FFA National Curriculum

A review of current practice, the

underpinning literature and the implications for

coachesBy Aidan Brown for Sports Coaching Pedagogy 2012

This presentation is intended to provide a general

insight into the current Football Federation

Australia national curriculum for players and

coaches. Underpinning literature and theories

will be reviewed to explore the rationale behind

the principles within the national curriculum.

Suggestions and recommendations will be made

in regards to coaching implications.

Overview

Creation of the National Curriculum

1 (Football Federation Australia ,2007)2 (Football Federation Australia, 2011)

National Football Development Plan (2007)[1]

• Prior lack of ‘investment’ in this area.

• ‘At the heart of FFA strategic direction’ [1, 2]

Talent Development and Identification Review [1]

• Deficiency in technical and game related skills.

• Strength: Physical and mental competitiveness

- Over-emphasis on winning attributed to deficiencies.

• Creation of a National Curriculum to ‘close the gap’.

Purpose• Provide a consistent, coordinated national Talent

Development and Identification Program for football

in Australia, aiming to achieve major quality and

performance improvements in Australia’s top

players, coaches and teams.

(Football Federation Australia ,2009a)

National Curriculum Philosophy

“Leave the total football structure as much as possible intact so its relationship to the game is always

recognisable for players in all training situations and exercises.”

(Football Federation Australia ,2009a)

Total Football Structure• Total Football Structure

The Main Moments of the game are:1. Ball possession (BP): Building up, attacking and scoring (team tasks).2. Transition: BP to BPO (team tasks).3. Ball possession opponent (BPO): Disturbing and defending (team tasks).4. Transition: BPO to BP (team tasks).

Thus the philosophy holds that any training exercise should where possible incorporate these 4 components.

(Football Federation Australia ,2009a)

Key Principles ‘Guiding’ the National Curriculum

(Football Federation Australia ,2009a)

1&2. Reviewing youth development systems in strong football

nations and tapering these to suit Australian circumstances

3. Building on the pre-existing strengths of Australian sport

and football culture (physical and mental competitiveness)

4. Taking evidence based rational facts into consideration

(literature)

5. The ‘total football’ approach:

• Age-related development goals

• Game-related training as major focus

• Tactics and conditioning secondary to technique

Technical Component Summary

Football Federation Australia. (2009b) The National Football Curriculum: The Building Blocks

Supporting LiteratureNational Curriculum

• The sport development continuum = progression from a broad base of

foundation participation (grassroots level) tapering off up to elite

competition (national teams) (Bailey, Collins, Ford, MacNamara, Toms

and Pearce, 2010)

• Bailey et al (2010) suggest that one flaw of the pyramid model is that the

quality of performers at the higher level, is dependent on the quality of

experiences and resources provided at the lower level.

• Introducing a framework for development (the national curriculum) aims

to achieve high quality elite performance, by providing a high quality,

consistent structure of development from the ‘discovery phase’ all the

way through to the ‘performance phase’.

Supporting LiteratureLong Term Athlete Development (LTAD) Model

• The LTAD model by Balyi & Hamilton (2004) suggests that ‘a

specific and well-planned practice, training, competition and

recovery regime will ensure optimum development through an

athlete’s career.’

• 6 stages/phases of progression1. FUNdamental stage2. Learning to Train3. Training to Train4. Training to Compete5. Training to Win6. Retirement / retainment

Supporting LiteratureLong Term Athlete Development (LTAD) Model

• Age-related development goals and phases for football

development offer a ‘football fitted’ version of Balyi &

Hamilton’s (2004) Long Term Athlete Development Model.

• The Football Association of England has also adapted a

‘football fitted’ variation of the LTAD model in its Long Term

Player Development model (The Football Association, 2011).

• Balyi & Hamilton (2004) warn against using chronological age

as a basis for athlete development models. The national

curriculum suggests coaches use their own knowledge to

determine situational appropriateness of age related goals.

Supporting LiteratureSport-specific training and conditioning

• A major point made throughout the national curriculum is the

requirement to keep the ‘total football’ structure recognisable

during training. This is underpinned by the basic training principle

of specificity (Baechle & Earle, 2009).

• As a general rule, it is said that a minimum of 10 years or 10,000

hours of sport specific practice is required for the development of

expertise in team sports (Baker & Cote, 2003)

• With more sport-specific practice, players can develop tactical

skills, which are shown to be related to improved performance

( Kannekens, Eflerink-Gemser & Visscher, 2009).

Supporting LiteratureSport specific training and conditioning continued

• A large focus has been put on small sided games.

• Variations of the traditional 11 v 11 game – 4 v 4, 7 v 7 etc.

• The FFA (2009a) suggests that small sided games provide maximum

exposure and an increased transfer of functional game skills.

• Small sided games enable participants to be more involved in the play

– gaining more ‘touches’ on the ball and making more passes (Small,

2006)

• Small sided games have also been identified and as a valuable tool for

football-specific conditioning and advised over isolated conditioning

training (Reilly, 2005; Katis & Kellis, 2009)

Coaching Implications• Essentially the introduction of a national curriculum

for football development should make a coaches job

easier. The curriculum provides a consistent and

clear direction for coaches of players in all levels of

the sport. As part of the national curriculum, the

FFA provides a number of resources for coaching

and information on further coaching development.

The hardest part may be to get coaches out of old

habits.

Coaching Implications• Under the ‘Total Football Structure’ it is essential

that coaches have the ability to dissect the major

components of football play in order to train specific

skills and competencies, yet still keep the overall

product relevant and recognisable.

• This is a skill that the Dutch are famous for, and it is

no surprise therefore that there is currently a heavy

Dutch presence in crucial development roles in

Australia.

Coaching Implications• Understanding

- One of the most important implications for coaches is to

understand the rationale behind the national curriculum in

order to appreciate the bigger picture that is football

development. The Australian culture of physical and mental

competitiveness is a strength, and coaches must ensure it

doesn’t continue also as a weakness. It’s important that this

understanding is transferred to the players so that they

understand the purpose of their training and overall

development. It may also help to retain these players in the

later stages of LTAD.

Coaching Recommendations• Over-emphasis on winning and old habits

- Coaches should focus on real technical education and development

rather than a culture based on results.

- The FFA (2009a) suggests coaches should:

Encourage the skilful over of the powerful

Think of mistakes being learning moments instead of being

punished

Encourage individual creativity instead of forbidding individual play

Encouraging taking risks over forbidding taking risks

Train to ‘play out’ from defense purposefully rather than panicked

clearances

Coaching Recommendations• LTAD and Age-related development goals

- Coaches require the ability to determine the development

characteristics of their athletes in order to establish the most

appropriate development training goals and objectives. Utilise

knowledge base of physiotherapists and psychologists where

available.

• Preserving the ‘total football’ structure (sport-specific

training)

- In training particular skills, coaches should always start with the

idea of an actual game situation and then simplify/modify the game

situation in a manner that emphasizes and creates maximum

opportunities to practice the skills.

Baker, J., Cote, J. (2003) Sport-specific practice and the development of expert

decision-making in team ball sports. Journal of Applied Sports Psychology, 15, 12-

25.

Baechle, T., Earle, R. (2009) Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning (3rd

ed). Illinois: Human Kinetics.

Bailey, R., Collins, D., Ford, P., MacNamara, A., Toms, M., and Pearce, G. (2010)

Participant Development in Sport: An Academic Review. Retrieved from

http://www.sportscoachuk.org/sites/default/files/Participant%20Development

%20Lit%20Review.pdf

Balyi, I. and Hamilton, A. (2004). ‘Long-Term Athlete Development: Trainability in

Childhood and Adolescence. Windows of Opportunity. Optimal Trainability’,

Victoria: National Coaching Institute British Columbia and Advanced Training and

Performance Ltd.

Football Federation Australia. (2007). National Football Development Plan. Retrieved

from http://www.klufc.org.au/publications/ffa-national-football-development-plan

References

Football Federation Australia .(2009a). FFA National Curriculum. Retrieved from

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/site/_content/document/00000099-source.pdf

Football Federation Australia. (2009b) The National Football Curriculum: The

Building Blocks. Retrieved from

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/site/_content/document/00000100-source.pdf

Football Federation Australia. (2011). Football in Australia Strategic Plan Snapshot

2011-2015. Retrieved from

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/site/_content/document/00000284-source.pdf

Kannekens, R., Elferink-Gemser, M., Visscher, C. (2009) Tactical skills of world-class

youth soccer teams. Journal of Sports Sciences, 27(8), 807-12.

DOI:10.1080/02640410902894339

Katis, A., Kellis, E. (2009) Effects of small-sided games on physical conditioning and

performance in young soccer players. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 8,

374-380.

References

Reilly, T. (2005). An ergonomics model of the soccer training process. Journal

of sports Sciences, 23(6), 561-72.

Small, G. (2006). Small-sided Games Study of Young Football Players in

Scotland. University of Aberdeen. Retrieved from

http://www.thefa.com/GetIntoFootball/FALearning/FALearningPages/~/

media/Files/PDF/Get%20into%20Football/FA_Learning_YouthModule2/

Small-sided%20games%20study%20of%20young%20football

%20players.ashx/Small-sided%20games%20study%20of%20young

%20football%20players.pdf

The Football Association (2011). Long Term Player Development. Retrieved

from

http://assets.ngin.com/attachments/document/0001/6827/LTPD_ThePage.p

df

References