The Jeff Tipping Report: Observations Of Rangers U-11s

By Jeff Tipping

(Currently Technical Director of Palm Beach Soccer Academy in Florida.  Former long-time Director of Education and Coaching Development for the NSCAA)

The staff of the Glasgow Rangers International Development Office invited me to tour Rangers Stadium and visit the Academy training ground to watch the teams of their youth academy. A number of the Glasgow Rangers youth academy staff worked for the Scottish FA at the time I was developing American educational coaching programming in the early '90's and I have stayed in touch with them to one degree or another. The Scots, led by coaching education director Andy Roxburgh at that time, had a superb coaching education program in place, certifying many of the Scottish coaches who arenowcoaching in high positions in the English Premier League and the rest of the world.

The Scottish system, impressive both for its content and progressive sequencing, provided the structure for much of the coaching education programming I introduced into the USA. The Scottish FA are still renowned for developing superb coach education programs to this very day.