Matchday should be something our young players look forward to.
At Park Regis Junior Football Club, we want every match to provide a positive experience – whether we win, lose or draw. Junior football is about much more than the final score. It is an opportunity for children to enjoy playing football, develop their skills, make friends and learn as part of a team.
Creating that environment is something we all have a part in – players, coaches, managers, parents, spectators and club officials.
Put the players first
For the children, matchday is their opportunity to play.
As adults, it can be easy to become caught up in the result, but we should remember why the players are there in the first place.
Encourage effort, improvement, teamwork and good play rather than concentrating solely on winning.
Mistakes are also part of learning. A misplaced pass, missed chance or defensive error shouldn’t be something a young player is frightened of making. Positive encouragement gives players the confidence to try again.
The FA’s Respect programme highlights the importance of creating a fun, safe and inclusive environment in which young players can enjoy their football.
Let the coaches coach
Parents and spectators can make an enormous contribution simply by being positive from the touchline.
Cheering and encouraging the players is great. Constantly giving instructions is less helpful.
A player may already have been given instructions by their coach. Hearing different instructions from the touchline can leave them unsure about what they should be doing.
The FA therefore encourages clubs and coaches to communicate with parents about what players have been working on in training and asks parents to support that work rather than contradict it from the sidelines.
Sometimes one of the best things we can shout is simply:
“Well done – keep going!”
Respect the referee
Without referees, there is no match.
Referees will make decisions we agree with and decisions we don’t. That is part of football.
In grassroots football, some referees and assistant referees are themselves young people learning and developing their skills.
Players watch how adults behave. If coaches and parents accept decisions respectfully, we demonstrate the behaviour we expect from our children.
Disagreeing with a decision doesn’t mean we have to challenge it from the touchline.
Support both teams
Naturally, we want Park Regis teams to do well, but good football from either side can be appreciated.
The FA’s Respect Code encourages parents and spectators to celebrate effort and good play from both teams.
We should also make visiting teams and their supporters feel welcome at Park Regis.
A friendly hello before kick-off and a thank-you afterwards cost nothing but can make a considerable difference to the atmosphere surrounding a junior football match.
We would like visiting clubs to leave Park Regis remembering not just the football, but how they were treated.
Keep the touchline positive
Children hear far more from the touchline than adults sometimes realise.
Positive encouragement can build confidence. Criticism, arguments and conflicting instructions can have the opposite effect.
Parents and spectators should remain within the designated spectator area where one is provided and allow coaches, players and match officials the space they need to conduct the game.
The aim should be a touchline where children hear encouragement rather than criticism.
Coaches and managers set the tone
Our managers and coaches have an important role because their behaviour can influence everyone around them.
Matchday can be competitive and emotional, but coaches can set the tone by remaining calm, treating opponents and officials respectfully and concentrating on helping their players.
Substitutes should also remain part of the team and involved in the match rather than feeling forgotten while they wait to play.
Most importantly, the behaviour of the adults should demonstrate the standards we want to see from our young players.
Remember the five standards of the Grassroots Code
The FA’s Grassroots Code provides five straightforward standards that apply to players, coaches, parents, spectators and volunteers:
Enjoy the Game
Give Respect
Be Inclusive
Work Together
Play Safe
They provide a good checklist for every Park Regis matchday.
Before reacting to something on the pitch, it can be worth asking: Does what I’m about to say or do help create the environment we want for our children?
After the final whistle
How we behave after a match matters too.
Win graciously. Lose graciously.
Thank the referee, opposition and volunteers who have made the game possible.
For parents, the journey home doesn’t need to become a detailed analysis of everything their child did wrong. Sometimes a simple “Did you enjoy the game?” is much more valuable.
There will always be another training session and another match.
We all represent Park Regis Junior FC
Every weekend, hundreds of small interactions create the reputation of a grassroots football club.
It isn’t only the players wearing a Park Regis shirt who represent our club. Our coaches, officials, parents and spectators represent Park Regis too.
We therefore ask everyone involved with Park Regis Junior FC to help us create matchdays where:
- players feel confident enough to learn and make mistakes;
- coaches are allowed to coach;
- parents encourage rather than instruct;
- referees are respected;
- opposition teams and supporters are welcomed;
- volunteers feel valued; and
- children go home looking forward to playing football again.
Results matter to players and teams, and everyone enjoys winning. But years from now, most children won’t remember the score of an ordinary Sunday morning fixture.
They are much more likely to remember whether football was somewhere they felt welcome, supported and happy.
That’s the matchday environment we want at Park Regis Junior Football Club.
