About Nutmeg Soccer School

Nutmeg Soccer School was established by Ollie Stanbridge. Ollie has played semi-professional football for over 20 years having played for teams such as Banbury United, Aylesbury United and Brackley Town. His early days at Aylesbury United saw an FA Cup 1st round match at Port Vale in front of 5,000 people. He has also been fortunate enough to come up against some Premier League teams and International footballers during his career. The most famous is probably Peter Crouch where there was only a slight height difference for marking on corners!

His passion for the game means Ollie is still playing despite the ageing body and slowing legs. During these latter playing days he has turned his energy into setting up Nutmeg Soccer School. Having enjoyed Soccer Schools when he was younger and organised them under a previous organisation it was a natural progression to provide something similar himself for children locally.

Why the name Nutmeg?

A nutmeg in the football world is a trick where a player puts the ball between an opposition player’s legs. Trying this move is common place on pitches around the world and is one of the things which gets the crowd on their feet. It brings alive the skilful and fun side of the game which is what we want to bring alive at Nutmeg Soccer School.

Credit to Ollie’s old friend school friend Alex King who first came up with the name!

Nutmeg coaching approach & philosophy

  • Football fun for all – We cater for all abilities and backgrounds. From girls and boys who have never played football to those who have been playing for years.
  • Children’s safety first – All coaches are first aid trained and DBS checked. It is of paramount importance you are reassured your child is in a safe environment.
  • Groupings based on age/size/ability – By breaking the children into relevant groups this will give them the best chance to enjoy and develop their football. We don’t see how it helps anyone if a 4 year old and 12 year old compete against each other.
  • Maximise time with the ball – The focus is on children having as much time as possible with the ball which gives greatest opportunity for enjoyment and natural improvement. The more the ball becomes second nature the better player they will become.
  • Football played on the floor – We encourage football to be played on the floor from goalkeeper, defence, midfield to attack. We want football to be played the right way and in a way that involves the whole team.
  • Is winning everything? – That’s a debate for another day but what is important is for players to realise that giving it their all is. After all football is a team game and if all individuals don’t try their best then it impacts the rest of the team.
  • Older players to be role models – We look for older players to be role models to the younger children as we all know how influential they can be. Equally we look for all players to help and support each other. This provides an environment for everyone to flourish.
  • Improve their understanding of the beautiful game – As well as players improving their technical ability we want to improve their understanding of the game. We will introduce appropriate footballing terminology through our coaching and in our lunch time quizzes.
  • Football progression – For those with the required ability and aspirations we have links to local academy sides. For those who don’t yet play for a team we can help put you in touch with a local team.
  • Endorse healthy eating and exercise – We want children to understand the benefits of healthy eating and exercise. We encourage parents to provide healthy lunches and for the children/parent/guardian to walk to the camp where possible.
  • Opportunity to meet and make new friends – These courses are a great opportunity to meet new friends from different schools. One of the great things about football is how it brings people together and these courses are no different2

Nutmeg 3 day course format

  • 9.00 – Early drop off* opens
  • 10.00 – Normal drop-off, registration & introduction
  • 10.10 – Coaching sessions focusing on specific aspects of the game such as shooting, skills, control, passing & defending
  • 12.15 – Lunch followed by a football quiz (and the odd bit of general knowledge) to let lunch go down
  • 13.00 – Back out on the pitch for age group competitions (penalty shoot out, timed speed/skill challenge, cross bar challenge)
  • 13.15 – Further coaching sessions before putting those into practice in age group matches & tournaments
  • 15.00 – Normal pick-up
  • 16.00 – Late pick-up* closes

* Early drop-off (9am) and late pick up (4pm) are an additional option which can be booked online

There are regular breaks throughout for drinks and toilet stops.

We have a small presentation on the last day so parents who want to see this should arrive by 14.50.