The England Under-21s Coach shares his knowledge in Northampton.
A typical winter evening, but a very different type of coaching session took place at Bugbrooke St Michaels FC in Northamptonshire on Tuesday night.
England Under-21s Coach Stuart Pearce arrived to introduce the new Coaches’ Association of Northamptonshire.
Nearly 200 coaches from around the region arrived to see Pearce in action, ably assisted by the Northampton Town under 18s squad, to demonstrate the Level 2 coaching session ‘Switching Play’.
The evening provided a taster for the in-service events which will form part of the Coaches’ Association, starting in April 2010, and costing just £10 - or £8 for coaches’ linked to a Charter Standard club - to join for a year’s membership.
The membership scheme offers a series of benefits to its members, including 20% of gym membership with Fitness First.
Having demonstrated the session, Pearce, whose
Under-21s take on Greece in an important UEFA Championship Qualifier in Doncaster next month, then retired from the driving-rain to the Bugbrooke clubhouse to host a questions and answers session, which completed the evening in witty fashion.
Woodford United Youth Secretary Trudy Thornton was the first to praise the evening’s entertainment: “To watch such an expert and charismatic coach at work was a real treat. His interaction with the youngsters on the training field should be a lesson to us all.”
These views were further echoed by Peterborough-based Kingscliffe coach Gino Nespoli, commenting: “Thanks for a great evening, I found the session very informative and the questions and answers very entertaining”.
If you wish to join the new Coaches’ Association of Northamptonshire, visit www.NorthamptonshireFA.com, where membership can be purchased online.
