Last season ended abruptly with the incoming coronavirus.
The final grassroots tables were finalised after a vote given to each club showed the majority favoured a points per game outcome to decide the team’s final positions. From that point on, people were left wondering how the new season would pan out, if at all. After all, there was unprecedented disruption all the way from the Premier League down throughout the entire football pyramid, along with a lockdown which meant schools breaking up early and parents working from home wherever possible. Not to mention the stockpiling of toilet rolls and soap.
Back to grassroots football and you only had to dip your toe into the wonderful world of social media and the rumour mill was in full swing. All potential possibilities were being touted as gospel truth. All eventualities from no disruption, to a delayed start, to it being unlikely that a ball would be kicked at all and the season wouldn’t even start.
Throughout the Government guidance, which lurched from one set of rules or advice to another, only to be contradicted further down the line, one thing that seemed to stay fairly consistent was the message of encouraging the population to continue exercising. This also changed several times: outdoors, indoors, an hour at a time… However it changed and however many times it changed, it gave the football community a glimmer of hope that football would at some point be encouraged to return.
Particularly grassroots football.
After all 30-40 spectators watching football in an open environment (with socially distancing) is very different to 30 or 40 thousand fans inside a football stadium – although if you can go shopping, to pubs, to restaurants, all indoors, why not to the football?
After a few weeks, an announcement was made regarding a return to training, although in a very different format to what we’d been used to. All equipment was to be sanitised before (potentially during) and after training sessions. There was also an emphasis for the time being on only the ‘keepers being able to handle footballs, as well as no heading being allowed.
The most challenging thing about the return to training though, was the numbers involved and specifically the maximum players to coach ratio – 5:1, and these groups had to be kept separate throughout the sessions. All this was structured by using a risk assessment to minimise any risks involved. Added to this, the return to training was about a month later than usual, so rather than it just being training, clubs were more or less straight into holding trials for the 2020/21 season.
With two coaches offering to assist us usual staff, it took the total number of coaches up to five, allowing us to train up to 25 players in a single session. On a couple of occasions we were at our maximum number of players which in respect of selecting a squad was great but from my point of view, it took me out of my comfort zone. A few times I had to take a training session with 5 lads, who weren’t goalkeepers.
I think it probably showed that I was out of my comfort zone.
One thing that made my life a bit easier was that the sessions were structured in a way that meant if all five coaches were there with a group of lads each, there would be six or seven drills set up. We’d spend 10 minutes on a drill, then all rotate round to the next drill, so at least I didn’t have to think my own drills up.
After a few weeks trialling and without being able to even play any five-a-sides or put the lads into bigger groups, never mind organise any friendlies, we had to make a decision on who was in the squad for the new season. A far from easy task.
The decisions were made and a squad of 16 was selected. At this point there was still no indication as to when the new season would be starting.
Over the next few weeks, the guidance regarding coach to player ratio was unchanged but for most of the remaining sessions, one or both of the coaches who had been helping us out, continued to offer their services. This in particular was a great help to me because it meant (with our squad of 16) that if three coaches were there, not including me, they could train 15 lads and I was able to get back to coaching my lad 1:1. And just as importantly, concentrate on goalkeeper coaching.
It was as soon as I realised that I would be back to coaching my lad 1:1, it dawned on me that we were fortunate that because of being father and son and because I’d got my own cones, balls, fitness ladder etc, we could get back to our normal training sessions. Although there had been a fair bit of disruption before that point, it felt like a definite light at the end of the tunnel as far as getting back to some kind of normality.
Throughout lockdown my lad had kept himself fit.
Just as people began to realise what was happening at the start of lockdown and were buying up all the fitness equipment they could get hold of, either from shops or via the internet, his Mum managed to order him a weight bench. He already had some weights and bars, so now he had a few more options to keep him occupied. He’s always been active and never particularly liked sitting at the Xbox or Playstation. We already had an exercise bike and he bought a skipping rope. All this, along with his long walks meant that although we did some fitness as part of his return to training, he didn’t need much to get back to something like match fitness. It looked clear that some of the other lads hadn’t been doing the same.
Although sports centres, football hubs and gyms were still closed, we went up on the local field a few times with the training gear and I put him through his paces. With the bizarre situation we were in, it was a good way to forget about what was happening around the world, even if it was just for an hour or so. I was careful not to be too intense with what we did in the sessions and he had a smile on his face quite a lot of the time – which doesn’t happen that often. It felt as though it was a bit of a relief to him, to escape the ‘new normal’ way of life. Truth be told at the start of the lockdown, his Mum and me had concerns with how he’d deal mentally with being cooped up for long periods.
As well as our training sessions, I booked a few 1:1 training sessions with CYG Goalkeeping which are always great value for money. Again, because of facilities being closed and social distancing restrictions in place, CYG had been unable to run any of their group sessions, so managing to get some dedicated 1:1 time with a quality coach was brilliant. My lad loved every minute of it.
Although we didn’t know if it would reach it’s conclusion, we entered into the Summer league to try to get the new squad used to each other. There was limited success for us. The first game I thought we looked excellent, played the ball round well and generally controlled the game. A 4-0 win was a great start, especially a clean sheet to kick things off. After that though, we were a bit more hit and miss. Won a couple more, lost a couple and drew one but it was enough to see us get into the semi-final. The worrying thing was the amount of penalties and free kicks around the box that we gave away.
The semi-final came round and the opposition was one of the teams that had beaten us in the group stage. The game had ended 3-2, there were three penalties shared between the teams and an offside decision that we didn’t get which was laughable because of just how far offside the forward was. All this in a game of just 25 minutes each way. To be fair, the referee was terrible for both teams. Our team talk to the lads before the semi-final was simply, no stupid free kicks, no losing your heads and play like you’re capable of. In the seven years he’s been playing, this is the strongest squad he’s played in, they just need to play like they’re capable of playing.
As it turned out the game was fairly uneventful. It finished 0-0 without too many opportunities to score, although laddo made a lovely reaction save in the first half. No extra time in the competition, so straight to penalties. Neither keeper saved one. The quality of all the penalties scored was pretty good. One miss for each team in the first eight taken meant it was then effectively sudden death. My lad nearly kept the next one out. But not quite. Our midfielder put his over the bar, so that was that.
The performance was pretty good, so the loss wasn’t the end of the world.
From his personal point of view, the next opportunity was on the horizon. The City Schools trials, the following weekend. As it falls under the schools FA, there was a delay to things getting started, with all the schools having broken up early and not having returned until the first week of September.
A two hour trial went well for him, after a shaky start. He got himself out of jail after not dealing too well with a back pass, by making a really good spread block. It might have been the kick up the backside he needed because after that he was almost unbeatable. He made a couple of smart stops before half time and just got better throughout the second half. He took a couple of crosses, he made four or five really good saves and his distribution was pinpoint at times.
A couple of days later, an email confirmed he was through to the final trial the following week.
So as we stand, he has his final trial for the City Schools team tomorrow and his grassroots season kicks off the following day with the first round of the cup.
In these strange times, it’s difficult, but keep the faith
Keeper of the faith 