Nick Levett
@nlevett
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Proud husband of @sportingsuccess | Coaching consultant | Developing individuals and high performing teams in sport and business.
Joined October 2010
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One of the greatest ever managers doing the absolute sensible thing and asking people with experience around him for advice. The leadership model of the “Manager as Dictator” is outdated. It doesn’t mean he HAS to do what they say btw, it’s about adding another level of insight.
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My favourite quote from Cruyff that should be shared with every coach and parent in the land... Print out, stick on noticeboards, email...!
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This is coaching.
Relational coaching that focuses on people. Communication is at the heart of it. Talk to people, like adults (in this context), not like you ‘own the team’ or them. It’s about everyone, not the leader. And similar principles for me apply at all levels.
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Word on the next step for the German youth football structure: U7-U9 will be 2v2 and 3v3, four goals and no GK. Up to 5v5 at U11 before heading to 9v9 at U13 apparently. Equal game time mandatory and no keeping score. Big statement of intent for the game there.
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The Mexican
@GaryLineker
... Gary's great but can see a job swap on the cards!
http://t.co/NIaBRJpWVJ
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The best coach in grassroots sport is nothing to do with who wins the most. It’s the one who makes the biggest difference to young people, changes lives, teaches skills they will need for life and develops better people. It’s about using sport to help the next generation.
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At some stage we may lose. If we do, don’t forget the guy on the right is a thoroughly good man. It will just mean we have lost a football match and that doesn’t define him as a person.
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However your year starts, control your own path and make it amazing. Be this kid. He rocks.
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Bielsa currently blowing peoples minds in Leeds apparently by sharing what a performance analysis dept does at pretty much every professional club with that level of resource...
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The more I read about coaching the more I think people unnecessarily complicate the process by using words that essentially makes them sound cleverer than someone else. I'm not sure it helps people get better, actually may have the opposite effect and make them disengage.
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Packing to move house and find these unworn beauties at the pack of the cupboard!! Copa Mondial 25 years anniversary mouldeds! 😍
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Never forget when coaching; if there are 18 kids in front of you, there are 18 different stories being written. Your challenge as a coach, or someone that helps that kid, is to help them achieve their hopes and dreams. Not your hopes and dreams!
@connected_coach
@_UKCoaching
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“GET RID OF IT” has got to be, hands down, the most annoying phrase I hear shouted at kids by adults. I literally cringe every time I hear it.
And I heard it many, many times this morning 🤯
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This man is fast becoming my favourite manager in the Premier League. Considering the specific needs of individuals, instilling and upholding team values (after the whole Morrison et al. COVID thing) above the needs of three points is modelling best practice at the top level.
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Many years ago at an England youth camp, I watched as the session ended & 8 staff, from doc to psych to coaches, all went onto the pitch to tidy up after the players. They moved goals, collected kit, water bottles etc. as players walked off doing nothing.
🧵 Top 5 issues here!
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Just remember when you are working with little kids, all the time you are banging on about technical stuff and tactics and all that really important coaching detail, in their heads they are playing a thumb war against themselves….
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I’m a big fan of this guy, what he does and how he goes about it. We need more people like him in the world.
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Talent development pathways are an enriching and incredible experience for young people when they are done well, when they put the fact they are a child before the fact they are an athlete.
@ManUtd
do this incredibly well with staff that truly ‘get it’. This is wonderful ⭐️
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I love this approach. Let’s see sport as a vehicle to help young people learn about different aspects of culture, talk about Italian food, geography of the country, their history. Lean on aspects have are capturing our nation, harness it, embrace it. Sport can do that.
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This quote sums up a lot of what I feel about coaching at the moment. It’s hard, complex and there is so much ‘noise’ about different theories and concepts but, in reality...:
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better” (Maya Angelou)
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Develop good people first. If they turn out to be good at sport as well, that’s a bonus. But people first.
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Nice little practice that has multiple benefits including some ball mastery returns, seeing and exploring gaps, change of pace etc. This can be progressed by adding an outcome to achieve having ‘escaped the square’ for further decision making 👍🏼
Express yourself Monday at SALA South this morning
@LeadershipNJ
@ftfc
@Mhilly6
@mike18210
@WayneHarrison9
@ftifauk
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Sol Campbell not happy because he was overlooked for a managers job. Have I missed something? Where has he been earning his stripes and learning to coach? Sorry, Sol, having played means zero!! Very different skill set required!
#GreatestFootballMind
#LOL
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You never know, one day that little kid may become a Grand Tour winner. His fire has been LIT!!
Great Sportsmanship in the Tour of Britain Today
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Frankly one of the most ludicrous things I’ve seen. That isn’t talent identification with an ounce of common sense or evidence. And who has put the story out there? The Club? Doubt it. Parents? 🤷🏻♂️
Let kids be kids & stop this pathetic race to the bottom.
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Grassroots U8 this morning. Cannot understand why coaches have to constantly stand on the pitch! Get off! Does my head in 😤🤯
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Sometimes solutions can come from seeing a problem from a different angle....!
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Attention to detail for John Stones. He takes a look away, fraction of a look back up and he’s been done by acceleration on the run. No recovery possible. Don’t necessarily ageee with
@GNev2
that it has to be about aggression but needs greater concentration at key moments.
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At what stage do The FA need to re-open discussions and consultation on shifting Mini-Soccer to play March to October? Really struggle to see the benefits of little kids playing when it’s freezing, parents stood watching and getting cold or games off every week for months 🤷🏻♂️
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Player development is not a race, it’s a long term nurturing process that is individual and should be as bespoke as possible. I would argue coach development is exactly the same... 😊
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A must-watch for any coach! So much detail! 3 highlights for me:
🙂 Watching opponent drives his technique & coaches that say “always watch the ball” maybe incorrect
🙂 Insatiable desire to keep getting better, the elite are driven by this
🙂 Tech detail of moving ball back first
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I must have heard, “Get rid of it shouted several hundred times at kids this morning, then clapped by parents/coaches when they boot it off the pitch. They do realise they are rewarding giving possession to the other team with praise?!
Flip it to, “Stay on the ball” instead!
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FA Level 1 in Talent Identification - a free online course for an insight into scouting. Great for coaches & scouts!
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Talent ID is hard. Despite some people’s best efforts, you can’t distill it down to arbitrary metrics from a young age. This lad became a
#Wimbledon
finalist. He wouldn’t fit the system for many on varied levels from physical ability to character. Don’t rule people out too early!
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This shows the importance of practicing against defenders rather than cones. Being able to identify the cues of an opponents position relative to yours, where their weight is placed in order to shift it & using that to inform your decisions. It’s not always about moving the ball.
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More than ever, as your kids come back to training, focus on all the kids playing as much as possible with the maximum amount of enjoyment. Worry less about bashing technical information out and more on creating happy memories of being back with their mates 😀
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Evidence from athletics that only 9% of athletes in the senior Top-20 were ranked in their U13 rankings in the Top-20. Implications for
#TalentID
about the dangers of early maturation/RAE and the importance of knowing the individual and what drives them.
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Coaching is about four key elements: you as a person, the relationships you develop, the environment you create and knowledge of the sport.
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Two of the most important people in all of Gareth’s staff that don’t ever get mentioned or credit are Steve O’Brien and Mike Baker. Brains behind the brains that unpick the opposition tactically and help develop game plans. Essential cogs and top, top lads
#England
🦁🦁🦁
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My son had his first U8 football tournament today. Chatting about the things he learnt and one important lesson he highlighted: “Don’t eat all your lunch by 10.30am”. Valid life lesson right there, that should stand him in good stead.
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And this is why we should do lots of possession games where pressure comes from different sides, at different speeds and in different numbers. Repetition without repetition. Sometimes multi-directional practices can help replicate certain elements of the game.
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Always smile when I hear of talent development and high performance sport programmes that either dismiss the importance of parents or think their role stops when the player or athlete turns 18. It never stops so please keep valuing, even when they are senior players!!
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After a call from a parent, I've taken the photo of the Man City U5 elite squad down. Point though is still relevant; adultification of 4-year olds, ones that couldn't tie their laces, barely read or write. Concerns also for the kids told they aren't good enough, at 4!!
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Don’t underestimate the deliberateness of Saka in the finish for the third goal. The awareness to know to lift the shot and adapt his skill to the cross was first class 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
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This is the kind of game that will help players develop agility, with cues and triggers, for finding space e.g. movement to get free on a set piece. No pretending cones are defenders!
Find the opening!
•••
Building perceptual monsters & effective decision makers one rep at a time.
#uofstrength
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Hi,
Please send this video clip to every single parent & pushy coach in every single sport.
Yours thankfully, Nick.
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First session with the new U7’s group for my son earlier. Officially a parent that coaches rather than just a coach now!! Lots of repetition of 1v1’s, with variety on each occasion, all looking subtly different every time. Peer to peer coaching to learn new tricks in the mix too.
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Overwhelmed by the messages of support and thanks after my tweets earlier. Leaving The FA after 14 years, the way its happened, is all a bit weird. Cannot believe the impact that rambling about coaching and kids has had though! Thank you. And it will continue!!
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For any coach working with teenage players/athletes, plus those into their 20's, this is worth a watch.
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You want to really understand coaching? Then read this article about a high performance coach developing people.
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First time today I had to go and ask some opposition coaches to stop shouting at kids. It was so loud, both coaches constantly shouting at the same time, poor kids had no idea what was going on.
“We are trying to bed in a pattern” was the reply.
This is U8’s. Come on!!! 😤
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This is one of the most poignant pictures that sums up mental health for me. Everything on the outside may appear rosy but on the inside things look very different.
This link takes you to a FREE mental health training course for all coaches. Please RT.
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New blog rambles...This isn't a blog about coaching, it's about me, mental health and the stuff men can't talk about.
Inspired to tell my story after watching
#ARoyalTeamTalk
and the openness they showed. Hugely empowering.
#MentalHealth
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The
@Lionesses
is not an overnight success. Growing the game and developing players started years ago, driven by people like Rachel Pavlou, Donna McIvor,
@KellySimmo1
etc. It was a generation of Skills Coaches in school changing a culture of girls only doing netball and hockey.
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If you work in a sporting system, and you know elements of it aren't right (morally, ethically or developmentally) then work your ass off to influence, change and nudge it to be different. Suggesting 'that's just the way it is' because they pay you is letting down the kids!!
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If you have a game today, try something different:
Give the Captain’s armband to someone that really deserves it, not the loudest kid or best player.
Ask the kids to lead the prematch team talk and half time and you only input 1min max.
Be a
#BraveCoach
!
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@SkySportsPL
Dear
@SkySportsPL
, I appreciate this may fill some airtime and you feel may be of interest to others but this is potentially damaging to kids and potentially not helpful either as part of a talent development journey. Please let kids be kids without added pressure. Thanks.
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Kid’s football and coaching should be about; them having loads of fun, falling in love with the game and stopping or scoring loads of goals.
It shouldn’t be about; parents ruining fun, demotivating kids or about the adult’s goals!
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In the immortal words of Beyonce, “If you like it, then you shoulda put a ring on it”, apparently. And thankfully,
@SportingSuccess
said “Yes” now to being my fiancée! 💍
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Do we:
Like to win? Yes.
Love the feeling of winning? Yes.
Strive to try to win? Yes.
However, regardless of score, it doesn’t define us, as players, coaches or parents & importantly, as people. Our identity is not linked to the outcome of a game. Keep things in perspective!
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I assume the word ‘female’ is a typo and it should have been the word ‘new’. I doubt whether it would read “appoints male chief executive” if it had been the other way round?
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Love to know exactly how much better this lad is than the 92-odd U23 coaches we have in this country? Is he exponentially better than anyone developed here? Or does he say the same things with a different accent and tracksuit? My guess is the latter is true.
The Borussia Dortmund Under-23s coach Jan Siewert is in negotiations with Huddersfield Town over their vacant manager’s job.
@SamWallaceTel
reports -
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Phil Neville absolutely nailed this. There is a bigger society piece around the game and the influence it has on young girls and boys that want to take up the sport. You cannot condone some of the Cameroon behaviour. Fair play to the girls for not lowering their standards.
"Ellen White was onside - deal with it."
Phil Neville gave a passionate interview after
#ENG
's eventful victory over
#CMR
- he did not hold back.
#FIFAWWC
#ChangeTheGame
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Coaching.
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Every coach should listen to this, LOTS. Over and over again. Simple, clear, sense from Rod.
The FA Youth Awards all influenced by Rod!
Seminal Talk by Rod Thorpe in 90's discussing skill development & motor learning principles. Combining theory into practice. True scholar.
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“A good marriage is one where each partner secretly suspects they got the better deal.”
Signed
@SportingSuccess
on a life-term contract, no buy out clause. I got the better deal!
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I would position that you need the right coaches with the right kids. Just because you have an A’ Licence doesn’t mean you are the right person to coach little kids. It’s a specific skill set. Some people are better suited to older kids, some to younger. Right coach, right kids.
In Iceland you have to have an A license to coach the little kids. They realized that their best trainers working with 6-9 year-olds is the way to go.
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Coaching the person in front of you; who are they, what’s their story, what have they been through? Do you know this stuff? It’s absolutely essential to connect and understand this in order to help people thrive. This article on Raheem Sterling is why.
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Stat: 58% of players score if they take a penalty within 1 second of the referee whistle going, but 82% of players score if they slow down & take longer.
How does this impact on the coaching process & work you do with players? Do you actively look for knowledge to shape practice?
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After conversations with 80 experts around the world, coaching practitioners and academics, we are delighted to launch the
@_UKCoaching
Coach Learning Framework. Have a read and watch of the detail that underpins this here:
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So if there is a collective belief that keeping the schools open is vital for many reasons, why aren’t teachers high up the list for vaccinations?
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FA Level 1 in Talent ID online and free to complete! Simply login with your FAN number first then access the course!
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Top Tip:
If a kid is a substitute one week, the following week that child should start the game. Simple rule to follow.
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This data should make for an interesting discussion; can we identify the specific problem(s) that needs to be solved in order to develop more and better top flight managers/coaches?
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Watch the variety and subtlety in the receiving skills used here. The value of ‘repetition without repetition’ can be seen in this montage. Observes the space the ball needs to travel into (affordance) to make a tactical outcome occur then adapts the skill to make it happen.
Dennis Bergkamp's control was absolutely insane!
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For people with an aspiration of becoming an elite coach, this is the kinda things it takes. Great article with so many gems.
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There will come a time, inevitably, that Gareth moves on. It will be a few years after that we look back & realise actually who we had leading the country was an incredible human that understood the bigger picture incredibly. Take 5mins to read this today.
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Interesting slide presented on the benefits of 9v9 compared to 11v11...yet the professional game still have a fascination about going to 11v11 at U12? Paul Holder (former Head of Coaching at Brighton) talking about how kids are not ready so why does this continue to happen?
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Development of children & young people must come above the adult coach & their ego. Regardless of whether the coach was an ex-professional.
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Please, please, please send this article to anyone that keeps banging on about learning styles. Whether it’s an NGB course, or a coach developer or a teacher in a school, they aren’t helping learning by continuing this myth!
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News of another coach leaving a talent and performance pathway after the 60-70hr weeks were getting too much. We consistently talk about athlete welfare (correctly) but we have to have a lens on coach welfare as well. They are interdependent elements that work together.
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Interesting quote by Sir Alex: How many kids in our sporting pathways from county to national age groups are selected because they are good *today* and not on the right assets for long term success?
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The irony of two photos: apparently focus on player development yet actively promotes U7 27-0 scores. Disappointing.
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Not afraid to say today has been a tough day & mentally its been a struggle. Not in a great place. But with the announcement from Boris today it’s now, as important as ever, to check in on your mates & see if they are ok. Genuinely ok. Check beyond the “Yeah I’m fine mate” mask.
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Training tonight was 630pm-815pm. I get there at 600pm to do an extra 30mins pre-training with four lads that want to do more. From 830pm-915pm I’m still talking to our centre forward with the manager and another coach.
Coaching is never just the allotted time on the grass.
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In 2012, a parent at the PL Academy I was working in complained to the Academy Director because I made his son play holding tennis balls. His son was always pulling bibs/shirts and constantly strangling kids! He said I was “singling him out” - yes, FOR COACHING!!!
⚽️ Mini balls = improved control
🎾 Hold tennis balls = no shirt pulling
↗️ Diagonal pitch = diagonal runs
👔 Thomas Tuchel is bringing a few different coaching methods to Chelsea
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As we get towards the end of the season, don’t forget there is no such thing as a “Must win” U11 game….
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Coaching challenge for this weekend: try & focus on telling the kids about the stuff that they CAN do. We are very good at saying what kids can’t do, where they are lacking & coming up short. It’s like scouts, too often they focus on the -ve.
Let’s start saying what they can do!
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