Updated: UEFA instructional meeting for coaches

On Saturday, 6th September, Nico Romeijn, a member of the JIRA panel and the Head of Coaching of the KNVB addressed the Premier and First Division Coaches on learning and reflection.    He emphasised how the modern coach needs to embrace a more reality based learning approach.  The coach is encouraged to engage and scaffold on his players’ performance as he co-constructs learning with and for his players.  So the coach needs to start from and work as close as possible to the 11v11 game so that the transfer of learning from the training atmosphere to the game setting is facilitated and players can recognise situations much more forcefully.  He emphasised the need to have a vision and a plan that emanates from that vision as the coach who does not know who he is and where he is going cannot guide his players in an effective way.  Finally, he encouraged the Technical Director and the Coach Education Director to be critical of the learning that is happening on in clubs and to help these coaches to keep on reflecting upon their own daily practice.