James Askwith

Beginners are the heart of every Jiu-Jitsu school. Many times I see schools that don’t have a good beginners or fundamentals program. Then someone starts Jiu-Jitsu and on the first day they’re already sparring and doing everything. Of course, there’s a very high chance they’re going to quit. It’s just too hard. They don’t know anything yet, and they’re thrown into sparring. Then they get hurt, and that’s it. Many years ago, 20 or 30 years ago, that’s how Jiu-Jitsu was. Someone would start and it was almost like fresh meat for the lions. Everyone would jump on that person and try to spar with them. And of course, most of them would quit. One of the reasons Jiu-Jitsu is growing so much today is because many schools now offer beginners classes and fundamentals classes. There’s a place for that new person. No sparring, a controlled environment, an easier way to learn. Then, step by step, they can progress and start sparring when they’re ready. I just wanted to share this because it’s very important for our entire community to understand: Beginners are the heart of every Jiu-Jitsu school. If you don’t have a good beginners program, it’s going to be very hard to grow Jiu-Jitsu overall. What are your thoughts?

Congratulations @No1shaygiven joining @steveharper37 in the Old B*stards club #50 👏🏻🥂

Shock another post about Managers job needing eufa B qual 🙈 wtf does this matter? 10 years now into management, said would do me B never did as aboustley no need for it. However clubs think they better with someone qualified. Rather have an ex playe all day!! Proper rant 🤯

@coach_kevin_m This season I’ve had to give a few of the better players a bit more game time to try and balance the results against giving every player the same amount of time. The players have been absolutely fine with it and enjoyed the season a lot more. However, the parents haven’t.

@coach_kevin_m I don’t think coaches are confused. I experienced it myself last season with my now under 9’s. I tried to make it about them enjoying the game but they were getting smashed every week and leaving the pitch in tears. There was no enjoyment for them.

Interesting share! At the end of the day, the odds of your child making it to a professional level are akin to being struck by lightning in your lifetime. Most kids play football for fun, fitness, or social reasons. So, why are we (adults) trying to professionalise the entire industry? There aren't more suddenly professional teams or leagues... so the above odds will remain.... so why do we need more professional players? or even more professional coaches or analysts? We need to move the conversation from what will help make pros or what will help kids get ahead, to what will keep them involved in football lifelong. Cos what we are doing as an industry at the moment? It ain't working.

@coach_kevin_m The only way to fix what you’re saying is to scrap competition entirely and that includes end of season awards.

@coach_kevin_m A classic example in my local area is Wallsend Boys Club. They hoover up the local talent as everyone knows their kids has a better chance of ending up at an academy if they play there. Every other club trying to compete with them struggle.

@TheS_Resource I can only speak for football but I my opinion, this is driven by the professional game. The constant desire to find the next big talent results in clubs getting kids in at an ever younger age. This then flows down to grassroots as they fight to keep up.

From almost the moment children set foot in organised sport, we begin measuring them against each other who is quickest, who is strongest, who looks the part at seven years old and while we rarely say it out loud in those terms, the message reaches children with remarkable clarity through the teams they're picked for, the positions (roles) they're given, and the amount of time they spend actually playing rather than watching from the sideline. The culture of comparison in youth sport didn't arrive fully formed overnight, it grew gradually from a system that was designed to find the best rather than develop the most, and which borrowed its logic from adult sport without ever seriously asking whether those same principles made any sense when applied to children who are still working out who they are, what they enjoy, and whether they belong in this environment at all and the longer that system runs unchallenged, the more it normalises the idea that some children are worth more investment than others before they've had a realistic chance to prove otherwise. The children who are told early, not always with words, but consistently through action that they don't quite measure up don't tend to fight back against that verdict, they tend to accept it, quietly withdraw from the sport, and carry with them for years the belief that they simply weren't good enough, when the more honest truth is that they were never given the conditions to find out.

@coach_kevin_m Any advice for improving proposition? I’ve got a bunch of players who are constantly flat footed. I’m working on drills for them to improve but not sure how long I should be running these same drills.

If your players are standing in lines, you might be wasting their time. The game is the teacher, and it might be time to get out of the way.

@D_The_Husband @topjibrone Stick with it. As new white belt myself, I couldn’t care whether I win or lose as long as I walk away having picked up something new each session. Even if I don’t pick up something new, I’m happy as long as I feel like I’m improving in some way.

@topjibrone I agree. What does that look like, for example, what would you say to a new white belt that keeps getting his ass kicked and wants to quit

What specifically should a new white belt focus on in their first year? And people say 'survival' but what does that actually mean to you?

@coach_kevin_m We run 3 team at our age group and the team I run is the lowest level. However, there’s still a huge difference in ability even in my team. I’ve got the risk of the better players wanting to leave to play at a higher level. What’s your recommendation?

Had a few teams like that. If you have enough coaches, split them into two groups. You do the same exercises/games but flex it depending on where the groups are at (make it harder/easier for each group). But it's their team so, for me, coaches need to ensure that they don't kill the enthusiasm for football for any of them. That will just leads to them quitting. Or leaving. It's a tough one to manage

70% of players quit sport by age 13. Not because they stopped loving the game. Because someone made them stop loving it. 9 out of 10 kids say the primary reason they play sports is to have fun. And winning? Ranked only 48th in importance. I sometimes feel that the entire architecture of youth football is built around the thing kids rank 48th

@coach_kevin_m @CoachRobPorter @ben_andreos @BreakthruSoccer @CoachResources8 @CraigRudders @cutinside @insidewrite1957 @JB_SoccerCoach @power_ray That’s very contradictory as a lot of what you push is about touches and time on the ball. You can’t do that by always playing a game.

I can't remember who said this, so I cannot credit the person directly, but they said something like.... Imagine watching the World Cup or Champions League Final and begging your mum to sign you up to football, as it looks so much fun and then standing in lines and getting a 15-minute game at the end

This has got to be the question that gets asked the most during grassroots sessions! Players love to play the game, so we should give them game time! There are lots of ways to get your topic outcomes out while playing SSG'S, and players love it, so it's a win win situation!

@TheS_Resource I’m guilty of this myself. To the point that I didn’t give my son an end of season award that he fully deserved because I didn’t want to be seen to be biased.

There's a dynamic in youth football that rarely gets acknowledged openly. When a parent steps into a coaching role, their child often ends up carrying more than any other player in the squad. Held to a higher standard, asked to fill the positions others won't, benched when the politics of the group demand it. Not out of any deliberate unfairness, but because the coach is trying so hard not to be seen to favour their own child that they overcorrect in the other direction. During my coaching journey I've worked alongside assistants who had their own sons in the squad, and you see it up close. The child who stays quiet when others push back. The one who plays a certain position three weeks running because nobody else will. The one who gets the honest feedback that other parents never hear, at home, around the dinner table, long after everyone else has switched off. Coaches' children make sacrifices most people on the touchline never notice. It's worth recognising, and it's worth coaches checking in with themselves honestly about whether the balance is actually fair in either direction. Have you seen this play out, either as a coach or a parent?

@CleansedTweets Additionally, I’ve dealt with tier 1 contractors wanting to order materials and I quote “price doesn’t matter as it’s for HS2”!

@CleansedTweets Even there’s routs didn’t bring Newcastle into the equation. We’re largely forgotten about up here. The whole thing is a disgrace.

When the UK government announced the go ahead for a high speed train route I was 19. By the time they finish it I will be almost 41 years old. The red routes were abandoned. Only the blue route HS1 will be completed. A mere, what? 100 miles??👀

@dylanschuddinh @TheS_Resource A lot talk about how results don’t matter at the development ages. Tell that to the kids on a team that are getting heavily beat every week and coming off crying. Nothing will put a kid off playing football more. They’re largely happier playing positions they’re comfortable in!

@james_askwith @TheS_Resource Just a couple of positions I reckon. Similar to what another poster said. Around 60-75% in the main position. A CM doesn't need much rotating, that's an everything position. A CB gets a lot from getting a chance to play back to goal.

A 10-year-old who is tall, kicks it long, clears it and gets told every single week they're playing centre back, because it's convenient for the coach. Fast forward to 15 and they've never played in midfield, never tried up front and never been given the chance to find out what else they might be capable of. Should youth players play multiple positions throughout their development? We'd love your opinion on this one as it's genuinely splitting the coaching community, leave your vote below. 👇