Red Flags, Green Flags & The Truth About Kids Football Coaching
This month, we were invited onto Robert Ursell’s podcast Raising Footballers Unfiltered – and the conversation was too good not to share with you!
Rob is a former professional footballer and England Futsal international, now based in Dubai where he runs The Futsal Academy.
We have been going back and forth on Instagram for a couple of years – agreeing on some things, pushing back on others and this episode is that conversation in full plus loads more.
We cover:
What is the constraint-led approach and does it actually work?
We break down how Foot-Tech structures sessions from the moment kids arrive Why 100% opposed training is non-negotiable
How we get even complete beginners learning through the game
“They’re not ready for opposed training yet” — the biggest myth in youth football?
We both address the most common pushback we receive head-on, and share why the research tells a very different story.
Red flags every parent should know about (from sessions that look more like dance rehearsals than football, to coaches using kids as extras in their own highlight reels), to the “we’ll get your child scouted” promise – we break down the content and coaching practices parents should be wary of.
Green flags to look for when choosing a session If you’ve never played football yourself and you’re trying to find the right environment for your child, we explain exactly what to look for (and it’s simpler than you might think).
Why academy success is not the only measure of success (one of the most important conversations in this episode). We challenge the idea that getting into an academy is the only goal and make the case for what football really gives kids over a lifetime.
What authentic coaching content actually looks like – as two coaches who both put content out regularly, we talk honestly about the difference between content that genuinely helps parents and content that’s just selling a dream.
This one is honest, unfiltered and packed with stuff every football parent in the UK needs to hear.