Contribute to The Regista.
I recently published an academic manuscript (see here) detailing three stories from my experience as a football coach (part one can be found here). As part of this process, I noted that for the standard of coaching to improve, we as coaches, need to share our collective stories so we may begin to draw collective similarities between our experiences. However, upon inspection, I noticed that there really wasn’t a structured space for this to occur. The Regista aims to address this problem by providing a space focusing on and drawing together the experiences of real world coaches.
While there may be the odd article discussing what can be learnt from coaches such as Mourinho and Guardiola, the focus here will be on amateur and elite level coaches rather than expert. Ultimately, the reason for this is simple, the lessons that can be gleaned from working with multi-millionaires at a state of the art training complex have been covered and are of little use to a coach working with a group of six-year olds on a boggy patch of grass. So here it is, share your story, as a real world coach, so we may learn from each other in a practical and accessible way
If you feel that this would be a valuable resource, this is your opportunity to make a difference. Simply write a story (max. 1000 words) explaining a situation that has impacted you as a coach and email or tweet @JohnP_Mills who will add you as a writer to the site. Your story could be an interaction with a player, another coach, something you have observed or an amalgamation of your prior experiences on a topic (see Jones, 2006). If you would prefer not to write a coaching story, the site will have other sections that you could contribute to, be it an interview with a coach you respect or a rant about something that grinds your gears (A recent one for me would be seeing two 40-year old “coaches” playing against U8s in an 13vs.13 training game — grrr!). Furthermore, if you read a book, academic paper or used an app that you believe other coaches will find of interest, why not write a review.
Ultimately, the resource is here to help coaches reflect on their practice and help others in the process. Everyone has something to offer so jump in when ready.
Cheers,
John
P.s., If you’ve wondered why the site is called The Regista, the term is the Italian translation of director and is often used within football to mean the player that initiates a movement (do you see what I did there?). I’ve got the ball at my feet and am just waiting for someone to make a run. If you’re that person, jump in and get involved — I’ll be happy to help in anyway I can.
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