Back to the Roots: A Definitive Guide to Grassroots & Football Development

Shaji Prabhakaran

Description

The book presents an insight into football development and every aspect of it is comprehensively covered with a special focus on grassroots football. Back to the Roots illustrates in detail the player development process, underlining and envisaging key aspects required for the successful and sustainable player development pathway. It highlights the importance of football in schools and training academies for young talent. The author, being associated with the game and its development for many years, presents a road-map for making football an integral part of the school education system. With an emphasis on the role of leadership in football development for bringing in a change or developing the game from every aspect, this book is a must read for everyone involved with the beautiful game – be it budding players, administrators, fans, policy makers, parents, coaches as well as young and old enthusiasts of the game.

Sujets

• Sport
• Sports collectifs
• Rugby & Football américain
• Rugby
• Éducation
• Infrastructure
• Game
• Parent
• Leadership
• Offside
• Player
• Football
• Coaching
• Field
• Development
• Recreation
• School
• Academy
• Training
• Administrator
• Grassroots
• Enthusiasm
• Coach
• Beginners
• Sports
• guide
• EPS et coaching

Informations

• Publié par: Roli Books
• Date de parution: 19 avril 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9789351941910
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 8 Mo

Extrait

BACK TO THE ROOTS
 
BACK TO THE ROOTS
A DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO GRASSROOTS & FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT
SHAJI PRABHAKARAN

 
ROLI BOOKS
This digital edition published in 2016
First published in 2016 by The Lotus Collection An Imprint of Roli Books Pvt. Ltd M-75, Greater Kailash- II Market New Delhi 110 048 Phone:++91 (011)40682000 Email: [e-mail] Website: www.rolibooks.com
Copyright Shaji Prabhakaran
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic, mechanical, print reproduction, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Roli Books. Any unauthorized distribution of this e-book may be considered a direct infringement of copyright and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
eISBN: 978-93-5194-191-0
All rights reserved.
This e-book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated, without the publisher's prior consent, in any form or cover other than that in which it is published.
 
CONTENTS
Preface
Foreword
1. Football Development: A 360-Degree Perspective
2. Grassroots Football: The Lifeblood of Football Development
3. Steps to Grassroots Football Success
4. Coaching Environment in Children's Football
5. Basics of Planning in Grassroots Football
6. Role of Leadership in Football Development
7. Fundamental Aspects of Player Development
8. Talent Identification & Management
9. Football in Schools
10. Conditioned Games
Acknowledgements
References
Index
 
PREFACE
'Playing football is very simple, but playing simple football is the hardest thing there is.' Johan Cruyff
F ootball is constantly evolving and the standard of the game across the globe is persistently on the rise. The gaps among the football-playing nations from different continents are narrowing and, of late, it's quite visible-be it in the inter-continental championships or the FIFA World Cup or various leagues across the world. The game is getting highly competitive, cut-throat and narrowing of gaps is the result of the heightened development work, carried across the globe by multiple organisations. In football, developing a game through multiple interventions and programmes are one of the primary responsibilities of its various governing bodies, clubs and other organisations, pertaining to the game across the world. Over the years, billions of dollars have been pumped into football development and many more billions or a trillion will be invested into the game on a regular basis in the coming days. Thus, it's quite important and fundamental to ensure that every dollar spent on football development should have an impact towards the society and football. Although football is the most popular, most-watched and the most-played sport in the world, there still are enormous opportunities and windows for the game to grow in many parts of the world. Therefore, football development can't ever take a backseat and the development work has to be the foremost priority for every organisation associated with the game, be it national football associations (FAs) or village football committees or clubs. One must not forget that grassroots and football development are the most important components of the game's development spectrum where football always remains a source of entertainment, leisure and fun, apart from being an enjoyable, socially inspiring, creative and a very fulfilling activity for countless millions.
The aim of this book is to promote precise knowledge and greater understanding of football development with a special focus on grassroots-level football. The author believes that investing in grassroots football helps in achieving educational, social, health and sporting benefits, apart from the impact it has on the game. Therefore, the broad view should be of that without strengthening and promoting the game at the grassroots level there can't be any holistic football development per se. No doubt, football is continuously evolving, getting highly competitive and has been commercialised to a great extent over the years. In these circumstances, it's very significant that one doesn't lose focus from the grassroots or football development.
It shouldn't be forgotten that grassroots football has played a significant role in promoting and developing the beautiful game to the highest level and at the same time played an important role in social development as well. The base of the football pyramid should always be broader and wider, and if this base is meticulously nurtured then football can achieve a sustainable growth. It's also quite important to understand that a slew of past and present professional football icons like Pele, Garrincha, Diego Maradona, Roberto Baggio, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Kaka, Ronaldinho, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are the finest products of grassroots football developments in their respective countries.
Football development has many elements into it and all its aspects have been covered, and grassroots football has been elucidated at length in this book to present a broader concept. My objective behind writing this book is to present a complete and comprehensive understanding of football development as the knowledge gained from it will help millions to create and run the game in a meaningful way. It may also help in understanding how this can be achieved by keeping a focused approach and following simple principles and a national philosophy. Moreover, my foremost intention is to further strengthen the beautiful game in order to make football one of the best mediums and a vehicle for peace, social harmony and social development. It's needless to say that football has a number of positive impacts and effects on both the physical and mental health, apart from the personality development of a participating individual.
Grassroots football is the root of all kinds of football developments and if its made more efficient and better, then the highest level of professional football will automatically become stronger and grow bigger. The sound health of grassroots football and an all-round work with football development determine the quality of the overall football health, which is bound to flourish in the future. Thus, the objective of football development is to create a better foundation so that the game can prosper at all levels and can achieve tangible benefits. It's a well-known fact that leaders are the change agents in every aspect of human endeavour and likewise, in football too, leadership has a vital role to play in transforming, bringing in a change or developing the game from every aspect. There is a separate chapter devoted to the leadership aspects of football and it clearly specifies the role of leadership in football development.
The book has also encapsulated a very detailed presentation on the player development process, underlining and envisaging key aspects required for the successful and sustainable player development pathway. The narrative also deals with one important tool for coaches in coaching young players, called conditioned games. One chapter highlights the significance of conditioned games in the development of young players based on my experience as a coach. Another important aspect, which is covered in the book, is about the significance and importance of football in schools. A roadmap has been illustrated in detail on making football an integral part of the school education system and a sound logic has been provided on why football should be made a part of a curriculum-based learning in schools across the globe. Children have the right to play and it's the responsibility of every government and system to provide that opportunity to every kid. The benefits, values and outcome from an education system, where sports form an integral part is multi-dimensional and therefore, football in schools has to be promoted and pushed for making the world a better place, where there will be more harmony, peace, togetherness, happiness and less negativity.
I have been involved in various aspects of football and have been religiously pursuing the development of football as one of the key missions of my life for over two decades. I firmly believe that football development deserves and requires every bit of attention and focus as there are many disparities across the globe in terms of understanding and administration of football development. This discrepancy should be properly addressed and promptly dealt with at the earliest for the benefit of the game. The book may come handy, who are either involved in football or planning to take the plunge into the mission of football development. Above all, knowledge is power and I wish to disseminate my long experience in the game through this book with the hope of empowering millions to take the right decision in favour of football development. Long live football!
 
FOREWORD
I have read numerous books dealing with different aspects of football and have always taken keen interest to study each of these books in order to improve my own knowledge so that I can serve the game better.
Every book provides a good learning opportunity and adds value to my understanding of the game. But, when I had gone through the content of this book, my first thought was that this is a rare book which has specifically illustrated the key aspects of the work we have been doing day in and day out across the globe for the development of this beautiful game.
From the time I was the President of the Bahrain Football Association, there hasn't been a single day over the last many years that I haven't been a part of any discussion or a decisionmaking process for the development of football.
The book, penned by Shaji, is one of the best pieces of writing on football development that I have come across. Every aspect of footb