29 June 2005
Phil Parkinson: UEFA Pro Licence

The Colchester United manager takes time out from his UEFA Pro Licence course to speak to TheFA.com.


Colchester United manager Phil Parkinson has been taking full advantage of learning from the best as he rubs shoulders with England's leading managers.

Parkinson, who currently manages in League One, will soon hold the top coaching qualification possible after studying on the FA-run UEFA Pro Licence course at Warwick University.

And he admits he has been learning as much from the likes of Premiership managers Bryan Robson, Sam Allardyce and Steve McClaren who are also on the current course as he has from the sessions themselves.

"For someone like myself to see the top managers on a course like this is great. They are at the top of their profession and they are still looking to better themselves," he explains.

"I can see that those people have the same problems as me, but just on a bigger scale. Wherever you are you have to deal with the problems and setbacks and bounce back quickly.

"Just talking to other people on the course, whether it is during a session or afterwards over a drink, you can get a lot of valuable information."

Parkinson believes the whole country will benefit as more and more managers become better qualified and he says that all coaches, at whatever level they are, should aim to improve their skills and take any badges that are available.

"I have young children and if they play tennis the coach will be fully qualified," he explains.

"But there are so many coaches in kids football who are not qualified at all and are probably teaching the wrong techniques to our children.

"But I think more and more they are realising they need preliminary coaching badges to help the youngsters.

"I think it's important that even coaches down at Under-10 and Under-12 level take the time to get the first coaching badge.

"And going up the levels, former players like myself need coaching qualifications on the CV because when you are going for jobs chairmen will look at you and if you haven't taken the time to educate yourself I don't think you will get a second glance.

"But there are some fantastic English coaches in this country and I think coaching education has improved immensely over the last ten years and we will reap the benefits of that in years to come."

Parkinson says he has thoroughly enjoyed taking the UEFA Pro Licence course which has required 240-hours of study including the intensive residential course at Warwick.

And he believes it is perfectly tailored to the needs all professional managers and coaches, at whatever level of the English league system they may be.

"Previous coaching courses have just been about that - coaching. But this Pro Licence is about other things such as psychology, communication, leadership and all different aspects of the role of coach or manager," the Colchester boss adds.

"Often people think the main part of being a manager is coaching the players, but believe you me, that is only a fraction part of it. The biggest part is man-management and getting the best out of people and this course covers all those aspects."

The coaching week will continue on Thursday when we will be speaking to FA National Coach Dick Bate who is the Course Director for the Pro-Licence. He'll tell us what he aims to provide and why the course has been so successful in the past few years.


The 2004 intake (that will graduate after the final elements of this week's course) are: Ian Atkins, Andy Barlow, Frank Barlow, Kevin Blackwell, George Burley, Ian Butterworth, Terry Connor, Chris Evans, John Gorman, Brent Hills, Alan Irvine, Bryan Klug, Colin Lee, Gary Megson, John Morling, Phillip Parkinson, Bryan Robson, Glynn Snodin, Kevin Summerfield, Steve Wigley, Sam Allardyce, Steve McClaren.

The 2005 intake of students are: Martin Allen, Kevin Bond, Adrian Boothroyd, Stephen Clarke, John Collins, Paul Davis, Nigel Gibbs, Kenny Jackett, Martin Ling, John McMahon, Keith Millen, Eddie Niedzwiechi, Chris Ramsey, Martin Scott, Rene Meulensteen, Dave Penney, Neil Thompson.

Previous graduates include: Ian Dowie (Crystal Palace), Stuart Pearce (Man City), Hope Powell (England Women's), Mark Hughes (Blackburn), Lawrie Sanchez (Northern Ireland), Chris Hughton (Tottenham), Alan Pardew (West Ham), Nigel Worthington (Norwich), Sammy Lee (England), Phil Brown (Derby), Nigel Pearson (West Brom), Stuart Baxter (South Africa).

Fancy getting involved and learning more about the game? You don't need to be a professional coach to get on an FA course. FA Learning run a range of courses for all students at all levels of the game.

Click here to find out more.