On Sunday, 3^rd September, Cornwall FA welcomed a host of coaches to our first Coaches Conference. Those in attendance were treated to four fantastic workshops which helped them develop their skills and take away some new wisdom to use in their own sessions.

The first session of the day looked at Developing on the Pitch and was co-delivered by Vicky Fisher and Abdoullah Kheir, two brilliant Coach Developers who are familiar faces for those who regularly attend Cornwall FA events.

The coaches then moved over to work with Paul Holder, who drew on his wealth of experience in the professional game and academy football to help the coaches gain a better understanding of technique, skill and tactics which will help with Developing Skilful Players. This was the first of two sessions delivered by Paul during the day.

In the afternoon, we welcomed Tash Mills of the Women’s High Performance Centre. Tash worked on Engaging Disengaged Players, showing the coaches how empathy, understanding and rapport building can go a long way toward ensuring that players enjoy sessions and want to keep playing football.

Feedback for the event has been really positive so far. “We got time to experience the sessions as well as chat to the deliverers and other coaches at the event. I wanted to watch top coaches that are relatable and that’s exactly what we got,” said one attendee. Another added that “as a starting coach I have learned so much. I recommend this for every new coach.”

Whether you attended the conference or not, all coaches are always welcome at our Coach Development events. The next session will take place in Penryn in collaboration with Plymouth Argyle FC. A trio of Argyle’s professional coaches will deliver the third instalment of their acclaimed Developing the Skilful Player series. You need not have attended the first two sessions to benefit from this workshop. To sign up for this and all of our upcoming events until the end of the calendar year, please click here.

“This conference is just the start of our Coach Development offering for the 2023/24 season,” said CCFA Football Development Officer Will Snapes. “We are really excited about what we have coming up and it would be great to see even more coaches getting their boots dirty and getting involved with future sessions.”

Also coming up soon is an event for women and girls which focuses on Engaging Players, delivered by Vicky Fisher. Female coaches can sign up here.

Cornwall FA is really grateful to all of our session deliverers for giving up their time to help local grassroots coaches. A massive thank you to all of the coaches in attendance as well – it was a massive effort given by all, especially given the heat. Thank you!