Mentoring Adults Course

March saw Nottinghamshire FA deliver the latest Mentoring Adults Course to 18 coaches at Joseph Whittaker School in Rainworth.

The course is usually delivered over 2 evenings, is a certificated FA qualification, and gives the candidates 6 hours of CPD.

The course is aimed at qualified coaches who want to provide help, guidance and assistance to other coaches within their clubs. The tutors take the learners through the skills that are needed to be an effective mentor.

It looks at how to build rapport with fellow coaches, the key skill of reflection, and asks about the people who have influenced their lives, to make them who they are.

Those attending the course are given the opportunity to watch an experienced coach and mentor in action, and are asked to think about and discuss what they see.

Scenarios are used to question how the learners would deal with situations they may find themselves in when being a mentor. An example scenario is;

‘You are working with a coach who never puts substitutes on in a game’

How would you deal with that? These scenarios sparked some great discussions in the group, who really got involved and demonstrated their passion for coaching and mentoring.

The course is delivered by Samantha Griffiths, who is the FA Regional Coach Mentor Officer for the East Midlands, and Tim Jones, who is an FA Coach Mentor as well as a Football Development Officer with Nottinghamshire FA.

It is designed to complement and add to the FA Coach Mentor program, to ensure that a legacy of mentoring is in place at clubs once the FA Coach Mentor moves on.

Sam explained the benefits of the mentor program saying;  “The Mentor Program is proving a huge success across Nottinghamshire. We are seeing coaches improving themselves and the standard of coaching in grassroots football improving all of the time. We are also now seeing more and more coaches wanting to become mentors themselves, which is amazing as one of the main aims of the program is to leave a legacy in clubs”

We are busy planning the mentor program for the 2018/19 season. Would you or your club like to be involved? If you do, then get in touch with Tim as soon as possible. Send him an email to Tim.Jones@NottinghamshireFA.com.