The Grassroots Football Coach

Send us a textTo mark Black History Month 2024, this special episode of The Grassroots Football Coach is dedicated to celebrating Black History Month.Black History Month is a national celebration which aims to promote and celebrate achievements by Black people and their contributions to the British society.First celebrated in this 1987, this year the theme is “Reclaiming Narratives,” and marks a significant shift towards recognising and correcting the narratives of Black history and culture. In this episode, Mark 'Rivo' Rivers & Richard Brant are joined by FA Regional Coach Development Officer for Diversity & Inclusion, Abdoullah Kheir. On the pod, Abs talks more about his experiences in the game and alongside Rivo, they discuss the opportunities now available to support coaches from diverse backgrounds. Music by Darren Fellerdale

Send us a textTo mark Black History Month 2024, this special episode of The Grassroots Football Coach is dedicated to celebrating Black History Month. Black History Month is a national celebration which aims to promote and celebrate achievements by Black people and their contributions to the British society. First celebrated in this 1987, this year the theme is “Reclaiming Narratives,” and marks a significant shift towards recognising and correcting the narratives of Black history and culture. In this episode, Mark 'Rivo' Rivers & Richard Brant are joined by FA Regional Coach Development Officer for Diversity & Inclusion, Abdoullah Kheir. On the pod, Abs shares his journey growing up in Kingston as 1 of 5 black families, he also talks about his experiences in school and sport as a youngster.Abs also discusses his role models growing up who include John Barnes, Mark Bright, Ian Wright and also more recently from a coaching perspective, Pete Augustine, Paul Davis and of course Mr Rivers himself!Part 2 is released next Thursday!! Music by Darren Fellerdale

Send us a textThroughout UEFA Euro 2024, Mark "Rivo" Rivers and Richard Brant will be discussing the tournament in Germany, from looking ahead to the festival of football to dissecting and reviewing England's performances as 24 teams bid for European glory.On this episode, Rivo & Rich review the final where a late goal from Mikel Oyarzabal 4 minutes from the end clinched victory for La Roja. We breakdown the goals in the 2nd half including Cole Palmer's wonderful finish and discuss the difference of shooting and finishing.The duo then take a look back at Gareth Southgate's 8 years in charge of the Three Lions, from the thrilling penalty shoot-out win vs Colombia in World Cup 2018 to reaching back-to-back European Championship finals. They also look at the impact Gareth has had on football in this country and how he reconnected the nation to fall in love with England once again.They then take a final look back at the Euro's in Germany, some of the highlights and moments of the tournaments plus how the young stars shone in Germany.Music by Darren Fellerdale.

Send us a textThroughout UEFA Euro 2024, Mark "Rivo" Rivers and Richard Brant will be discussing the tournament in Germany, from looking ahead to the festival of football to dissecting and reviewing England's performances as 24 teams bid for European glory.On this episode, Rivo, Rich & Marley look back at England's Semi-Final victory vs the Netherlands with Ollie Watkins scoring after 89:59 and taking England to Berlin! They talk about the outstanding performance of Kobbie Mainoo and how substitutions have impacted the game since the introduction from 3 to 5 changes. They chat about Gareth's vital experience in tournament football and the critical moments of quality from players throughout England's journey which has led them to the final. They also look back at Spain's 2-1 victory over France with 16 year-old Lamine Yamal scoring one of the goal's of the tournament.   They then look ahead to the final on Sunday in Berlin and discuss where the match can be won for Gareth's Three Lions and the dangers which Spain possess.  Also hear about the connection Marley has with England Semi-Final hero Ollie Watkins! Theme Music by Darren Fellerdale, Inspirational Music by Onoychenkomusic (Pixabay)

Send us a textThroughout UEFA Euro 2024, Mark "Rivo" Rivers and Richard Brant will be discussing the tournament in Germany, from looking ahead to the festival of football to dissecting and reviewing England's performances as 24 teams bid for European glory.On this episode, Rivo & Rich are joined by the returning Marley to look back at England's penalty shootout success vs Switzerland. They breakdown the game, talk through the substitutions made and the impact Bukayo Saka had on the game. Plus Rivo & Marley talk about the mentality needed to take a penalty in such a high pressure situation and why it's important for players to believe in their process. They then look ahead to the Semi-Final ties and give their thoughts on who will make it to the final in Berlin on Sunday 14th July. Music by Darren Fellerdale

Send us a textThroughout UEFA Euro 2024, Mark "Rivo" Rivers and Richard Brant will be discussing the tournament in Germany, from looking ahead to the festival of football to dissecting and reviewing England's performances as 24 teams bid for European glory.On this episode, Rivo & Rich look back at England's late late show vs Slovakia and discuss performance vs results at the elite level. Rivo talks about Jude Bellingham's mentality and quality of strike plus importance of being able to play in different positions with recent example of Bukayo Saka playing 3 different positions in 1 game. Rivo & Rich then look ahead to the Euro 2024 quarter-finals and look across the pond to couple of ties in the Copa America's last 8 too plus the pair discuss the differences between a BBQ and a picnic.  Music by Darren Fellerdale

Send us a textThroughout UEFA Euro 2024, Mark "Rivo" Rivers and Richard Brant will be discussing the tournament in Germany, from looking ahead to the festival of football to dissecting and reviewing England's performances as 24 teams bid for European glory.On this episode, Rivo & Rich are joined by a special guest as they look back at England's draw with Slovenia which saw the Three Lions top their group. They also look back on the group stages including Georgia's fantastic victory and they look ahead to the Round of 16 starting this weekend.

Send us a textThroughout UEFA Euro 2024, Mark "Rivo" Rivers and Richard Brant will be discussing the tournament in Germany, from looking ahead to the festival of football to dissecting and reviewing England's performances as 24 teams bid for European glory.On this episode, Rivo & Rich look back at England's draw with Denmark which keeps the Three Lions top of their group. They focus on the balance of the team, what changes Gareth may make and the similar challenges which grassroots coaches will face on a weekly basis.

Send us a textIn this episode, Mark 'Rivo' Rivers & Richard Brant are joined by former Reading, Newcastle United & West Ham Utd goalkeeper, Shaka Hislop for the 2nd part of the special. Shaka begins with his first stint at West Ham Utd under Harry Redknapp where he says under Harry's leadership, players like Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard & Paolo Di Canio were encouraged to be creative and not afraid to make mistakes. Shaka also talks about the infamous Di Canio scissor kick strike in 2000.Harry then took Shaka to Portsmouth in what would turn out to be a promotion winning season taking Pompey back to the Premier League.Rich makes Shaka relive the 2006 FA Cup Final where, during his 2nd stint at West Ham Utd,  the Hammers were seconds away from beating Liverpool in normal time before Steven Gerrard's iconic strike.Shaka also talks about his honour in representing Trinidad & Tobago at their very first World Cup in 2006 and receiving the call up to play just minutes before their first game vs Sweden and keeping a clean sheet!! Next game was England where Shaka kept the Three Lions at bay for 83 mins before two late goals win it for England.  There's also Shaka's take on the modern day GK, who he thought was the best player he ever played with, his career as a pundit on ESPN in America and find out if Shaka could beat Rivo in this week's quiz. Music by Darren Fellerdale

Send us a textThroughout UEFA Euro 2024, Mark "Rivo" Rivers and Richard Brant will be discussing the tournament in Germany, from looking ahead to the festival of football to dissecting and reviewing England's performances as 24 teams bid for European glory.On the eve of the tournament and with Rivo in the States with Arsenal, Rich caught up with Referee Development Officer Adam Parry to look ahead at the Group Stages. We will also hear from Rich & Adam on their tournament predictions and Rivo makes a brief appearance dialling in from Atlanta. Music by Darren Fellerdale

Send us a textIn this episode, Mark 'Rivo' Rivers & Richard Brant are joined by former Reading, Newcastle United & West Ham Utd goalkeeper, Shaka Hislop. On the pod, Shaka talks about his early days growing up in Trinidad & Tobago before attending Howard University in the States and studying mechanical engineering. Shaka explains how, when completing a summer internship at NASA, his mentor encouraged him to try out for the local indoor team and how his opportunity at Reading FC came about.  During his time at Reading, Shaka provides us a insight into the challenges he faced initially moving to a different country and then soon becoming the number 1 spearheading Reading to the brink of the Premier League.Shaka also shares his time at Newcastle United under Kevin Keegan playing attacking and expansive football with the Magpies taking Manchester United all the way in the 95/96 Premier League title race. He also talks about the unique challenge vying to be number 1 at the top level.Join us again next week for Part 2 which includes Shaka's time at West Ham, his incredible story to be apart of Trinidad & Tobago's first ever appearance at the World Cup Finals in 2006 plus hear if Shaka can overcome Rivo in the quiz! Music by Darren Fellerdale.

Send us a textIn this episode, Mark 'Rivo' Rivers & Richard Brant are joined by Arun Brar, a grassroots coach from Berks & Bucks FA.On the pod, Arun talks about his early memories of football, how he fell in love with the game and provides insight into his journey and some of the challenges he has faced along the way as coach from a historically underrepresented ethnic community. Arun openly discusses some of the potential barriers to participation for Sikh families wanting to get involved in football and shares his thoughts on traditional formats of the game and how they may need to evolve to offer a truly inclusive experience for all. He also shares witnessing his brother being racially abused during a match over 20 years ago, opens up about his own experiences of racial stereotyping in his role as a coach and discusses the impact this has had on his life and how he is committed to changing the game for the better as a result.The team then delve deeper into his coaching career starting out as a young volunteer at cricket in his mid-teens before moving into grassroots football at age of 21. Arun also talks about his placement at QPR as part of the FA's Club Placement Programme which provides opportunities at professional clubs for coaches from underrepresented backgrounds and more recently as part of The FA Mentee Development Programme.   There's also chat about Johan Cruyff, Arun's love for Jurgen Klopp & Liverpool and his memory of Michael Owen's wonder goal vs Argentina at World Cup '98.Music by Darren Fellerdale.

Send us a textMark 'Rivo' Rivers & Richard Brant are back with Series 8 of the award-winning podcast and this week they are joined by Vicky Farleigh.  On the pod this week, Vicky shares her footballing journey which started out as a player before becoming a coach. Vicky talks about her life changing moment when she contracted meningitis and showing resilience which is a trait she has shown throughout her life.    Vicky talks about her current role at Luton Town Football Club and the importance of the local community being part of the club's journey from the National League to the Premier League and the impact it has had. Vicky also talks about some of the barriers she has faced as a female coach, her recent role as coach of England's Walking Football Team and her previous role as Chair of Bedfordshire FA's Inclusion Advisory Group. Also hear about Vicky's love for Manchester City as she talks about some of her favourite past players including Shaun Wright-Phillips & Shaun Goater Music by Darren Fellerdale.

Send us a textMark 'Rivo' Rivers & Richard Brant are back with Series 8 of the award-winning podcast and this week they are joined by Mariano Levisman. On the pod this week, Mariano talks about his coaching journey which started attending Berks & Bucks FA Level 2 course in High Wycombe all the way to his role at the time of recording at Granada CF in La Liga. Mariano talks about in depth about his rise from grassroots to the top including roles at Club Atlético Talleres & Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield in Argentina's Primera Division & Sport Club Internacional in Brazil's Serie A before moving onto Granada CF. Mariano shares the hard work he had put in including organising visits to clubs to observe coaching methods at Aston Villa & PSG to support his development. Mariano also talks about his experiences growing up in Argentina and how his aspirations to become a professional player changed as a teenager and how he fell in love with coaching. Mariano also provides us with how the opportunity came about at Granada CF with his first game being away at the Santiago Bernabeu against Real Madrid! Mariano talks about his role at the La Liga club and provides some fantastic insight into the game his Granada team played against Barcelona just 24 hours before! Music by Darren Fellerdale.

Send us a textMark 'Rivo' Rivers & Richard Brant are back with Series 8 of the award-winning podcast and this week they are joined by Berks & Bucks FA's Business Support Administrator, Hans Cook.  Each year, Rivo & Rich release a special podcast to promote and highlight Mental Health  Awareness Week and this year it takes place from 13th to 19th May, with the theme of “Movement: Moving more for our mental health”.On the pod this week, Hans joined Rivo & Rich to talk about his own Mental Health journey and shares insight into his own coping mechanisms. Hans also shares the importance that football plays in his life and his role at Berks & Bucks FA supporting Mental Health. Hans also talks about his Instagram page which he started during the pandemic reviewing Coffee which has turned into producing his own coffee blend, CapNChino. Don't forget to check out Hans' podcast, Flat Whites & Insights. To find out more about Mental Heath Awareness Week visit the Mental Health Foundation page.  Music by Darren Fellerdale.

Send us a textMark 'Rivo' Rivers & Richard Brant are back with Series 7 of the award-winning podcast and this week they are joined by Berks & Bucks FA's Football Development Officer, Alex Pratt.  On the pod this week, Alex talks about his journey which started playing at U9 and becoming secretary of his local grassroots Club at the age of just 17. Alex talks in detail about his passion for goalkeeping and him & Rivo share a funny story from a GK course they were on together a few years ago.Alex talks about the pressures he and other young people face when leaving school and the added pressure to make life-changing decisions about their careers at such an early age. Alex opens up on his experience at university in particular during the Covid pandemic and how upon leaving university, he was able to be in a job which he is passionate about and making a difference. Alex also talks about the Women's World Cup and the legacy the competition will have for aspiring female players both locally and across the globe.   Also find out if Alex can end Rivo's winning streak in the end of the pod quiz. Music and post-production by Darren Fellerdale.

Send us a textMark 'Rivo' Rivers & Richard Brant are back with Series 7 of the award-winning podcast and this weeks guest is FA Coach Developer & Mentor, Chris Berry.  This week, Football Development Officer Alex Pratt is guest co-host alongside Rich as Rivo is away on holiday in Portugal. On the pod, Chris shares his journey from his experience starting playing a year up at 11 years old up to setting up a new Club with his friends named Harchester Hawks (can you guess why it was called Harchester......). Chris talks about being a 4th generation Reading FC fan and how his career coaching a variety of sports led him to his current role at the Community Trust at Reading FC. Chris talks about the different roles he's has had at the Trust plus he shares his thoughts on the benefits of smaller formats of the game in particular at the younger age group in the Foundation phase. Chris also talks about his role as Developer and Mentor at The FA plus his role in supporting the growth of the BBFA Female Coaches Community over the past 18 months.  Also find out if Chris can beat guest co-host Alex in the end of the pod quiz.  Music and post-production by Darren Fellerdale.

Send us a textMark 'Rivo' Rivers & Richard Brant are back with Series 7 of the award-winning podcast and this weeks guest is Premier League Referee Graham Scott. This week, Referee Development Officer Sam Myatt leads a Referee Takeover of the podcast in Rivo's absence alongside Rich. On the pod, Graham shares his journey from his playing days as Abingdon Town and his memories of playing in the FA Youth Cup. Graham talks about how an injury forced Graham to stop playing and why he took up refereeing at the age of 27. Graham talks about his love for refereeing and how he made the journey through the pathway and become a Premier League Referee.  Graham also talks about VAR, the best goal he has witnessed and gives us an insight into what a normal week as a Premier League Referee looks like. Also find out if Graham can overcome Sam in the end of the pod quiz plus hear what type of biscuit is Graham's favourite!  Music and post-production by Darren Fellerdale.

Send us a textMark 'Rivo' Rivers & Richard Brant are back with Series 7 of the award-winning podcast and this week they are joined by grassroots coach, Stephen Jeffery. In the episode, Stephen shares his journey from his first memories of playing football and a memory that has stayed with him to his current role as a grassroots coach. Stephen talks about how to maximise his time with his weekly hourly training sessions with his time and his preferred coaching style.  Stephen gives a great insight into his football experiences in football outside of the UK in Seychelles and Australia and how football has enabled lifelong friendships. Stephen also talks about his passion to develop coaches and his aspirations on the next part of his coaching career.  Also find out if Stephen can put stop Rivo's winning streak in the end of the pod quiz. Music and post-production by Darren Fellerdale.

Send us a textMark 'Rivo' Rivers & Richard Brant are back with Series 7 of the award-winning podcast and this week they are joined by FA Regional Coach Development Officer, Vicky Fisher. In the episode, Vicky shares her fantastic journey from her first memories of football playing at primary school to her current role at The FA. Vicky talks about her career path and how a tragic incident transformed her outlook on life and ensured Vicky maximised every opportunity that has been available. Vicky gives a great insight in her coaching role in Dubai before returning back to Cornwall. Vicky also talks about barriers she and other females have experienced in the game and how the pathway and support has improved massively over the last decade. Vicky also talks about her passion for football, her grassroots team plus we look forward to the the World Cup in Australia & New Zealand. Also find out if Vicky can put an end to Rivo's winning streak in the end of the pod quiz. Music and post-production by Darren Fellerdale.