Ashley Gumbrell, a coach developer and lecturer at St. Mary's University, shares insights on fostering a captivating youth soccer environment. He stresses prioritizing fun over competition to ignite children's passion for the sport. Gumbrell discusses the benefits of a multi-sport approach for skill transfer and the importance of reflective coaching practices. He also highlights innovative curricula from St. Mary's that develops industry-relevant knowledge, ensuring coaches are prepared to adapt and improve in diverse environments.
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insights INSIGHT
Captivating Youth Players
Captivating players means making youth sports the highlight of their week, not just focusing on winning or data.
Fun and engaging tasks hook players and promote long-term enjoyment and development.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Creatively Engaging Kids
Ashley adapted a session to play football rounders based on kids' interest in rounders, increasing engagement.
This creative switch fostered fun, skill development, and connection by meeting players where they are.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Simple Coaching Principles For Parents
Use simple, clear coaching principles for parent volunteers to avoid overwhelming them.
Provide ongoing one-to-one feedback to help them improve each session efficiently.
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Gary is joined by Ashley Gumbrell to discuss ways that coaches can create an optimal environment for young players to love and learn the game. Ashley is a Coach Developer and also a lecturer at St. Mary's University. He also discusses the role of coach education along with his work with Eamon Devlin at Minute9.
The St Mary’s University Performance Football Coaching master’s is a unique opportunity to learn from world renowned academics and industry experts, whilst making significant strides to develop your career and bolster your knowledge of coaching theories.
https://www.stmarys.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/performance-football-coaching
Their course content has been tailored to reflect the diverse football coaching environments across the world. We have worked with industry experts, alumni, and designated football partners, who have contributed to module design that ensures you are always gaining industry relevant knowledge.
Our students are coaching across the world, from Mexico City, Iceland, India and the United States, in roles including senior international first team analysts; academy managers; senior first team managers, heads of department and coach educators, all armed with the knowledge they have developed on the course.
Students will need to have achieved the UEFA B, USSF B or equivalent coaching qualification from your home country to apply, as well as having either a relevant undergraduate degree OR significant football experience as a player or coach should you not have completed a degree prior to enrolling.
Places are open for September 2025 now and you have the whole summer to submit your interest, with those meeting the entry criteria eligible to apply right up until September 1st.
If you would like to know more, they have a series of online information webinars coming up over the next few months which will provide you with even more detail about finance, module content and further details of how to apply. To register for these webinars, book a meeting with our course lead or to download our course brochure, just visit our website or follow us on LinkedIn.
https://www.stmarys.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/performance-football-coaching
Modern Soccer Coach Podcast