FIFA beach soccer coaching course was held for five days from 9 September at Okura beach in Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, and Japan Beach Soccer National Team coach MARCELO Mendes hosted a lecture for beach soccer coaches who were selected from all round the nation as a FIFA instructor.

In the earlier portion of the course, the participants worked on thinking of training menus and practical strategies, being given themes like set plays, defence and goalkeepers, and then they practiced them at the beach.

By going through menus that they came up with as coaches in actual plays, they were required to have the eyes of both sides, considering if their hypothesis were practical enough and things like that. And by pointing out what were good and what needed to improve with each other, they kept looking for making better menus.

From the third day on, they observed and analysed a national tournament that was held at the same venue. They watched the games carefully and exchanged their own opinions with each other, regarding how they would coach had they been the coaches for those teams, how they would analyse their opponents' strengths and weaknesses and what kind of measures they would have to come in those games.

After all, those beach soccer-associated people of the nation got to know with each other well and it became a course that could help promote the game going forward.

Instructors' Comment

MARCELO Mendes, FIFA instructor
This time, it was a FIFA course for coaches, and we discussed a lot of different elements about beach soccer, such as techniques, strategies, set plays and practicalities. But because the levels of the participants were high, it felt that we were able to make the contents of our discussion and lectures very detailed.

Also, we watched the national tournament, analysing and discussing about the plays of the Japanese top teams, the course became even more meaningful. While I'm pleased that we were able to host a course like this in Japan, I'm grateful that I was given the opportunity to serve as a FIFA instructor to promote the game and all the support from the JFA.

Participant’s Comments

KISHIMOTO Yuji
I appreciate very much that I was able to participate in a course like this. It was very valuable that we were lectured about today's beach soccer from the current National Team coach. I could think of the game even more deliberately and it was a learning experienced that I got to do things I don't usually do such as analysing games. I felt very closer with the World Cup and national beach soccer championship, and I felt like that I saw the direction of Japanese beach soccer going forward.

All the participants this time were associated with beach soccer very enthusiastically, and I heard a lot of things that they do in their areas. It was a gathering that made me think that I had to keep in touch with them and make efforts to promote beach soccer.

FUJISAWA Kohei
It was an opportunity for us to be able to learn so many things, and both as a player and coach of beach soccer and as an operator of the game, I could develop my knowledge. Instructor Marcelo, who's the present Japan National Team coach, gave us all the experience and knowledge that he's accumulated and taught us the current status quo on the world's beach soccer and its future as well as his thoughts on how to promote the game in Japan, and for us the participants, it was a very meaningful occasion.

The curriculum that we analysed the national championship was practical and I felt that it was very beneficial to have this course at the same time as the tournament. Regarding how the lectures were held, they had discussions between the participants and group works effectively, so we were able to actively get involved.

The participants varied from those who were associated with the sport for a long time and those who just began the sport, but we had the common thoughts that we wanted to make the game more popular. So we could build very progressive relationships between ourselves.

NAGAKURA Kazuki
I got to learn the knowledge and techniques on so many different aspects of beach soccer, from the training methods to the game analysing, through this course. The guidances by the instructor were very thorough and easy to understand.

And we came up with our own training methods and actually used them to examine on where to improve, so we actually got to experience coaching practically, and it was a very good experience for me as I will think of my own training ways from now on.