Football Coaching for Non-Verbal and Minimally Verbal Neurodivergent Girls

Meeting each player where she is

It just means the coaching has to meet them where they are.

At STAR we work with girls aged 5–18, including those who communicate in ways other than speech. We don’t expect them to fit into a standard session. We try to fit the session around them.

Starting with the people who know her best

Before anything else, we talk with parents or carers. Not a formal assessment — just a proper conversation about what helps and what doesn’t.

Useful things to share include how she usually shows interest or enjoyment; how she lets you know she’s had enough or is becoming overwhelmed; sensory triggers or preferences, such as noise, space, touch, kit and surfaces; any objects, routines, gestures or visual supports she already uses; and what tends to settle her in a new environment.

Parents and carers can offer valuable insight. We also make space for the player’s own preferences and communication. We never ask her to explain her needs in front of others.

Watching more than talking

When a girl doesn’t use much speech, an important coaching skill is simply paying attention.

We watch how she moves, what she is drawn to, whether she steps closer or further away, and how her body language changes when something feels good or too much. A lot of communication happens without words, and good coaching notices it.

We don’t depend on a spoken answer. We pay attention to the ways she chooses to communicate, including any communication tools or support she uses, and check our understanding with her and her family.

Making things clear without lots of talking

Long instructions are rarely helpful. We keep language short and concrete when we use it at all. We can show her what we mean — slowly, clearly, and one step at a time.

We give her time. Rushing usually makes things harder. Silence is fine. It often gives her the space she needs to process and decide.

If she is interested in a particular movement or part of the activity, we can start there rather than pushing a fixed plan. We follow her lead and adapt to her preferences.

Where it helps, we also use simple visual supports, consistent routines, and clear start and finish signals to reduce uncertainty.

Keeping the environment manageable

Busy group sessions can be a lot — noise, people moving, constant change, the feeling of being watched. For some girls that is simply too much.

Individual sessions can give us more flexibility to keep the space calmer, reduce unnecessary demands, and adapt as we go. We can agree a way for her to show she needs a break or wants to stop — for example a gesture, moving to a quiet spot, handing something to the coach, or using her usual communication aid. We respect her choice to pause or stop.

Progress looks different for every child

We don’t measure success by how much she speaks or how closely she matches other players. Progress might look like staying engaged a little longer, trying something she previously avoided, moving more freely with the ball, looking more settled in the space, or coming back the following week willing to try again.

Those things matter. They are real.

Working together with families

After sessions we share what we noticed — what seemed to help, what she engaged with, what we might try next. Parents often add important detail we wouldn’t otherwise know. It’s a two-way process.

A simple principle

Non-verbal or minimally verbal girls are not broken versions of verbal children. They experience the world differently, and they communicate differently. Football can still be meaningful and enjoyable for them. It just has to be offered in a way that respects how they take things in and how they show us what they need.

If you’re wondering whether this kind of approach might suit your daughter, we’re happy to talk it through. No pressure — just a conversation about her and what might help.