So You Want to be a Football Coach? Here’s What You Can Expect…

As a football fan you may have wondered what it's like to be a football manager. The day to day running of the club, transfers, injuries, training, media and interviews. Doesn't sound like a typical 9 to 5... 

But what exactly does it entail? And could you be the right candidate for a job in the football coaching industry? To help you, we’ve pulled together some handy tips to bear in mind if and when you decide to take the plunge and ‘kick off’ a new career.  Read on…

Be Prepared to Adapt - According to FA.com, football is changing. Players are becoming quicker, stronger and more creative. In short, it doesn’t quite cut it anymore that players simply turn up, run around a bit, shoot and score. The best teams have always known, of course, that football is about teamwork.

With that in mind then, you really do have to be prepared to adapt; with the team, tactics and techniques within the game and with new rules and regulations, too. 

Developing players at almost every level of the game, football coaches aim to give their players the very best advantage. And to do this, you’ve got to be on the ball too. So to speak.

Do Your Research – Where would you like to coach? If it’s here in the UK, the good news is the FA provides a series of training courses – and from Level One right through to the Pro Licence you can gain with UEFA. Covering all areas of your players’ development, courses are available UK-wide and competition for enrolment is high. But we bet you gathered that anyway.

To apply to become a football coach, you must be aged 20 or over. In many cases, you must also hold the Level 2 Certificate in Coaching Football, as well as be seen to be coaching a local 11-a-side team in your own time. 

Don’t quite have the relevant experience? Take the right steps to ensure you’ll soon have it; there’s no better time than now to start.

Consider Personal & Professional Development – As well as simply taking a course in football coaching, it’s vital that you think about all the areas of sport in which you can develop - personally and professionally. 

While you’ll learn good, practical skills to develop your team’s own technical ability, it’s also important that you put some time into studying outside of the course, too.

Are there any other courses you can do, which will complement your training? Perhaps sports massage would be beneficial, or maybe previous experience in the personal training industry will help you on your way?

So there you have it! Of course, we’ve only scratched the surface when it comes to what it takes to make it in the football coaching industry, but we hope there’s plenty here to get you started on your foray into working behind the scenes of the beautiful game.