Northern NSW Football 2011 Grassroots Week, A Huge Success!!

Grassroots week was the launch of Grassroots Coach Education in Northern NSW in 2011 and consisted of 21 courses being run state-wide from the 4th to the 8th of April.

Grassroots week was the launch of Grassroots Coach Education in Northern NSW in 2011 and consisted of 21 courses being run state-wide from the 4th to the 8th of April. This year is the third year that Northern NSW Football has run Grassroots week, with the number of attendees increasing each year.

The Grassroots week initiative was extended this year to include Grassroots Coaching Certificate courses as well as OPTUS Small-Sided Football Instructing referees Accreditation courses for people wishing to take the first steps in becoming a fully accredited match official.

ALL courses during Grassroots week were FREE of charge and all were welcome to attend a course, regardless of the football knowledge. All you needed to do is register and turn up on the night.

What are these courses?

The Grassroots Coaching Certificate is a three hour course aimed at beginner coaches and teachers of players up to 8 years of age. It is designed to give them a basic understanding of their role and to provide them with practical ideas for training sessions.

The education of coaches has a major impact on the quality of football in Australia. By educating coaches, we are striving to ensure that not only players of all levels, but also coaches of all levels enjoy quality football experiences that will grow their love of football and make them lifelong members of the football family. As a result, football as a whole will be better.

The OPTUS Small-Sided Football Instructing Referee Accreditation is a one and a half hour course designed to train children aged between 12-14yrs to manage and control under 8 to under 12 OSSF matches. With this accreditation they will be eligible to receive payment for refereeing these matches under the official Northern NSW Football Match Official Payment structure.

Each Zone held 3 Grassroots Coach Education courses and 2 Optus Small-Sided Football Instructing referees Accreditation courses. Even though 6 courses were washed out, a total of 911 people attended the courses with 588 attending the Grassroots Coach Education course and 323 attending the OPTUS Small-Sided Football Instructing referees Accreditation course.

“It-s very encouraging to see so many members of the football family completing these courses.” said Peter Haynes, NNSWF Community Football Manager.

“Grassroots Week has been a great success and will contribute to ensuring that the total football experience had by all participants is a positive one.”

12 FFA Training Presenters were on hand over the week, all who which attended a FFA Assessors and Presenter course in January, they did a fantastic job.

A big thank you to all the clubs that hosted the courses across all the zones, your assistance was much appreciated. Northern NSW Football will continue to offer support to these new coaches and referees throughout the season with update sessions and additional coaching information.

NNSWF look forward to continuing their support of the Grassroots initiative and will continue to run Grassroots courses and Instructing referees courses at club level as required.