Coaching the coaches

Raising standards
The 17th UEFA Course for Coach Educators is examining the role of the people tasked with training young coaches for a future career in the game, coaches who then help nurture good footballers and raise standards throughout Europe. "Your job is to be a coach of coaches," UEFA technical director Andy Roxburgh told coach education specialists from UEFA's member associations. "The aim is to produce professionally competent coaches, who in turn, produce skilful players, creating successful teams.

Immense influence
"All of you here have a specialised role, and you have a very important job in football. Your influence on the game and your influence on developing coaches is immense. You have the appreciation of the people that you work with, and of course of UEFA. You do a fantastic job on a day-to-day basis. So although you are not in the headlines, please remember that you are extremely important to the development of football in general."

Practical and theoretical
The course is featuring practical and theoretical work, as well as panel discussions and working groups. UEFA's national associations have sent participants to the event in the form of an association staff coach/educator who is responsible for the training of coaches and who is in a position to disseminate information to coach education colleagues.

Keeping pace
"You belong to a category within European football which must play an active role," said UEFA Executive Committee member Per Ravn Omdal in his welcome address. "The education of coaches can never stop, and we have to keep pace with the development of the game. I ask you to contribute to football's development by sharing knowledge with each other."

Portugal's work
Pride of place was also given to Portuguese football at the opening of the event. Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) president Gilberto Madaíl, also a member of the UEFA Executive Committee, expressed his pride at the work being done by Portugal's coaches – including star names in Europe – and coach educators. "Good coaches have to be present for players to succeed," he reflected, "and the training of coaches enables us to meet future challenges in the game."

Eusébio's view
FPF national technical co-ordinator Arnaldo Cunha proceeded to explain the philosophy of coach education in Portugal while legendary striker Eusébio gave his views on what makes a good coach. "It is someone who is able to talk to players and get the maximum out of them," Eusébio said. "The ability to communicate is essential."

Teaching ideas and values
In turn, a good educator of coaches, continued Roxburgh, was someone who could get the best out of coaches, to help realise their potential. "Coach educators develop coaches as individuals, and contribute to the coaching profession in general by educating the next generation," he said. "They teach ideas, principles and values, they nurture competent coaches, contribute to football's future and prepare coaches psychologically for the profession – how to deal with players, media, new technology, football politics and crisis management."

Jira Panel meets
Ahead of the conference, UEFA's Jira Panel, which comprises European coach education experts, met to discuss developments within the UEFA Convention on the Mutual Recognition of Coaching Qualifications. The panel heard that 52 of the 53 associations are currently members of the convention (38 at all three levels, 12 at A and B levels, and two at B level) – while UEFA's newest member nation, Montenegro, is also a candidate for accession. Almost 159,000 coaches in Europe have UEFA-endorsed licenses.