Japan Football Association (JFA) held the onsite course of the “FIFA/JFA Coach Educators' Development Pathway Programme” at Prince Takamado Memorial JFA YUME Field in Chiba prefecture, from Monday, 24 July to Friday, 28 July.

This programme is one of the programmes offered by FIFA to its member associations and is carried out in collaboration with FIFA and JFA with the aim of developing “tutors” (coach educators) who will be in charge of training coaches. Twenty tutors chosen from each region and 12 senior tutors (senior coach educators) from JFA are participating in the programme, which had its opening ceremony held online on 14 April. Participants attended an e-learning course and an online course before attending their first practical onsite course. Upon organising this programme, FIFA dispatched Mr. Branimir UJEVIC, FIFA Head of Coaching & Player Development, Mr. Mohamed BASIR, FIFA Senior Manager, and Mr. Dany RYSER, FIFA Technical Expert, to Japan.

“Let's make this course not only a learning experience, but also a bonding experience, so that we can inspire each other and continue to grow,” ONO Takeshi, JFA Deputy Technical Director, remarked at the start of the course. Mr. UJEVIC continued by urging the participants, “We are not here to just carry out the programme. We want each and every one of you to grow as individuals. Once you return to your local community, you will be in our position. We are here to support you, so let’s all strive to grow together.”

Day 1 started with a review of the online and e-learning courses, followed by a summary of the onsite course. Then, using the C Diploma Course as a learning material, FIFA shared how to actually organise and manage the entire training course, and the role of the tutors within the course. During this segment of the course, the FIFA officials stated that, “The content itself is not important, but how to adapt it to the participants in front of you is what matters, even if it may be different from what you are used to doing.” Additionally, it was emphasised that “the role of the tutor is not to guide the participants to a predetermined route, but to help them find the most optimal route of their own, even if they get lost on the way.” In a demonstration of feedback from senior tutors to tutors, a senior tutor conducted a thorough interview with a tutor to elicit their aims, thoughts, and insights, and convey the importance of honing their “questioning skills.”

FIFA demonstrated a practical coaching session with local high school players during the closing session of Day 1. Building on what they had learned on the previous day, the participants from JFA were split into two groups to proceed with the programme, which was conducted in a practical format on Day 2.

It was emphasised that “the key to good feedback is for the mentor to be a good listener” when referring to the three key points to stimulate the development of coaches and players: feed-up, feed-back, and feed-forward. Through role-playing in groups of four, active listening exercises, and presentations, the participants worked to improve the training course and developed a better grasp of the role of tutors and senior tutors.

In a session reflecting on the content and delivery of the training course, one senior tutor offered a feedback, noting that “it was good that you took a learner-centred approach by valuing the time for the participants to share what they had to offer” in response to a tutor's statement that “we tried to allow participants to have time to talk to each other.” The senior tutors also provided some practical tips, including how often they should speak up and regarding time management. After observing such series of events, FIFA commented, “It is important that everyone shares and learns from the knowledge they have. We want you to continue to make the most of what you learn from the feedback you get,” as the coaching sessions on the pitch took place over the course of four days.

After the five-day programme, FIFA's Mr. RYSER commented, “Of all the courses we have organised, they were definitely the world champions, including how the programme was managed. The participants always put what they learned that day into practice the next day. They were very eager to learn and made progress one step at a time.” Mr. BASIR then commented, “From here onwards, they will enter the actual coaching course. I hope they will keep working hard so they may one day provide excellent learning opportunities for coaches around the nation and apply their new discoveries to their daily lives.”

NISHIKAWA Seidai, Director of Coach Education, JFA, who participated as a senior tutor, stated, “Coaches and tutors need to become more creative in order to develop creative players. We have been able to take on a number of new challenges thanks to this programme. Let's expand the community of like-minded individuals and continue to work together.”

The programme will be completed following online and onsite mentoring sessions, which are scheduled to take place in the future.

FIFA Comment

Mr. Mohamed BASIR (FIFA Senior Manager, Coaching Development Department)
As always, the planning, organization and delivery of the FIFA-Japan MA Pathway Coach Educators` Development Programme has been very impeccable. Credit goes to our close collaboration with JFA, led and managed by Takeshi Ono and his team from JFA, consisting of senior coach educators, support staff, participating coach educators, and administration. I was very happy to be able to continue close collaborations with Japan since 2003 during my previous tenure in AFC and now in my role as a FIFA coach educator developer to enhance football education in our member associations, with tremendous support from my team in the FIFA Coaching Development Department. Besides the organization, the performance and contributions from the 18 participating coach educators was outstanding, showing great commitment and standing up to the demands of the onsite course. And to maximize the involvement of their senior coach educators, JFA also strategically included them in the course deliveries for familiarization and future capacity-building. I wish JFA all the best for the upcoming mentoring phase and remain at your disposal. I look forward to our collaborations again.

JFA Comment

ONO Takeshi (JFA Deputy Technical Director)
“Give every talent a chance” is FIFA's current motto for football development and this programme is one of its cornerstones. We have developed and updated our abilities and knowledge on coach education over the years, but this was an extremely valuable opportunity for us to learn “what skills coach educators need and how to improve them” through repeated practise because we had a tendency to solely concentrate on the content of the training. The course had a very unique two-stage structure, with us, the JFA senior tutors, working with the FIFA team to train 20 potential tutors selected from each region. In addition, the “active learning” approach, which encourages continuous involvement in the development process, was also very stimulating. As participants, we are aware that our challenge going forward is how widely we can disseminate these lessons we have learned through this programme. I want to express my gratitude to all of the participants, as well as to Branco, Basir, and Dany for providing us with this valuable learning opportunity.

Participants’ Comments

Mr. HATAKEYAMA Masaki (Hokkaido FA/Sapporo Kaisei Secondary School)
“Learner-centred.” During the actual C Diploma Course, each participant strives to become the coach they want to be, and the tutors hold the key to their development. Through role-playing between tutors, this programme provided us with the opportunity to learn about adult education that fosters growth. We will continue to work together with the regional tutors of the 47FA with the motto “Learner-centred” in mind to ensure that Japan’s coach education system contributes to the wellbeing of the players and the football family. Finally, I would like to thank FIFA, JFA, and all the tutors for allowing me to participate in this world-class tutor training programme.

Mr. NASHIWA Minoru (Hiroshima FA/Sanfrecce Bingo Junior Youth FC)
I want to start by expressing my deep gratitude for the opportunity to participate in such a wonderful programme. I would also like to thank FIFA and JFA officials for all their hard work and support throughout the programme, starting with the e-learning, then online, and finally the onsite courses. For me personally, the five days were really enlightening. It was tense at the beginning, but thanks to the comforting atmosphere and thoughtfully planned activities, the tension dissipated in a good way. I noticed a change in my own thought process as I took on the challenges given to me. The arrow that was pointing at myself while I considered how to complete the task turned to an arrow pointing at how I might use this task to educate and develop the people I am tutoring. To be completely honest, even though I believe I now have a better understanding on concepts like “learner-centred” and “interactivity,” I don't think I have fully organised and understood what I have learned from this programme. That is why I would like to take up the challenge of adult education once again. NEXT TRY!

Ms. ABE Urara (JFA/Kwassui Women’s University)
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the wonderful lecturers, coaches, and staff for the intense, passionate, and valuable time we shared together through this programme. I was greatly intrigued by the way everyone questioned not “what,” but “how,” in a setting focused on adult education, where learning can be both interactive and proactive. I will cherish the knowledge and relationships I have gained from this programme, and I will keep striving to support my community, the FA coaches, and the players they instruct.