Tosh Farrell Soccer Magazine June 2020 | Page 29

Being entrusted with the development of the players each season has ensured that I’m delivering a comprehensive program of practice and games, which includes working with other coaches including female’s who have either played, or who are still playing, to a good level. When doing this, it’s important that there is a synergy of shared outcomes, which we’re all working towards and many of the players have been fortunate enough to have spent time attending Tosh’s Strive for Excellence program in addition to other regular practice sessions and futsal. The growth of the women and girls game over the past three years has been amazing to see and I’ve also been pleased to have seen an increase in the opportunities for girls to play regularly in representative football. After becoming involved myself, I became aware that there was no provision locally for players to continue beyond U11 until such time as they were old enough to trial at County U14 level. It’s clear that this view was shared across other districts as I’ve had the pleasure of meeting an increasing number of district coaches from around the country, many of whom were also keen to keep representative U12/13 teams training and playing beyond the well-established, U11 age. Through the fantastic support of Sefton Schools FA and Merseyside County Schools FA as well as the commitment of other district managers, we managed to launch an U13’s representative league this season, which provides a development pathway for the players ahead of potential County U14 trials. Having two daughters who have had the opportunity to participate in district football, one of whom also got to play a number of years at County level, I’m thankful to each and every manager and coach who has worked with them.