give us back our game    by Paul Cooper

As coaches we should be concerned that 'the beautiful game' is in decline.

Football (or soccer) for children is now very different from earlier generations when the only adult involvement was a call from your mum that your tea was ready. Football is no longer beautiful for our kids anymore: it's ugly. 

In a world where children can no longer play outside without supervision, parents and coaches have taken over. And the competitive drive adults bring to the game means youngsters no longer have time to fall in love with football, to play for fun and thus truly to develop their skills.

Today's children learn from the grown-ups. Without the freedom of the streets and playing fields, their early experiences of football are organised, supervised and coached. They have no real say in what happens, and they don't have time to develop, learn and fall in love with the beautiful game.

We at Give Us Back Our Game feel that the problem areas are:                                   

• Soccer is no longer the children’s game - it is controlled by adults; 

• Often, the same children are on the sidelines as subs or omitted every game;

• Coaches and parents can too often be seen screaming from the touchlines;

• Winning is prioritised before fun and development;

• There is not enough free play where children can solve their own problems;

We need a game that is both child and player centred where children can be children, have fun and express themselves.

For further information about the ethos and philosophy of the Give Us Back Our Game campaign go to:

http://www.giveusbackourgame.co.uk

No Game Today

OK we have enough players
For two teams of eight.
We have jumpers for Goalposts
And a pitch we did create

We have all our soccer gear on,
The sun is in the sky,
But we are unable to play
And I will tell you why.

Jeremy Widgett’s forgotten the ball
So there will be no game.
He’s really absent minded
So we’re really to blame

For leaving this important role
In the hands of Jeremy.
We should have given the task
To Steve or Jim or Me.

‘If it wasn’t screwed on,’ his mum says,
‘Then he’d forget his head.’
I wouldn’t have minded if he’d forgot that
And remembered the ball instead.

So we then go home
Without playing at all.
We’ve arranged tomorrow’s game though
And I will be bringing the ball.

Why not hold a 4v4 Fun Day every four weeks or so throughout the season?

It allows children to experience to fun side of football, away from the pressure to win points.

• Kids ref themselves

• No coaching - let them get on with it and give them the chance to find their own solutions.

• Where possible mix the teams so they are of equal ability (much better for development, more fun and more competitive).

• 10 minute games, round robin.

Read this post on the forum to find out more:

http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/post/stevethefootycoach/vpost?id=2136673

Give Us Back Our Game

Press Release

Give Us Back Our Game was formed six months ago to highlight the problems of touchline behaviour in children’s football and to create a more child and player centred environment though small sided games, including 4v4s.

The key issues are: 

• To give children, coaches, parents and teachers and anyone else involved in grass roots football a voice by lobbying governments, associations and other organisations in order to bring about change

• To highlight the rising ‘win at all costs’ culture that is slowly destroying the beautiful game

• To give the children back their game by including ALL children, making it fun and giving them the opportunity to ‘play’

• To bring back the ‘spirit’ of the game and fair play

We want a day where the main thing that is heard are children’s voices, calling, shouting, laughing and talking. 

They will play fun 4v4 and small sided games and take responsibility for ‘their’ game by refereeing their own matches.

The long term aim is to become a registered charity that promotes ethics, child inclusion and ‘play’ across all sports so that as many children as possible can benefit.                                  

‘Play is the language of children’   

Paul Cooper

http://www.giveusbackourgame.co.uk

Give Us Back Our Game merchandise

Download links (click on the link or right click, 'save target as')

press release (as above)

poster 1 (a Word document that can be easily adapted to suit your needs)

poster 1V (an example of how poster 1 can be used. This one is advertising my 4v4 Fun Day in Lincolnshire)

Press articles about Give Us Back Our Game:

http://en.uefa.com/magazine/news/kind=128/newsid=555556.html

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sundaystartimes/4097826a22680.html

more links

Hyped-up soccer parents taking fun out of the game

"Most coaches agree that packs of parents hanging around on the sidelines puts too much pressure on young players"

In Youth Soccer, Smaller is Better!

"It simply doesn't make sense to ask young players to play the adult version of soccer"

The fun is gone, now kids must learn to play games

"Sports used to be a healthy pursuit for children, but have we turned it into a harmful obsession?"

meeting young people's needs through football

"Playing games is as vital for children as sleep: necessary for the health of their body and their mind. As children learn by playing, the central part of each training session is the practise and understanding of a simplified game."

motivation is more than a question of winning or losing

"The child at [U9] understands that winning is important, loves to compete, but does not understand winning and losing in any systematic sense. Because of this, they will not feel sad until a parent or coach informs them that they lost..."

Parents & Motivation: What's your role?

"Your children's motivation to participate and excel in a sport is something that should come from within them, not you."

a soccer coaching philosophy

"Football is just that - a game. It’s not about how many wins and losses are accumulated. And, it is surely not about how many trophies are collected."

Too Much Organization for Young Players; Let’s Allow Them to Learn With “Free Play”

"...why is it that soccer players in Latin America are so good? [is it because] they have little to no adult supervision when they are young soccer players playing in the street or park?"

more about GUBOG on footy4kids

a strategy for youth soccer player development
an alternative match day programme for youth soccer teams
attack the play of 5 and 6 year olds - or have as much fun as they do!
behaviour, misbehaviour and adult involvement in youth soccer
give us back our game
Give Us Back Our Game - from the EUFA website
Give Us Back Our Game Fun Day
Give us back our game!
hey parents, leave them kids alone
jumpers for goalposts
Kids, football and failure
small sided games (SSGs)
the McDonaldization of American soccer
total soccer for children