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MEGAN SMITH’S REPORT:

The FA’s Trip to Berlin Supporting the United Nations

Sport for Development and Peace Leadership Camp

(UNOSDP) on 18th – 19th April 2015

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From being involved in football futures from the age of 16, I have developed a personal

philosophy of how it has such an impact on a nation of aspiring Young Leaders (YL). Football

futures is a framework for development and exploration, giving YL the opportunity to get

involved within various aspects of football, with the freedom and innovation to extract the

key components to take away from their involvement. However, these key components may

not just be applied to football, but in different aspects of an YL journey. Through the use of

support, guidance and encouragement of FA staff, YL can progress as far as they want using

the basis of key components football futures have given. Once the YL utilize these key areas,

it provides them with the opportunity to spread their wings, venture, develop, inspire and

encourage new YL, thus portraying the

image that possibilities are endless.

Being involved in the UN Young

Leadership Camp in Berlin was one of the

most incredible, inspiring and life-

changing couple of days. It was an absolute honour and privilege to be able to create an

engaging learning environment and deliver to 28 unbelievable young leaders from 16

different nationalities and backgrounds. After getting to know more about each leader

individually over the trip, I felt so blessed to watch them develop and grow in such a small

space of time, as well as, being so grateful for them to give me such an insight into their lives

back in their individual communities. The trip was very overwhelming and mind-blowing in so

many aspects, which was very thought-provoking. This has benefited my outlook on life

dramatically and has positively influenced my football/life philosophy. The whole experience

has been one of the most challenging things I have ever come across, but a chal lenge which I

grasped with both hands and truly made the most of every second. However, I could not have

done it without the support, guidance and encouragement from Karl Lines. Not only did I learn

a lot from the young leaders, but I also took a lot on board after working alongside Karl, which

has also really given me an insight that the sky really does not have a limit. It is now time to

really put what I learnt into practice, focus on the next stages of development and work as

hard as possible to really give back to the communities here.

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OVERVIEW:

All over the world, there are many highly motivated young individuals who work tirelessly to

support their communities through Sport-for-Development-and-Peace projects. Most of

these young individuals have only very basic education levels, limited resources with which

to carry out their projects and do not have a proper forum where they can learn best practices

or develop their leadership skills. The idea of a “Youth Leadership Programme” was conceived

by UNOSDP in order to support such youth by giving them access to theoretical and practical

training needed to improve both their projects and their own professional progress, and by

supporting them once they go back to their communities.

The 15th edition of the YLP welcomed 28 participants (2 disabled; 1 blind and another with a

physical disability representing 16 countries of Africa, Asia and Europe at the Kienbaum Sports

Centre near Berlin. The camp, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic

Cooperation and Development, offers young leaders an intensive 12-day curriculum, which

includes workshops by some of the leaders of sport for development field: Youth Sport Trust,

GIZ, International Olympic Truce Centre, International Paralympic Committee, English

Football Association, International Table Tennis Federation, Badminton World Federation,

Boxgirls International and Alba Berlin.

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THE EXPERIENCE:

I was very honoured to be selected by the FA to go and deliver a two day programme,

alongside Karl Lines, The FA’s Children and Young Peoples Manager (12-16’s) on the YLP on

18th and 19th April. Our aim was to support the young leaders (YL) personal learning and

development through the use of football orientated principles and practices, in order for

them to take back the content learnt and

implement it back in their communities to

enhance what they had already put in place

prior to the camp.

In order for us as facilitators to really ensure our

delivery over the two days was at the highest possible level to impact their learning and

development, we travelled to Berlin a day earlier in order to observe and communicate with

the YL, giving us a better understanding of how to tailor it effectively and efficiently. The

programme being delivered was being based around five key areas; leadership skills,

fundamental warm-ups, organising & managing a football activity session, officiating and

organising & running events. Each of these areas consisted of various principles , which could

be applied in all areas, not just within football, giving them an insight into how they can adopt

these and implement them within their

communities.

Before the trip I created myself a mission

statement consisting of a SWOT analysis prior,

three main SMART goals and a reflection area

to focus on and challenge myself whilst being out in Berlin delivering the YL. This was my first

form of delivery in an international setting with YL from different countries, quite possibly

one of the most challenging thing I have come across, but 100% the best thing I have ever

done. Throughout the whole trip I would relate back to the goals I had set, as well as reflecting

each day with Karl who individually challenged me, pushing me to achieve the best possible.

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DELIVERY DAY 1:

Our day one delivery began at 1.30pm on Saturday 18th April, starting with an engagement

activity. In order to see how aware the participants were and to gain focus we began clapping

a rhythm in which they then started to imitate. The group grasped this instantly and multiple

different beats were being created. An introduction from Karl and I followed of two truths

and a lie allowing the YL to get an idea of who we

were and what we were aiming to achieve on the

YLP.

Leadership skills were the main focus of the

introduction, using student-led practices giving

them the opportunity to take ownership and work together as a group to brainstorm as many

ideas a possible about what makes a good leader. In addition to this, we used a video of Alan

Shearer talking about Sir Bobby Robson to give them an example of how a leader is portrayed.

Through the use of aided group work and group consolidation the YL came up with

approximately 100 inspiring qualities.

After this, the group were split up into four random groups of seven, these were their focus

groups and they were asked to come up with a group name. One of the group names which

really spiralled thoughts and inspired me was ‘The Warriors’. After asking them what their

group name meant, they stated “They are not phys ical warriors, but warriors trying to

eradicate poverty and wars, we are also trying to bring peace to the world using inclusion

within sport”. Such a powerful name. Within their

group they then had to decide which activity they

wanted to deliver, out of; warm-up, coaching,

officiating and planning an event. In order to be

assigned to the group, when I called out the activity,

the best and loudest noise would get the activity.

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The first activity delivered was warm-up with the

main principles targeting the three phases of a

warm-up and the four corner model. By introducing

the four corner model, it enabled them to discuss

and discover within their groups what each sector

meant and how it can be implemented in every-day

life, as well as just a football situation. This was then applied to their planning of a warm-up,

ensuring they included all necessary principles, bringing it to life. Once planning was

complete, group 1 set up their creative drill and delivered it to the group. Everyone

participated and enjoyed the session. It was great to observe their delivery and enjoyment of

taking part. Once they had finished, Karl and I split the group in half and demonstrated

different a warm-ups to our groups, for them to go away, build upon and deliver themselves.

Organising and managing a football activity session was the following topic delivered after

lunch. The basic principle implemented in this area was the STEP principle; space, task,

equipment and people. This allows adaptability/flexibility within a session because it is a

process for them to follow when building a session, but also areas to focus on if the session

does not run to plan. In addition to this, we introduced the process of differentiated

participants; participants who are striving to keep up, coping and forging ahead, giving them

a basic understanding of how to challenge or help the group they are delivering to. Lastly, we

implemented the ‘must, should, could’ principle.

They must all feel involved, they should challenge

themselves and could help others to develop.

Just like within the warm-up session, every group

had the opportunity to create their own coaching

session using these principles for future prospects, but only group two would be delivering

their session to the group. Due to limited time, the YL challenged themselves in pairs using

equipment such as pens, paper and balls using the STEP principle. They went outside and tried

to figure out ways they could implement the STEP principle into a basic throwing and coaching

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principle. There were some very clever and creative ideas being implemented, such as eyes

being shut, spinning after a throw and balancing on one leg. This was the last activity of day

one before they had to deliver their session the following morning.

In the evening, we all had dinner together which was a time where we could get involved with

the YL and really start to find out about where they were from and their different

backgrounds. I was mind-blown and overwhelmed at the end of the first day by some of things

that the YL’s do back in their home communities, consisting of working in orphanages,

delivering sport sessions in poor areas, teaching in schools and many more incredible things.

After dinner, we all went and played basketball together which furthered our bonding with

the group, gaining trust and respect with the YL. Through this, they began opening up more,

asking lots of questions and enquiring into how they could implement what we were teaching

them back into their communities. Seeing this develop was unbelievable.

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DELIVERY DAY 2:

On Sunday 19th April at 10.00am day two of

the YL Camp began. Following on from day

one we started with a role-play consisting of

a ‘United Nations Live Conference’. The YL

set up a line of tables for the panel to sit at

and a group of chairs for the viewers to

watch from. There were two main reporters

who led the discussion and presented the conference, as well as, a panel of four YL who were

questioned and interviewed about what they had learnt from day one. These four panellists

rotated round giving everyone the opportunity to express what they had taken on board,

quite possibly the best activity I have ever seen. All of the YL came to light and thoroughly

enjoyed it, but best of all, the information they had taken on from day one was unbelievable.

They were all contributing brilliant answers and questions, which highlighted the key areas

we were focusing on and information they found out through student lead practices/self-

discovery. We also showed the YL a short clip that was created by the Premier League called

‘I want to be like you’, displaying footage of young children imitating various football role

models. This was shown in order to give them an idea that what they do as YL will be copied

by the individuals they are delivering to, showing

how much of an impact they can have on people’s

lives.

After the conference we moved back on to

organising and managing a football activity session,

whereby the coaching group had to deliver their session to the rest of the YL. It was great to

take a step back and watch the YL step out of their comfort zone. Both of the sessions

delivered by the YL were created from scratch, covered all of the encouraged areas and were

fun/engaging for the YL participating. The YL then gave the coaches feedback, which related

back to the four corner model. Once they had finished giving their feedback, Karl and I split

the group in half and demonstrated a different coaching session for them to go away, build

upon and deliver themselves.

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The third activity of the camp was officiating,

whereby within their groups they had to come

up with ‘what rules do they know?’ and ‘how

can they adapt them?’ The group who would

then be officiating during the event would

implement these rules and officiate the games

using these. Within their groups they mind-

mapped different rules and how they could change them, some of the rules created were out

of this world. For example, instead of having a penalty, you would get an automatic goal and

the person committing the foul would be sin-binned. There was a lot of student-based

learning within this activity where they had to be creative and innovative when thinking of

how they could adapt the rules to the game they would be about to play.

For the rest of the day Karl and I stepped back completely from delivering and allowed the

group to work as a team to plan an event, which would take place within the afternoon. After

working on their particular groups over the two days, they allocated certain tasks. Group one

would deliver a warm-up, group two had to create a plan to ensure every team had a

manager/coach on the side-line during each game, group three brought together all the rules

and created a rule list and group 4 worked together to plan what type of event they would be

putting on and how they would go about the

task. Within this planning time, lots of

discussions spiralled, leaders stepped up to

structure the event and brilliant ideas were

created through the use of each individuals

brains working together.

After spending two days delivering and learning from the YL, watching them come into their

own whilst running, taking part and enjoying the event was very rewarding. It really showed

how much football unites different nations. Whether the YL liked playing or not, they figured

out a way to get involved and contributed to the event. These YL had known each other for

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less than a week, but came across like a strong team who had known each other for years.

Each of them individually contributed to making the event a success, but they also pulled

together and found ways to work as a team

of 28 to ensure the event excelled.

Once the event had finished, unfortunately it

was the end of our two day delivery at the YL

Camp. After consolidating the information

the YL had learnt and discussing ways they

could put it into practice, it was time to end our time delivering. At the end I asked everyone

to sign a UN YL Camp t-shirt to take back to the UK, where each of them signed and put where

they were from to keep as memorabilia. We all then went for our last diner together where

inquisitive questions and open discussions occurred about where each of them came from

and ideas they could take on board to implement into their communities. To round off a

phenomenal two days, we all headed out to the football pitch and played a mas sive game of

football. I felt so blessed to be able to play alongside each of them and really see their

characters come out during the game, Karl and I had built such a good rapport with the YL,

which meant it was tough to leave, but felt the impact we had made could really make a

difference to them and their communities back home.

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MY JOURNEY:

“Experience is a hard-teacher; it gives the test first,

then the lesson afterwards”.

This was my first international trip abroad and opportunity to deliver a programme to a group

international YL’s, so before going I did not completely know what to expect and found the

whole experience one of the most challenging things I had ever come across. However,

despite this, it was a challenge that I grasped with both hands and truly made the most of

every second. Now being back in the UK, the whole experience has completely altered my

outlook on life and my mind-set whilst conducting different tasks/activities.

Before going to Berlin I set myself three SMART goals to focus on; the different ways to

communicate, the different forms of reflective practice and to gain an understanding of

inclusion and diversity in a different learning environment. Through personally trying to

develop myself and discover knew ideologies/philosophies, as well as Karl setting me

individual challenges and pushing me out of my comfort zone, coming back and reflecting on

these SMART goals I believe I have achieved them to a degree. However, there is always room

for development and progression, which I will continue to do so whilst back in the UK.

All three of the SMART goals were challenging but the environment that we were in allowed

me the opportunity to really get as much from these as possible. For example, by some of the

participants not having English as their first

language and having a blind participant on

the course, it allowed me to work on my

non-verbal communication skills, such as;

hand gestures, facial expressions, body

movements, making the use of the space

around me. I could then use my SMART goal

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reflective practice to analyse what methods I had tried and how I could develop these using

my daily video diaries and feedback from Karl. Also linking into this, whilst integrating with

the YL through meal times, activities and questions over the two days I became a lot more

aware of the diversity/culture of the group we were delivering too. By integrating with the YL

it allowed us to form a bond, meaning they would open up more about what they do back

home in their communities and the cultures they came from, giving me a better

understanding of the world around us, as well

as, how to communicate and understand

different backgrounds.

As soon as we landed back in the UK, I went

straight to the Chelsea Training Ground and

delivered a session to my Centre of Excellence under 9 girls. This was the perfect opportunity

for me to put into practice the skills I had learnt and developed over the two days, which

resulted in quite possibly my best session to date. Over the two days I had refined my mind-

set and outlook on different aspects of the game; behaviour management, student lead

practices, communication skills, integration and diversification of the group, goal setting plus

many more. Every day since being back I am still discovering, learning and adapting my

personal philosophy.

This trip has quite possibly been the most life-changing and inspiring event that I have ever

been a part of and I cannot wait to see where my on-going pathway is leading. After the trip

it has become more apparent that I would love to get involved in coach educating and

mentoring YL, as well as developing and

adapting my coaching style/philosophy.

In addition, I cannot wait to give back to

the YL back in the UK and Norfolk FA, to

inspire them that they can do anything

if they put their mind to it.