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BBC News
9 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
The Welsh Way - inside the 'Harvard of coaching'
Listen to The Welsh Way: Inside 'Harvard for football coaches' with Steve Crossman on demand with The Football Daily on BBC Sounds or on BBC Radio 5 Live, Monday, 23 June, 21:00 (BST). Gael Clichy puts on his virtual reality headset, gets up and walks around the room, the former Arsenal and Manchester City defender careful not to bump into two-time World Cup winner Brandi Chastain, who is wearing the same gear and trying to figure out how best to counter Brighton's Cabaye, the ex-France and Newcastle midfielder, searches for a solution on the other side of the room, where Stoke's sporting director Jonathan Walters is pondering his next to the Celtic Manor hotel near Newport, where the Football Association of Wales is holding some of its final sessions for the sport's highest coaching qualification, the Uefa Pro is what you need to manage at the top level, and this particular course attracts some of football's biggest names, as illustrated by a list of graduates that includes Thierry Henry, Yaya Toure, Roberto Martinez and Mikel current crop are as diverse as they are recognisable, from former Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool midfielder Nuri Sahin to Wales manager Rhian Wilkinson, and from Caernarfon Town boss Richard Davies to his new friend, Nice captain and Brazil international together two years ago, this group now "feels like a family", says completed their B and A Licences, the class of 2025 are entering the closing stages of their Pro Licence and ready to take the next step on their burgeoning coaching rare and unlimited access, BBC Sport takes you behind the scenes on the course Sahin describes as the "Harvard for coaching". From All Blacks rugby to training with the army Having played and managed in the Champions League with the likes of Real Madrid and Dortmund, ex-Turkey international Sahin feels at home in elite football also has experience of world-leading educational institutions, having studied sports management at Harvard Business when Sahin assesses the FAW's Pro Licence course, it comes from a place of authority."I've learned so much," he says. "This will prepare me not only for my coaching career but the rest of my life."I had this when I was in Harvard, and this is like Harvard for coaching."I've enjoyed every minute on this course, with these people. It feels special here. We've created a bond and I know we will be a group who will be connected for the rest of our lives." This is a rigorous course, which requires candidates to commit to long hours, both at home – which could be anywhere in the world – and during their contact periods with the this extended weekend in May, they are required to do practical tests and training sessions on the pitch at Dragon Park in Newport, while work at the nearby Celtic Manor includes the aforementioned virtual reality seminars, tactical theory tasks and individual presentations."I made my special report about the All Blacks," Sahin says. "For me it was important to study a team not in football, about the culture and living the culture. They are the best example of this and I have no clue about rugby."What I learned is the culture and protecting the country, the jersey, the values, being good people. I want to win with good people."While the football knowledge required is extensive – and the technical detail granular – candidates are often taken out of their comfort zone on this course."We went on a trip to work with the army for three days where they deprived us of sleep and we had to do missions being super tired," says Clichy, a member of Arsenal's Invincibles of 2004."The food we had was in very small portions and you realise that you're affected by this, how you make a decision related to football."You could be in a very important game, you're losing 2-0, you had a plan during the whole week and then you find yourself behind, how do you cope with it? So that was a different way for us to learn how to deal with pressure." Sharing heartache, forming unlikely friendships Tasks such as working with the army are levellers for this you have already played at the highest level, or managed semi-professional teams, there is a striking sense of equality here."People like to hear stories about Pep [Guardiola] and Arsene Wenger but I'm aiming to be a top coach," says Clichy."I know there's a big chance that I'm going to be starting at a lower level. And these guys, who started in amateur football and been in a job for the last 20 years, have got a lot to offer me because what I know, my career, is probably three or 5% of what football is."It's not real football, playing 20 plus years in a club like Arsenal and City. It's rare, and you have to understand it. So as a coach, if I'm lucky to start and to get there one day, that would be fantastic. But I know I'll have to start at the bottom and these guys can tell me how it is."In a practical, footballing sense, there are countless valuable lessons these people can learn from each a more human level, the experience has been profound."Around the first couple of days, last March or April when we started the course, we had to do a presentation around the four Hs, with your four Hs being your history, your heartache, your heroes and your hopes," says Adie Harvey, who coaches Wales Under-16s boys."Everyone had to deliver that to the group, which was quite daunting really, with the level of expertise of people in the group. But it just flattened any hierarchy or ego among the group, and it really connected us."I took massive strength from listening to others and what they've gone through. We've all gone through some type of tragedy or heartache, so that really connected all of us and provided so much strength for us as a cohort." The result is that these are more than just working relationships, but real friendships."It feels like a family so we'll definitely keep in touch," says Davies, whose Caernarfon side are a semi-professional team in the Cymru Premier, Wales' top flight."We are like a family," Dante agrees. "We learn together, we do everything together."Richard is passionate. I was amazed to see the emotion he speaks with, and I think every coach needs this emotion inside."Stood next to the towering former Bayern Munich defender, Davies adds: "For me, it's the knowledge Dante has. He's still playing at the highest level and what he's achieved in the game is unbelievable."To be able to have these conversations and tap into his mindset, how he sees the game, is so valuable for me. We're talking about someone who's managing in the Welsh Prem working with someone who's played in the Champions League and World Cup. Without this course, I'd never come across people like Dante."These are enduring bonds which transcend football's natural order, as course graduates have demonstrated, with former Newport manager Mike Flynn still in a WhatsApp group with Henry and Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta. Changing the game, from Chastain to Wilkinson While most here are only starting their coaching journeys, others are already fully-fledged of those, Wales women's boss Rhian Wilkinson, is juggling her studies with preparations for this summer's Euros."It's a lot but I never want to miss these. Firstly, catching up with people but, equally, that excitement around learning. You never stop learning," Wilkinson says."Someone will say 'Well, Pep used to do this' or 'Jurgen Klopp would do this' and then you've got Brandi Chastain here as well. This is where we're moving things with the FAW."This is an environment where top men in the game want to come and learn but equally this has to be something that we start looking more seriously at with the women. This is a great step for the women's game."We can't lie. This is a very male-dominated sport and career. It is what it is. It's part of my job to make sure I continue to try and forge a path or show examples of women who can have a career in the game. And I can only do that because of women like Brandi Chastain, who did it before me."Chastain's presence is a real fillip for the course. With two World Cups and two Olympic gold medals to her name, the 192-cap former United States international is one of the most recognisable faces in the women's well as delivering a speech at the FAW National Coaching Conference, Chastain takes part in the Pro Licence sessions with those on the course."I've been in football for 50 years and I know the lessons and the learnings that go out to young girls and women," she says."Activity through sporting endeavours allows young girls to find their voice and their power and their potential, and we know that young girls who participate in sports become women who lead."The statistics say that they go on to be executives and they become decision-makers and that's truly impactful for the world."I'm hoping there will be some fun stories in there but also some reminders about how critical good coaches are for young people. We're all here to help the game and make the game better so that's on both sides for the men and women." Other guest speakers at the conference include Wales men's head coach Craig Bellamy and new Rangers boss Russell Martin, who present their footballing philosophies to a thronged hall of 100s at the Celtic Manor."This is my life," says Bellamy. "This game connects you with so many people and I'm always open to views from everyone. I look at everything like a puzzle and I try to steal ideas from other people to fit into a puzzle."Can you speak with passion? I was lucky I had a manager like Sir Bobby Robson who gave me that. Whether he was right or wrong, you would follow because he said it with such enthusiasm, you would play with that enthusiasm."I had experience of playing under a lot of managers, good and bad, and I really tried to learn off the good and bad, and self-reflection on myself, put myself back into the player, what worked for me, because I was a complicated person. I needed a 'why' and some coaches were scared of that, but I embrace it. I need to know. There's always a reason to everything I do." The old school and the new Welsh Way In their own distinct ways, Bellamy and Martin are flagbearers for the progressive trends of modern football; possession-based styles of play and building from the young coaches want to follow that path, as you can see when watching this year's crop of FAW Pro Licence candidates working on and off the there is still room for the old school on this the final day, former Stoke manager Tony Pulis is invited to host a masterclass on set-pieces. It is a wet and windy Tuesday. This is meant to his practical session on the pitch at a rain-lashed Dragon Park, he gives the Pro Licence group a presentation on his career – and it is pure is in his element as he reels off stories about his humble beginnings as a player and coach, before getting on to his various managerial tenures, complementing each piece of advice with at least a couple of entertaining anecdotes that could earn him a second career on the after dinner speaking 67-year-old Welshman has the room howling with laughter, and on a couple of occasions a giggling Dante asks for a little translation help from those next to him as he tries to decipher Pulis' broad Newport accent and industrial the jokes are a number of useful lessons, as Pulis answers questions on various topics, from the help he got from his peers (Sir Alex Ferguson and Carlo Ancelotti get a mention) to balancing family life with the exhaustive travelling that comes with he steps out on to the field to take the practical session with a group of young players, freezing in the rain as Pulis barks orders at them as if he was preparing them for a long-throw from Rory Delap."It's always nice to come back to Wales and Newport. It's a special place, this is my town," Pulis says."I loved playing football for my local club, or just on the streets. It's always nice to come and to be involved in football, helping people starting out in their careers."Set-plays have always been an important part of football and I think they've been undervalued. Mikel [Arteta] doing it with Arsenal, such a big club not just in England but on the world stage, has brought it to the fore again."I've had such a tremendous career and the world's changed, the game's changed. My first training session at Gillingham, we had to take the goals off the main pitch and take them on a tractor to a park and train there with people and their dogs walking past. Then you look at this and the facilities we've got today… it's the greatest sport in the world and it's our sport."Listening as intently to Pulis as the fledgling coaches – and laughing just as hard at the jokes – at the back of the room is the man who oversees the course, Dave the FAW's chief football officer, Adams is responsible for the men's and women's game at all levels in appointed both senior national team head coaches last year and, on top of his work in developing Welsh football, he leads the Pro Licence course."I'm standing on the work of other people in some respects. Osian Roberts [former FAW technical director] did a great job in creating a programme which was world-class," says Adams."What I tried to do with it when I started in 2019 was to go into the market and speak to head coaches because, fundamentally, you want a course that reflects the needs of head coaches, which are really complex and multi-faceted. It's very much reality-based learning. We don't want things to be abstract because coaching is a vocational skill."We get close to 400 applicants for 20 [Pro Licence] places every two years. It's highly competitive. We've got to try and support our Welsh coaches like Chris Gunter and people who are working for our national association. But equally, we recognise that by having people like Nuri Sahin and Mikel Arteta, Chris Wilder, Roberto Martinez, Steve Cooper before that – the names are extensive – they bring a different lens and, as much as we help them, they actually help us as well."They've coached and worked at the highest level. There's a recognition on our side that when we bring people like that, it's also about taking from them, and that helps us grows an association. We learn new things, which we can apply to our programmes or our national teams, and that helps us grow as well."At the heart of the FAW's work is the concept of the Welsh Way, an ethos underpinning everything from the elite level to grassroots; a vision for football in Wales, how to develop the game and foster its sense of national pride."It's our mantra, Together Stronger. In any department, being small, being agile, being dynamic and everyone feeling a part of something is really important," Adams adds."In any high-performance coaching environment, that sense of togetherness is really important. Whether you're the head coach or the masseur or the chef, you've all got a vital part to play and got to buy into the vision of the head coach."It's important we have that mantra and it drives everything we do. Why should we dream small? Dream big. We're a small country but we've got incredible talent. We're interested in the small margins and that's what gives us a competitive advantage at the highest level."
Scottish Sun
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
My dad's a Scottish football cult hero who turned down Celtic job now I'm youngest British coach to get Uefa Pro Licence
He was a fan favourite at several Scottish clubs RISING STAR My dad's a Scottish football cult hero who turned down Celtic job now I'm youngest British coach to get Uefa Pro Licence Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) HIS dad is one of Scottish football's most popular cult heroes. Now he is making his own way in the football world as a coach - and has reached a mega milestone before anyone else. Sign up for the Celtic newsletter Sign up 3 Owen Coyle during his spell as Queen's Park boss Credit: PA 3 His son (second from left) is now following in his footsteps Credit: Kenny Ramsay Owen Coyle was a fan favourite at Dumbarton, Clydebank and Aidrieonians before making his mark in the top flight with Dundee United and Motherwell. Coyle also earned cult hero status at Bolton Wanderers and after hanging up his boots he became a manager, taking charge of Bolton after successful stints at St Johnstone and Burnley. The Republic of Ireland cap famously turned down his boyhood club Celtic in 2009 - because the Hoops came calling on the same day his Burnley side clinched promotion to the Premier League. Coyle has since gone on to manage elsewhere in England, the USA and in Scotland - but is currently coaching in India with Chennaiyin. His son, also called Owen, has just earned his Uefa Pro Licence - the highest level of coaching qualifications - at the age of 28. And he's been told that makes him the youngest person in Britain to hold those badges. He posted a picture of himself with his certificate on his Instagram account. And he said: "Delighted to share that I've officially graduated with my UEFA Pro Licence — the highest coaching diploma in football — after two challenging and rewarding years. "I began my coaching journey at 16, and 12 years on, I'm proud to have reached this milestone at 28. I'm told it makes me the youngest British coach to achieve the licence — something I'm grateful for and don't take lightly. "Thank you to the Scottish FA for their support throughout, to my peers for the insight and good company along the way, and to my family, friends, and colleagues who've backed me since day one. Celtic transfer special - Nygren in and Kyogo to return "Still plenty to learn — but a positive step forward." Coyle Jr is currently employed at Nottingham Forest as player pathway and loans manager. That's following a recent promotion from assistant player pathway and loans manager, a role he combined with working as one of the development coaches at the club. Coyle Jr joined Forest as a scout in 2023 after a spell working under his dad at Queen's Park as the club's B team manager, in which he also assisted his father with the senior team. Prior to that, he was the manager of the England Amputee national team and also worked as a youth coach at Oldham Athletic and a disability-inclusive coach at Blackpool. 3 Owen Coyle Jr on the training field with Queen's Park Credit: Willie Vass Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Rooney reinstalled as Larne manager
Larne have reinstalled Nathan Rooney as manager following the Englishman's enrolment on his Uefa Pro Licence course. In December, just three weeks on from succeeding Tiernan Lynch in the Inver Park dugout, Rooney moved into the club's head of football role after it emerged he was unable to lead Larne in their Uefa Conference League campaign as he did not hold the required licence. With Rooney having been accepted on to his Pro Licence course in March, he returns to his original position. Gary Haveron, who took over head coaching duties for the remainder of the 2024-25 season, returns to his role as Rooney's assistant. "It has been a period of change for us all, including our amazing fanbase, who has continued to bring the noise and energy to every matchday since my arrival," said Rooney. "I appreciate all of you and it's our job as a group to continue working hard to achieve new goals whilst working smartly through both the smooth and difficult times. "I want to express my thanks to Gary Haveron who has been a great professional to work alongside and his work ethic to keep pushing the team has been second to none – I thank him for his support throughout this period." Rooney, who was brought in from Gibraltar side Bruno's Magpies, added: "Gary will continue to play a major role as an experienced professional who is highly thought of in the local area and the Irish Premiership. "Our job now is to hit the ground running in pre-season, develop our younger players, implement a playing style which can be exciting to watch and provide an energy which brings us all together on and off the pitch and we will see where it takes us." Larne chairman Gareth Clements said the past few months have "allowed Nathan to do a lot of the groundwork across the whole club and we're now looking forward to having him lead all aspects of our senior men's team". "We are very excited to see how Nathan will shape the playing squad as pre-season preparations get underway in the coming weeks," added Clements. "On behalf of everyone at the club, I want to express our sincere gratitude to Gary Haveron for how he stepped up to lead first team affairs since the middle of December. "Clinching automatic European qualification at the end of a 60-game season, with all the demands placed on the team this season domestically and in Europe, was a huge achievement." Larne finished second in the Irish Premiership, 22 points behind champions Linfield, and were knocked out of the Irish Cup fifth round by Limavady United.
The 42
19-05-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Hannah Dingley to depart FAI for Man City role
HANNAH DINGLEY is leaving her role as Head of Women & Girls' Football in the Football Association of Ireland, it has been confirmed. The Uefa Pro Licence holder will depart in the summer to take up a new position Girls' Head of Academy with Manchester City. Advertisement Dingley leaves after just over a year in the role, having begun the job in May last year, launching the FAI's Women & Girls' Football Action Plan in March. The Wales native was previously appointed academy manager at Forest Green Rovers in 2019 and in 2023, became the first woman to manage a senior men's team in English football, taking over as caretaker boss following Duncan Ferguson's departure. She also had stints at Burton Albion, Lincoln Ladies and Notts County. Dingley took over the role from Eileen Gleeson after the latter was appointed as Ireland's permanent manager. Gleeson has since been replaced in the job by Carla Ward, but is understood to still be an FAI employee. The FAI say details on Dingley's successor will be announced 'in due course'. The news comes less than a month after chief football officer Marc Canham confirmed he would be leaving the association.
The Irish Sun
18-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Will Still, 32, RESIGNS as Lens manager and returns to England as Sky Sports presenter girlfriend battles illness
WILL STILL has resigned as the RC Lens manager and has returned to England. The manager has left after just one season in order to be closer to partner Emma Saunders. 7 Will Still has resigned as RC Lens manager Credit: AFP 7 He wants to spend more time with his partner Emma Saunders Credit: Instagram / @wrstill 7 They went public with their relationship last year Credit: Instagram / @wrstill 7 Emma has been battling illness since 2024 Credit: Still, 32, went public with his relationship with the Sky Sports presenter during Euro 2024. He announced his decision to leave Lens after their final game of the season which was attended by Saunders. He said: "I won't be the coach of RC Lens next season. "It was the last season at Bollaert, for multiple reasons. READ MORE IN FOOTBALL "The main reason that pushed me to make this decision is the fact that I need to go home. "Everyone is well aware of what happened in my life. That's why. "I had a lot of fun, I think we achieved great things despite everything. I've been in France for four years, four years that I've experienced intense moments. "The logical choice is that I get closer to my wife for her well-being too." Most read in Football Lens finished their time with Still as manager with a 4-0 win over AS Monaco. Neil El Aynaoui netted twice while Adrien Thomasson and Anass Zaroury wrapped up the scoring. 7 Emma shared this snap on her Instagram page Credit: Instagram 7 She is a Sky Sports presenter Credit: Instagram / @emmasaunds 7 Fans have showed their support for the couple in the past Credit: The victory sealed an 8th-placed finish in the Ligue 1 table. Still will now be able to close to Saunders as she battles health issues. She had revealed that at the start of the season she had been treated for thyroid cancer. She is now recovering from a brain infection called encephalitis which is a condition in which it becomes inflamed. Emma attended Still's final game at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis and shared a snap with him on the pitch. The fans have previously shown their In her career, she has also worked for the likes of BBC Sport, fronting women's football on the channel alongside her work at Sky. The two cosied up as they posed for the picture and she captioned the post: " Bravo ". He was just 30 when he took over at Reims - even before getting his Uefa Pro Licence, costing the club £22,000 per match. Still guided the club to ninth in Ligue 1 last season before He has already picked up some work in England as he was a special guest on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football in April.
