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10 Reasons to Choose Ministry of Football
1. Our coaches are experts.
We believe that the key factor in any learning programme is the quality of the teacher. All our coaches are experts in child development and are very experienced at teaching youngsters. They are brilliant communicators, have a wide variety of activities at their finger-tips - and will be happy to answer any questions that parents have about their child's learning or progress. All MoF coaches are undertaking the FA's Age-Appropriate Youth Modules, or the Premier Skills Practice-Play courses.
2. A positive, creative learning environment.
We provide a very positive and enjoyable environment for all ages and abilities. We understand that standing in queues waiting for your turn never helped anyone. We also understand that encouragement and praise work better than shouted commands. We recognize the importance of making mistakes to the learning process, and we aim to maximise the number of opportunities children have to make mistakes and also to succeed.
3. Excellent Value-for-Money.
We do not have a joining fee. We do not force parents to buy a special jersey. We do not charge for extras, like occassional friendly games. Our fees have not increased since the programme started in 2007. On average, groups have a player:coach ratio of 8-10 players per coach, and this means all children receive attention, feedback and coaching in every session. All this, and a unique, enjoyable football experience that could lead all the way to the top!
4. We have strong links to a professional club.
In the past two seasons, three Ministry of Football players have successfully trialled at Watford FC. In June 2009, our top under-10 boys played a friendly against the Watford FC Academy boys. Two of the boys who played against Watford went on the following season to play for other Academies at West Ham and Spurs. In 2010, two more children went on to professional club Academies - one at Arsenal and one at Brentford. In 2011, another signed for Arsenal while one more was training with the Academy squad there.
5. Our venues are first-class.
Fortismere School (Muswell Hill) and Ashmole School (Southgate) offer secure and leafy venues. We use well-equipped, spacious Sports Halls for our sessions. There is ample car-parking, and lots of room for parents and siblings to sit in comfort to watch the session. Because we are an indoor programme, we are never cancelled because of the weather, and no-one gets cold outdoors!
6. The atmosphere is unique.
We use music in our sessions to help create an environment where children can get lost in their own imagination. Our popularity as a football development programme owes much to the fact that every session has a buzz about it which is not replicated by any other children's sports programme.
7. Feedback from parents is exceptional.
In the past two years, 80% of parents who completed a feedback form said that we are better than most other activities they go to, and 20% said it is their favourite weekly activity. All parents said that we helped develop their child's football skills and creativity. 90% of parents said that we helped develop their child's confidence. Our coaches and coaching were rated 'Good' by 50% of respondents, and 'Very Good' by the other 50%. Our venue, facilities and equipment were rated 'Good' or 'Very Good' by 88% of parents. Click here for more parent feedback.
8. We are not a franchise.
There is only one Ministry of Football! We have not diluted the children's learning experience by franchising out to a Level 1 beginner coach. This means we can offer consistently high-quality sessions, each and every week. It also means we can improvise, be spontaneous, and coach free of the restraints of someone else's coaching programme and philosophy.
9. We don't think we know everything!
The skills needed to play football at the top level will change and grow over the next 20 years in ways that we cannot imagine. It is not enough therefore to teach children everything we know. We want children to grow beyond the knowledge of today's coaches, and to give them the skills, creativity and confidence to invent the game of the future. In the words of the famous child-psychologist Jean Piaget: "The principle goal of education is to create people who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done - people who are creative, inventive and discoverers."
10. We have high-quality players in each age-group.
We have a wide variety of abilities in all our age-groups. This means we can offer all boys and girls a place in a group which is appropriate to their learning needs. Our top groups for each age-group include players who are exceptionally skilled, and these players provide very good role-models for younger players.