Look to the future

Improving levels of quality within youth football and coaching is something the Football Association has strived to do for years now.

Yet Look to the Future has exposed problems inherent in the system that are still major sticking points. Young coaches are struggling to make a breakthrough to senior level while in terms of numbers England still lags behind its European competitors when it comes to Uefa Pro Licence-qualified tacticians.

It is important to remember that there is still fantastic work going on up and down the country within the coaching world, but room for improvement remains.

Now the FA is showing further signs it is dedicated to making change from the bottom right through to the very top with the recently unveiled Young Player Development review plan.

General secretary Alex Horne and director of football development Sir Trevor Brooking presented 25 recommendations to the FA board and council which include extensive changes to the grass-roots level of the game, while also looking to enhance the coaching system.

A new youth football programme is set to be rolled out and coach development will be revamped, based around the St George's Park training HQ at Burton.

There is no doubt that player and coaching standards go hand in hand - if the level of teaching is not of top quality then the ability of emerging talent will therefore suffer as a result.

This is one of the key points the FA is attempting to change through the recent recommendations, with clear pathways for both sides of the game working in tandem to help each other.

Head of coaching at the Football Association John Peacock explains why he expects the development review to make a difference. Peacock, who is current coach of the England Under 17s, specialises in youth development and coach education and holds both the FA Academy Director's Licence and Uefa Pro Licence.

He is of the firm belief that improvements in coaching will have benefits right through to the international playing stage - and vice-versa.

"The two go hand in glove, the player-coach pathway is vital," he told skysports.com. "The players are going up and down the pathway, hopefully quite a few of them will reach the elite stage, and it's no different with some of the coaches.

Look to the future