Investing in Young Leaders
Seeing young people develop and reach their full potential is at the heart of Onside Soccer.
Seeing young people develop and reach their full potential is a key component of Onside Soccer and we have developed a junior leadership and coaching programme to provide an opportunity to learn new skills and to gain vital 'real world' experience. Young people signed up to Onside Soccer can participate in the following:
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
William Butler Yeats
Onside Youth Board
At Onside it is vitally important that the voice of the most important people in the organisation are clearly heard - the young people who take part in our programmes. To give those young people a voice we have developed a Youth Board which meets once every 2 - 3 months to discuss what has been going well, what hasn't been working and to provide input into what Onside does moving forward. Apart from guiding Onside from a youth perspective, the Board also provides am opportunity for it's members to gain experience in being part of a Board. This includes being allocated specific roles such as Chair and Secretary, but also introduces a formal decision making structure, with reporting mechanisms to the Senior Board.
To become a Youth Board member you must be aged 14 - 21 years old and have been registered as a player with Onside Soccer for at least one year. There is an expectation that anyone applying to join the Board will fulfil the role for a minimum of one year, and they will also be expected to attend all Board meetings.
Onside Media Team
To help us develop our social media platforms we have a Media Team who are responsible for creating content and ensuring that our branding and message are consistent across all platforms. Under the leadership of a senior staff member, the team are have been recruited from amongst the players, particularly those interested in this area of work.
Each month the team have a brief to produce a specific amount of material which can sometimes be around a certain topic or theme or can just be about Onside generally. They are then asked to present this information in a creative way that will engage their audience. It is then forwarded on to their Team Leader for feedback and, if it meets the criteria, will be posted by the senior leadership team on our social media accounts. This is a creative role where team members are given a broad brief and then given free rein to produce something which they feel fits the mould.
To join the Media Team you must be aged 12 - 21 years old and have been registered as a player at Onside Soccer for at least one year. You should have an interest in content creation and be able to work both independently and as part of a team. Full training will be provided and you will be expected to stay in role for at least one full year.
Junior Coaches Programme
The Onside Junior Leadership programme is open to young people aged 13 - 17 years old and is a year long commitment for those taking part. Working with our senior coaches, each young person will be involved in the day-to-day operations of our project in Carshalton. This will include helping with session planning, session delivery, setting up and packing away equipment and events planning and delivery. All participants will have the opportunity to complete online leadership training modules in partnership with the Sir Stanley Matthews Foundation and, from age 14 upwards, start working through the F.A. coaching pathway, commencing with participation in the new F.A. Playmaker course.
Throughout the year targets will be set, such as number of hours volunteered at Onside projects, with rewards put in place to recognise achievement. The objective of the programme is not necessarily to become an expert football coach within a year but to gain an understanding of how a football academy functions, understand how training sessions are planned and delivered, to gain experience delivering sessions from the front, to develop project management skills and also to gain experience working in a diverse team.
Apply
To apply for any of the roles above, simply hit the 'Contact' button below and provide a brief explanation of why you would like to get involved. We will be in touch to organise an interview where applicable.