For the first couple of years I played for fun but it was not my passion, I just enjoyed it as I would enjoy any sport. I decided I wanted to improve, as I thought I would enjoy football more if I was a bit better at it. I began training on my own and the impact completely changed my experience of football. In the space of one season I went from a kid that would spend his time worrying about making mistakes to a kid with a head full of dreams.

Before games I used to be a bundle of nerves and then after the extra training I was just excited, I would dread the final whistle of a game and couldn’t wait to play again.

I believe the academy can be this difference for so many kids.

How many children just stop playing or don’t even try at all due to a lack of confidence? This is why I have a passion for coaching. I strive to be the type of coach that I wanted and needed when I was a young player. Both for the scared kid who was afraid of making mistakes and also the kid with dreams to chase.

My coaching is heavily influenced by my time as an 18 year old trialling in the English lower divisions and Irish league. It was my time in the UK that opened my eyes to how important youth development is, not only for players who want to go Pro, but also players who want to continue to play in the senior age groups.

When you love something as much as I love football it is contagious. Evidence of that is my football daft family. Both my children have been playing at BCSC since KickStart (before under 9’s) and are showing no signs of stopping, soon they will be senior players. My wife, Susan, runs the admin for the academy and has been managing multiple junior teams the entire time I have been coaching. This is definitely a family/team effort.

With the help of the very experienced coaches that will be part of the BCSC Academy, I believe we can achieve many goals for the academy members.

A quote I like from Pele is “Successis no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrificeand most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do”. I like this quote as I think that each element of it supports the others, and it is also something that, if applied through football, will become a habit that will benefit the player in all aspects of their life.

The football specificquote I like most is from the legend Johan Cruyff, “You play football with your head, and your legs are there to help you.”