Here, the 9-year-olds have professional trainers

– It’s actually quite fun. We like to play games and win. We also train at home, say Vilja Ryste Nordstrand, Oda Ekeberg and Lilly Ødegaard Lovett. They play on the Jente 9 and Jente 10 teams and are the youngest in the sports club Herd to have professional coaches. – Everyone here wants to become a football professional, say the girls who train together up to three times a week. Lilly Ødegaard Lovett (left), Oda Ekeberg and Vilja Ryste Nordstrand say they love playing football. Photo: Øyvind Berge Sæbjønsen / news Inspired by Iceland At New Year, Herd changed its model, inspired by how they do it in Iceland. There are no mum or dad trainers, but semi-professional trainers. It seems to work well, since the Icelanders crush all nations in the number of top players per inhabitant. Receives NOK 75,000 in salary In January, the parent coaches in Herd were replaced by course coaches, preferably with a UEFA B licence. All head coaches are now paid NOK 75,000, regardless of the type of team they coach. Parents can still be involved as assistant coaches. – We want to work with quality, even though we are a broad-based club. We wanted to increase competence on the coaching side and ensure mastery for everyone, says Jan Erik Sørnes, day-to-day manager of Sports Club Herd. Herd’s new model All teams from 9 to 19 years are offered three sessions a week in the pre-season, and two training sessions and a match in the season. The parent coaches have been replaced by professional coaches, preferably with a UEFA B licence. Parents can still be involved as assistant coaches All head coaches are paid NOK 75,000 in salary The players must experience mastery by being challenged together with others who are at the same level as themselves The model must not face topping, and all players must have equal playing time and be involved in series games and tournaments. The change is not happening so that the children will be the best possible, but so that they will receive the same offer. Mastering will prevent dropouts. Before the change, different offers were made as the parent coaches had different skills. Now Herd also admitted that parent trainers favor their own children. The sports plan lays down guidelines for how the trainers should operate. – In order for everyone to experience mastery, the players must be challenged together with others who are at the same level as themselves, says Karl Oskar Fjørtoft, sporting manager at Herd. The model should not face topping, and all players should get equal playing time and participate in league games and tournaments, say Karl Oskar Fjørtoft (left) and Jan Erik Sørnes. Photo: Øyvind Berge Sæbjørnsen / news – Exciting – The model seems exciting, given that increased costs are not exclusionary, says Christian Thue Bjørndal. Photo: NIH The model is praised by Christian Thue Bjørndal, associate professor at the Department of Sport and Social Sciences at Norway’s Sports Academy. – When you have to solve the societal mission of Norwegian sport and take care of both the most enthusiastic and the least enthusiastic within the same model, very high demands are placed on coaches and the coaching competence. A trained trainer is better equipped to do that. 30 get help to pay At the same time as the restructuring in Herd, the training fee increased to NOK 500 a month for those nine years of age or older. In the past, you paid between NOK 2,600 and 4,400 a year, depending on your age group, in addition to the fact that you did volunteer work to earn money. Now, as before, you also pay NOK 780 annually in membership fees, or NOK 1,200 if you have more than one child in the club. Herd has set up a fund from which the 468 active members can anonymously apply for support for membership fees, training fees and participation in tournaments. – There have been around 30 applications to the fund, and all have received support. We also contributed to someone being able to travel to the Norway Cup this summer, says Sørnes. – No one should say that they cannot play in Herd because of finances. If someone fell outside because of that, then we have blocked the dissemination of information about the fund. The decor on the wall is in line with the sports plan. Herd wants to ensure that more people who start in the club as children stay until they are adults. Photo: Øyvind Bergen Sæbjørnsen / news Don’t think people dare to apply But Anders Jacobsen, former soccer player and author of the book “Help, I’ve become a football coach”, doesn’t think the scheme will necessarily be used. – There is quite a lot of stigma associated with having to apply for funding to be allowed to play football together with your friends in the local environment. I think it’s good that you try to get arrangements where you can get everyone involved, but I think it’s too far for many families to apply for that, says Jacobsen. Anders Jacobsen has been a coach for the club Aarvoll in Oslo and believes that children’s football is becoming too expensive. Photo: Trond M Trondsen Positive feedback But at Herd, they are not aware of anyone having quit because they thought it was too expensive. So far, the club has received the most positive feedback. – Some people think it is expensive, but it costs money to hire trainers and run the club. The main focus is that people are satisfied. They see that we have a clear profile in the club, and that we work every day so that everyone gets better and feels mastery, says Sørnes and emphasizes that the model must be evaluated continuously. Herd Jente 9 and 10 together with trainers Marius Ødegaard (left) and Eirik Dalhus. Photo: n648420 / n648420



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