OUR PHILOSOPHY
Approach for Adapting to the Needs of Each Child
INTRODUCTION
We strongly believe that coaching young players should first focus on elevating the fun elements and exposing them to ways to maximise their enjoyment. At one end of the spectrum, this starts from an intrinsic level where training games are chosen for maximum participation and minimum waiting around. For older players, coaching should focus on identifying areas where players excel to accentuate and enhance, wrapping in other life skills which benefit the player's own personalities.
Leighton United FC has achieved a proud history of delivering coaching excellence across a wide range of age groups for boys, girls and adult football.
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We have distilled all the combined experience gained over more than thirty years of providing grassroots football coaching into a Football Philosophy that helps to provide the framework for consistently delivering high-quality youth football coaching year after year.
The LUFC Football Philosophy contains the principles, methods and practices that all of our coaches aspire to when working with Leighton United teams. It is designed to be utilised as an aid for coaching to ensure we recognise the needs of each individual player, and it works to ensure that they receive training appropriate to their stage of development and abilities while protecting against over-stretching players and affecting their enjoyment of the sport.
Coaches should adapt to the needs of their teams and avoid being overtly competitive, artificially forcing players and teams to develop faster than they are capable of achieving naturally.
FOUNDATION
The rationale, principles and vision defined in the LUFC Football Philosophy delivers a single, clear reference point for all LUFC-related footballing activities to be measured against.
The philosophy also provides clarity around the fundamental footballing development building blocks to ensure that day-to-day footballing activities can be delivered within a longer-term footballing strategy as the blueprint to meet the club and FA’s footballing aspirations on player development and quality.
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Our Football Philosophy has deliberately been developed to completely align and support the overarching FA philosophy for grassroots football. It is the responsibility of the club as a 3 Start accredited organisation to contribute to FA’s overarching principles and aspirations positively.
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Although there is total alignment between the FA’s and our own Football Philosophy, the Leighton United document has been specifically developed to include the club's history, culture, and current and future capabilities and align these with the very latest world-class models and best practices with regard to youth player development.
Football should be played with an efficient, economical, measured, possession-based approach, where pass quality combined with intelligent and timely support and movement lead to progress and penetration through the thirds of the field to provide goal-scoring opportunities.
To defend effectively and efficiently, a team should display a controlled, calculated and assertive approach where all players contribute and have a clear understanding of the tactical objectives being used to regain possession of the ball.