What made you start coaching?
My daughter enjoys playing football and had attended Wildcats for a while. She was in the appropriate age group of girls that started training separately to the Wildcats with a view to forming an U9 team, she enjoyed it and the team needed someone to volunteer to coach so I volunteered.

How much playing and coaching football experience did you have previously?
Zilch! Literally NONE.

What coaching qualifications have you gained since?
FA Playmaker, FA Introduction to Coaching

Including training, matches and admin, how much time roughly do you spend coaching?
Honestly – more than I realised! Approx an hour every week doing admin, keeping up with and sharing messages on our team Whatsapp group, updating Pitchero, prepping training etc. An hour a week coaching, plus travel time to and from and a bit of set up and pack away time so say two hours in total for training. And when we come into the season when we are playing fixtures each Saturday there is more admin to ensure we have a pitch and a ref booked if it’s a home match or we get all the info as regards location and KO time if it is an away match. The match itself if we are at home is about 40 mins long plus we have a 30 min arrival and warm up beforehand. I live near Meadowcroft so travel time is negligible. But some of our away games can take an hour to drive to, so away games can take up to 3 hours on a Saturday for the further away fixtures.
Katherine never got the memo about saying that you are down there anyway and it does not take up any additional time

What is the hardest thing about coaching?
For me it is planning the training sessions as not having any football experience at all it takes a bit of thinking through and trying to work out if what I plan to do is engaging and challenging for the team, and if it will work. I use online resources and talk to Luke who coaches with me (and thankfully does have football experience). I find the admin side easier. But if you come from a football background or have playing experience I guess you might find it the other way around.

What is the most rewarding thing about coaching?
There is literally nothing I don’t find rewarding in it. Seeing the players turn up each week for training excited to see you and find out what we are working on that session, watching them develop and improve their skills, taking the team to games and seeing them giving their all and supporting their team mates. Observing them making new friends, improving in confidence and learning something new. Plus I am learning loads myself about the game, how to coach and about all of my players. And getting out in the fresh air and having fun with them. What’s not to like?!

If you could go back in time, knowing what you do now, would you have volunteered to coach?
Every time.

What advice would you give to any parents considering taking on their daughter's team for next season?
DO IT!!! You will not only be your daughter’s complete hero, you will get so much back in return. Try to get a few others to come in with you – it makes it so much easier (and fun) to have a few of you coaching as there are inevitably times when you can’t be at training but between you it usually works out that someone can be. And it’s helpful to have others to bounce ideas off. If someone wants to volunteer but doesn’t feel confident coaching they might be able to help on the admin side so encourage anyone to get involved whether they have experience or not! And get to know your players’ parents – they will be the ones helping set up goals, put up the respect barrier, and driving the players to all those away games.

Interested in becoming a coach or taking on the admin for a team? Please contact Aylesbury United Women FC for more information