Nine coaches working with players with a disability attended the Essex County FA’s Coaching Disabled Footballers Workshop delivered by FA Disability Coach Mentor, Adrian Smith, to help them understand how to support their players to enjoy the best possible football experience.

The free face-to-face, practical CPD (Continuing Professional Development) workshop took place on Monday 20th May at Broomfield FC in Chelmsford, focusing on some of the main elements of coaching disabled footballers. The attendees, who were all from mainstream or Soccability clubs, have been linked-up with Adrian so they can receive coach mentoring at their clubs, specific for disability football coaches.

The topics covered included the Activity Inclusion Module (AIM) and using the ‘STEP’ Principle to bring transformational coaching to life. STEP stands for Space, Task, Equipment and People. By adjusting these four elements, coaches, teachers and players themselves can make activities more inclusive, challenging or accessible, ensuring that every individual is engaged and learning. The workshop qualified for two accredited FA CPD hours and the outcomes include:

* developing a better understanding of coaching in disability football
* understanding what good coaching looks like for disabled players
* consideration of adaptations to coaching practices to meet players’ needs

Essex County FA Inclusion Development Officer, Milly Morgan, found the course very beneficial, commenting: “Supporting coaches to feel confident when providing inclusive environments for both mainstream and Soccability football is a key priority for us. This was the perfect opportunity for anyone who may support players on the pitch to learn and develop their knowledge of adapting the game and including all players.”

Browse the menus above to learn more about coaching disabled footballers, or to find out more about Soccability in Essex. You can also interact with @EssexCountyFA on Twitter/X and search for the ‘EssexFootball’ page on Facebook.