Nobody told you it would be like this.
One minute you're standing on the touchline watching your kid's training, the next minute someone's asking if you can "help out with coaching." Three weeks later you're planning sessions, picking teams, dealing with parents, and googling "how to coach a back four for U9s" at 11pm on a Thursday night.
You've got no badges. No qualifications. No real idea if what you're doing is right. And every week there's a nagging voice in the back of your head saying "someone's going to find out I'm making this up."
Sound familiar? Good. That means you're normal. About 80% of grassroots coaches in England have no formal coaching qualifications. You're not the exception — you're the majority.
The badges don't make the coach
Let's get something out of the way first. Having an FA coaching badge doesn't automatically make someone a good youth coach. And not having one doesn't make you a bad one.
Some of the worst youth coaching I've ever seen has come from badge holders who treat 8-year-olds like they're preparing for the Champions League. Clipboard in hand, barking instructions, making kids run laps for losing.
Some of the best coaching I've seen has come from parents who volunteered because no one else would, learned as they went, and focused on making sure every kid had a good time.
Badges teach you frameworks and session planning. They don't teach you patience, empathy, or how to handle the kid who's crying because they scored an own goal. Those things come from caring — and you clearly care, or you wouldn't be reading this.
What actually matters more than badges
If you stripped away all the coaching courses and certifications, the things that make a great grassroots coach would be:
Making every kid feel included. Not just the good ones. The kid who can barely kick the ball. The one who spends half the session picking daisies. The one who's terrified of the ball. If every child leaves your session feeling like they belong, you've done your job.
Being organised enough. You don't need a masterplan. You need three or four activities that fill an hour, with a game at the end. That's it. Having a rough plan beats winging it, but winging it beats cancelling the session.
Not shouting. Seriously. Keep your voice calm, your instructions simple, and your encouragement frequent. You'll be amazed how much better the kids respond compared to the screamer on the next pitch.
Showing up. Every week. In the rain. When you'd rather be on the sofa. Consistency matters more to kids than coaching quality. They want to know you'll be there.
A simple session structure that works
If you've got no idea how to plan a session, here's a template that works for any age group from U7 to U12:
Warm-up (10 mins): A fun game that gets them moving. Not laps. Something like tag, stuck in the mud with a ball, or a dribbling race. The aim is warmth and smiles, not fitness.
Main activity (15-20 mins): One skill focus in a game-like situation. Not a drill where they stand in lines. Something like 3v1 keep-ball (teaches passing under pressure), 1v1 to goal (teaches dribbling and defending), or a 4v4 with a condition like "two-touch only." Keep it simple. One theme per session.
Game (20-25 mins): Let them play. Small-sided — 4v4 or 5v5 is perfect. Minimal instructions from you. Let them figure it out. This is where they actually learn.
Cool-down (5 mins): Quick stretch, one question to the group ("what did we work on today?"), high fives, done.
That's it. An hour. Three activities and a game. You can plan it in five minutes on your phone before you leave the house.
Where to learn for free
You don't need to pay for courses to get better. There are loads of free resources:
The FA's website has free session plans and coaching guides. Search "FA coaching resources" and you'll find enough content to plan a full season.
YouTube is full of grassroots coaching channels. Look for ones focused on small-sided games rather than complex drills. If a video shows kids standing in lines waiting for a turn, skip it.
Watch other coaches. Arrive five minutes early and watch the session before yours. You'll pick up ideas, see what works, and occasionally see what to avoid.
Talk to other coaches at your club. Most are happy to share session plans and ideas. Nobody's guarding trade secrets in grassroots football. Ask questions. Borrow ideas. Adapt them for your team.
When to get your badges
None of the above means badges are worthless. They're not. The FA Level 1 (now called the Introduction to Coaching Football) is a weekend course that gives you a solid foundation in session design, safeguarding, and age-appropriate coaching.
But here's the thing — there's no rush. Coach for a season or two first. Get comfortable. Figure out what kind of coach you are. Then do the course. You'll get ten times more out of it because you'll have real experience to connect it to.
The coaching pathway goes: Introduction to Coaching → FA Level 2 (now called the Certificate in Coaching Football). Most grassroots coaches stop at Level 1 and that's absolutely fine. You don't need a Level 2 to coach U9s on a Sunday morning.
The imposter syndrome doesn't go away (but it gets quieter)
Even experienced coaches have sessions where nothing works. The drill you planned falls flat. The kids are distracted. It rains sideways for 45 minutes. You drive home thinking "what am I even doing?"
That's normal. Every single grassroots coach has those days. The difference between a new coach and an experienced one isn't that the experienced one never doubts themselves — it's that they've learned to shrug it off and try again next week.
If you're tracking what you're doing — even just jotting down what worked and what didn't after each session — you'll start to see patterns. "The kids love small-sided games." "Passing drills in lines don't work." "They focus better when I start with something fun." Over a few weeks, you build a coaching style that's genuinely yours.
InsideFooty can help with this too. Even as a free user, you can track player ratings across the Four Corners model after each session. It gives you a structure that makes the whole thing feel less chaotic — and over time, it shows you that yes, the kids really are improving, and yes, you really are making a difference.
You're already doing the hard part
The hardest thing about grassroots coaching isn't knowing the right drills or having the right badges. It's turning up. Week after week. Giving up your evenings and weekends for other people's kids. Doing it for free. Doing it when it's cold and dark and everyone else is watching telly.
You're already doing that.
The badges, the knowledge, the confidence — all of that comes with time. What can't be taught is the willingness to show up. And you've already got that sorted.
So stop feeling like a fraud. You're not one. You're a volunteer coach doing their best for a group of kids who are lucky to have you.
That's more than enough.