Why parents need to stop blaming the coach
Why a child’s development starts at home
It's Only Kids Football · Ben Welch and Mike Clark
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Show Notes
Ben and Mike reflect on a weekend that sharpened one of the biggest truths in grassroots football: coaches can guide, but parents carry the real responsibility for a child’s development.
As training resumes after the Christmas break, the focus is on repetition, patience and building habits — passing, movement and decision-making that only improve through consistent exposure. The session reinforces a hard reality: one hour a week with a volunteer coach will never be enough on its own.
The pair recount their interclub face-off with Leigh Ramblers Greens and from there, the conversation widens. Ben and Mike challenge the growing tendency to blame coaches for a child’s lack of progress, particularly in mixed-ability teams.
They discuss confidence, belief, physical development and the unseen work that happens away from training — and why expecting a volunteer to “fix” everything in 45 minutes a week is both unrealistic and unfair.
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