Coaching ● Nov 07, 2022
FAS/AFC ‘A’ Diploma Coaching Course (Part 1) concluded
Course participants take a group photo at the FAS/AFC ‘A’ Diploma Coaching Course, October 2022
SINGAPORE, 7 NOVEMBER 2022 – The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) recently concluded Part 1 of the FAS/Asian Football Confederation (AFC) ‘A’ Diploma Coaching Course.
Held from 17 to 22 October at the Jalan Besar Stadium and Geylang Training Centre, a total of 24 participants came under the mentorship of Lead Coach Developer, Mr Philippe Aw and Assistant Coach Developer, Mr Robin Chitrakar.
Lead Coach Developer, Mr Philippe Aw, October 2022
This was the first of six parts of the course and covered the following topics:
Theoretical Topics
- National Football Curriculum
- Establishing a playing philosophy
- Establishing a coaching philosophy
- Tactical Trends
- Leadership Styles
- Periodisation
- Injury Prevention Exercises
- Emotions in Football
- Principles of Effective Set-Pieces
Practical Topics
- Development of Attack
- Wing Play
- Functional Play-Centre Forward
- Build-Up play through a No. 6
- Transition from defence to attack
- Attacking set-plays
Guest speakers Mr Marcus Lee (National Youth Sports Institute) and Mr Loh Ngiap Tai (FAS Coach Developer) also gave presentations on the topics of Injury Prevention Exercises and Emotions in Football respectively. During the practical session, players from Tanjong Pagar United’s Centre of Excellence side assisted in creating realism for the course participants.
Assistant Coach Developer, Mr Robin Chitrakar (leftmost), October 2022
Lead Coach Developer Mr Aw told FAS.org.sg: “We wanted to deliver a comprehensive course where the coaches will go away with good learnings. Creating a positive environment whereby participants were allowed to share their views, try out new things and make mistakes were all key facets of this course. The participants have in combination a wide degree of experiences and it was important to create an environment that these experiences are shared extensively among all of them.”
Ms Chris Yip-Au, Head Coach of the Singapore Under-14 National Women’s Team, pointed out that the format of the course worked well to facilitate learning. “It allows participants time to be able to learn and practice in their own coaching environment,” she said. “It’s very helpful to be able to have the opportunity to apply what we have learnt and also interact coaches from different background and experience. As much of the learning is geared towards the learner, it gives participants to progress and gather information at their own pace.”
Course participants at the FAS/AFC ‘A’ Diploma Coaching Course, October 2022
“I learnt many things in Part 1 as most of the topics is designed on how coaches train modern football for players and focused towards developing coach own-self philosophy,” added Mr Yuki Fujimoto, Assistant Coach of AIA Singapore Premier League side Hougang United. “Part 1 also allows coaches to know the football trends in the world through open discussion and practical demonstration. Therefore, I’ll design training sessions for players optimally and effectively by using the key points I learnt.”
For Mr Isa Halim, who coaches at the Singapore Sports School, this course was one that he had been looking forward to. “It has been a long-awaited course,” the former Singapore international said. “The course was an eye-opener as it is not done in the traditional way. Part 1 helps coaches to identify their coaching and playing philosophy as well as coming up with strategies to create a positive team environment.”
Course participants at the FAS/AFC ‘A’ Diploma Coaching Course, October 2022
Mr Zainudeen Hassan, Head, Coach Education and Development at the FAS, noted that it has been five years since the last ‘A’ Diploma Course was held in 2017.
“The smiles on their faces for this ‘A’ Diploma was evident at the opening of the course,” he said. “Since 2017, there has been a major change in the contents as per the AFC Convention, and the delivery model.
“For the ease of an adult learner, the course is now broken into smaller parts so that they can learn in a progressive manner. After each module, the coaches are given a few tasks or assignments. This will allow them to put their thoughts together and share their findings at the following part of the course. We look forward to another engaging week during the next part.”
The course participants will return for Part 2 of the course on 26 January 2023.
