball

Below are the 16 categories of the new FA Level 2, ALL of these categories are covered fully, which you can access by becoming a member.

1. Short Passing
2. Long Passing
3. Receiving Priorities
4. Turning
5. Running with the ball
6. Support Play - forward runs
7. Support Play - around the ball
8. Forward passing
9. Dribbling
10. Defending when matched up
11. Defending and delay
12. Finishing - close range
13. Finishing - long range
14. Defending Heading
15. Attacking Heading
16. Goalkeeping

It might be useful to outline what is considered a technique, how and why it develops into a skill and then progresses to a conditioned 4 v 4 game.

TECHNIQUE

A technique is a basic building block of football. For example a technique is when a player is able to pass the ball, long, short, dribble, shoot from distance, control the ball etc. The more opportunities the player has to practice these techniques and the better a player is at mastering these basic techniques of the game, the more chance they have of improving as a player.

SKILL

A skill is when a technique is used successfully when pressure is applied by an opposition player. So for example, a player might be able to successfully control the ball when it is dropping out of the air when there is no pressure on them. But can they do it successfully when pressure is applied from an opposition player.

To be able to improve players techniques, we need to be able to provide practices and sessions that focus on improving players specific techniques. To develop and improve one specific technique, the session will also require the player improving other linked techniques. This technique needs then to be tested, by applying some form of opposition, which makes it a skill.

CONDITIONED 4 V 4 GAME

Then the technique and skill need to be further tested in a 4 v 4 conditioned game. The game should be structured in such a way as to provide the players with lots of opportunities to practice the theme of the particular topic, i.e Close range shooting. Whilst the basis of the game should be 4 v 4, the numbers do not include goalkeepers, servers or conditioned floating players. So for example a game to develop close range finishing should involve a 4 v 4 situation, should include goals and goalkeepers, should involve a pitch size that would encourage lots of close range finishing opportunities and might include serving or floating players and maybe floating players who can play for whatever team is in possession, but are conditioned not to shoot. The floating players provide the team in possession with an overload situation, that they can use to their advantage so there are lots of close range finishing opportunities.

In August 2007 the English Football Association Learning Department introduced a new practical coaching curriculum for the FA Level 2 Coaching badge. This is radically different from the old FA Level 2 course and provides coaches who are taking or considering taking the FA Level 2 Coaching badge with a challenging, innovative and interesting educational experience.

The curriculum is designed to help coaches coach the basic unopposed techniques of football, develop these techniques into skill practices. The skill practices should be designed to pose questions of the players abilities and decisions to select and implement the correct technique when under pressure from opponents. Finally, the skill should then be progressed to a 4 v 4 game, that can include floating players, serving players and goalkeepers, which allow the players to further develop their techniques and skills in realistic game situations.

Unlike the previous FA Level 2, there isn't a set series of practices and sessions that the candidates on the FA Level 2 course must adhere to. The premise of the new practical course curriculum is to lay down a foundation of practical topics, help candidates understand how the structure of the sessions should encourage the players to have lots of opportunities to use and develop the technique of the specific topic, to highlight the key technical factors involved in each topic and then challenge the decision making process of the players use of the technique by developing the technique session into a skill and then onto a game.

The new FA Level 2 badge challenges the coaches to think for themselves, be innovative and design, plan and then coach their own sessions, using what they have learnt on the course as a foundation for this process.

But, for many coaches taking this FA Level 2 qualification, there is a great deal to take on board. Not only do they have to play in the sessions, take notes and understand the structure of the sessions and how these are related and linked to the topic. But, they also need to be able to understand and apply how and why the key technical factors are applicable to each topic and how these technical factors need to be progressed into a skill that challenges the decision making process of the players. The candidate then has to coach all the techniques and skills in a 4 v 4 conditioned game. In addition, the candidates have to then design their own technique, skill and game session and coach them on the internal and external assessments on the course as well as coaching them at their own clubs.

One of our football coaches Mike Trusson said the following:

"As a FA Qualified Level 2 Tutor I attended a number of induction courses where the new practical curriculum was explained and demonstrated. I have also now delivered a number of FA Level 2 Courses using this new curriculum and there is no doubt in my mind that the new Level 2 is a far better course. It is much more relevant to football, it is far more interesting, dynamic, innovative and exciting. The end result is coaches who go back to their clubs far better equipped to provide and stimulate players with exciting sessions that will better develop technical skills and sessions that are structured to progress the players learning through posing real, match like situations that test their decision making process in the correct use of these techniques and skills.

Whilst tutoring on the new FA Level 2 courses, I was struck by the fact that the candidates on the course had a lot of new and different coaching information to contend with and precious little in the way of educational support, outside of the practical demonstrations on the course, to help them with learning, planning and implementing the coaching sessions that form the new practical curriculum.

The information contained within the online educational resource is structured to the requirements of the new FA Level 2 practical curriculum and whilst the sessions are suggested practices, they lay down the principles and the structures that candidates will be taught on the course. Each topic has its own online video tutorial along with down loadable print outs of the sessions. In addition, as a member of grassrootscoaching.com, you will have full access to our easy to use design software Coaches Chalkboard, which will allow you to plan, design, save, share and print your own innovative sessions, which is a major requirement of the new FA level 2 badge . "