ISFA has announced a change to the arrangements announced in the Summer 2010 Newsletter "Football Talk" for next year's Third ISFA Conference, Coaching Development & INSET Day. This will not now take place at Wokefield Park but at the De Vere Hotel at Staverton Park, near Daventry, which has excellent conference facilities as well as nearby football pitches.

The Conference will start on the afternoon of Wednesday 8th June and continue until 4.00 pm on Thursday 9th June. Delegates will be able either to attend for one day - on Thursday 9th - or opt for an overnight stay, with coaching sessions in the afternoon of Wednesday 8th followed by and a dinner.

Prices and further information will be published on this page early in 2011. No bookings will be accepted until January 2011.

Based on feedback after the 2009 Conference, there will be three strands to the Conference and delegates will be asked to sign up to one of them:

a) 1st XI and ‘A’ team coaches at Senior Schools – aimed at the more serious coaches in charge of the best schoolboy players
b) ‘B’ and ‘C’ team coaches at Senior Schools – aimed at non-PE specialists who coach the second and third teams at different age levels, who want ideas and practical advice to make their training sessions more relevant and more fun
c) Prep Schools football – aimed at those teaching 5-11 year olds.

All sessions will be appropriate for coaches of both and girls football

Further information will appear on this page as it becomes available.

2009 CONFERENCE

ISFA staged its second Conference, Coaching Development and INSET Day on 4th June 2009 at Derby County FC and feedback from delegates pronounced the occasion a great success

The day began at Pride Park Stadium with plenary session followed by breakout seminars. Amongst those to address the entire Conference were David Elleray (Chairman of ISFA, former Premier League referee and currently a member of the UEFA Referees Committee), Les Howie (FA National Development Manager) and Martin Tyler (legendary Sky Sports commentator). They were followed by Dermot Collins (Project Manager for the FA Respect Campaign) and Mike Riley (current Premier League and FIFA referee) who both discussed the current Respect campaign and discipline on the field.

The breakout session in the morning discussed the best ways to utilise and motivate your coaching staff in schools, the thorny issue of small-side games and 11-a-side football in prep schools, and also the FA's new Junior Leadership programme for teenagers.



After lunch the Conference crossed the road to the PowerLeagues Soccerdome for coaching sessions from the following:

Neil Banfield (Arsenal FC Reserve Team Manager)
Stewart Robson (ex Brentwood School, Arsenal, West Ham and England U21)
John Allpress (FA National Player Development Coach)
Graham Keeley (FA Senior Coach Development Manager)
Julie Callaghan (FA Tesco Skills Coach)
Paul Gibson (FA Tesco Skills Coach)


Arsenal's Neil Banfield


FA Skills Coach Paul Gibson

ISFA plans to hold a similar event once again in 2011.