It was with great excitement that I headed down the M4 to meet up with a community football coach who works in elite centres for professional clubs. He is, like me, a graduate of the elite coaching course at the University of Bath (though, regretfully, a considerably more recent graduate than I!). Having contacted him through Twitter it was evident that he is a young coach who puts a lot of thought into both his work and how he can best create a positive environment to aid the development of those he coaches. Coaching is so much more than just the Mourinhos (Chelsea FC coach), Carrolls (Seattle Seahawks) and Lancasters (England Rugby) so I was really keen to converse with a young coach who is still comparatively early in his journey.

You did the same degree that I did - formerly the Coach Education BA at the University of Bath. Did you take a lot from the degree and have you found it to be beneficial?
It's hard to think of specifics actually. Clearly the majority of jobs nowadays require applicants to have a degree of some sort, however it has surprised me a bit so far that within the Elite environment my degree hasn't proven to be quite as important to potential employers as I might have expected. They place a much bigger emphasis on experience so hopefully I can build that up to go alongside the strengths of having completed that degree at Bath.

Looking back, I feel I could/should have made more of my experience at Bath - being in that high performance environment, having access to the lecturers and coaches that are everywhere on campus...
I agree, I think I could have made more of it too. The general environment was a good place to learn and build important contacts. I think if I had started the degree a couple of years later, knowing exactly what I wanted to do, then I would have been more eager to pick the brains of so many of the excellent staff at the university.

So, you have the degree from Bath but of course the 'industry' coaching awards are important too. What has been your experience of the coach development courses within football?
Don't get me started. I did my Level 2 a few years ago, but it is tough for young coaches to progress beyond that in terms of being accepted on to the Level 3 etc. They often provide feedback to people that you haven't got the experience (in both time and at a certain level) to do the course, which may be valid but I want the course to be a learning experience, to improve me as a coach - that is why I am applying. So I need experience of coaching a certain level yet I can't get that experience without having completed the course! The other side of it is financial. My Level 2 was £400 when I did it which can be a lot of money to some people. The UEFA B is even more expensive, but also has very few places available: only a small number per year can pass which is such a small pool. 

I'm not convinced by the coach development courses within rugby either. I can see why Level 1 is useful for parent coaches but the courses in general have an element of box-ticking to them...
I agree. The content can be hard to translate to actual coaching and the box ticking element means most people need to do the course, rather than actually want to for their own development. The FA has introduced Youth Modules which are better as they aren't based on passing and failing, rather the generation of ideas to aid your development.

From some of the courses I have attended it can sometimes be tough to highlight a real, golden point that I learnt and affected my coaching in a real way. I increasingly feel I learn more through actual real experience of coaching and interaction with other coaches...
Talking, working, watching. I've learnt loads from simple car conversations with other coaches on our way to sessions. The courses also focus on the session and the content, but not necessarily how to communicate it - how to motivate and work with people and players to effect their behaviour and aid their development. The big thing for young coaches is access - access to elite level coaches for conversations or to watch the sessions and try to learn, but it can be very tough to attain.

Something prevalent within all sports is the quick elevation of former professionals into high profile coaching roles. No doubt many make the transition well, but it can be frustrating. Do you feel your lack of an elite playing level background may hinder you?
I think not having played to a really high level may harm me in the future. But there is certainly a big difference between a good player and a good coach. I've worked with many former professionals who have the knowledge of the professional environment and have an idea of the sort of things to do during a session, however lack an understanding of the purpose behind that session and struggle to create their own ideas. It is certainly frustrating in terms of coach development - the pro player UEFA license course is considerably shorter compared to nine months for others. This implies they don't have much to learn, which is something I'd disagree with.

I have some issues with the term 'coaching philosophy', however what are the key tenants that you feel are important within your coaching?
I think I'm very enthusiastic and able to establish good relationships with players. I try to be creative in establishing a fun environment for players to learn and the important thing for me is context - training should prepare players for the demands of competition. I strongly believe in players learning within chaos, learning from the imperfections. Whether it is changing the boundaries of the game (physically and metaphorically), not using bibs or having 'silent' small sided games, my sessions can probably look a little messy from the outside, but I feel I can justify it.

It sounds like plenty of gameplay plays an important part?
Absolutely. Within many elite centres that I encounter we often just let them play. By virtue of the fact they are with different players, all of whom are of a good ability, they learn a lot from playing alongside each other.

There is plenty of discussion and research about early specialisation in terms of young players learning different sports etc. Football seems the obvious one that wants children to specialise as early as possible, they take kids into the Academies as young as 6...
Yeah it is an interesting and tough topic. There is an argument for a situation where kids might have more time to play locally, however in the current system they are allowed to still play for school/clubs whilst attending elite sessions. Clubs are just so competitive for young talent, it would need to be a whole structural change to ruling in terms of age for anything to change. They start to play fixtures against other elite centres at a young age, but the rules and environment are different to encourage development and with a view to lifting the pressure to win...

But kids almost always want to win naturally, so is it right to put them in an environment so competitive so young?
I know what you mean, but we really try to remove that pressure. Having said that, right or wrong the context is that they are wanting to progress within an elite environment in a professional sport which can be unforgiving at times. Winning remains part of their development too.

I contacted you through Twitter. I've found it an interesting source for good articles and ideas that can help with my learning as a coach...
With something like twitter you have to take the good with the bad. It has some great aspects and many coaches share their session ideas which can give coaches a huge portfolio of ideas to utilise. One thing I have found useful is looking beyond football and I have taken a lot from people like Ross Williams who is a South African rugby coach. 

That's funny, Ross recently said to me that he learnt a huge amount from football when he was in the UK last year...
Yeah it's good to interact with people from different sports. The technical details may be different, but concepts can translate across.

One of my main goals for my personal development in 2015 is to meet, watch and chat with as many coaches as possible from various different sports and backgrounds. This blog provides a great opportunity to organise my thoughts as well as share these experiences with others.

With a number of meetings lined up for the next couple of months, I thought a good place would be to start with a friend of mine who I have played with, worked with and been coached by over the years. Myles Stringer currently runs the Strength and Conditioning, and coaches rugby, for all pupils at St Benedict's School - historically one of London's strongest rugby establishments. He also assists with the S&C at Wasps, runs S&C for Old Priorian RFC in London 1 and works with private clients to help them reach their S&C goals and improve their speed. Our informal chat featured a number of discussion points as detailed below:

Are there any particular aspects of S&C and/or rugby that currently frustrate you?
Definitely the 'gym monkey' aspect that is prevalent within rugby. It is slowly changing, however there is a pressure on rugby players to be BIG. This filters down to young kids who feel that pressure too and make poor decisions as a result - starting the wrong type of training too young or doing the wrong things. It can wreak havoc on their bodies and lead to injuries that are both serious and unnecessary. I've already encountered two young players with potential spinal injuries this season alone and feel that some of their gym work in the past has contributed to these issues. Unfortunately, it has come from clubs, schools and academies in the past to put such a focus on pure size rather than movement, speed, power, skill, spatial awareness etc. It is starting to change which is good to see.


What is it like, therefore doing S&C in a school environment, there must be plenty of young athletes doing programmes they found on the internet?
Exactly, and kids are told different things every day whether by coaches, team mates, teachers or from their own research online into what the professionals do. A good example of this was the David Pocock regime that went round a couple of years ago. I've no issues with the programme as such, but clearly it isn't suitable for everyone, especially young athletes. Within schools and youth sports there isn't enough focus on movement and movement patterns - training in a more functional manner. A lot of things have changed which have impacted how kids learn within PE and sport and they don't have the same freedom to experiment and allow their muscles to develop in a natural way. 


Has this been effected by an increased focus on performance and early specialisation?
I'd agree with that to an extent. Rugby academies are now taking on players at 12-13 years of age. No doubt many are doing good things with their young athletes, but it does encourage an early specialisation toward rugby which is inherently a late specialisation sport. 


Do you think, therefore, that S&C within schools is important or does it just increase the pressure and time demands on teenagers?
I do think it is important. As I mentioned, so many young players feel that pressure to be as big as possible as quickly as possible so would be tempted to do potentially harmful programmes to attain it. With qualified S&C professionals in schools it can mean they are being guided in a way that is far better for their long-term development. Functional movement patterns among young athletes are not good enough and every individual has different needs. Whether it is right or wrong, sport in general is becoming increasingly professional at younger ages. Young players therefore need to be conditioned appropriately so that they can improve with it and avoid injury. At St Benedict's we've seen huge success with the netball players who had previously done limited work in the gym - not only did their performance improve, but we went a whole season with no injuries which I see as a great achievement.


How do you see your role in terms of trying to get teenagers to buy in and attend S&C sessions given the other commitments they have, the changes they are going through physically and as people etc...?
Make no mistake, they are school kids first and foremost, not athletes. As with anything, some are more motivated to take part than others and  they are teenagers at the end of the day. S&C is an extra which they may not have done before. What really frustrates me is the use of fitness as a punishment within coaching - it ruins the mindset towards fitness and makes them associate press ups, for example, with negative emotions. This is something that needs to change so that kids associate health and fitness with positive experiences.


Have any particular coaches been an inspiration to you or impacted you in a way that probably affects the way you coach and see coaching?
The obvious one is Margot Wells. I used to train with her as a client and she was also someone who saw the potential coach within me before I did. Training and working with her at Wellfast had a big impact in terms of coaching speed and the mechanics of running. I follow a lot of the work of Joe DeFranco too. What I like about Margot and Joe DeFranco is that, whilst they do work with elite athletes, they'll coach anyone and help you to reach whatever the goal is that you have. Having been a student and member of staff at St Benedict's I've also really liked the way that both Jesse Coulson (now Director of Sport at Harrow) and Richard Finch (now Director of Sport at Harrow Hong Kong) coach, particularly their ideas about, and approach towards, fitness and 7s rugby.


Are there any elements that you feel are prevalent within how you coach S&C and/or Rugby?
Certainly I always think training should mimic the game itself, or push towards situations that are harder than will be present within competition. I'm a big fan of Kaizen method of continuous improvement and try to stress the importance of improving every session, never look to stay at the same point.


I strongly believe in establishing a culture/identity within a club/team and I'm aware that this is something that has been brought in formally at St Benedict's by the new Director of Rugby, James Coles. What did he introduce, is it working and how important do you feel culture/identity is?
James has introduced the school's Philosophy of Rugby which is based upon work rate, courage and energy. It flows throughout all age groups and all players would be able to tell you these three tenants. It is working well, the kids are certainly buying in and I think we'll start to see the benefits in the coming years. It gives them something to buy into and be a part of which is great. I was lucky to recently be at a talk by James Kerr, the author of 'Legacy' about the All Blacks and it detailed the importance they place on establishing a culture and a structure to stay within. The focus is on the players staying together, showing respect, clearing up their own mess and staying humble.