If you told me 10 months ago that I would be leading 50 students in a huge conference between 3 schools on coach education and leadership within football, I would probably say these exact words- “haha very funny”. I would never have dreamed that this project would come alive the way it has- it feels surreal, like I'm in a different dimension and landscape. But it also shows me how far I’ve come in life and it’s just the beginning of a beautiful journey.
On the 23rd of October 2024, I delivered ULTRA’s first coaching and leadership conference to the Mulberry Trust, hosted in Stepney Green School. It was one of the most beneficial experiences ever, but at the same time, there was much planning needed to execute this amazing day. Now you must be thinking, this guy keeps saying “ULTRA” like what does that even mean? ULTRA is a project looking to create ‘Legacy Makers’ within the game. Its vision is to recruit and develop as many young people as possible within football to create their own unique name for themselves, whether it be through coaching, refereeing, scouting- pretty much everything!
For this conference, I wanted to target an age demographic where normally young people drop out of football and so I chose 13–15-year-olds. Choosing the schools were easy as there were 3 schools under 1 trust so in other words, the planning stages were bliss. Delivering on the other hand, well that’s another story.
The one thing I realised when I went in on the day was that the young people were quiet, very much in their own shell, not wanting to interact with anyone other than maybe the person next to them- at one point it was so quiet I could hear my colleague breathing at the back. So, I took it upon myself as a challenge to break down this barrier and create an environment where ideas were freely discussed, and engagement was high. The conference went off to an amazing start where I delivered a workshop on Coaching within Football. The interesting takeaway about this workshop was the different takes of what ‘Success’ meant for every young leader within their own context and environment. I found the young people to be very critical with regards to the different coaching styles and methods that they could portray, and the workshop was cemented with a section on the importance of reflection when acting as coaches, mentors, and practitioners.
Workshop 2 was delivered in a more holistic format where it focused on leadership within football. This workshop has slightly more group discussions and focused on what youth leadership means to them and what are the considerations and factors needed to be considered a young leader. We ended the day with a personal workshop looking at their ‘why’ and what legacies they are trying to leave behind. The day could not have gotten any better when we had Estella Dawson come down as our guest to speak about her experiences in football and what legacy she is trying to leave behind.
Upon reflection looking back at this conference, there’s so much I am proud of but at the same time so much to evolve and build on. I created this project with the intention of supporting as many young people as possible, knowing that I had the same support when I was that age. My advice to myself and to others- keep striving forward even if during the journey it feels hard, never say never, and keep your mind open to learning every time!