Coaching in an academy

hi,

i was just wondering what hours/days do full time coaches work in an academy. i think it varies from age group to age group but any info is appreciated.

tom

Hi frammo.

It can vary from club to club but in general the coaching is spread over Monday to Friday Evenings with a game on a saturday. Each age group usually trains on 2 evenings a week varying from 1 1/2 to 2 hours an evening. Academy coaches are normally assigned 1 age group. If you were 1 of these then your coaching time with the academy would be around the 4 hour mark for your evening committments and about half a day for your saturday.

thank for reply. u work at reading don't u? are they the hours u work?

Hi frammo. No i dont work at reading. Please check out my post in newcomers and you will see my background info. Basically i run a sports coaching business in Hull and do know that the scenario i gave you for the academy system is basically how it works at Hull City. Also i have a friend whose son attended the Leeds Academy and thats more or less how the system worked there too.

but it thort coachin at an academy is full time. a couple of evenings and half a saturday doesn't sound very full time.

Hello again frammo99. No it isnt im afraid. You are very much mistaken. Look at it like this - These players (acadamy) are still at school so would only finish at 3 - 4 o'clock. Allow time to get home then to get to training and your talking round about 6 o'clock. What are the coaches doing when there are no players to coach. There are some posts doing the rounds that make the picture with regards to football coaching a little clearer. 1 aspect of these comments is that coaching is very much a part - time job upto and including the semi professional game.

can you give me some guidelines into what an academy coach would earn plz. (hope im not being too personal)

Basically the payment is rather standard for coaching full stop be it football or otherwise. Dont expect more than £10 per hour for your troubles. Different areas may pay slightly higher to cover cost of living differences.

Look at it this way frammo. Football is very much a part time job except that at the top level you earn fantastic money for it. Obviously running, managing and the administration of a club are very full time but with regards to junior level coaches part time is all you will get my friend unless you are the main man in charge of youth football and the academies. The football in the community workers can sometimes be there on a full time basis as they spend a lot of time in schools and generally out and about organising things. However, the money is far from great and in most cases wouldnt see you earn much more than minimum wage - It most definitely wouldnt be £10 per hour on full time hours.

then wot do coaches at academys do for another job? a full time job? what do u do?

They just do regular jobs. I can only speak for the ones i know. some are inolved with the council and sports development, others are part of the football in the community set up, some work in sports centres or health clubs. Most are involved in sport but not all. 1 or 2 have had jobs that are totally unrelated to sport but obviously they have a passion for it.

I have a small sports coaching business.

Frammo go to newcomers and check my posts in there and you will see my background details.

well i also have an ambition to become a physio for a football team as i enjoy doing things like anatomy n stuff at school so if i can get to do bit of coaching at academy, n a full time job of physio at nhs after a few years i cud get a job at the academy as a physio

Heres some good news for you. A friend of mine started off doing the football in the community course. Did some part time coaching when he finished (as did we all). Then he did a college course, then a uni course and whilst doing it became the physio for 1 of the Hull City junior teams. He is now 1 of the Physios for Scunthorpe United. It was a long road but he managed it.

wow. i looked at community coaching jobs n the wages offered are around 19-24k pa. i think thats ok isn't it?

Ofcourse that sort of money is good! Im also sure that the level of experience in a similar environment required is also going to be high. There are plenty of jobs within sports development kicking around and these tend to create opportunities to progress, however not necessarilly in the hands on coaching capacity. There are other opportunities arising because of the drive towards the 2012 olympics. Now would be a good time to get on the ladder.

Frammo, firstly, good luck.

Secondly, maybe try and be aware that it's going to be tough to "do a bit of coaching at academy" - it's not just a matter of offering yourself and getting the work like that. Firstly, you do (in most cases) need to be a UEFA B/Level 3, which is a)hard to pass and b) takes time. Please don't think I'm being negative as it is certainly not out of the question, just tough.

Another thing to remember is you won't just get offered Academy coaching just because you have the Level 3. You need to have experience, a strong footballing background, probably have contacts within the club and show them, of course, that you are a very capable coach.

Like I said please don't think I'm being negative but that's how it is, tough and hard, and can take time. But be committed and work your nads off and you could well get there. Best of luck.

Forgive me if this is a stupid question but how would you advise someone starting in the coaching ladder to go about getting experience, a strong football background, contacts within clubs and showing that I'm a very capable coach?

A few examples and explanations will do.

Thanks in advance.

May i just clarify a few points. People seem to think that coaching at academies is the be all and end all, the holy grail. Well reality check, it most definitely isnt. Its very much a part time job that takes up the odd evening and the money isnt that great. However, if you have a few hours to spare and just enjoy coaching then its not a bad way to go.

Be aware that it doesnt generally lead anywhere and dont be confused between centre of excellence and acadamy. Most clubs have centre of excellences but far fewer have acadamies. They (acadamies) are better equipped, usually have indoor facilities and cost in excess of a £million and thats at the lower end of the scale.

They tend to be staffed by the more experienced coaches (this by no way means that junior coaches cant be involved) who are coming from a playing background. Im sure that if you look closely at acadamies certainly at the the bigger clubs, they are staffed by young players who maybe didnt quite make the grade as footballers but have embarked on the coaching path, ex pros who are involved in youth development at the club and so on and so forth.

Football, despite its appearance as a sport for the man in the street, is just as guilty as other sports for creating jobs for the boys be that on the playing staff or the coaching staff. However, that doesnt mean you cant succeed. There are several avenues that you could take to enter this world, but you dont necessarilly have to be in the circle to make a living from it. If you pardon the pun - think outside the box as it really isnt the be all and end all.

hey strass one last thing, u no being a physio for a pro club, it doesn't require an ex pro status as much as a coaching position, does it? i also presume that there is no requirement for technical ability, cos i have little lol.