Manager Officer

I have an extensive background working in football, having worked with Blackburn Rovers since November 2013. Up until September 2020, I was the Head Coach of the Blackburn Rovers u14s Girls RTC team. I was previously Head Coach of the u10s for three years, and set up and managed the u8s and u9s teams as well. We have had excellent success with these age groups, after developing girls that now fill all of the other RTCs in the North West (Man Utd, Man City, Liverpool and Everton). In the 2019/2020, eight of my u14s squad were selected by the England Talent ID pathway. This is unprecedented for Blackburn Rovers. I ran detailed IPD reports on these players using the 4 corner model, which were very effective. I have used video software such as Hudl for team/player analysis, to evaluate players and to work with them to develop their footballing skills/knowledge.

From November 2013 to May 2019 I was Female Football Development Officer at Blackburn Rovers Community Trust. I managed and delivered the PL Girls programme. We engaged with approximately 1000 girls each year. I was also Head of the Player Development Centres for both boys and girls at Blackburn Rovers Community Trust. I launched, managed, and delivered all of these sessions. This included a girls’ pathway from the ages 3-16, including Mini Rovers sessions for u5s, Girls Development Centres for ages 6-9, 9-11, and 12-16. In addition to this we also launched Blackburn Rovers Futsal Club and had girls’ teams at u7s, u9s, u11s and u13s. Because of this, I won the FA National Female Football Participation Award in 2019.

Due to my joint roles between Blackburn Rovers RTC and Blackburn Rovers Community Trust, I was heavily involved in the recruitment at the RTC. By the start of the 2019/20 season, approximately 40% of the total girls at the RTC had been brought in by myself, after having being spotted in my programmes or in local/national competitions that I attended. Since leaving Blackburn Rovers RTC and the Community Trust, I have now starting recruiting for Man Utd RTC. I have the FA Level 1 in Talent Identification and I am looking to do the higher levels once CPD events open up again within the FA.

Since January 2020, I now work for Wigan Athletic Community Trust as a Football Development Officer. I am Project Manager for the Player Development Centres, Soccer Camps, football tournaments, and liaising with grassroots teams. Part of my role is to help out Wigan Athletic Ladies FC, and I am now Vice-Chairman and also the Recruitment Officer for the club. We have also created links with the Wigan Athletic Boys Academy, where we host the Advanced Player Development Centres. These are sessions offered to young players who have been identified as having the potential to play for the academy. We do have some young females attending the sessions too. During 2020 (even though we have lost large parts of it due to Covid) we have engaged with approximately 500 children in the Development Centres.

Since September 2020, we have launched two very successful FA Wildcats Centres, engaging with approximately 50 girls a week. We have also launched a very talented Wigan Athletic Girls u10s team in September 2020, with one girl already having signed for Man City, and we will be recommending another girl to Man Utd when football resumes in 2021. We have also set up a Girls Development Centre for ages 11-14, which launched in December 2020 and engaged with 23 females in just a 2-week period. We have girls travelling from as far as Merseyside, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Cumbria for these sessions. I have organized football festivals with over 200+ children attending. I have built up excellent links with grassroots coaches, teams and leagues all over the North West, and have worked closely with local county FAs. This job was referred to be my Amanda Goodwin who is the FA Women’s Talent Technical Coach in the North West.

I have also coached at the Blackburn Rovers boys’ academy, with the u6-8s elite pre-academy teams, and worked on the pre-academy development centres that filter into the elite set up. I am also Head Coach for the u11s ATG, after previously coaching the u9s and u10s group. I have developed players who have gone on to be signed for academies all over the North West. I am still registered as a Talent Spotter for Blackburn Rovers boys’ academy.

I am a UEFA B qualified football coach, and I have completed the full FA Youth Award. I am also a FA Futsal Level 2 coach. I also run private 1 on 1 sessions and I have built up a client base working with individual players aged 7-16, with excellent success of getting these players into academies. I have delivered sessions for girls who play for Blackburn Rovers, Man Utd, Man City and Everton, and who have been in the England Pathway.

To summarise, I have a wealth of recruitment experience working with the most elite girls in the North West. I have coached and played against lots of girls who are in the England Talent Pathway. I am very familiar with the England Talent Pathway in the female game, and I have excellent working relationships with RTCs throughout the North West. I am confident that due to my experience of working with elite girls, elite boys, and my speciality in technical 1 on 1 sessions