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S2 E5 - Sophie Elbberson
56 Plays26 days ago
On this episode of Session Share - The Coaches Podcast we have Sophie Elbberson. Sophie’s coaching journey began over 7 years and is currently finishing off her UEFA B license. She is currently working as a School Games Organiser whilst finishing her Sport, Physical Activity and Health degree. She recently joined a university Women's Leadership Programme which is supporting her development and most importantly, her goal to support the women and girls game
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YouTube: @sessionshare4375
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X: @CraigBirtwistle
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Background
00:00:17
Craig Birtwistle
Hello and welcome to the latest episode of Session Share, the coaches podcast. My name's Craig Burtlesall and I'm excited to have Sophie Elberson with us today. Sophie's coaching journey began over seven years and she's currently finishing off her UEA for B license. She's currently working guest so as a school games organizer whilst finishing her sport, physical activity and health degree.
Women's Leadership Program in Sports
00:00:41
Craig Birtwistle
She recently joined a university women's leadership program, which is supporting her development and most importantly, her goal goal to support women and girls in the game. So how are you doing today, Sophie?
00:00:53
Sophie Ibberson
A really good thanks to you.
00:00:54
Craig Birtwistle
Yeah, doing very well. So, Sophie, I had a conversation with my wife not too long ago and she said, I don't know if you happen to notice, but your podcast has been very male driven.
Podcast Guest Recommendation
00:01:07
Craig Birtwistle
So I reached out to a good friend of ours, a mutual friend, Lee Cosgrove, and he suggested that you get on board of the podcast. So Sophie, can you tell us a little bit about your background?
Early Football Passion and Influence
00:01:19
Craig Birtwistle
What got you interested in football?
00:01:21
Sophie Ibberson
Yeah, so it started when I was younger when I started playing. So it was quite simple. I had a friend that he went to a football training session in the summer when, you know, you're at an age where you do like soccer schools. I think we were about six or seven. So we went to the local park and it ended up that I made the team and that was it really never looked back. So it started as a player as well as a fan. So My dad took me to the Sheffield United games from when I was quite young so I've always been interested in football and I've always played football so obviously coaching came a bit later but the love I think, I think you either the you start young you know you start kicking a football when you're a baby almost and then that's it you just you're in for life really. like
00:02:12
Craig Birtwistle
Yeah, it never seems like it gets away from you, does it? It's like it's always been part of your life. I know exactly how you feel from starting it with because of my dad and then obviously getting involved into it as a player and so on. um I'm interested in the next steps then. So you you you played, you followed Sheffield United as a kid. ah What got you interested in making it as a coach then?
Transition from Player to Coach
00:02:37
Sophie Ibberson
So it was really when I stopped playing. So I got to an age, I think as many people do, I was about 15 and I just wasn't enjoying playing anymore. So I quit. And then you find that you have a lot of time that you didn't realise that you had. So I was in sixth form at the time and I was hating sixth form. I didn't enjoy it. And it was my uncle actually, he said, there's a girls team at the local club. They're looking for coaches if you want to go and meet them and i thought i didn't know if it was i never considered it i didn't know if it was for me but the only thing i thought was that when i played for the same club when i was younger i played for about six years in a boys team because there was no girls teams and then i ended up having to leave because it was a time when when i got to under 12 that was the last year i could play in the boys team because i think it's different now i think it's under 18s but girls couldn't play
00:03:37
Sophie Ibberson
once we were 12 that was it they couldn't play anymore so I had to go and find a new team and I thought it's not really fair that girls can't play five minutes down the road you know I ended up I was 20 minute drive away which isn't that far but it's not your local club so I thought yeah if if I can help a girls team because it was it at the time it was the only girls team at the club so I went down and it's funny really because if it had been any other team I might not have enjoyed it
00:03:53
Craig Birtwistle
Right.
00:04:07
Sophie Ibberson
But it was just that team, it was under 11 girls team. And I went down on Saturday morning when I was 17 and I met the team and I went home and said, that's it, that's me. That's where I want to be. And it was that nice moment of my first interaction with kids, really. And and I just thought, yeah, this is this is something I can do.
00:04:27
Craig Birtwistle
That's fantastic. So basically you got an instant bond with that group and it kind of drove you into carrying on in that sport. I remember when I came to America, that's where I'm based now.
00:04:38
Craig Birtwistle
Uh, the first team I had was a girls team. And prior to that, I never coached a girls team before. And then I had that same group and for, I think it was seven or eight years. So I watched them develop into young women. And now, uh, I've got some of them that are actually coaching in the college game now. God, that makes me sound old, but like, uh, yeah, it's, uh, it's fantastic. And how did that then drive you forward to having such a successful career that you've witnessed so far?
00:05:08
Sophie Ibberson
I think it changed my life completely, really.
00:05:11
Craig Birtwistle
Yeah.
00:05:12
Sophie Ibberson
I was, like I say, I was in 64 and I wasn't even allowed on a sport course at the school I was at. So sport wasn't in my radar, it wasn't on my radar at all, even though sport was the one thing I loved.
00:05:25
Sophie Ibberson
So I think without it, i don't know where I genuinely don't know where I'd be because it's made my career. And you know I was a waitress in a pub, like everybody's been at some point and wasn't enjoying it, but becoming a coach and having, it you know it gives you that purpose to want to develop and want to do different things. Cause it's not, everybody knows that you don't do coaching for the money. So it's doing it for the love of it and and then finding
00:05:57
Sophie Ibberson
career in it and you know hopefully at some point out I work full time in football because that's not where I am right now but with the right I think path to get there is continuing with where I am, developing, coaching different players and hopefully I will get there one day.
00:06:15
Craig Birtwistle
hundred percent And I like the comment you made about certainly none of us are millionaires teaching this.
00:06:21
Sophie Ibberson
yeah
00:06:22
Craig Birtwistle
So a a sentence that always driven
Coaching Philosophy and Passion
00:06:25
Craig Birtwistle
me was we're in it for the outcome, not in it for the income.
00:06:28
Sophie Ibberson
Yeah.
00:06:28
Craig Birtwistle
ah which I always thought was a a big one that stresses the fact that we do it solely for our passion. And as you've been doing it for your passion um throughout these these past like six or seven years so on your journey, how has your coaching philosophy changed over the course of it?
00:06:47
Sophie Ibberson
I think it's it's possibly become clearer so it's more I'm all about holistic development so I believe that you know, the people before their players. So I've had different teams, different girls, and every team is different. And I don't think you can go into any team, you know, unless you're a professional manager with your ideas and you know, you've done it for so many years, you know what works. But at the end of the day, in grassroots especially, I just want my players to enjoy coming to football. I want
00:07:22
Sophie Ibberson
you know, our sessions on Thursday it to be the favourite hour of the week and their matches and if they can get that out of them and if they get better at football, you know, alongside that, then that's brilliant. But it's really just, I think being more sure of myself as I've got, you know, I've done more training and I've done more matches and because at the beginning, if a parent would, as they did back in the day, they have a few comments to say to me, I wasn't sure of myself and I couldn't stick up for myself whereas now I'm quite certain that I think what I do is pretty good for a kids team and I put my all into it so I don't think that anybody's got the right to have a go at me for that.
00:08:10
Craig Birtwistle
I think that's fantastic I love the fact that you mentioned the player as a person first because um I don't know the exact stats where it comes to um females in the game like how many of them go off to the Olympics how many become professionals because Obviously, the professional game on the women's side has grown immensely in the past like three, five years. But I know on the on the men's side, for example, it's 0.01% of players that play end up playing at the highest highest level. So the fact that someone like yourself who has that um enthusiasm to teach the person as opposed to the player because
00:08:49
Craig Birtwistle
One of the biggest things that um I really wanted to get you on because I know you're a big advocate for print promoting women in the game and getting more coaches out there as am I. So um I wanted ah wanted to get you on for that reason.
00:09:05
Craig Birtwistle
So to talk about how we can do and different things to help encourage young girls that finish playing and Becoming women coming into coaching and so on so this is an absolute fantastic Sophie So I'd like to talk about those few things after we take a short ad break
00:10:06
Craig Birtwistle
Welcome back, and we're going to talk a little deeper now. We mentioned earlier that, Sophie, you're into seven years into your coaching journey. You're a big advocate for promoting the game, especially in the sense to get more support for women in the game. As a director of a club for many years, I've struggled with finding female coaches. Why do you think this is?
Gender Disparity in Coaching
00:10:28
Sophie Ibberson
I think genuinely a lot of the reason is because there aren't female coaches out there. I think if you look at my sort of pathway, when I did my level one in 2017, I was the only female on my course and then did my level two six years ago now. And there was two of us. And then on my way for me, there was five or six of us. So I think you can see that as time was going on, there are slightly more females into coaching but i don't think it's it's it's like boys teams how many boys divisions are there and how many boys are there playing football is with girls and women it's just we're not there yet so i think ah genuinely a lot of the reason is that we are probably 20 30 years behind the men's game so it's just really we're waiting for you know the the kids that are playing now they're going to become the coaches and there's just not
00:11:26
Sophie Ibberson
enough of us at the minute. But I also think that, you know, the game is not as inclusive as it probably could and should be for different reasons. I think, you know, I've had different and struggles as a female coach, but at the same time, we get almost priority on courses. So, you know, there is sort of pros and cons to it. But we are, I think in the next 10 years, we're going to see a lot more come through.
00:11:56
Craig Birtwistle
Fantastic. How do you feel we can support field mile coaches more to encourage them to progress up the ladder in the game?
00:12:05
Sophie Ibberson
I think it's just making the environment as nice as we can because there are a lot of people still that don't believe women should be in the game and don't get me wrong. I watch, you know, Match of the Day and I watch all the games that are on and I don't, I think there are some pundits that don't know what they're talking about but I think that's across the board. I don't think it's just one female pundit that doesn't know what she's talking about. I think there are a lot of males that don't So it's difficult, but I think the problem is if you don't see a safe space, then that puts a lot of people off and it's it's what they're saying to you. If you can't see it, you don't believe you can be it. So until we are seeing a lot more height, it's like Serena Wiegmann, she's done so much for the women's game. And when you see somebody like that being as good as she is,
00:12:56
Sophie Ibberson
you think, oh, there is there is somewhere for me to go because she's arguably just as good as any other coach. And especially in the women's game, she's probably one of the best. So it's just becoming those people in in years to come.
00:13:12
Craig Birtwistle
I totally agree. And it's one of those things that I've mentioned this many times to a lot of different people. The fact I've, I've had the privilege of meeting a lot of good coaches either through the podcast or in my social life and on my courses and everything like that. Um, I went to the USC convention not too long ago and I had the pleasure of talking to Emma Hayes.
00:13:34
Craig Birtwistle
And Emma Hayes, as as you you said earlier, has done fantastic job for the women's game. And her knowledge is so good that like, she's no now transcending the fact that she's been considered for jobs with the men and everything like that. And the I feel the only reason that Emma wants to move across is because obviously for financial packages, like you get sacked as a coach and the Premier League, you don't ever have to work again. It's as simple as that.
00:14:02
Craig Birtwistle
ah you obviously only do it for passion whereas like I don't know exactly how much it a coach at the top level would be but I would say it was only comparable to a regular job most of the case and and that's something that we're striving for to change but first it's about getting more ah women wanting to coach, more women out there, because I know for a fact that, as as I said earlier, as a director of a club, and you mentioned it there about how, if you can't see it, you can't really replicate it. It takes a very strong person to push that envelope for something that's never happened before, sort of thing. So the fact that I want female coaches, especially coaching the girls in our club, is the fact so they can see it,
00:14:50
Craig Birtwistle
and replicate it. Like when I've coached um girls teams in the past, I've tried to encourage them to watch the US national team, for example, because as you say, you can go watch, say, Sheffield United at the weekend, but it's a different type of game than it is to the female game.
00:15:08
Craig Birtwistle
And for a girl to watch women play, it's so much more empowering because I can get to that level.
00:15:16
Sophie Ibberson
yeah
00:15:16
Craig Birtwistle
Would you agree with that?
00:15:18
Sophie Ibberson
Oh, yeah, definitely. And I think that's the problem at the minute is that people compare the men's and women's game, and it's never going to be the same. So it just physically is not ever going to be what, you know, I've watched the men's game all my life. And when I watch the wins football, ball it's it's slower, but and I think it always will be. So it's, you know, accepting the differences. But also, if there are more women coaching in the women's game, because Even at my club these, we've got a whole and section of girls and there's not a lot of female coaches. So it's why can, you know, male coaches do it in the female game, but we can't do it in the male game. So I think it's just not been too concerned about are you a male coach or a female coach? Maybe you're just a coach and you're just a good coach.
00:16:08
Craig Birtwistle
Yeah, it's very true. um I love all this conversation. I do apologize. We're just gonna have to have one more small break.
00:16:32
Craig Birtwistle
Welcome back and we just spoke to Sophie about her passion on supporting females in what is perceived that a male dominatminant dominated career.
Supportive Environments in Coaching
00:16:41
Craig Birtwistle
You must have had some great mentors to help you reach the heights that you've come to so far. Due to this, what advice were you given that has helped you in your career or what advice can you offer younger coaches trying to make a name for themselves within the sport?
00:16:57
Sophie Ibberson
I think it's just been the support I've had more than anything. I can't cant pinpoint any particular advice or person, but I've grown up in such a loving environment, family and friends that I've never felt like I couldn't do something. So to me, it was never, it never seemed a challenge to become a coach. It was quite easy in a sense. You know, there's difficult things that come with it, but it's just not feeling like, oh, I'm on my own in this environment.
00:17:27
Sophie Ibberson
So I think to younger coaches, they should just try and say yes to as much as they can, because it's the experience that you get that really sets you you know on your career path, I think, for me. Because if I'd not said no to things, then I wouldn't have got the experience and confidence that I've got now. Because at the start, I think I just thought everybody could tell me what to do, and I just had to take it. Whereas now, I know I'm sure that I'm you know, pretty good at what I do. So I'm not too concerned about other people. So it's just trying not to be worried about what this thing can, what the managers and players and parents are thinking of you on the sideline. Just believe that you're there for a reason. And that's, it's been, I mean, easy, I wouldn't say completely easy, but like say, having a, a good network of people. There's stuff on, on Twitter as well, like, I guess, really nice support. I've never,
00:18:26
Sophie Ibberson
have really had any issues with sharing anything. So I think if you're in the right places then it's easy to be who you are.
00:18:36
Craig Birtwistle
I 100% agree and I'm gonna call you on one of the things you just said there about like Twitter or X as it's known now. ah People have told me on so many different like platforms or just in person that it's ah a very poisonous environment that you get lots of trolls on there that trying to drag you down and I've had completely the opposite way of looking at it because I've connected via session share with like I think we've got almost 10,000 followers on our on our Twitter account now. and
00:19:10
Craig Birtwistle
Every single person I've interacted with, and this is no lie, this is not blowing smoke up anyone, I've built some great relationships and networked with so many different people there. And that's kind of the birthplace of where this podcast came from, because I meet so many great people like yourself that just want to push the game forward and help each other. And whether this podcast in particular is about female coaches, male coaches, or just coaches in general,
00:19:39
Craig Birtwistle
That's what we're striving for and it it sounds like that's exactly what you want from the game.
00:19:46
Sophie Ibberson
Yeah, I think just an even platform for everybody. And I've never posted anything and thought, oh, I wonder if I'm going to get some abuse for this. And I think like I've had positive experiences like you have. And it's nice to know that there are good people out there. And I think that helps because you can be shot down a lot of times and that probably makes you not want to do it anymore. But that's why those first interactions with the game are so important.
00:20:14
Sophie Ibberson
And I think that's why as coaches, we've got to make sure that players feel important in that environment because they could become those coaches. And if they've had somebody that believed in them, then they might go on to be that person for somebody else. So I think it's just not, it's easy to be critical and to say that, you know, everybody's against female coaches, but it's just, it's not been my experience at all. So I think it's an opinion that maybe we we shouldn't assume too much of that anymore because I think it is changing.
00:20:49
Craig Birtwistle
Yeah I agree and one thing that I was always told and I think this is a great bit of advice for everyone when it comes to like those trolls or those people that step on you whenever they get the chance.
00:21:01
Craig Birtwistle
is the fact to never accept criticism from someone you wouldn't ask for advice from.
00:21:06
Sophie Ibberson
yeah
00:21:06
Craig Birtwistle
And I think that's always stuck with me so well because it's so easy to pick apart something. Like for example, Sophie mentioned then, I've seen your Twitter as well, Sophie, or you'll put like a lesson plan on there, like full lesson plan from start to end, coaching points, the whole bit.
00:21:23
Craig Birtwistle
It's so easy for so someone to look at that and go, I wouldn't have done it that way, or this isn't right, that isn't wrong.
00:21:26
Sophie Ibberson
Well.
00:21:29
Craig Birtwistle
if you can offer some criticism to like my session plans when i put them out there and say you know what it would have been better if you had a counter goal or like if you added a neutral in there or whatever the time would be i think that's where me and sophie are both on on agreed terms with the fact that we'll We'll accept those because that helps us drive forward. But like if you're there to just like put us a damper on the mood and try and just criticize for the sake of criticism, then we've got no time for you, to be perfectly honest. it's It's so much harder, as Sophie says, to put your name out there and put your name on a session plan and say, listen, this is what I'm about. This is what I'm going to teach this week.
00:22:12
Craig Birtwistle
And at the end, i I think, would you say so for you your own biggest critic? Because I know I am.
00:22:18
Sophie Ibberson
Oh yeah. I've done sessions that I've then slated on Twitter and afterwards and I've said, you know, this was not very good, but I think it's good to be self-aware. And that's what I think helps me as well is that I don't think I'm the best at anything. And I think that's, it's good to be like that because I think I can learn from everybody. And, you know, seven years feels like a bit of a long time, but it's absolutely no time at all. And I know that, you know, for the next, hopefully 30-40 years I'll be learning and I'll constantly be changing and getting better so I think it's yeah it's easy to be critical of yourself and especially if other people have been in the past but it's just finding you've got to I think appreciate yourself as well a little bit even though it is hard.
00:23:10
Craig Birtwistle
That's right. And, I mean, as we're talking about advice, um what what advice is it that you give your players like on a regular basis? What what helps drive them forward um in order to grow as a person, as you said earlier, with your, ah your philosophy?
Advice for Players and Favorite Moments in Sports
00:23:28
Sophie Ibberson
I think it's just being authentic to yourself and not trying to be different people for, you know, to try and please other people. It's just being at football, I think that's where I feel best and as a still player now, and I feel my most comfortable when I'm there. So just making sure my players feel the same is the best I can give them, I think. and Like I said earlier, if they're having fun and that's ah what it's all about, it's not, you know, it's, at the end of the day, at grassroots level, especially, it's not about the results, but if they want to go on and be professional, then it does become about the results, but it's making sure you always know why you are playing football. Because if you're not, if you're playing football for somebody else, then there's no point. And, you know, the same with coaching, because we do it for free a lot of the time, it's, there's no point doing it.
00:24:25
Sophie Ibberson
if you don't absolutely love it. And I really want my players to get that from me that I actually said to my team a few weeks ago, I asked them who, so they're under 13 and I said, who is my daughter in this team? And they were all really confused. And I said, I'm not your, I'm not any of your parent. I don't have to be here. So why do you think I am here? And they were really confused about it. And I was just trying to get across to them that I choose to be there and I want to help them.
00:24:54
Sophie Ibberson
And I helped by saying that to them that they thought, yeah, all right, she doesn't have to be here, but she wants to help us.
00:25:03
Craig Birtwistle
Yeah, it shows you that you care, right? And I think that's one of the first battles. We often want to be respected, but we we soon learn that when a player cares for you, that they're much more receptive to any advice that you would give them.
00:25:17
Sophie Ibberson
yeah
00:25:19
Craig Birtwistle
So that's awesome. And me, as we mentioned, a love of the game, if you will, what I always like to do when I finish the podcast, which gives us a bit more flavor for the person as well as the coach is I always like to ask the question, what is your favorite moment in sports? It can be anything as a player, a fan, a coach.
00:25:40
Sophie Ibberson
So I'd say, well, firstly, as a Sheffield United fan, so that's probably my longest thing. It would be when Chris Basham scored against Leeds. It was the year that we went up to the Premier League and that just summed up, you know, we've been in league one for six years and it summed up what being a football fan was. There was moments that you just don't forget. So as a fan, it'd be that. And then as a player, I think it's it's the group of friends that I've got through playing.
00:26:09
Sophie Ibberson
Like they're the moment, it's not a specific, you know, this is why I played and this is what I did. it It's just then all the memories I've created with friends that just stand out. And I think as a coach, this again, there's so many, but and even the presentations, I love end of year presentations when you, you feel that sort of connection with the team. Cause it's, ah you know, it's more relaxed than um I've always enjoyed.
00:26:39
Sophie Ibberson
getting to Like I said, getting to know my players and having that more relaxed setting with them, and I've always enjoyed that.
00:26:48
Craig Birtwistle
Yeah, I love the fact the yeah the player won in particular about how it wasn't an exact moment, but it's more of like the kind camaraderie, the feeling, because I 100% agree, and I've mentioned this to my players myself, that one,
00:27:04
Craig Birtwistle
I don't remember when my last game was because I didn't realize it was my last game, which which obviously bothered me. ah But also, I miss the changing room, the dressing room. I love that camaraderie, the banter and the the making fun of each other, all that sort of thing right before you went out for the game or just getting literally motivated for it. So I 100% agree with you there.
Episode Conclusion and Social Media Invite
00:27:28
Craig Birtwistle
Well, Sophie, this has been an absolute pleasure, this conversation.
00:27:33
Craig Birtwistle
If you're okay with it, I will put your Twitter profile in our podcast description so we can hopefully get more coaches to connect with you, one for you to network, two for them to network, because you've offered some great advice expected for every coach and every player, but especially for females that we're trying to get involved in the game. Well, that's all about the time we have for this episode of Session Share. so Thank you very much, Sophie, for joining us. It's been an absolute pleasure. Be sure to get in touch across all our socials that you can find it in our podcast description. This has been Session Share, the Coaches Podcast. Thank you for listening and thank you for coaching the beautiful game.