As I get ready to take my first football session of the year this evening, I thought I'd share my football coaching philosophy and beliefs. I started a children football academy called Kekoa coaching two years ago and I now have over 130 children taking part in sessions every week.

The Philosophy:

Kekoa means "Strong and Fearless" and my slogan is "Creativity Takes Courage"
When I was a young boy all I wanted to do was play football, and if my younger self could see me right now he would be devastated that I didn't make it as a professional footballer even tho I came very close.

I was always a very technical player and very skilful and creative, I loved having the ball at my feet and showing my skills, but as I started to gain recognition for my ability which saw me play for teams such as Chelsea, Leyton Orient and Stevenage Borough I now realise that I was missing one of the important things which was the main reason why I didn't for fill my potential, and that was confidence.

Confidence for me is the main ingredient when you play football, as you must be able to express yourself and enjoy the game when you play and not be afraid to make mistakes or take responsibility on or off the ball. I was always the best footballer wherever I played but I wasn't the most confident, which made a huge difference. For instance, instead of playing to my full potential I would often be scared to make mistakes and also be very quiet on the field not demanding the ball as often as I should've.

Now I have Kekoa my main aim is to inspire the children to play with freedom and confidence and encourage mistakes. Some children have taken this to the extreme lol, but its then a matter of showing then different options that they may have had on the pitch, and letting them make the decision by themselves.

The younger I have the child the better, I start from 4 years of age, as this is the age where they can start to follow instructions. Every child always has a ball at that age and theres no waiting in lines. Getting the children used to having the ball at their feet is the main aim, because if you was to give a child a ball, the first thing they would do is kick it as far away as possible.

When the children turn 6 they can be considered to join a football team at U7 level and start to get use to playing competitive games and understanding the rules of football matches. I feel that the earlier you can introduce children to competitive football matches the better as the more familiar they get with playing against people that they don't know the better. this has worked out wonderfully with my current U8 team as last year they were U7 and getting use to playing matches, now they are U8 they have taken their league by storm and have an 100% league record after 12 games.

Encouraging creativity and confidence along with decision making is proving to be the best formular for me and I will continue to expand on these methods as the children get older and other aspects of the game come into play but having the main ingredient from a younger age is the main thing for me: CONFIDENCE

Do you have a footballing philosophy if so please share?