{"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":"Why parents need to stop blaming the coach","slug":"why-parents-need-to-stop-blaming-the-coach","published_at":"2026-01-19T05:30:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-s-only-kids-football-6977406/why-parents-need-to-stop-blaming-the-coach","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/6966dfd685eeb568535f3c77/media.mp3","summary":"Ben and Mike reflect on a weekend that sharpened one of the biggest truths in grassroots football: coaches can guide, but parents carry the real responsibility for a child’s development. As training resumes after the Christmas break, the focus is on repetition, patience and building habits — passing, movement and decision-making that only improve through consistent exposure. The session reinforces a hard reality: one hour a week with a volunteer coach will never be enough on its own. The pair recount their interclub face-off with Leigh Ramblers Greens and from there, the conversation widens. Ben and Mike challenge the growing tendency to blame coaches for a child’s lack of progress, particularly in mixed-ability teams. They discuss confidence, belief, physical development and the unseen work that happens away from training — and why expecting a volunteer to “fix” everything in 45 minutes a week is both unrealistic and unfair. Use code IOKF10 and get 10% OFF at www.discountfootballkits.com — the UK’s longest-established specialist supplier of discounted branded football kits, accessories and footballs. Offer ends midnight, 31st January 2026 Football DNA is the ultimate platform for coach and player development: https://footballdna.co.uk/sessions/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iokfootball Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iokfootball/ X (Twitter): https://x.com/iokfootball YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@iokfootball Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Itsonlykidsfootballpodcast/ Email: itsonlykidsfootballpodcast@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"Ben and Mike reflect on a weekend that sharpened one of the biggest truths in grassroots football: coaches can guide, but parents carry the real responsib…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3163,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/it-s-only-kids-football-6977406/episodes/why-parents-need-to-stop-blaming-the-coach/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/why-parents-need-to-stop-blaming-the-coach.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}