LA Galaxy academy coach Grant Heywood: why studying teaching can help you become a more effective coach
Coach | Approach | Grant Heywood| 1.09.2021
LA Galaxy academy coach, Grant Heywood (pictured above), explains why a background in education has helped him prepare effectively for the planning and delivery of football coaching sessions.
Learning:
- Creating specific learning objectives for each coaching session
- How specific learning objectives can aid observation and communication skills
- Using common language for session objectives and coaching points
Studying teaching and gaining experience working in schools can help coaches become more effective when working with players, says LA Galaxy U15 academy coach, Grant Heywood.
“Studying teaching was a huge learning experience for me,” explains Heywood, who taught in Spain, Argentina and Brazil before moving to America to coach full-time in 2012.
“Studying PE was all about breaking down multiple disciplines of sport and fully understanding the technical and tactical objectives of a particular sport.
“Then the challenge was to turn that into a unit of work and provide a 6 or 12 week curriculum around a specific topic, rather than being sporadic with the learning focus.”
Clear learning objectives aid effective observation
Heywood, who combines his current role at LA Galaxy academy with grassroots coach education for US Soccer, believes there is a clear crossover between successful teaching and coaching. Devising specific learning objectives is key to both, he says.
“Having three objectives for each session for example - including some individual objectives for certain players - helps massively when you’re watching a session or an exercise.
