{"podcast":{"title":"It's Only Kids Football","slug":"it-s-only-kids-football-6977406","podcast_index_feed_id":6977406,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/66a361b8d34ffa9141b184b4","website_url":"https://www.itsonlykidsfootball.com/subscribe","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/66a361b8d34ffa9141b184b4/1742163649969-a40db297-77ec-4553-8ec1-0d8a74d049d6.jpeg","author":"Ben Welch and Mike Clark","episode_count":103,"summary":"Ben Welch is figuring out how to be a decent kids football coach and a better Dad. He's joined by coaching experts, ex-pros as well as football industry folk and internet friends to help him navigate the minefield of parenting and grassroots kids football. It's meant to be for fun, but sometimes it's hard to remember - It's Only Kids Football. Links: https://linktr.ee/itsonlykidsfootballpodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-29T10:19:08.917817+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-s-only-kids-football-6977406"},"episode":{"title":"Academy coaches reveal what grassroots football must fix now","slug":"academy-coaches-reveal-what-grassroots-football-must-fix-now","published_at":"2026-02-23T05:30:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-s-only-kids-football-6977406/academy-coaches-reveal-what-grassroots-football-must-fix-now","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-s-only-kids-football-6977406","url":"https://linktr.ee/itsonlykidsfootballpodcast","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/66a361b8d34ffa9141b184b4/e/6999ee811b49b62cccf24f75/media.mp3","summary":"In this unfiltered episode, former academy coaches Michael Fox and Olly Porteous join Ben and Mike to tackle the biggest issues facing grassroots football right now. From 3v3 formats, silent weekends and heading bans to kick-ins, league tables and parent behaviour, the conversation goes beyond surface-level opinions and into what’s actually helping — and what might be quietly harming — player development. Are we overcorrecting youth football? Are rule changes solving the real problem? And is adult behaviour, not structure, the issue that needs fixing most? Drawing on years inside academy systems and grassroots environments, Fox and Porteous break down what needs to change, what needs to be protected and why balance—not extremes—is the key to developing confident, resilient young players. Football DNA is the ultimate platform for coach and player development: https://footballdna.co.uk/sessions/ Get FREE delivery when you spend over £100 at https://www.discountfootballkits.com/ using code IOKFFD — but hurry, it ends at midnight on March 31st, 2026. Power your grassroots team with effortless payments — sign up with GoCardless today at https://gocardless.com/g/payments-sports-clubs/ and spend less time chasing fees, more time developing your players. LoveAdmin takes the admin off your plate so you can spend more time coaching and less time chasing parents: https://loveadmin.com/ Book a call with a VEO expert: https://get.veo.co/iokfootball Olly Porteous: https://www.instagram.com/ollyporteous/ Michael Fox: https://www.instagram.com/foxmic15/ Fox Academy: https://www.instagram.com/f.o.x.football.academy/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iokfootball Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iokfootball/ X (Twitter): https://x.com/iokfootball YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@iokfo…","meta_description":"In this unfiltered episode, former academy coaches Michael Fox and Olly Porteous join Ben and Mike to tackle the biggest issues facing grassroots football…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3342,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/it-s-only-kids-football-6977406/episodes/academy-coaches-reveal-what-grassroots-football-must-fix-now/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-s-only-kids-football-6977406/academy-coaches-reveal-what-grassroots-football-must-fix-now.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}