"How are you going to create the next Christiano Ronaldo or the next Messi if you don’t give them the freedom to run at people, take risks and be creative. If you can’t do it at nine and ten when can you?" Tom Statham, Manchester United Academy Coach
Who we are
Salisbury Rovers FC Committee
Club Secretary and Welfare Officer: Debbie Sayers Club Treasurer: Pete Donohue Club Chair: Eamonn Doherty Membership Secretary: Charlotte Ventham Committee member: Lee White Committee member: Jim Lawton Committee member: Leeann Donohue Director of sporting equipment: Keir Doherty Associate Committee member: Iain Parsons Associate Committee member: Tim Holmes Co-founder and Associate Committee member: Sarah Hickman
Environment mentor: Steve Hooper Steve is a UEFA B LIcensed/FA Youth Award qualified coach who runs Inclusion Coachingas well as coaching at Swindon Academy and now Swindon Town FC. FA Licensed Coach:Debbie Sayers FA Licensed Coach:Lee White FA Coach: Pete Donohue Coaching Volunteer: Penny Carter Coaching Volunteer: Tim Holmes Coaching Volunteer: Matt Daw Coaching Volunteer: Gemma Paice Coaching Volunteer: Jim Lawton Coaching assistants from our u16 team: David, Aaron, George, Keir
Advisory Panel
Our club links with many clubs and coaches in the UK and around the world. We have formed an advisory panel to support key aspects of our development. This is a way of connecting to experts in their field to whom the club may turn for support and advice. We are always looking to support the creative development of our club.
Our panel is:
Dan Abrahams - Dan Abrahamsis a sport psychologist working alongside individuals, teams, coaches and organisations globally .
Stuart Armstrong - founder of theTalent Equation, Stu is also Head of Coaching at Sport England.
Paul Goodwin - veteran grassroots coach and blogger.
Ted Kroeten - Founder and Artistic Director ofJoy of the People(USA)
Mark O'Sullivan - Uefa A Coach and researcher at AIK FC in Sweden. PhD canddiate and blogger..
Joey Peters - Former Vice Capt, Australia Women's footballer, UEFA A lkicensed coach and creator of Game Play Learn.
Our philosophy
We are an award-winning FA Charter Standardyouth football club in the heart of Salisbury with a very specific identity and purpose. Our club wants to put the joy of football at the heart of everything it does. Joy and competition are not mutually exclusive. Kids are competitive the moment you give them a ball. But kids need to play for themselves not for adults.
We launched in 2016 and won Wiltshire FA Club of the Year in 2018 and again in 2019.
We believe kids' football is not about short-term wins, it’s about love of the game and long-term development. Because of our approach, we don't hold trials and there's no selection. Every child gets equal time on the pitch. Kids get better by playing, not by watching!
With mixed teams and equal playing time, the game is much more competitive with more chances to learn and to lead. We believe this way all players can become good players and good players can become great players! We believe there is ample evidence to support our philosophy.
We look to prioritise the child's voice in the game, encouraging kids to have a real say in how sessions run and what they look like. We believe respecting children's rights is an obligation but that it also allows children to take ownership of their play and make their own decisions.
Additionally, we don't direct play from the touch line in sessions or matches. Short-cuts like directing play might bring easy wins in the short-term, or calm adult fears of losing, or it might look like learning is going on.,but it does not produce thinking footballers and it can lead to drop-out from the game. We believe there is ample evidence to support this.
ADULT WARNING! We are firm about our philosophy and we want to encourage independence and autonomy in children, so if you are looking for coach led/directed football, we are very happy to make recommendations for other clubs. At Salisbury Rovers FC, we pledge to:
1. Provide the best quality evironment
Quality facilitative coaching in a safe environment for all, whatever the level of experience.
Independent decision-making will be prioritised and free play encouraged.
2. Allow kids to play with freedom
"Young players need freedom of expression to develop as creative players ..... they should be encouraged to try skills without fear of failure." Arsene Wenger
Top coaches agree that the greatest players in the world have developed their skills through being allowed to play with freedom. It is essential for creativity.
Sadly, too often kids'' play is overmanaged by adults. We aim to encourage kids' natural creativity.
Young footballers are kids first and foremost. All kids, whatever their ability, learn best when they are not afraid of making mistakes. To accelerate children's ownnership of the game, we encoruage kids to make their own decisions. Individual development comes before team wins and produces more confident players.
Football is a dynamic sport not a computer game. We want kids to own their game and become thinking footballers.
ADULT WARNING! This takes longer and may lead to lossed games while kids grow and learn. We aren't concerned about this but if winning is important to you, we can reccomend other clubs.
3. Develop the whole child
Kids who feel happy and confident play better and keep playing. Kids come first!
Kids will be given opportunities to share their views and to get involved in the development of the club. We will establish a Players' Council for this purpose.
We will also encourage player to player mentoring across age groups.
Football is about values too. Our core values are community, RESPECT and fun. We aim to develop the whole child and create opportunities for players at the club to become involved in community activities and to socialise together.
We have set out some links on our further information page which support our approach. We are also aware of the excellent work going on around the country for example with the award winning Manchester Respect League. We will continue to engage with those leading the way in the progressive development of our national game and we will continue to seek advice from the FA. We are working towards FA Charter Standard and we are committed to the highest possible standards of child safety and football development. We aim to work openly and collaboratively with parents.
Please read our codes for players, parents and coaches. If you agree with what we are trying to achieve, join us today by contacting our club secretary, Debbie Sayers, at Salisburyroversfc@outlook.com or completing the form on our 'Join Us' page. We aim to make our club accessible and affordable for all kids.