The FA’s coach development officer, Suey Smith, had the pleasure of interviewing coach Leah Wise to find out how she got into football and what her coaching journey has been like so far.  

Leah is a FA level one qualified coach who is about to embark on coaching a girls under 13s team for the new season. Four years ago, she started coaching two to five-year-olds at Hull football skills academy (HFSA) and assisted her partner Owen’s older age group for the last three years. She has gone from running Saturday morning skills sessions to coaching her son’s charter standard team. 

Let’s found out more about Leah... 

What inspired you to get into coaching?   

My son Joe, then five years old, decided out of the blue that he wanted to play football, so I took him along to his local Charter Standard club. I wasn’t sure if this was just another ‘new sport’ phase, so I didn’t go out and buy him all the gear as I know what he’s been like in the past. However, Joe really enjoyed the sessions and continued to play, and somehow, I put myself forward to coach his team, a couple of years later. That was before I had any prior team-coaching experience but one of the parents knew I had my level one. I had already started running the 2-5yr session for HFSA, and had done my badge with that in mind. 

As a child growing up, I loved watching football and rugby, however not revealing my age, these were not the ‘norm’ for girls to play, so I was stuck with athletics. Football was always in the back of my mind. I enrolled and attended the female only level one course which helped to build my confidence. Being around females who hadn’t had much experience in the game really supported me. The course was informative and gave great insight into how to coach, especially older children and how to use the STEP principle.  

 
“Despite not having playing experience, the course improved my confidence.”  

Have there been any challenges you have faced along the way?  

Yes. Some comments of disbelief (with certain under tones) that I was the coach. Questions such as “where’s your coach?” followed by “No, the real coach” when I told them it was me. 
But my own session participants and their parents have been nothing but amazing. I think they can see that their child is enjoying the session so I must be doing something right. 
 
The main challenges I think come from myself. I have several time constraints. I am a mum of 4, one of my children has learning disabilities, aI was helping to care for my parents, holding down my job as a mid-wife and still managing to coach. I had to really manage my time but also communicate to the parents regularly. With all that I had going on in the background it was really hard to juggle everything. Football at times was the escape for me. 
 
I felt when the parents were watching, I had a lot to prove and felt that’s why I wanted to do the FA level two to give me a better sounding board and more credibility if that makes sense. That pressure came from myself not externally.

Where and who are you currently coaching?  

I am due to start coaching Kingswood's u13’s once we have the green light to return to football. This is new for me, so I am looking forward to getting started with the girls. I shall be continuing at the skills academy with the younger age groups as well. 

What do you enjoy most about your role and why?  

It's massively rewarding, seeing smiles on all faces, setting children mini challenges and seeing them return the following week excited to show me what they can do. I have also developed friendships with the parents of the children, who are very sociable and fun. Football has given me so many social benefits that I’d never thought of.  

What are some of the qualities that you bring to coaching?  

I need to be able to communicate to various ages and to understand their needs. Being time organised is also very important. 

I believe I am approachable and understand what communication styles children respond best to. I try to develop an emotional connection to the children, and I believe I am more empathic when knowing they are simply children learning. Child first, football second.  
 
I am a midwife, and a lot of the communication and understanding skills I use in the job can be transferred across to coaching. I then learnt the football side through my FA level one and observing Owen and other coaches. 

Why do you feel it is important that there are more women involved in coaching?  

If more females can be involved in coaching it sets the trend for girls to follow when they are older. I want my daughters to see their mum coaching and keeping fit so that it inspires them to do whatever they want. I want to be a positive role model.  

How can we encourage more women to get involved in coaching?  

Promote females and increase their exposure where possible. Hopefully, we can share more stories and experiences and use a network to bring females together. 
 
Showing a pathway for females who don’t play the game of football is big for me.  It isn’t as scary as people may think and the rewards are so much more than just football. If we can help more females see this then hopefully more will be encouraged to get involved in football. 
 
If you have had a similar journey and/or would like to ask Leah a question, please comment below!