With the 2017-18 Hyundai A-League season done and dusted, you’d forgive the players for taking a well-earned break. However, with the help of the PFA, a number of the senior and youth players have been hard at work this week completing their ‘C’ License Coaching Course.
The likes of newly-crowned MGP winner Shane Lowry, veteran ‘keeper Liam Reddy, defender Alex Grant and Young Socceroo Brandon Wilson are being put through their paces by the Technical Director of Football West, Cris Ola, as they work on running drills and communicating with players.
Reddy has been relishing the opportunity to learn more about the game with one eye on a career after professional football.
“It’s been great, it’s always good to gain more knowledge no matter how experienced you are,” the Glory custodian said.
“It’s very important to start looking at life post-football and this is the start of the process for me. It’s great to see plenty of the younger lads down here as well, I would’ve loved to have done this when I was their age.”
It’s not just the senior players that are eager to learn more, with a handful of Perth’s brightest young talent such as Daniel Stynes and Walter Scott also participating.
“It’s been very interesting, I’ve got a lot of respect for our coaches as the course has been quite challenging. I think I’m definitely going to be able to communicate my thoughts on the pitch come gameday as well,” Scott insisted.
“You see plenty of players move into coaching once their careers have finished up like Gerrard and Zidane, so it’s something I’m really keen to learn.”
Understanding what it takes to be a coach in terms of commitment and organisation is one of the key aims of the course, with PFA Player Development Manager Robbie Gaspar emphasising its importance.
“They get to see what coaches do on a daily basis while also gaining the skills to give back to the community. We’re really passionate about players preparing for the next stage in their life, so studying and being proactive while they’re playing is what we encourage,” he said.
“It’s great for them to be showing the passion to get their accreditations and badges so when they do finish their playing careers they can transition into management without having to rush through it. Great to see so many of the young NYL boys down here and I’d like to thank Glory for working with us to get so many players past and present involved.”
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