Club philosophy

Principles of team activities

Pakkalan Palloseura offers its players a safe and inspiring environment. We aim to do our part in supporting the growth and development of children and young people by providing an honest, positive and encouraging atmosphere. Football is a team sport through which you learn the principles of working as part of a group.

Our club has an open atmosphere. Teams are organised by age group, and everyone is welcome to join. Parents are also welcome to get involved and help create better training sessions and matches for the players.

Children and young people have different motivations for playing football, so alongside team activities we also offer other options, such as children's clubs and an easy-to-join football school.

Values of team activities

The activities of every team are built from the very beginning on an educationally sound foundation. In football terms, teams progress gradually from learning sport-specific skills and game skills towards more demanding exercises. In every team, we also want to emphasise learning how to behave in a group and how to take other people into account.

The role of team officials

The head coach is, as a rule, an external coach. In addition to the head coach, a team needs assistant coaches, team managers and kit managers. The club provides training for all of these roles.

Depending on the size of the team, 1–3 team managers are needed per team.

Training

At Pakkalan Palloseura, we want to emphasise the importance of training. Training is what allows a player to develop. A player's training consists of both team training sessions and training in their own time. It would be good for players to attend training regularly right from the start, so that team spirit grows stronger and the players discover the joy of football and physical activity together.

Ability groups in training (from U7)

Ability groups are used in training, but they are not permanent groups. How players are grouped can change according to the exercise, their development and the needs of the moment. Some training is done in ability groups and some in mixed groups.

Playing matches

Matches are the best part of football. There should be a suitable number of matches during the season.

Evenly balanced playing groups are recommended for team spirit during the first two playing years (U5 and U6), depending, however, on the level of the opponent or the nature of the tournament.

Keen and more advanced players can be offered extra challenges, for example at the skills school. Making extra challenges available to the most advanced players is the coaches' responsibility.

Ability-based playing groups give all players the opportunity to succeed at PPS and to compete on an equal footing with other clubs. When ability groups are formed, the needs of all players must be taken into account and good-quality activities guaranteed for everyone. Higher-level playing groups should not be closed. Playing groups should be reviewed at regular intervals. Open movement and communication between playing groups is important.

Players' playing time in matches

Coaches must pay very close attention to how playing time is shared, because playing time has a big impact on players' motivation. Teams must follow the Puolen Pelin Takuu (Half Game Guarantee) rules. (U5-U11)

Half Game Guarantee (U5-U11)

The Half Game Guarantee means in practice that every player plays at least half of the playing time. If a player also does other sports, this must not affect their playing time, even if they may miss more training sessions. A player who has not been attending training actively is not necessarily entitled to the Half Game Guarantee. The Half Game Guarantee does not prevent the coach from playing a key player for the whole match if needed.

It is also important to take a squad of a suitable size to matches. If too many players are taken to a match, the Half Game Guarantee cannot be fulfilled, and players also get frustrated when they have to sit on the bench for most of the match. It is a good idea to take 2-4 substitutes to a match so that the Half Game Guarantee can be fulfilled. If a team has a large number of players, it should enter leagues and tournaments with several playing groups. Small playing groups ensure players get enough playing time in matches.

From U12 onwards, however, players must still be guaranteed enough playing minutes. For example, if a player has played only 15 minutes in their own playing group during the week, that player must be given playing time in another playing group or at other events.

Skills-based football

Our youngest teams have no results-based goals. The individual development of players is more important than team success. The aim is to develop players into skilful individuals, each from their own starting point.
The more skilful the players are, the easier it is to play as a team. Skills training should emphasise practising independently. Skills are perfected and polished in players' own time.

High-performance groups

The club's high-performance groups consist of supplementary training, the skills school and the goalkeeper school. High-performance groups are extra training sessions organised by Pakkalan Palloseura for motivated players.
Their purpose is to develop players as individuals (ball skills, sport-specific skills and game skills).

Football schools

The club organises football schools in the summer. The purpose of the football school is to give players extra training under the guidance of qualified coaches, as well as something fun to do in the summer in a safe environment.

Skills competitions

The purpose of the skills competitions is to make players enthusiastic about skills training. The aim is also to give players tips for practising on their own. Results are recorded at the skills competitions, but it is important to stress to players that they are only competing against themselves and their own previous results. It is a good idea to practise the skills competition stations in the team's own training sessions so that the players become familiar with the exercises.

Coach education

Pakkalan Palloseura provides coaching courses for new coaches. During the autumn and winter, coaches can receive support from the club if they wish, for example through internal training sessions and coaching materials. The coaching courses cover topics such as children's training, instruction and teaching skills. It is important that the team's coaches and assistant coaches attend the training sessions organised by the club. This gives coaches more confidence and plenty of new ideas for their own coaching style.

Team kit

PPS's kit supplier is PUMA / Intersport Tammisto

Club home kit: red shirt, black shorts and red socks.
Away kit: black shirt, black shorts and red socks.

More information: Kit

Rules of fair play

We recommend that every Pakkalan Palloseura team draws up its own rules of play every year. It is a good idea to agree on the team's rules together with the players, coaches and parents.

Club membership and licence fees and the team's own fees

The board of Pakkalan Palloseura sets the club's membership fee each year at the meeting preceding the statutory autumn general meeting. More information about licences and insurance is available from the team manager and on the Football Association of Finland's website at www.palloliitto.fi. The team pays its own costs, such as kit purchases and tournament, pitch and coaching fees. Teams collect a team activity fee from their players to cover these team costs.