Football Coaching For Players With Additional Needs: Why One-To-One's Make The Difference

There's a particular kind of pride that comes from watching a player find their own way into football... especially when it's taken longer to get there, or if they've disclosed to me that they've previously felt like the game wasn't really built for them to begin with.

Football is a sport that has the potential to offer something genuinely meaningful to anyone who takes part - the sense of belonging, the confidence that comes from developing a skill, the routine of showing up week after week (and I don't think those things only apply to players who find the game straightforward)... If anything, I think they matter more to the players who've had to work harder just to access it!

That access isn't a given for everyone though - and for players with additional needs, it can take a bit more thought to get right...

Why Group Sessions Don't Always Work

Most football sessions such as grassroots training, school PE, general group coaching at camps/clubs etc. are built around the average participant...

They follow a set structure, move at a set pace and assume a fairly similar starting point from everyone taking part - which works fine for a lot of players, but inevitably leaves others behind.

For a player with additional needs, that mismatch can show up before a ball's even been kicked.

Busy, noisy and unfamiliar environments along with strangers can be genuinely overwhelming for someone with sensory sensitivities or autism - and coaching players by giving long explanations (of which, I'm regularly guilty of without knowing it most of the time) and quick transitions between lessons/drills can be really hard to keep up with if you have ADHD or dyspraxia - and that's not because the ability isn't there, but because the format was never built with that player purposely/specifically in mind.

Then there's the social side of it too... the awareness of being watched or seen to be not understanding or getting something wrong in front of everyone else (which can be enough on its own to put a player off the game completely).

None of this is about the player's ability - it's about the environment in which they're training - and it's exactly why I began offering one to one football coaching sessions for players with learning difficulties and SEN... read on to find out more...

So What Actually Changes With One-To-One Football Coaching For Players With Additional Needs?

The biggest shift is that the session gets built specifically around the player - rather than the player being expected to fit around the session.

That might mean I slow things right down and introducing new skills gradually, with plenty of repetition before moving on. It might mean changing how my instructions are given e.g. one step at a time rather than me dumping a long list to hold in your head all at once.

It may also be me building in a consistent routine at the start and end of every session, to implement some familiarity and/or to know what to expect next time.

Or, it might simply mean taking the time to properly understand what interests and motivates a particular player, and building sessions around that instead of creating a plan that was never going to suit them anyway.

None of it means compromising on the coaching itself... it just means delivering it in a way that actually works for the person in front of me.

I'm DBS checked and paediatric first aid trained too (something I know matters even more to parents once additional needs are part of the conversation), and all football coaching sessions (whether that's one to one or teams/groups) take place across Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch at locations chosen to suit the individual (so the environment feels right before we've even started) always in a relaxed, peaceful and quiet environment).

The Difference It Can Make Off The Pitch

This is genuinely one of the most rewarding parts of the job for me... watching the confidence that grows through football start to show up in other parts of a player's life too, and it's something a lot of families mention to me after just a handful of sessions (which, hand on heart, brings a big smile to my face when I receive messages or they tell me face to face at the next session).

Routine plays a big part in that, and for a lot of players (particularly those with autism or anxiety), knowing what to expect - the same coach, the same sort of structure, a predictable start and finish etc. is genuinely calming in a way that unstructured time rarely is.

Once that routine starts to feel safe, the confidence that comes from visibly getting better at something (a first touch that's improved, a skill that's finally clicked) tends to travel well beyond the pitch... It shifts the story a player tells themselves from "I can't do this" to "I'm getting better at this" - and that mindset change matters just as much as anything that happens with a ball at their feet!

There's also the social side to it too!

Even in a one-to-one setting, there's still communication, turn-taking, very low-pressure back-and-forth of working with someone else (and I always try to bring in friendly conversation and fun if it's wanted) and for a lot of players, that's genuinely valuable practice for the kind of interaction that can feel much harder in less structured settings.

I've written a bit more about what football does for mental health more broadly in my post on the mental health benefits of football, which is worth a read alongside this article if wellbeing is something you're interested in reading up a bit further on too.

Every Player Is Different

Additional needs cover a huge spectrum, and over the years I've worked with players of all ages with a number of different diagnoses.

It isn't any specific condition that shapes how I coach, it's understanding the individual in front of me and figuring out what actually helps them feel comfortable, motivated and able to progress at their own pace.

Even within the same diagnosis, no two players need exactly the same thing... Two players with autism might need completely different approaches from one another - and what works brilliantly for one player with ADHD might not suit the next at all (which is really the whole point of one-to-one football coaching... It's built around the person, not the label).

I also try to spend as much time listening to parents and carers as I do the player themselves (since nobody knows a player better than the people who see them every day).

Hearing and learning about what tends to overwhelm them, what they respond well to, how a good day looks compared to a harder one etc. having these insights helps me to shape their sessions and ensure that I can fully tailor it to them specifically.

Age doesn't really come into it either... This works just as well for adults as it does for younger players - and for grown-ups who've never really had the chance to access football in a way that suited them before, it can open up a part of the game that's simply never felt available.

If you'd like to hear from families who've been through this already, my testimonials page have reviews worth reading - and my SEN and inclusive football coaching page goes into more detail on how sessions are actually structured...

Taking The First Step

For a lot of families, getting in touch about one-to-one football coaching comes after something hasn't quite worked elsewhere, but the participant is still wanting to play and learn about football (in an environment that's more 'right' for them).

Taking that first step (into one on one football training) can sometimes feel like the hardest one - and it's something I take seriously...

Sessions are introduced gently at whatever pace feels right - and there's never any pressure to hit a certain standard by a certain point. Every player is made to feel welcome right from that first session, and the focus always stays on the positives such as what's going well and what's improving (rather than what isn't), which is how confidence actually gets built - genuinely and gradually (rather than just handed out in the odd bit of praise).

Progress gets measured against the player (not against anyone else) and honestly, the only thing that really matters at the end of a session is whether they enjoyed it and want to come back!

If you'd like to chat about whether one-to-one football coaching for players with additional needs could work for you or your child, I'd love to hear from you.

You can find out more on my one-to-one football coaching page, read more about 1:1 sessions on my other blog article 'is one to one football coaching right for you' or get in touch directly through my book online and contact page.

Sessions are available for players of all ages and abilities across Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch and the surrounding areas.

Strouden Park Playing Fields in Bournemouth