FFA National Curriculum

The FFA National Curriculum is an Australian model which seeks to maximise the strengths of our existing football culture, reflects the unique challenges of our country and draws on research from the major football countries, in particular their respective approaches to player and coach development.

The National Football Curriculum distinguishes 6 Building Blocks: 4 Training Building Blocks and 2 Playing Building Blocks.

The FFA Building Blocks Methodology is the framework that provides practical guidelines for coaches working at all levels of youth development in order to help them in answering questions such as:

What are the mental and physical characteristics of players in the various development stages?
What type of practices are best suited for specific age groups and why?
How long should a session go for and how often should I train?
How do I plan and design my sessions?
What are points of interest when I coach my team during games?

With the aim to:

Develop technically proficient players
Develop tactically aware, proactive players
Transform the physical and direct style of youth football in Australia to a successful style based upon technique and creativity
To instil a lifelong passion and love for football in young players
To create a real ‘football culture’ in Australia

Training Phases

Discovery Phase: U6 - U9
Skill Acquisition Phase: U10 - U13
Game Training Phase: U14 - U17
Performance Phase: 17 years and older

Community Coaching Program

The main purpose of the Community Coach Education Program is to provide coaches with a range of “tools” to help you plan and conduct suitable age appropriate training sessions.

It consists of four Certificates which focus on each of the four training phases:

Grassroots Football (Discovery Phase: U6 - U9)
Skill Training (Skill Acquisition Phase: U10 - U13)
Game Training (Game Training Phase: U14 - U17)
Senior (Performance Phase: 17 years and older)

Session Structure

Each training session should be organised according to the following structure:

Grassroots Football Certificate – Beginning, Middle and End

Skill Training Certificate – Skill Introduction, Skill Training and Skill Game

Game Training Certificate & Senior Certificate – Warm Up, Positioning Games, Game Training and Training Game

The resources below provide details of each program and sample sessions according to this structure.

FFA National Curriculum Resources

The following are resources linked to the FFA National Curriculum:

National Curriculum

The National Curriculum is a sound, consistent and coordinated National Talent Development and Identification program for Football in Australia that aims to achieve a major improvement in the quality and performance of Australia’s top players, coaches and teams. This Curriculum is in its second edition and has been developed through a wide consultation process to ensure all relevant ideas and thinking are considered and ensuring that the appropriate areas for improvement are targeted.

Click HERE for the National Football Curriculum

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Game-Training-Certificate-Participant-Ma

Discovery Phase Resources

The ALDI MiniRoos provides vital coaching information and feature model sessions for the Discovery Phase. The FFA National Curriculum document above also provides detail for coaching the Discovery Phase.

Click HERE for the ALDI MiniRoos resources.

Skill Training Certificate Participant Manual

This Participant Manual provides vital coaching information and feature model sessions for the Skill Acquisition Phase and covers the course content included in the Skill Training Certificate course.

Click HERE for the Skill Training Certificate Participant Manual.

Game Training Certificate Participant Manual

This Participant Manual provides vital coaching information and feature model sessions for the Game Training Phase and covers the course content.

Click HERE for the Game Training Certificate Participant Manual.

Senior Certificate Participant Manual

This Participant Manual provides vital coaching information and feature model sessions for the Performance Phase and covers the course content.

Click HERE for the Senior Certificate Participant Manual.

FFA Coaching Resource

The FFA Coaching Resource is a digital version of the National Curriculum, with sessions and information more easily accessible for coaches at all level. The site contains all the sessions and information adapted to seamlessly display on a device, be it mobile, tablet or computer. Full access requires registration as a FFA coach.

Click HERE for the FFA Coaching Resource page.