22/10/2026
Love this post from St Laurence Youth FC 👏🏻 I’d imagine the vast majority of grassroots teams and coaches out there can relate to this.
So many volunteers give up their time week in, week out, yet still face the exact same challenges.
Sometimes we need to reflect on our coaches at the club as they are vital to what we want to achieve as a club and for the community and something as a chairman I couldn't do without them 💛🖤
Sometimes parents need to understand why some of us step up to coach grassroots football in the first place and below can be the life of coaches.
Some of us never set out to be a football coach as we go along to support our son or daughter.
I stepped up alongside three other friends, and suddenly we were responsible for 14 children in 2021 and a team of 3 year olds. We eventually grew age groups and have over 250+ kids all under 11, 73 coaches at the club and around 35 volunteers in 5 years.
They see us at training or on a Saturday or Sunday morning. They see us shouting instructions from the touchline. What they don’t see is everything that goes on behind the scenes.
The time. The planning. The sacrifices. The responsibility.
This is what a typical week looks like for a grassroots coach:
⚽ Monday: Reviewing the weekend’s game, discussing what went well and what needs improving.
⚽ Tuesday: Planning training sessions and thinking about how to get the best out of the team.
⚽ Wednesday: Looking at each individual child, identifying their strengths and working out how to help them develop at the correct level.
⚽ Thursday: Putting the training plan together, making sure every session has a purpose.
⚽ Friday: Delivering training, giving up another evening to help the kids improve.
⚽ Saturday or Sunday: Matchday. Preparing the team, managing substitutions, making decisions and trying to give every child the best experience possible.
And that’s before dealing with messages, fixtures, kit, availability, parents’ questions and all the other things that come with running a team.
Now add real life into the mix.
I have three children of my own and a busy Monday to Friday job. Like every other volunteer coach and chairman, I have my own family, responsibilities and commitments.
Yet we still find the time.
We rearrange plans. We sacrifice weekends. We spend evenings planning sessions when we could be relaxing with our own families. We carry the responsibility because we want to give these children opportunities, confidence, friendships and memories they’ll hopefully carry for years.
And sometimes, despite all that effort, we still get criticised.
Please remember that grassroots coaches are volunteers, not professional football managers. We don’t get paid for our time, and we certainly don’t get everything right. We make mistakes, we learn, and we do our best with the resources and time we have.
Some parents are brilliant and support us every step of the way. Others don’t always see the commitment involved, and that can be difficult when you’re already giving so much up.
So, to every coach at the club who steps up, gives up their time and puts the children first keep going. What you do matters more than you probably realise.
And to the parents, please show a little understanding, patience and respect.
We are not doing this for recognition. We do it because we care about your children and want to see them succeed, develop and enjoy football at the correct level in the sport.
Behind every grassroots team are people giving up their own time to make it happen including a strong committee of 13.
We’re not perfect. We’re human. We have families, jobs, pressures and lives outside football too.
But every week, we turn up and try our hardest.
Please remember that the next time you stand on the touchline.
Respect the coaches. Support the team. Put the children first.
💛🖤⚽️
