In October 2019, Jackie Bushell from the FA in England came to Girls United Mexico to give 15 girls the opportunity to become FA Level 1 accredited coaches. This is a blog she wrote about her experience.
So I embarked on a new adventure and set off to volunteer for Girls United - a football development program for female players in Mexico, with a similar program running in South East London. I’ve had to take some time off work, raise the funds to support my 8-week stay and try to learn some Spanish to support my development. Something quite out of my comfort zone - especially considering my issues within social settings. But I needed the change to review how far I’d come and what I want to achieve next.
The trip in essence has brought me back to my first “work” experience or my vocation. The first week has flown by and on the whole been fantastic, although on Friday after four days of three hour Spanish lessons I felt my head would explode. The people are very welcoming and it’s quite humbling seeing some of the living conditions the players endure. Bacalar itself is a wonderful place topped off by the seven colours lagoon - which has to be seen to be believed. Awe inspiring.
I am trying to practice my Spanish but it is difficult as there are so many subtle differences between the dialect.
I had two “worries” before I travelled:
1. The language barrier
2. Continuing my fitness programme - I’ve worked so hard to create a better version of myself that I don’t want t to slip into bad habits
Number 2 was easily achieved, one of the main training facilities we use is based next to an athletic track so my new fitness regime consists of early morning runs, core & HITT workouts every other day. Which has in turn supported number 1 as I get to try and greet people at the track to integrate a little more into the community.
The players have been so welcoming and it’s been really good to just sit and observe a few sessions which has settled me in. Highlights - meeting my Mexican Football Family, observing the players and the lagoon.
Onto week two and my fitness regimen on track. Romina’s back and I’ve now met the whole team. Coaching sessions in full swing this week. Mornings have been spent planning and preparing for the course next week and session delivery - with one Spanish lesson thrown in to keep me on my toes.
The week started positively with me leading an arrival activity with the aid of a crib sheet for translations. I have also started to produce some “cheats” to help me remember certain words. But on Thursday I felt that I had hit a wall - my mind is scrambled, information overload & I am now getting frustrated with myself as I still can’t communicate effectively. This was brought home to me when a six year old asked me a question and I literally didn’t understand one word. I left training fighting back the tears of disappointment, frustration and isolation.
First Mexican meal out brought me back to reality - “Rome wasn’t built in a day” JB 😉
Friday gave me a bit of “me” time which was needed and I went to the lagoon to catch some rays and reflect. I stopped at the shop on the way back - accomplished some purchases - remember “small steps” and then did a bit more prep before coaching.
The weekend saw me taste a bit of Mexican culture with a trip to the Mayan Ruins - which were amazing, the sheer fact that you could walk where the Mayans walked. I was left speechless, breath-taking & highly recommend. Sunday morning was spent at the local lido - which was no ordinary lido, again amazing scenery and fresh natural water.
Sunday afternoon saw us travel to a game - which was an experience in itself. Players marking out the pitch with chalk and a bit of string, manager sent off and locals getting a bit irritate - sums up local grassroots football. It was so nice that some of the younger players recognised me and came up to say “hola” - feeling more settled now.
Can’t believe it’s week 3 and I am about to start the course. A slight adaptation to the Level 1 which includes some elements from the Youth Awards. I have spent each morning this week translating the presentation, practicing my vocabulary and preparing for the course.
I have to say it’s been one of the best experiences of my life - I love coach education and supporting people develop, but this group has blown me away.
Practice designs still needs a bit of support, but the theory side has seen them grasp new ideas and concepts. We’ve had sweltering heat, storms, a dog who seems to want to become a coach and found a snake skin by the side of the pitch - it was quite big which is worrying, and all this by the side of the lagoon.
I can’t thank Romina enough for her hard work in translating for me - having said that I do believe my Spanish is actually improving - although apparently I’ve sworn a couple of times via poor pronunciation - oops. I honestly think I was so focused on the course and making sure everything would run smoothly that it made a barrier for me trying to use more Spanish. This week has seen me develop a better understanding of the language & I am using / speaking much more.
The course has been very rewarding for me on a personal side as at times I have been tested - but more so in relation to the development from the coaches. It brought it all home when one of the girls arrived early and then went through her session using cones as a visual tactics board with one of the full time coaching staff - blown away by how much information she has taken on board. The course of learning has come to a fantastic end with some excellent delivery models - a great way to end the week.
As I step into week 4 I can look back and reflect on a week of achievements - hoping to carry this forward.
So Romina and I took the Bacalar team for the match today and we were expecting to get beaten by an older and more technical side. But.... using some of the methods I had embedded during the course Romina set a couple of clear objectives for the girls, involved them in building a strategy and encouraged the girls to discuss what was happening in the game and they won 2-1 with a wonder strike from Nicole in the dying minutes. It was so nice to see the impact from learning.
My legs been playing up this week and the track is still not open so running hasn’t been on the agenda.
As one arrives one departs - Jeanne is now in the house to support marketing and Romina flies back to London. Wednesday sees another impact of the course with 2 of the younger coaches stepping in and supporting the 5-11 year group. Excelente 🙌 Juan was back as my Spanish lessons continue and I do believe it was my worst session so far - think I’ve taken 1 step forward & a million back - will it ever sink in… An indifferent week with some really good positives, some observations which hopefully will lead to some tweaks to delivery and a couple of storms thrown in for good measure.
Saturday was deemed an archaeological day and off I went to another Mayan ruin, saw monkeys, climbed a 45 meter temple and got eaten alive by mosquitoes - argh.
The game on Sunday was different! I lead the warm up which I was very pleased about but the pitch was far too big for 7v7 and this impacted on any learning.
Week 5 will see me deliver some CPD sessions - my aims:
Improve Spanish - it’s recurring
Highlight practice design to support transitions between elements, focus and how to deal with differences.
Translating the session went well, now to put it into practice. I think it went ok - but you will have to ask the girls. All I know is I’ve got the coaching bug and will definitely be putting this into my weekly diary when I get home.
I really wanted to highlight the pitch set up and using small numbers within the practice. Hopefully I’ve sown a seeds.
The new coaches continue to amaze me and I left Tuesday buzzing as the session was well designed and I supported without using English.
But then Wednesday - Juan arrives and I got brought back down with a bump. The words just keep going round my head - 1 sentence please! I translate my feedback to the coaches in the hope this will help me to formulate sentences.
Friday and I forgo my lagoon day for a trip the tax free zone with some of the players. It was an experience I would advise you to take - but you only have to go once - bagged a couple of bargains.
On Saturday we visited Tulum - now that’s one visit I would say avoid - the ruins although in the most picturesque setting were expensive and you couldn’t climb up, in or over them - so my tip is go to one of the lesser known ones if you want a better Mayan experience. Food was expensive and the public beaches are limited - so not the best value of money for my one full day off.
Week 6 and I am starting to miss my home comforts, friends and family. The weather hasn’t been kind, either overcast and stormy.
Positive impacts were clearly evident via the delivery of activities from the leaders who attended the course. They have all taken on board their feedback. I was actually buzzing after my session on Monday - players owned the arrival exercise. Hopefully I can build on this mini success.
Spanish is not getting any better but I am able to conduct a training session and support the new coaches through their session and give advice / support development of sessions - so that’s a bonus. I have decided to keep the Spanish going when I get home - I am going to master a second language.
Session cancelled due to storm - wouldn’t ever happen in England - so I’ve planned my sessions for next week.
This weekend saw a second trip to Cenote Azul, chill at the lagoon and a chocolate milkshake to die for from Mango Y Chilli - a place you should visit for food / shakes / cookies.
Mexican Independence Day leads me into my penultimate week. Which was a little different - a long weekend, my birthday and another success at training. It was a great experience Independence Day - celebrations included dancing, food, fireworks and a few speeches.
Tuesday - my birthday and I am not really one for celebrating. Got my favourites for breakfast and lunch, two cakes and a singsong at training and a catch up with a friend back home - thanks to everyone who made me feel special.
Successful training - girls took ownership of arrival on Wednesday and on Thursday the little ones made up their own version of a game we had played on Tuesday - it was amazing.
Had the most amazing hamburger on Friday night and an ice cream roll waffle topped off my birthday week.
Moving into my last week - unfortunately there were no excursions this week but it gave me time to sort out a few things. Once again the weather hasn’t been kind to us and one session suffered due to the storms another due to a mix up with the facility which is also a bit of a recurring issue. I’ve nailed the arrival - fingers crossed this continues after I leave, new coaches are much more confident, setting up activities quicker and stops and becoming shorter.
Some mixed emotions as I attend my last two training sessions - will miss everyone but hope to be back next year to continue the development of the coaches who attended the International Foundation Course.
Now it’s time to pack...
The time away has allowed to assess how far I’ve come in three years both physically and mentally. It has given me space to reflect, evaluate and set new goals. But most importantly it has allowed me to build a better version of ME.
Thank you Girls United it’s been a great learning experience.