At Raheny United, we're a community based football club that caters for aspiring football players from academy (age 4-6 years) to senior level. The central focus of the football club is to promote player development in conjunction with the club development plan and pathway to help all players realise their potential. 

Goals:

 

• To provide a football education for our young players that focuses on their development and follows the club development plan

• To establish and provide a happy, fun, positive and safe environment in which our players can progress and develop

• To provide an environment where players, coaches, parents and members are treated with respect

• To challenge our players from a technical, tactical and physical perspective

• To be the club of choice for young footballers in the community and surrounding area

• To generate a progressive, inclusive and collaborative relationship between coaches, parents, club administrators & players

• To coach our players to play the game in the correct manner with good discipline, respect and fair play

• To instill a sense of pride in our players that represent the football club and foster a sense of belonging that allows them to identify with Raheny United FC

 

Coaches:

All of the coaches at our football club are first and foremost volunteers. Our coaches invest a significant amount of time each week to promoting the development of our players and are committed to providing the players with a football education.

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The coach’s duties include the planning, setting up and execution of all training sessions. All sessions are structured to focus on player and team development and will be centered on improving the technical, tactical and physical capabilities of the player.

 

Coaches are also responsible for generating a positive, collaborative, coaching and learning environment in which the players and fellow coaches/mentors can improve.

They are the direct point of contact for players and parents and are responsible for selecting the match day team and squad each week based on the attitude, application, attendance, effort-level and work-rate of the players in training sessions and in the pre-match warm-up.

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Raheny United supports and advocates the FAI Code of Ethics for Coaches which outlines that coaches should:

 

• Act as good role models

• Encourage and be positive during sessions so that players leave with a sense of achievement

• Set challenging, realistic but achievable goals

• Plan and prepare each session appropriately and ensure proper levels of supervision

• Ensure that all activities are inclusive and allow all players to participate in an enjoyable way

• Put the welfare and enjoyment of players first and strike a balance between this and winning or achieving results

• Enforce the principles of fair play treating each player equally, with dignity and respect and ensure that all players play within the rules

• Be aware of the developmental stages and needs of players

• Avoid over training and over emphasis on competition

• Involve other coaches/mentors, parents/guardians and other club members in what we do

• Adhere to the club’s social media policy  

• Be qualified and up to date with the latest coaching knowledge and skills

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Parents:

Raheny United Football Club welcomes and encourages constructive parental involvement within the club. The club recognises that a collaborative effort between parents, coaches, club administrators and players is the best pathway to allow the football club to thrive. From volunteering for coaching positions to offering to wash jerseys, helping with lifts, gathering equipment after matches, parental involvement can help alleviate the workload on our coaching volunteers and free them up to focus on the players and their development.

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Parental support is key to the continued development of the football club. Supporting club fundraisers, attending club functions and supporting the players on match day can be of huge benefit to the club and players and is both acknowledged and appreciated.

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Raheny United supports and advocates the FAI Code of Ethics for Parents and Guardians which outlines:

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Parents/guardians play an important role in promoting children’s happiness and success in football and sport in general. Parental expectations and behaviour have a significant bearing on children’s attitude and behaviour while participating in football. Parents / guardians need to be aware of why children want to play football. Children want to learn new skills, make new friends, be part of a group, to win and be successful, experience challenges, excitement and action. While winning is important, it must be remembered that winning at all costs does not meet the needs of players. Results are not necessarily a good indicator of coaching effectiveness or ability, the improvement level of players and their level of enjoyment is.

It is important to:

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• Encourage but not force children to be active

• Know when he / she is ready to play

• Encourage healthy lifestyle habits

• Attend training and games where possible

• Promote and teach FAIR PLAY

• Teach your child to treat referees, other players, coaches, officials and spectators with respect regardless of race, creed, colour, sex or ability

• Help children to set realistic targets

• Help children with decision making

• Adhere to the club’s social media policy  

Parents/Guardians should not:

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• Ignore or dismiss complaints or concerns expressed by a child which relate to his/her involvement in football

• Ridicule or shout at a child for losing a game or making a mistake

• Treat any club as a child minding service

• Take safety for granted

• Put undue pressure on any child to please or perform well

 

Players:

The players and their development are the cornerstone of the football club. 
Players want to play football in order to learn and develop new skills, make new friends, be part of a group, win and be successful, experience excitement, challenges and action.

It is the aim of the club to meet as many of these criteria as possible at any one time.

Raheny United Football Club supports and advocates the FAI Code of Ethics which outlines: 

Players should:

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• Make high standards of Fair Play the standard others want to follow.  Play fairly, do their best and have fun

• Respect opponents, they are not the enemy, they are partners in a sporting event

• Shake hands before and after the match, whoever wins

• Give opponents a hand if they are injured, put the ball out of play so they can get attention.

• Accept apologies from opponents when they are offered

• Respect fellow team members and support them both when they do well and when things go wrong

• Treat players from minority groups with the same respect you show other people

• Be modest in victory and be gracious in defeat “BE A SPORT”

• Approach the club Children’s Officer with any questions or concerns they might have. Coaches and parents should encourage children to speak out and support them in doing so

• Adhere to the club’s social media policy  

Players should not:

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• Cheat

• Use abusive language, or argue with, the referee, officials, team mates or opponents

• Use violence, use physical contact only when it is allowed within the rules

• Bully

• Spread rumours

• Take banned substances to improve performance

• Keep secrets about any person who may have caused them harm

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Player Selection and Game Time:

Raheny United comittee have agreed on the following playing time policy:

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• Up to and including U11: Equal playing time.

• U12 to U14: 25%-50% (this means a minimum of 25% in one particular game with a minimum of 50%, on average, over the season).

• U15 to U17: 25%-40% (this means a minimum of 25% in one particular game with a minimum of 40%, on average, over the season).

• From U18 onwards there are no guidelines as this going into adult football. Coaches may decide to use playing time as a way to promote team values, recognise effort and commitment and regular attendance at training. 

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Player selection at the football club is not based solely on skill level or ability but on the player’s effort level, application and commitment. Football players must apply themselves to the best of their ability each time they represent the club. This is the basis of team selection at the club. The club and its coaches have a duty to meet the best interests of the team and the individual player. If, for whatever reason, a player’s work rate and effort level does not match that of his teammates regardless of technical ability or physical condition, the coach reserves the right to put the interests of the team first and allocate playing time accordingly on match day. 

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Youth Development Policy:
Our youth development policy can be viewed here.

 

You can also download a copy here:

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