The role of car parks in children's football

Bear with me on this one.

I first started taking my eldest son to play in football matches in 2004 when we lived in the USA and he’s still playing today, and now his younger brother plays too. They are at different clubs, but that is neither here nor there. The eldest is at California FC and the youngest at Pinewood FC. It is something they both look forward to and is an important part of their lives. I went to a Rugby school, but still played football at breaks, on the street and occasionally in the park. I even played every Friday evening when i was about 14. I loved it too, and when my boys started to play, I found myself learning to coach and as well as managing age groups for some 7 years, I also ended up as a Club Welfare Officer.

In my short time as a Club Welfare Officer, I managed to get about 80 coaches through th...