SEDGLEY & GORNAL
UNITED FC
U13'S 2024/25 SEASON
Mitch Gough - Me & My Journey
My name it Mitch, married to Natalie since 2010 and we have 2 Boys (Grayson 13 and Jaxson 10)
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In terms of Football I played for Dudley Town from the age of 9 until when I left school.
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When I left school I had the chance to work abroad so playing football took a break for me.
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When I returned to the UK, I began helping coaching in Boxing where my Uncle and Dad ran a Boxing club.
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I played football again socially with friends and in various leauges through work
When my first son was born in 2011, with working fulltime and supporting my wife - some things naturally took a backseat. I was no long able to support at the boxing gym and my playing football stopped. I got my fix of football every other Saturday at home Games with my Season Ticket at Wolves.
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in 2018 my eldest son expressed an interest in playing in Goal. I approached a local club (Sedgley and Gornal United) and began taking him to weekly training sessions. He was asked if he wanted to play for the team and signed up to play. I started off like most as the Dad on the Sideline who volunteered to run the line for games.
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It was just before COVID when the coach of the team had to go away to Jamaica for a Funeral. His assistant needed support as he was off for a month so I stepped up and helped after completing the necessary Level 1, Safeguarding and First Aid requirements.
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I was hooked right away. I enjoyed coaching at the Boxing Club but Football has always been my passion. I just wanted to learn more and make myself a better coach to help develop the players and enrich their experience.
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I enrolled on the UEFA C and through my learning and connecting with other coaches was able to plan and to put on better sessions. I still wanted to do more so I helped support other coaches at other Age Groups in the club. I completed my National Goalkeeper course, my Talent ID Level 1 and 2 and recently have become Vice Chair of the Club I began running the line for.
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Keen to progress my learning further I applied for a Football Development coaching role at Wolves. After a successful interview and practical delivery I was delighted to be offered a position there.
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I have embarked on this learning Journey on UEFA B and I am excited to be able to develop myself more as a coach.
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​​Football has been something for me that has offered me support, salvation and the opportunity to try and help others. I believe in its power to help people and whilst a very small percentage of people "make it" EVERYONE can participate and build friendships and relationships. I lost my Father unexpectedly in 2017. I struggled to even step foot back into the boxing gym where I had coached alongside him. Being involved in grassroots football helped me make connections to people and find another support network.
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Mom Sadly passed away in June 2024. My Football Family, coaches who I met and connected with on the UEFA C, parents of players who I have coached in the passed and coaches of other teams internally within the club have reached out in support. Football is powerful. I've supported children who have been in social care and given them the chance to play football and discover themselves through football. Kids who have been isolated at school have come to training sessions and socially broken down barriers and created friendship groups. A player who was told "he wasn't good enough" at 11 years old came to sessions with us. We got him to love football again, got him playing and participating. He left us to play Saturday Football and the "Thankyou" Card his Mom sent me (Above - that stays on my desk at work) is worth more then a 91st minute winner..............just about :-)
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THE TEAM - SEDGLEY & GORNAL UNITED U13s BOYS
Sedgley and Gornal United's Mission Statement as a club is "To provide a positive influence within the community of the North Dudley Borough and South East Wolverhampton through football and creating exceptional training, playing and social opportunities for all in a safe, enjoyable and sustainable way"
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This aligns with me, and also enables me to build on my own Core Values.
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Our Under 13's Boys are playing their first season 11v11 having stepped up from the 9v9 Format.
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The team lost a number of players last season. As the boys went to high school friendship groups mix and change and some players stopped playing, others went to new teams where their new social group of friends where at and some others left to play Saturday Football too.
We struggled last season with physicality. Particularly where some opponents had players who had matured earlier. It has been a test to support my players psychologically at times and guide them through this challenging time in their life and some of them have had a real block when seeing a tall 12/13 year old warm up against them!
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We currently play in Stourbridge & District Youth Football League - Division 4. My pre-season objectives were to support the lads in their learning of the change of format to 11v11, provide a positive and supporting learning environment for them to engage socially with their team mates and to start to introduce tactical understanding to them to support this learning journey. In terms of "what does a successful season look like" Its a team that works together, works hard and works for each other. I want them to work hard out of posession and work intelligently in possession.
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As we have began to instill this into the lads, we can
start to think about how we play based on the profile
of the players we have avialable and their strengths
as a unit. We have decided to play in a 1-3-5-1-1
Formation. This allows us to try and gain a
numerical advantage in midfield and create overloads
but also support our ideal of building out from the
back. Our Wingbacks give us width and create
overlaps and we can also play direct and long when
there is the option too.
My Core Values - Personal
- Willingness to Learn
- Passion for Football
- Always Work Hard
- To Respect People
- To Be Inclusive
- To Set High Standards
- To Be Positive
- Support People
My Core Values - In Coaching
- Know your Players
- Plan, Do, Review
- Relevant, Repetitive and Realistic Coaching Sessions
- Train with high effort and Intensity as you would play
- Development over Results - Especially with Younger Players
- EAT. Effort, Attitude, Teamwork
- Fun & Engaging Sessions
My Players Core Values.
I Like to spend time at the start of a
season having a classroom session
with the players. We can review last
season, we can discuss what we want
to achieve this season and I get chance
to ask them to complete feedback forms
for me to review. I ask them what's
important to them, what they enjoy, what
they don't enjoy and what that want to
achieve. This helps me form what their
core values are.
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- Enjoy Football
- Improve myself
- Spend time with my Friends
- Play in a higher league as possible
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How & Why?
"Hi, Im Vishals Dad. Vishal knows Siraj and Yussuf and they have been saying that you have a football training session at Bishop Milner on a Thursday that's fun and they have been getting better at football. Would it be possible to bring Vishal along?"
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The above type of text I receive is one that I love. My Players are talking about my sessions at school to their friends. They are engaged and enjoying it. ​I have had to adapt my sessions to "Squad Only" and "Open Training - for all" as some weeks players were just turning up to play with their parents as they had been discussing the sessions with their peers.
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I like to keep high energy in my sessions. I like to push and motivate the players. I like to engage with them positively and heap praise. I want them to feel 10 feet tall when they have done something we have asked them too. This carries through into game day. Positivity is powerful. Everyone will make mistakes so can I try and "catch my players in" doing something well and can I heap praise on that.
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"lads, I know its muddy the playing surface is difficult today but can we stick to what we are trying to achieve and work hard high up the pitch this second half and try and recover possession high up? Lets set you a target of trying to score a goal from stealing the ball from an interception. If we can do that, and be consistent in out approach second half - I'll be happy"
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"Mitch - if we can win this half, will you do a
mud slide?"
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"Absolutely"
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HT 2-0
FT 2-2
Mrs Gough annoyed that I'm dirtier then
the goalkeeper.
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The Above is just an example of how I bring
to life my core values of positivity and fun and
engaging sessions into my coaching. I also
listen to my players and understand how
important it is for them to have fun and enjoy their football. There are difficult situations and scenarios that arise throughout the course of a season. However I firmly believe that the difficult conversations are easier to have when you need to have them if as a whole your players feel like you have their best interests at heart. I mentioned a player I was working with who was in social care. He was temporarily moved away from a different area for safety reasons and wanted to play football. His care worker contacted me and we discussed his behaviour, how he was struggling at school and in the care home to make connections.
I asked for him to come training if he wanted too. I introduced him to the lads and said that ever new players who comes for a second session had to bring a joke for the group, he smiled and came the week after with a joke.
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He started to come out of his shell and he engaged with our lads. He asked me if he could play on a Sunday after 2 sessions and I said you have to show a commitment to training to be signed as we are only allowed a group of 18. He continued to show commitment and we signed him. He was so proud to receive his kit - he felt like he belonged somewhere.
However an incident happened in a match and a ref reported to me that he has sworn at another player in the post match handshake. I pulled him to one side with his care worker and told him this was unacceptable behaviour and he would now be suspended. This was difficult, but because the player and his guardian knew me and my rules they knew that it was a non negotiable. After his suspension he came back, apologised to me and to the lads and played the rest of the season. He relocated back to be with his family so couldn't continue playing with us but I let him keep his kit as a reminder that he is part of our team always.
