I recently presented at an FAI (Football Association of Ireland) event at the brilliant Explorium venue in Dublin. The venue was perfect for the subject I was talking about as it is the National Sports and Science centre with a focus upon curiosity, exploration and providing engaging activities for children and adults alike.

I have attached a few slides that I used to introduce the presentation. If you have any questions, please post them on the forum and we will engage our community in response.

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Dave Moore

Nov 27

Hi Peter,

My name is Dave Moore and I attended the FAI talk at the Explorium in Dublin on Monday night. I have been a grassroots coach since my son started playing over 13 years ago and although all my kids have moved on I continue to work with kids aged 5-7 at the club academy. I wasn't expecting much from Monday night but I went because I feel the academy that I have run for over 10 years feels like it has been run for over 10 years!

Your talk was inspiring. I've always promoted the fact that as a rural club in Ireland, we may or may not have a professional footballer start with us but we are guaranteed to have girls and boys who will grow up and walk out our gate as men and women and we can have a positive impact on the values that they walk out with.

So thank you. You have helped me to rethink and reflect and work to improve our own academy here.

As I've got older, I find the relationship between the coach and the child fascinating. Children seek chaos, novelty, loss of control and surprise. Because maybe without knowing it they understand this is what drives their capacity to learn. But what makes a good playground makes for a dangerous life. As adults we've learned this. Adults (coaches) are drawn to the exact opposite. Order, control, predictability and equilibrium. It's the ying and yang of football coaching.

Thanks again,

Dave