Arata dons coach’s hat for PFC’s U-14 summer camp

“I have always been interested in coaching,and I already have a JFA (Japan Football Association) ‘C’ licence,” he says.

“In India,the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) licence is what is recognized,and I plan to take that course as soon as possible,whenever I have time.” At the PFC summer camp,Arata made a conscious decision to coach the under-14s rather than the under-18s. “When you’re 18,your body has already developed,and you can’t really learn new skills,” he says. “The golden age for learning football skills is around the 5-10 age group. Here,we have kids between the ages of 7 to 14,and they have a lot of scope for developing and improving their technique. I wanted to slowly introduce the game to them,focus on the basic skills,how to pass,how to shoot,how to move with and without the ball,how to fall so that you can prevent injury.” When Arata referees the players in a friendly,half-pitch match with small-sized goals,he constantly tells players to switch positions,moving defenders forward and wingers infield.

“Many coaches look at a player and give him a position looking at his size. If he’s tall,he’ll put him upfront,or at centre back,” he says. “But at this age,there’s no point fixing their positions,because their bodies have not developed fully . They should learn all the skills,and be comfortable in different positions. And then,at 15 or 16,you can say he’s a midfielder or a forward. Now,there’s no need to teach them tactics. They should be free to express themselves. This is the age when their imagination is unlimited. Some of them come up with great ideas that even I didn’t think of.”

One of the unique features of the summer camp was a session involving the parents. “Football can build a better relationship between parents and children. We had a session with the parents,just to introduce them to the game. We taught them how to do partner stretching,and we taught them the basics of passing and heading,so they can help their kids warm-up and train at home itself,” Arata says. “For passing,there are three simple rules — look at your ankle when you pass the ball,look around after you have passed,and keep moving. For heading,it’s equally simple – use your arms to protect your space,don’t close your eyes,and use your forehead. That’s all. Even as professionals,we have to keep these same rules in mind. If you know this,you can teach your kids.”