In our latest Player Development Project webinar replay, we focus on coaching younger players. PDP Technical Advisor, Dan Wright is joined by two top academy coaches, Nathan Thomas and Nathan Philip. Nathan Thomas is currently the Lead Foundation Phase Coach at MK Dons and has experience coaching at Middlesborough, Arsenal and Brentford – he also holds the FA Advanced Youth Award. Nathan Philip holds both the UEFA A Licence and Advanced Youth Award, has worked across these age groups in both coaching and recruitment roles…
Clubs and Academies
Insights from tops clubs and academies, focussing on how they develop players and the environments they create.
In this Masterclass Webinar replay, the PDP team host top academy coaches, Mark Lyons and Tom Mallinson for an in depth discussion on academy football in England. Mark Lyons is the Pre-Academy Co-ordinator & Lead Coach at Leicester City FC and Tom Mallinson is a Professional Development Phase Coach at Nottingham Forest FC. Experienced Academy Coaches, Dan Wright and Dave Wright will host Tom and Mark for a round table discussion on professional academy football in the UK. All four of our expert panel met…
Johan Cruyff changed the way football is played forever with Total Football and had a huge impact as a player and coach at Ajax and Barcelona. We’re excited to have founder of TOVO Academy, Todd Beane joining us to discuss the Cruyff Football philosophy and player development. In this Live Webinar Replay, PDP Editor, Dave Wright & PDP Lead Researcher James Vaughan host Todd as they discuss Cruyff philosophy and all things player development. Topics covered in this Masterclass are:
PDP Co-Founder and psychology researcher, James Vaughan, explores creativity in footballers with a focus on the coach’s perspective. What does it mean to foster creativity in players? How can we better understand the process of encouraging creative problem solving on the field? Vaughan offers practical insights and solutions to an often abstract topic. Creativity is often described as the use of imagination to invent something. Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson refines this idea by explaining creativity as ‘the process of having original ideas that have value’. The…
Birmingham City FC are a founding partner club of PDP and in May 2019, they put on an event called the Learning Tribes Conference 2019. In this round table video discussion, Dave Wright & Dan Wright review the event with three of the team from Birmingham City FC. BCFC Lead Youth Development Phase Coach, Mike Dodds was tasked with putting on an event for coaches by the team at BCFC Academy. Inspired by Co-Founder of the Magic Academy and top rugby coach, Russell Earnshaw, Mike…
Dan Robinson is the Academy Manager at Burton Albion FC in England and a former Assistant Coach & Goalkeeper Coach with the New Zealand Women’s team. In this Masterclass Discussion, PDP Editor Dave Wright sits down with Dan to discuss his coaching journey and some of the challenges of taking on a major role at a small club. Dan discusses some of the lessons he’s learned in leadership, the player development philosophy at Burton Albion, his experience on the world stage with international women’s teams…
Cameron Knowles has been part of the Portland Timbers organisation for well over a decade. Following a 7 year professional playing career at Real Salt Lake, the Timbers and Montreal Impact, Cameron made the move into coaching where he worked as an Assistant Coach with the first team for five years. The holder of a Masters in Psychology & now into his second season as Head Coach of Portland Timbers T2, Cameron joins PDP Editor, Dave Wright for a conversation on his journey through the…
Steve Kirby has over 15 years experience working in academy football in England. Formerly Lead Youth Development Phase Coach at MK Dons, Steve is now the U18 Assistant Coach at Leicester City FC. In this interview, PDP Editor, Dave Wright sits down for an hour with Steve to discuss his own personal coaching journey, some of the key lessons he has learnt along the way and how he has applied them. Steve shares insights into the player development philosophy at Leicester City, advice on how…
In this Masterclass Discussion, PDP Lead Researcher, James Vaughan shares part four of the FC Barcelona series, developed after James’ 12 months living in Barcelona. In this discussion, PDP Editor Dave Wright hosts James in a conversation on the historical rivalry between Barcelona & Madrid in politics, economics and football through El Clásico. James dives into detail as to how the cultural differences have shaped the two biggest clubs in Spain and how their values have evolved on and off the pitch. Image Source: depositphotos.com
In this Masterclass Discussion, PDP Editor Dave Wright hosts Birmingham City Assistant Academy Manager, Stuart English. Stuart has vast experience in player development having worked at Luton Town FC, Brentford FC and Birmingham City. In his role at BCFC, Stuart is responsible for overseeing not only the player development program alongside Academy Manager, Kristjaan Speakman, but developing coaches, supporting staff and constantly looking for trends and ways of innovating. In this discussion, Stuart shares his coaching story and gives shares some superb advice for coaches…
In this Masterclass Discussion, PDP Editor Dave Wright hosts Wellington Phoenix FC Academy Director, Paul Temple. Paul holds a UEFA A license and is alongside his role as Academy Director at Wellington Phoenix, (New Zealand’s only A-League club) and is an Assistant Coach of the New Zealand U17 Men’s team. Paul joins Dave to discuss how the club is trying to develop players for the future, analysing football trends and innovating in what is fast becoming the hot bed of youth football in New Zealand….
In this Masterclass Discussion, PDP Editor Dave Wright hosts Brentford FC first team analyst, Zaheer Shah. Zaheer has worked his way through the Brentford Academy and since 2017 has been working with the B Team and now as a first team analyst. Zaheer shares his experiences, the benefits of analysis, how to effectively use video and much more in another comprehensive conversation on coaching and player development. Image Source: depositphotos.com
Football is a game of speed, whether it’s quick thinking, or quick movement. PDP Editor & UEFA A licensed coach, Dave Wright & Tottenham Hotspur first team analyst, Zaheer Shah examine some clips and stats from the 2018 World Cup, sharing thoughts on some of the trends to emerge at the tournament and whether they have implications in youth development. The 2018 World Cup has seen the importance of combination play, transition, quick counter attack, 1 v 1 attributes and game changing individual brilliance as key…
Argentina were eliminated from the World Cup in the Round of 16 by eventual winners, France. PDP Lead Researcher, James Vaughan examines some of the cultural questions we’re left with on the back of a disappointing campaign from a traditional football heavyweight. While Phil Neville’s mansplaining was trending on Twitter and Neymar’s spaghetti haircut was splattered all over Facebook, there were some World Cup stories unearthing deeper questions. Deep questions with hidden connections. Wading through the catchphrase cliché’s provided by many pundits, moments of insightful questioning caught the eye…
In this Masterclass Discussion, PDP Editor Dave Wright hosts Brisbane Roar Academy Director, Drew Sherman for an insightful conversation on youth development. Drew shares his own personal experiences from England, to the Cook Islands and now Australia, discussing key lessons on the way. We discuss the development of the brand new Brisbane Roar academy and some of the challenges faced in bringing bringing youth development to A League. Drew Sherman is the Academy Director at Brisbane Roar. Drew is a holder of both his Pro…
In this Masterclass Discussion, Sydney FC Academy Director, Kelly Cross joins PDP Editor, Dave Wright for a fantastic discussion on coaching. Kelly shares his experience working with world-class players like Harry Kewell, Aaron Mooy and others, as well as his insights into coach education and the new program he is overseeing at Sydney FC. Kelly has a wealth of experience and shares a variety of lessons learned on his long coaching journey. Kelly Cross is currently Academy Director at Sydney FC. He has previously worked…
In this Masterclass Discussion, PDP Editor, Dave Wright is joined by PDP Technical Advisor, Dan Wright to go behind the scenes at Watford FC. Dave & Dan sit down for a fascinating discussion with Lead YDP Coach, Martin Prickett & Lead Foundation Phase Coach, Rob Morris to discuss the Watford FC way, age appropriate learning and much more as these two highly experienced youth developers give insights into their coaching careers so far. Image Source: depositphotos.com
In part 3 of this Masterclass Discussion Series, PDP Editor, Dave Wright hosts PDP Lead Researcher James Vaughan as he takes us through the third instalment of his PhD research. The third part of this series looks at creative moments emerging as a result of socio-cultural-historic constraints in Barcelona. James examines many of the iconic individuals (both local and foreign) who have had a huge influence on the history and evolution of FC Barcelona, such as Joan Gamper, Kubala, Johann Cruyff and Lionel Messi. Image…