Episode 7 - What Makes a Good Sideline?

In grassroots football, the sidelines are never silent — but what impact do they really have on the game?

In this episode of From the Sidelines, I reflect on how the voices, reactions, and behaviours from the touchline can potentially shape a child’s experience far more than we might realise.

From moments of genuine encouragement — even from opposition parents — to the noise that can build when too many instructions take over, this is an honest look at what a positive sideline might look like.

Because kids aren’t just listening to the game…they’re listening to us⚽.

What’s the best — or worst — thing you’ve heard from a sideline?
Let me know your thoughts.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

You can tell a lot about a team, not just by how they play, but by what you hear from the sidelines. In this episode, we're going to be talking about what can make a good sideline. Let's jump in.

SPEAKER_01 0:21

Let's talk about grassroots for thanks for listening to the video.

SPEAKER_00 1:10

Been busy with work, had a little holiday in with the family, but really good to be back on speaking to you today about things you hear from the sidelines of what can make a good sideline. So, yeah, today's episode is something that it's part of every single grassroots game. Maybe it doesn't get talked about as much as some other topics, but how important are the sidelines? Because whether we realise it or not, the sidelines shape the experience just as much as what happens on the pitch. So you stand back during a game and you just listen, and you know what? For for myself and Johnny as as coaches, managers, it's quite hard to do that. Um we'll probably be the first to admit we can be quite vocal, we can uh get a bit shouty sometimes and talk quite a lot. But every now and again you do just step back and and listen and you can hear everything. You can hear instructions, not just from ourselves, you can hear it from other people, you can hear encouragement, you can hear frustration, celebration, and the kids hear all of it too. It's not just the words they hear, but tone as well, the reactions, the pressure. When it's positive at its best, the sideline can be so supportive, encouraging, sometimes calm to a degree. You hear things like lucky, go again, oh great effort, what a pass, keep going, what a save, all that lovely stuff, and it creates confidence. Kids feel safe to try things, safe to make mistakes, and that's so important. Uh uh at grassroots football, kids should be allowed to have that freedom to to fail and to try things and make mistakes, and that's what it's all about. You know, professionals make mistakes, so absolutely, at kids level and grassroots level, they're gonna make mistakes too. Here's a real moment that it it sparked you know a little bit of thought in me and why I wanted to come on and talk about this, and you every now and again you get that moment that makes you think and remind you of what a positive sideline sounds like. So the Sunday just got on. We re we played in our second cup final of the season, which is brilliant for us. We got into two cup finals, and so this was our second one, and something just stood out straight away. Um, you could hear parents and coaches from both sides, but they were all saying things like, Wow, what a great pass! Great feat number seven or number ten, whatever it was at the time, and that just wasn't for their own team, it was for both sides, and it just changed the whole feel of the game. Yes, there was still competition, there was still intensity, but there was respect and encouragement, and it created an environment where the kids could just play, it was just something really good to be a part of. This team are in our league, and actually, they're they're a really good team, and we we've had a previously a really good game, so we knew it was going to be a competitive game anyway, and a good game, because both teams are uh are good outfits, but that encouragement, that support, it just really made the occasion really good and really special, and and that's what a good sideline can do. It doesn't take away from the game because the game you know it spoke for itself and it was still a very good game, but it just helps add to it, and it was just that moment like that where it's just like wow, this is what grassroots football is all about. It's just that's what you want it to be, you want it to be that encouragement, everybody up for the occasion, just enjoying it, and positive things being said for both teams, for for both sets of players, for both sets of parents. It was just really, really nice to see. But when it becomes noise, sometimes, yeah, you know what, it it can become too much, too many voices, too many instructions, too many expectations. Pass you, get rid of it. And suddenly, instead of playing, kids are reacting. You know what, we're all victim to that, and again, people don't do it out of malice or in a bad way, it's they want to help, they want to support. Um, but that's how the that's how kids will will react and they'll and they'll and they'll play off that and they'll they'll they'll move from that. Um and we've seen that in other sides as well. Uh it's not just yeah, from outside, we've seen it in other other games across the season from other teams, other teams that I've watched up from my friends that are in other leagues as well. Um, and where the noise just builds, instructions come in from every direction, every touch being called, every decision being corrected, and you can almost see hesitation creeping in for some players. That split second where they're not thinking about the game. Are they thinking about what they're being told? And is that where we just need to sometimes just try and and let the kids play? And you know what? It probably gets a lot easier the older the older kids get. Um they probably or maybe it doesn't, maybe kids get maybe they get more instructions the older they get because the expectation changes. Um but it's really interesting to see that if they're always getting that direction, is that what they is that what they're waiting for? Are they waiting to be told what to do rather than just trying to naturally do it themselves? And it's all about striking that balance. Like I said, you want to be supportive, you want to get the best out of them, but you also want to want to try and and let them let them play. And it's and it's the it's the pressure that we don't notice, maybe. You know, one thing that stands out more and more is how kids look to the sidelines that they don't look for tactics, but they're looking for reactions after a mistake, after a missed chance, after a goal, they they look, they check over. Was that okay? And is that where pressure can can creep in? And you know what? A lot of the time it's met with a very, very positive reaction, like say a round of applause or a nod of approval or a great effort. Um, but actually, are they looking to say, you know, am I doing the right thing? And is that where that pressure, that unconscious pressure can creep in? Um, linking to everything else when you think about it, the sidelines influence everything we've we've we've talked about before, and I've talked about before on here, you know, winning, your confidence, incentives, decision making. Because even the best coach messages can can get lost within the noise. So, yeah, what good sideline looks like. A good sideline isn't silent. You know, I don't expect anybody to stand there and just not say anything because that's not that's that's not gonna happen. Um people will always want to be there, and it's and it's and it's supportive, but it it's it's measured, it's positive, it's consistent, we're encouraging effort, we're encouraging bravery, teamwork, it's not just outcomes. And sometimes the best thing you can say is sometimes nothing at all, maybe a thumbs up, maybe a not. Um, yeah, it's not always easy, and I'll be the first to admit it's not it's not easy. Um, and you know, Johnny and myself have said, you know what, we're not gonna say much today. Two minutes in, we're we're we're kind of then trying to prompt the lads and trying to support them, and again, it's just trying to get that balance, but but creating that real positive atmosphere and and and set up for them as well, you know, creating quiet on purpose. And I know they've they've done like silent touchline weekends across certain leagues as well, where they try and get everybody to be silent. I don't know how they've gone for people, it'd be great you know, it'd be great to hear from people. You know, people are commenting where they've done it, has it worked, has it not worked, you know, did you try it? And then it just, you know, it just kind of one per when one person spoke, everything, everything then came from everybody else. Um, but it's something that we've been thinking about in training as well. This is a really good story. So, a training session this week we actually did it as well, and again, this is why it's kind of sparked a bit of conversation for me. So at the end of our training session this week, we set up a match like we normally do. You know, we did our usual drills and stuff uh before, and then at the end, we always kind of set them up into a game and just get them get them get them playing a competitive game. But we did something slightly different this week, and we said to the lads for like the last five minutes, we're not gonna say anything here, we're just gonna let you play. You talk to each other, you make your own decisions, you do what you think is right. Uh, and naturally, you know, our lads are six and seven years old, it was absolute chaos. It was chaos, but it was their chaos, and that's okay. And again, we could see them try to talk to each other, but again, slowly it turned into a bit of bickering, or that was a foul, or that's our throwing, that uh well, kicking, that's gone out, and it again we just sort of stood there and let it happen, and they were figuring things out, talking to each other, making decisions, getting things wrong, trying again. And that's the bit that sometimes can get lost if the sidelines become too loud, if we're always telling them what to do, they don't get a chance to work it out for themselves. Like I said, balance, of course, that's so important. Of course, we want to help, of course, we want to guide. That's part of coaching, and we will continue to do that. And absolutely, yeah, that's that's something that for a new football team we will do, we will coach, we will talk the lads through it, we will take a step back, but it's nice to see them just you know what, work it out for yourselves. What could you do differently there? We're not gonna tell you, you tell us what you could do differently there. And I think there's real value in giving kids a moment of quiet where they think actually we'll decide on that, and they learn through the game itself. And we do it with other things as well. If we're setting up a game, it's like, right, you organise yourselves, you decide, you know, who might want to go where, and if somebody wants to be, you know, the the attacker, or if somebody wants to, you know, go in goal, sort it out for yourself, and it's just allowing them to try and learn through the game itself, too. Because that's where confidence really starts to grow. It's not always being told what to do, but from working it out, too. I think that's really, really important. So it's like the small changes that can make a big difference, simple things that can shift everything, fewer instructions, more encouragement, letting kids solve problems, trusting what happens on the pitch. We know that'll come with time, and it's something that we're consciously working on. And and yeah, again, it'd be great to hear from teams of older ages. How does that work for you now? You know, if you're under 10s, under 11s, under 12s, do you give fewer instructions? Is it a lot easier? But you know, I know as the the the kids get older, the game changes. You know, you go from five aside to seven aside, from seven aside to nine aside, and things change, and it's that constant direction and and support that happens and it's is built through experience. A life lesson for me kids don't just remember the games they've played, it's they remember how those games felt, and for me, that's yeah, that's where the sidelines play a huge part of that. And yeah, for for us and I'm sure many teams, it's always coming from a real positive place. But actually, yeah, is there things that we can do to sometimes just turn that noise down a little bit? If there's a volume button, can we just knock it down a notch? And that's something that we'll continue to do and continue to work on. So next time you're on the sideline, might be just worth asking yourself: am I helping the game here? Am I adding to the noise? Am I actually talking over you know what the manager's trying to say? Is there things that I can do differently? As always, thank you for listening. Pleasure talking, and I will see you all again soon from the sidelines.

SPEAKER_01 13:13

Thanks for listening. From the television.